Originating from Hoylake, a small town on the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, the Coral was formed in 1996 by school friends James Skelly (b. 1980, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England; vocals/guitar), Nick Power (organ/vocals), Bill Ryder-Jones (b. 1983, Salford, Greater Manchester, England; guitar/trumpet), Lee Southall (guitar/vocals), Paul Duffy (bass/saxophone), and Ian Skelly (drums). The sextet began working on their own material almost as soon as they had learned to play their instruments properly. They were discovered in rehearsal by ex-Shack associate Alan Wills, who was impressed enough to set up the Deltasonic Records label for them.
A recording contract with Sony Records was not long in following, and the Coral broke through into the mainstream in the new millennium with a series of releases that found them fêted as one of the UK's most original new acts. Their first release was the limited edition Shadows Fall EP in July 2001, which was followed in December by another limited release EP, The Oldest Path. Critics fell over themselves to praise the band's boundless musical imagination, and this eclectic approach was confirmed by the in-concert favourite, a cover version of Bob Marley's "Get Up Stand Up". The Skeleton Key EP preceded the release of the band's self-titled debut album in August 2002. By now the hype surrounding the Coral was so great that the album achieved enough first week sales to enter the UK charts at number 5, and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize barely 24 hours after being released. The piratical themes ("We've set sail again!/We're heading for the Spanish Main" sings James Skelly on the opening track) cast the quintet as looting musical magpies, and over the album's 11 tracks they mischievously raided a treasure chest of influences to create one of the new millennium's most gloriously inspired debuts.
The Coral responded to the good press by returning to the studio to complete work on material for their second long-player. The catchy single "Don't Think You're The First", released in March 2003, served as a taster for the new album and provided the band with their first UK Top 10 hit. The charming "Pass It On" made it a second Top 10 single in July, while Magic And Medicine debuted at the top of the album charts the following month. The experimental 2004 mini-album Nightfreak And The Sons Of Becker was a disappointing stopgap release but paid testament to the band's restless productivity. The creative surge showed no signs of abating with the release of the albums The Invisible Invasion (2005) and Roots & Echoes (2007). By now, the band's line-up had been bolstered with the addition of percussionist John Duffy.
