The Heavy (band)
Encyclopedia
The Heavy are an indie rock
band who claim to be from Noid, England
, allegedly a small hamlet near Bath. However, no such place appears to exist.
music and Jim Jarmusch
films.
The band released two singles in the last half of 2007. "That Kind of Man," the first single, was released on Don't Touch Recordings, before Ninja Tune heard it and promptly signed the band. The Heavy released their first album Great Vengeance and Furious Fire
on September 17, 2007 in the United Kingdom
and 8 April 2008 in the United States
.
On 26 March 2008 The Heavy were the Artist of the Day in Spin
. The band were also mentioned in the Rolling Stone
Hot List in May 2008. They played at the 2008 South By Southwest
music festival on the 89.3 The Current Stage and collected one of the Best Discovery awards in Spin Magazines Best and Worst of SXSW 2008.
The Heavy appeared on the 2009 album Johnny Cash Remixed
with a version of "Doing My Time". On 2 October 2009 their second album The House That Dirt Built
was released by Ninja Tune. A song from that album, "How You Like Me Now?," was used in a Kia Sorento
television commercial, which was broadcast during the 2010 Super Bowl, appears in the soundtrack for Driver: San Francisco
and it was used throughout The Fighter featuring Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg.
and rock using crunchy guitar, funky horns, and Curtis Mayfield
-like vocals. Their songs incorporate many different styles; for example, "Sixteen" samples the horn line from Screamin' Jay Hawkins
's "I Put a Spell on You
". "How Do You Like Me Now" samples the song "Let a Woman Be a Woman" by Dyke & the Blazers
. "Oh No! Not You Again" emulates garage rock
; and "Girl" is a combination of spoken word
and rap
.
; the fourth episode of Community
; the third episode of Rookie Blue; and the second season summer finale of White Collar
. It was used in promotion of the NBC series Outlaw
. The song is featured throughout the 2010 feature film The Fighter. It is also featured on the soundtrack of the baseball video game Major League Baseball 2K10
, and was played during final cut of the Victoria's Secret 2010 Fashion Show. On top of this, it is featured on the MLB Network
show Intentional Talk. It was featured in the 2011 film Horrible Bosses
as well as the trailer for The Change-Up." It was also featured in the alternate ending for the film Limitless
.
The band played the song on the Late Show with David Letterman
on 18 January 2010. David Letterman
enjoyed the band's performance and asked the group play to an encore of the song, which was the first time that Letterman had ever asked a musical artist to perform an encore on his show. During the encore, Letterman and his band's leader Paul Shaffer
contributed in a call and response
section. The band was backed by the horns section of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
for this performance. On 9 June 2010 "How You Like Me Now?" was featured in the opening montage of Hockey Night in Canada
s broadcast of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals
.
Their song "The Big Bad Wolf" also featured on the end credits of hit BBC Cop Drama "Luther" broadcast on 14 June 2011
"That Kind of Man" from the band's first album was featured in "Filthy Lucre", an episode of the series Californication
.
"Short Change Hero", from The Heavy's second album, has been used in the promos for the new Syfy
series, Haven
, and also in the 2010 film Faster
. "Short Change Hero" was used in the March 2011 gameplay trailer for the Batman: Arkham City video game, and as the theme for the second season of Strike Back
The Heavys' 2009 single "Short Change Hero" appeared as the Theme tune for Sky 1 series "Strike Back - Project Dawn".
The band was asked to record a cover of the song "And When I Die
" for the fourth season finale of True Blood
. It also appeared on the third True Blood soundtrack.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band who claim to be from Noid, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, allegedly a small hamlet near Bath. However, no such place appears to exist.
History
Guitarist Dan Taylor and vocalist Kelvin Swaby, the core of the group, became friends in 1998 when they bonded over vintage R&BRhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
music and Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
films.
The band released two singles in the last half of 2007. "That Kind of Man," the first single, was released on Don't Touch Recordings, before Ninja Tune heard it and promptly signed the band. The Heavy released their first album Great Vengeance and Furious Fire
Great Vengeance and Furious Fire
Great Vengeance and Furious Fire is the debut studio album by English indie rock band The Heavy, released September 17, 2007 in the United Kingdom and April 8, 2008 in the United States. The album was released by Ninja Tune's new rock-based imprint Counter Records. The title is a reference to a...
on September 17, 2007 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and 8 April 2008 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
On 26 March 2008 The Heavy were the Artist of the Day in Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
. The band were also mentioned in the Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Hot List in May 2008. They played at the 2008 South By Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
music festival on the 89.3 The Current Stage and collected one of the Best Discovery awards in Spin Magazines Best and Worst of SXSW 2008.
The Heavy appeared on the 2009 album Johnny Cash Remixed
Johnny Cash Remixed
-Reviews:****...
with a version of "Doing My Time". On 2 October 2009 their second album The House That Dirt Built
The House That Dirt Built
The House That Dirt Built is the second studio album by The Heavy. It was released on October 13, 2009. The title is a reference to the nursery rhyme This Is the House That Jack Built....
was released by Ninja Tune. A song from that album, "How You Like Me Now?," was used in a Kia Sorento
Kia Sorento
The Kia Sorento is a mid-size crossover SUV produced since 2002 by the South Korean automaker Kia Motors.- First generation :...
television commercial, which was broadcast during the 2010 Super Bowl, appears in the soundtrack for Driver: San Francisco
Driver: San Francisco
Driver: San Francisco is a sandbox-style action driving video game developed by Ubisoft Reflections and published by Ubisoft. The game formally was unveiled at E3 2010 and was released in Australia on September 1, 2011, Europe on September 2, 2011 and North America on September 6, 2011 on...
and it was used throughout The Fighter featuring Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg.
Musical style
The Heavy play a mix of guitar-heavy neo soulNeo soul
The term neo soul was originally coined by Kedar Massenburg of Motown Records in the late 1990s as a marketing category following the commercial breakthroughs of artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell...
and rock using crunchy guitar, funky horns, and Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
-like vocals. Their songs incorporate many different styles; for example, "Sixteen" samples the horn line from Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Jalacy Hawkins , best known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins was an American musician, singer, and actor...
's "I Put a Spell on You
I Put a Spell on You
"I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, whose recording was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also ranked #320 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.Although Hawkins'...
". "How Do You Like Me Now" samples the song "Let a Woman Be a Woman" by Dyke & the Blazers
Dyke & the Blazers
Dyke and the Blazers was an influential American funk band led by Arlester Christian . The band was formed in 1965 and recorded until 1971, when Christian was shot dead...
. "Oh No! Not You Again" emulates garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
; and "Girl" is a combination of spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
and rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
.
Television and film appearances
"How You Like Me Now?" is featured in several television series episodes: the sixth season finale of EntourageEntourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
; the fourth episode of Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
; the third episode of Rookie Blue; and the second season summer finale of White Collar
White Collar (TV series)
White Collar is a USA Network television series created by Jeff Eastin, starring Matt Bomer as con-man Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke. It premiered on October 23, 2009. In December 2009, White Collar was renewed for a second season that began on July 13, 2010...
. It was used in promotion of the NBC series Outlaw
Outlaw (TV series)
Outlaw is an American television series that was aired on the NBC network. The one-hour courtroom drama stars Jimmy Smits as a Supreme Court Justice who resigns from the bench to start his own law firm, as a way to more directly promote the ends of justice...
. The song is featured throughout the 2010 feature film The Fighter. It is also featured on the soundtrack of the baseball video game Major League Baseball 2K10
Major League Baseball 2K10
Major League Baseball 2K10 or, in short, MLB 2K10, is a MLB licensed baseball simulation video game published by 2K Sports. MLB 2K10 was available for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Nintendo DS...
, and was played during final cut of the Victoria's Secret 2010 Fashion Show. On top of this, it is featured on the MLB Network
MLB Network
MLB Network is an American television specialty channel dedicated to professional baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball. Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have minority ownership of the new network, with MLB retaining a controlling two-thirds share...
show Intentional Talk. It was featured in the 2011 film Horrible Bosses
Horrible Bosses
Horrible Bosses is a 2011 black comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, based on a story by Markowitz. It stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx...
as well as the trailer for The Change-Up." It was also featured in the alternate ending for the film Limitless
Limitless
Limitless is one of the world's largest private superyachts. She was built in 1997 by German shipmaker Lürssen, designed under the direction of Jon Bannenberg. The overall length is 96,25 m , the width 12,50 m...
.
The band played the song on the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
on 18 January 2010. David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
enjoyed the band's performance and asked the group play to an encore of the song, which was the first time that Letterman had ever asked a musical artist to perform an encore on his show. During the encore, Letterman and his band's leader Paul Shaffer
Paul Shaffer
Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM is a Canadian musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer who has been David Letterman's sidekick since 1982.-Early years:...
contributed in a call and response
Call and response
Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...
section. The band was backed by the horns section of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are a funk/soul band. They are signed to Daptone Records, where the Dap-Kings are the house band. They are spearheads of a revivalist movement that aims to capture the essence of funk/soul music as it was at its height in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s...
for this performance. On 9 June 2010 "How You Like Me Now?" was featured in the opening montage of Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
s broadcast of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals is the championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, emblematic of the professional club championship of ice hockey. Although the Cup itself has existed since 1893, an annual championship series between professional teams was not established until 1913...
.
Their song "The Big Bad Wolf" also featured on the end credits of hit BBC Cop Drama "Luther" broadcast on 14 June 2011
"That Kind of Man" from the band's first album was featured in "Filthy Lucre", an episode of the series Californication
Californication (TV series)
Californication is an American comedy-drama that premiered on Showtime on August 13, 2007. The show was created by Tom Kapinos. The protagonist, Hank Moody , is a troubled novelist whose move to California, coupled with his writer's block, complicates his relationships with his longtime girlfriend...
.
"Short Change Hero", from The Heavy's second album, has been used in the promos for the new Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
series, Haven
Haven (TV series)
Haven is a supernatural drama television series loosely based on the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid. The show, filmed on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, is an American/Canadian co-production. The one-hour drama premiered on July 9, 2010, on Syfy...
, and also in the 2010 film Faster
Faster (2010 film)
Faster is a 2010 American action film directed by George Tillman, Jr. It stars Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Gugino, Moon Bloodgood, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and Maggie Grace. It was released in the United States on November 24, 2010.-Plot:...
. "Short Change Hero" was used in the March 2011 gameplay trailer for the Batman: Arkham City video game, and as the theme for the second season of Strike Back
Strike Back (TV series)
Chris Ryan's Strike Back is a six-part British television series based on the novel of the same name written by best-selling author and former soldier of the Special Air Service, Chris Ryan. It was produced by Left Bank Pictures for Sky1...
The Heavys' 2009 single "Short Change Hero" appeared as the Theme tune for Sky 1 series "Strike Back - Project Dawn".
The band was asked to record a cover of the song "And When I Die
And When I Die
"And When I Die" is a song written by American singer Laura Nyro. It was first recorded by American folk group Peter, Paul and Mary in 1966. Nyro then recorded it on her 1968 debut album More Than a New Discovery. However, the song is probably best known for its cover version by American rock group...
" for the fourth season finale of True Blood
True Blood
True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
. It also appeared on the third True Blood soundtrack.
Studio albums
- Great Vengeance and Furious FireGreat Vengeance and Furious FireGreat Vengeance and Furious Fire is the debut studio album by English indie rock band The Heavy, released September 17, 2007 in the United Kingdom and April 8, 2008 in the United States. The album was released by Ninja Tune's new rock-based imprint Counter Records. The title is a reference to a...
(2007) - The House That Dirt BuiltThe House That Dirt BuiltThe House That Dirt Built is the second studio album by The Heavy. It was released on October 13, 2009. The title is a reference to the nursery rhyme This Is the House That Jack Built....
(2009)
Singles
- "That Kind of Man" (2007)
- "Set Me Free" (2008)
- "Oh No! Not You Again!" (2009)
- "Sixteen" (2009)
- "How You Like Me Now?" (2009)
- "No Time" (2009)
- "Short Change Hero" (2009)
External links
- Official website
- The Heavy perform "How You Like Me Now?" on The Late Show with David Letterman (includes encore performance)
- Live at SXSW at Minnesota Public Radio's website
- Live at epicerie moderne at intimepop.com