Patrick Wolf

Patrick Wolf (born Patrick Denis Apps on 30 June 1983) is an English singer-songwriter from South London. He is known for combining electronic sampling with classical instruments, with musical styles ranging from electronic pop to Baroque chamber music. He frequently incorporates a wide variety of instruments into his work, most commonly the ukulele, piano, and viola. Wolf was born in St Thomas' Hospital and attended King's College School and Bedales School.

While continuing his writing and early recordings, Wolf received an Atari computer and a mixing console from Fat Cat Records. During the recording of his debut album, Lycanthropy, he spent a year studying composition at Trinity College of Music. Lycanthropy was released in the summer of 2003 and later distributed across Europe and America by Tomlab. During this period, he also performed as a guest viola player for acts such as Chicks on Speed, Arcade Fire, Owen Pallett, CocoRosie, and The Hidden Cameras. His second album, Wind in the Wires, was released in 2005 and drew inspiration from his Cornish and Irish roots.

Wolf signed with Loog in 2005 and released his third album, The Magic Position, in 2007. The concept album about love featured guest appearances by Marianne Faithfull and Edward Larrikin, achieving critical acclaim and commercial success. After parting ways with Universal Records, Wolf funded his fourth album, The Bachelor (2009), by selling shares directly to fans on bandstocks.com. In 2010, he signed with Mercury Records subsidiary Hideout and released his fifth album, Lupercalia, in June 2011. To mark his tenth anniversary as a recording artist, he released the double album Sundark and Riverlight in 2012, featuring acoustic re-recordings of his previous works.

Wolf took a sabbatical after completing tour dates playing Celtic harp and viola for Patti Smith in 2013. His career faced delays due to management issues and an accident in 2015 when he was struck by a motorist in Venice. Outside of recording, Wolf's recognitions include an Outstanding Contribution To the Arts award from Trinity LGBT in 2011 and the Edmund Burke Medal from the Trinity College Historical Society in 2017. He has also modeled for a Burberry campaign shot by Mario Testino in 2007, was the subject of a portrait by artist Joe Simpson in 2011, and authored the poetry collection The Ghost Region.

Wolf resumed touring in 2018 and returned to London stages in early 2020. In November 2022, he released "Enter the Day," his first new single in ten years, followed by the EP The Night Safari in 2023 and the rarities collection The Circling Sky later that year. In 2025, he announced his seventh album, Crying the Neck, supported by the single "Dies Irae" and an international tour. In May 2026, he announced the double single "The Beast" and "The Laughing Dove" ahead of a tour in North America.