Blossoms (band)

Pre-Blossoms and formation

Unknown at the time all members of the band were born in Stepping Hill Hospital and lived within a 2 kilometer radius of each other whilst growing up. Tom Ogden and Joe Donovan met through a school trip to Alton Towers, which both of them were placed on due to good attendance, in 2003. During their time in high school they became 'into bands' from the local Manchester music scene such as Oasis and The Stone Roses and saw both aforementioned bands together. Donovan previously knew bassist Charlie Salt as all members of Blossoms went to the same high school though not at the same time. Ogden began writing songs aged 15 despite not being in a band due to encouragement from his father. Salt was previously a member of Mutineers with former Haven rhythm section Iwan Gronow and Jack Mitchell.

After high school Donovan and later Ogden went on to have jobs at the Alma Lodge Hotel as event staff, they were later joined by Kellock who got a job by Ogden's good word after he joined the unnamed band that would come to be Blossoms. Kellock previously worked at a Co-Op. The Alma Lodge Hotel also served as the venue to the first bands that all five members were in, Salt and guitarist Josh Dewhurst featuring in other bands. After all featuring on the same bill Salt and Dewhurst 'gravitated' toward the other members of Blossoms, together eventually becoming members of the band in January 2013. Ogden, Donovan and Kellock often spent time on their shifts discussing the band and playing demos which got them into trouble several times. On 3 April 2013 Blossoms played their first gig in the Night and Day Cafe on Oldham Street, Manchester for £3 entry.

Early work

Upon Salt joining the band they gained a rehearsal space, his grandfather's scaffolding yard (Fitzpatrick Scaffolding Ltd.) which proved ideal as they were able to use it without paying for the time. The scaffolding yard is the location featured on the cover of their debut album. The band take their name from The Blossoms public house at the corner of Bramhall Lane and Buxton Road in Stockport. Donovan heard both Ogden and Salt mention how apt Blossoms was as a band name on separate occasions, leading to the naming of the band as Blossoms. They have since played shows at The Blossoms.

In January 2014 the band released their first single entitled 'You Pulled a Gun on Me' and on 14 January they released a video for the song. The video was self-produced with a small budget of £60. 'You Pulled a Gun on Me' was recorded at Eve Studios in Stockport. Their time at Eve studios was later recounted less than fondly. In Spring 2014 Blossoms were signed to Skeleton Records (owned by James Skelly of The Coral). March through to August 2014 Blossoms embarked upon their first UK tour to promote the Bloom EP though they only played weekend shows due to all members of the band still holding full time jobs, other than Dewhurst who was only 16 and therefore still in full time education. During this time Blossoms played their first festival (Tramlines in Sheffield at Yellow Arch Studios) and opened for James at Castlefield Bowl to 8,000 people on 11 July 2014, which they described as a turning point in the band's future. Skelly produced their first official single 'Blow', released 26 August 2014, the video being shot at the scaffolding yard that was still being used as a rehearsal space.

In autumn 2014 Blossoms quit their jobs to fully pursue the band and subsequently went on to do another full UK tour, this time selling out the Manchester date, hosted by Sound Control, a venue made famous by The Stone Roses and New Order. They also sold out a show at the Deaf Institute, Manchester on 1 November. Over the winter period Blossoms went back into Parr Street Studios with James Skelly to record 'Cut Me and I'll Bleed', for which they announced an extensive UK tour between 31 January and 28 March 2015.

Due to them having a contact in the business, the singer Liam Fray, this promoted them to tour with The Charlatans and The Courteeners in March 2015. On 18 March Blossoms were invited by BBC Introducing to play a set for the Official SXSW Showcase at Latitude 30 in Austin, Texas. Blossoms recorded and released the Blown Rose EP between June and July, the video once again shot at the scaffolding yard, released on 31 July along with the EP itself. This was the first EP released as part of Blossoms' new record deal with Virgin EMI though they only announced the new contract on 18 August. The band still work with James Skelly as their producer.

They went on to play a summer of festivals such as The Great Escape, Y Not and Reading and Leeds whilst also supporting the Courteeners for their Heaton Park show. Blossoms headlined their first festival stage on 5 September at Tim Peak's Diner as part of Festival No. 6.

"Charlemagne" and debut album

Recording for the debut album begin in September 2015. On 4 October Blossoms announced that their next single would be "Charlemagne" and released the song on iTunes and Spotify on 5 October. On 30 October the Charlemagne EP was released featuring three other songs ("Across the Moor", "For Evelyn" and "Polka Dot Bones"). "Charlemagne" went on to commercial success and became BBC Radio 1's track of the day and featured on Spotify's 'Spotlight on 2016' list. The commercial success extended through to December where Charlemagne topped the Christmas vinyl chart.

On 5 January Blossoms announced their At Most a Kiss EP and released the song, with the video following. Whilst doing promotion for the EP Blossoms played the Radio 1 Live Lounge, covering WSTRN's "In2". They announced on 22 January that recording for their debut album was complete. Whilst on their third headline tour Blossoms had support from Viola Beach, who were killed mid-tour in a car crash with their manager on 13 February. Blossoms played a recorded set from a Royal Leamington Spa performance for the remaining tour dates in the slot that Viola Beach would have otherwise played in.

The At Most a Kiss EP was released on 23 February. On 12 April Annie Mac played their song "Getaway" for the first time on BBC Radio 1 before a midnight release of the single on iTunes and Spotify. In May it was announced that Blossoms would play their biggest show to date and support the Stone Roses at Etihad Stadium on 15 June after Ian Brown became a fan of the band. Once again Blossoms are playing a summer of festivals, being clocked up to 41 festivals by Dewhurst. Blossoms' eponymous debut album was released on 5 August with "My Favourite Room" and "Honey Sweet" being released to pre-orders early as singles. It was met with mostly favourable reviews and peaked at the top of the UK Albums Chart in its first week, giving Blossoms their first number-one album. Blossoms featured on the August cover of NME magazine. An autumn tour to support the album release also sold out.

Band members