Blossoms frontman Tom Ogden has spoken to NME about commemorating a decade of their self-titled debut album, the band’s rise from those early days, and their upcoming collaborative single with Declan McKenna.
On Wednesday (August 5), the band celebrated 10 years of their Number One debut album by playing it front-to-back at Manchester’s 260-capacity Deaf Institute. Marking their first show at the venue since 2014, the Stockport five-piece also brought out deep cuts, fan favourites and previewed songs from their upcoming sixth album ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’.
The one-off gig was recorded for an accompanying live album titled ‘Live At The Deaf Institute’.
Having launched the upcoming LP in June with a pop-up van gig outside 42nd Street Nightclub, vocalist Tom Ogden spoke to us after the Deaf Institute gig about the magic of intimate shows.
We had a nice email from a fan called Joe, who we stopped seeing, the bigger we got, because he obviously prefers the smaller shows.
The buzz upstairs at the sweatbox of The Deaf Institute was palpable, as NME entered through armies of teenagers piled outside the Oxford Road venue, begging for spare tickets.
With The Lottery Winners’ Thom Rylance spotted in the audience, Blossoms took to the stage shortly after 9pm and exploded straight into ‘Charlemagne’, their traditional show closer, promoted to pole position as the opening track on their debut album.
Blossoms live at Manchester’s Deaf Institute. Credit: Ewan Ogden.
Returning for latest singles ‘Joke About Divorce’ and ‘Meet Me In Love’ in the encore, the latter saw Declan McKenna – who seems to be gearing up for a new era himself – pop up on stage to contribute backing vocals, before picking up a guitar and quipping “Here’s ‘Wonderwall’!” Introducing unreleased newbie ‘Additional Driver’, Ogden explained on stage that the collaborative track is about a “minor collision in a car at the Apollo roundabout.
In his interview with NME, Ogden said the song came about in the same AirBnb in Anglesey where they wrote 2024 single ‘I Like Your Look’ with CMAT. “I had to give a little disclaimer of what it was about, because it is ridiculous, but a lot of fun.
the whole thing felt like a fever dream,” he reflected. “We wrote with Declan for a week. One day, it got to 9 o’clock, we had a few drinks, and we started getting that groove of what the song is, and that bump – it wasn’t a crash, it was a bump – had just happened a couple of days before.
Check out the rest of our interview below, where Ogden spoke about the legacy of their debut, similarities with Wolf Alice, and what to expect from ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’.
NME: Hi Tom. What were the feelings on stage as you pressed pause on your upcoming album campaign to indulge and celebrate 10 years of debut album.
Tom Ogden: “Pure joy, really. For the vast majority of our career, and as a person, I’m always looking forward, but it is nice to take it in and actually appreciate the moment.
Them old tunes, there’s a rawness, the youth of making them songs. You couldn’t do it again now because you’re a different person, you sing about different things.
We’ve never been ‘punk’, but there’s a youthful energy to it, an aggression in the singing, which is charming, in a way.”.
While you’ve been so busy evolving over the past decade, have you kept an eye on what your debut album has grown into, and what it means to so many people.
How do you contend with the idea of Blossoms existing only as an arena band? When some bands make that jump, they never look back.
How do you think your debut album would fare if it were to be released in 2026.
Looking back at other British indie bands who released exciting debut albums around 2016, you have acts like Wolf Alice who are flying, but others like Sundara Karma have split, and The Hunna are about to.
Blossoms have so much still ahead of them, but what does it mean to be so creatively stimulated as you hit the 10-year mark.
Alongside Declan, we’ve heard Rick Astley doing backing vocals on ‘Joke About Divorce’. What role did Inhaler’s Elijah Hewson have on your new album.
You mentioned how ‘Gary’ unlocked the door for things to get even more unserious on ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ – the track listing mentions songs about the Kardashians and Uma Thurman.
What would the Tom of 2016 think of the new album, and the style of songwriting you’ve grown into.
Blossoms’ new album ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ is out October 2 via ODD SK / Distiller Records. Visit here to pre-order, including an exclusive live double CD edition featuring ‘Live At The Deaf Institute’.
Their upcoming UK headline tour dares are below. Visit here for tickets and more information.
NOVEMBER 26 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena 27 – London, Alexandra Palace 28 – Manchester, Co-op Live.
DECEMBER 4 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena 5 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro 11 – Manchester, Co-op Live.
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Informação baseada em material público de NME, reescrito pela redação ULTRA NOTÍCIAS.
