Saturday 7 July 2018

Ward Thomas drop new single “Lie Like Me” and announce release of new album RESTLESS MINDS out October 5th

Ward Thomas are back with a new single, Lie Like Me


Ward Thomas (24-year old twins Catherine and Lizzy), will release their “eagerly anticipated” new album RESTLESS MINDS (WTW Music/Sony Music) on Friday October 5th 2018. 
It is available for pre-order where you instantly receive the pregrat track Lie Like Me.

Lead single ‘Lie Like Me’, is available on all platforms and is described as “a glorious, addictive slice of their unique sound


Release Date: 5 October 2018
Label: Sony Music CG
15 Tracks
Copyright: (P) 2018 WTW Music Ltd
Under exclusive license to Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited


SIGNED Restless Minds CD + 2LP (£25) | Restless Minds CD (£10) Artist WEBSITE Store

Stream Like Like Me on Spotify

Restless Minds track listing:
1. No Filter  2. Lie Like Me 3. One More Goodbye
4. It’s Not Just Me 5. Ain’t That Easy 6. Rather Be Breathing
7. Hopeless 8. Never Know 9. Same Love 10. Changing
11. No Fooling Me 12. I Believe In You 13. Little Girl Sorrow
14. Deepest You 15. This Too Will Pass

On Instagram Catherine and Lizzy shared: BIG NEWS!!! Our brand new album is now available to pre-order!! We have been working on this for a long time and we are so excited to share it with you all soon. In a world that is ever changing, we are being faced with challenges that seem very new to all of us. We have poured our hearts into every one of these songs and written when we have felt overwhelmed, overjoyed, terrified and fearless. This is why the album is called "RESTLESS MINDS". Thank you to every one of you for being so supportive and allowing us the time to make an album we are really proud of!! We can't WAIT!!!

WORLD EXCLUSIVE
This picture-perfect paradise, this pretty lie I show and tell

Lie Like Me' received an exclusive first worldwide play on the Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 just after 11am on Thursday 5th July 2018. Ken was joined by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Matt Everitt and they spoke about Ward Thomas; new music.
Listen back on the BBC iPlayer at 1 hr 42 or below:




Additionally, “Lie Like Me” received its first spin on the mighty Chris Country Radio (CMA International CountryBroadcaster of the Year 2018 | See BLOG Features) on the Full Country Breakfast show and it has been added to Chris Country New Music List


































Personally, I Like it” – Chris Stevens
Tweet Chris Country here and let him your thoughts on the new single. Listen to the playout here:


The Lie Like Me (WTW Music/Sony Music) lyric video for the track, which is described as ‘a biting indictment of lives faked online’, can be seen below:



Within a few hours “Lie Like Me” debuted at #17 on UK Country iTunes chart (#411 UK iTunes all-genres) and it climbed to #3 (#229 all-genres). On Friday (July 6) it was #2 (#182 UK iTunes all-genres) thirty-three places behind one of their early influences Carrie Underwood (“Cry Pretty”) before overhauling their former Sony labelmate climbing to No1 (#146 UK iTunes all-genres).

Lie Like Me has been added to several playlists: Spotify’s “New Music Friday”, Apple Music “Best Of The Week” and Amazon Music “Brand New Music”.

ABOUT RESTLESS MINDS

RESTLESS MINDS is the follow-up to 2016’s CARTWHEELS, the duo’s major label debut that debuted at number 1 on the Official UK Top 100 Album chart.
According to the blurb the new album: “firmly establishes Ward Thomas as leading exponents of new wave country tinged pop”.

“We never consciously tried to be country,” Lizzy says. “We love country but we’ve always set out to simply write songs that suit the content. The country artists we listen to now are the ones mixing it up and moving the genre on – Maren Morris and Kacey Musgraves in particular. But we also love Lorde, Cardi B, Haim and Julia Michaels.”

RESTLESS MINDS features 15 tracks written in Nashville, London and Hampshire with previous collaborators Jessica Sharman, Rebekah Powell and Martin Terefe (Shawn Mendes) in addition to Ed Drewitt (Little Mix), Rachel Furner (Craig David) and Steve Robson (Paloma Faith).
The album was produced in London by Martin Terefe and Joe Rubel (Ed Sheeran).

The lyrics of the songs cover topics such as pertinent observations on social media, the women’s movement, what ‘the truth’ means in 2018 and mental health.

“As soon as we started writing the album, it became obvious what the themes would be,” says Catherine. “We were discussing current issues for us as twentysomethings, in a world that’s scary because it’s changing so quickly, but is also creating lots of exciting, new opportunities.”

It’s all about change and working through transitions, being honest with every feeling
Instagram Live video:

HMV interviewed Ward Thomas to talk all about our new album ‘Restless Minds’. How they named the album, the writing process and everything in between!
Extract:
How did you want this album to move on from Cartwheels?
"We wanted this album to be different from Cartwheels. We love Cartwheels as an album, but we have written it and it will always be there, so now we can go somewhere else. We experimented with a lot of new sounds and harmonies and pushed ourselves more in our songwriting and our vocals."

When did you settle on the title of Restless Minds? Were there any other titles in contention?
"We really wanted the title to come from a lyric in one of the songs as we feel these lyrics are so important to the whole story we are trying to tell. We were floating a lot of very long title ideas about, until we sang 'It's Not Just Me', and after the lyric "Because my restless mind keeps me up at night", we suddenly both stopped looked at each other and yelled “RESTLESS MINDS”!"
Read the Full article and interview www.hmv.com

Ward Thomas: Live New Forest Folk Festival 6 July 2018














Ward Thomas Live Dates
Sat 23 June 2018 - Black Deer Festival  www.blackdeerfestival.com
Fri 6 July 2018 - New Forest Folk Festival, Romsey Day Tickets £35 Website
Monday 16 July 2018 - Omeara, London (6 O'Meara Street, London SE1 1TE) £19.25 Event
Sunday 15 July 2018 - Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time Hyde Park Paul Simon + Very Special Guests James Taylor & His All-Star Band, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit, Tom Chaplin, Ward Thomas, Shawn Colvin, Callaghan, Night Flight, Sarah Darling, Jesca Hoop, Blueprint Blue & more to be announced Ticketmaster UK |  Event
Sunday 26 August 2018 - Cottingham Folk Festival, Cottingham (The Civic Hall, Market Green, HU16 5QG) with support Sarah Darling + Kerri Watt + Laura Oakes £35.62 Event
Playing a special intimate show
Sat 1 September 2018 - The Digbeth Entertainment District (Heath Mill Lane, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4AA) 8:00 Skyline Series - Texas + Imelda May Ticketmaster UK
Friday 7 September 2018 - The Long Road Festival (Stanford Hall in Leicestershire (Lutterworth, LE17 6DH) headliners
TICKETS ON SALE from  Ticketmaster UK and www.thelongroad.com/tickets/.

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ABOUT WARD THOMAS
They are an English country/folk/pop music Hampshire duo, hail from Petersfield, UK who comprise twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas.

Writing songs at 6th form their singing teacher Ann “Thunderlungs” Bailey, who was a session singer in Nashville, made the contacts enabling Ward Thomas to record a couple of songs they had penned.
They represented the UK at “CMA Presents The Aristo Global Show” in June 2013 in Nashville 
They Signed with BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc) in November 2013. BMI was founded in 1939 by forward-thinkers who wanted to represent songwriters in emerging genres, like jazz, blues and country, and protect the public performances of their music. 

Photo (Left)

(back row, l-r): BMI’s David Preston and producers Bobby Blazer and Chris Rodriguez; (front row, l-r): BMI’s Clay Bradley and Ward Thomas’ Lizzy and Catherine. (Photo by Drew Maynard).



They were invited and played at the C2C: Country to Country 2014 Festival Pop Stages.
They did a Small market American Radio performance and went on a promotional tour Oct/ Nov 2013 & April/June 2014 in Tennessee and Alabama and embarked on their first UK tour in February 2014. 

THE FOOTNOTES ERA
On April 6, 2014 they dropped a 4-track EP titled FOOTNOTES (iTunes). Their radio single “The Good and the Right “ was played on Weekend Wogan on Sunday March 9th and they appeared on the show on Sunday March 23rd!

The 4-song EP featured three original songs co-written by the girls and recorded out in Nashville and a cover of Dougie MacLean’s classic ‘Caledonia’. Musicians include Dan Dugmore and Chris Rodriquez (Keith Urban) with guest appearances from Michael Omartian and Vince Gill - Cows, chickens and goats have the same language in rural Hampshire as they do below the Mason-Dixon line!” they shared.

Catherine and Lizzy Ward-Thomas who the previous week played live for Sir Terry Wogan, landed something remarkable at the time, when as a British country act were subsequently playlisted by BBC Radio 2 when “The Good And The Right(Official Video) was added and appeared on the “B” Playlist for 3-weeks.

In July 2014 the Petersfield UK duo also secured a Radio 2 “B” playlisting for second single “Push for the Stride” which was upgraded to the "A" list. It climbed to the top of the UK Country iTunes Singles chart.

In late September 2014 their third Radio 2 single “Way Back Then” was added to the “B” list and upgraded to the “A” playlist (11th Oct 2014).


THE FROM WHERE WE STAND ERA
On March 23, 2014, the late Sir Terry Wogan introduced the country twins to his BBC Radio 2 audience on his Sunday lunchtime programme. They were interviewed and played live on Weekend Wogan (BBC Radio 2 Archived Live Session).


Ward Thomas & the late Sir Terry Wogan: Weekend Wogan 23 March 2014

As lovely classy 20-year old’s the twins waved the flag for British country music and became firm favorites on BBC Radio Two in 2014.
Their first full length album, FROM WHERE WE STAND, made a debut at No.41 on the Official UK Album Chart selling 2,473 copies having held a mid-week position at No.20. The album charted on the top 100 for seven weeks after making a re-entry at No.91 (chart week March 14, 2015) then climbing to #79 the following week before falling off the chart .
On the Official UK Country Album Chart (Week Ending August 2, 2014) it debuted at No.1 and went on to sell over 27,000 copies.
They recorded their debut album in Nashville TN; musicians included: Dan Dugmore, Chris Rodriquez, Michael Omartian and Vince Gill! 


























Their debut album FROM WHERE WE STAND is packed with great songs, fantastic arrangements, tasteful instrumentation, superb vocals and top-notch production. Ward-Thomas are one of the most refreshing acts to come along in some time and in FROM WHERE WE STAND they have put together a beguiling debut album that is sure to charm all who come across it. They are the kind of act whose future literally seems unlimited” - Alan Cackett (Maverick Magazine Editor 2002 - 2014; Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award 2007)

Their first single "The Good and the Right", first played on the late Sir Terry Wogan’s show was on the BBC Radio 2 “B” list for 4 weeks (weeks commencing March 29, 2014 - April 19, 2014) with follow up single "Push for the Stride" also playlisted (week commencing July 5, 2014) which got upgraded to the "A" list from July 12th.

For the Strike Out ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (in which celebrities, sports personalities and ordinary folk were doused with an ice-cold bucket of water to raise money and awareness for Lou Gehrig’s disease) Ward Thomas’ effort was on an industrial scale! >> Facebook Video

Sir Terry Wogan announced that Ward Thomas would headline the BBC Introducing stage at BBC Radio2 Live in Hyde Park in September 2014.

As one of eight acts Ward Thomas (joined Sister Sledge, T'PAU and more) to play The Country Life Fair Royal Reception & Grand Ball event on Weds Sept 10, 2014 at the Natural History Museum in the presence of HRH Prince Michael of Kent.

Released on Nov 10, 2014 Various Artists - BBC Radio 2's Sounds Of The 80s (Rhino) was a unique collection of tracks recorded by some of the biggest artists around, every track was a cover version of a song from the 80s and had been carefully chosen by the artist specifically for this album. Ward Thomas recorded Man In The Mirror (Michael Jackson) Disc 2 Track 11.

The Shires & Ward Thomas announced a co-headline UK tour in November 2014! The seeds for this tour were sown when the two bands ran into each other in a road house in Nashville while they were both paying pilgrimage to their spiritual home. The chance to take their shared message out on the road together seemed too good to miss and the ‘Home-grown tour’ was born. “Even a few years ago, the idea of British Country music spelt wannabe Dollys, line-dancing seniors and unconvincing American accents. Now though, fresh artists with country influences and the dexterity to create a credible home-grown version of the music are emerging” – Sunday Times


THE CARTWHEELS ERA
On 2nd Sept 2016 Ward Thomas (Catherine & Lizzy ward Thomas) excitedly announced that their 14-track second album  CARTWHEELS (WTW/ Sony Music CG | Amazon UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com) was out.

It had been two years in the writing and recording and they were so proud of it. The album featured their two singles "Carry You Home" (>> Official video; 3.3 Million YouTube plays) and "Guilty Flowers" (>> Official video; 1.02  million YouTube views) as well as title track "Cartwheels" (>> Official video; 354K Views; It was shot in London over a few super hot days in July, starting out in a dizzyingly high up apartment in the iconic Trellick Tower with some great views of London, then filming skate parks, boxing gyms, rooftops and some seriously cool women!) and 11 other songs written between Nashville, Hampshire and London. 






























The album debuted at #1 on the UK Country iTunes Album chart as well as #1 on the UK iTunes Album overall all genres placings.
The very first song they wrote for the album was Cartwheels, in Nashville back in 2014, and from that moment on they were inspired to write many songs. The tracks on the album covered a whole host of different feelings, emotions and perspectives, some of them as a result of their experiences in the music world and some completely unrelated, but all things either they had gone through themselves or they had observed others go through. Summing up the project they shared: "Cartwheels is a portfolio of our experiences since we released our first album over two years ago now. We hope that some of the songs will end up meaning as much to you as they do to us".

The album was recorded digitally but 4 songs which were recorded on tape.
Produced largely by Martin Terefe (KT Tunstall, Jason Mraz, Shawn Mendes) with three tracks by Jimmy Hogarth (Amy Winehouse, Paolo Nutini, Sia) and hailed as one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the year. CARTWHEELS featured 14 self-penned songs that capture a range of emotions veering from the joyous to the heartbroken and everywhere in between.

Recorded in London, CARTWHEELS marked the arrival of two major talents, who write as well as they sing, their trademark harmonies earning them new fans wherever they go. “We have different voices that suit different sorts of songs,” Catherine said. “We call Lizzy the trumpet and me the French Horn.”
Title track CARTWHEELS was the first song they wrote for the new album and inspired what was to come. ‘It established our new sound’, said Lizzy. ‘Lyrically it was much more grown up than anything on our debut. Sonically it was a move away from country to lots of other influences we grew up with-Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, KT Tunstall and Taylor Swift’s Red album. We are still influenced by country, we still adore the Dixie Chicks and Kacey Musgraves but this isn’t just a country album’.

Battling For Their First Official Number 1 album
Ward Thomas and indie rock star Jamie T battled for pole position on Official UK Album Chart the week’s Official Albums
On the midweek chart CARTWHEELS led the way at the halfway stage of the chart week, just 750 combined sales ahead of their closest rival Jamie T's Trick.
The stakes were high, as whoever held the top spot on the Friday Official Chart would achieve their first Number 1 album. Ward Thomas’ 2014 debut From Where We Stand peaked at 41, while Jamie T’s previous three records have landed inside the Top 10.



Ward Thomas' Cartwheels is this week's Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart and has made history in the process.
The second studio album from twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas officially became the first by a country act from the UK to reach the top spot.
CARTWHEELS opened atop the Official UK Top 100 Albums Chart (Week ending 15 Sept 2016) on sales of 12,127 copies (including 227 from streams)
The previous best showing for a country-flavoured release by a U.K. act was the No.10 peak for Brave (Decca; 9,516 sales; chart week March 14, 2015) Source Billboard (by Paul Sexton).


















We literally don’t know how to find the words. This is completely crazy," explained Catherine and Lizzy to OfficialCharts.com. "We were just hoping for Top 40 and then here we are now! It’s been a crazy week and it’s been super tense.
1) Ward Thomas Cartwheels (12,127 units; 11,900 sales + 227 streams)
2) The Carpenters The Nation's Favourite Carpenters Songs (11,154 units)
3) Jamie T Trick (10,684 units)
4) Barbra Streisand Encore - Movie Partners Sing Broadway (9,352 units)
5) Wretch 32 Growing Over Life (7,464 units)

Since brothers John and Tom Fogerty topped the chart as members of Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1970, there had been at least 40 instances of siblings sharing the No.1 position, with The Carpenters, The Bay City Rollers, The Bee Gees, AC/DC, Dire Straits, Spandau Ballet, The Jackson Five, Five Star, The Christians, New Kids On The Block, Right Said Fred, Little Angels, UB40, Cranberries, Ace Of Base, Oasis, Supergrass, Hanson, Embrace, The Corrs and Radiohead including anything from two to five siblings in their chart-topping line-ups in the last century. Things have speeded up since then, with All Saints, Nickelback, Doves, The Coral, The Darkness, Embrace, Journey South, Kings Of Leon, The Feeling, Paramore, Arcade Fire, Biffy Clyro, Disclosure, Richard & Adam, Haim, Elbow and The Maccabees being added to the list.
Ward Thomas was the first No.1 album act comprising only of twins. Four other pairs of female twins have had Top 40 albums, these being Canada's Tegan & Sara, Australia's The Veronicas, France's Ibeyi and, most unfortunately, Romania's Cheeky Girls - Monica & Gabriela Irimia - who were just 21 when their debut album Party Time set the previous high tide mark for sororial twins, peaking at No.14 in 2004, and eventually selling 92,602 copies. Catapulted to fame via Pop Stars: The Rivals, the two racked up four Top 10 singles from the album, reaching No.2 with debut hit Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum), which sold 392,317 copies.

The 1091st No.1 UK Album by Ward Thomas' success denied the first sibling duo to have a No.1 - The Carpenters - from securing their third. Comprising brothers Richard and Karen - who died in 1983 from cardiac arrest after suffering from anorexia nervosa - The Carpenters are the most successful male/female duo of all-time and topped the chart with The Singles 1969-1973 - No.1 for 17 weeks in 1974 - and again in 1975 with studio album Horizon spending five weeks at the summit. Their new compilation, The Nation's Favourite Carpenters Songs, powers to a No.2 debut (11,154 sales) following the screening of ITV's identically-titled celebration of the group that aired the previous weekend.

Not only as a UK act did Ward Thomas land an Album Number One but few country related worldwide acts have achieved the feat.

The Civil Wars eponymous album fell one place short debut at No.2 (9,825 sales; chart week Aug 17, 2013) 
Lady Antebellum GOLDEN debuted at No.7 (11,784 sales; chart week May 18, 2013) NEED YOU NOW’s highest peak was #8 (15/5/2011) and OWN THE NIGHT peaked at #4 (15/10/2011).
With first week sales of 20,860 sales Dolly Parton’s BLUE SMOKE / THE BEST OF debuted at No.6 and peaked at No.2 for three weeks (13,602 sales; 14,998 sales & 16,665 sales).

Taylor Swift with FEARLESS (21.03. 2009) peaked at #5 (33,829 debut sales), SPEAK NOW (6/11/2010) peaked at #6 (28,223 sales). Her self-titled debut TAYLOR SWIFT (127,154 total at Nov 2014; #81 peak) sold only 38 copies the week of its release date and peaked 94 weeks later at #81(12/09/2009). The album released on October 24, 2006 first appeared in the UK Chart at number 88 (05/09/2009).
The 963rd UK No.1 Album Taylor Swift’s RED (Big Machine), 1 week at Number One (chart week 28 Oct 2012; 61,779 copies) was eventually certified 2× Platinum. * Tagged Pop country rock unlike in America RED was not recognized by the UK chart managers as a country release and hence did not appear in the UK Country Album Chart.
The 1027th UK No.1 Album Taylor’s album 1989 (Big Machine), her first official POP album, reached #1 (week 2 Nov 2014; 1 week; 90,336 copies).
Swift's sixth studio album REPUTATION (Tagged POP) debuted at No.1, earning the 27-year-old singer-songwriter her third straight No.1 (chart 23 Nov 2017) with first week sales of 83,648 (including 41,795 from paid-for downloads). Swift’s impressive UK overall sales were 2.82 million albums and 11,3 million singles. See her UK Chart history

Country Related UK No1s
No. / Artist / Album / Label/ Date/ Weeks
68 Jim Reeves According to My Heart (RCA International) 6 July 1969 4 weeks
70 Elvis Presley From Elvis in Memphis (RCA Victor) 24 Aug 1969 (Soul, country, rhythm and blues, pop)
160 Jim Reeves 40 Golden Greats (Arcade) 25 Oct 1975 3 weeks
165 Slim Whitman The Very Best of Slim Whitman (United Artists) 7 Feb 1976 6 weeks
177 Glen Campbell 20 Golden Greats (Capitol)  27 Nov 1976 6 weeks
180 Slim Whitman Red River Valley (United Artists) 22 Jan 1977 4 weeks
188 Connie Francis 20 All Time Greats (Polydor) 27 Aug 1977 2 weeks (Rock, Pop)
189 Elvis Presley Elvis' 40 Greatest (Arcade) 10 Sept 1977 1 week (Pop, rock)
613 Shania Twain Come On Over Mercury (Mercury) 11 Sept 1999 11 non-consecutive weeks 11× Platinum
810 Traveling Wilburys The Traveling Wilburys Collection (Rhino) 17 June 2007 (Folk rock, rock)
827 Eagles Long Road out of Eden (Polydor) 4 Nov 2007 1 week 2× Platinum (Rock)
963 Taylor Swift Red (Big Machine) 28 Oct 2012 1 week (61,779 copies) 2× Platinum  (Pop country rock)
At the time RED was the first album by a female country singer to top the chart since 1999, when Shania Twain's COME ON OVER reached #1, and was the first number one album by an act that is “perceived as country” (but tagged Rock) since The Eagles' reunion album LONG ROAD OUT OF EDEN topped the chart five years previous (1 week at #1 chart dated 4 November 2007;
1027 Taylor Swift 1989 (Big Machine) 2 Nov 2014 1 week (90,336 copies) 3x Platinum  (Pop, dance-pop, synthpop)
1091 Ward Thomas Cartwheels (WTW Music) 15 Sept 2016 1 week (11,900 pure sales)

"Thank you so much everyone for supporting us and supporting a great genre. We can’t express our appreciation for the amount of support we’ve had. It hasn’t really hit us yet and we really can’t believe it.”
Cartwheels marked Ward Thomas' first Top 40 album and outplaced their debut album by forty places; 2014's FROM WHERE WE STAND reached Number 41.
But the situation has changed in recent years, thanks in part to the support of BBC Radio 2 and the annual Country 2 Country festival which regularly brings some of the genre's biggest stars to the UK.
According to British Phonographic Industry (BPI) figures, country music represented 2.3% of the total UK album market - its highest level in nine years.

CARTWHEELS enjoyed a 16-week chart run on the Official Top 100
Chart Run: 1-5-5-12-22-31-45-62-52-64-50-52-58-66-77-81 (up to chart dated Dec 29, 2016)
SALES:
#1 Debut 12,127 11,900 sales + 227 streams), 2nd frame #5 (9,153 sales), 3rd frame #5 (6,064 sales), 4th frame #12 (4,287 sales), 5th frame #22 (estimated sales 3,500), 6th frame #31 (estimated sales 2,700), 7th frame #45 (estimated sales 1,900), 8th frame #62 (estimated sales 1,600), 9th frame #52 (estimated sales 2,000), 10th frame #64 (estimated sales 1,600), 11th frame #50 (estimated sales 2,500), 12th frame #52 (estimated sales 2,800), 13th frame #58 (estimated sales 3,000), 14th frame #66 (estimated sales 3,800) 15th frame #77 (estimated sales 3,000) and 16th frame #81 (estimated sales 3,000)
61,400 units estimated 16-week total.

The album received BPI Silver Certification (60,000 units) on 16 December 2016. * Streams now count towards both album and singles certifications and are measured as per the chart eligibility rules set out by the Official Charts Company.

ITV News at 10 report on the Number One for the UK country music duo (Published 8th Sept 2016)


Ward Thomas shared the excitement of their #1 with their fans via a Facebook video Number 1!!!! NUMBER 1!!!!! NUMBER 1!! What! Thank you guys so so so so much!! We cannot believe it!!
Carry You Home performed with frequent co-writers Rebekan Powell and Nashville Tennessee songwriter Jessica Sharman (the Nashville-bred daughter of revered hitmaker Monty Powell)

Number 1!!!! NUMBER 1!!!!! NUMBER 1!! What! Thank you guys so so so so much!! We cannot believe it!!
Posted by Ward Thomas on Friday, 9 September 2016

Alan Cackett  REVIEW: Cartwheels (Rating: 4.1/2 STARS Alan Cackett) …Lizzy and Catherine are now set to embark on an exciting new chapter of their career, having stepped up from indie to a major label for their second album, CARTWHEELS, with songs that are a compelling portrait of an act coming very much into their own. At once effortless and adroit, Ward Thomas’ consummate hypnotic country-pop remains at the album’s heart, though this time there’s room for a little experimentation, incorporating influences of classic pop and lush string sections. Ward Thomas are not reinventing the wheel, but taking the wheel in their hands and driving the music down both familiar roads and out to new territory. The music on CARTWHEELS can be described as harmony-based pop with subtle country elements and great, and often grand, arrangements, but still with an acoustic, occasional rootsy feel....The hummable melodies and, of course, heavenly interplay of the voices wheedle their way into the consciousness and refuse to let go

Music-news (Review: 4 STARS)…Having worked the country live scene for several years, their harmony driven sound boasted an authentic contemporary classic feel that was only
slightly undermined by their faux-American accents.
The first thing to note when listening to their sophomore release Cartwheels is that this is not a country album. It may be labelled as such, but this is essentially a harmony pop record that has been shaped by a love of country music. While Ward Thomas haven't gone full Taylor Swift and produced a pop record, they have found a sound that they define rather than allowing a sound to define them. That is the real strength at the heart of the album….While the up-tempo will have you humming irrepressibly, the Ward Thomas twins are two of the most compelling balladeers in the current music scene. Thankfully the spine tingle factor has not been missed from the collection, with Where The Sky Is and Who I'm Not hitting all the right notes, even if album closer Safe doesn't quite reach it's full potential. Cartwheels as an album is a stunning body of work. While there a couple of missteps, most notably it's most country cut, the paint by numbers Dirt and Gold, it not only reinforces the foundations laid by their debut album, but widens their reach and solidifies their sound. They may not be a country duo, but they are a duo you need in your collection.

PROMOTING CARTWHEELS
What It Took To Sell 12,000 copies in its Debut Week

RADIO:
They appeared on Lakeland Radio (Aug 23, 2016), BBC Radio Gloucester (James Thomas Aug 23), BBC Radio Bristol (Martin Evans Aug 19) BBC Suffolk Stephen Foster (Aug 11) BBC Sussex (Aug 18), The Bay (Tony Cookson; North Lancashire and South Cumbria), BBC WM 95.6 (Sunny and Shay Aug 31), Eagle Radio (Surrey & Hampshire) Aug 31.
Sunshine 106.8 (Dublin Sept 1, 2016) with an exclusive performance on The Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk Aug 31), and
BBC Radio Ulster (Gerry Kelly Show)
BBC Radio Scotland (The Janice Forsyth Show in session 20 August 2016 BBC iPlayer)

On June 8th 2016 it was announced Ward Thomas landed ‘Record Of The Week’ on BBC Radio 2 with their major label debut single ‘Carry You Home’ after signing with Sony Music. The single aired all week on the Ken Bruce & Alex Lester shows on BBC Radio 2.
There was a world exclusive of ‘Carry You Home’ on the Ken Bruce show on BBC Radio 2 on June 9, 2016 (BBC Page)
From July 18 - July 22, 2016 Ward Thomas were guests choosing the Tracks of My Years on the BBC Radio 2 Ken Bruce shows with music from Bryan Adams and The Dixie Chicks (BBC Page)

Guilty Flowers received a world exclusive on Michael Ball's July 31, 2016 Sunday show on BBC Radio 2.
Bob Harris Country gave ‘Carry You Home’, an early spin on his June 9, 2016 and again on Aug 25, 2016.
For the week commencing Wednesday 17th August, 2016 “Guilty Flowers” was added to the BBC Radio 2 “A” playlist (* Eventually Cartwheels was added to the "A" Playlist 29 Oct 2016 & Boomerang was "A" Playlisted on 14 January 2017)



















They joined session guests Hollywood heavyweight Jonah Hill, sporting pundit turned quiz show host Jeff Stelling and actress Billie Piper on BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans (Fri 12 Aug 2016 BBC Page) and covered Carole King's 'You've Got A Friend' for "a beautiful live performance"
BBC Radio 2 made CARTWHEELS Album of the Week (week commencing Weds Aug 24, 2016)

Where Are The Women In Country Music? On Sept 1, 2016 Beverly Keel, former Nashville music executive, and Ward Thomas talked on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour
On Sept 6, 2016 they chatted with Magic FM about the album Cartwheels.
Scott Mills played "Guilty Flowers" BBC Radio1 (6 Sept BBC Page) “This is pretty incredible they are on course to be highest charting country act”.
They joined Toyah Wilcox and actress Sadie Frost on Gaby Roslin's BBC London show on (Sept 4, 2016; BBC Page) playing live session tracks Carry You Home, Cartwheels and Guilty Flowers "That was really fantastic... I think you two are so fantastic" I can see you dominating America Toyah Wilcox - Ooooooh that was wonderful, goodness me that was beautiful girls - Gaby Roslin.

Michael Ball (OBE) presents his Sunday show 11am on Sept 4, 2016 welcomed Ward Thomas for a live session! They performed their single "Guilty Flowers" ('A' playlisted by Radio 2) and an exclusive cover on the show!


Their single “Boomerang was promoted across Europe on the February 2017 Hotdisc #218 promotional disc and it topped the HotdiscTop 40 chart on Feb 19, 2017.

TV:
STV Glasgow (Aug 31)
ITV Lorraine (with Gaby Roslin Aug 19, 2016) talked about their chart-topping success, how their careers began, and what was in store for the future.



Lizzy & Catherine spoke with presenters Jon Kay and Sally Nugent in a BBC TV Breakfast interview Aug 24, 2016:



MAGAZINE
Ward Thomas were the featured cover artists in the Maverick Magazine August/Sept 2016 Issue

FACEBOOK:
They had a chat with Amazon Music UK (Aug 24, 2018) talking about their favourite Cartwheels songs.
Ward Thomas played "Guilty Flowers" and a cover of Jess Glynne's "Don't Be So Hard On Yourself" live on The Box Plus Network (Sept 2, 2016 Fresh slices of pop culture).
Sony Music labelmate Carrie Underwood tweeted and on Facebook posted: "All the best to Ward Thomas on their new album"

LIVE:
They performed at Beautiful Days Festival (Aug 20)
They played Live at HMV 363 Oxford Street, London on 5 Sept 2016 at 6 pm >> YouTube

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FaceCulture (13/01/2017) spoke with Catherine and Lizzy about growing as musicians, Cartwheels, Fleetwood Mac, three stages of creativity, releasing emotions, Who I’m Not, having a number one record, and a lot more!



TV APPEARANCES

  • On July 19, 2014 Ward Thomas performed “Push For The Stride” and a cover of George Ezra's Budapest on ITV’s Weekend (presenter Aled Jones)
  • In June 2014 Ward Thomas appeared on BBC Breakfast to promote their debut album
  • Nov 27, 2014 performed ‘Push For The Stride’ on Lorraine on ITV (Lorraine Kelly - "I think your fantastic")
  • ITV Lorraine (with Gaby Roslin Aug 19, 2016)
  • Aug 24, 2016 BBC TV Breakfast interview
  • Oct 4, 2016: Appeared on BBC1 TV's The One Show
  • In Nov 2016 Ward Thomas covered Dolly Parton on BBC Children In Need Rocks for Terry Wogan, a very special concert staged at the Royal Albert Hall to honour legendary broadcaster.
  • June 2017 performed Material and Shine (Years & Years Cover) on ITV’s Weekend

NOTABLE LIVE APPEARANCES

September 14, 2014. headlined the BBC Introducing stage at BBC Radio2 Live in Hyde Park. Tracklisting: 1. Push for the Stride 2. Heart of Glass
Weds Sept 10, 2014 - The Country Life Fair Royal Reception & Grand Ball event on at the Natural History Museum in the presence of HRH Prince Michael of Kent.
November 2014 - ‘Home-Grown Tour co-headlined with The Shires

2015 UK Tour (Wed 11 March 2015 - Thu 2 April 2015)
Sat July 18, 2015 - Summer Tyne Americana Festival 2015, Gateshead (Jumpin’ Hot Stage)
Thur. 23 July 2015 – Nashville Meet London (Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf) compered by Baylen Leonard
Sat Aug 29, 2015 - Carfest South, Basingstoke
Sat September 5th 2015 - Cottingham Folk Festival
Sun 13th Sept 2015 - BBC Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park performed on the main stage alongside The Shires; a performance which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2.

Friday 24 – Sunday 26 March 2017 - CMC Rocks Willowbank, Ipswich QLD Australia’s premiere Country and Roots Festival. British acts Ward Thomas and The Shires joined the likes of US acts Dixie Chicks, Little Big Town, Kip Moore, Tyler Farr, Craig Campbell, Charles Esten and Eric Paslay as well as Aussie stars Lee Kernaghan, Morgan Evans, Adam Harvey & The McClymonts

16-date Cartwheels UK Tour (Weds 5th Oct 2016 - Tues 25th Oct 2016; including 19th Oct 2016 Bush Hall, London) support from Sarah Darling (USA)
Tue 1 Nov 2016 - Royal Albert Hall, London playing BBC Children in Need Rocks for the late Sir Terry Wogan joining Take That, Ellie Goulding, Olly Murs, Gregory Porter, Michael Ball, Rick Astley, Alexander Armstrong and The Vamps.

In March 2017, Ward Thomas were announced as the official opening act for the Country to Country 2017 festival.
2017 UK Tour (Fri 28 April 2017 - Tues, 30 May 2017) support guests Wildwood Kin, Lisa Wright
In August 2017, they supported American country superstar Miranda Lambert on the UK leg of her Highway Vagabond Tour playing Barclaycard Arena (Birmingham, 15,800 capacity), O2 Apollo (Manchester; 3,500 capacity), Clyde Auditorium (Glasgow; Capacity: 3,000) and Eventim Apollo (London; Capacity: 5,100) 

AWARDS
Ward Thomas were sadly mostly overlooked by the British Country Music Awards (BCMAward) panel in 2014 with a sole nomination for Album of the Year (FROM WHERE WE STAND), which they won.

At the British Country Music Association Awards for 2017 they took home the UK Album of the Year trophy for CARTWHEELS and also snagged UK Country Album Of The Year at the UKCountryRadio.com sponsored UK Country Music Awards in September 2017.

OTHER RELEASES
(31 March 2017) Ward Thomas - A Shorter Story (EP, Sony Music CG)
5 Tracks/ Time: 18:33 Amazon UK - UK iTunes
A collection of some of their favourite songs.
1. The Blower's Daughter (Damien Rice) 
2. What Goes Around...Comes Around (Justin Timberlake)         
3. Shine (Years & Years) 4. Walls (Kings Of Leon) 5. Better Be Home Soon (Crowded House)
Press Blurb: After opening the 2017 C2C Festival at the O2 Arena on March 10th, Ward Thomas release their EP ‘A SHORTER STORY’ – a series of 5 cover versions cherry picked by Catherine and Lizzy. Once again the release showcased their stunning vocal harmonies, as well as seeing them put their own unique stamp on some of their favourite songs.
Catherine and Lizzy said ’We’ve been playing around with cover versions as part of our acoustic Snug Sessions videos for a few years now and mostly they have gone down really well. We recorded the EP over two days and have tried to bring something new and different to each song whilst at the same time respecting the original versions. Hopefully people like them!’

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