Heavyball are an indie/

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

, new tone band based 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 ...

Biography

Heavyball were formed in November 2011 by

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 ...

brothers Matt (guitar and vocals) and Habs (Drums) Salisbury and school friend Johnny 'Iball' Eveson (bass). Their break came after a chance meeting between their manager and manager of

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

, Mick Webster. Mick encouraged them to record their first EP ''Small Town Hero'' in Huddersfield with

Embrace Embrace may refer to: * A hug, a form of physical intimacy * Acceptance Music Bands * Embrace (American band), a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. * Embrace (English band), a post-Britpop band from West Yorkshire * Embrace (duo), a Dan ...

's former producer Dave Creffield. ''Small Town Hero'' received airplay on BBC Ulster's

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...

Show and by BBC Radio Nottingham's Dean Jackson as part of the

BBC Introducing BBC Music ''Introducing'' is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. It gives artists the opportunity to be played on Local BBC Radio and nationally on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, 6 ...

program. In February 2013, Heavyball supported Kaiser Chiefs on their UK tour, including Kaiser Chiefs' warm up shows in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

and

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

. Along with Kaiser Chiefs, Heavyball have played with various artists of note including

The Selector ''Selector Radio'' is a weekly two-hour Radio program, radio show produced by Folded Wing for the British Council. It covers a variety of music genres, ranging from Grime (music genre), grime, Indie rock, indie, Soul music, soul, and dance and f ...

and The Beat and other artists of note including

Dodgy Dodgy is an English rock band formed in Hounslow in 1990. The band rose to prominence during the Britpop era of the 1990s. They are best known for their hits "Staying Out for the Summer", "If You're Thinking of Me", and " Good Enough". Good ...

The Cribs The Cribs are a British indie rock band originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, that formed in 2001. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The Smiths guit ...

and

Geno Washington Geno Washington (born William Francis Washington; December 1943, in Evansville, Indiana) is an American R&B singer who released five albums with The Ram Jam Band between 1966 and 1969, and eight solo albums beginning in 1976. Music career 19 ...

. Heavyball released their second EP ''Hands Up'' in March 2013, and the tracks "Lost Heroes" and "Hands Up" were played on BBC London's

Gary Crowley Gary Crowley (born 8 October 1961), is an English broadcaster, TV presenter and DJ.Burrell, Ian (2009), ''The Independent'', 9 November 2009, retrieved 2 November 2010 While still at school (Rutherford School, Marylebone, London) in the late 1970s ...

Show. "Hands Up" was also played as part of BBC DJ

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

's mixtape. At the beginning of 2014 they signed to the independent record label Magnetic North Melodies. Heavyball have played many UK shows and festivals including the TT races and the Strawberry Fields Festival. The band have played several times across Europe including France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic. Heavyball have found particular success in the Netherlands, appearing at festivals such as Welcome to the Village. They released their first album, ''Black Eye Diaries'', in October 2015. The 2017 follow-up ''When Can You Start?'' enjoyed success in Europe, peaking at number 2 in the Austrian Indie charts in January 2018. In May 2018, the band were recognised by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

with a Music Export Growth Scheme grant to support their growing popularity in mainland Europe.

Band members

*Matt 'Bigface' Salisbury - lead vocals/guitar (2011–present) *Habs - drums, backing vocals (2011–present) *Johnny Iball - bass guitar, backing vocals (2011–present) *Tom 'Stone Cold' Frost - guitar (2014–present)

Discography

''Small Town Hero'' EP

#"Automatic Hit Machine" (2:39) #"I Confess" (3:49) #"Small Town Hero" (3:47) ''Released June 2012''

''Hands Up'' EP

#"Hands Up" (3:08) #"Lost Heroes" (3:21) #"Wanted" (3:00) ''Released March 2013''

''Black Eye Friday'' EP

#"Black Eye Friday" (3:16) ''Released January 2014''

''Another Country'' EP

#"Another Country" (2:59) #"Unhappy Now" (3:48) ''Released August 2014''

''Black Eye Diaries'' LP

#"Small Town Hero" (3:47) #"I Confess" (3:47) #"Automatic Hit Machine" (2:40) #"Hands Up" (3:10) #"Lost Heroes" (3:20) #"Smalltown Boy" (2:59) #"Black Eye Friday" (3:17) #"Wanted" (3:02) #"Surfin' In Skegness" (3:11) #"Another Country" (2:59) #"Unhappy Now" (3:48) #"Lost Heroes" (Acoustic) (4:33) ''Released October 2015''

''When Can You Start?'' LP

#"Top of Your Game" (4:19) #"Heist" (3:36) #"Internet Detective" (2:44) #"People Person" (3:08) #"Yesterday’s Man" (5:09) #"A Quick Drink in the Worst Bar in the World" (1:30) #"The Perils of Midweek Drinking" (3:51) #"Office Party" (3:05) #"After Dark" (4:06) #"Retail is Detail" (1:15) #"Year Out" (3:27) #"No More 9 to 5" (5:31) ''Released November 2017''

References

{{Authority control English ska musical groups Musical groups from London