Benjamin Francis Leftwich
Performing at Jersey Live in 2011.
Background information
Born (1989-09-04) 4 September 1989
OriginYork, England
GenresIndie folk, acoustic
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active2006–present
LabelsDirty Hit
Websitebenjaminfrancisleftwich.com

Benjamin Francis Leftwich (born 4 September 1989) is an English singer-songwriter from York. Leftwich released his first album Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm in 2011 which peaked at #35 on the UK charts. In February 2016 he announced his next album After the Rain on his Facebook page, released on 19 August 2016. Most recently, Leftwich has released four single cover-tracks: Pure Morning (Placebo), Rebellion (Lies) (Arcade Fire), When You Were Young (The Killers), and Because of Toledo (The Blue Nile).

Early life

Leftwich began playing at the age of ten and grew up listening to The Rolling Stones and Nina Simone; later discovering Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, and Elliott Smith. He cites Cher,[1] Arcade Fire, Ryan Adams, and Bruce Springsteen as inspirations.[2]

Education

Leftwich was educated at Hempland Primary School, and then at Bootham School.

Life and career

Leftwich's debut album, the Ian Grimble-produced Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm, was released in July 2011. The Fly called it "a majestic debut"[3] The Skinny,[4] while the Sunday Express called it "lovely".[5] Hazel Sheffield, writing in The Guardian, gave it a 3/5 rating,[6] as did David Pollock, writing for The Scotsman, who drew comparisons to Damien Rice and José González.[7] Leftwich's "Shine" was named Spotify's most addictive track of 2014,[8] the most repeat-played song of the year. Leftwich sold more than 100,000 copies of Last Smoke and received over 150 million global Spotify plays.[9] "Atlas Hands" was featured in Zillow's TV Commercial 'Lake House' in 2015[10] In this same year, Benjamin Francis Leftwich co-wrote "Grow" with British artist Frances which featured in the Amazon UK TV advert.[11]

His second album After the Rain, was released in August 2016. Performing songs off this album and his former, he toured extensively from April 2016 to August 2017, covering the UK, Canada, USA, China, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and throughout Asia (e.g., Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia).[12] Since 2011, Leftwich has gained 2,510,535 monthly listeners and over 219,000 followers on Spotify.[13]

Discography

Albums

Title Details Chart positions
UK
Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm 35
After the Rain
  • Released: 19 August 2016
  • Label: Dirty Hit
  • Format: CD, LP, digital download
 53
Gratitude
  • Released: 15 March 2019
  • Label: Dirty Hit
  • Format: CD, LP, digital download
 -
To Carry a Whale
  • Released: 18 June 2021
  • Label: Dirty Hit
  • Format: CD, LP, digital download
 -

EPs

Title Details
A Million Miles Out
  • Released: 24 October 2010
  • Label: Dirty Hit
  • Format: Digital download
Pictures
  • Released: 6 March 2011
  • Label: Dirty Hit
  • Format: Digital download
In the Open
  • Released: 19 October 2012
  • Label: Dirty Hit
  • Format: Digital download
Elephant
  • Released: 8 November 2019
  • Label: Dirty Hit
  • Format: Digital download

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
UK
[14]
2011 "Box of Stones" 195 Last Smoke Before
the Snowstorm
"Atlas Hands" —
2012 "Pictures" —
2014 "Shine" —
2016 "Tilikum" — After the Rain
"Mayflies" —
"Summer" —
"Groves" —
2017 "Pure Morning" cover —
"Rebellion (Lies)" cover —
"When You Were Young" cover —
"Because of Toledo" cover —

[15]

References

  1. ↑ Harding, Charlotte (11 March 2019). "Singer Benjamin Francis Leftwich talks touring and being influenced by Cher". Worthing Herald. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  2. ↑ "Benjamin Francis Leftwich reveals album inspirations", BBC, 30 June 2011, retrieved 2011-07-06
  3. ↑ "The domain www.the-fly.co.uk is registered by NetNames". Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  4. ↑ Buckle, Chris (2011) "Benjamin Francis Leftwich – Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm", The Skinny, 27 June 2011, retrieved 2011-07-06
  5. ↑ Heathcote, Charlotte (2011) "ALBUM REVIEW - BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH: LAST SMOKE BEFORE THE SNOW STORM (DIRTY HIT)", Sunday Express, 3 July 2011, retrieved 2011-07-06
  6. ↑ Sheffield, Hazel (2011) "Benjamin Francis Leftwich: Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm – review", The Guardian, 30 June 2011, retrieved 2011-07-06
  7. ↑ Pollock, David (2011) "Album review: Benjamin Francis Leftwich: Last smoke before the snowstorm", The Scotsman, 5 July 2011, retrieved 2011-07-07
  8. ↑ "Spotify Year In Music". www.spotify-yearinmusic.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  9. ↑ "CD review: Benjamin Francis Leftwich, After The Rain (Dirty Hit Records) ****". York Press. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "Zillow: Real Estate, Apartments, Mortgages & Home Values". Zillow. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  11. ↑ "Amazon Prime – Nursery". 28 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "Benjamin Francis Leftwich". www.benjaminfrancisleftwich.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "Benjamin Francis Leftwich". Spotify. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  14. ↑ "Chart" (TXT). Zobbel.de. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  15. ↑ "Benjamin Francis Leftwich shares 'After the Rain' with London | Graffiti. Punctuated". Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
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