Beat Union | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | Shortcut to Newark |
Origin | Birmingham, Bromsgrove and Redditch, United Kingdom |
Genres | Pop punk |
Years active | 2003–2009 |
Labels | Haddock Recordings Science Records |
Members | Dave Warsop Dean Ashton Ade Preston Luke Johnson |
Past members | Mark Andrews |
Website | Official site |
Beat Union was a pop-punk band from Birmingham, Bromsgrove and Redditch, United Kingdom. They were formerly known as Shortcut to Newark. [1] The group has garnered comparisons to Elvis Costello and The Jam, as well as pop punk groups like Green Day. [2] [3]
In 2006 the band toured the UK with Bedouin Soundclash and Zox. [4]
Their debut full-length album, Disconnected , was released on Science Records in April 2008. [5] It was produced with the help of John Feldmann, producer and frontman of Goldfinger. [6] Rolling Stone named their song "She Is the Gun" Song of the Day on 17 July 2008. [7] The song also received rotation on BBC Radio 1, where it rose to #5 on the station's airplay charts. [8]
After releasing the album, the group toured with Goldfinger and then played the 2008 Warped Tour in the U.S. [9] A U.S. fall tour has been announced with Flogging Molly, followed by UK dates with Less Than Jake. [10]
Beat Union split up in January 2009.
In August 2009, Luke Johnson was officially announced as Lostprophets new drummer, as a permanent member providing "it all works out". [11]
Luke Johnson is now the drummer for rock band Lowlives after previously playing with No Devotion.
Dave Warsop now fronts the bands Sharp/Shock and NOT. He previously played in Suedehead who played at Coachella Festival and toured with Social Distortion. He also records and produces bands out of Strong Studios in SOCAL.
Ade Preston went on to reform Farse. He also played in The King Blues, Mad Caddies and King Adora.
Dean Ashton played in Farse with Ade. He joined The King Blues and recorded 3 albums with them and then spent 5 years playing bass with NWOBHM band Diamond Head.
Goldfinger is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. In their early years, the band was considered a contributor to the movement of third-wave ska, a mid-1990s revitalization in the popularity of ska, evidenced in their first three albums: Goldfinger (1996), Hang-Ups (1997) and Stomping Ground (2000). However, the releases of Open Your Eyes (2002) and Disconnection Notice (2005) saw the band shed most of the ska influence, and they have been more commonly placed in the punk rock genre in later years. They have since released three more albums: Hello Destiny... (2008), The Knife (2017) and Never Look Back (2020). The band is also noted for their support for animal rights.
Lostprophets were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The group was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruited Mike Lewis on guitars, Stuart Richardson on bass and Mike Chiplin on drums.
Flogging Molly is an American seven-piece Celtic punk band formed in Los Angeles in 1994, led by Irish vocalist Dave King, formerly of the hard rock band Fastway. They are signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.
SideOneDummy Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1995 by Bill Armstrong and Joe Sib. The label began as a way for them to release music for their friends' bands. Thereafter SideOneDummy launched the careers of bands like The Gaslight Anthem, AJJ, Flogging Molly, Gogol Bordello, Title Fight and others. Since 1998, SideOneDummy Records has also released the annual Warped Tour compilation album, which features music by bands playing on the current year's tour. Their YouTube channel, which features artists in their current roster, has 90 thousand subscribers and 129,558,922 views.
Dave King is an Irish singer, musician and songwriter. He is the frontman of the Celtic punk band Flogging Molly, of which he is a founding member. He first gained notability as the original lead singer of hard rock band Fastway in the 1980s.
Street Dogs is an American punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2002 by former Dropkick Murphys singer Mike McColgan. The band disbanded in early 2020 after 17 years together but reunited again in 2024.
Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band based in Toronto and consisting of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, bass player Eon Sinclair, and various session musicians. Their sound has been described as a combination of reggae and ska. Bedouin Soundclash was formed in 2001 and has released six studio albums, most recently in 2022.
The Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually. While Rock am Ring takes place at the Nürburgring race track, Rock im Park takes place at the Zeppelinfeld in Nuremberg.
Summer Sonic, is an annual music festival held on one weekend in August simultaneously in both Chiba and Osaka, Japan. The festival features revolving lineups performing one day in Osaka then performing the next day in Chiba and vice-versa. The lineup often features major international acts in addition to Japanese artists from major and independent record companies.
The High Society are a glam rock group from Birmingham, England, formed in 2006 by Matt "Maxi" Browne and Martyn "The Nelsta" Nelson following the breakup of their previous band King Adora. They have one release to date, the self-titled EP The High Society, released in 2009. Following the reunion of King Adora, the group's future is unknown.
Ty Smith is an American studio and internationally touring drummer.
Ilan Rubin is an American musician, producer, songwriter, composer, and artist. He is known primarily for playing drums with bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Paramore, Lostprophets, Angels & Airwaves and Danny Elfman In 2008, he formed The New Regime, where he sings and plays all instruments in the studio and plays guitar with a band for live performances. In 2021, Ilan released music for the first time under his name. His debut single "Talk Talk Talk" was remixed by Phantogram.
Farse are an English five-piece ska-punk band from Birmingham.
The King Blues are a British punk rock band from London credited for fusing punk and hip hop together with influences from ska and spoken word. Tariq Ali described the band's sounds as "rough, radical music that should unsettle the rulers of this country. A new generation of musicians are challenging war-monger politicians and their courtiers". Influences include Public Enemy, The Clash and The Specials. Lead singer Jonny "Itch" Fox describes the band's sound as 'rebel street music.'
Rude Records is an independent and international record label founded in 2000 and based in Milan, Italy. The label's artists are generally considered to fall under the genres of punk rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, and alternative rock. Over the years the company has signed agreements with various record labels, especially from the US, to handle promotion, marketing, and distribution of their releases in Europe. It has published over 150 albums by more than 60 artists.
The Betrayed is the fourth studio album by Welsh rock band Lostprophets, released through Visible Noise and Sony Music on 13 January 2010. Although the band initially wished to record a quick follow-up to 2006's Liberation Transmission, problems with labels and producers led to numerous delays. Consequently, tracks from the album were performed live as early as 2007, but recording was not completed until July 2009, following an entire album's worth of material being scrapped by the band.
Florida Music Festival was founded in 2002 by aXis Magazine & Promotions as a three-day music festival and conference, showcasing unsigned talent and promoting major national acts. Every spring in Downtown Orlando, the Florida Music Festival showcases more than 250 unsigned bands and solo artists of all genres for the attending music industry professionals, on 15 indoor and outdoor stages. In addition to the three day 'rock and roll bar crawl,' industry professionals from all levels of the music business, including record label reps, booking agents, video game and television licensing firms and major producers speak at the conference seminars by day, and scout unsigned talent by day only.
Luke Anthony "Jocko" Johnson is an English rock musician, drummer and songwriter. He is most commonly known as 'Jocko'. Johnson began his music career in the late 1990s drumming for a spree of small local West Midlands- punk and metal bands. In early 2003 Johnson was approached by California punk band Amen to join the ranks. After his departure from Amen in 2005, Johnson formed Beat Union as drummer and songwriter with Dave Warsop, Dean Ashton and Mark Andrews. Johnson joined the Welsh alternative metal band Lostprophets in 2009 until their disbanding in 2013. Johnson has also been involved in other musical projects, including working alongside Producer John Feldmann and has performed session work for a variety of bands, including The Wonder Stuff and Foxy Shazam.
ZOX is a rock band from Providence, Rhode Island. The band consists of four members: namesake John Zox (drums), Eli Miller, Spencer Swain, and Dan Edinberg.