‘Blossoms: Back To Stockport’: what to expect from the band’s triumphant new documentary

It’s a good time to be a Blossoms fan. While the world continues to lurch from one disaster to the next, Stockport’s finest are gifting fans a brand new film about their massive 2019 homecoming gig at Edgeley Park.

• Read more: Woodstockport! Blossoms close the ‘Cool Like You’ chapter with a stadium-sized homecoming

Blossoms: Back to Stockport relives the best bits of that night, but also traces how they got there – and proves they’re only just getting started. Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, Josh Dewhurst, Joe Donovan and Myles Kellock take centre-stage in an access-all-areas look at the band on tour, at home, in their back gardens, and doing what they do best: bashing out indie bangers to massive crowds.

NME caught up with frontman Tom and the film’s director Charlie Watts (no, not that one) to find out what’s in store.

It’s a big homecoming bash

Stockport’s Edgeley Park is a football stadium first and foremost, making the Blossoms show there an unusual event. “It was something we’d joked about for years, since we’d started the band,” Tom says. “We’d always go past Edgeley Park on the train.” They might have since played Glastonbury, but this one felt different.

“It was such a special thing, for five lads who grew up in this town to be playing there,” Charlie adds. “And to be honest, no one’s ever done it before.”

You’ll miss gigs more than ever

The film doesn’t just tell you the gig happened – via tiny snippets of songs you wish you were hearing live – it features a ton of Blossoms hits played out in full, as we switch from stage to crowd without interruption. The film serves as a reminder of the before times when mosh pits were a thing.

There was never any doubt about this, Tom says. “We were always going to show the songs in full – the question was just which ones. The thought process was to film the gig first, and then filming the lead up to it after.”

You’ll want to go to Stockport

At every gig they do, the indie lads always make damn sure that people know they’re not from Manchester. What started as a running joke is now part of the band’s DNA – and the film will make you feel either a surge of hometown pride or a sudden urge to take a day trip. “You don’t have to be more Stockport to get it,” Tom says. “I could watch a documentary on a football team I don’t support, but appreciate it for the story.”

Charlie adds: “Stockport is almost like an extension of the band. They always champion it as a place. I think the character of Stockport is similar to the character of the band, it’s got the charm, it’s got the character.”

It will make you cry

Full of proof that Blossoms are the nicest boys in the business, the film also has some emotional moments. One scene features bass player Charlie’s granddad, who’s been the band’s biggest fan since day one and introduced them on-stage before the Edgeley Park show.

“He’s such a presence, when he walks in a room he lights it up,” Tom says. He saw the final cut, in which Charlie’s granddad quotes classic Christmas film It’s A Wonderful Life, saying he thinks the band will go “to the moon and back.”

“It was a lump-in-your-throat sort of thing,” adds Tom.

Lockdown 2.0 won’t seem so depressing

While a second lockdown hadn’t been announced when we spoke to Tom and Charlie, it feels even more important now to have something to look forward to. Just follow Tom’s example: “If it was me, I’d be getting my tea out the way, get a drink ready, put on some nice clothes… I know people will make an event of it.”

“No one’s really gigging at the moment,” Charlie adds. “So it’ll be nice particularly for the fans, who have been deprived of Blossoms gigs for a long time because of the rubbish that’s gone on in the world.”

‘Blossoms: Back To Stockport’ comes to Amazon Prime Video on November 8, it will also be available on YouTube for a 24-hour period from 8pm on November 7