The Heavy (band)

Last updated

The Heavy
The Heavy-Bowery Ballroom-1.jpg
The Heavy playing at Bowery Ballroom in New York City in 2010
Background information
Origin Bath, Somerset, England
Genres
Years active2007 (2007)–present
Labels
Members
  • Kelvin Swaby
  • Daniel Taylor
  • Spencer Page
  • Chris Ellul
Website theheavy.co.uk

The Heavy are an English rock band from Bath, Somerset, England, formed in 2007. They have released six albums as well as a wide array of singles. Their music has been widely used in the media, with their 2009 single "How You Like Me Now?" becoming their biggest hit. [1]

Contents

History

Formed in 2007, the band included five members: Kelvin Swaby (lead vocals), Dan Taylor (guitar), Spencer Page (bass guitar), Chris Ellul (drums) and Amanda McWhirter (backing vocals). Swaby and Taylor became friends in 1998 when they bonded over vintage R&B music and Jim Jarmusch films and soon formed the band.

The Heavy released two singles in the last half of 2007. Their first single was "That Kind of Man", which was released by Don't Touch Recordings and was mixed by Corin Dingley. Dingley was the original drummer and co-producer of the first album before being discovered by Ninja Tune, who promptly signed Swaby, Taylor, and Dingley. The Heavy released their first album with the beautiful vocal additions from UK singer Amanda McWhirter Great Vengeance and Furious Fire on 17 September 2007 in the United Kingdom, and on 8 April 2008 in the United States.

On 26 March 2008, the Heavy were named ’artist of the day’ in Spin . [2] The band was also mentioned in the Rolling Stone Hot List May 2008. They played at the 2008 South By Southwest (SXSW) music festival on the 89.3 Current Stage and collected one of the Best Discovery awards in Spin Magazine's "Best and Worst of SXSW 2008". [3] [4] [5]

The Heavy appeared on the 2009 album Johnny Cash Remixed with a version of "Doing My Time". On 2 October 2009 their second album The House That Dirt Built was released by Counter Records. The band's third album The Glorious Dead was released on 21 August 2012 via a partnership between Counter Records and Ninja Tune. [6] The band undertook an extensive tour of the United States from August to September 2012, with sponsorship from the American beer company Miller Lite. The band also had a string of European dates to support The Glorious Dead, from October to November 2012. [7] On 1 April 2016, The Heavy released their fourth album, Hurt & the Merciless . [8]

The Heavy toured Europe and the United States in 2016, making stops at major festivals including Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, South by Southwest, Free Press Summer Fest, INmusic festival, Fuji Rock Festival, Hurricane Festival, and Southside Festival.

Musical style and influences

AllMusic described the Heavy's sound as a "potent fusion of funk, soul, hip-hop, and gritty rock" and an "amalgam of soul, funk, R&B, and garage rock". [9]

In media

"How You Like Me Now?" has been featured in several movies, television shows and commercials.

"How You Like Me Now?" could be heard being played over the speakers at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois, the 2012 election night location for U.S. President Barack Obama, just after the projected results for Ohio were announced. The Electoral College votes from Ohio clinched the 2012 Presidential re-election for him. The band played the song on the Late Show with David Letterman on 18 January 2010. This was the first time that Letterman had ever asked a musical artist to perform an encore on his show. [10] [11] On 9 June 2010 "How You Like Me Now?" was featured in the opening montage of Hockey Night in Canada's broadcast of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. "How You Like Me Now?" also featured in the 2014 video game, Forza Horizon 2. "That Kind of Man" from the band's first album was featured in "Filthy Lucre", an episode of the series Californication . "How You Like Me Now?" with B-side "The Big Bad Wolf", and "The Sleeping Ignoramus" from third album were featured in the 2011 video game Driver: San Francisco. [12]

"That Kind Of Man" was used in the trailer for Parker and "Coleen" also in FIFA 09 both from the band's first album, was featured in "Play the Man", an episode of the USA network television show Suits . The show also used "What Makes a Good Man?" for the season 2 promo, "Can't Play Dead" in episode "Zane vs. Zane" and "Short Change Hero" in episode "War".

"Short Change Hero", from the Heavy's second album, has been used in the film Faster ; The TV shows "The Outlaws (2021 TV series)", The Vampire Diaries , The Listener , Suits, The Umbrella Academy, and Killjoys ; the ITV documentary Best of Enemies; the trailer for Batman: Arkham City , and in the promos for the first season of Haven and second season of Longmire . The song was also used as the theme song since the second season of Strike Back . The video game Borderlands 2 featured "Short Change Hero" in the opening scene and "How You Like Me Now?" in the end credits. An instrumental jazz version of "Short Change Hero" later appeared in Poker Night 2 , which featured characters from Borderlands. "What Makes A Good Man?" was later used in the credits of the next game released, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel . The band recorded the song "Put It On The Line" for the theme of Borderlands 3 . "Short Change Hero" also features in the virtual reality rhythm shooter game Pistol Whip during the opening level of the campaign "Smoke and Thunder".

"What Makes A Good Man?", from their third album, was used for the launch trailer of Sleeping Dogs , the official theme song for the 2013 Royal Rumble pay-per-view event, was featured in the 2013 film Grudge Match, the video game NHL 13 , the trailer for Dallas Buyers Club and Guinness' "Sapeurs" commercial, a production in collaboration with the advertisement agency, AMV BBDO, which was hailed as one of the most successful example of brand-agency partnership as top-classed quality adverts have been consistently produced. [13] In addition, the song also appeared in the H&M commercials featuring David Beckham. The band also made their second appearance on Late Show with David Letterman on 28 August 2012 performing "What Makes A Good Man?" gaining their second encore on the show. [14] The song was also featured in an episode of The Grand Tour titled "Lochdown". [15]

The band was asked to record a cover of the song "And When I Die" for the fourth season finale of True Blood . [16] It also appeared on the third True Blood soundtrack.

"Who Needs The Sunshine?" was featured in the penultimate episode of the fourth series of Being Human , "Making History". The song was featured in a promo for the Cinemax series Hunted .

"Big Bad Wolf" was used in the 2010 film The Losers (based on the comic series of the same name) and was also used in the episode "Brotherfae of the Wolves" of the Canadian TV show Lost Girl and in the credits sequences to Season 2 Episode 1 of the British crime-drama Luther and to Season 1 Episode 8 of The Sandman. It was also used in the BBC Two series Top Gear in episode 4 of series 21. The CBS show Battle Creek used the song throughout its third episode. The song is often used in Blue Angels performances.

The song "Same 'Ol'" was used for the launch trailer for the game Splinter Cell: Blacklist , while a variation of it was used in the trailer for Quentin Tarantino's eighth feature film, The Hateful Eight . The song was also used in a montage during the first episode of The Grand Tour . It was the soundtrack for the Pepsi Momotaro CM series featuring Shun Oguri

The song "Don't Say Nothing" was used in the trailer for Kingsman: The Secret Service , included in Gameloft's Gangstar Vegas, and appeared on the soundtrack for FIFA 13 .

On 23 February 2016, The Heavy were the musical guest on Le Petit Journal (Canal+) where they performed their single, "Turn Up" from their album Hurt & The Merciless . [17] In addition, the song is featured on the video game soundtrack of EA Sports Madden NFL 17 .

The song "Better As One" was used in the 2019 film Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw .

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cinematic Orchestra</span> British nu jazz group

The Cinematic Orchestra is a British nu jazz and downtempo music group created in 1999 by Jason Swinscoe and later involving his music collaborator Dominic Smith. The group is signed to independent record label Ninja Tune.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hybrid (British band)</span> British band

Hybrid is a British electronic music duo consisting of Mike and Charlotte Truman. The group was formed in 1995 by Mike Truman, Chris Healings, and Lee Mullin. At the time they were primarily known as a breakbeat collective, although they overlapped considerably with progressive house and trance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noisettes</span> English indie rock band

Noisettes are an English indie rock band from London, currently composed of singer and bassist Shingai Shoniwa and guitarist Dan Smith. The band first achieved commercial success and nationwide recognition with the second single of their second album, "Don't Upset the Rhythm " which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldspot</span> American band

Goldspot is a New York–based band. Founded by singer/songwriter/producer and television and film composer Siddhartha Khosla, the group has since received critical acclaim for its debut album Tally of the Yes Men (Tally) and second album And The Elephant is Dancing. The band released its third full-length, Aerogramme, in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Watson (musician)</span> American-born Canadian singer-songwriter

Patrick Watson is an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter from Montreal, Quebec. It also refers to the eponymous band formed by Watson, whose blend of cabaret pop and classical music influences with indie rock has been compared to Rufus Wainwright, Andrew Bird, Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley and Pink Floyd for its experimental musicianship. Patrick Watson's album Close to Paradise was awarded the Polaris Music Prize in 2007.

Bitter:Sweet is an American trip hop duo with jazz-like influences from Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Shana Halligan, who provides vocals and lyrics and composes the songs, and Kiran Shahani, who produces and composes the songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ida Maria</span> Norwegian singer

Ida Maria Børli Sivertsen, better known simply as Ida Maria, is a Norwegian musician and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cage the Elephant</span> American rock band from Kentucky

Cage the Elephant is an American rock band formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They moved to England and settled in London in 2008, shortly before their self-titled first album was released. The band currently consists of Matt Shultz (vocals), his older brother Brad Shultz, Nick Bockrath, Matthan Minster, Daniel Tichenor (bass), and Jared Champion (drums). The band's first album was released to much success, spawning several successful radio singles and gaining the band a large following in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It was influenced by classic rock, '90s alternative, blues, punk rock, and funk music. Lincoln Parish served as the band's lead guitarist from their formation in 2006 until 2013, when he left on good terms to pursue a career in producing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florence and the Machine</span> English indie rock band

Florence and the Machine are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, drummer Christopher Lloyd Hayden & harpist Tom Monger, and a collaboration of other musicians. The band's music has received acclaim across the media, especially from the BBC, which played a large part in their rise to prominence by promoting Florence and the Machine as part of BBC Music Introducing. At the 2009 Brit Awards they received the Brit Awards "Critics' Choice" award. The band's music is renowned for its dramatic, eccentric production and Welch's powerful vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Band of Skulls</span> English rock band

Band of Skulls are an English rock band from Southampton, consisting of Russell Marsden ; Emma Richardson and Matt Hayward were previously members. The group formed after meeting in college, although Marsden and Hayward have been friends since high school. Band of Skulls have released five studio albums, their most recent being Love Is All You Love in April 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fol Chen</span> American electronic band

Fol Chen is an American electronic band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2009. The band is signed to Asthmatic Kitty Records and has released three full-length albums.

<i>The House That Dirt Built</i> 2009 studio album by The Heavy

The House That Dirt Built is the second studio album by English rock band The Heavy. It was released on 5 October 2009. The title is a reference to the nursery rhyme This Is the House That Jack Built. Vocalist Kelvin Swaby explained in an interview with Songfacts that the song "Sixteen" was inspired by a time when he was working a lot as a DJ and he would see 16-year-old kids sneaking into clubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family of the Year</span> American indie rock band

Family of the Year is an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. It consists of members Joseph Keefe (vocals/guitar), Sebastian Keefe (drums/vocals), James Buckey (guitar/vocals), and Christina Schroeter (keyboard/vocals). Their music uses melodic male/female vocal harmonies and folktale-style lyrics. They are best known for their 2012 song "Hero", which was featured in Richard Linklater's 2014 film Boyhood and became a top 10 hit in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tying Tiffany</span> Italian electronic music singer

Tying Tiffany, also known as TT and Tiff Lion, is an Italian electronic music singer. She stated that the idea of her stage name was born from a photobook by artist Nobuyoshi Araki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alt-J</span> English indie rock band

Alt-J are an English indie rock band formed in 2007 in Leeds. Their lineup includes Joe Newman, Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwil Sainsbury (guitar/bass).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Chevin (band)</span> English post-punk revival band

The Chevin are an English post-punk revival band, based in Leeds who formed in 2010 by Your Vegas members and childhood friends, Coyle Girelli, Mat Steel, Jon Langford and Mal Taylor (drums). The band took their name from The Chevin, a ridge overlooking their home town of Otley, West Yorkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bastille (band)</span> British indie pop band

Bastille are a British indie pop band formed in 2010. The group began as a solo project by lead vocalist Dan Smith, but later expanded to include keyboardist Kyle Simmons, bassist and guitarist Will Farquarson and drummer Chris "Woody" Wood.

of Verona Indie rock group

of Verona is an indie rock group that was formed in Los Angeles in 2010. Their first album, The White Apple, was released on 10 July 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">How You Like Me Now?</span> 2009 song by The Heavy

"How You Like Me Now?" is a song by English rock band The Heavy. It was released as the third single from their second studio album The House That Dirt Built in August 2009. The song samples "Let a Woman Be a Woman" by Dyke and the Blazers. The song has been used in media on countless occasions and peaked at number 122 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band also released another version of the song, featuring The Dap-Kings Horns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Avidan</span> American musician and YouTuber (born 1979)

Leigh Daniel Avidan, also known by his stage name Danny Sexbang, is an American musician, internet personality, comedian, and actor. He is one half of the musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party with Brian Wecht, as well as the co-host of the Let's Play webseries Game Grumps with Arin Hanson. He is also part of the more rap-based comedy music trio Starbomb with Hanson and Wecht, and the vocalist for the rock duo Shadow Academy, known for its inspiration from classic novels, alongside Jim Roach. As of October 2023, Avidan also performs vocals for the electronic music duo Skyhill, originally formed in 2007.

References

  1. ↑ "Interview: The Heavy – Songwriting Magazine". 9 April 2016.
  2. ↑ The Heavy at Spin Magazine Online
  3. ↑ "MPR: The Current Music Blog: The Current's SXSW line-up". Minnesota.publicradio.org. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  4. ↑ SXSW '08: SPIN's Best and Worst at Spin Magazine Online
  5. ↑ Live at SXSW at Minnesota Public Radio's website
  6. ↑ "The Glorious Dead / The Heavy / Releases / Ninja Tune". Ninjatune.net. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "European Tour Announced / The Heavy / Headlines / Ninja Tune". Ninjatune.net. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  8. ↑ "Album Review: The Heavy - Hurt & the Merciless". The National Student . Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Leahey, Andrew. "The Heavy Biography by Andrew Leahey". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  10. ↑ Myspace (5 February 2010). "Dig This Song: "How You Like Me Now" by The Heavy | MLive.com". Blog.mlive.com. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  11. ↑ The Heavy perform "How You Like Me Now?" on The Late Show with David Letterman (includes encore performance)
  12. ↑ Content, Saving (30 August 2011). "DRIVER: San Francisco - Full Soundtrack Listing". Saving Content. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "World's most creative partnerships: Guinness & AMV BBDO". Campaignlive.co.uk. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  14. ↑ "The Heavy - The Late Show with David Letterman!". Theheavy.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "Music from The Grand Tour S4E03". Tunefind. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "KCRW Exclusive: The Heavy Cover Blood Sweat & Tears for True Blood Finale | KCRW Music Blog". Blogs.kcrw.com. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  17. ↑ "The Heavy - Turn up - le Petit Journal du 23/02 - CANALPLUS.FR". www.canalplus.fr. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.