Where did Blossoms get their name and how did they form?

5 August 2025, 15:13 | Updated: 17 December 2025, 19:02

Blossoms press 2024 — Blossoms first formed in 2013. Picture: Press

By Jenny Mensah

The Stockport five-piece released their self-titled debut album on 5th August 2016, but how did they come up with their name and where did they shoot the cover?

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Blossoms released their debut album nine years ago on 5th August 2016.

The the eponymous record - which included the tracks At Most a Kiss, Honey Sweet, Blown Rose and their breakthrough single Charlemagne - debuted at number one on the UK Album Charts.

It's undoubtedly the release that put Blossoms on the map and was the first stepping stone to the band becoming a household name, but why are Blossoms called Blossoms in the first place, where did they shoot the album artwork and how did they meet anyway?

Radio X delves into the answers below...

Read more:

Blossoms the band: Who are the band members?

Blossoms are comprised of Tom Ogden (lead vocals and guitar), Charlie Salt (bass and backing vocals), Josh Dewhurst (guitars and percussion), Joe Donovan (drums) and Myles Kellock (keyboards, synths and backing vocals).

Where does Blossoms' band name come from?

Blossoms are named after The Blossoms pub at the corner of Bramhall Lane and Buxton Road in Stockport, after Joe heard both Tom and Charlie each say on separate occasions that it would be a great name for a band. The band went on to perform at the venue and even launch a Pubcast at the pub back in 2019.

Blossoms launch a Pubcast in the Stockport pub they named themselves after — Blossoms launched a Pubcast in the Stockport pub they named themselves after. Picture: Press

How did Blossoms the band form?

Blossoms formed in 2013. Despite all living within two miles of each other and Tom Ogden and Joe Donovan previously being in school together, they were all in different bands. Joe brought in Charlie, who played bass in a band he was already in and then contacted school boy Josh Dewhurst on Facebook for a 'jam'. Mutual acquaintance Myles Kellock joined later after hearing the band needed a keyboardist, despite greatly over exaggerating his credentials at his houseparty.

As frontman Tom explains in this TikTok clip: "So back in January 2013, we were all playing in different bands in Stockport, playing the pub circuits. We all felt like we wanted to do something new and I felt like I was writing songs that felt a little bit different and exciting."

Joe adds: "Obviously me and Tom have been friends since we were 12 and I always loved his songwriting, so we had this genius idea of getting Charlie (who played bass in the band I was in) in a band with Tom.

"Funnily enough, on separate occasions they both went past The Blossoms pub and said, 'that's a good name for a band'".

"So we needed a lead guitarist," they added. "And we'd seen Josh play in his previous band recreating the guitar sounds of the Arctic Monkeys to a tee. He was the only 15 year old we knew with a pedal board bigger than him."

Josh recalled: "I got a Facebook message from Joe asking me if I wanted to Jam the 12 bar blues, which. I was well up for. Not long after I was absolutely ripping table tennis at Bramhall Recreation Centre when Tom called me up and asked if I wanted to come and jam on a Thursday 24th January 2013, which was a school night for me at the time."

As the band explained, they immediately "clicked and it felt different to anything [they'd] ever done before". They went on to play a few songs as a four-piece, but still felt that something was missing and they wanted a keyboard player on board.

Myles Kellock lived above a curry house in Stockport, which would play host to a few house parties, where Tom and Joe would attend with mutual friends. Despite having a broken wrist at the time and not actually being able to play the keyboard, he offered himself up as a potential bandmate.

"One day in the kitchen I overheard them saying they were looking for a keyboard player," Myles recalled. "I lifted up my broken wrist - still in a cast - and said 'I play a bit of keyboards'. It was a lie. The morning after I was hungover and Tom messaged me about rehearsing on Monday.

Charlie - had access to his grandfather's scaffolding yard, which was already kitted out with a rough practice room and the band ended up having their first rehearsal as a five piece there. They went on to use the site on the cover of their debut album.

After getting some support slots supporting band The Rifles, Blossoms were eventually spotted by their manager while playing the O2 Ritz in Manchester. The rest - as they say -is history!

Watch them explain their full origin story below:

Where was the Blossoms debut album artwork taken?

As explained above, the artwork for Blossom's debut album was taken at Charlie Salt's grandfather's scaffold yard, where they band first had their rehearsal space as a five-piece.