He has released four studio albums and is often compared with acts such as Bob Dylan, Fred Neil, and Tim Buckley.

[citation needed] After moving to Manchester to attend Salford University, to study English, but dropped out within a few days,[4] he started to earn notices in NME and Q.

[1] He left university after one year, and started to perform at local acoustic nights in the Manchester area.

Signed to Fiction Records, and while under management by Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildlife entertainment, his debut album Magpie was released in November 2004.

He released a single called "Scar" on 3 September 2007, which was included on his album Man on the Roof.

On 4 April 2011 Manchester Aid to Kosovo released a charity album, Ten, to which Fretwell contributed the track "Tamarind".

[7][8] Also contributing to the album were fellow Manchester artists Elbow, Badly Drawn Boy, and Cherry Ghost.In 2012, he quit music to focus on his family.

[9] On 1 March 2021, Fretwell released the single "Oval" after a 13-year hiatus[10] and announced the album Busy Guy, released on cult indie record label[11][12] Speedy Wunderground owned by friend Dan Carey, who also produced the record.