THE CORAL

Originating from Hoylake, a small town on the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, the Coral was formed in 1996 by school friends James Skelly (b. Liverpool, England; guitar/vocals), Nick Power (organ/vocals), Bill Ryder-Jones (b. Liverpool, England; guitar/trumpet), Lee Southall (guitar/vocals), and Ian Skelly (b. Liverpool, England; drums). The quintet began working on their own material almost as soon as they had learned to play their instruments properly. They were discovered in rehearsal by ex-Shack associate Alan Wills, who was impressed enough to set up the Deltasonic Records label for them. A recording contract with Sony Records was not long in following, and the Coral broke through into the mainstream in the new millennium with a series of releases that saw them fêted as one of the UK's most original new acts. Their first release was the limited edition Shadows Fall EP in July 2001, which was followed in December by another limited release EP, The Oldest Path. Critics fell over themselves to praise the quintet's boundless musical imagination, and this eclectic approach was confirmed by the in-concert favourite, a cover version of Bob Marley's "Get Up Stand Up". The Skeleton Key EP preceded the release of the band's self-titled debut album in August 2002. By now the hype surrounding the Coral was so great that the album achieved enough first week sales to enter the UK charts at number 5, and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize barely 24 hours after being released. The piratical themes ("We've set sail again!/We're heading for the Spanish Main" sings James Skelly on the opening track) cast the quintet as looting musical magpies, and over the album's 11 tracks they mischievously raided a treasure chest of influences to create one of the new millennium's most gloriously inspired debuts.