Cast

Led by former The La's bassist John Power, Cast rode the britpop wave to a succession of Top 10 hits and popular albums in the 1990s. Initially dismissed as 1960s guitar pop revivalists stealing from The Beatles' back catalogue, it was Noel Gallagher's glowing endorsement that helped draw attention to the band's debut All Change (1995). Produced by John Leckie, it was full of jangling indie-pop hooks and became the fastest-selling album in Polydor Records' history, producing the singles "Finetime," "Alright," "Sandstorm," and "Walkaway." Tinged with hazy psych-rock, follow-up Mother Nature Calls (1997) reached Number 4 in the UK helped by the singles "Free Me" and "Live the Dream." But as the britpop bubble burst, Magic Hour (1999) and Beetroot (2001) struggled to make an impact and Cast split in 2001. Their influence on Liverpool guitar bands lived on with the likes of The Coral, The Zutons and The Wombats and in 2010 the band reformed for a reunion tour. Fifth album Troubled Times emerged in 2011 as the result of the band's reunion and marked the last time founding bassist Pete Wilkinson would play on a record. Still going strong, Cast returned six years later with another full-length and their sixth studio album to date, Kicking Up the Dust (2017), fuelled by fresh blood from new bassist Jay Lewis and former drummer Keith O'Neill. The LP went to number 49 in the UK and lit the fire for 2024's Love Is the Call, for which they worked with esteemed producer Youth (Kate Bush, Primal Scream, U2 etc). Love is the Call was their first album recorded as a trio (John Power on vocals/guitar/bass, Liam "Skin" Tyson on guitar and Keith O'Neill on drums), and featured primarily the same line-up as their debut All Change.