Massive Wagons are a British jazz combo/rock band from Lancaster founded in 2009. The band are currently signed to Nottingham-based independent record label

Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by rel ...

(having inked their deal in October 2017) and in 2018 released their fourth studio album ''Full Nelson'', in doing so securing a Top 20 album in 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 ...

, peaking at number 16. The band caused controversy in their home town of Lancaster by erecting a large mural of their new album cover on the side of a pub wall. Initially condemned by the local council due to not having the relevant planning permissions, public outcry led to the council dramatically reversing their decision and allowing the art to stay. Following the release of ''Full Nelson'' in the summer of 2018 the band went on to play at

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 also open for

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

at Kendal Rugby Club. They cite their influences as being artists such as Status Quo,

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

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and

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

amongst others.

History

Formed in 2009, the band remained nameless until their first gig was booked and they needed a name to perform under. Jokingly adopting the temporary moniker of 'Massive Wagons', the playful nickname of a local barmaid, the band eventually stuck with it and it remains to this day. The band's initial commercial release, entitled "Sniff The Riff", was self-released but by the time their debut LP ''Fire It Up'' came along in 2012 the band had signed to London-based independent label Casket Music. in 2013 the band entered a UK Battle of the Bands competition entitled 'Highway To Hell'. Having won the competition the band went on to sign a multi-album contract with Ibiza-based independent label 'Off Yer Rocka'. Their second studio album, ''Fight The System'', was released in 2014 on Off Yer Rocka and a live/rarities album, ''The Good The Bad And The Ugly'', was released in late 2015. Returning to the studio in April 2016, Massive Wagons recorded their third studio long player, ''Welcome To The World'', which featured singles "Tokyo" and "Ratio". ''Welcome To The World'' saw the band's first chart success, entering the iTunes Top 100 charts in several territories. Later that year the band went on to support

The Wildhearts The Wildhearts are an English rock band, formed in 1989 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as the Beatles and 1980s-e ...

on a national UK tour. In 2017 the band released a charity single for the

Teenage Cancer Trust Teenage Cancer Trust is a cancer care and support charity in the UK that exists to improve the cancer experience of young people aged 13–24. Founded in 1990, the charity's key service is providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. It ...

entitled "Back To The Stack", notable as a tribute to

Rick Parfitt Richard John Parfitt, (12 October 1948 24 December 2016) was an English musician, best known as a singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist with rock band Status Quo. Parfitt began his career in the early 1960s, playing in pubs and holiday cam ...

. Rick Parfitt Jnr, son of the late Rick Parfitt, has since publicly acknowledged his support of the track. Late 2017 saw the band's first line-up change, with Stephen Holl replacing Carl Cochrane on rhythm guitar. In June 2019, the band embarked on their first arena tour in the UK, as opening act for

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

's "Last of the Street Survivors" farewell tour. The tour comprised four dates at major UK arenas: SSE Hydro in Glasgow,

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, London's

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

, and

Resorts World Arena The Resorts World Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena located at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Solihull, England. It has a capacity of 15,685 seats. The venue was built as the seventh hall of the NEC complex. After 18 months of constr ...

Birmingham Massive Wagons ended their Road Dogs tour on 7 December at Gorilla in Manchester, with support from Bootyard Bandits, a country metal band from Gloucestershire. The band played a song called Hero from their fifth studio album, which the band recorded in early 2020. The album, ''House of Noise'', was released July 17, 2020 and charted at number 9 in the UK album charts.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Fire It Up'' (Casket Music, 2012) * ''Fight the System'' (Off Yer Rocka, 2014) * ''Welcome to the World'' (Off Yer Rocka, 2016) * ''Full Nelson'' (

Earache Ear pain, also known as earache or otalgia, is pain in the ear. Primary ear pain is pain that originates from the ear. Secondary ear pain is a type of referred pain, meaning that the source of the pain differs from the location where the pain i ...

, 10 August 2018) * ''House of Noise'' (Earache, 17 July 2020) * ''Triggered!'' (Earache, 2022)

Live/rarities albums

* ''The Good The bad and The ugly'' (Off Yer Rocka, 2015)

References

{{Authority control English rock music groups