Exclusive live
version of “Other People’s Things”
New album MY
UNIVERSE out now!
The Shires
perform live on the Chris Evans Show on BBC Radio 2
The Shires snag
fab 8-page feature in
brand new Country Music Magazine
brand new Country Music Magazine
Expanded Press Release:
Ahead
of the release of their sophomore album MY
UNIVERSE, Sept 30th, UK Country superstars The Shires have released an
exclusive acoustic performance of their track ‘Other People’s Things’.
The
pair (made up of the beautiful Crissie
Rhodes and Ben Earle; from
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire), who this year became the first ever UK Country
act to break the Official UK Top 10
Album Chart, are joined on the performance by the song’s co-creator,
Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt:
"It
was so easy to work with Nina on this live performance of Other People's
Things. We co-wrote the song and it was so nice to get the opportunity to
perform it with her live, her voice blended so effortlessly with ours and helped
bring another level of feeling to the emotions of the lyrics.”
Release Date: 30 Sept 2016
The Shires - My Universe
Label : Decca (UMO))
12 Tracks/ Time: 43:31
First single "Beats To Your Rhythm" has received over 850K streams and second single and title cut "My Universe", which dropped Sept 16th has had over 97K streams on Spotify.
NOTE: The
album release date was brought forward one week from previously announced 7 Oct
2016.
The album has debuted at No.1 on UK Country iTunes Chart and #3 on the all genre iTunes Chart behind new releases from by Bon Iver 22, A Million and Following My Intuition (Deluxe) from Craig David.
As The Shires’ album campaign in the UK
builds, following a packed secret gig for industry and fans to announce the
album, talk of the second UK Country No.1 album is beginning to hit
fever pitch. The band are also continuing to make significant steps to
launching in the USA having already graced the stage at the famous Grand Ole Opry, adding their names
alongside Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, Garth Brooks and a veritable who’s who
of country music who have all played at the famous Nashville landmark venue.
On their plans for the UK and US, The Shires said, “It was great to go back to Nashville – and we have lots of plans for the US which will be announced in the coming months – but we are all about the UK right now – it’s an exciting time for UK country and if we were to have the next UK Country No.1, that would be a dream come true.”
On their plans for the UK and US, The Shires said, “It was great to go back to Nashville – and we have lots of plans for the US which will be announced in the coming months – but we are all about the UK right now – it’s an exciting time for UK country and if we were to have the next UK Country No.1, that would be a dream come true.”
The
official video for “My Universe” is being shown on Keep It
Country TV (Sky 389 | Freeview 87 | Freesat 516) .
It has received 147K views on Vevo and 171K views on YouTube:
It has received 147K views on Vevo and 171K views on YouTube:
Directed By: Dapo Fagbenle
Composers: Ben Earle, Martin Brammer
Producers: Tim Larsson, Tobias Lundgren, Stefano Moses
(C) 2016 Lucky Chair Music Limited, under exclusive licence to Decca, a division of Universal Music Operations.
The
Shires performed live in the studio on the Chris
Evans Show on BBC Radio 2 on Fri
30 Sept.
They
joined guests superstar Robbie Williams
(who returned with new music), quizmaster Anne
Robinson, Michael Pena (telling
Chris about his new comedy film War On Everyone) and Mark Strong (who talked about his return to the National Theatre as
he takes to the stage in The Red Barn).
Omg @theshiresuk singing 'Angels' is EVERYTHING 😍💞❤️😇 #bbcradio2 #theshires #newmusicfriday #myuniverse— Becky Lawrence🎶 (@BeckyLawrenceUK) 30 September 2016
They performed acoustic versions of:
"Beats To Your Rhythm" (2
hour 2) "beautiful" said Chris Evans, "that song made me really
happy" added Robbie Williams
"Statelines"
(2hr 20) "fantastic, 10!" said Anne Robinson
"My
Universe" (2hr 45) which drew a "gorgeous" comment from
Chris Evans
Bravely they covered Robbie Williams’ "Angel" (2hr 56 here) "Wow,
it's genuinely too good" said Robbie!
Listen back on the BBC iPlayer
Listen back on the BBC iPlayer
We're here bright and early for the @achrisevans Breakfast Show on @bbcradio2! Who's listening in? pic.twitter.com/0MKB5ccWlQ— The Shires (@theshiresuk) 30 September 2016
MY UNIVERSE Reviews
Instead they've made the right choice; keeping the hook laden formula and adding more variety. The likes of the title track and Beats To Your Rhythm are made for the larger venues their forthcoming tour will take in. The Shires are best though when they let the vocals of Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes breathe and intertwine. The voices blend stunningly, like a more upbeat Civil Wars....Just as Mumford & Sons were lazily labelled folk, The Shires maybe given the country badge, but ultimately, this is just great pop music.
- 4 STARS out of 5 Music News.com
Ben
and Crissie’s harmonies are beautiful on ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ which is a
really sweet ballad about the love a father and daughter share, and also on the
track ‘Common Language’.
You
can really tell how much growth the band have had since 2015 and this LP will
without doubt be a huge hit and will no doubt chart higher than their debut
release. (Rating 4/5 Celebmix )
Pop:
The Shires: My Universe Perhaps it’s the influence of the hit TV series
Nashville, but British country music is having something of a moment. First the
Hampshire sisters Ward Thomas go to No 1 with their Dolly Parton-like second
album, Cartwheels, and now another home counties band, the Shires from Hertfordshire
and Bedfordshire, have returned with My Universe, an album of pure country pop...Rating: 2 STARS The Times
It's a
beautiful pop/country album which sees the duo finally releasing an LP that
you'll want to play to death now and still dig out in the future. It's great to
see them go from strength to strength. (Rating 9/10 Review Graveyard)
"An Album that lives up to
expectations" (5 STARS Country
Music Magazine)
As
well as receiving a 5 STAR album review The Shires have a fabulous 8-page cover
feature in brand new Country Music
Magazine Issue 01 (Anthem Publishing) "The
place where great writing meets great music"
The
magazine is on sale in W.H.Smith, HMV, Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s
for £5.99 or online for £6.99 (incl
postage)
About The Shires
Last
year, The Shires made music history by becoming the first UK country act
ever to have a Top 10 album.
The
duo have clearly been at the forefront of the British country music movement
which has seen a sea change in the opinion of the British public, inspiring the
success of other great UK country artists such Lewis & Lee and Ward Thomas.
Having
paved the way for the genre, The Shires have seen the UK embrace the genre and
UK bands making music inspired by US country artists.
This early success has been unparalleled – with the release of their debut album BRAVE in 2015, The Shires became the biggest-selling country act in the UK last year (including US artists), and one of the biggest-selling breakthrough UK acts of any genre along with James Bay, Years & Years & Jess Glynn. Ben & Crissie continued to build a huge following, in fans and critics alike, landing 5 A list singles at BBC Radio 2 and appearing on a string of high profile TV shows including Graham Norton, BBC Music Awards, Children in Need Rocks and many more. The band were then given their first headline slot at Glastonbury this summer, topping the bill on the Acoustic Stage on Saturday night.
This early success has been unparalleled – with the release of their debut album BRAVE in 2015, The Shires became the biggest-selling country act in the UK last year (including US artists), and one of the biggest-selling breakthrough UK acts of any genre along with James Bay, Years & Years & Jess Glynn. Ben & Crissie continued to build a huge following, in fans and critics alike, landing 5 A list singles at BBC Radio 2 and appearing on a string of high profile TV shows including Graham Norton, BBC Music Awards, Children in Need Rocks and many more. The band were then given their first headline slot at Glastonbury this summer, topping the bill on the Acoustic Stage on Saturday night.
Now
with a No 1 album on the cards, and a headline tour the UK this winter,
culminating in a headline performance at 02 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London –
The Shires success is set to continue.
Related POST
The Shires, release 'Beats To Your Rhythm', first
single from brand new album MY UNIVERSE (July 2016)
MY UNIVERSE
Tour
Tues November 15th 2016 - Belfast, The Limelight (17,
Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, BT2 8HD)
Weds Nov
16th 2016 - Dublin, The
Academy (57 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin, 1, IE)
Fri Nov
18th 2016 - Oxford, O2
Academy (Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1UE)
Sun Nov
20th 2016 - Basingstoke,
The Anvil (£29.50, £27 (incl £2 fee) Event
Mon Nov
21st 2016 - Southampton,
O2 Guildhall (Civic Centre, Southampton, SO14 7LP)
Weds Nov
23rd 2016 - Northampton,
Royal and Derngate (19-21 Guildhall Road, Northampton, NN1 1DP)
Thurs Nov
24th 2016 - Cardiff, St.
David’s Hall (The Hayes, Cardiff, CF10 1AH)
Fri Nov
25rd 2016 - Bedford, Corn
Exchange (St. Paul's Square, Bedford, MK40 1SL)
Sun Nov
27th 2016 - Cambridge,
Corn Exchange (Wheeler Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QB)
Mov Nov
28th 2016 - Bristol, Colston Hall (Colston Street, Bristol,
BS1 5AR)
Tues Nov
29th 2016 - Brighton, Dome
(29 New Road, Brighton, BN1 1UG)
Fri December 2nd 2016 - Llandudno, Venue Cymru
(The Promenade, Llandudno, LL30 1BB)
Sat Dec 3rd
2016 - Birmingham,
Institute (78 Digbeth High Street, Birmingham, B5 6DY)
Sun Dec 4th
2016 - Manchester,
Bridgewater Hall (Lower Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3WS)
Mon Dec 5th
2016 - Gateshead, The Sage
One Event
Weds Dec
7th 2016 - Glasgow, O2 ABC
(300 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JA)
Thurs Dec
8th 2016 - York, Barbican (Paragon Centre, York, YO10
4NT)
Fri Dec 9th
2016: Liverpool, O2
Academy (11-13 Hotham Street, Liverpool, L3 5UF)
Sun Dec
11th 2016, London, Shepherds
Bush Empire (Shepherds Bush Green, London, W12 8TT)
CONNECT with The Shires:
