Star duo team up to play at the Junction

Lee Southall and Molly James

A RARE and intimate gig by music star Lee Southall of The Coral and rising talent Molly Jones will take place in Oldham next week.

The pair will be performing together at The Junction Inn, Ripponden Road, on Friday, before returning to the studio to complete their debut album.

Lee is the guitarist with the Mercury Prize nominated group, which had hits on both sides of the Atlantic with tracks such as “Dreaming of You” and “In the Morning”.

With the band on a break, Lee has been collaborating with Molly, who has been brought up with folk music by her parents, well-respected musicians Steve Tilston and Maggie Boyle.

After completing their widely-acclaimed four-track EP, the pair have played a number of gigs, including Musicport in Whitby and have appeared on radio for BBC Introducing.

“We’re just doing a handful of intimate gigs in small venues in early March,” Lee says.

“We like the look of places like The Junction. It’s so different from the large venues I played with The Coral and I’m really looking forward to it.”

With a voice reminiscent of Kate Bush, Molly joined Lee to create a style mixing folk, pop and blues. The two are currently working on their album, provisionally titled “Goodbye to the River”, which will be released later this year.

The personal songs feature a universal theme of love, family and home, relating to the pair meeting in Liverpool and moving to the Pennines.