Hard

The band consists of vocalist Kelvin Swaby, guitarist Dan Taylor, bassist Spencer Page, and drummer Chris Ellul. Although the band did not release any material until 2007, Swaby and Taylor had been friends since 1998 after they had bonded over their interest in R&B music and Jim Jarmusch films. The band released two singles in 2007, and caught the attention of the record label Ninja Tune with their first single “That Kind of Man”.

Later on in 2007 The Heavy would release their debut album “Great Vengeance and Furious Fire” in the UK through the record label Ninja Tune. They would also release the album in the US on 8 April 2008. After the release of their debut album the band started to receive much press attention from both “Spin” and “Rolling Stone”, who recognized them as a talented up and coming band. They also began playing festivals like South By Southwest and were gaining attention through their performances as well.

The Heavy released their second studio album “The House That Dirt Built” in 2009. The album showed a progression in the band’s gritty approach of making soul inspired music. The songs on the album were filled with funky bass lines, deep R&B drum beats, and Swaby’s intense vocals that often resemble the style of James Brown and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Their most popular hit on the album was “How You Like Me Now?”, which featured samples of the Dyke and the Blazers’ song “Let a Woman Be a Woman”. The song has appeared in various films and commercials, and was most notably featured in a Super Bowl commercial where the song gained much attention. The Heavy were also asked to play an encore by David Letterman after they performed the song on his show.

For the band’s 2012 album “The Glorious Dead” they traveled to Columbus, Georgia, US and performed with Southern gospel singers in order to create an authentic style of soul on their album. The Heavy also teamed up with Gabriel “Bosco Mann” Roth on the album, who provided string and horn parts for some of the songs, which gave the album some of its funky characteristics. The album placed on the Billboard 200 chart and contained the hit single “What Makes A Good Man?”.

The Heavy are a huge success in Japan having had a #1 alternative album on the iTunes Japan chart and playing the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. The band have toured extensively over the world and have played several popular festivals such as Glastonbury as well as selling out notable venues like the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, UK.