They’re best known for their Upstairs and Downstairs roles in Downton Abbey and its two movies and now the pair have been signed by Decca Records. Lady Mary star Michelle Dockery and Andrew Parker actor Michael Fox are known musically as Michael and Michelle, having first started jamming together during filming on the hit TV period drama. Now their debut EP The Watching Silence is ready for release on May 6, following their debut single Calming Storm which is out now.
According to a press release: “Growing up, Fox had always been in bands, cutting his teeth through a range of styles from indie to folktronica while writing his own songs. Dockery sang on various London stages before acting took the front seat. The music Fox and Dockery have found together is both classic and utterly timeless: though more Nashville Americana than UK folk in melody and structure, their impressionistic songs are modern and immediate, free of pastiche, and are shot through with their own London realism.”
The Downton Abbey pair, who both sing and play the guitar, will also perform their first-ever official public show at Omeara, London on June 6.
On juggling both acting and music, Michelle said: “It’s a whole different set of skills and vulnerability. Acting tends to start with what’s already written on the page. Music can begin anywhere. It’s different and very freeing.”
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Michael, whose partner is Downton Abbey co-star Laura Carmichael, added: ‘“I will always love acting but there is something about us, some part of our characters that we haven’t fully realised – and that’s happening now.”
Laura Monks and Tom Lewis, Co-Presidents of Decca Label Group, said of the collaboration: “We are thrilled to have these two multi-talented artists join the Decca family. They are a perfect match and we fell in love with their sound and chemistry as soon as we heard them. We know their global fanbase will be as excited to finally hear them on record as we are.”
Listen to Michael and Michelle’s debut single Calming Storm here.