Even if you haven’t heard of Scunthorpe-born singer-songwriter Stephen Fretwell, you will almost certainly have heard his music. That’s because his song Run – taken from his 2004 album Magpie – is the theme tune to the TV smash hit show Gavin & Stacey, and was apparently chosen by the show’s creator and star James Corden as he’s a big fan of Fretwell’s music.

Remarkably, given the sheer success of the show and, by extension, the song, Fretwell said recently that he was initially against Run being used. He’d been approached by a producer friend named Joe with the request, but admits in an interview with the BBC that "I was like, 'No, no, I don't wanna do that'.

"Then about two months later it came out and it had the song on it. I saw Joe a few nights later and I said to him, 'Hey that song is on that show' and he said, 'Yeah, it's great isn't it?' "I was like, 'I told you not to put that on that show'. And he was like, 'No, you said you wanted it on', and he was smirking at me.

"And... it's the best thing anyone's ever done for me."

Before that big break though, Fretwell had left his hometown to attend university in Manchester but dropped out after just a year and turned his attention to gigging around the city and releasing a series of self-financed EPs. Early shows at venues like The Roadhouse earned him a following, and support slots with the likes of Travis, KT Tunstall, Athlete and Keane followed, before he was signed by Fiction Records, who released Magpie and it’s follow up Man On The Roof in 2007.

Then, despite his burgeoning status, Fretwell simply walked away from music. By his own admission, he didn’t pick up a guitar for years, instead telling The Guardian in a recent interview that he devoted himself instead to raising his children. He also revealed that he started studying for his A-levels again with a view to studying law at university, and earned money washing pots in his local Wetherspoons.

Then something changed, and he decided to get back to music. Spending time in London gigging and recording wasn’t easy – he admits in The Guardian’s interview that his new album probably cost him his marriage. The record he ended up with is Busy Guy, and it was released this week. 

Opening track The Goshawk And The Gull is an atmospheric affair, Fretwell’s compressed guitar and almost terse vocals combining to create an intense feeling, and it filters through the record. It’s a painfully sad song, and one that perhaps sheds a little light on the toll the process of returning to music has had on Fretwell and his life.

Embankment and Oval take us on a tour through London, before The Long Water lands a heavy blow, with it’s powerful bass and absorbing chorus. Orange sparkles with a shiver of electric guitar, but is nevertheless a haunting number that seems to capture something of a fading love.

Despite the album’s genesis, there are moments of brightness and optimism on Busy Guy. Copper, for example, is a dizzying delight (“All at once the parachutes fall and now it is summer time”), and Green likewise raises a smile with its playful riff and breezy feel. Elsewhere, Almond – the album’s longest track at almost seven minutes – has a beguiling, almost Turin Brakes-esque quality, 

Busy Guy is a remarkably sparse record, with Fretwell and producer Dan Carey giving the songs room to exert their emotional weight, and it’s a decision that really works. Fretwell’s voice has, in truth, never sounded better, and his songwriting, always razor sharp, seems to have evolved even further over his period away. 

Not only has Fretwell returned to the studio, but he’s also promoting the record with a series of tour dates across the UK throughout the summer and autumn, and it feels like he is now back where he belongs.

I guess Wetherspoons' loss is our gain.

Busy Guy tracklist:

1. The Goshawk And The Gull
2. Remember
3. Embankment
4. Oval 
5. The Long Water
6. Orange 
7. Pink
8. Copper
9. Almond
10. Green

Watch the official music video for Oval here.

For tour dates and ticket information, see Stephen Fretwell’s official website. 

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.