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Blossoms credit Courteeners as ‘a big reason that we’re a band’

They expressed their gratitude for the backing they received right from the off.

Danny Jones - 8th January 2025

High-flying indie five-piece Blossoms have credited Courteeners as a “big reason” that they became a band in a recent interview.

The Stockport outfit – who enjoyed an utterly stellar 2024 amidst the release of their critically acclaimed album, Gary – have not long finished their most recent tour, but they claim it may never have happened without the Middleton group.

And they don’t just mean in terms of inspiration: as they explained, it was the Courteeners’ generosity and support during their early days that helped them get a foot in the door.

Speaking to Radio X earlier this week, Blossoms were invited to look back on what was unquestionably a massive year for music and review it from A-Z; when they arrived at the letter C, there was only one answer that came to mind.

When you are supporting the Courteeners at 7 but have to set a fiendish riddle for Batman at 9.

Tom from @BlossomsBand pulling off some clobber that not many others could at Old Trafford this weekend!

Looking 🔥#NowPlaying Blossoms "Care For" on #XSEveningShow.@Mr_Jimbob x pic.twitter.com/695WkChiph
— XS Manchester – 106.1 FM, DAB+ & App (@XSManchester) September 27, 2021

Drummer Joe Donovan said of the fellow Greater Manchester music icons: “They’re a big reason that we’re a band – having a band so close to home, that felt like we can do this.”

Speaking about the Middleton-based indie rockers, he went on to insist, “We can’t thank them enough for being so kind to us.”

Blossoms not only supported Courteeners at their massive 2023 Heaton Park show but have twice been warm-up acts for Liam Fray and co. at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground.

The first occasion came back in 2017 towards the start of their career, having not long released their debut record and still a year before they would release their sophomore outing.

All three gigs were obviously massive, both in helping put the local lads on the map and get their music out to new audiences and in helping nurture what is clearly a close relationship between the two bands.

During lockdown, Fray and the Blossoms combined for an ‘isolated’, stripped-back and ultimately viral cover of the classic 2008 Courteeners track, ‘Please Don’t’, from their first-ever LP St. Jude, which was recently re-released as a 15th Anniversary Edition.

‘Please Don’t’ – Blossoms & @What_Liam_Said in Isolation! Xxx pic.twitter.com/8ifalIr0hD
— BLOSSOMS (@BlossomsBand) May 31, 2020

Cut to a few years later and each band is still riding their own waves of popularity, with the Stopfordians only getting bigger as time goes on and Courteeners returning with their seventh studio album, Pink Cactus Café, back in October – on which Blossoms bassist Charlie Salt featured.

As they put it, their forerunners turned collaborators gave them “the belief” to not just play but keep making music and releasing it into the world, not to mention giving them the confidence to perform the kind of charismatic and much-talked-about live shows they’re known for today.

We have no doubt Blossoms x Courteeners connections will remain strong for years to come and you can almost bank on them sharing a festival stage or big headline billing again in the near future.

It won’t be long before the former are back on the road either, with plenty of gigs coming up this spring and summer, and we’re sure you’ll hear more live news from the Courteeners soon enough too.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group/Press Image (supplied)