The Storys are a Welsh rock band from Swansea

Swansea

Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, formed in Spring 2003. Their main influence is 1970s U.S. West Coast bands in the country-rock genre. The band currently consists of Steve Balsamo

Steve Balsamo

Steve Balsamo is a Welsh singer and songwriter, famous for his lead role on the London version of Jesus Christ Superstar during the mid 1990s.-Biography:...

 (vocals, guitar), Andy Collins (vocals, bass), Rob Thompson (vocals, guitar), Brian Thomas (drums, percussion), and Alan Thomas (keys, mandolin, banjo) and formerly included Dai Smith, who sang and played guitar until August 2008, when he left. He was replaced by Rosalie Deighton.

Conception (2003 - 2006)

The group features four singer-songwriters all taking lead vocals on different songs. They count as inspirations such vocal harmony-based bands as Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...

, The Eagles, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young)

Crosby, Stills & Nash is a folk rock supergroup made up of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, also known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young when joined by occasional fourth member Neil Young...

 and The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

.

They recorded their eponymous debut album The Storys in an old converted cinema in the Welsh Valleys and released the album themselves, setting up their own label - Hall Recordings - before signing a record deal with Warners and having their album re-released on Korova in March 2006.

Their first gig was to over 70,000 people at The Olympic Torch Concert outside Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...

, and was followed by a support slot with Tom Jones

Tom Jones (singer)

Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...

 and a series of gigs in venues such as Bush Hall and The Borderline. The band also supported Elton John

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

 on two European tours.

2006 - Early 2008

Town Beyond The Trees, the band's second album, was released in 2008 on the band's own label, Hall Recordings, after Korova folded in 2007. It was recorded in Spring 2007 at Peter Gabriel's Real World studios near Bath, UK. The album was produced by Jon Kelly (Beautiful South, Kate Bush

Kate Bush

Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...

, Deacon Blue

Deacon Blue

Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop band formed in Glasgow during 1985. Their name was taken from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues". The band consists of vocalist Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond....

, Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

). It received favourable reviews from such publications as Maverick Magazine, Uncut Magazine, Classic Rock Magazine, Rock 'n' Reel Magazine etc.

The band have also supported Santana (Switzerland), Celine Dion (Holland), Sinead O'Connor (Belgium), Elton John (UK), Runrig (Germany) and Van Morrison (UK) as well as touring the UK in their own right.

Early 2008 - Present Day

Dai Smith left the band in 2008 and was subsequently replaced by folk singer/songwriter, Rosalie Deighton.

The Storys' music was featured in the movie The Bank Job

The Bank Job

The Bank Job is a 2008 British crime film written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, directed by Roger Donaldson, and starring Jason Statham, based on the 1971 Baker Street robbery in central London, from which the money and valuables stolen were never recovered...

and the band had cameo appearances in the film in the wedding scene.

The Storys have just announced they are to split and play one final concert at the Swansea Grand Theatre on Saturday 19 June 2010.

Discography

• "I Believe In Love" - CD single/ 7" (2006, Korova)

• "Cinnamon" - CD single/ 7" (2006, Korova)

• The Storys (March 2006, Korova) (previously released: August 2005, Hall Recordings)

1. "I Believe In Love"
2. "Be By Your Side"
3. "Cinnamon"
4. "High Enough"
5. "You're Taking My Heart Away"
6. "You're Not Around"
7. "Roll Like A Stone"
8. "Save Me"
9. "The King of Broken Dreams"
10. "Journey's End (Show Me Love)"
11. "Is It True What They Say About Us?"

• "Be By Your Side" - promo CD single/ 7" (2006, Korova)

• "Cinnamon" - CD single (2005, Hall Recordings)

• 5 Track Promo Sampler CD (2005, Hall Recordings)

1. "Cinnamon"
2. "Roll Like A Stone"
3. "High Enough"
4. "Be By Your Side"
5. "Journey's End (Show Me Love)"

• The Storys EP (2005, Hall Recordings) (Approximately 100 copies only)

1. "Be By Your Side"
2. "Roll Like A Stone"
3. "High Enough"
4. "So Long"

• The Town Beyond The Trees CD EP (2005, Hall Recordings) (60 copies only, limited edition artwork by Balsamo) (25 other copies had an old photo of Glyncorrwg printed on CD, plain plastic cover)

1. "The Town Beyond The Trees"
2. "My Foot Was Nailed To The Floor"
3. "God Take Care Of The One I Love"
4. "You're Not Around"

• The Town Beyond The Trees CD album (31 March 2008, Hall Recordings) UK chart position: #175

1. Long Hard Road
2. You Couldn't Make It Up
3. Evangelina
4. Alone
5. It's All We Really Need
6. Nobody Loves You
7. Town Beyond The Trees
8. Heaven Holds You Now
9. Feeling Something
10. Trouble Deep

External links

• The Storys Official Website
• The Storys Official MySpace Page
• The Storys biography from BBC Wales