How many close friends of the same sex do you have? For men this can be a real issue. Recent research shows that one in five men in the US and one in three men in the UK have no close friends, male or female. Women fare much better – the sisterhood is alive and kicking. The lack of close male friends, however, often leads to poor mental health outcomes for men. This is well documented, particularly for straight men. Queer men often draw on women for close friendship. Less documented, however, is the fact that magic that can occur when men do have a set of close male friends. This is beautifully shown in a new coming-of-age music documentary, Dreaming of You: The Making of The Coral.

For those that don’t know, The Coral is a six-piece British rock band from The Wirral, on Merseyside in North-West England. They came to prominence in the early 2000s when their unique blend of decade-spanning influences – think psychedelic skiffle, Merseybeat, Spaghetti Westerns, haunted circuses, folk and indie – grabbed the attention of a UK audience ready to move on from Britpop.

Working-class childhood school friends, the band initially bonded as quirky young teenage ghost hunters, playing in graveyards, and creating their own imaginative world within a world. They gradually evolved into playing instruments, supporting each other as they formed a band in 1996 aged 12, rehearsing at school and in the pub of one of their parents. Song writing followed, and then gigs culminating in a three-gig-a-day residency at Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club. This attracted good management as well as producer Ian Broudie, leading to a deal with Sony and 2002’s seminal debut album, The Coral, the first of twelve albums. They were still only 17-18 year olds at this point.

Director James Slater takes a different approach with this music documentary. He just focuses on the years in the band up to 2003. By doing so he’s able to highlight the powerful effect of long-term friendship, support and camaraderie on the band’s growth and success. Their music truly is a group collaboration, with few outsiders – stylists etc. – needed. Mostly narrated by the band, Dreaming of You: The Making of The Coral is a nostalgic mix of weed-inspired home/rehearsal videos, cute animation, 90s-inspired graphics, interviews, vintage photographs and footage of their semi-industrial/coastal Wirral environment. Let’s not forget the music – gem after gem features including Dreaming of You, Simon Diamond and Shadows Fall. It’s clear that the six craft-driven men were completely content with their friendship and music, to the extent that when the music industry began demanding more and more of them – they pushed back and sacrificed money and success to preserve their close world and integrity. A refreshing rock’n’roll story, one that’s not a series of highs and lows, fall-outs, tales of addiction and relationship break-ups. This is a beautiful documentary – a quintessentially British tale of the power of male friendship and support. One for all music lovers too.