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Jack Savoretti

Jools welcomes Jack Savoretti to the studio to play live with the band and pick some favourite records.

Jack Savoretti guests, playing live with the band and picking his favourite records

Four years ago, Jack Savoretti quit making music. He'd had enough - of scratching a living as an independent artist, of business bust-ups, of being touted as a soon-to-be star. He'd spent two years (and all of his savings) in legal dispute with a former manager and seen the release of his second album so botched it barely came out. He was 26 and recently married, with a baby on the way. "I thought that was my run, I'd had fun and now it was time to get a proper job," says Savoretti. "I was done with music and, honestly, I didn't mind."

What happened next couldn't have surprised the singer more. "As soon as I said, 'stop this', I couldn't stop writing," he recalls. "I wrote out of anger, although the songs were more of a cry for help. It was the best, most personal music I'd ever made. I realised I had really learnt how to write, how to express exactly what was in my head."

That album, 2011's critically-acclaimed 'Before The Storm', saw Savoretti turn a corner. That he was an exceptional singer was never in dispute - those gorgeous, gritty, soul-soaked vocals that caused such a fuss when he first emerged and saw his DIY debut, 2007's 'Between The Minds', championed by Radio 2 - but by his own admission, his early work was him finding his feet.

'Before The Storm' reignited Savoretti's passion, taught him how to put himself in his songs and, crucially, led him to the musicians who helped him helm 'Written In Scars', his impressive new album and his first to be released by a major label.

57 minutes

Last on

Mon 2 May 2016 23:00
BBC Radio 2

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Music Played

  • Tampa Red

    I'm Going To Put You Down

    • The Unsung King Of Blues.
    • Ace.
    • 11.

  • Professor Longhair

    Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand

    • Heavy Sugar - Second Spoonful.
    • Fantastic Voyage.
    • 9.

  • Brownie McGhee

    Gin Headed Woman

    • The Sony Terry & Brownie McGhee Story - Whoopin The Blues.
    • Properbox.
    • 19.

  • Max Miller

    Max at the Met

    • There'll Never Be Another.
    • Pulse.
    • 5.

  • Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Band

    Sally Zuzass

  • LaVern Baker

    Shadows Of Love

    • R&B Spotlight 60 (60 Rhythm & Blues Hits.
    • Fantastic Voyage.
    • 1.

  • Jack Savoretti

    Catapult

    • (CD Single).
    • BMG.
    • 001.

  • Paul Simon

    Mother and Child Reunion

    • The Paul Simon Anthology (Disc 1).
    • Warner Bros.
    • 1.

  • Jack Savoretti & Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Band

    I Got A Woman

  • J.J. Cale

    The Problem

    • To Tulsa & Back.
    • Blue Note.
    • 6.

  • Jack Savoretti

    Home

    • (CD Single).
    • BMG Chrysalis.

Broadcast

  • Mon 2 May 2016 23:00
    BBC Radio 2