UK chart history has been made by 22-year-old twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas. The duo’s sophomore album, Cartwheels, debuted at number one making Ward Thomas the first British country music act to top the UK chart.
“We honestly couldn’t believe it,” Catherine smiled. “Our first album, From Where We Stand, reached number 41 two years ago. We were just hoping to improve on that and maybe get a spot in the top 40.”
“We actually wondered if some mistake had been made when we were number one in the mid-week listings,” Lizzy laughed. “We were 750 sales ahead of Jaime T’s new album, Trick. Number four is the lowest position he’s had with any of his albums and there we were going head to head with him for number one. It was surreal!”
Their achievement easily surpasses the previous best of number ten reached by The Shires with their 2015 debut album, Brave. This increased interest in British country artists is largely attributed to what has become known as the Taylor Swift effect.
“We were not particularly fans of country music when we were growing up,” Catherine revealed. “But we fell hard for the genre after one of our cousins from Canada came to stay with us on our family farm in Hampshire. She loved country music so we got to hear her collection of albums by artists such as The Dixie Chicks and Carrie Underwood.”
“Taylor Swift’s music has been a big influence,” Lizzy added. “Her last album was officially pop but so many of her earlier songs were more like country pop than pure country music. This style has been termed as modern country and Taylor’s success is testament to the enormous popularity of these kind of songs.”
Their own songs follow a similar pattern. Indeed, some critics have labelled Ward Thomas as indie-pop rather than a country music duo.
“We understand those kind of comments,” Lizzy admitted. “But we feel they are made by critics who don’t appreciate the nuances of modern country music. The country music fans and hierarchy have no problems with our songs.”
The girls recorded their debut LP in Nashville with the help of renown musicians/producers Bobby Blazier and Chris Rodriguez.
“We’d been writing songs together since we were in our mid-teens,” Catherine explained. “Our aim was to earn a living from the music business so we took singing lessons to improve our vocal skills. Our teacher, Ann Bailey, had been a session singer in Nashville. She sent some of our recordings to Bobby and Chris who were impressed enough to produce our album.”
They self-released From Where We Stand. It topped the British Country chart and won UK Album of the Year at the British Country Music Awards.
“We couldn’t have hoped for a better start to our career,” Lizzy reflected. “Almost all of our songs are written from a personal perspective. They don’t talk about really bad times which is the case with so many traditional country songs.”
“People recognise this and also seem to both appreciate and accept the Britishness in our lyrics,” Catherine added. “We’ve performed to audiences in America who seem to really enjoy our songs despite them not fitting into the usual style of American country music.”
Despite the popularity of their albums, the girls have yet to enjoy significant success in the singles chart.
“It would obviously be great to get a hit single,” Catherine stated. “Maybe we could do the trick with our current single,’Guilty Flowers. But there really isn’t the consistent radio and television support for country music in Britain.
“People have any single you release when they buy your album. It takes solid media playing to have people who didn’t buy the album hear your song often enough for them to want to buy the single.”
“We’re really just happy to have people enjoy our albums,” Lizzy remarked. “Getting a number one was beyond our wildest dreams. We can’t express our appreciation for the amount of fan support we’ve had. We can only say a massive thank you to everyone who has bought our album.”


in brief
Geri Horner

Things finally seem to be working out romantically for Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. Now Geri Horner, she is 16 months into her marriage to Formula One Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner.
The couple married without the presence of Christian’s parents. Garry and Sara Horner were reportedly devastated when their son left his partner of 14 years, Beverley Allen, just months after the birth of their daughter, Olivia. They were even more upset when Christian confirmed he was dating Geri.
Garry and Sara’s disapproval culminated in their absence from Christian and Geri’s wedding. It took nearly a year for amends to be made but Geri does now have a positive relationship with her in-laws.
She also has the MGB roadster sports car on which she spent her first Spice Girls pay cheque back in the 90s. Her husband tracked down the car, bought it and surprised Geri with the special gift for her 44th birthday on August 6.
Meanwhile, Geri, Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown, now known as Spice Girls GEM, are preparing for their 21st anniversary concert in London’s Hyde Park next summer. They have been in the studio working on new material for an accompanying album.
A previously unreleased Spice Girls song is available to hear online. A Day In Your Life didn’t make the final cut for their 2000 album, Forever. Ironically, it does not feature Geri who had left the group by then.
Some fans have suggested it would be a world-wide chart-topper if the song was released now. See what you think by checking it out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe-REZRxBAY

Lady Gaga

There is no official video as yet but Lady Gaga has released Perfect Illusion as the lead single from her upcoming fourth solo album.
The song was created in partnership with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and hot shot producer Mark Ronson. Queens of the Stone Age main man Josh Homme also plays guitar on the track. An official audio posting is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB94lvJbETE
No title or release date have been decided upon for Gaga’s new album. But she says it is virtually finished and will be out soon. The album will likely be made available in time to benefit from the lucrative Christmas market.

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen has written his autobiography. The 500-page Born To Run will be published world-wide on September 27.
Bruce has just concluded the North American leg of his “River” concert tour. But he will soon be on the road again promoting Born To Run on a nine-city tour across America.
The two-hour sessions are expected to be so popular that fans must pre-purchase a ticket, which is effectively the price of the book. Bruce will pre-sign each copy so no-one can have a personalised dedication. But they will get the opportunity to meet The Boss and have a picture taken with him.
A new compilation album, Chapter and Verse, will be released on September 23 as a companion to the book. The 18 tracks reflect Bruce’s musical history telling a story which parallels his autobiography. Five of the songs have not previously been released. A one-minute trailer for the album can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhnY9CS02rE

The Pretenders

No new material has been heard from The Pretenders since their 2008 album, Break Up The Concrete. But the band will return with their tenth studio album, Alone, on October 21.
“We chose the title because the songs deal with the pleasure of being alone,” explained frontwoman Chrissie Hynde. “I do pretty much everything alone. I go everywhere alone and enjoy being by myself. There are so many sad songs about being alone but I couldn’t think of one which celebrated being on your own. We’re about to change that.”
Lead single, Holy Commotion!, has just been released. There is no video as yet but an audio posting is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=JStKEEujtIw
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