Jack Garratt

Jack Garratt Artistfacts

  • October 11, 1991
  • Jack Garratt was raised in the Buckinghamshire village of Little Chalfont by his primary school music teacher mother and policeman father, who is also a keen amateur guitarist.
  • He was an attention-seeking child, a streak which his parents tried to channel into activities like acting and singing. "I would sing around the house and I would always play on things just because instruments were always there, but I didn't show any genius as a child. I wasn't a prodigy or anything like that," Garratt told the BBC.

    "I just really enjoyed making noises and really enjoyed the reaction that I got from making those noises. So they put me on music lessons to encourage me to hone in on that talent rather than show off."
  • Garratt learned to play a variety of instruments as a youngster and was especially adept at the piano and guitar. He wrote his first song at the age of 12 and the youngster's early influences were classic singer-songwriters like Jackson Browne and Tom Waits - "just fantastic characters who could really show off their craft on these two beautiful instrument," he told The Independent.
  • In 2005, aged 14, Garratt won a place in the British finals of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, but his tune, "The Girl" finished last out of eight entries with just 13 points. "I had a massive afro. It was the most horrifying experience of my entire life," he recalled to the Evening Standard.
  • Garratt started studying for a teaching degree at London's Roehampton University in 2009 to follow in his mother's footsteps. He explained to The Sun: "I wanted to be a teacher because that is all I knew. It was a great course on primary school education, in which I could specialize in music, but I ended up dropping out after I was honest with myself about what I really wanted to do with my life.

    Teaching was a safety net if my music failed. So I decided to go for it, even though it wasn't easy. But I'm so glad I stuck with music. It's been difficult but I love what I do."
  • Garratt got his break after posting music to the BBC Introducing Uploader, which led to his first radio play on BBC Introducing in Beds, Herts and Bucks in March 2012.
  • Mumford & Sons handpicked Garratt as the support act on their 2015 UK tour.
  • Garratt was the winner of the Critics' Choice category at the 2016 Brit Awards (previous winners include Adele, Florence + The Machine, Ellie Goulding and Sam Smith) and the BBC Sound of 2016 poll.
  • Jack Garratt's unique selling point is his red prairie beard, which gives him the appearance of an Amish teacher.
  • Asked during a Reddit AMA how he starts writing a song, Jack Garrett replied: "I usually start with a beat. I find the lyrics will come to me once i get my head feeling a certain way."
  • Jack Garrett recalled his first gig at a location in Old Street, London during an interview with BBC's Newsbeat:

    "I actually did the gig under a different name because I'd already put a couple of songs out. I was testing out my live show as a solo artist for the first time ever. There were 20 people, four songs and I peed myself."

    "I can't tell you the false name I used because I still use it at certain places and nights."

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