Following the release of his debut album ‘Magpie’, back in 2004, Fretwell was not thrust into the limelight like many of his contemporaries with whom he frequently finds himself compared with.
Instead Fretwell was eased into his newfound status as an enigmatic acoustic troubadour over a period of time. A process that no doubt explains Fretwell’s blasé attitude to the whole situation he finds himself in today.
Speaking to me from a service station somewhere in Scotland, fresh from a live radio performance of his new single ‘Run’, our conversation is punctuated by occasional moments of restrained excitement from Fretwell every time he sees a ‘really big bus’ go by, or is caught out by a particularly loud lorry. Otherwise, Fretwell projects the casual disinterest of a man who has been there and done it all before, and why not?
“I never really get excited about releasing singles because I don’t really choose them”
His new, piano-led single sees Fretwell lazily drag his vocals over a series of bright and brilliant chords which emit from his acoustic strummings in what is a song of heartbreak filled with painful twinges of regret. Presenting the listener with an odd but pleasing cross between Leeds’ Vib Gyor and something nearing early Coldplay, ‘Now’ is scheduled for release on the 14th of January and it would seem that Fretwell is keen to take the whole thing in his stride.
“I never really get excited about releasing singles because I don’t really choose them,” begins Fretwell, with a somewhat cavalier distain for the whole process. “I don’t really want any input. I only really care about making the albums so I give it all to them [the record label] and they put it out how they want. But it is always nice putting a single out because you always have a few gigs around it and there is always stuff to do which keeps you busy.”
It would seem that finding things to keep himself busy has never been too difficult for the multitalented Fretwell, who admits to being the author of a number of short stories and a passionate painter in his spare time.
“How do you know about that?” exclaims Fretwell, unaware that his artistic and literary ambitions are outlined in his biography. “Well, I have written a few short stories but I have never sent them to a publisher,” he continues, returning to his usual air of well meaning indifference. “But it would piss me off if I didn’t get published I think, I might send them off under a different name and see what happens maybe.”
Fretwell even kept himself busy over Christmas by releasing his own special, free to download, single. No doubt filled with memories from his childhood, when there used to be real contention over who would get the Christmas number one, Fretwell was determined to remain in the spirit of the occasion and have some fun with the release.
“The label called me up and said they would like me to do a Christmas single, which to me just sounded like the most preposterous idea, me doing a Christmas single” laughs Fretwell. “But I think that it is nice to give people something free at Christmas.”
Managing to rope in old buddies Elbow to help him with the recording ‘O Christmas Tree’ is a ramshackle of a single full of the true meaning of Christmas and is just the thing you need to get you through those post-Christmas blues.
“I gave them a bottle of whiskey and got them to stand around in the studio singing the song as funnily as they could,” recants Fretwell. “I sent it to the label thinking that they wouldn’t issue it, that they would think it was just a joke, but they put it out. They clearly liked it.”
Following his performance at XFM’s Manchester’s Winter Wonderland, a night which saw Fretwell share a stage with the like of The Cribs, The Courteeners, The Ting Tings, Starsailor, and rock royalty The Charlatans, Fretwell was keen to get himself back out on the road promoting his new album.
“My friend owns Manchester’s Night & Day and I asked him if I could do a couple of shows there in the new year, just to play some new songs for a bit of fun really more than anything else. My agent caught wind of it and said with the single coming out we should really do a couple of shows in London as well, and so that’s how the tour came about.”
Kicking off at the Day & Night Bar on the 16th of January, in Fretwell’s adopted home of Manchester, the Scunthorpe-born singer-songwriter will then be taking on London’s Luminare and The Troubadour on the 21st and 28th of January, respectively. Honouring the cancellation of two previous dates from his last tour Fretwell will also be heading off to Belfast’s The Limelight on the 25th, and Dublin’s The Sugar Club on the 26th of January. To conclude his tour Fretwell will return home to play the Day & Night Bar again on the 30th of January.
Appearances at XFM’s Winter Wonderland aside, Fretwell’s upcoming tour will be the first chance his fans will have had to catch him since October 2007. Then Fretwell had just retuned from a brief spell in New York, during which time he was able to work and generally hang out with one of his own personal heroes, former Girls Against Boys bass and keyboard player now turned producer, Eli Janney (Garbage, Ryan Adams).
“I have pretty much got the next record ready to record now”
On his return to the UK Fretwell brought with him ‘Man On The Roof’ (released 10th September), his second album in three years. “I didn’t take three years to do it,” explains Fretwell. “I just got on with normal life and then suddenly I realised that I had enough songs to do another album, and so I did it.”
“New York is a cool city,” he continues, “a nice city to live and work in but a lot seems to have been made of the fact that we made the album there. You can make albums anywhere really. You can make an album in your bedroom these days, which is a lot better because you don’t run away with yourself. You’re not panicking about the money all the time which can get on top of you a bit if you over spend on a recording budget.”
Finding a friend in Eli Janney, who would eventually agreed to produce Fretwell’s second record, Fretwell describes him as a man he could trust to tell him what was good and what was awful when showing him the tunes he had been casually penning whilst exploring his new surroundings.
“Eli Janney is just a really good producer,” enthuses Fretwell. “I’ve always liked the work he has done before and I really got on with him so I just thought that working with him was a good thing to do. I knew that he would push me to get the best results out of me. Everyone needs that sometimes don’t they? Someone to jig them a bit and to get them into doing some stuff.”
The fruit of their labours produced ‘Man On The Roof’, an album recorded on the cheap at, Smashing Pumpkins’ guitarist, James Iha’s own studio, and which gifted Fretwell with even more acclaim than his last.
“I was a bit gob smacked,” says Fretwell, with a genuine air of disbelief. “I thought everyone would have their knifes out for me because I did so well on the last album. But I was totally blown away with how many good reviews there were of it, and how many people have accepted it as a good album. It just blew me away and I am really proud of that.”
Despite his shock at the response he received it would seem that Fretwell is keen to play down his successes. Not one for resting on his laurels getting him to discuss his previous achievements proved almost impossible. Instead Fretwell is looking forward, having decided to focus on the bigger picture he is already planning his next record.
“I don’t really want such a big gap this time. I have pretty much got the next record ready to record now,” says Fretwell, suddenly turning pensive, his voice taking on the austere sound of a man with a goal. “I have written all the songs and I am just looking for a studio at the moment to do it. So maybe after this next song,” he promises.
Using songs that he wrote whilst in New York, in-between sessions recording ‘Man On The Roof’, fans can be reasonably confident that Fretwell’s third record will see him offer them even more of his unique brand of well-worn, melodic, melancholy tales of observation. However, Fretwell is adamant that his best is yet to come. “I would like to think that I am progressing as a songwriter,” says Fretwell, wrapping up our short time together, “that is really what I am bothered about, just writing good songs.”
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‘Now’, the second single to be taken from Fretwell’s second album, ‘Man On The Roof’, is released on 7” vinyl and as a download on Monday 14th of January, 2008. ‘Now’ will be accompanied by the previously unreleased B-side ‘Corinna Corinna’.
Tour Dates:
16 January – Manchester, Night and Day
21 January – London, The Luminaire
25 January – Belfast, The Limelight
26 January – Dublin, The Sugar Club
28 January – London, The Troubadour
30 January – Manchester, Night and Day
