An email landed in my mailbox two days back from the fine folks over at Shameless Promotions PR. Inside the email was a link to a music video for the song Bluebird, Hollywood… Domino’ from a band that was all new to me, The Gorstey Lea Street Choir. A pair of names, one for the song and another for that band, that compelled me to know more about them. The band name comes with a story behind it. The song arrives as a story.

First things first, then shall we. Here is a link to the video:

YouTube https://youtu.be/2LDscdfKDPU

The video is a bit psychedelic in style and not for people with epilepsy but decent enough. However, it is the music that grabbed me.

The song opens with a droning synth note, which introduces a rattling snare drum in waltz tempo, followed by the other instruments and a great bass line.

Michael Clapham, half of the duo who call themselves The Gorstey Lea Street Choir, tells us that “This song is a cautionary tale of days gone by, what may have been and where we are now, we are two men in our’ mid lives’ (average age 51 and a half). We have a lot to look back and learn from and a lot to look forward too!!! It’s amazing what we have created, two middle-aged men fumbling around with some of our favourite musical toys in Russ’s converted garage,”

The other half of The Gorstey Lea Street Choir, Russ Philips adds this about the song.

“We are both very proud of what this track and the upcoming mini-LP represents, plus we also cannot wait for you to hear the re-imaginations that our friend and collaborator Choque (Black Star Liner) has created to go alongside the 4 original tracks,” adds Russ Philips.

The band is essentially two friends on a life-long journey; having met as teenagers in the mid-’80s, it took until 2016 for them to turn their teenage plans — discussed back when both were involved in aspiring Manchester bands — into a reality with the birth of this project.

Michael and Russ formed the band after reuniting for Russ’s birthday party and a subsequent impromptu gig. After 15 plus years of not playing an instrument, singing or songwriting, Michael dove back in with an enthusiasm that led to such a massive response from the crowd and landlord alike that the two songs turning into two hours and a guaranteed booking the next month. ‘What’s your band name, boys?” they were asked and ‘The Gorstey Lea Street Choir’ is quickly retorted with a tip of the hat to Van Morrison‘s LP ‘His Band And The Street Choir.’

As of May 13, ‘Bluebird, Hollywood… Domino’ will be available everywhere digitally, including Apple Music and Spotify. The entire album’…from Prince’s Park to Farsley – Volume I’ will be released on July 9 and can already be pre-ordered via the label’s Bandcamp.

Closing remark: mark July 9 on your calendar, you are going to love this album when it comes out.

Keep up with The Gorstey Lea Street Choir

https://www.facebook.com/TheGorsteyLeaStreetChoir 1https://twitter.com/GorsteyLea https://www.instagram.com/thegorsteyleastreetchoir https://500broadcast.bandcamp.com/album/from-princes-park-to-farsley-volume-i https://soundcloud.com/thegorsteyleastreetchoir https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrBSnmQLTE8DaTVZHQG-6Zg/videos https://open.spotify.com/artist/19YNwhd2isI2Vm9melbdRk

If you have any questions, contact Shauna from Shameless Promotion PR at contact@shamelesspromotionpr.com