Ward Thomas

Hampshire twins Catherine and Lizzy may only be 22 but already have two albums under their belt, and are first UK country act to top the charts, officially making them the most successful UK country act of all time. Crikey! Nice one ladies. They sold out Open’s club room last year, and are coming back again to pack out the banking hall. Legends in the making, their sweet country pop is tinged with real sadness and true feels, and is well worth a listen. I spoke to Lizzy about missing their dogs and how come they love country music to the max.

Did you grow up in a musical household?

Yes, we did. Our parents were in a 70’s rock covers band when we were growing up, so we were bought up with a lot of Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles and The Kinks.

Which music artists have inspired you the most over the years – and do you have the same or different inspirations to each other?

Many artists from many different genres of music have inspired both of us. We both love the Dixie Chicks, Fleetwood Mac, Miranda Lambert, Allison Krauss and so on.

How did you get your foot on the ladder? Have you been working for years to get to where you are today or has it been quite a fast pace for you?

It all happened very organically. We were very lucky with the people we met at a very young age that took us to Nashville. That was where we recorded our first album and it was the beginning of everything.

You played Norwich last year and sold out the Club Room at Open –this time around you’re playing the main Banking Hall there. How does it feel to be making your mark so successfully on your audiences that they want you back to play so soon?

It feels great. We love performing in all sorts of different places as we see a different audience everywhere we go. We are constantly pleasantly surprised by seeing an audience grow on each tour and seeing our music connect. It shocks us every time!

You’re twins – have you always made music together or have you gone through periods where you didn’t want to spend time together?

We have always made music together. We have also always shared everything growing up together. We are very used to each others company so that sometimes its almost like spending time with yourself. We see each other as a comfort especially on the road as we are taking a bit of home with us while being away.

Has there been anything that has surprised you about how the other person handles things in the band, seeing as you no doubt know each other well?

Not really. On the odd occasion through the years I suppose we have learnt what roles we’re good at in different situations. So we know who should handle what, depending on what it is!

How did you come to decide to take on country as a genre? It’s quite rare these days to see country albums in the chart.

We have family in Canada. Our cousin, Libby, came and lived with us for a couple of years and introduced us to all sorts of country music. The Dixie Chicks were one of the bands that we completely fell for. Then we started singing their songs and Johnny Cash and June Carter duets at our local pub and family parties. It all started there.

In fact your latest album Cartwheels was the very first UK country album to hit the top spot in the Album Charts. What do you think is the special ingredient in that album that helped it on its way?

We are still in shock that this happened! It was amazing. I think Cartwheels is a portfolio of our story in our early 20’s. We’ve filled it with stories and honesty. I think the style of this album both musically and emotionally related more to the British people than our last album.

Your lyrics are often heartbreaking, like on the title track of Cartwheels, about someone who refuses to believe a relationship is truly over. Do you use mainly your own experiences as inspiration?

We get inspired by all sorts of things going on around us. We are inspired by our close friends and family as well as what we see and feel together growing up.

What do you think country music has to offer us in 2017 that other genres perhaps don’t?

I think it’ll offer what its always offered. An honest story and melody that anyone can relate to. It’s just getting gradually more exposed to the British public as each year comes along.

You’re still only 22 – what do you hope to achieve with your music careers?

We hope to carry on doing what we’ve been doing these last couple of years, always growing, learning, meeting some incredible, inspiring people on the way, and carrying on writing music and seeing it connect with everyone. Mainly to carry on doing what we love.

How would you say your sound has developed since your debut album, From Where We Stand? It definitely sounds more mature.

I think we were inspired by more than the genre of country. We are listening to a lot of different music that I think made this album more of a mixture. We went into the studio and let each song speak for itself. And I think for every artist, an album is a portfolio of what’s going on in their lives. We wrote our debut at the age of 17/18. This is an album we wrote in our early 20’s.

How do you choose who takes the lead vocally on each song?

This is always very natural and random a lot of the time. We share the lead on a lot of songs. For example, Catherine may take the lead on verse’s and Lizzy may take it on the choruses. It’s different every time!

It’s less of a straight country album this time around – was that a deliberate move or did it happen organically?

It was a bit of both. We wrote all the songs in a country style. We wanted to show a change in our sound to show progression, but it was overall quite organic.

It must sometimes feel like you work harder than a lot of your mates, or at least are away from home more. What do you miss most when you’re on tour?

I think we all work very hard in different ways. We are very good at coming home though after tours…very much home birds! We definitely miss our dogs a lot. We try to take them with us as much as possible, although that’s hard to do abroad. We do miss our friends and family a lot of course. But we can talk to them on the phone. As we can’t with dogs!

Is there one particular venue you’d love to play in the world as a kind of aim?

I would say Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Its the most beautiful location so I can imagine an incredible atmosphere with the audience. But that’s pie in the sky!

Ward Thomas play Open’s Banking Hall on 5th May. Tickets available from ueatickets.ticketabc.com