For the group's debut album, see The Coral (album).
The Coral
are an English band formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula near Liverpool.
The band's music is a mixture of old-fashioned country, 1960s-style psychedelia and folk with modern rock influences. The Coral have released four albums. Their self-titled debut album was nominated for the 2002 Mercury Music Prize and later voted the fourth best album of the year by NME
Magazine.
It was announced on the 9th January 2008 that Bill Ryder-Jones would be leaving, but the band would continue as a 5-piece.
|
THE CORAL TICKETS
|
History
Formation
Meeting at
Hilbre High School in West Kirby on the Wirral, the six friends would meet at each others' houses and the school music room where they would watch films, listen to music and play guitars. After leaving school they went on to jobs and
university before quitting both to take up the band full time. The band was soon signed to Liverpool label
Deltasonic. The band started as prominent members of the Liverpool music scene, playing many gigs around the city. The Coral's distinctive musical style has strongly influenced many other of the
Liverpool-based label's acts, including
The Zutons,
The Dead 60s,
The Basement and
The Rascals.
The Coral
Hailed as the first English band of the "guitar group revival" the band released the critically acclaimed EPs
Shadows Fall
,
The Oldest Path
, and
Skeleton Key
in 2001. Their eponymous debut album
The Coral
, released in 2002, reached number five on the
UK Albums Chart and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize the day after its release. A successful UK tour and festival slots followed along with the singles "
Goodbye" reaching number twenty-one in the
UK Top 40 and "
Dreaming of You" reaching number thirteen.
Magic and Medicine
After a hectic year they took it easy with recording yet again another critically-acclaimed album
Magic and Medicine
in 2003 reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart, once more followed with UK, European, American and Japanese tours and a one-off festival Midsummer Nights Scream held on the New Brighton promenade and held an impressive line up of the then hottest up-and-coming bands. Singles from the album, "
Don't Think You're the First", "
Pass It On", "
Secret Kiss" and "
Bill McCai" reached number ten, number five, number twenty-five and number twenty-three on the UK Top 40 respectively. Indeed
Noel Gallagher of
Oasis remarked that it was the more beatlelike than
Let it Be.
The Invisible Invasion
In 2004 they began recording
The Invisible Invasion
but not before releasing
Nightfreak and the Sons of Becker
a limited-edition "mini album" getting to number five on the UK Albums Chart which was produced by
Lightning Seeds singer/songwriter
Ian Broudie (as were the first two albums), whilst
Portishead's
Adrian Utley and
Geoff Barrow were in charge of
The Invisible Invasion
.
In 2005, The Coral did UK, European, American and Japanese tours also releasing "
In The Morning" which reached number six and "
Something Inside of Me" reaching number forty-one on the UK Top 75.
Roots and Echoes
The Coral toured with
Arctic Monkeys during their 2007 summer festival gigs. The band released the single "
Who's Gonna Find Me" on
30 July 2007 followed by the album
Roots & Echoes
on
6 August 2007.
The Coral kicked off
BBC Electric Proms 07
on 24 October 2007 with "
Who's Gonna Find Me". They were joined on stage by friend
Noel Gallagher, who played lead guitar on their track
In the Rain
.
The Coral enlisted the help of Matt Potter, Solihull, for percussion and Jazz flute on the album.
The Singles Collection
The Coral released a 3LP & 2CD compilation album
The Singles Collection on
15 September 2008. It features singles, rarities and new songs. A new single, "Being Somebody Else" was released on
8 September 2008.
Discography
- The Coral
(July 29, 2002)
- Magic and Medicine
(July 28, 2003)
- Nightfreak and the Sons of Becker
(January 26, 2004)
- The Invisible Invasion
(May 23, 2005)
- Roots & Echoes
(August 6, 2007)
- The Singles Collection
(September 15, 2008)