Live: The Ghosts at The End, Birmingham

The Ghosts’ first UK tour came to an end at one of Birmingham’s smaller venues, The End, after their release of their critically acclaimed debut album, titled ‘The End;’ what a suitably fitting turn of fate! The indie-electro-pop five piece performed at one of Birmingham’s more intimate venues to a crowd much smaller than they deserve, although this was somewhat of a homecoming for local Midlands man, Ian Palmer; the drummer of the band.

The Ghosts are made up of Alex Starling, former member of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool and lead vocalist, New York trained jazz drummer Ian Palmer, Canadian Keys and Violin player Rayna Ferner with Dan Whiffin on guitar and Alex Sharman also on keys. Together, they have created atmospheric synth-pop at its very finest. The band was flawless and extremely professional and immensely captivating in their performance.

Alex dedicated one track to Guns and Roses’ Duff McKagan as they’d met him earlier in the day. Alex introduced it by saying “This one’s for Duff … I’ve always wanted to say that” which prompted laughter from the crowd!

There wasn’t one person who couldn’t be seen singing along, dancing or at the very least tapping a foot to the band’s singles, ‘Ghosts’ ‘Enough Time’ and latest single ‘Underrated.’ With Alex’s unique vocals over a driving dance beat and a generous helping of electronics, these brooding synth pop hits could get anyone dancing!

Following such a high quality performance, it’s not hard to imagine The Ghosts playing gigs at much larger venues in the not too distant future. This band are destined for greater success.

Photographs by Jonathan Morgan.

View the published article at Counteract Magazine