The Vamps are a British

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

band consisting of Brad Simpson, James Brittain-McVey, Connor Ball and Tristan Evans. They formed in 2012 and signed to

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it ...

(now

Virgin EMI Records Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records. History Virgi ...

) in the November of the same year. In 2017, they had their first number 1 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 ...

with '' Night & Day (Night Edition)''. Their first two albums, ''

Meet The Vamps ''Meet the Vamps'' is the debut studio album by British pop band The Vamps. It was initially released in Australia and New Zealand on 11 April 2014, and released in the United Kingdom through Virgin EMI Records on 14 April. The album includes th ...

'' and '' Wake Up'' are both certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

in the UK. The Vamps have also launched their own record label, Steady Records, and they are working in partnership with EMI/Universal. The first act signed was American band The Tide. In 2018, guitarist McVey participated in the eighteenth series of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' and finished in fifth place. They have continuously toured worldwide since their debut in 2012, and they are the first band to headline London's

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decemb ...

five years in a row.

History

2011–2012: Formation

James McVey was already managed by Richard Rashman and Joe O'Neill of Prestige Management. Deciding he wanted to form a band, McVey subsequently discovered Bradley Simpson in 2011 through

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. Together, the pair wrote songs towards the later months of 2011, with Simpson later becoming the lead singer. In 2012, Simpson and McVey met Tristan Evans through

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

. The trio then met Connor Ball via a mutual friend. In mid-2012, the band started uploading cover songs to their YouTube channel. By October, they were being described as a new

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Ma ...

, with special attention given to their YouTube performance of

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...

's song " Live While We're Young".

2013–2014: ''Meet the Vamps''

On 22 July 2013, the band uploaded their first original song, "Wildheart" (later re-titled " Wild Heart"), onto their YouTube account; the video received over 46,000 views within the first two days. On 6 August 2013, they released the music video for their debut single " Can We Dance", which received over 1 million views within two weeks. " Can We Dance" was released on 29 September 2013 and debuted at number two 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 ...

on 6 October 2013; beaten to number one by

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown (musician), Drew Bro ...

's " Counting Stars", which sold 1,250 copies more. On 19 November 2013, the band announced that they would release their debut album around

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

. On 22 November 2013, the Vamps announced that their second single would be "Wild Heart". The song received its first airplay three days later and was released on 19 January 2014, peaking at number three on the

the following week. On 13 March 2014, the Vamps announced that their debut album would be released on 14 April 2014. On 22 March, it was revealed that the album would be titled ''

Meet the Vamps ''Meet the Vamps'' is the debut studio album by British pop band The Vamps. It was initially released in Australia and New Zealand on 11 April 2014, and released in the United Kingdom through Virgin EMI Records on 14 April. The album includes th ...

''. On 6 April, they released " Last Night" as the third single from the album, debuting at number two in the UK. On 17 April, ''Meet the Vamps'' debuted at number two on the Irish Albums Chart and the

, kept off the top spot by Paolo Nutini's ''

Caustic Love ''Caustic Love'' is the third studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini, released on 14 April 2014 by Atlantic Records. After releasing his critically and commercially successful album '' Sunny Side Up'' (2009), Nutini toured for t ...

''. In May 2014, it was announced that the Vamps would be making a cameo appearance in the soap opera ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...

'' on 14 May 2014. ''Hollyoaks'' released a teaser clip about the Vamps' appearance on

. They were seen getting a picture with Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell) as she goes to their concert with Sienna Blake (Anna Passey). On 18 May 2014, a new version of " Somebody to You", featuring American singer

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series '' Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for p ...

, was released as the fourth single from ''Meet the Vamps'' as well as their debut single in the United States followed by an EP of the same title in August 2014. The collaboration also served as the lead single from the US version of the Vamps' debut album. Its accompanying music video has since accumulated over 108 million views on YouTube. On 12 October 2014, a new version of " Oh Cecilia (Breaking My Heart)", featuring Canadian singer

Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...

, was released as the fifth and last single from their album. It debuted and peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their fifth consecutive top 10 single. It was released with the ''b-side'' track "Hurricane", from '' Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day'' soundtrack. The music videos for both tracks were released one month earlier. On 4 November 2014, ''Meet the Vamps'' was officially released in North America. On 1 December 2014, the album was re-released as ''Meet the Vamps (Christmas Edition)'', including eight Christmas bonus tracks and the single version of "Somebody to You", being available worldwide apart from the United States and Mexico.

2015–2016: ''Steady Records'' and ''Wake Up''

In February 2015, The Vamps announced that they had launched their own record label along with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and it ...

and

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

, having signed the American pop rock band The Tide as their first act, but the label didn't have a name yet. Only in October it was revealed it would be called Steady Records. On 15 September 2015, the band announced their new single " Wake Up" which was released on 2 October 2015. Their second studio album, " Wake Up", was released on 27 November 2015. They performed at fanfests in Europe and embarked on a world tour called ''Wake Up World Tour'' which started in January 2016 to promote the album. The song debuted and peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and the album debuted at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, selling over 27 thousand copies in the country in its first week. The second single off the album, "Rest Your Love", was released on the same day as the album. In December 2015, The Vamps announced that they had signed the British band

New Hope Club New Hope Club is a British pop trio formed in 2015, consisting of Reece Bibby, Blake Richardson, and George Smith. Their debut EP, ''Welcome to the Club'', was released through Steady Records/Hollywood Records on 5 May 2017; the band release ...

and that they would be one of the opening acts in the UK leg of their ''Wake Up World Tour''. In January 2016, The Vamps released their version of " Kung Fu Fighting" for the animated film '' Kung Fu Panda 3'', which was accompanied by a music video. On 1 April 2016, a new version of " I Found a Girl", featuring Jamaican rapper

Omi is a hereditary noble title ('' kabane'') of ancient Japan. It was given to the descendants of the Imperial Family before Emperor Kōgen. Along with ''Muraji'', ''Omi'' was reserved for the head of the most powerful clans during the Kofun period ...

, was released as the third and last single off their second album. The song debuted at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. On 16 August 2016, The Vamps were featured on

Vishal Dadlani Vishal Dadlani (born 28 June 1973) is an Indian singer, songwriter and music composer. He is one half of the duo Vishal–Shekhar, Front Man and vocalist of one of India's leading rock bands called Pentagram. As a singer he has sung various ...

& Shekhar Ravjiani’s song "

Beliya "Beliya" is song recorded by Indian music direction duo Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani (or Vishal–Shekhar) featuring English pop rock band The Vamps. The song was recorded and produced in London. The song was released on 16 August 2016 wit ...

", a Bollywood-pop song.

2016–present: Autobiography, "All Night", ''Night & Day'' and ''Cherry Blossom''

On 7 October 2016, The Vamps announced in a livestream via

that the first single of their third studio album, both with no names revealed at the time, would be released on 14 October 2016, with an exclusive release on Capital FM on the previous day. On the same day, hints of the name and lyrics of the single started being posted on the band's social medias and

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...

, following the same style as the hits for "Wake Up" single and album in September 2015. It was also announced that the album would be out in Summer 2017. On 12 October 2016, the band announced via livestream that the single would be called " All Night" and would be a collaboration with Norwegian DJ

Matoma Tom Stræte Lagergren (born 29 May 1991), professionally known as Matoma, is a Norwegian DJ and record producer. Early life Lagergren was born in Åsnes, Norway. He started playing the piano as a child. During that period, he won a contest t ...

. The song peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart, number six on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

, number 13 on the Norwegian Singles Chart, number 12 on the New Zealand Singles Chart, and also became their first entry on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record ...

chart, peaking at number 72. It became the most charted and certified single of the band and their most streamed song on Spotify. On 20 October 2016, The Vamps released their autobiography ''The Vamps: Our Story 100% Official'', which had been announced months earlier. "

Middle of the Night ''Middle of the Night'' is a 1959 American drama film directed by Delbert Mann, and released by Columbia Pictures.''Variety'' film review; May 20, 1959, page 6.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; May 23, 1959, page 82. It was entered into the ...

", a collaboration with Danish DJ Martin Jensen, was announced as the second single of the album on 21 April 2017 and was released on 28 April 2017, the same day their Middle of the Night Tour started. During the first show of the tour, it was announced that the name of their third album is '' Night & Day'' and will be released in two parts. The first part, ''Night Edition'', was set to be released in July 2017 and the second one, ''Day Edition'', was set to be released in July 2018. On 3 May 2017, a video explaining more about the album was uploaded on their social media. On 19 May 2017, Swedish DJ Mike Perry released the single "

Hands A hand is a prehensile, multi- fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on eac ...

", a collaboration between himself, The Vamps, and American singer

Sabrina Carpenter Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter (born May 11, 1999) is an American singer and actress. Carpenter made her acting debut with an appearance in the television crime show '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and had a recurring role on Fox's short-li ...

, which was included in the album. The first part of the album, ''Night Edition'', was released on 14 July 2017 and debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, becoming the band's first number one album. On 20 April 2018, the band released the singles " Too Good to Be True", " Personal", "Hair Too Long", and "Just My Type" from their album's ''Day Edition''. On 13 July 2018, they released the ''Day Edition'' album which debuted at number one on the Official Scottish Albums Chart and number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 27 July 2018, they released the single " We Don't Care", a collaboration with English DJ Sigala. In March 2019, "All the Lies", a collaboration with Brazilian DJ Alok and German producer Felix Jaehn, was released. The ''Missing You'' EP was released on 25 April 2019. The four-track EP consists of title track "Missing You", "Right Now" (a collaboration with Krept and Konan), "Waves" and an acoustic version of "All the Lies". The EP marked the band taking charge of their music and creative direction as they co-wrote and co-produced the entire body of work. On 30 July 2020, they announced their fifth studio album ''

Cherry Blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of Prunus, genus ''Prunus'' or Prunus subg. Cerasus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especia ...

''. The lead single " Married in Vegas" was released on the same day as the album pre-order. The album was released on 16 October 2020 and debuted and number one on the UK charts.

Style

The group have been compared to

and labelled a

since their first fame in late 2012, a label which continued to be applied in 2014. The band disagree with the stereotyping, pointing to the fact that they formed by themselves—they are not the product of a record producer—and they play their own instruments. They have been inspired by

McFly McFly are an English pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the '' Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Danny Jones (lead vocals, har ...

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons is a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band currently consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, bass guitar, double bass), and Ben Lovett (vocals, k ...

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. Bo ...

, and

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

Members

*Bradley Will "Brad" Simpson (born 28 July 1995) is from

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles sou ...

, West Midlands, England. He sings

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

and plays

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

. Simpson met James Brittain-McVey via YouTube in 2012 (McVey's profile says 2011) and began working on their debut album soon after. *James Daniel Brittain-McVey (né McVey, born 30 April 1993) is from

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, England. He is the lead guitarist and sings backing vocals. Brittain-McVey met Brad Simpson via YouTube in 2011 (Simpson's profile says 2012) and began working on their debut album soon after. Before joining the band, Brittain-McVey released an EP on 5 December 2009, ''Who I Am''. Brittain-McVey was a contestant on the 18th series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'', he finished in 5th place. In January 2019, he got engaged to his girlfriend Kirstie Brittain, and they married on 30 October 2021 at

Lulworth Castle Lulworth Castle, in East Lulworth, Dorset, England, situated south of the village of Wool, is an early 17th-century hunting lodge erected in the style of a revival fortified castle, one of only five extant Elizabethan or Jacobean buildings of ...

. *Connor Samuel John Ball (né Stephen, born 15 March 1996 in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

, Scotland)Scotland, Statutory Registers of Births is from Hatton,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...

, England. He plays

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

and sings backing vocals. He was the last to join the band. He started a new band The Lunar Year with Cheat Codes' Sasa Macek. Ball was a contestant on the 14th series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their prof ...

'', where he finished at the semifinals stage, with his professional partner

Alexandra Schauman Professional skaters from the British television show ''Dancing on Ice'' are figure skaters who appear with celebrities in front of a panel of judges. Most of the professionals on the series are former ice dancers or pair skaters. Competit ...

. *Tristan Oliver Vance Evans (born 15 August 1994) is from

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, England. He plays

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

and sings backing vocals. Evans also acts as a producer for the band, particularly with their covers.

Discography

* ''

'' (2014) * '' Wake Up'' (2015) * '' Night & Day (Night Edition)'' (2017) and '' Night & Day (Day Edition)'' (2018) * ''

'' (2020)

Awards and nominations

Tours

The Vamps supported

on their Memory Lane Tour in April and May 2013, and

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

at London's

Hammersmith Apollo The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...

on 7 and 8 September 2013. In October, it was announced that The Vamps would support

on the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

leg of her Red Tour in February 2014, and The Wanted on the UK and Ireland leg of their Word of Mouth World Tour from 14 March to 1 April. On 12 February 2014, the band announced that they will be headlining their own UK tour in September and October 2014 to support their debut album. They also went on several tours in Asia, the UK and North America. They had their world tour in 2016 to support their second album. They had several tours to support the release of the ''Night Edition'' of their third album. The band announced their upcoming USA 2018 Tour and Four Corners Tour 2019 to support the release of the ''Day Edition'' of their third album.

Headlining

* Meet the Vamps Tour (2014-2015) * Wake Up European Fan-Fest Tour (2015) * Wake Up World Tour (2016) * Middle of the Night Tour (2017) * Night & Day: Up Close and Personal Tour (2017) * Night & Day Tour (2018) * Four Corners Tour (2019) * Live at Hackney Round Chapel (2020, livestream) * Cherry Blossom Tour (2021) * The Vamps Barcelona Weekender (2022) * Greatest Hits World Tour (2022-2023)

Supporting

- Memory Lane Tour (2013) *

- Stars Dance Tour (UK, 7 and 8 September 2013) *

- Red Tour (shows in London, UK, February 2014) * R5 - Louder World Tour (show in Birmingham, March 2014) * The Wanted - Word of Mouth Tour (UK & Ireland, 12 to 31 March and 1 April 2014) * Austin Mahone - Live on Tour (North America, July & August 2014) *

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British v ...

The Glory Days Tour The Glory Days Tour was the second worldwide tour and fourth overall by British girl group Little Mix. The tour began on May 21, 2017 in Birkenhead, England, and ended on March 25, 2018 in Kobe, Japan, where the group headlined POPSPRING, in s ...

(Europe) * Picture This - Life in Colour Tour (Ireland, 2022)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vamps English pop music groups Musical groups established in 2012 Vocal quartets 2012 establishments in the United Kingdom