The Coral turn the tide to set sail once more

The Coral are back with their great British brand of psychedelic pop. Chris Bond talks to singer and guitarist James Skelly.

ALMOST a decade has passed since The Coral announced their arrival on the musical stage with a series of head-turning EPs.

The Liverpudlian troubadours followed this up in 2002 with their eponymous debut album which enjoyed a flurry of rave reviews and a Mercury Prize nomination.

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Critics and fans alike warmed to their lush, 60s-tinged pop and radio-friendly songs such as Dreaming of You, Pass it On and In the Morning brought them a loyal following. But although they hit the ground running they never quite matched their early promise. In 2007, their Roots and Echoes album was met with a lukewarm response and when guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones left the band the following year, it seemed the writing was on the wall.

But after releasing their Singles Collection in 2008 they regrouped and began working on a new album, Butterfly House, which came out this summer to widespread acclaim.

Lead singer James Skelly says he and his bandmates needed to start afresh. "If we never did the 'Greatest Hits' thing, the album wouldn't be as good. Going back to all those tunes made you realise, 'Yeah we're a great band, one of the best out there.' It cleared space in our heads and made us feel really positive about the future."

He reckons Butterfly House, their sixth album, is their best yet. "It's the most consistent album we've ever made. I think your first record is always going to have an energy that is hard to match, but for me Butterfly House is a carnival, like the last night of the fair."

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As well as a new record, the band are back on the road with a UK tour that arrives at the 02 Academy in Leeds on Sunday.

"People come and see us to hear the music because unlike a lot of bands around at the moment who just do the same thing each time they play, we have a rhythm and a groove that people seem to like.

As with so many bands The Coral started out as a bunch of school friends who dreamt of becoming rock stars like their heroes.

"My brother Ian was playing with Paul (the bassist] and then I joined and started singing and it grew from there. I wanted to be like Steve Marriott but I couldn't reach all the pitches. But I would listen over and over again to him and Arthur Lee, Bob Marley and John Lennon," says Skelly.

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The band's distinctive musical style carries echoes of The Byrds, Love and The Small Faces and has itself influenced Mersey-based bands like The Zutons, The Dead 60s and The Rascals. Despite all the different music emanating from Liverpool these days, Skelly believes there is still such a thing as a Mersey sound. "I think there's something in the water. It's a port and there's always been an acoustic sound here, people harmonise together and that's reflected in the music. People grew up here listening to the same rock 'n' roll records which influences the music that comes out of that."

Any band that comes from Liverpool inevitably finds themselves compared to The Beatles at some point, whether they like it or not. But The Coral see it as a badge of honour. "The Beatles were the biggest and best band in the world," Skelly says emphatically. "They've been a huge influence on us and whenever I hit bad times I turn to their records because there was something magical about them. There will never be a band like The Beatles again. Without them there wouldn't be a music industry, they changed everything."

But while they take inspiration from the past Skelly says the modern British music scene remains a vibrant one. "Music still matters and there are still great records being made, I really don't think they've lost any of the magic."

As for The Coral, he feels they're back in the groove. "We'd like to sell as many records as we can and get as many people as possible listening to our songs, we don't just want to be a cult band. But we're back to our best and we're all committed to what we're doing. You can't pretend to be something you're not, you can't blag it, you just have to be yourself and work hard."

The Coral play Leeds 02 Academy on Sunday. 0113 389 1555,

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