Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987)
is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from
Paisley. Nutini's debut album, ''
These Streets'' (2006), peaked at number three on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. Its follow-up, ''
Sunny Side Up'' (2009), debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. Both albums have been
certified
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
quintuple platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...
.
Five years later, Nutini released his third studio album, ''
Caustic Love
''Caustic Love'' is the third studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini, released on 14 April 2014 by Atlantic Records. After releasing his critically and commercially successful album '' Sunny Side Up'' (2009), Nutini toured for t ...
'', in April 2014. The album received positive reviews from music critics. ''Caustic Love'' debuted at number one on the UK Album Charts and was certified platinum by the
BPI in June 2014.
While Nutini has not formally addressed it, he was on a hiatus from 2017 to May 2022, when he announced his fourth album, ''
Last Night in the Bittersweet''.
Among other accolades, Nutini has received three
BRIT Award nominations and an
Ivor Novello Award nomination for songwriting. In July 2014, he was referred to by the
BBC as "arguably Scotland's biggest musician right now."
Early life
Nutini was born in Paisley, Scotland, and has a younger sister. His father, Alfredo, is a Scot of Italian descent from
Barga in Tuscany, while his mother, Linda, is
Scottish. He was expected to follow his father into the family fish and chip shop business.
As a child he attended
PACE Youth Theatre. He was first encouraged to sing by his music-loving grandfather, Giovanni "Jackie" Nutini, and a teacher at his school,
St Andrews Academy, who recognised his talent.
Nutini left school to work as a
roadie and to sell t-shirts for Scottish band
Speedway. He spent three years learning the music business and performing live. He later worked as a studio hand at Glasgow's Park Lane Studio. It was here where he started demo-ing songs, writing with Jim Duguid and the drummer of Speedway.
His big chance came when his younger family member signed him up to his first live show
102.5 Clyde 1 for
David Sneddon's return to his home town of Paisley at the beginning of 2003. Sneddon was delayed, and as the winner of an impromptu pop quiz, Nutini was given the chance to perform a couple of songs on stage during the wait. The favourable reaction of the crowd impressed another member of the audience, Brendan Moon, who offered to become his manager with his business partner, Mike Bawden. Mike Bawden continues to manage Nutini.
At 17, Nutini moved to London and performed regularly at
The Bedford pub in
Balham with local Singer-Songwriter Charlie Wallis. Other radio and live appearances followed, including two live acoustic spots on
Radio London,
The Hard Rock Cafe, and support slots for
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...
,
Amy Winehouse and
KT Tunstall. Nutini became known for singing with his eyes closed during his entire performances.
Career
''These Streets'' (2005–2007)
Nutini made his first demo which saw him signed to
Atlantic Records in May 2005, shortly after his 18th birthday. He released his first single "These Streets" as a free download in May 2006; this was then followed by his next single "
Last Request" which was released on 4 July 2006 and charted at number five on the UK Singles Chart.
In the video for "Last Request", Nutini plays the part of a robber – though this is not revealed until the end.
Nutini's third single, "
Jenny Don't Be Hasty", was released on 25 September 2006 and got to number twenty on the UK Singles Chart. "
Rewind" was Nutini's fourth single. It was released on 4 December 2006, and reached number twenty seven on the UK Singles Chart.
Nutini's debut album ''
These Streets'', produced by
Ken Nelson (who has also worked with
Coldplay and
Gomez), was released on 17 July 2006 and immediately entered the UK album charts at number three. Many of the songs on the album, including "Last Request" and "Rewind", were inspired by a turbulent relationship with his former girlfriend Teri Brogan, and "Jenny Don't Be Hasty" is a true story about encounters with an older woman.
Commenting on ''These Streets'', Nutini himself states on his official website, "The album is a little glimpse of some of the experiences I have been through in the last three years". In late 2007, Nutini covered
Labi Siffre's "
It Must Be Love" for
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...
's ''
Radio 1 Established 1967'' album.
Throughout 2006, Nutini played a number of sold-out concerts across Britain and performed at a wide variety of venues worldwide, including
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, a TV appearance on
Later with Jools Holland,
Carnegie Hall in New York, The
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...
, The
Wireless Festival,
Oxegen and
T in the Park. He supported
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...
in Vienna and was invited to appear with them again at the
Don Valley Stadium in August 2006 and was also booked to appear at the
V Festival and The
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-bas ...
, Texas, later in 2006, with a European tour in the autumn. In May 2006, Nutini also played at
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...
's
Big Weekend
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...
in Dundee.
Nutini performed at the
Glastonbury Festival in June 2007 on the famous Pyramid Stage on the second day of the event. Nutini also performed at the
British leg of
Live Earth at
Wembley Stadium on 7 July 2007, with his set including a cover of "
What A Wonderful World", a classic pop tune by
Bob Thiele,
George David Weiss, and George Douglas. He performed the following day at
T in the Park, in Scotland. He performed at the
Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert
The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at the O2 Arena in London on 10 December 2007. The headline act was the English rock band Led Zeppelin, who performed their first full-l ...
on 10 December 2007, an event that drew enormous international attention as it was the first full live concert performance by
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...
in 27 years. Scottish independent TV company Volt MediaFix made a one-off documentary of Nutini's US tour. The programme, for the BBC, was scheduled for broadcast on BBC2, on Thursday 7 June throughout Scotland and on Sky channel 990 throughout the rest of Britain.
''Sunny Side Up'' (2009–2011)
On 1 June 2009, Nutini released his second studio album ''
Sunny Side Up'', which debuted at number one. The first single from the album, "
Candy", was released on 25 May. In July, he appeared on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'', performing "
Coming Up Easy". This was released as the second single to the album on 10 August and it debuted at number 62 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
on 16 August 2009.
On 10 September 2009, Nutini performed "Coming Up Easy" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. The third single from the album was "
Pencil Full of Lead
"Pencil Full of Lead" is a song by Scottish recording artist Paolo Nutini. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2009 as the third single from his second studio album, '' Sunny Side Up'' (2009). A music video of the song ha ...
".
The album received a mixed critical reception. Some noted the move away from the sound of the debut album.
[Jurek, Thom " ''Sunny Side Up'' Review, ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation] Neil McCormick of ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' was also positive, stating "his joyous second album organically blends soul, country, folk and the brash, horny energy of ragtime swing."
[McCormick, Neil (2009)]
Paolo Nutini: Sunny Side Up, CD review
, ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'', 29 May 2009 Some reviewers were less impressed. It was described by ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
s Caroline Sullivan as "not bad", with opening track "10/10" described as "jaunty enough to make you retch".
[Sullivan, Caroline (2009)]
Paolo Nutini: Sunny Side Up
, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'', 29 May 2009
The album debuted at number one on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
with sales of over 60,000 copies, fighting off strong competition from ''
Love & War'', the debut album of fellow male solo artist
Daniel Merriweather. The album performed similarly well on the
Irish Albums Chart, debuting at number two behind
Eminem's new album before rising to the top of the charts the week after. The album has been one of the best UK album sales of the year. On the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
on the week of Monday 19 October, the album went from number 31 to number 5, making the album sell more than
The Saturdays' second album. On 3 January 2010 ''
Sunny Side Up'' topped the
UK Album Charts for a second time, making the album the first Number one album in the United Kingdom of 2010 and the decade.
''Caustic Love'' (2013–2016)
In December 2013, it was revealed that Nutini had recorded a third album called ''
Caustic Love
''Caustic Love'' is the third studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini, released on 14 April 2014 by Atlantic Records. After releasing his critically and commercially successful album '' Sunny Side Up'' (2009), Nutini toured for t ...
'', which was released on 14 April 2014. The album's first single "
Scream (Funk My Life Up)" was released on 27 January. ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' newspaper described the album as, "an unqualified success: ''Caustic Love'' may be the best UK R&B album since the 1970s blue-eyed-soul heyday of Rod Stewart and Joe Cocker". It was selected on 8 December 2014 by Apple to become the Best Album in iTunes' 'Best of 2014'. An 18-month tour following the release of ''Caustic Love'' saw Nutini perform in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
In October 2014 Nutini was forced to pull out of shows in his hometown of Glasgow, Cardiff and London due to tonsillitis.
In August 2015 Nutini headlined a sold-out show to 35,000 people at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow.
After extensive touring in 2015 in support of ''Caustic Love'', Nutini took a hiatus in 2016 although he performed an emotional tribute in memory of a Welsh fan in Newport, Wales on 20 July.
On 20 September 2016 it was announced that Nutini would headline the Concert in the Gardens, the flagship event of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
's
Hogmanay street party, on New Year's Eve 2016/2017.
Tickets were sold out in a record-breaking three hours leading to an unprecedented second show (named "The Night Afore") being announced for 30 December.
''Last Night in the Bittersweet'' (2022–present)
Over eight years following the release of ''Caustic Love'', Nutini announced on 11 May 2022 that his fourth studio album, ''
Last Night in the Bittersweet'', would be released on 1 July 2022. Alongside the announcement, he released two songs from the album, titled "Through the Echoes" and "Lose It". On 8 July 2022, he headlined
TRNSMT festival.
Media appearances
On Hogmanay 2006, Nutini appeared on
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Irela ...
's
Hogmanay Live celebrations after the official celebrations in
Princes Street Gardens were cancelled at short notice due to abysmal weather. He performed several songs in the Great Hall of
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...
for the TV audience with little or no rehearsal. On Wednesday 11 April 2007, Nutini performed in a concert that was streamed live via MSN Music.
Nutini's songs have infiltrated American TV shows as well. "Last Request" featured at the end of the ''
Scrubs'' episode "
My Words of Wisdom
The sixth season of the American comedy television series ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs'' premiered on NBC on November 30, 2006 and concluded on May 17, 2007 and consists of 22 episodes. The series moved to Thursdays at 9:00 pm as a part of NBC's C ...
" from Season 6, the first-ever episode of ''
Gavin & Stacey'' and the ''
One Tree Hill'' Season-4 episode "The Birth and Death of the Day." "Million Faces" could be heard at the end of the ''
Grey's Anatomy'' episode "
Testing 1–2–3" from Season 3 and is on the
Volume 3 Soundtrack. "Rewind" was played at the end of ''
CSI: Miami
''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Detec ...
'' Season-5 episode "Broken Home." "Jenny, Don't Be Hasty" was also featured on another member of the
''CSI'' franchise when it played on ''
CSI: NY
''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for a total of nine season ...
s Season-3-finale, "
Snow Day". "New Shoes" featured in ''
The Jane Austen Book Club'' and in a TV ad for
Puma AG during summer 2008. "One Day" from the Caustic Love album was featured near the end of NBC's "State of Affairs" Season 1 Episode 7 in January 2014. "
Iron Sky" was played in ''
Elementary'' Season-3 episode "End of Watch."
On 24 July 2007, Nutini was awarded The Golden St Christopher medal by the city of
Barga in Italy, the highest honour the city can give, to celebrate his extraordinary contributions to Barga and its people. On 18 September, Nutini performed "
Last Request" on ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''. In September 2007, Nutini recorded a short radio show with
imeem
The online service imeem was a social media website where users interacted with each other by streaming, uploading and sharing music and music videos. It operated from 2003 until 2009 when it was shut down after being acquired by MySpace.
The ...
.com where he listed his top 10 favourite tracks and the reasons behind his choices. In October 2007, Nutini performed for the annual Voodoo Fest held in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2008, Nutini's music was featured in a
movie adaptation
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
of
Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel ''
Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance''.
On New Year's Eve 2008–09, Nutini performed at the
Hogmanay street parties in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland, becoming the first act to play both locations on the same day for the event. In
The View's 2009 album ''
Which Bitch?'', he is featured singing on the song "Covers." Nutini appeared in the 2011 documentary "Reggae Got Soul: The Story of
Toots and the Maytals
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
...
" which was featured on
BBC and described as "The untold story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica".
On 27 July 2012, Nutini sang at the
London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Concert in London's Hyde Park, along with
Duran Duran,
Snow Patrol and
Stereophonics.
Personal life
Nutini had an 8-year on-again, off-again relationship with Scottish marketing graduate and model Teri Brogan. The pair met at St Andrew's Academy in Paisley and started dating when they were 15. After their split, he was romantically involved with Irish TV presenter and model
Laura Whitmore
Laura Whitmore (born 4 May 1985) is an Irish media personality and model based in London. She was a video jockey for MTV in 2008, and has since presented television shows, such as ''This Morning'' (2014), ''Survival of the Fittest'' (2018) an ...
. Nutini had a relationship with English actress and model
Amber Anderson
Amber Felicity Rose Anderson (born 5 March 1992) is a British actress, pianist and model. On television, she is known for her roles as Ciara Porter in the crime drama ''Strike'' (2017) and Diana Mitford in the sixth series of ''Peaky Blinders'' ...
from 2014 until 2016.
Nutini stated in a June 2014 interview that he has smoked
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
every day of his life since the age of sixteen. Nutini also has an Honorary Doctorate from his hometown university in Paisley, the
University of the West of Scotland.
On 22 February 2015, a biography about Nutini was published under the title ''Paolo Nutini: Coming Up Easy''. The biography was written by the author Colin MacFarlane.
As of 2017, Nutini was living in his home town of Paisley, and he performed karaoke there in 2019.
In July 2019, Paolo donated over £10,000 to the charity Tiny Changes by buying and raffling off the
Chewbacca mask worn on stage by fellow Scottish musician
Lewis Capaldi
Lewis Marc Capaldi ( ; born 7 October 1996) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. He was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards. In March 2019, his single " Someone You Loved" topped the UK Singles Chart where ...
at
TRNSMT.
Paolo is a lifelong supporter of Celtic FC.
Discography
* ''
These Streets'' (2006)
* ''
Sunny Side Up'' (2009)
* ''
Caustic Love
''Caustic Love'' is the third studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini, released on 14 April 2014 by Atlantic Records. After releasing his critically and commercially successful album '' Sunny Side Up'' (2009), Nutini toured for t ...
'' (2014)
* ''
Last Night in the Bittersweet'' (2022)
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nutini, Paolo
1987 births
Scottish rock guitarists
Scottish male guitarists
21st-century Scottish male singers
Scottish people of Italian descent
Scottish rock singers
Living people
Musicians from Paisley, Renfrewshire
Scottish singer-songwriters
Italian British musicians
Italian Scottish musicians
Atlantic Records artists
People educated at St Andrew's Academy, Paisley
Ivor Novello Award winners
People of Tuscan descent
British soul singers
Third British Invasion artists
21st-century Scottish male musicians