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Gavin Thorpe – An introduction.

When Gavin Thorpe dreamt of recording at Abbey Road, he didn't envisage a chap in a cravat asking him cheesy questions. Still, the Bristol-based troubadour isn't complaining. Invited to sing six songs from his stunning debut, Pictures, in the infamous Studio 2 for internet radio station Worldspace's prestigious Abbey Road Sessions, Thorpe is in his element. Accompanied on piano, playing a battered acoustic guitar, his heart-stopping performance is simply sublime. When he closes with a heavenly cover of Justin Timberlake's Cry Me A River, even the show's puffed-up presenter is rendered speechless.

Afterwards, over a Guinness in a pub down the road, Thorpe calls the experience amazing.

"As soon as I walked in to Studio 2, I was in awe," he says. "You can feel the history in that room, almost see the Beatles standing where you are. Then, when I was about to sing, the presenter asked a question I didn't expect. That made me even more nervous."

Faced with an opening gambit of 'Tell me about Gavin Thorpe', the 29 year old handled himself with aplomb. But then Thorpe isn't entirely new to the music industry. Pictures may be his debut album, but six years ago, he was signed in the States by the late, great Ahmet Ertegun, who was struck by the scruffy lad with dreamy looks, whose easy melodies feel instantly familiar and whose warm voice is hypnotically soulful. Indeed, 'You got soul' is what Ertegun said after Thorpe played for the Atlantic boss in his office.

That what should have been Thorpe's first album never saw the light of a day is familiar tale of label politics, law suits and wasted opportunities. That it cost close to half a million dollars and was recorded in Jim Henson's glossy studio - where We Are The World was conceived - convinced Thorpe that his songs were more suited to a DIY approach.

With a major label publishing deal still in place - he was signed by the woman who discovered Coldplay and Keane - Thorpe used his own money to make Pictures, recorded in just 12 days at Parr Street studios in Liverpool.

"We were lent the studio free as a favour," says Thorpe. "It's a fantastic place. Coldplay record there and we got to use their string quartet and some great equipment. But it was still very DIY. Simon Finley, who plays with Echo & The Bunnymen, came in to do drums and percussion, but we had to teach him all the songs on the first day. I produced and mixed with Rupert Christie, who also arranged the strings and recorded them in a matter of hours. It was a crazy 12 days, but the album sounds amazing, much better than the one that cost twenty times as much."

"I think Gavin is exaggerating about the recording taking 12 days," butts in Christie, Pictures' co-producer, who played piano at the Abbey Road sessions, but can usually be found touring with Lou Reed or composing major movie soundtracks. "As I recall, it was ten. I have worked with hundreds of acts, from Scissor Sisters to Gilbert O'Sullivan, and I've never seen an album made so quickly, or with so much spirit."

The result is that Pictures feels fresh, intimate and strikingly honest. The strings soar, but never intrude, the percussion has a loose rock rattle, but doesn't drive the songs and Thorpe's captivating vocals could trick you in to thinking they were being sung live in your living room. As for the lyrics, Thorpe doesn't like to comment, but love, loss, regret and a search for solace are recurring themes in songs that prefer to express emotions than tell tales. The title track contains just two short verses, but captures exactly what it's like to find a photo of someone special from your past.

"I'm very proud of that song," says Thorpe. "It only took ten minutes to write and it doesn't have many lyrics, but it says all it has to. Everyone has pictures of someone they don't see anymore, because they left or died or fell out, whatever. I don't say who it's about. That's up to the listener."

At the Abbey Road recoding, Thorpe described achingly lovely album highlight No Hard Feelings as an ode to everyone he had done wrong by. "Ah, I made that up," he admits. "The guy asked me to explain it and I couldn't, so I just said that on the spot."

Most of Pictures was written in the last two years. Only four tracks survived from the original album, but they were given a new lease of life by being stripped down and reworked.

"Those were the ones I loved too much to let go," says Thorpe. "The rest I left to start afresh."

The fresh start means the boy who took up guitar at 12, inspired by his singer mother and bass playing father, whose blues band supported the likes of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, finally gets to release his first album.

"When Gavin was 17," recalls Thorpe Snr, "I sent him to a music teacher. Six months later, the guy called me and said it was pointless him having lessons. He could already write songs that were beyond the teacher. Every time Gav plays me a new song I'm reminded of that phone call. He's an extreme talent and he still surprises even me."

"West country songwriter with the long locks, elongated vowels and easy-going melodies designed to tap David Gray's fan base"
Time Out Magazine

"Bristol based singer songwriter boasting a stunning voice, an arsenal of cheeky onstage asides and looks to match. Bastard"
Venue Magazine

"The quality of Gavin Thorpe's songs set him apart from his contemporaries"
Mark Taylor, This is Bristol