Jack Garratt Explained

Jack Garratt
Birth Name:Jack Robert Garratt
Birth Date:1991 10, df=yes
Birth Place:High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England
Occupation:Singer-songwriter
Years Active:2005–present
Label:Island Records

Jack Robert Garratt (born 11 October 1991) is an English singer, songwriter and composer from Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire. He released his debut studio album Phase on 19 February 2016. At the 2016 Brit Awards he received the Critics' Choice Award.

Early life

Jack Robert Garratt was born 11 October 1991 in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.[1] [2] His mother was a primary school music teacher and his father was a police officer. He grew up in the village of Little Chalfont.[3] About his childhood he has stated that: "I just really enjoyed making noises and really enjoyed the reaction that I got from making those noises. So they [parents] put me on music lessons to encourage me to hone in on that talent rather than show off." He wrote his first song when he was 12 and learned to play a variety of instruments from the guitar, drums and piano to the harmonica, mandolin, trombone and ukulele. He attended St Clement Danes School in Chorleywood and the University of Roehampton in London, which he left after his first year.

Career

Junior Eurovision 2005

In September 2005, Jack entered the UK national selection for that year's Junior Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Belgium.[4] On the night Jack's song "The Girl" finished 8/8 with just 13 points. He has since said "That was the first time I tried to achieve anything as a musician but my intentions were wrong. I did it more for attention rather than for a love of what I was doing."[5]

2009–2013

Jack Garratt went to university to train to be a teacher. He signed to an independent record label and began working on an album with the title Nickel and Dime.[6] The music was acoustic blues music.[7] He was played on BBC Three Counties Radio in March 2012 as part of BBC Introducing.[8]

He abandoned the album when he realised that "I wasn't proud of the songs I was writing, and I was performing the music because I liked the way that people reacted rather than because I was proud of the songs." He dropped out of university and "had a real self-destructive moment" and has said that "I felt like I was going through a quarter or a midlife crisis, but I was not even 20." He decided to write music "with a totally different level of respect and integrity" and spent a year writing new songs.

2014–2016: Phase

On 28 October 2014, Jack released his first extended play, Remnants, and a remix EP, Remnix. On 28 November 2014 he released the single "The Love You're Given". His 2014 single "Worry" was playlisted by BBC Radio 1, and he headlined the BBC Introducing stage of the Reading and Leeds Festivals.He also headlined at the Lost Village Festival in Lincoln in 2016. On 27 September 2015 he performed at the Apple Music Festival which took place at The Roundhouse, London. Garratt supported Mumford and Sons on their 2015 UK tour, playing at 13 events at 9 arenas across the UK and Ireland. He was the winner of the Critics' Choice category at the 2016 Brit Awards, BBC Sound of 2016 poll and is on MTV's Brand New 2016 shortlist. He released his debut studio album Phase on 19 February 2016.In February 2016 he played his single "Worry" during the Italian show "Che tempo che fa".[9]

2017–2021: Hiatus and Love, Death and Dancing

After finishing touring Phase at the end of 2016, over the next year Jack recorded a new album, which he ultimately scrapped, saying that "It was trash. It was awful. It was all bad. I wasn't willing to accept myself in that moment, so I wasn't willing to have a good idea."[10] He then took time off to deal with the anxiety and self-doubt that he was feeling as a result of the attention and scrutiny that had come with the success and awards for his previous album.[11] [12] He then met with record producer Jacknife Lee, and together they began working on recording new music. On 6 February 2020, his new single "Time" premiered as the "Hottest Record" on Annie Mac's Future Sounds show on BBC Radio 1.[13] The song features as the opening track on his new EP Love, Death and Dancing (Vol. 1) which was released on the same day.[14] This EP makes up part of Garratt's second album Love, Death and Dancing, which was released on 12 June 2020.

2022–present

In 2022 Jack released a new single - "Just How I Like It", and followed up with "No Good Without You" in 2023. In March 2023 Jack performed live in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton and London, and has confirmed a number of festivals later in the year.On the 26th of May 2023 the song "Hands Go up" will be released.

Discography

Studio albums

TitleDetailsPeak chart positionsCertifications
UK
[15]
AUS
[16]
BEL (FL)
[17]
BEL (WA)
[18]
GERITA
[19]
NL
[20]
NZ
[21]
SWI
[22]
US
[23]
Phase
  • Released: 19 February 2016
  • Label: Island Records
  • Formats: CD, digital download, streaming
3 9 18 88 28 63 21 37 7 127
Love, Death & Dancing
  • Released: 12 June 2020
  • Label: Island Records
  • Formats: CD, digital download, streaming
8
"—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

TitleDetails
Remnants
  • Released: 28 October 2014
  • Label: Island Records
  • Formats: Digital download
Remnix
  • Released: 28 October 2014
  • Label: Island Records
  • Formats: Digital download
BBC Music: Huw Stephens Session
  • Released: 11 April 2015
  • Label: Island Records
  • Formats: Digital download
Synesthesiac
  • Released: 12 April 2015
  • Label: Island Records
  • Formats: Digital download
Apple Music Festival: London 2015
  • Released: 14 October 2015
  • Label: Island Records
  • Formats: Digital download
Love, Death & Dancing (Vol. 1)
  • Released: 6 February 2020
  • Label: Island Records
  • Formats: Digital download
Love, Death & Dancing (Vol. 2)
  • Released: 20 April 2020
  • Label: Island Records
  • Formats: Digital download
Hands Go Up
  • Released: 26 May 2023
  • Label: Bubinga Limited
  • Formats: Digital download

Singles

TitleYearPeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbum
UK
BEL (FL)
ITA
[25]
US
AAA

[26]
"The Love You're Given"2014Phase
"Chemical"2015
"Weathered"173
"Breathe Life"183 42
"Worry"[27] 67 84 64 18
"Surprise Yourself"[29] 2016
"Far Cry"[30] 74
"Time"[31] 2020Love, Death & Dancing
"Better"[32]
"Circles"[33]
"Just How I Like It"2022Hands Go Up
"No Good Without You"2023
"Hands Go Up"
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Songwriting and production credits

TitleYearArtist(s)AlbumCreditsWritten withProduced with
"Foreign Fields"2015Kacy HillBloo EPCo-writer/producerKacy Hill
"Power"2017Katy PerryWitnessCo-writer/co-producerKatheryn Hudson, William RobinsonMailbox

Awards and nominations

YearOrganisationAwardWorkResult
2015BBCIntroducing Artist of the Year[34]
BRIT AwardsCritics' Choice Award[35]
MTV UKBrand New for 2016[36]
BBCSound of 2016[37]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jack Garratt – England & Wales Births 1837–2006 . Genes Reunited. 13 January 2016.
  2. News: BBC Sound of 2016 winner Jack Garratt: The story so far. BBC News. 8 January 2016.
  3. Web site: BBC Music Sound Of, 2016 – 1st Jack Garratt. BBC Radio 1. 13 January 2016.
  4. Web site: Jack Garratt tops BBC 'Sound of 2016'. Junior Eurovision. 8 January 2016.
  5. News: Jack Garratt: Nine things you probably didn't know about the Brits Critics' Choice winner. BBC Newsbeat. 27 November 2015.
  6. Web site: Jack Garratt Performs. DeeTV. 13 January 2016.
  7. Web site: Jack Garratt Interview. 22 June 2015. BurnFM.
  8. Web site: Jack Garratt: The Story So Far. BBC Radio 1. 13 January 2016.
  9. it.Wikipedia.org
  10. News: Savage. Mark. Jack Garratt on his three-year absence: 'I hated myself'. 2020-02-05. BBC News. 2020-02-08. en-GB.
  11. Web site: Jack Garratt announces new album of "dance music for people who don't want to go out" Complete Music Update. 2020-02-08.
  12. Web site: Jack Garratt returns after four-year hiatus with visceral new song 'Time'. 2020-02-06. NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs NME.COM. en-GB. 2020-02-08.
  13. Web site: BBC Radio 1 - Radio 1's Future Sounds with Annie Mac, The return of Jack Garratt. BBC. en-GB. 2020-02-08.
  14. Web site: Jack Garratt releases volume 1 of forthcoming album Love, Death and Dancing. Smither. Tanis. Hotpress. 2020-02-08.
  15. Peak positions in the United Kingdom:
  16. Web site: Discography Jack Garratt. Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Hung. Steffen. 1 March 2016.
  17. Web site: Discografie Jack Garratt. Belgium (Flanders) Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Hung. Steffen.
  18. Web site: Discographie Jack Garratt. Belgium (Wallonia) Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Hung. Steffen.
  19. Web site: Discography Jack Garratt. Italian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Hung. Steffen.
  20. Web site: Discografie Jack Garratt. Dutch Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Hung. Steffen.
  21. Web site: Discography Jack Garratt. New Zealand Charts Portal. Hung Medien. 29 February 2016.
  22. Web site: Discographie Jack Garratt. Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien. 2 March 2016.
  23. Jack Garratt – Chart history: Billboard 200 . . 1 March 2016.
  24. Web site: Certified Awards. British Phonographic Industry. 22 February 2024. To access, enter the search parameter "Jack Garratt" and select "Search".
  25. Web site: Top Digital – Classifica settimanale WK 6 (dal 5 February 2016 al 2016-02-11). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. 12 February 2016.
  26. Jack Garratt – Chart History: Triple A . Billboard . 14 June 2017.
  27. Web site: Worry (Remixes) - Single by Jack Garratt. Apple Music. 2 July 2020.
  28. Web site: 2017 Italian certifications for Jack Garratt – FIMI. Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. it. 27 February 2017.
  29. Web site: Surprise Yourself (Remixes) - Single by Jack Garratt. Apple Music. 2 July 2020.
  30. Web site: Far Cry (feat. Little Simz) - Single by Jack Garratt. Apple Music. 2 July 2020.
  31. Web site: Time (Radio Edit) – Single by Jack Garratt in Apple Music . Apple Music GB . 5 February 2020 . 6 February 2020.
  32. Web site: Better (Radio Edit) – Single by Jack Garratt in Apple Music . Apple Music GB . 20 April 2020 . 6 February 2020.
  33. Web site: Circles - Single by Jack Garratt. Apple Music. 2 July 2020.
  34. Web site: BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year. BBC. 10 November 2015.
  35. Web site: Jack Garratt wins Brits Critics Choice 2016. The Daily Telegraph. 27 November 2015.
  36. Web site: MTV's Brand New for 2016 shortlist revealed. MTV. 25 November 2015.
  37. Web site: Jack Garratt tops BBC Sound of 2016 list. BBC. 8 January 2016.