One of 2016's hottest bands Blossoms head to Oxford for a gig at The Bullingdon

They are being hailed as Manchester’s latest big thing: five mates, who ditched dodgy jobs to take the country by storm.

Nothing new there, you may think. But ask psych-rock band Blossoms for their biggest inspiration, and it’s impossible not to raise an eyebrow.

“Abba!” says frontman and songwriter Tom Ogden. “We’re fans of Abba... anywhere you drop the needle on an Abba record there’s a hook. So we want every part of our songs to be catchy and euphoric.”

He goes on: “I write the songs at home and always it’s about making songs that give me a buzz. I’m into pop music and there is a part of me which says ‘are people going to sing this back to me?’.

“But I don’t think about that too much, pop’s just engrained in me. I do genuinely look for that big hook, that big chorus.”

That big chorus – such as on their epic Charlemagne has stood them in good stead, seeing them sell out venues and hitting the top four of the BBC Sound Of 2016 poll.

“Charlemagne happened naturally in that same way, so we’re really proud of it,” says Tom.

“We’re not tied to being a straight down the line guitar band,” he goes on. “The timing of that song helped us. Once we had that one down, and once it had got such a good reaction, I could continue in that vein.”

Now they are on the road again, with a tour which docks at The Bullingdon, Oxford, on Saturday. The tour coincides with the release of their new EP At Most A Kiss. It’s fair to say, this group of lads who hammered out their craft by rehearsing in a Stockport scaffolding firm, have come a long way – and look like going way further.

“We’ve been together properly as a five-piece since about August 2013, so for us it actually feels quite a long time to get to this point,” says Tom.

“We knew what we’d done wrong in other bands we’d been in and we knew what gigs we wanted to do in and around Manchester. Meanwhile, we focused on writing good songs that sounded different to what we were hearing around the city at the time. It didn’t really feel like anyone was making music like us in Manchester. So in lots of ways it feels like we’ve had a head start.”

And people started taking notice – quickly.

“Yeah, and we weren’t doing gigs full of our mums and dads and mates!” he laughs. “People soon got into our music. But I think it was really because we did everything the old fashioned way. We got ourselves a van and went up and down the country to play, and then got ourselves a booking agent and a manager. We were ready to go.”

He says the lads dropped everything. “Josh was at college and had to quit that, me and Miles had part-time jobs at a hotel which we stopped doing and Jo the drummer was a tailor. Charlie worked with his dad. So we were all working but we so wanted to make this happen – which means we’ve been on tour ever since!”

They also found time to bang out a few EPs.

“Yes, and I think you can see how we’ve evolved through them,” he says. “A big turning point was when we released the Blown Rose and Charlemagne EPs in August and October. It started to click then. We sold out The Ritz in Manchester before any album had been released.

“It was old fashioned word-of-mouth combined with radio play. We did feel an exciting sense of momentum building – and we still do.”

Their music has been described as psych-pop riffs with vocal melodies. “In the early days we had a bit more psych to us, but not really now,” says Tom. “We’re just a great guitar pop band – that’s where we shine.”

They have been working on their forthcoming album with another great North Westerner: James Skelly from Scouse group The Coral.

“James has been great for us,” says Tom. “Ironically, he was keen to steer us away from the psych thing. He saw how good we were at writing pop tunes and wanted to push that to the forefront. He wanted to make it sound modern, to get on the radio in 2016. He’s always got an idea up his sleeve in that way – like what he calls ‘different synth sounds’. Little things like that steer you in new, interesting directions.”

As Stockport lads, do they feel like a Manchester band, in the tradition of Oasis, Stone Roses, or, going a bit further back, The Smiths or New Order?

“Stockport has its own little vibe but it does feel like a part of Manchester, not least because there’s nowhere to gig there really.” he says. “We say we’re from Stockport because that’s where we’re from, but we’ve always played in Manchester; that’s where we’ve built our following and where we go out.

“Manchester bands are my heroes, I grew up listening to them, so they’re bound to feed into the songs somewhere. Oasis are probably my favourite band but I don’t want to sound like them, I want to sound like Blossoms.”

Though he acknowledges the similarities, adding: “There is some of those bands within us, maybe. Maybe it’s to do with a shared Manchester attitude or a belief too. We’ve sold out the Albert Hall in Manchester, and that’s because people can identify and connect with us as five normal lads, singing about normal things people can relate to.”

He goes on: “We feel most comfortable playing live. When people sing your songs back to you it’s the best feeling in the world. That’s what it’s all about, where you hit your heights. Someone said we were like a machine, and we’ve got a really good sound live now. I hope we get across that we really enjoy what we’re doing – it’s the best feeling in the world.”

And what do they sing about? “To be honest a lot of it is about relationships and break-ups,” he says.

“Actually half this album is about a break-up. It’s great as a songwriter that, if you are feeling a bit rubbish, you can pick up a guitar or go on a keyboard, write something and come away feeling 10 times better – and then that song is there forever. Sometimes you write songs which are disguised, and have more metaphor within them. But a straight, direct approach really works for me, I think.”

And then there’s Abba. So, what’s his favourite Abba song? “As a band, probably Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! We love that tune. But there’s so many you could choose.”

Where and when
Blossoms play The Bullingdon, Cowley Road, Oxford, on Saturday.
Tickets available from wegottickets.com