The Coral

Born in Hoylake on the Wirral peninsula in Merseyside, The Coral formed in 1996 around James Skelly, Ian Skelly, Paul Duffy, Bill Ryder-Jones, Lee Southall and later Nick Power. Initially a sextet and a quintet from the mid-2010s, The Coral established themselves in the early 2000s on the British scene with indie rock infused with psychedelia, psychedelic folk, jangle pop and Merseybeat touches, occasionally adding country, baroque pop and lo-fi textures. After early EPs released on Deltasonic, they issued The Coral in 2002 and Magic and Medicine in 2003, where the songwriting became more melodic and dreamlike. Nightfreak and the Sons of Becker (2004) and The Invisible Invasion (2005) revealed a darker, more stripped-back side, before Roots & Echoes in 2007. The band’s trajectory shifted with Bill Ryder-Jones’ departure in 2008, followed by a hiatus after Butterfly House in 2010. Previously unreleased recordings resurfaced with The Curse of Love in 2014, and The Coral revived their discography with Distance Inbetween (2016), Move Through the Dawn (2018) and the double album Coral Island (2021). In 2023 they extended this universe with Sea of Mirrors and Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show. Their career has taken them through clubs, festivals and shared tours with several names from British rock, while retaining an identity built on oblique melodies, pop choruses and recurring coastal imagery.