Cherry Duesbury from Defences
Sweetest soul Cherry Duesbury opens up her heart with her honest lyrics and communicates visceral feelings with her versatile voice. At the helm of alt metal masters Defences, she slays on stage, unleashes emotions on record and inspires in person. Oh, and she starts fires (remain calm friends, no need to break out the extinguisher – it’s just salacious journalism to keep you reading)…
So eloquent and engaging when she speaks, you’re in for a treat reading this. Cherry is clearly kind, compassionate and tells such a great tale that not only is chatting with her an absolute pleasure and a joy, it also means there’s minimal input from yer girl Jo Wright, which has to be a relief for all concerned…
Defences’ new album, ‘Shadowlight’ is an absolutely stunning blend of vocal and musical peace and power, reflection and riffs, consideration and kicking ass. How has the reaction been Cherry? ‘It’s been really, really good! We’ve been so excited to release it.’
Cherry continues ‘’Shadowlight’ comes from a very personal place for me. It’s talking about a journey that I’ve been on – and I’m still on – and I’m talking about that in a very honest and vulnerable way. I’ve always drawn my lyrical inspiration from my own life and my experiences in life. It’s something I’ve let myself do over the years.’ She adds, ‘People are responding to it. People want it from artists so it’s a lot easier to do, because people want you to express these things.’
Musically Defences are what we want to hear. Lyrically there’s a high chance Defences are what someone needs to hear. Cherry’s words can quite easily make all the difference to someone who is struggling.
‘Subconsciously that is the reason I got into music,’ Cherry tells Jo. ‘I’ve always said, ‘I love music and I want to surround myself with people who feel the same and build a community around that’. But what I’ve discovered is people have reached out and made it clear that they’ve connected with my lyrics and my stories. It’s been a bit of a realisation that that’s really important to me, and it inspires and motivates me.
‘It’s how I’ve always been. I’ve always been empathetic. I’ve always been the person people will talk to and vent to, and go to for support or comfort.’
With almost 70,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, Defences’ are clearly connecting with folk. ‘It’s been really cool to see that growth,’ says Cherry. ‘When ‘The Curse’ came out we were at around 30,000, so to see that happen over the course of this campaign has been amazing.’
Cherry explains, ‘We’ve been working on these songs for a couple of years. We were reaching out to try and build our team, and luckily the guys at Long Branch Records [‘Shadowlight’ is released via this label] loved what we’d done! We worked with them to put together a release plan, which involved releasing singles over the past six months. I think doing that really paid off for us. It built up hype. It got people excited about these new songs. People have been loving the whole new direction that we’re going in. We’ve had some amazing support!’
Photo by Fordtography
Much of this has come from Defences’ loving and loyal fan community. And many were out in force earlier in November to share their favourite band’s success at ‘Shadowlight’s’ launch party in the Camden Assembly. ‘We have the most incredible fans who support us in any way they can, with our music, our merch, everything!’ Cherry smiles. So fantastic are Defences’ fans that Cherry describes this show as, ‘Like playing to family’. She adds, ‘That was my favourite show we’ve ever done for so many reasons. It was our biggest headline show and it was such an iconic venue. I saw so many bands I loved there! I actually had a bit of a moment in the dressing room! I turned to Calum (Wilmot, guitar) and said, ‘We’re in the dressing room at the Camden Assembly!!!!’ It felt very surreal to be performing there. The room was packed full. My mum, who lives in America, she was there. It was her first Defences show. There was so much love and energy in the room.’
On stage is where Cherry absolutely transforms. She tells Jo, ‘I’m shy and introverted, and not a massive talker. But it’s totally different when I get on stage. I’ll be a nervous wreck all day before the show, but I know when I get on that stage and I have the microphone in my hand, all the shyness is gone. It’s like a split personality!
‘I love playing live. I’ve always said, for me, it’s one of the reasons why I want to be in a band, and why I’m still doing this. With the admin side of things, it can get mundane. But then I remember that we get to play live and perform, and have this cathartic experience, and that makes all of it absolutely worth it.’
Defences’ last live show of the year sees them on the bill of Hammerdown Winter Militia in Brighton, on December 7, before they start 2025 with a bang – headlining their own UK shows at the end of January through to the beginning of February.
Live audiences adore Defences, and radio has also got behind the band. When Jo and Cherry chat, ‘Ego (Maniac) is currently Track of the Week on BBC Introducing Rock with Alyx Holcombe. ‘It’s so exciting!’ says Cherry. ‘Alyx has been incredibly supportive. She’s loved what we’ve been doing. ‘Gold In The Dark’ has also been Track of the Week, so to have that honour again – for a track from the same album – is incredible. ‘Ego (Maniac)’ is one of our favourites. I absolutely love every single song, but I think ‘Ego (Maniac) is Calum’s favourite. It’s definitely in the rest of ours’ top five!’
Live date playing, lead singering , chief lyricisting Cherry is flat out not only with the band – but also because she has a fulltime job. She tells Jo, ‘I work in analytics for a big travel company, so I’m very busy all the time! It can be difficult to juggle the two of them, but my job allows me to do the band and everything it needs. I would love for the band to be my fulltime job. Maybe one day!’
How does she relax (if at all!)? ‘I’ve just moved into a wonderful house with my partner, which has lots of fireplaces, so I’ve been going fire crazy and getting a lot of wood and getting a fire going!’
Cherry has a question for Jo. Jo is excited. ‘What is your favourite track on the album?’ Jo is nervous. ‘I don’t actually have one… I’m all about the tracklistings at the minute. ‘Shadowlight’s’ listing is spot on. I don’t press rewind or fast forward on any songs because I love the album in its entirety. It all fits together so well.’
Cherry smiles and nods. ‘Shadowlight is all about the journey from dark into light. The booklet of the album goes from dark background to light background. The story that each song is telling on this whole journey of discovery – to go through that journey – is to go through the album in order.’
And like a dear friend, a much-loved book, a happy place or a safe space, ‘Shadowlight’ is something that you will turn to again and again thanks to its music, its messages, and motivational, alt metal queen Cherry Duesbury.
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