Popular Wolverhampton band ready for first single release as ticket sales for reunion show continue to sell
A popular Wolverhampton band taking to the stage for the first time in almost 20 years has already sold more than half the tickets available and will release their first single next week.
Bridge 55 will release their debut single Auditorial Flowers on March 28 and only have a very low amount of tickets left for their show at Wolverhampton Arts Centre on October 3.
The band, which consists of singer Joe Karchud, guitarists Richard J Campbell and Sam Collins, Richard Willis on bass and Luke Bryant on drums, regularly sold out venues across the West Midlands in the mid 2000s and decided to perform again as ‘the band reached a conclusive full stop’.
Frontman Joe said they are so pleased with the reception of the single so far and the ticket sales alike.
He said: “We have been overwhelmed with the demand for tickets and how many people are coming back together to celebrate our music, we’ve been totally blown away by the reception we’ve had since announcing the reunion show too.
"The tickets have only been live for one month so to have just 40 per cent of tickets left is simply unheard of.
“And releasing a single marks an exciting chapter for us, we never quite got to that stage when we were in a strong position in our music-making careers in 2007, so next week promises to be a compelling milestone for us.
“We’ve been working so hard to get it just as we wanted, with both feeling and atmosphere at the heart of our sound, and we feel it is the perfect blend of ambient textures with flowing melodies and jagged emotional edges, the song balances moments of warmth and fun with an undercurrent of heartache and depth.
“At its core, Auditorial Flowers is an experience as much as it is a song, inviting the listener to connect with its emotional landscape and perhaps recognise something of their own story within it. We can’t wait for the audience to let their heart, and ears, have it.”
Recorded at RML Studios in Wolverhampton and produced and engineered by Ryan Pinson and Joe Karchud, Auditorial Flowers explores the emotional tension of attempting to build a relationship that is never truly reciprocated.
It is already receiving significant radio play and strong feedback from across the UK, with industry professionals praising the song’s ability to move listeners between contrasting emotional spaces, offering calm and reflection in one moment, while the lyrics subtly introduce feelings of discomfort and reluctance in the next.
The homecoming reunion gig will also raise money for the Wolves Foundation Charity with £1 from every ticket sold being given to the charity and match funding has also been secured from Tettenhall Round Table.
Under manager Martin Davies the band, so called because when they were young Joe and Richard would walk from Wednesfield along the canal and turned back when they reached Bridge 55 in Castlecroft, came first place in a few county-wide Battle of The Bands competitions in its infancy and by 2008, played a showcase for record labels at the Camden Barfly in London and had interest from Island Records, before becoming disillusioned with the industry and seeking alternative careers.
Joe said: “It never really felt that the band reached a conclusive full stop, leaving behind many bemused fans.
“Here we are, years later, it feels like the right time to bring Bridge 55 back to our fans.
“We know there will be hundreds of people wanting to hear our songs again in a live setting, so we are really looking forward to performing this ‘homecoming show’.
“We are resurrecting our original catalogue, with one or two new songs, as well as paying homage to some important covers that helped shape us and influenced our sound.”
For more information or to buy one of the few remaining tickets, go to https://wolverhamptonartscentre.co.uk/events/bridge-55/.
