Walking on the ‘Sunny Side’ with Paolo Nutini

PROFILE. Paolo Nutini just got off stage at London’s fabled Roundhouse. It’s after midnight where he is, and around 7:30 p.m. where we are. He’s tired but, surrounded by friends and revelers backstage at the historic club, he can’t help but be exhilarated.

“Very nice, man,” he says approvingly of the gig. “It’s [where] the Doors did the famous long encore. I think it still registers as the longest encore in Britain ever. Yeah, man, it’s got a bit of prestige to it, ya know?” he says of the venue where Jim Morrison and co. played their lengthy and only UK show in 1968.

The Roundhouse, a former Victorian railway building and then a gin mill that became notorious for hippie love-ins and punk rock experiments, is rife with British rock mythology. But Nutini, an unlikely named Scottish singer, is making his own history. At the beginning of June, Nutini’s second album, “Sunny Side Up,” debuted at No. 1 on the UK album charts, bringing him to the fore of the British neo soul pack.

“That was a bit of a kick up the arse,” he says, but proudly. “I thought it would get a good place, but I didn’t think it would go in like that. It’s cool, man. … If I had a to-do list, that would be crossed off … A lot of people get a lot of number ones, man, but this is my first one. I’m really chuffed to get it, man.”

‘Man’ is an appellation Nutini uses a lot.   

The 22-year-old Nutini’s gritty blue-eyed soul voice easily recalls Rod Stewart’s cracked tones and has also been compared to that of soul great Otis Redding’s. He is entertainingly chatty onstage as he is off. Performing, though, is where he feels both challenged and empowered. He’s already learned that the selling records part lies in the hands of the label and other music biz elements. Onstage, though, is where he takes and makes his own chances.

“There’s no barrier. There’s no veil on the live show. There’s a small element of mystery, but not much. Playing in front of people, it’s laid bare,” he says with a low purr of satisfaction. “I like it, man.”

Paolo Nutini
With Erin McCarley, Matt Hires
Friday, 8 p.m.
House of Blues Boston
15 Lansdowne St., Boston.
MBTA: Green Line to Kenmore
$22, all-ages, 888-693-2583
www.hob.com/boston

Saturday, 9 p.m.
Theatre of the Living Arts
334 South Street
$25, 215-922-1011
www.ticketmaster.com