Blitz Kids (rock Band)
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Blitz Kids were an English
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band originating from
Nantwich and Crewe Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population (2001 census) of 111,007. It contained 69 civil parishes and one unparished area: the town of Crewe. It now fo ...
,
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.


History

The band was formed in 2006 by original members Joe James, Jono Yates, Nic Montgomery, Billy Evanson and Eddie Hawx. The band was initially named "Rig Up Explosive", but the name was changed to Blitz Kids in 2009. The name meaning was explained to be inspired by Joe's grandfather who was in a gang who named themselves 'Blitz Kids' during the events of World War II. The band released two EPs on
LAB Records LAB Records (pronounced lab) is an independent record label operating from Manchester, England, and founded by Mark Orr and Nathen McVittie in 2007. The company also has a creative and distribution division, LAB Exposure, as well as a New York-b ...
, ''Scavengers'' and ''Decisions'', prior to their debut album ''Vagrants and Vagabonds''. Evanson and Hawx left the band because of personal issues in 2012. Matt Freer joined the band on drums in later 2012 and they released a third EP entitled ''Never Die''. The band recorded their second album in the summer of 2013 in Los Angeles with
John Feldmann John Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the band Goldfinger. Early life Feldmann grew up in Saratoga, California. He started writing song ...
. The album, titled '' The Good Youth'', was released on 20 January 2014. The band announced on 3 July 2015 that they have decided to part ways on good terms, however in the process of their break up the band cancelled an upcoming tour.


Tours and festivals

Significant tours Blitz Kids have embarked on include opening for D.R.U.G.S. in the UK in March 2011, opening for
Mayday Parade Mayday Parade is an American Rock music, rock band from Tallahassee, Florida. Their debut EP ''Tales Told by Dead Friends'' was released in 2006, and sold over 50,000 copies without any label support. In July 2007, Mayday Parade released their de ...
in the UK in May 2011, and touring with Australian pop-punk band
Tonight Alive Tonight Alive are an Australian Rock music, rock band from Sydney. As of 2018, the band consists of lead vocalist Jenna McDougall, guitarist Jake Hardy, bassist Cameron Adler, and drummer Matty Best. Formed in 2008 by Hardy, Adler and Whakaio ...
in October 2012 across the UK. To support the release of ''Never Die'' Blitz Kids went on a headline tour of the UK in December 2012 with Evarose as main support on most dates. Blitz Kids have played a number of UK festivals, including the Red Bull stage at
Sonisphere Festival The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...
UK in 2010,
Hevy Festival Hevy Music Festival was a rock festival established by Claire Baker and James that took place annually near Folkestone, Kent, in the UK. It was originally held on 1 August 2009 on Folkestone seafront as a one-day festival with Feeder, Gary Nu ...
the same year, then the Introducing Stage at
Slam Dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one ...
in 2011 as well as
Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...
in the summer of 2011. They also played Radstock Festival in
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 ...
in March 2013. In January 2013, Blitz Kids were named the support band for American pop punk band
We The Kings We the Kings is an American rock band from Bradenton, Florida. The band's eponymous full-length debut album, released in 2007, included the platinum single "Check Yes Juliet", and went on to sell over 250,000 copies in the US. The group's secon ...
tour of the UK. Almost straight off the back of this tour they were named main support for
Lower Than Atlantis Lower Than Atlantis were an English rock band from Watford, Hertfordshire. They formed in 2007 as a hardcore punk band and gradually shifted into a rock sound over five studio albums, their last being 2017's '' Safe in Sound''. The band consiste ...
's tour of Europe. This tour came just days after being announced to be playing
Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...
and
Slam Dunk Festival Slam Dunk Records or Slam Dunk Music is a British independent record label, promoter and concert organising company, founded in Leeds, England, in 2007. Some notable signees include You Me at Six and Decade. The label evolved from "Slam Dunk", a ...
. In April 2013 the band parted with Hassle Records and signed with
Red Bull Records Red Bull Records is a global record label headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It is a subsidiary of the energy drink company Red Bull GmbH and has offices in Los Angeles, London, and New York. Since its inception Red Bull Records has been h ...
, and, along wit
Big Sixes
supported the British rock band
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
on their UK tour, before Canterbury then went on to tour Europe without Blitz Kids. Later in the year the band was a support act for rock band
Mallory Knox Mallory Knox were an English alternative rock band from Cambridge. In 2013, they released their debut album ''Signals'' which reached #33 in the UK album charts. Their second album '' Asymmetry'' was released on 27 October 2014 and reached #16 o ...
. After that tour they were named as main support for pop punk band
All Time Low All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band too ...
across Europe in February and March 2014. In August 2014 they played at Merthyr Rock, along with Reel Big Fish and Anti-Flag. In late September/early October 2014, Blitz Kids had their own headline tour, supported by
Natives Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
an
Scholars
The band announced a summer 2015 UK tour stating it would be the last for a while. On 3 July, it was announced that the band had broken up and that the summer tour was cancelled, but the band performed two farewell shows in October 2015. Blitz Kids broke up on 10 October 2015.


Former members

*Joe James – vocals (2006–2015) *Jono Yates – guitar, backing vocals (2006–2015) *Nic Montgomery – bass, backing vocals (2006–2015) *Matt Freer – drums (2012–2015) *Eddie Hawx – drums (2006–2012) *Billy Evanson – guitar (2006–2012)


Discography


Studio


EP


Singles


Nominations and achievements

Blitz Kids were nominated for 'Best British Newcomers' at the
Kerrang! Awards The Kerrang! Awards are an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''Kerrang!'' and focusing primarily on rock music. The annual awards features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of mo ...
in 2011, but lost out to
Asking Alexandria Asking Alexandria are a British rock band from York, North Yorkshire, consisting of guitarists Ben Bruce and Cameron Liddell, drummer James Cassells, lead vocalist Danny Worsnop, and bassist Sam Bettley. Initially formed in 2006 by Ben Bruce ...
.


References


External links


Official website
(domain lapsed) {{authority control English alternative rock groups Musical groups disestablished in 2015