The Coral exclusive

Frontman speaks on new singles collection and Bill’s departure from the band

30 July 2008 - The Coral played to a small crowds at London’s Coliseum Theatre last night (29 July), home of the English National Opera.

6 Music caught up with the vocalist and guitarist James Skelly beforehand, who says it's great playing such an interesting venue, but is also a bit strange.

“I’ve never played an all seated place before but I suppose it's different, he said, “We’ve played stadiums in Cardiff, and then we played to 250 in Birmingham in a little club the other night - there’s pros and cons to both of it.”

As for whose idea was it to book them into the unique venue, Skelly held their manager responsible.

Skelly said: “He just said there’s this venue and he just thought it’d be good to get the songs across in the acoustic way – well, there is a bit of electric guitar in it – but to try and get the songs across in that way would be good for us.”

He said it keeps the band on their toes: “We needed to do something different, we’ve been playing Academy’s and that for about 8 years now, so it’s good to have a change.”

Skelly reckons it's important to keep things acoustic sometimes, and explained why: “You can strip it down to its bare minimum and it has still got that charm as a song, it’s not just tricks.”

Their August 2007 album Roots and Echoes was critically acclaimed, which pleased Kelly, as he said: “It did get really good reviews. You always look back and think, ‘shoulda done that, woulda done that’, but I’m proud of all the albums we’ve done.”

"It was kinda like making two albums with your hands ties behind your back in a way.  It wasn’t his fault but we had to finish it without him."
James Skelly

Looking back

As for the singer’s favourite album in their back catalogue, he said their 2002 self-titled debut holds a special place for him.

“It’s always gonna be your first one, it took about 20 years to write it. Dunno whether it’s the best album but it was the most important, probably got the most people into us and it sold the most,” Skelly told 6 Music.

And as for their most difficult albums to make, he said the last two The Invisible Invasion and Roots and Echoes were the most testing: “It was kinda like making two albums with your hands tied behind your back in a way.”

Half way through recording their guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones left the band.

Skelly said: “It wasn’t his fault but we had to finish it without him and your head’s everywhere.  It was a bit of a shock and the next time he came back, but everyone knew it wasn’t right and we had to make the best of it.

However, despite some lows, the Merseyside rockers' frontman said he’s found the process of making their newest album much easier.

Singles collection and documentary

The Coral release a singles collection on 15 September. The frontman said it will be teamed with another disc with 10 unreleased tracks, “live stuff” and demos from when they first started in 1996.

They’ve consistently had chart success with 8 Top 40 singles and 4 Top 5 albums.

Turning to why they decided to compile this collection, Skelly explained: “Our guitarist left so we took a bit of time out, but you lose your confidence when you take time out. We had the last two albums cut short, did one tour and then that was it, it was over.

“So, we need to get a bit of momentum really, and remind people how good we are - get a platform for the next album to go out on. It’s a good way to put a full stop on, it’s a new band now.”

With almost 12 years and a fair share of experience behind them, we asked Skelly if the band go about things differently now.

He responded: “Now, we approach things the way we used to, when you’re a group of mates playing music. I think it became like being in a band for a bit and I didn’t like being in a band that much to be honest.”

The band also aiming to release a documentary  for fans at some point, which Skelly said has been shot since they were 16 years old – and has provided amusement when they’ve watched the footage back,.

James Skelly on Arctic Monkeys

Alex Turner and Co. have formerly said that The Coral have been a great influence on them.

As to whether he can hear The Coral’s influence in the Monkeys' music, Skelly said: “It’s not for me to say, they’re a good group but if someone says that and likes you, then it’s good. It’s what you do it for.”

Georgie Rogers