Jake Morley (born 1 August 1983) is a British singer-songwriter, based in north London.

Early life

Morley grew up in

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,45 ...

, London. He learned guitar at an early age and began writing songs whilst at

Mill Hill County High School Mill Hill County High School is a large secondary school with academy status located in Mill Hill, London, England. It was the first comprehensive school in the United Kingdom to have had a student accepted on the Morehead-Cain merit scholars ...

in north west London. After studying law at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

for three years, Morley returned to London and started performing on the London

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether t ...

scene.

2008–2009

Morley began recording in 2008, and released of his first EP, ''This City'' later the same year. A popular artist on the London circuit, Morley played the MS Calling charity gig at the

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

where he met double bassist John Parker (formerly of

Nizlopi Nizlopi were an English folk and alternative duo formed in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, by Luke Concannon on vocals, guitar, and bodhrán, and John Parker on double bass, human beatbox, and backing vocals. History Formation The duo grew up ...

), drummer Harry Mead and sound engineer Phill Brown (

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles "Talk Talk" (1982), " It's My Life", and " S ...

Faithless Faithless are an English band that formed in 1995, with its core members being Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. Their first album, '' Reverence'', was released in 1996 and their most recent, '' All Blessed'', in 2020. They have sold milli ...

) who recorded and co-produced Morley's debut album. Also in attendance was Calum MacColl ( Rokia Traore /

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career s ...

/ Eddi Reader) who played guitar on and also co-produced the album.

2010 – ''Many Fish To Fry''

In January 2010 Morley, along with Phill Brown and Calum MacColl, started recording ''Many Fish To Fry''. With recording, mixing and over dubs continuing for a few months. Morley returned to live performances in March. In April 2010 secured a residency at

Ronnie Scott's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sco ...

playing once a month all the way through to December. Towards the end of 2010, Morley joined forces with Kerry Harvey-Piper, of

Red Grape Records Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

who took on the role of being his manager.

2011

Morley's debut album ''Many Fish To Fry'' was released in February 2011 on his own independent label. After a short UK tour, Morley held his album launch party at London's

Bush Hall Bush Hall is located at 310 Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. Originally a dance hall, it is now an independent music venue with a capacity of 400. Bush Hall was built in 1904. It was used as a soup kitchen during World War ...

, where his performance received much critical acclaim. In March 2011, Morley's debut single 'Feet Don't Fail Me Now' was played on

Dermot O'Leary Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr. (born 24 May 1973) is an English broadcaster who currently works for ITV and BBC Radio 2. His radio career began when he worked as a disc jockey at Essex Radio, but he is best known for being the presenter of ' ...

's Saturday afternoon

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...

show,. On 5 May Morley headlined the City Showcase after party at the

and later performed a live set on

Janice Long Janice Berry ( Chegwin; 5 April 1955 – 25 December 2021), known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio. In a career that spanned five decades, s ...

's show.

recommended 'Feet Don't Fail Me Now' as the featured live track of the week on

Jo Whiley Johanne Whiley-Morton (born 4 July 1965), better known by her professional name Jo Whiley, is an English radio DJ and television presenter. She was the host of the long-running weekday later weekend '' Jo Whiley Show'' on BBC Radio 1. She curre ...

's Radio 2 Live in Concert.

YouTube

Morley's video for 'This City' was included in a Best Guitarist on the Web video created by

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, N ...

2013–2015

Morley spent more than two years writing and recording his second album, ''The Manual,'' which was funded in part by a

Pledge Music PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

Campaign. It was produced by Calum MacColl (son of

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American folk singer. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years, and was married to the singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. First American period Seeger's father ...

and

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

and half brother to

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including " There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears H ...

) and released in September 2015.

Reviews

Luke Haines Power Trio

Morley plays bass guitar in the live band of

Luke Haines Luke Michael Haines (born 7 October 1967) is an English musician, songwriter and author. He has recorded music under various names and with various bands, including The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder. Career ''New Wave'' Hai ...

when the former leader of

The Auteurs The Auteurs were a British alternative rock band of the 1990s, and a vehicle for songwriter Luke Haines (guitar, piano and vocals). Several bands influenced by the Auteurs have taken their names from the band's songs. The Polish band Lenny V ...

performs as "The Luke Haines Power Trio".

Discography

Extended plays

Albums

Singles

References

External links

*
MySpaceSandwich Emporium Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Jake 1983 births Living people British male singer-songwriters 21st-century British singers 21st-century British male singers