Ward Thomas talk ahead of Birmingham gig
Chart toppers Ward Thomas are returning to the stage for a UK tour – with their biggest set of shows including a headline at Birmingham’s O2 Institute tomorrow.
Twenty-three-year-old twins Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas made history with their stunning major label debut, Cartwheels, when it topped the UK album charts, becoming the first-ever British country act to achieve the feat.
The duo has been called the UK’s first country stars and, along with The Shires, are producing modern country music with a British twist in a genre dominated by American singers and bands.
They grew up on a rural farm in Hampshire and after their first album, 2014’s From Where We Stand, brushed the top 40, they teamed up with Sony Music and shot to number one with the follow-up, Cartwheels. The album managed to keep Jamie T off the top spot and thrilled the duo.
Catherine, the older of the two by two minutes, says despite their obvious similarities, they have different personalities. She says: “We’ve always wanted to have our own personalities and identities so we’ve always dressed very differently. But we do share clothes now; I’ll wear the same clothes as Lizzy but never at the same time.”
Their lives have changed considerably since reaching the top of the charts, being interview by Gaby Roslin on ITV’s Lorraine and being added to the Radio 2 playlist.
“I think the first one would definitely be us becoming the first UK country act to have a number one. Just because we definitely didn’t expect it and it’s still something we’re trying to question; like, there must be another album chart. Being interviewed by Gaby Roslin is number two; to be on Lorraine with her was lovely. And to get on the Radio 2 playlist is amazing as well, because they’ve been so supportive to us.”
The sisters went to a convent school at which Alison Goldfrapp was an alumna.
“Sometimes people think Sister Act. It definitely wasn’t stuffy, although they were quite strict on the uniform and how neat and tidy you had to be. People ended up giving us the nicknames Scruff One and Scruff Two because we were so bad at being tidy. We didn’t have any nuns teaching us, so we didn’t get any cool Whoopi Goldberg moments.”
