Louis Berry, Manchester

Louis Berry biography

Proud Liverpudlian Louis Berry grew up in a rough part of the city, and took his first musical step on his Grandad's forbidden guitar as he hid under the bed, teaching himself a couple of chords. Somewhat surprisingly, he didn't discover Johnny Cash until he was 20, having spent his adolescence listening to Tupac. Berry took the messages about society's injustices in Tupac's music to heart, and themes such as inner-city homelessness had a large influence on his songwriting. His rebellious style owed a lot to rock & roll greats such as Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, in stark contrast to the mainstream singer/songwriters with whom Berry drew comparisons, like Jake Bugg, Alex Turner, or the Strypes, acts which Berry felt lacked authenticity and substance. RebelBerry signed a record deal after playing just two gigs. He performed an explosive set for BBC Introducing in 2015, which triggered a lot of interest in his first track, .45. Later that year, his debut EP Rebel garnered a very positive response and received wide-ranging support from major radio stations. It was dubbed "hottest record" by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 and made it into the Top Five tracks of the week on XFM, as well as receiving extensive airplay from Liverpool-based station Juice FM. After many festival appearances in 2015, he planned a headline tour in early 2016; his last stop was in his native Liverpool. The gospel-tinged single "Stumbling" arrived in early 2018 just ahead of the release of his full-length debut.

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