Blossoms are a five piece indie-pop band originating from Stockport in greater Manchester. Consisting of Tom Ogden (lead vocals, guitar), Joe Donovan (drums), Charlie Salt (bass, vocals), Josh Dewhurst (lead guitar, percussion) and Myles Kellock (keyboard, synthesizer, vocals), they formed in 2013, but the success of their single ‘Charlemagne’ put a spotlight on a band who are arguably the sound of 2016.
As I walked into their dressing room at Leeds Beckett Union, across the hallway from their support acts Cabbage and Declan Mckenna, the Northern five piece provided a friendly welcome and the offer of an Innocent Smoothie. Blossoms achieved number one on the charts with their self-titled debut album, but frontman Ogden said how well it did was merely “the cherry on top”, with the highlight of their year instead being the completion of the album. Admirably modest about how impressive their chart ranking was, Ogden represents the band’s humility, affirming “we wanted it to be successful, we thought we made a timeless record, but I’d say that the highlight was finishing it, and us five being like this is cool”.
The evolution of the band was almost storybook, with all five members being born at the same hospital, attending the same school and living within a two mile radius of each other but only forming after their two previous bands splintered. Donovan commended himself as the link between the lads. “I knew everyone, before the band, like I knew Miles because he used to live on my road. I knew Tom from school. I knew Charlie because of our old band and I knew Josh because I went out with his sister”. At this Dewhurst looked up with an vacant expression, confirming “he did”. When both Salt and Ogden commented on how their local pub ‘The Blossoms’ would be a great name for a band, Donovan put all the pieces together and Blossoms was born.
With Leeds being just one stop on their international tour, the five piece have had a whirlwind summer appearing at Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds, to name a few, before embarking on their own tour which has featured numerous sold out dates. An undeniable highlight for them was supporting The Stone Roses last summer, with Ogden and Dewhurst being both long time Roses and Man City fans, playing Etihad stadium was “mental”.
Coined by The Guardian as going from “the scaffolding yard to the stars”, the boys have seen this journey through together. Constant touring has been quite a change of lifestyle for the band, all admitting sometimes it can all get a bit too much. “Especially when you’re living on a tour bus you’re living in close proximity to each other”, but Donovan credits their success to their ability to be “dead honest” at all times. Donovan continued, “you’re always going to piss each other off, nobody’s perfect; you’ve just got to get on with it, maybe have a little cry and get on with it”. To this, Dewhurst, who had been occupied with new microphone gear he described as “new toys”, piped up with “I had a breakdown in Korea, gotta be done”. If a number one band are allowed a good cry once in a while, so are we.
With influences spanning from The Doors to The Arctic Monkeys, Blossoms’ album provides a variety of acoustic to pop sounds laced with the ethereal undertone created by the synthesizer. After commenting on their characteristic sound, Salt says it has something to do with the strong Northern accent which “sticks out like a sore thumb”, especially when sandwiched between the likes of Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes on the radio. Ogden, who started songwriting at fifteen, admits the music scene in Manchester and iconic artists like The Stone Roses had a huge influence on them. “I think when you come together naturally, and you’re from a big place like that and you make music, it works as a band, you end up sounding like yourself. You’re just putting your own spin on like, pop music I suppose, like Oasis did, like The Smiths did, like Arctic Monkeys did”. Alex Turner seemed to have a number of fans in the room, with the whole band choosing him when asked who they’d like to perform alongside; Donovan beamed ear to ear at the thought: “That would be amazing if Alex Turner came out for a tune”.
Their mutual respect for music and each other explains how they have come so far in only three years. As far as advice for start-up bands go, they felt very strongly about avoiding promoters. “If you’re doing it for the money and you’re doing it for the fame just give up there and then”, with Ogden interjecting that “you’ve got to believe in your songs. If you don’t think you’ve got the best songs out there then you need to stop”, and that the only aim should be “to create a vibe and spread it yourself”. In regard to bands to look out for this year, the group showed a lot of love for The Magic Gang, The Vryll Society and Dantevilles as well as their support acts Cabbage and Declan McKenna.
By the end of 2016, Blossoms will have performed around 150 shows and 45 festivals in 22 countries. With the attitude of a group of mates in a school canteen and a raw talent rarely found in a band barely out of their teenage years, not forgetting a hearty dose of Mancunian charm, Blossoms are a symbol of the quality we have to offer up North.
Andrea Loftus
(Image: NME)