The Coral release “cursed carol” dark festive single ‘She Died On Christmas Day’

The Coral have released a “cursed carol” to mark the start of December – listen to ‘She Died On Christmas Day’ below.

It is the Merseyside band’s first ever Christmas song, and it is being released on a limited edition 7” single alongside the spoken-word track ‘Christmas On Coral Island’, featuring the voice of frontman James Skelly’s late grandfather Ian, who is credited as The Great Muriarty.

‘She Died On Christmas Day’ is haunted by an eerie, menacing festive spirit, with organ lines and chugging guitar chords that seem to point backwards to Halloween as much as forwards to Christmas.

Listen to ‘She Died On Christmas Day’ and check out the single artwork here:

The 7” single is available now via Run On Records and you can buy your copy here.

Keyboardist Nick Power has said: “We love fifties and early sixties rock n’ roll, especially the British stuff. To us, it’s the sound of where we grew up: New Brighton and the fair, the lost piers, the thrill and danger of towns at the end of existence. If there’s an opening where we get to explore that side of us, we’re always up for it.”

This is The Coral’s first new music since their 11th studio album ‘Sea Of Mirrors’ in 2023. That record included appearances from Cillian Murphy and John Simm, as well as from their former member Bill Ryder-Jones.

In September, however, the band did release an 8-bit retro video game version of their self-titled debut album, dubbed ‘The Coral Caves Of Illusion – Debut Album Celebration’.

They also oversaw the new documentary Dreaming Of You, which was directed by James Slater and told the story of the band’s formation and the recording of that debut album. It premiered at the Sheffield Doc Fest in June before enjoying a wider release.

Next August, they will be on the bill as part of Courteeners’ huge outdoor show at Manchester’s Wythenshawe Park, with The Vaccines, Getdown Services and Girl In The Year Above all also playing. Find more information here and buy any remaining tickets here.

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