HARD to believe it is a mere two summers ago that an unknown bloke from Paisley with an Italian-sounding name pitched up for a free gig at Avalanche Records on Cockburn Street.
The then 19-year-old hoped his appearance at the city centre record store would help shift a few extra copies of his debut single, Last Request.
Now, of course, with a string of hit singles and a top three album under his belt, 21-year-old Paolo N
utini is not only a famous name in his native land but much further afield.
The affable singer, famed for his puppy dog eyes and tousled hair, is even a heartthrob in the Far East, where he played his first ever Chinese gig this week.
And tomorrow he heads for Japan's Summer Sonic festival before jetting to America, where he opens for blues legend Etta James at the 18,000-capacity Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
But despite being very much in demand, Nutini always finds time for his native Scotland. In his first Edinburgh gig since his 2006 Hogmanay show was cancelled due to bad weather, he will be back in the Capital on August 27 for a gig at the Corn Exchange, which closes The Edge Festival.
For those not so familiar with his back-story, Nutini was born in Paisley in 1987 to a Glaswegian mother and a second generation Italian immigrant father, hence the not very Scottish sounding surname.
His musical education began with his late grandfather, who introduced him to Scottish folk songs as well as a wide range of other styles.
"He was a big music lover," Nutini says. "He loved boogie woogie piano, he adored opera, and it was he who really encouraged me to sing. He always wanted somebody in the family to make music their living.
"He's not around to see it, unfortunately, but I'm doing just what he wanted, and I'm doing it in his honour," he adds.
Music, however, wasn't his first love. "Initially, I'd wanted to be a football player," says the Celtic-daft singer, "specifically a goalkeeper. But the more I sang, the more I realised it was just something I could do. I was hardly going to walk away from that, was I?"
Nutini quit school at 15 to become a roadie and sell T-shirts for blink-and-you-would-have-missed-them indie pop sensations Speedway, and also worked for a time as a studio hand in Glasgow's world famous Park Lane Studio.
All the while writing his own songs, and playing small gigs alone as well as with a band, it was an impromptu performance at a gig at Paisley Town Hall, when the headline act David Sneddon (where art thou?) was delayed, that brought him to the attention of his now management, and it wasn't long before he was signing a major deal with Atlantic Records.
To say that he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands is something of an understatement.
Nutini has sold a million copies of debut album These Streets in the UK alone since its 2006 appearance – and earned praise from music legends like The Rolling Stones and Quincy Jones.
It is a measure of the impact he has had in the two short years since the release of his debut album that expectations are sky high as he readies its follow-up.
"It's not going to be Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, but it's a great record as far as I'm concerned," says the personable singer, who has been living in London while putting the finishing touches to his second record.
While his debut offering was made with Grammy-winning producer Ken Nelson, who worked on Coldplay's first three albums, for his sophomore effort Nutini has opted to take on a lot of the production duties himself.
"I took on a bit more producing on this one," confirms the Scot. "But it's been a lot of fun. It's been a good challenge. It's been hard work trying to get it right and trying to get it out."
Famous for his laid-back persona and his love for long lie-ins, being his own boss in the studio meant being strict with himself.
"We made sure we did enough the night before so I didn't have to get up so early the next day," he laughs. "Anyway, you don't want to stay in bed and waste the day because the studios were so good that you didn't want to waste the opportunity of being in there."
A selection of tracks from the as-yet-untitled newbie were given first live airings at T in the Park, and Nutini says the songs are much like those on the first record, "a real mixed bag".
Gig-goers in the Capital will have the chance to judge for themselves at the Corn Exchange, a gig Nutini admits that he is looking forward to.
"I can't wait," he says enthusiastically. "It's a chance to play the new songs and hopefully they'll stand up and people will like them.
"That's why we did T in the Park and the new songs seemed to go down well."
• Paolo Nutini, Corn Exchange, Newmarket Road, August 27, 7pm, £17.50, 0131-226 0000The full article contains 884 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
