Beat Union was a pop-punk band from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, Bromsgrove and

Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. They were formerly known as Shortcut to Newark. The group has garnered comparisons to Elvis Costello and

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1 ...

, as well as

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

groups like Green Day. In 2006 the band toured the UK with

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and Zox. Their debut full-length album, '' Disconnected'', was released on Science Records in April 2008. It was produced with the help of

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 ...

, producer and frontman of Goldfinger. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' named their song "She Is the Gun" Song of the Day on 17 July 2008. The song also received rotation on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, where it rose to #5 on the station's airplay charts. After releasing the album, the group toured with Goldfinger and then played the 2008

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touri ...

in the U.S. A U.S. fall tour has been announced with

Flogging Molly Flogging Molly is an Irish-American seven-piece Celtic punk bandLife Is Good Out Now
Floggingmolly.c ...

, followed by UK dates with Less Than Jake. Beat Union split up in January 2009. In August 2009, Luke Johnson was officially announced as

Lostprophets Lostprophets (stylised as lostprophets) were a Welsh Rock music, rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer and lyricist Ian Watkins (Lostprophets singer), Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The band was founded after their former band ...

new drummer, as a permanent member providing "it all works out". 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.

Lineup

* Dave Warsop – Lead Vocals, Guitar (Shooter McGavin/Shortcut To Newark/Suedehead/Sharp Shock) * Luke Johnson (aka Jocko Johnson) – Drums (Shooter McGavin/Shortcut To Newark/

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and ...

) * Dean Ashton – Guitar, Backup Vocals (Shooter McGavin/Shortcut To Newark/ Farse/

The King Blues 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 t ...

/ Diamond Head) *

Ade Preston Beat Union was a pop-punk band from Birmingham, Bromsgrove and Redditch, United Kingdom. They were formerly known as Shortcut to Newark. The group has garnered comparisons to Elvis Costello and The Jam, as well as pop punk groups like Green Day ...

– Bass, Backup Vocals ( Farse/ The High Society/

)

Discography

;As Shooter McGavin *"Saving The Day" 7-inch – Boss Tuneage (2001) *"Split with Dugong" 7-inch – Rock 'Em Dead Records (2001) ;As Shortcut to Newark *"Heads in Hands Heads in Half" 7-inch EP – Boss Tuneage (2003) *''Gearing Up for Getting Down'' CD – (Suckapunch Records (2006) ;As Beat Union *"She Is The Gun" 7-inch/CD – Haddock Recordings (2007) *'' Disconnected'' CD – Science Records (2008)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official band site

Official Myspace page

Science Records band page

Beat Union Take To The States
Feature article. PlugInMusic.com English rock music groups Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands