Marcus Bonfanti was born on 5 May 1983 and is a British blues singer, songwriter and guitarist.
17 Facts About Marcus Bonfanti
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Marcus Bonfanti has released three albums and one EP, and works both as a solo musician and, since 2014, as the frontman for the British blues rock group Ten Years After.
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Marcus Bonfanti was born in London to an Italian father and an English mother.
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Marcus Bonfanti's mother produced an old guitar from the family's loft and Bonfanti tried to master the instrument, encouraged by his parents who were both keen on music.
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Marcus Bonfanti's younger brother is a musician and works as a professional bass guitarist.
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Marcus Bonfanti worked in a kitchen to earn sufficient monies to purchase his first guitar at the age of 15.
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In 2001, Marcus Bonfanti first attended the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, and found the musical environment useful in honing his skills, but ultimately the conflict between college and him later working as a professional musician, led to Marcus Bonfanti leaving the course.
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Marcus Bonfanti worked as a session musician and played solo, and, in 2007, he relocated back to London, having saved money from his playing.
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In due course Marcus Bonfanti became a songwriter, guitarist and singer, and recorded his debut album, Hard Times in 2008.
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Marcus Bonfanti acknowledged that the second album bore some elements of an American influence, in part because some of the material therein was written in the US.
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In 2011, Marcus Bonfanti played guitar on Rebecca Ferguson's album, Heaven.
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Marcus Bonfanti was dropped by P3 Music who had issued his first two albums and, in trying to record another collection, was dropped by another label.
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Marcus Bonfanti originally recorded all his work for his new album on an acoustic guitar.
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Marcus Bonfanti recorded what was to become, Shake the Walls, on analogue tape rather than the modern-day digital process.
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Marcus Bonfanti won the 2013 and 2014 British Blues Awards for Best Acoustic Performer.
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In 2013, Marcus Bonfanti supplied guitar work to the Johnny Hates Jazz album, Magnetized.
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In 2014, Marcus Bonfanti was invited to front Ten Years After, which he continued to do for a decade, alongside his own solo career.