The band formed in Manchester when two students, Carmel McCourt and Jim Parris got together with drummer Gerry Darby (Parris’ cousin). Their debut single, “Storm” reached No. 1 in the UK independent chart and Carmel was signed immediately to London Records. Their second album The Drum is Everything (produced by Mike Thorne) drew some praise. Parris and Darby conjured the effect of a full ensemble backing to McCourt’s vocals, and alternated between soulful ballads, gospel, blues and jazz. The resulting singles “Bad Day” and “More, More, More” both went Top 25 in the UK Singles Chart. The following album, The Falling (produced by Brian Eno, Hugh Jones and David Motion) made Carmel moderately successful in France, achieving gold disc status, as well as charting in Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands. Carmel had a hit in France with “J’oublierai ton nom”, a duo with France’s Johnny Hallyday. “Sally” the first single lifted from the album sold 500,000 copies in France alone. With the critical and commercial success awarded both The Falling and the next album Everybody’s Got A Little Soul, record producers were keen to work with Carmel.
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