The Vamps are a British indie pop band formed by Brad Simpson (lead vocals, guitar), James McVay (lead guitar, vocals), Connor Ball (bass guitar, vocals) and Tristan Evans (drums). , vocals).
Indie pop is a subgenre and subculture of alternative rock / indie rock that emerged in the late 1970s in the UK.
Until 2012, music lovers were not interested in the work of the quartet. But after the musicians started posting cover versions on YouTube video hosting, they were noticed. In the same year, the band signed their first contract with Mercury Records. The life of musicians has acquired completely different colors.
History of group creation
James Daniel McVeigh is considered by many to be the "father" of the indie pop band. The young man was born on April 30, 1994 in the small provincial town of Bournemouth, located in the county of Dorset. The guy made his first attempts to make music as a teenager.
The future indie pop star has collaborated with Richard Rushman and Joe O'Neill of Prestige Management. In addition, the musician has a solo mini-record. We are talking about the album Who I Am, which included 5 tracks.
In 2011, James unexpectedly realized to himself that he did not want to make music. Through YouTube video hosting, McVeigh found the guitarist and vocalist for The Vamps. Together with him, he recorded author's tracks.
A little later, the duet expanded into a trio. The talented Tristan Oliver Vance Evans, a drummer from Exeter, who occasionally worked as a producer, joined the line-up. The last to join the band was bassist Connor Samuel John Ball from Berda, which was facilitated by a common friend.
After the final formation of the composition, the musicians began to work on replenishing the repertoire. By the way, although Brad is considered the main vocalist in The Vamps, each of the musicians devotes himself to his work. The guys perform backing vocals.
Music and the creative path of The Vamps
Starting in 2012, the team began to look for "their" listeners. The musicians posted their work on YouTube and published cover versions of popular hits. From a significant number of tracks, music lovers especially liked the song Live While We're Young by One Direction.
A year later, the presentation of the first author's track Wild Heart took place. The music lovers liked the track very much. He was appreciated not only by ordinary listeners, but also by music critics.
“While writing Wild Heart, we experimented with the sound. In the sense that they added a banjo and a mandolin. My team and I are absolutely not against experiments, so we decided to add a folk atmosphere, hoping that our people would like it. I really want to believe that music lovers sincerely liked the Wild Heart track, ”James McVeigh admitted in an interview.
Soon the musicians also presented the first professional video clip for the track Can We Dance. In a few days, the work gained more than 1 million views. Fans warmly welcomed the newcomers.
At the same time, the musicians talked about the fact that they had prepared a full-fledged studio album for fans. The debut LP Meet the Vamps was released 7 days before Easter. The album was warmly received by the fans. The authority of musicians has noticeably strengthened.
In 2014, the musicians released a new version of Somebody to You along with Demi Lovato. The collaboration was followed by the presentation of the EP. The musicians really enjoyed experimenting with the sound. In October, thanks to Canadian Shawn Mendes, Oh Cecilia (Breaking My Heart) received a second life.
Practically 2014-2015. musicians spent on tour. At the end of 2015, together with Universal Music and EMI Records, they created their own label, which they called Steady Records. The first to sign to the label was The Tide.
Presentation of the second studio album
In November 2015, the musicians presented their second studio album. We are talking about the collection Wake Up. The title track of the album was released a few months before the presentation of the LP. A music video was released for the track.
After the presentation of the disc, a series of concerts in Europe followed. Shortly before the onset of 2016, the musicians signed a contract with the New Hope Club.
In January, the band re-recorded Kung Fu Fighting for the popular cartoon Kung Fu Panda 3. In the spring of the same year, the musicians worked on the track I Found a Girl (with the participation of rapper OMI). In the summer, the musicians took part in the creation of the composition Beliya by Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani.
A year later, the musicians went on tour Middle of the Night. At the same time, the musicians shared with fans information that the band's discography would soon be replenished with a new album. The new LP was called Night & Day. The plate consists of two parts.
Interesting facts about The Vamps
- When the journalist asked the guys a question about what they would recommend to themselves at the beginning of their creative career, McVeigh replied that he would recommend learning to play the piano and not feel sorry for yourself.
- Musicians don't like being called a boy band. The musicians work without a producer, play several musical instruments and have vocal abilities that allow them to work without a phonogram.
- In quarantine, the leader of the team read the novel by Haruki Murakami "Kill the Commander". The guitarist played the PlayStation, and the bassist paid attention to sports.
The Vamps today
The protracted tour continued with another good news. The musicians in 2020 announced the release of the fifth studio album Cherry Blossom, which should be in November. The release of the disc was preceded by the presentation of the track Married in Vegas. The main feature of the album is that several songs were created using Zoom due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The new album is quite frank and poignant. I am sure that people who listen to us for a long time will be imbued with the lyrics. Our team has prepared compositions that will amaze fans with warmth, sincerity and intimacy,” said frontman Brad Simpson.
In 2020, journalists published information that the band's frontman was dating the beautiful Gracie. Finally, the musician's heart is occupied. Such grandiose changes in his personal life inspired the musician to write his fifth studio album.
In 2020, the British team presented the fourth studio album. We are talking about the LP Cherry Blossom. On the collection, the guys managed to combine perfect production, professional music making, philosophical reflections on the eternal and passionate vocals. The collection was warmly received not only by fans, but also by music critics.
The latest news about the life of the group can be found on social networks and on the official website.
