Lawson are an English

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band, consisting of Andy Brown (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ryan Fletcher (bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Joel Peat (lead guitar, keyboards, co-lead vocals) and Adam Pitts (drums, backing vocals, percussion). The band's debut album, '' Chapman Square'', was released on 22 October 2012 and reached number three on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. On 17 April 2020, the band released "Lovers", their first single after their 4-year hiatus. To date, the band have achieved seven UK top 20 hit singles. They are named after Dorset-based surgeon David Lawson, who performed life-saving surgery on Andy Brown.

History

2009–2012: Early career and breakthrough

The band was formed in late 2009 and was earlier known as "

The Groves The Groves is a district of York, England, covering the area just north of the city centre between Huntington Road and Haxby Road. The district is near York Hospital and the city ring road. In the 19th century the area was populated by po ...

" but they later changed their name to "Lawson" when David Lawson performed life-saving brain surgery on the lead singer Andy Brown. Lawson began recording material in early 2010. Acoustic versions of their early original material as well as covers of artists such as

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...

and

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

built up an online fanbase. They soon began playing gigs around the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, including the

Wireless Festival The Wireless Festival is a rap and urban music festival that takes place every year in London, England. It is owned and managed by Live Nation. While it started as primarily a rock and pop festival, in recent years it has focused on hip hop and ...

and the Ultrasound Festival. On 8 September 2011, it was announced that the band had been signed to

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, with a lucrative two-album deal on the cards. After signing to a major label, Lawson were tasked with opening for acts such as

The Wanted The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band consisting of group members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes and, until his death in 2022, Tom Parker (singer), Tom Parker. The group was formed in 2009 and signed a worldw ...

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 Pop Idol (series 1), inaugural series of the ITV (TV network), ITV talent contest ''Pop Idol'', making him the f ...

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

, and

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

. The band toured extensively at the beginning of 2012, fitting in a headline tour of the UK in January and another in May as well as a one-off intimate show at Monto Water Rats in London which was streamed worldwide in April. During this time the band worked on material for their debut album with writers and producers such as

Carl Falk Carl Anthony Falk-Gramer (née Falk; born 17 August 1980 in Stockholm), is a Swedish songwriter, record producer and musician and has worked with artists such as Demi Lovato, One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer, Nicki Minaj, Ellie Goulding, Mado ...

and

John Shanks John Matthew Shanks (born December 18, 1964) is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist. Early life and education John Matthew Shanks was born in New York City. Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17 years old. He was in a ban ...

2012–2013: ''Chapman Square''

The band's first official single, " When She Was Mine", was released in May 2012 and reached number four on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Following the single release, the band undertook their second headline tour, selling out venues in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. The band's second single, " Taking Over Me", was released on in August 2012, peaking at number three in the UK. In the summer of 2012, Lawson performed at

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

, V Festival and alongside

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

at Hard Rock Calling. They also announced a Hometown Tour, playing dates from October through November in their respective home towns and London, where they reside now. In October 2012, the band released their third official single, " Standing in the Dark", which reached number six in the UK. The band later revealed that their debut album, '' Chapman Square'', would be released on 22 October. Guitarist Joel Peat said of the album: "We're all so excited to release our debut album, we've been building up to it for the past four years, and the album's title for us is special, because it is the first place that we played together as a band. Going out on tour to support the album is amazing too. Doing shows in our home towns feels like the perfect way to celebrate. Performing live is what we love the most, so to be able to play our biggest venues to date in the cities where we grew up is very special." Lawson cited many inspirations for their debut album, including

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

and

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

. On 22 October 2012, Lawson released '' Chapman Square'', peaking at number four in the

. The album was later certified gold. The band finished the year performing at the

Oxford Street Christmas Lights Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...

switch on with

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

and at the Capital FM Jingle Bell Ball where their performance was watched by

. At the beginning of 2013, Lawson played their first headline shows in the US and Canada selling out New York's

Bowery Ballroom The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live-music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in the neighborhood of Bowery in Manhattan. The Bowery Ballroom holds something of a cult status among musicians as well as audiences. ''Rolling Stone'' magazi ...

, The Troubadour in LA and

The Mod Club The Mod Club Theatre (commonly called Mod Club) was an entertainment venue in Toronto that operated from 2002 to 2020. Its address was 722 College Street, which is in the city's Little Italy neighbourhood. Founded by Platinum Blonde frontman Ma ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In February, they embarked on the Chapman Square tour, playing 18 sold-out shows in the UK and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. While working on new tracks for the repack of Chapman Square they visited

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

as well as announcing numerous festival dates including

, V Festival and

Hard Rock Calling Calling Festival (formerly Hyde Park Calling and Hard Rock Calling) was an annual music festival, formerly held in Hyde Park, London, from 2006 until 2012, and from 2013 in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. In September 2013, Hard Rock In ...

for the second year running and

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...

for the first time.

2013: '' Chapman Square – Chapter II''

" Brokenhearted", featuring American rapper

B.o.B Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years late ...

, was released as the lead single from the repackaged version of '' Chapman Square'' in July 2013, reaching number six in the UK. B.o.B flew over to the UK to perform Brokenhearted with the band at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

for the Capital FM Summertime Ball. The band announced their second single, "

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist R ...

", while on tour in the US for the second time in 2013. The track was released on 13 October 2013. British model and actress

Kelly Brook Kelly Ann Parsons (born 23 November 1979), known professionally as Kelly Brook, is an English model, actress, and media personality. She is known for her modelling work in the UK, and in the US for her role as Prudence on the NBC sitcom ''One ...

stars as the titular character in the video. The band were included in the line-up of the iTunes Festival 2013, opening for

. Lawson began their biggest headline tour to date, the "

Everywhere We Go Tour Everywhere may refer to: * Everywhere (band) * ''Everywhere'' (Roswell Rudd album), 1966 * ''Everywhere'' (Gerald Wilson album), 1968 * ''Everywhere'' (Tim McGraw album), 1997 ** "Everywhere" (Tim McGraw song), title track from the album * "E ...

", in September 2013. The repackaged version of their debut album titled '' Chapman Square – Chapter II'' was released on 21 October 2013. The reissue featured all twelve of the songs from standard edition of the '' Chapman Square'' (though not the full sixteen of the deluxe edition), plus six new songs. The deluxe edition of '' Chapman Square – Chapter II'' includes a second disc including acoustic songs and a short tour film. In December 2013, an official mobile trivia game was launched for the band by SoshiGames of

, UK. The game tests the player's knowledge of the band, the members and their music.

2014–2015: "Roads" and ''Lawson'' EP

In 2014, according to the updates at Facebook by Ryan Fletcher, he wrote "Lawson have been in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

to do a photo shoot for their new album, and maybe to film a video... More news soon!" On 2 February 2015 Lawson announced via Twitter that their first gig (after releasing the new album) would be at live at

on 2 May 2015. On 10 March 2015, Lawson announced the name of the lead single of their second album "

Roads A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

" after being played for the first time on in demand radio. Lawson then released a lyric video to "Roads" straight after play being posted to their YouTube channel. "Roads" was released on 24 May 2015. The band also announced that their album would be titled '' Perspective'', and stated it was due to be released sometime in 2015. This was delayed after band member Andy Brown was taken to hospital with liver failure. Perspective was released on 8 July 2016. In October, Lawson released a self-titled

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

globally, except in the US and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. It included their singles "

" and " Under the Sun". The

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

release of ''Lawson'' coincided with their support of

and

tour, and features the four tracks from deluxe version of '' Chapman Square'', which was not released in

2016: ''Perspective''

On Twitter in January 2016 Lawson announced that their single "

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

" was issued on 29 January 2016. Lawson also announced a video for the single. The music video for "Money" was released on 4 February 2016 before the single was released on 18 March 2016. Lawson also announced the release of their second album for the summer of 2016. The name of the album was officially revealed in May 2016 on the band's Twitter as '' Perspective''. The record was released on 8 July 2016 following the release of the album, Lawson were dropped from their joint record deal with

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

and

Global Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

2017–present: ''Cedarmont'' and ''CMD Z''

Lead singer Andy Brown announced he signed a major deal with

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

and would be releasing a solo country album. He released a comment on his social media saying the band has not split he is just using his time to focus on the solo album. Andy also announced in May 2017 that he and his wife, Joey are expecting a baby. On 30 October 2017, they both welcomed their son, Knox Orlando Brown into the world. On 14 December 2018, his debut album Cedarmont was released. On 6 April 2020, the band announced they have been signed to record label

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairman ...

. On 17 April 2020, the band released "Lovers" their first single after their 4-year hiatus. On 2 July 2021, Lawson released their third album ''CMD Z''.

Members

*Andy Brown (born 8 May 1987 in

Fazakerley Fazakerley is a suburb of north Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is part of the Liverpool Walton Parliamentary constituency. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 16,786. Description Fazakerley is in north Liverpool; neighbouring dist ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

) Andy is the lead singer and guitarist of the band. He is the oldest member of group and previously dated

Mollie King Mollie Elizabeth King (born 4 June 1987) is an English pop singer, radio presenter and a member of girl group The Saturdays. As part of the Saturdays, King has had 13 Top 10 and eight Top 5 singles, including the UK number-one hit "What About U ...

from

The Saturdays The Saturdays were a British-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and have been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa Wh ...

. He used to be in the boy band

Avenue Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, ...

along with

Max George Maximillian Albert George (born 6 September 1988) is an English singer, best known as the lead singer of the boy band The Wanted. George started his career as a footballer, playing for Preston North End. After an injury ended his football ca ...

. He attended St Bede's High School, Ormskirk and Winstanley College, Wigan. He proposed to his girlfriend, Joey McDowall, in the band's new music video " Where My Love Goes". *Adam "James" Pitts (born 24 December 1990 in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

) is the drummer of the band. Adam is the youngest member of Lawson. *Joel Gilchrist Peat (born 27 June 1990 in

Mansfield, Nottinghamshire Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market to ...

) plays lead guitar. He and Ryan attended the same university. *Ryan "Gary" Fletcher (born 9 January 1990 in

Chesterfield, Derbyshire Chesterfield is a market town and unparished area in the Borough of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, north of Derby and south of Sheffield at the confluence of the River Rother and River Hipper. In 2011 the built-up-area subdivision had a p ...

) is the bass guitarist of the band. He and Joel attended the same university (ACM).

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Promotional singles

Music videos

Notes

References

{{Authority control English boy bands English pop music groups English pop rock music groups Musical groups established in 2009 Musical quartets Musical groups from Dorset