The
Story......
Led by songwriter Paul Doherty, The Vals span across many genre's with their upbeat melodic sounds. Formed in Belfast, the band has seen many line-up changes in its short history with Doherty the only constant member.
In 2009 they released their debut album 'Sticks and Stones' via Electrique Mud, a subsidiary of Unique Records based in Dusseldorf, Germany.
With Electrique Mud they released the singles 'Yesterday Today', 'With You' and 'Things Will Always Be the Same'. In October 2009 they released the album 'Sticks and Stones' which was distributed worldwide via ALIVE!
The album was recorded in just 3 days in Duisburg, Germany and received rave reviews from parts of the music press for its unashamed take on 60's pop, citing songwriting comparisons to the days of Lennon, McCartney, Davies and Townsend.
First single 'Yesterday Today' was used in an episode of popular German soap opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten (English: Good Times, Bad Times). The number one show has peaked at 7 million viewers since its first airing in 1992. The single also had heavy airplay on various stations worldwide including BBC Radio One.
Their
second single 'With You' was nominated for 'Single of the Week' on
BBC Radio 2's The Mark Radcliffe & Stuart Maconie
Show.
To coincide with the release of their debut album, the band played a European tour which took in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and the UK.
Major festival appearances ensued including the famous Haldern Pop Festival, Burg Herzberg, Golzheim Fest, Hard Working Class Heroes and many more throughout this period.
In
2010 they headlined the famous 100 Club in London just weeks before
former Beatle Paul McCartney headlined his own show in order
to save the then threatened building.
During the promotion of the 'Sticks and Stones' album the band
shared the stage with Ocean Colour Scene , Echo and the
Bunnymen , Mumford and Sons , Hawkwind , Horslips ,The
Proclaimers , David Holmes , Bon Iver, Turin Brakes, The
Soundtrack of Our Lives, Jeff Beck, Peter Green and many
more.
In their home city of Belfast, The Vals have graced some historical
venues with their shows including Belfast City Hall, St George's
Market and the Ulster Hall. The band also celebrated Belfast
hosting the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards by taking part in Belfast
Music week. In 2013 they had the honour of taking part in the City
of Culture celebrations in Derry, performing for RTE's 'Other
Voices'.
Yoko Ono contacted Paul Doherty after she learned of a festival he
had organised in Belfast under the banner of 'Peace and
Love'.
'Valfest' seen The Vals appear alongside Thin Lizzy founding
member and guitarist Eric Bell and Henry McCullough . Yoko
sent her message when the festival was organised in Belfast in
2008. An event which helped raise money for local
charity.
The message from Yoko included:
"You will know, now that you are doing the Peace and Love Festival,
you are connected to all of us, the family of peace of the
world."
In 2011 The Vals collaborated with former Paul McCartney and Wings
guitarist Henry McCullough on the single 'Look to the One'.
McCullough lent his famous guitar sound and vocals to the track
which gained much success and heavy radio play upon its
release.
In 2014 The Vals returned with the much acclaimed album 'Wildflower
Way', a dreamy 12 track record comprising of some of their best
work to date. The band received 'Best album' at the London Galaxy
Awards and seen 'Wildflower Way' reach number 2 in the Japanese
charts.
The band also wrote a song that featured on Arnd Zeigler's football show on WDR television in Germany. ''Pickepacjkevoll'' was later released alongside a charity project ran by Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.
Following the release of single 'Echoes of Summer, The Vals performed the track alongside 'Look to the One' to an estimated televison audience of 3 million.
In 2015 they embark on their biggest tour to date as special guests
of Paul Weller through-out Europe.
Discography
- 2009 - The Vals - "Yesterday Today" (MCD/Download / MUD002-2)
- 2009 - The Vals - "With You" (MCD/Download / MUD005-2)
- 2009 - The Vals - "Sticks & Stones" (LP/CD/Download / MUD004-1/-2)
- 2010 - The Vals - "Yesterday Today/With You" (7" / MUD002-1)
- 2010 - The Vals - "Things Will Always Be The Same" (Download / MUDDigital01)
- 2011 - The
Vals featuring Henry McCullough - "Look to the One" (CD /
Download)
- 2014 - The Vals - ''Quiet Part of Town'' (Download Single / UNIQ/Digital16)
- 2014 - The Vals - ''I Fall'' (Download Single / UNIQ/Digital18)
- 2014 - The Vals - ''Wildflower Way'' (LP/CD/Download / UNIQ204-1 /-2)
- 2015 - The Vals - ''Echoes of Summer'' (Download / UNIQ)
- 2015 - The Vals - ''Pickepackevoll'' (Download / UNIQ)