Genres Country Origin Hampshire, United Kingdom | Years active 2014–present Genre Country music | |
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Members Catherine Ward Thomas; Lizzy Ward Thomas Albums Cartwheels, From Where We Stand, A Shorter Story, Footnotes Record labels WTW Music Ltd, Sony Music CG Similar The Shires, Bob Harris, Maddie & Tae, Ben Earle, Kacey Musgraves Profiles | ||
Ward Thomas are a British modern country music duo, composed of 23 year old twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas (born 28 March 1994) from Hampshire. The band has been called "Britain's first country stars". Along with The Shires, they are producing modern country music with a British twist in a genre dominated by American singers and bands. Fellow country singer, Crissie Rhodes of The Shires, describes their music as written "from a British perspective. While people have been able to appreciate the American sound, they can connect with the themes of British lyrics." Cartwheels their second studio album became the first album by a UK country act to reach number One on the UK Albums Chart surpassing the previous record by The Shires. It has since gone silver in the UK.
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Early life
Catherine and Lizzy grew up on a farm in rural Hampshire, England.
2014–15: From Where We Stand
They wrote the songs for their debut album From Where We Stand, which was released on 20 July 2014. It peaked at number 41 on the UK Albums Chart, number 1 on the UK Country Chart, number 7 on the UK Indie Chart and number 36 in Scotland. The album won UK Album of the Year at the British Country Music Awards and sold over 25,000 copies. They have toured the UK multiple times, with shows at venues including Islington Assembly Hall and The New Adelphi Club in Hull, East Yorkshire. In 2014, they performed on the BBC Introducing stage at the BBC Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park festival, returning to the festival in 2015 to perform on the main stage alongside The Shires; a performance which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2.
2016–present: Cartwheels and A Shorter Story
In June 2016, Ward Thomas announced a joint venture with Sony Music and that their second album, Cartwheels, would be released in September 2016. Lead single "Carry You Home", described by The Times as "chirpy country pop" was released in June, followed by the singles "Guilty Flowers" and "Cartwheels", all of which were added to the Radio 2 playlist. Cartwheels reached number 1 in the UK Albums Chart, making Ward Thomas the first UK country act to top the charts and officially making them the most successful UK country act. It has since gone silver in the UK. In September 2016, Ward Thomas were confirmed to play at the 31st edition of Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen, NL.
On March 31 2017, Ward Thomas released their first EP, A Shorter Story, which features the duo covering five of their favourite songs.
Songs
Carry You HomeCartwheels · 2016
Guilty FlowersCartwheels · 2016
Push for the StrideFrom Where We Stand · 2014