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The Brand New Heavies

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The Brand New Heavies
The Brand New Heavies live at Leverkusener Jazztage in 2016
The Brand New Heavies live at Leverkusener Jazztage in 2016
Background information
OriginEaling, London, England
Genres
Years active1985–present
Labels
MembersSimon Bartholomew
Andrew Levy
Angela Ricci
Past membersCarleen Anderson
N'Dea Davenport
Ceri Evans
Sulene Fleming
Siedah Garrett
Lascelles Gordon
Dawn Joseph
Jan Kincaid
Honey Larochelle
Ross Kilpatrick
Nicole Russo
Jay Ella Ruth
Sy Smith
Websitetbnh.co.uk

The Brand New Heavies is an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing in west London. Centered around songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the core members of the group since its founding, Brand New Heavies are best known for a string of successful singles in the early 1990s featuring N'Dea Davenport as lead vocalist.

History

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1985–1990: Formation and early years

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In 1985, Simon Bartholomew, Jan Kincaid, and Andrew Levy formed a band originally called Brother International.[1] The band recorded a demo which was played at a nightclub called The Cat in the Hat.[2] After the demo received positive feedback in the club, the band was booked to perform at the club.[2][3] In 1987, Brother International opened for James Brown at a concert at Wembley Arena.[2] Shortly after their brief stint with Brown, the group changed their name to The Brand New Heavies, inspired by one of Brown's honorific titles "Minister of New Super Heavy Funk".[4] In June 1988, The Brand New Heavies released a single titled "Got to Give" on Cooltempo Records.[3] In 1989, the group moved to Eddie Piller's Acid Jazz Records and developed a new genre of music called acid jazz.[3]

In mid-1989, The Brand New Heavies released their second single "People Get Ready". The group added female vocalist Jaye Ella Ruth to the lineup and began recording their first album.[5] On 1 June 1990, The Brand New Heavies released their debut self-titled album.[6] The album's lead single "Dream Come True" peaked at number sixty-three on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Ruth departed from the group shortly after the release of single.

1991–1997: Breakthrough success and lineup changes

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N'Dea Davenport was the most notable lead vocalist of The Brand New Heavies.

At the recommendation of their record label, American singer N'Dea Davenport was added to the lineup in 1990. The group re-recorded and released their first album on Delicious Vinyl with lead vocals by Davenport in 1991. The album peaked at number twenty-four on the UK Albums Chart and earned a silver-certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[7][8] The group reissued their singles; "Dream Come True", "Stay This Way", and "Don't Let It Go to Your Head", all of which peaked in the top forty on the UK Singles Chart.[7] In October 1991, the group was invited to perform their single "Stay This Way" on American music and dance television show Soul Train. Their follow-up album Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1 was released in 1992.

In March 1994, they released their third album Brother Sister. Brother Sister peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart and earned platinum-certification by the BPI.[7][9] The album spawned the single "Dream On Dreamer" which became crossover hit, peaking within the top twenty on several international music charts.[7] The music video of "Dream On Dreamer" also received a MTV Video Music Award nomination for "Best R&B Video". The album's follow-up singles "Back to Love" and a cover version of "Midnight at the Oasis" peaked in the top thirty on the UK Singles chart.[7] At the Brit Awards in 1995, the group received a nomination for "British Dance Act". Davenport left the group due to irreconcilable differences in 1995 and was replaced with American singer-songwriter Siedah Garrett.

In April 1997, the group's third Shelter was released. Like its predecessor, the album peaked in the top five on the UK Albums Chart and platinum-certification by the BPI.[7][10] The album's lead single "Sometimes" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart and earned silver-certification by the BPI.[11] The album's follow-up singles "You Are the Universe" and "You've Got a Friend" charted in the top twenty-five; with the latter peaking at number nine.[7]

2000s–present

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The Brand New Heavies then released their greatest hits album, Trunk Funk – The Best of The Brand New Heavies (2000) with Carleen Anderson on vocals for some newly recorded songs, followed by the Japan only album We Won't Stop (2003) featuring a variety of vocalists and Allaboutthefunk (2005) co-written and co-produced by Nicole Russo (as detailed on the album sleeve) who also featured as Lead vocalist.

For We Won't Stop album, The Brand New Heavies relied on singer/songwriter Sy Smith for the bulk of the female vocals.[12] Original member Jan Kincaid takes the lead on three of the tracks, and Los Angeles-based poet Gina Loring[13][14] makes several appearances on the album.[15] Where the Heavies typical sound had typically been more 1970s funk-styled and acoustically driven, We Won't Stop sees the band experimenting with more electronic elements and contemporary R&B.[16]

The album marked the first commercial release of "What Do You Take Me For", the band's lone track featuring former flagship lead vocalist N'Dea Davenport.[17] The track would be later re-recorded in a more modern configuration with Nicole Russo on lead for the Allabouthefunk album.[18] The sound and musical arrangement heard on these first releases of "Music", "Love Is...", and the title track "We Won't Stop" were re-recorded with new leads on N'Dea Davenport's 2006 return to the band for the comeback album Get Used to It.[19]

In April 2006, the Brand New Heavies reunited with N'Dea Davenport and former label Delicious Vinyl. A new album, Get Used to It was released on 27 June 2006 via Starbucks and more traditional music retail outlets. The album was recorded in New York and London; and the lead single "I Don't Know Why (I Love You)" was issued in early May. The single was notable for being one of very few late releases to feature the trademarked A Tom Moulton Mix, as he had been asked to contribute remixes. Later that year, their Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1 album track "Jump 'n' Move" featuring Jamal-ski was featured on the soundtrack for the 2006 animated feature film Happy Feet and the in-game soundtrack for 2004's NBA Live 2005 and 2009's NBA 2k10. The band toured at the end of 2006.

The Heavies recorded a cover of "C'est Magnifique" (originally from Cole Porter's 1953 musical Can-Can) for an early 2009 TV ad by Lancôme. The song also appeared in an early track listing of the Heavies' 2009 live album, but wasn't eventually included. The 2-CD Live in London was released in October 2009. The studio version of "C'est Magnifique" was released as a download and also included on a couple of various artists compilations.

The Brand New Heavies released a download instrumental album called Dunk Your Trunk in November 2011.[20] The album, recorded in only four days and described as 'funky library music' is directed at 'TV and Movie people to add to their programmes and films'. The 5-track Dunk Your Trunk Remixed E.P. was released on download on 1 May 2013.

Dawn Joseph was lead vocalist for The Brand New Heavies from 2013 to 2015.

The Brand New Heavies eighth studio album Forward was released on 6 May 2013. Lead vocal duties on the album are divided evenly between N'Dea Davenport, who features on the first single "Sunlight", Jan Kincaid and Simon Bartholomew, making his debut as lead vocalist on this album, and new UK vocalist Dawn Joseph.[21] While the album was produced by the Heavies themselves, as all their previous albums, there are also new collaborators, including songwriters Johan Jones Wetterberg, Marc Jackson Burrows, Rita Campbell and Tim Laws and mixing engineer Toni Economides.

On 10 October 2013, The Brand New Heavies announced via their website that Dawn Joseph had officially joined the band as full-time lead vocalist and that the band were working on a new studio album slated for release in early 2014.[22]

On 21 February 2014, The Brand New Heavies played at Buxton Opera House with support from British acoustic blues singer songwriter Matt Woosey. The Brand New Heavies ninth studio album Sweet Freaks, with Dawn Joseph on vocals, was released on 24 October 2014.

Jan Kincaid and Dawn Joseph both left The Brand New Heavies in late 2015. In July 2016, the band began touring extensively in Europe and Japan with Sulene Fleming on vocals. She stayed until 2018. In November 2018 the band started touring with Angela Ricci on vocals.

The Brand New Heavies premiered their new single "Getaway" with N'Dea Davenport on vocals in April 2019. A new studio album, TBNH, was released on 6 September 2019 on Acid Jazz Records and features Davenport, Siedah Garrett, Angie Stone, Beverley Knight, Angela Ricci, Jack Knight, Honey Larochelle, and Laville. The fUnKin in the UK Tour brought the band all across the UK in 2021,[23] after the live shows were rescheduled following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominee/work Result Ref.
1994 MTV Video Music Award Best R&B Video "Dream on Dreamer" Nominated [24]
1995 Brit Awards British Dance Act The Brand New Heavies Nominated
2020 Pop Awards Lifetime Achievement Award The Brand New Heavies Nominated [25][26]

Members

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Discography

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Main article: The Brand New Heavies discography

References

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  1. ^ Hammer, Steve. "Interview: Simon Bartholomew". Archived from the original on 10 December 2006.
  2. ^ a b c The Brand New Heavies Interview: ‘There are all of these grooves we haven’t got out of our systems yet’. Classic Pop Magazine. Retrieved on 20 July 2024
  3. ^ a b c The Brand New Heavies Biography (AllMusic). AllMusic. Retrieved on 20 July 2024
  4. ^ Interview with Jon Scragg, Jazz FM 102.2 (London), 22 October 2004.
  5. ^ "N'Dea Davenport Interview". SoulTalk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  6. ^ The Brand New Heavies - The Brand New Heavies (Overview). AllMusic. Retrieved on 20 July 2024
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Brand New Heavies Official Chart History. Official Charts. Retrieved on 20 July 2024
  8. ^ The Brand New Heavies - Brand New Heavies Silver Certification. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on 20 July 2024
  9. ^ The Brand New Heavies - Brother Sister (Platinum Certificate). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on 20 July 2024
  10. ^ The Brand New Heavies - Shelter (Platinum Certificate). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on 20 July 2024
  11. ^ The Brand New Heavies - Sometimes (Silver Certificate). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on 20 July 2024
  12. ^ "Sy Smith: The Syberspace Social". Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  13. ^ "Cal Poly MultiCultural Center to Host Poet Gina Loring on 7 Jan". Cal Polytechnic State University. 11 December 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  14. ^ Sean Wardwell (8 March 2009). "Poet Gina Loring to perform at Texas State". San Marcos Mercury. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ "The Brand New Heavies – Biography". Pony Canyon. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  16. ^ "Brand New Heavies, concert in Korea for the first time in four years". MK (Korean). 20 October 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  17. ^ Dan Grunebaum. "The Brand New Heavies". Metropolis Japan. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  18. ^ "We Won't Stop – The Brand New Heavies". Discogs. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  19. ^ "The Brand New Heavies – Get Used To It". FOK. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  20. ^ "PEDF043 – The Brand New Heavies – Dunk Your Trunk | Pedigree CutsPedigree Cuts". Blog.pedigreecuts.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  21. ^ "The Brand New Heavies: Call in the Heavies". Bluesandsoul.com. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  22. ^ "Dawn Joseph announced as full-time lead vocalist". thebrandnewheavies.net. 10 October 2013. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  23. ^ Pingitore, Silvia (17 October 2020). "The comeback of 1990s funk & acid jazz: interview with The Brand New Heavies' Simon Bartholomew". the-shortlisted.co.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  24. ^ "1994 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS". Rock on the Net. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  25. ^ Addo, Leslie (19 January 2020). "Welcome to the POP AWARDS 2020, the third annual Pop Awards". Pop Magazine. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  26. ^ "Pop Awards 2020, the 3rd annual Pop Awards". Pop Awards. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
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