Blossoms Attribute Success to Gorilla Mascot, Reaching ‘Peak of Our Powers’

The Stockport-based band Blossoms is celebrating its recent number one album, which is titled after an eight-foot fibreglass gorilla named Gary, by performing a series of five sold-out concerts across five distinct venues in Manchester over five consecutive nights. While musical inspiration can emerge unexpectedly, it is uncommon for a rock frontman to find it, as Tom Ogden did, by hearing a news report in a car about the theft of a large model gorilla from a Scottish garden centre. Tom Ogden subsequently composed an indie-pop song inspired by this event and dedicated the band’s fifth album to the aforementioned model ape. Ogden explained his creative process, stating, “I’m under the impression that anything can be a song, if you approach it in the right manner.” He added, “And 10 years in, you’re always looking for new things to write about.” Regarding the gorilla incident, he recalled, “I found the story entertaining when I heard it on the radio, so just as a laugh I went away [and said] I’m going to write a song about it.” He further clarified its release, “I mean, if the song wasn’t very good, it would have never seen the light of day. But I rated the song.” For Blossoms, Gary has evolved into a muse, mascot, spirit animal, and an unofficial sixth member. Both the song and the touring replica of Gary are highly popular among their fans. While some might label it a gimmick, a claim Ogden partially concedes, he asserts that he did not foresee the extent to which the song and its backstory would resonate. The singer commented, “It has connected with people.” He continued, “I didn’t anticipate it, but I knew I wanted to have something that made people go, what’s that?” Ogden elaborated on its appeal, stating, “Even if people think it is ludicrous, it’s an entry point. And people were just ready for a bit of fun, I suppose.” He observed its broad appeal, noting, “You can sense there’s something in there which has connected with people for all ages. There are kids who love Gary, and then you’ve got our age, and then you’ve got older people.” He added, “If you come to our shows, you’ll see all different ages jumping along and singing to this song.” He concluded, “I underestimated people’s appetite for the ludicrous, maybe.” With a decade in the music industry and four number one albums to their name, Blossoms possess the established credibility to embrace such an unconventional concept. Furthermore, they have expanded beyond their indie roots with a special edition of *Gary* that includes cover versions of tracks by artists such as Bob Marley, Lady Gaga, and Whitney Houston. Ogden explained their choice of covers, stating, “We love doing a cover, and we thought we’d cover songs we loved growing up. I always loved I Wanna Dance With Somebody. It’s as simple as that.” In recent years, the band has also collaborated with 1980s music icon Rick Astley, touring as a tribute band to The Smiths. The *Gary* album received a review in The Times that highlighted Blossoms’ affinity for 80s pop, describing the track “I Like Your Look” as “Wham!-like.” Ogden responded to this, saying, “I took that as a huge compliment, because I love Wham!” Nevertheless, the same critic also characterized *Gary* as an “ultra-shallow album” in a dismissive manner. The singer addressed this criticism, stating, “I think if you call an album Gary, and you write a song about a fibreglass gorilla, you’re out in the open, in terms of someone’s going to say something like that.” He countered, “But I think there is depth on the album, of course, because there are songs like Mothers, which is about friendship and growing up. And then Why Do I Give You The Worst Of Me? is a very personal song.” He suggested the critic might have concluded, “So I think someone’s just thought, yeah, there’s a song about fibreglass gorilla, maybe that’s a bit of fun. And I Like Your Look’s not taking itself too seriously either.” Ogden concluded his thoughts on the criticism by saying, “And do you know what, you can’t please everybody so… I don’t really care, to be honest.” He acknowledged the nature of the industry, adding, “You’ve got to learn to grow thick skin in this [business]. But I understand if they’re saying it because we called the album Gary.” He finished with, “Like, fair enough, whatever, man.” In August, Blossoms performed their largest headline concert to date, attracting 30,000 attendees at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester. Large-scale outdoor performances do not consistently meet anticipated standards. In 2019, the group headlined at Edgeley Park, the stadium of Stockport County FC, located in their hometown within Greater Manchester. Ogden reflected on that earlier performance, stating, “We only had two albums, and maybe it felt like we weren’t as good live, basically, as we are now.” He asserted, “We feel like we’re at the peak of our powers this year.” He described the Wythenshawe Park event as the “best gig we’ve ever done.” He further commented, “We put everything into that show, and in no way did it feel disappointing. It blew us away even more than we expected.” Following this, when the band began planning a comprehensive UK tour, they deliberated on whether to include Manchester again. Ultimately, they opted to perform there five times, at distinct venues of varying capacities, each of which they had previously played at different points in their career. This concentrated Manchester tour is scheduled to commence at Manchester Academy on Tuesday, followed by performances at the Ritz, Albert Hall, Victoria Warehouse, and Apollo. Ogden explained the decision, stating, “We thought it would be nice to play all the venues that we’d played on the way up and make a week of it, and make it a bit more interesting for the fans.” These locations all hold significant sentimental value for the band members. Ogden recalled, “The Ritz was the first big headline show we did in, when we felt like, oh, something’s definitely happening here. We sold that out before we had a record deal and was the first time fans were singing and moshing around.” He continued, “I remember going to watch bands at the Academy – I remember watching Jake Bugg there, and I watched Miles Kane there when I was 15 or 16, so I always have a soft spot for that place.” He added, “And then when we then headlined it in 2016 when our [first] album came out, it felt like, oh yeah, we’re part of the big boy [club].” Regarding another venue, he stated, “The Albert Hall is just a beautiful venue, so the memories of that place are great. We support the Charlatans in the Albert Hall in 2015 and we then headlined it ourselves in 2016.” He further remarked, “The memories are in the walls of what you were doing last time.” Ogden concluded, “You’ve got to be grateful that you’re still around, and people care about the band so much that we can fill all of these places one night after another.” Gary, their guardian gorilla, could justifiably be credited for their current period of success and will be present backstage during their performances. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.