Warrington band Viola Beach were a hotly tipped act set to become the UK’s new favourite indie band. Everything was going their way – sold out gigs, national airplay, an album in the works and their first European tour dates booked. Sadly, on 13th February 2016 while travelling through Sweden, their lives were tragically cut short by a car accident.
The terrible accident that killed the band and their manager Craig Tarry sent shockwaves throughout the music world, and in particular, the band’s musical peers in their hometown of Warrington. However, over the past few years these musicians have strived to keep their memory alive by continuing their legacy. World famous acts such as Liam Gallagher and The Stone Roses encouraged people to get the band’s debut single ‘Swings And Waterslides’ to Number 1 in the charts, and Coldplay paid tribute to the group, covering their single ‘Boys That Sing’ while headlining Glastonbury Festival in 2016.
Now, five years on from their tragic deaths, a community of talented musicians from Warrington have come together to record a cover of Viola Beach’s single ‘Swings And Waterslides’, which has been released today.
The project was organised by Lee Harman, Editor of [WAM] Magazine, and supported by Viola Beach’s former sound engineer Cal Bate, who both wanted to create a suitable tribute to the band. Together the pair pulled together a band of musicians who have grown from the Viola Beach legacy to record a cover version of ‘Swings And Waterslides’, and all proceeds from the single’s success will be donated to charities of the Viola Beach’s families’ choosing.
‘Swings And Waterslides’ was Viola Beach’s debut single, originally released on 27th August 2015 on Fuller Beans Records, This indie rhythmic track is intensely catchy and meaningful, it is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face. Their debut self-titled album was released posthumously on 29th July 2016, reaching number 1 in the UK Albums Chart.
All sales and streaming revenue from the cover version will be donated to charities chosen by the families of Viola Beach.
The full line up of contributors to the recording is as follows:
Vocals: Jamie Boyle (The K’s), Joe Banks (The A.V Club), Lucy Bell, Liam Hillyer, Jessica Luise, Calan Nickle (Sienne), Olly Thornton (Uno Mas)
Guitar: Amy Woodall (Crawlers) & Nathan Greenfield (Aligners)
Drums: Chris Peake (Filthy Tricks)
Bass: Ed Dowling (The Zangwills)
Mix: Cal Bate (Former Viola Beach sound engineer)
Artwork: Cameron Brown
That Blogger Music 
Leave a Reply