Blossoms have been one of the most successful UK bands of the last 15 years. Their journey has included five number one albums, multiple headline shows, collaborations with Rick Astley and an album inspired by a stolen gorilla from a garden centre. Let’s look back at their brilliant journey so far.

My love for Blossoms started in 2015, when I heard Blossoms’ new single ‘Charlemagne’ for the first time. Since then, I have been a huge fan of their musical journey. I saw them support Kasabian in Leicester in 2016, before the release of their debut album. I remember feeling full of excitement and optimism for their future.

Since then, Blossoms have released a further five albums, including the latest, ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’. Alongside their superb discography, Blossoms owe their popularity to their naturally humorous and likeable Stockport based personas and image. Let’s have a recap on their ever growing journey.

2013-2015 – The Early Years

Blossoms formed in 2013 in Stockport and eventually developed into a five-piece. The arrival of keyboard player Myles Kellock would be a vital change in the band’s direction and would lead to the instantly recognisable sound of vocal melodies doubling up on keyboard synths. Breakthrough songs such as ‘Charlemagne’ and ‘At Most A Kiss’ were early examples of this. Singer Tom Ogden is a naturally charismatic frontman and talented songwriter, Joe Donovan and Charlie Salt make up a groovy rhythm section, and Josh Dewhurst adds musical interest with some excellent lead guitar work.

In terms of the early parts of their journey, Blossoms began to pick up momentum around Stockport in 2014 and released their first single, ‘Blow’. Their first EP, ‘Bloom’, began to attract the attention of Radio 1 as the band began to grow. However, it was in 2015 that Blossoms began to break through. The release of the ‘Charlemagne’ EP was the first time I heard Blossoms, and I was instantly a fan of the band. From that moment, Blossoms never looked back. 

The band had grown its fanbase first and was now attracting label interest, a pattern followed by many modern bands over the last decade. Blossoms released the ‘At Most A Kiss’ EP to gather even more momentum at the start of 2016, as they recorded their highly anticipated debut album.

2016 — Album 1: ‘Blossoms’

Blossoms’ self-titled album went straight to number one in the album charts, a rare achievement for indie bands of this day and age. I will always remember seeing an article at the time describe their sound as ‘a mix of ABBA and Arctic Monkeys’. Blossoms had cleverly built a sound which was relatable for indie kids as well as music lovers who had grown up listening to 80s music. 

In terms of the album itself, it balanced the songs which had grown the band’s popularity with some new ones. Of course, ‘Charlemagne’, ‘Honey Sweet’ and ‘Blown Rose’ will be the album favourites, but it was the acoustic ballad ‘My Favourite Room’ which will forever be my favourite song on the album, for both musical and sentimental reasons. In 2017, Blossoms continued to grow and win awards for their debut album as anticipation built to see how they would follow it up.

2018 — Album 2: ‘Cool Like You’

The ‘difficult second album’ followed two years later. However, ‘Cool Like You’ reached number four in the album charts, which was still an impressive achievement. At this stage, Blossoms were an established band in the indie scene. I loved the first three songs on the album, but I didn’t really get into the rest of the songs. ‘There Is A Reason Why’, ‘I Can’t Stand It’ and ‘Cool Like You’ will forever be among my favourite Blossoms songs, but I briefly lost a bit of interest in the band around this time. 

I was in an indie band myself at the time and didn’t listen to as much new music, but I felt that Blossoms could potentially fade into a band with a brilliant debut album that never kicked on. (I was, thankfully, very wrong.) However, during this time, Blossoms continued to grow. They even played a hometown show at Stockport FC’s stadium in 2019.

2020 — Album 3: ‘Foolish Loving Spaces’ & Continued Growth

In 2019, Blossoms released the single ‘Your Girlfriend’. All of a sudden, it felt like 2016 again, and I had Blossoms on constantly. I loved the bass line, the poetic lyrics and the lead guitar parts. It felt like the band were adapting their sound for a new direction. For the band’s third album, there would be a subtle change in sound towards a more disco, funk and pop sound. 

Blossoms were growing musically and in popularity. ‘The Keeper’ and ‘Like Gravity’ were my other favourites from this album. Again, it isn’t an album I regularly listen to, but Blossoms were now an established band with a collection of ‘bangers’. The album shot to number one in the album charts.

2022 — Album 4: ‘Ribbon Around the Bomb’ & Label Departure

In 2022, Blossoms were again at the top of the album charts. For me, I would say this is my least favourite Blossoms album, but I still loved seeing them live on this tour. I did also really appreciate the acoustic side of this album. ‘The Writer’ and ‘Ode to NYC’ were excellent tracks. I loved the story of writing ‘Ode to NYC’ for a film, only for it not to be used. I would argue there were more acoustic influences of the 1960s on this album in places, rather than the 1980s.

In 2023, the band would take the bold decision to leave Virgin EMI to have more creative control over the rest of their musical careers. Blossoms continued to headline big shows and released ‘To Do List (After The Breakup)’. The single was my favourite Blossoms release since ‘Your Girlfriend’ and was released a week after I had just gone through a breakup from a long-term relationship… Cheers, lads, always there for me.

2024 — Album 5: ‘Gary’

The first Blossoms release without their major label marked the beginning of a new era of creative freedom and clever marketing. The single ‘Gary’ is a song inspired by frontman Tom Ogden hearing a news story about an eight-foot fibreglass gorilla being stolen from a garden centre in Scotland whilst on a driving lesson. The album itself is my favourite Blossoms album. From start to finish, the album signifies the creative freedom of the band.

Their live shows were also growing. You could tell it was a band who were having fun whilst also pushing musical boundaries. A five-night Manchester run of gigs, a 30,000-capacity headline show in Stockport and another successful festival circuit kept the momentum of ‘Gary’ going long after the album charted at number one. ‘Slow Down’ was my favourite of the album tracks. It was a perfect soundtrack to where my life was at the time. ‘Perfect Me’ and ‘Cinnamon’ were also my favourites as well as the album opener ‘Big Star’.

2026 — ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’

The most recent chapter of the Blossoms discography was released at the beginning of this month. The marketing ploy of playing the single ‘Jokes About Divorce’ at local weddings of Blossoms fans helped build momentum for another album which would reach number one in the album charts.

The ‘Additional Driver’ collaboration with Declan McKenna was my favourite of the singles, but ‘Fall Into You’ is my favourite on the album, a really beautiful song both musically and lyrically. ‘Gary’ was a difficult album to follow up, both musically and from a marketing point of view, but I am still a big fan of their sixth album in ten years.

The Future?

Blossoms are now well and truly an established act within indie and the mainstream. Arguably, Blossoms are the biggest UK band of the last decade. A lot of people have a soft spot for Blossoms. Their personality has also been a big part of this, whether it’s their entertaining podcast, their Rick Astley-fronted tribute band performing ‘The Smiths’ music, or appearances on The Graham Norton Show. Blossoms have established themselves at the forefront of many people’s minds. I highly recommend listening to their podcast ‘The Pubcast’.

I have seen Blossoms four times and have enjoyed all six of their albums. Their music has been a soundtrack to my life and the lives of many others over the last decade, and it will continue to be. I hope I can write another article about Blossoms in ten years’ time, but either way, it has been great to watch their progress and grow into adulthood alongside their music.

Thank you for reading.

Sam