The Coronas
| The Coronas | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Terenure, Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Rock Indie Alternative |
| Years active | 2003 – present |
| Labels | 3ú Records[1] |
| Associated acts | Mary Black[2] Frances Black[3] |
| Website | www.thecoronas.net |
| Members | |
| Danny O'Reilly Conor Egan Graham Knox Dave McPhillips |
|
The Coronas are an Irish rock and indie band. They have released three studio albums, Heroes or Ghosts (2007), Tony Was an Ex-Con (2009) and Closer to You (2011). The first album brought them widespread popular acclaim with songs such as, "Heroes or Ghosts" and "San Diego Song". Tony Was an Ex-Con received Best Irish Album at the 2010 Meteor Awards, beating Snow Patrol's Up To Now and U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb among others.
Contents |
[edit] Members
- Danny O'Reilly - Vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
- Dave McPhillips - Lead guitar
- Graham Knox - Bass
- Conor Egan - Drums, percussion
[edit] History
[edit] Formation
Two of the members of The Coronas, Danny O’Reilly and Graham Knox, were born two weeks apart, in Dublin. Their families were great friends, and in turn Danny and Graham built a firm friendship as well. Both came from particularly musical backgrounds; Danny’s mother, for example, is the renowned Irish Folk vocalist Mary Black.
In 1997, while attending Terenure College secondary school in Dublin, Danny and Graham were introduced to Conor Egan; it was here as well that the three made friends with Jim Lawless, who would later become their manager. Identifying a mutual love for music, Danny, Graham, and Conor, then only 15 years old, formed a band called Kiros along with another friend. However, this band did not work out and soon split. But in 2003, upon leaving school, Danny, Graham, and Conor reformed under a new name, Corona, taking Jim Lawless on as their manager. “Corona” came from the Smith Corona typewriter used by the protagonist in the film Almost Famous.
Danny went on to attend University College Dublin to study Commerce, while Graham and Conor both studied sound engineering. Meanwhile, practicing in a disused factory and gigging around small venues in their free time, Corona began to gather a small following. The band soon entered and won a competition for Irish up-and-coming bands, called the Jack Daniel’s “JD Set.” In 2005, Corona recorded an eponymous EP, their first recordings of original songs, in a small house in county Wicklow, Ireland. The EP proved to be popular, especially among college students in Dublin. It was around this time that the band also changed its name to The Coronas, largely because the pre-existing Italian dance act, also called Corona, re-emerged.[2] In 2006, they happened to meet guitarist Dave McPhillips while on a holiday in Vancouver; shortly thereafter, they asked him to join the band as lead guitarist. Dave was a fellow Dubliner, hailing from Monkstown, and had attended Gonzaga College. Dave later studied at University College Dublin.[2] In September 2006, The Coronas sold out a show at Whelans, one of Dublins most prestigious venues for new music. Following this gig they were signed to the independent label 3ú Records, in November, and soon began to record what would become their debut full-length album, Heroes or Ghosts. The Coronas have since released Heroes or Ghosts, in October 2007, and a second LP, Tony Was An Ex-Con, in September 2009. They have also been nominated for four Meteor Awards, winning Best Irish Album in 2010 for Tony Was An Ex-Con.
The band’s third album, Closer to You, was released on 11/11/11. The Coronas recorded their 3rd album in LA with producer Tony Hoffer who has worked with the likes of Air, Beck, The Kooks, Belle and Sebastian and many more. Their first single from the album, Addicted To Progress, was a big hit on Irish airwaves and the single was in the Top 5 Irish Airplay Chart for over 13 weeks. The song was also nominated for the 2012 Meteor Choice Music Prize.
The band’s second single from the album, Mark My Words, was released on 10/02/12.
[edit] Heroes or Ghosts
The band's debut album Heroes or Ghosts was released on 5 October 2007, debuting at #27 in the Irish Albums Chart, and was described by Hot Press as "walking a soulful line between Jeff Buckley and the Libertines.” The album spent 74 weeks in the Irish album charts, peaking at #18.
The Coronas have appeared on RTE's Late Late Show, The Cafe and The Podge and Rodge Show, TV3's event guide, Channel 6's Popscene and radio shows, along with being interviewed on Youtube. In 2008 the Coronas were nominated for a Meteor Award, in the Best Irish Pop Act category. The award was won by Westlife, on February 15, 2008. In 2009 they were nominated for two Meteors in the Best Pop and Best Live categories.
The title track, “Heroes or Ghosts,” was also translated into Irish for the Irish-language album, Ceol ’08.
[edit] Tony Was an Ex-Con
Tony Was an Ex-Con is the second album from The Coronas. The album was released in Ireland on Friday 25 September 2009, and went straight to number one spot in the Irish i-Tunes Album chart upon its release. The following week it debuted at number three in the Irish Albums Chart. The first single from album was "Listen Dear", the second being "Far From Here". Their first televised live performance of a track from the album came with a performance of "Listen Dear" on The Late Late Show on RTÉ One on Friday 18[when?] 2009. Prior to this televised performance the band did promotion for the album in print, radio and television media. The band appeared on the front cover of Hot Press magazine which hit news stands on Thursday 24 September 2009.[4] They appeared in HMV music stores around Ireland, doing in-store promotions.
Tony Was an Ex-Con won Best Album at the 2010 Meteor Awards, beating albums by artists such as U2 and Snow Patrol. The band did a version of "Listen Dear" in the Irish language for the Irish cover compilation album Ceol '10 Súil Siar. The track is named "Éist a Ghrá" and is listed as a bonus track on the record.
[edit] Closer to You
Closer to You was released on 11 November 2011. It went straight into the Irish Indie Chart at number one, making number three in the overall chart. The album was produced by Tony Hoffer. Its lead single "Addicted to Progress" received more radio play in Ireland than any of the band's previous singles, topping Today FM's playlist chart for three consecutive weeks in December 2011.
- What You Think You Know
- Mark My Words
- Closer to You
- Dreaming Again
- Blind Will Lead The Blind
- Addicted To Progress
- My God
- Dreaming Again Part 2 (Wait For You)
- Write To Me
- Different Ending
- Make It Happen
[edit] Touring
- The band have become famous for their Christmas gigs in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, usually held the second weekend in December. They played 6 nights in the Olympia in December 2011.
- They have completed short tours in the UK and the United States.
- They are signed to Japanese record label JVC and toured Japan in March 2009.
 |
|
| Problems listening to this file? See media help. | |
- The band were the second act to appear on the main stage at Oxegen music festival on Friday 10 July 2009.
- The Coronas were the supporting act to The Script for their nine gigs in Ireland from 25 August to 5 September 2009, and also supported on their European tour in 2011.
- The band toured South East Asia in November 2009, playing in Singapore (at the renowned music venue The Prince of Wales, The Electric Ballroom live night at Home Club and the Irish pub Muddy Murphy's, amongst others), Thailand and Indonesia.
- They toured Australia in May 2010.
- They returned for one gig at The Pavilion in Singapore on 5 June 2010, supported by The Disclaimers.
- They opened for Paul McCartney at the RDS Arena on 12 June 2010.[5]
- They played the Isle of Man Bay Festival on 19 June 2010.
- They supported The Script in front of 50,000 fans in the Aviva Stadium on 2 July. Tinie Tempah also supported.
- On 22 July 2011, they sold out their biggest ever headline concert in Marlay Park to over 7,000 fans. They were supported by Bressie, Royseven and KT Tunstall.
- They played at the Mary from Dungloe Festival on 28 July 2011.
- They appeared on The John Murray Show on RTÉ Radio 1 in November 2011.[6]
- They performed six shows at Dublin's Olympia Theatre.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studios albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRL | |||||||||||
| 2007 | Heroes or Ghosts | 24[7] | |||||||||
| 2009 | Tony Was an Ex-Con
|
3 | |||||||||
| 2011 | Closer to You
|
3 | |||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRL [8] |
|||||
| 2007 | "The Talk" | 18 | Heroes or Ghosts | ||
| "San Diego Song" | 26 | ||||
| 2008 | "Grace, Don't Wait!" | 30 | |||
| "Heroes or Ghosts" | 24 | ||||
| 2009 | "Listen Dear" | 16 | Tony Was an Ex-Con | ||
| 2010 | "Someone Else's Hands" | 23 | |||
| "Wont Leave You Alone"[9] | - | ||||
| 2011 | "Addicted to Progress" | 7 | Closer to You | ||
| 2012 | "Mark My Words"[10] | - | |||
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart | |||||
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.muzu.tv/TheCoronas?country=ww
- ^ "Danny & Mammy But No Whitmore...". ShowBiz Ireland. 10 November 2011. http://www.showbiz.ie/news/november11/10-danny-and-mammy-but-no-whitmore.shtml. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- ^ "Coronas star misses own party for a night with mum". Evening Herald. 25 July 2011. http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/around-town/coronas-star-misses-own-party-for-a-night-with-mum-2830396.html. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ http://www.hotpress.com/2893481.html
- ^ CHARLIE TAYLOR; and RONAN McGREEVY (2010-06-12). "Feast of tasteful events planned". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0612/1224272354541.html. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
- ^ "Watch Coronas on John Murray Show", 18 November 2011.
- ^ "Discography The Coronas". irma.ie. http://www.irma.ie/charts_archive/week45_08.asp. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
- ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 20 November 2011. Search for Coronas
- ^ http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coronas/22790726799
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWAv8nAlz-I
[edit] External links
- The Coronas - Official website
