Jack Peñate (born 2 September 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and musician.

Jack Peñate
Background information
Born (1984-09-02) 2 September 1984 (age 40)
London, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • keyboards
Years active2005–present
Labels

Early life

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Peñate was born in London on 2 September 1984, the son of an English mother and a Spanish father.[1] His maternal grandfather was author Mervyn Peake.[2] He attended St. Olave's Preparatory School in New Eltham and Alleyn's School in Dulwich, then began studying for a bachelor's degree in Ancient World Studies at University College London, but dropped out at the end of the second year as interest from record labels grew. He also was a member of the National Youth Theatre.

Career

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Music

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Peñate made his way up the ranks of the club and bar scene of London before he was signed by record label XL Recordings.

On 10 August 2007, he announced that his album would be released on 8 October and be titled Matinée. The album debuted at number seven in the UK album charts.

On 3 January 2009, XFM played a new track by Peñate called "Tonight's Today", the song ended up being the first single from his second album Everything Is New.

Throughout Peñate's second album tour in 2009, his bandmates included Jessie Ware on backing vocals, Kwes of Warp Records on keyboards / laptop and Tic of the record label Young on rhythm guitar.[9]

Jack Peñate, along with Chairlift, opened for The xx at the Central Park Summer Stage on Sunday 8 August 2010.

On 19 January 2012, Peñate recorded the song "No One Lied". Directed by Dani Castro, shot and recorded in one take at Peñate's home; the song was uploaded to Peñate's YouTube channel after a two-year hiatus of activity since 2010.

After You, the third album by Peñate, was released by XL in 2019. "Prayer" “Murder” and “Loaded Gun” were the singles from the album.[3]

In 2020 the Noetics EP was self released including a version of “No One Lied”, followed by “Remember In New York”. “Crumbs” followed in 2021, and “Scars” in 2022.

In 2021, Peñate joined GROUP OF HUMANS® , a globally distributed community of creative leaders and change architects as a Musician & Creative Human.

In 2023 Peñate featured on the Django Django single “No Time” from their 5th album "Off Planet".

Peñate’s continued collaboration with Inflo and the collective Sault led to his contributions featuring on the Mercury nominated "Untitled (Rise)" in 2021, and then in May 2023 their album "11" won the Ivor Novello Award for "Best Album", with producer Inflo, vocalists Cleo Sol and Chronixx, and Jack as recipients of the award.

Peñate worked with electronic artist Jayda G to produce and co-write her second album "Guy"

In January 2024 Peñate's fourth album “Wondrous Strange” was released on 77 Recordings in tribute to his late father. Alongside releasing his own music, Peñate continues to work with XL label boss Richard Russell on his Everything Is Recorded series, and worked with Richard and Samantha Morton as a co-writer to bring to life their SAM MORTON project, released on 14th June 2024.

Live gigs and tours

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In November 2023, Sault announced their first live performance, teasing that they would play an unreleased album of material. The tour was initiated on 14 December in London, and featured songs from an at the time unreleased album Acts of Faith, and included performances from Little Simz, Cleo Sol, Michael Kiwanuka, and Jack Peñate.

Jack also performed on the Pyramid stage with Little Simz at her Glastonbury show in June 2024

Personal life

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Peñate is a long-time close friend of Adele, with whom he grew up.

Discography

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Albums

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Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[4]
UK
Indie

[4]
Matinée
  • Released: 8 October 2007
  • Label: XL
7 1
Everything Is New
  • Released: 22 June 2009
  • Label: XL
16 2
After You
  • Released: 29 November 2019[5]
  • Label: XL
15
Wondrous Strange
  • Released: 7 January 2024[6]
  • Label: 77

Singles

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Title Year Peak chart positions
UK
[4]
UK
Indie

[4]
"Second, Minute or Hour" 2006 17 1
"Spit at Stars"[7][8]
"Torn on the Platform" 2007 7 1
"Have I Been a Fool" 73 3
"Tonight's Today" 2009 23 1
"Be the One" 35 3
"Pull My Heart Away" 99
"Prayer" 2019

References

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  1. ^ "Noughties swing". Irish Independent. 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Mervyn Peake biography – 1911–1968". mervynpeake.org. 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  3. ^ jackpenate.com
  4. ^ a b c d "Jack Penate songs and albums | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  5. ^ "After You by Jack Peñate". Apple Music. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Wondrous Strange by Jack Peñate". Apple Music. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Jack Penate discography". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Jack Penate discography". Discogs. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
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