Red Sky July are a British

alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

band, consisting of husband and wife

Ally McErlaine Alistair Manson McErlaine (born 31 October 1968), known as Ally McErlaine, is a Scottish guitarist, best known for his work with the band Texas, which he has been a member of since 1988. Ally is also a member of Red Sky July, who released thei ...

(ex-

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

) and

Shelly Poole Michelle Lena "Shelly" Poole (born 20 March 1972) is an English songwriter and singer. Career Shelly Poole is the daughter of the 1960s recording artist Brian Poole, of Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. With her sister Karen, she formed the band ...

(ex-

Alisha's Attic Alisha's Attic were an English pop duo of the 1990s and early 2000s. The two members were sisters Shelly and Karen Poole, born in Barking and Chadwell Heath respectively. Their father is Brian Poole of 1960s group Brian Poole and the Tremel ...

) along with esteemed vocalist Haley Glennie-Smith. Glennie-Smith was a replacement for Charity Hair (

The Alice Band The Alice Band were a pop group formed in 2000 by Rob Dickins and featured the artists Charity Hair from Florida, Amy Lindop from Glasgow and Audrey Nugent from Dublin. All three artists were vocalists and played guitar. Discography Album The Alic ...

and

The Ailerons The Ailerons were an English indie rock band featuring Charity Hair, Daniel Beattie, Dave Rowntree, Grog Prebble and Mike Smith. In 2006, they were brought into public view due to their song, "Dig a Hole" being featured as iTunes' free sing ...

). They are influenced by

alt country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

and

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

. They have released three albums since their formation in 2009.

Career

Prior to the band entering the studio to record their debut album, the project was put on standby as McErlaine suffered a brain aneurysm. After his recovery, the band reconvened to record the self-titled album. Throughout 2012 the band raised their profile while 2013 marked a return to the live performance. They embarked on their own UK wide tour while supporting

Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow in 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime, drummer Dougie Vipond, guitarist Gregor Philp and bassist Le ...

, James Walsh (Starsailor) and

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Jayne County, To ...

. Red Sky July returned to the studio to record their follow up album, ''Shadowbirds'', which was released in September 2014. The album entered the official UK charts country album chart at number 3 and featured a collaboration with

Jack Savoretti Giovanni Edgar Charles Galletto-Savoretti (born 10 October 1983), known professionally as Jack Savoretti, is an English-Italian acoustic singer, songwriter, and musician. He has released eight studio albums to date: ''Between the Minds'' (2007), ...

. The band toured in support of the album after its release while supporting Sheryl Crow and 10cc. Red Sky July were presented with a prestigious Tartan Clef award at the Scottish Music Awards by Nordoff-Robbins music therapy. In 2016, they appeared at the C2C festival. Also in 2016, they appeared at Glastonbury and the Isle Of Wight festival. Following their appearance at C2C, the band released their third studio album ''The Truth and the Lie'' in March 2016, which reached number 3 on the official UK country chart. This album featured guest musicians such as Mark Neary (pedal steel), Dave Etherington (piano), Ross Hamilton (drums/bass) and songwriter

Beth Nielsen Chapman Beth Nielsen Chapman (born September 14, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter who has written hits for country and pop music performers. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016. She is a two-time Grammy Award ...

who features on the track "Strathconon". The track "In Black" is an autobiographical account of Red Sky July member Ally McErlaine's battle with a brain aneurysm told through the eyes of his wife Shelly

Discography

Albums

*''Red Sky July'' (October 2011) *''Shadowbirds'' (September 2014) *''The Truth and the Lie'' (March 2016)

Singles and EPs

*"Morning Song" (September 2011) *''Silent Night EP'' (December 2012) *"Shadowbirds" (September 2014) *"Christmas Time" (December 2014) *"Save Christmas Day" (December 2015) *"The Truth and the Lie" (March 2016) *''Voyager EP'' (October 2016) *''Radio Mixes EP'' (June 2017)

Awards and nominations

Media appearances

Red Sky July featured on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

's ''Wake up to Wogan'' on 15 April 2012. Ricky Ross held an interview and session with Red Sky July.

References

External links

Official website

Red Sky July fan site
{{Authority control English alternative country groups English country music groups British musical trios Musical groups established in 2009 Proper Records artists