A Psychedelic, trippy delight produced by Gavin Monaghan (Robert Plant, Editors, Squeeze, Ocean Colour Scene, Goldblade).
Britain's The Gorstey Lea Street Choir are gearing up to release their new album '...from Prince's Park to Farsley - Volume I' via Britain's 500 Broadcast Recording Co. As this 8-track collection won't be out until July 9, they present us an advanced slice of goodness in the lead track 'Bluebird, Hollywood... Domino', along with quite the trippy video.
This is one of the watershed moments in the early days of the Gorstey songwriting process' when they first started working together after a friendship that blossomed over 35 years ago.
'Bluebird, Hollywood... Domino' is a psychedelic upbeat 6/8 stomp with a nod to '22 Dreams' period Weller and British psychedelic rock group Traffic. The overdriven bass and the chiming guitars have a hint of Macca's 'Rain' and Townsend's 'Seeker'.
The Gorstey Lea Street Choir are Michael Clapham and Russ Phillips. ‘Bluebird, Hollywood… Domino’ was recorded at the Gorstey Shack (Russ’s converted garage) and Magic Garden Studios in Wolverhampton with producer Gavin Monaghan (Robert Plant, Editors, Ocean Colour Scene, Scott Matthews, Squeeze, Goldblade), who also produced and mixed this track. The forthcoming album also involves mixing (and a guest cello performance) by legendary producer George Shilling (Blur, Primal Scream, Cathal Coughlan, Teenage Fanclub, Mike Oldfield). Ride frontman and renowned producer Mark Gardener provided oversight and mastering at his OX4 Sound Studio near Oxford.
Based in the former Staffordshire mining town of Burntwood, their music runs with the moods, widely described as dystopian, electric, hopeful, hopeless and thoughtful... The sort of sounds Henry Spencer would have played if he had a Sony Walkman.
‘…from Prince’s Park to Farsley - Volume I’ is the follow up to the duo's ‘extended play one’ album, which was released in December 2020 and received support from BBC 6 Music, BBC Introducing, Amazing Radio, and a whole host of DAB and worldwide radio stations.
The band is essentially two friends on a life-long journey, having met as teenagers in the mid-'80s, it took until 2016 for them to turn their teenage plans — discussed back when both were involved in aspiring Manchester bands — into a reality with the birth of this project.
Michael and Russ formed the band after reuniting for Russ' birthday party that year and a subsequent impromptu gig. After 15 plus years of not playing an instrument, singing or songwriting, Michael dove back in with a fever that led to such a massive response from the crowd and landlord alike, with 2 songs turning into 2 hours and a guaranteed booking the next month. ‘What’s your band name boys? ‘The Gorstey Lea Street Choir’ is quickly retorted an amalgam of that first meeting point and Van Morrison’s LP ‘His Band and The Street Choir’.
A door is unlocked to a new journey... In 2018, they entered Wolverhampton's Magic Garden studios to work with an old friend and producer legend Gavin Monaghan and finally released their brilliant debut single 'The British Isles' in 2019, featuring an inspired spoken-word intro from their hero - Joe Strummer. Chris Hawkins from BBC Radio 6 Music picked up on the track, kicking things off again after a hiatus of 35 years!
"This song is a cautionary tale of days gone by, what may have been and where we are now, we are two man in our 'mid lives' (average age 51 and a half). We have a lot to look back and learn from and a lot to look forward too!!! It's amazing what we have created, two middle-aged men fumbling around with some of our favourite musical toys in Russ's converted garage," says Michael Clapham.
"We are both very proud of what this track and the upcoming mini-LP represents, plus we also cannot wait for you to hear the re-imaginations that our friend and collaborator Choque (Black Star Liner) has created to go alongside the 4 original tracks," adds Russ Philips.
'Bluebird, Hollywood... Domino' is available everywhere digitally, the full album '...from Prince's Park to Farsley - Volume I' will be released on July 9 and can already be pre-ordered via the label's Bandcamp.
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