| Fred Again | |
| Birth Name: | Frederick John Philip Gibson |
| Birth Place: | Balham, South London, England |
| Origin: | London, England |
| Years Active: | 2010–present |
Frederick John Philip Gibson (born 19 July 1993),[1] known professionally as Fred Again (stylised as Fred again..) or simply Fred (stylised as FRED), is an English record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and DJ. He frequently collaborates with other artists and in 2024 was nominated for Best New Artist at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards and won Best Dance/Electronic Album for Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022) and Best Dance/Electronic Recording for "Rumble".
Born in 1993 in Balham, he is the second son of barrister Charles Anthony Warneford Gibson (born 1960),[2] and Mary Ann Frances née Morgan, elder daughter of Sir John Morgan and the Hon. Fionn O'Neill, who was the only daughter of the Anglo-Irish aristocrat and financier Shane, 3rd Baron O'Neill, and British socialite Ann née Charteris[3] (who married secondly Viscount Rothermere, and finally James Bond creator Ian Fleming).[3] Descended from Huntingdonshire gentry on his father's side, through his mother Fred's ancestry comprises the Earls of Dundonald, the Earls of Wemyss and March, the Marquess of Crewe, the Dukes of Somerset as well as other peerage and baronetage families.[4] [3]
Gibson attended the private boarding school Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England, between 2006 and 2011.[5] [6]
Aged 16, Gibson joined an a cappella group at the London studio of Brian Eno, who was his family's neighbour at the time.[7] [8] [9] In 2014, he collaborated as co-producer and songwriter with Eno and Karl Hyde on their two project albums Someday World and High Life (songwriter only). Also in 2014, Gibson participated in that year's Red Bull Music Academy, held in Tokyo, Japan.[10]
In June 2018, George Ezra's song "Shotgun", co-written by Gibson, reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart,[11] remaining in the top 3 for 12 consecutive weeks from 22 June[12] to 7 September.[13] Later, in the same year, Gibson was also credited with co-writing "Solo" by Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato, and gained further success with Rita Ora's song "Let You Love Me".[14] Gibson is credited with writing and/or producing 12 of 15 of Ed Sheeran's 2019 No.6 Collaborations Project, with credited songs featuring for a total of 14 weeks at No. 1 in the charts.[14]
Gibson won Producer of the Year at the Brit Awards 2020.[15] He is the youngest producer to ever win the title. The win was voted for by a group of industry-wide A&R executives and was then selected by the Music Producers' Guild.[16] [17]
In 2019, Gibson began a project titled Actual Life, in which he collects samples from various sources – such as voice memos, clips from social media, and music by other artists – and incorporates them into original tracks.[18] Gibson released the first of these albums, titled Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020), in April 2021, which he described as a "collaborative diary" reflecting his life experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] He released a follow-up, Actual Life 2 (February 2 - October 15 2021), later that year in November.[20] [21]
In July 2022, Gibson performed a set for Boiler Room in London, the third most-watched set on Boiler Room's YouTube Channel.[22] The same week, he released the single "Turn On the Lights again.." with Swedish House Mafia, which samples Future's 2012 single "Turn On the Lights".[23] [24] [25]
Gibson's third solo studio album, Actual Life 3 (January 1 - September 9 2022), was released on 28 October 2022.[26] It was preceded by five singles: "Danielle (Smile on My Face)", "Bleu (Better with Time)", "Kammy (Like I Do)", "Delilah (Pull Me Out of This)" and "Clara (The Night Is Dark)".
Gibson's debut tour, which ran between October 2022 and February 2023 stopped in Europe, America,[27] New Zealand and Australia.[28] Prior to this tour, he had done sporadic pop-up shows and festivals starting in late 2021, such as the above-mentioned Boiler Room and going B2B with Swedish House Mafia.[29]
In a TikTok stitch on 31 January 2023 with user "@maddysb99", Fred confirmed that his name "Fred Again.." came from a line (courtesy Doug Booth) in the live action movie Scooby-Doo where Fred, in the voice of Daphne says: "I'm Fred Again..".[30]
On 4 January 2023, Gibson and Skrillex released their collaboration "Rumble" featuring Flowdan.[31] Following this, Fred, Skrillex, and Four Tet played three more shows from 5–7 January across different London venues.[32]
On 18 February 2023, Gibson played at a sold-out Skrillex show alongside Four Tet at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Having announced the performance in the same week as the show, the trio played a warmup set in Times Square the day before.[33]
On 10 April 2023, Gibson appeared on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts.
On 24 April 2023, he, alongside Skrillex and Four Tet, played the final set of Coachella after being listed on the lineup as "TBA", a last-minute addition following the departure of Frank Ocean.[34]
On 23 June 2023, Gibson made his first appearance at Glastonbury Festival.[35] [36]
On 8 December 2023, Gibson released "Leavemealone" featuring Baby Keem.
On 28 February 2024, Gibson released "Stayinit" featuring Lil Yachty and Overmono.
On 31 May 2024, Gibson and Anderson .Paak released "Places to Be" featuring Chika.
See main article: Fred Again discography.
Studio albums
Collaborative albums
| Year | Awards | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Ivor Novello Awards | "Cargo" (Roots Manuva) | Best Contemporary Song | [37] [38] |
| 2018 | A&R Awards | Fred Again | Songwriter of the Year | [39] |
| 2019 | Ivor Novello Awards | "Shotgun" (George Ezra) | PRS For Music Most Performed Work | [40] [41] |
| 2020 | Brit Awards | Fred Again | Producer of the Year | [42] |
| 2021 | Grammy Awards | "Both Of Us" (Jayda G) | Best Dance Recording | [43] |
| 2022 | Brit Awards | Fred Again | Best Dance Act | [44] |
| DJ Mag Best of British Awards | Best Live Act | [45] | ||
| Grammy Awards | "Bad Habits" (Ed Sheeran) | Song of the Year | [46] | |
| Libera Awards | "Stay High again.." | Best Dance Record | [47] | |
| Ivor Novello Awards | "Don't Judge Me" | Best Contemporary Song | Nominated [48] | |
| 2023 | Brit Awards | Fred Again | Artist of the Year | |
| Dance Act | ||||
| Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022) | Album of the Year | |||
| A&R Awards | Fred Again | Producer of the Year | ||
| Songwriter of the Year | ||||
| "Adore U" | Song of the Year | |||
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Fred Again | Best New Artist | |
| "Strong" | Best Dance/Electronic Recording | |||
| "Rumble" | ||||
| Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022) | Best Dance/Electronic Album | |||
| Ivor Novello Award | Enough | Best Contemporary Song | Nominated [49] |