Stephen Fretwell

Stephen Fretwell
Stephen Fretwell performing at Ben and Jerry's Double Scoop Sundae festival, Heaton Park, Manchester, 2011.
Background information
Born	(1981-11-10) 10 November 1981 (age 35)
Origin	Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Years active	2000–present
Associated acts	The Last Shadow Puppets
Website	www.stephenfretwell.com

Stephen Fretwell (born 10 November 1981 in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire) is an English singer-songwriter.

Fretwell attended St. Augustine Webster Primary School in Scunthorpe and St. Bede's Catholic School in Ashby before furthering his study at John Leggott College. It was in his teenage years that he started his first band, named Label.

After moving to Manchester to attend Salford University (to study English, but dropping out within a few days), he started to earn notices in NME and Q. During this period songs such as "Emily" and "What’s That You Say Little Girl?" were first written.

Fretwell decided to stay in Manchester permanently, later releasing 8 Songs which he released on Northern Ambition, a label owned by a friend. He left university after one year, and started to perform at local acoustic nights in the Manchester area. The first of these was at The Roadhouse, a venue in the centre of Manchester's Northern Quarter.

He later released the Something's Got to Give EP and The Lines, both self-financed. He then supported Travis, Elbow, Athlete, Keane and KT Tunstall. Signed to Fiction Records, and while under management by Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildlife entertainment, his debut album Magpie, was released in November 2004. It was recorded at the Abbey Road Studios. It peaked at #27 in the UK Albums Chart in August 2005. The first single taken from the album was "Run" and was subsequently followed by "Emily" (2005) and the Four Letter Words EP. "Emily" reached #42 in the UK Singles Chart in August 2005. He had previously supported Oasis at Marlay Park in Dublin on 16 July 2005.