Cherry Ghost were an English music group which began in 2006, first as an alias for singer-songwriter Simon Aldred as a solo artist, before morphing into a full band. Their debut album, ''

Thirst for Romance ''Thirst for Romance'' is the debut album by Cherry Ghost, released on 9 July 2007 in the UK. The album was made available on CD, digital download, and double vinyl LP. It was recorded at Ape Studios in Cheshire and Moolah Rouge Studios in Stock ...

'', was released in July 2007 and entered the UK Album Charts at No. 7. It was nominated for an Ivor Novello award as well as winning Aldred an Ivor Novello for best song " People Help the People". A second album, titled '' Beneath This Burning Shoreline'', was released in July 2010 to positive critical acclaim. Aldred, under the moniker Out Cold, released a solo album titled ''Invasion of Love'' in September 2013, featuring a markedly synthpop sound. Cherry Ghost released their third and final album '' Herd Runners'' in May 2014; Aldred last performed with Cherry Ghost in 2016 on the Marc Riley Show on BBC Radio 6 Music. Currently based in London, Simon Aldred now works outside of music, as well as occasionally writing for and with other artists. Aldred was the featured vocalist on the 2015

Avicii Tim Bergling (; 8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii (, ), was a Swedish DJ, remixer and music producer. At the age of 16, Bergling began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first rec ...

single " Waiting for Love", and more recently co-wrote several songs with Liam Gallagher, including his 2017 top 40 hit "For What It's Worth".

History

Beginnings and ''Thirst for Romance'' (2006–2007)

The name "Cherry Ghost" is a reference to the Wilco song " Theologians" from the album '' A Ghost Is Born''. In Jan 2006, Simon Aldred began performing as Cherry Ghost as a solo artist, before morphing into a full band. Early sessions with Doves bassist and vocalist Jimi Goodwin and a special appearance on '' Later...with Jools Holland'' helped excel the band's beginnings. Cherry Ghost were one of only a handful of bands and musicians to have been invited onto Jools Holland's programme before having released any material. Cherry Ghost signed to Heavenly Records, and released their debut single " Mathematics" in April 2007. The debut album, ''

'', was released in July 2007, following the release of the single " People Help the People" two weeks before, which charted on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

at No. 27. The album was met with generally positive reviews, and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 7. A third single, " 4 AM," was released in September 2007 and charted at No. 128. A live EP titled ''iTunes Festival: Live in London'', recorded in July 2007 at the

iTunes Festival The Apple Music Festival (formerly known as the iTunes Festival) was a concert series held by Apple, Inc. and inaugurated in 2007. Free tickets were given to Apple Music, iTunes and DICE users who lived in the United Kingdom, through localized p ...

, was released digitally in November 2007. In September 2007, Cherry Ghost were nominated for ''Best New Act'' at the 2007 Q Awards. In 2008, Cherry Ghost won an Ivor Novello Award for "People Help the People" in the category of ''Best Contemporary Song''.

''Beneath This Burning Shoreline'' (2008–2012)

In March 2008, Simon announced through a MySpace blog posting that the band were at the writing stage for the second album and had seven songs written, which had been distilled from over 50 different tunes. The bulk of the album was written in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The band began recording the album in January 2009. A later blog post indicated that the band were recording in a converted

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen ...

. On 27 December 2009, Simon posted on MySpace that the second album had been finished and was "due to be mixed in the next month or two." On 29 April 2010, a message on the band's MySpace page stated the title of the new album as '' Beneath This Burning Shoreline'', with a release date of 5 July 2010. ''Beneath This Burning Shoreline'' was released to positive reviews, garnering 4-star reviews from publications such as '' Q'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

''. The album's first single, "Kissing Strangers," was released as a single-track download on 28 June 2010. Second single "Black Fang" was released in September 2010 as the album's first commercial single on 7" vinyl and download; third single "We Sleep on Stones" was released as a double A-side with a cover of the

CeCe Peniston Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (; born September 6, 1969) is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song " Finally" r ...

hit " Finally" in November 2010. A fourth single, "Only a Mother", was issued as a download in March 2011.

''Invasion of Love'' and ''Herd Runners'' (2012–2014)

Simon Aldred spent much of 2012 and 2013 recording his solo album ''Invasion of Love'', released under the name Out Cold in September 2013. Aldred went into the project not wanting to make another guitar-driven album, instead turning towards synthesizers. In an interview with ''

'', he said "The pattern of strumming a guitar felt really flat, I didn't want to make another miserable northern record... The last album, I was plucking quotes from Chekhov and

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

, so I wanted to give myself a little break. I could have easily made an acoustic troubadour-style album, and I had half that written, but it shouldn't be that easy... 'Invasion' has a negative connotation, but the album is mostly about embracing relationships and love." Aldred and Cherry Ghost recorded their third and final studio album '' Herd Runners'' in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

with Colin Elliot and Dan Austin. The album was released in May 2014 via Heavenly Recordings and

PIAS Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1983 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European independent labels in the early 1980s. Play It Again Sam's prominent ea ...

. Herd Runners features musical contributions from Liam Gallagher / The Earlies keyboard player

Christian Madden The Earlies are a band formed by Christian Madden and Giles Hatton from Lancashire, England, and Brandon Carr and John Mark Lapham from the United States. They are notable for blending elements from a wide range of musical genres and have been ...

, Pedal Steel Guitar player Scott Poley and Saxophonist Nicky Madden.

Members

* Simon Aldred – Lead vocals, guitar * Jim Rhodes – Guitar * Ben Parsons – Keyboards * Phill Anderson – Bass, synthesizer, cornet * Grenville Harrop – Drums

Discography

Albums

Singles & EPs

Songs Cherry Ghost have covered

* "Junebug" ( Sparklehorse) ''(B-side)'' * " Finally" (

) ''(B-side)'' * " Welcome to the Black Parade" ( My Chemical Romance) ''(played live)'' * "

Back to Black ''Back to Black'' is the second and final studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with then-ex-boyfrie ...

" (

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A m ...

) ''(played live)'' * " Under My Thumb" (

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

) ''(played live)'
link
* "

Pounding Pounding is a ritual in Christianity in which a new priest or minister is given gifts by members of the congregation of that church at which he is assigned to preach. The practice can be traced back to at least the 19th century, when communican ...

" ( Doves) ''(played live)'' * " Drive" (

The Cars The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), ...

) ''(played live)'' * " Androgynous" ( The Replacements) ''(Played Live on Marc Riley Show)''

Cherry Ghost songs that other artists have covered

* "4AM" (Liam Fray) * " People Help the People" ( Birdy) * "My Lover Lies Under" ( Rumer)

Festival appearances

* Camden Crawl 2007: 19 and 20 April *

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contempo ...

2007: Queen's Head stage, 24 June *

2010: Queen's Head Stage, 26 June *

2011: Oxylers In West Stage, 25 June * Oxegen Festival 2007: New Bands/Futures stage * Latitude 2007: Uncut Arena * Summer Sundae 2007: Main stage * Guilfest 2007: Guildford, Stoke Park, July 2007 * iTunes Festival 2007: London, 22 July * V Festival 2007 Weston Park: Virgin Mobile Union stage, 18 August * V Festival 2007 Hylands Park: Virgin Mobile Union stage, 19 August * Dpercussion 2007, Manchester, Main Stage, 4 August * Ben & Jerry's Sundae On The Common 25 July 2010

References

External links

Cherry Ghost's official websiteCherry Ghost's official Facebook PageCherry Ghost's official MySpace page
{{Authority control Musical groups from Greater Manchester Musical groups established in 2006 Musicians from the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton English indie rock groups Ivor Novello Award winners People educated at Canon Slade School Heavenly Recordings artists