Bravado Cartel are an English rock band from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, consisting of Will Bloy (vocals), Jonny Green (guitar), Shayne Whitton (drums), Jonathan Armstrong (bass guitar) and William Gould (keyboards), particularly noted for their 2016 UK single "Just Like Fighting Shadows" with Emma Kirke, which charted 33 in the i-Tunes rock downloads in that year. The band have released five studio albums spanning the period 2009 to 2019.
History edit
Originally named RedStar, the band was formed by Will Bloy after leaving the armed forces in 2004. Early members included Steve Smith (guitars), Shayne Whitton (drums), Tim Whiteley (bass) and Gary Hutchinson (keyboards). In 2005, Joe Leadbeater replaced Hutchinson on keyboards and on 2007 Smith was replaced by Jonny Green on guitars. In the early years, RedStar gigged in pubs and clubs across the north of England but expanded to regular slots in London and a tour of Holland.[citation needed]
In the summer of 2012, the band reached fourth place at Live and Unsigned out of a pool of approximately 40,000 band entries, which resulted in a gig at the O2 Arena, London.[1] During this period, RedStar's music was described by a music journalist at The Apollo Festival, as having 'great lyrics, stomping riffs and anthemic choruses ... [with] West Yorkshire accents seeping through the vocals, giving a feeling of home and heart right within the music ... RedStar are moving their genre forward and are definitely ones to watch'.[2]
Huddersfield A.F.C. and "Smile Awhile" edit
In 2013, RedStar were asked to write and record the official song for Huddersfield Town A.F.C.[3] The resulting single "Smile Awhile" was based on the lyrics of the club's 1920 song of the same title, originally adapted from a First World War song, "Till We Meet Again". Released in late 2013, "Smile Awhile" supported the Huddersfield Town Foundation and became the team's match song starting all games for three years, including the year Huddersfield Town entered the Premiership.[4] The song charted in the top 10 on i-Tunes Rock downloads in 2013,[citation needed] and achieved just under 35,000 views on YouTube.[5] A second i-Tunes top 40 single followed with "Just Like Fighting Shadows", written and recorded with Emma Kirke in 2016.[6]
Tours of the United States edit
In 2014, Green left the band due to ill health and Leadbeater announced he would be leaving to tour with Joanne Shaw Taylor for 12 months. In 2015, Whiteley was replaced by Jonathan Armstrong on bass, Green was replaced by Karl Woolston, Leadbeater was replaced by Jack Manning (keyboards and guitars) and Whitton (temporarily) by Stefan Drapan. In the same year, the band's name was changed to Bravado Cartel.[7] In the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 the band toured the US,[8] performing in Hard Rock Cafés in Boston and New York, conducting radio shows and playing at New York's oldest rock club, The Bitter End (2018).[9][10] The first tour was set up by Bruce Replogle, ex-publicist of John Lennon on Double Fantasy.[11] Jonny Green returned to the band as guitarist in 2017.[citation needed]
In 2020, Manning left the band and was replaced by William Gould on keyboards. Bravado Cartel continued to write and record material through the Covid pandemic and returned to live performances from the summer of 2021.[12] In November 2022, the band signed with Paint The World Music, and recorded two singles in early 2023 - "I'm Always There for You Digitally" and "Revolution on the Lips". In September 2023, the band released the single "Everything and Anything" which became the official song for the nationwide mental health charity Andy's Man Club.[13] The video for the song was filmed during a gig at the Piece Hall, Halifax, West Yorkshire[14] and was sponsored by Battenbrook Clothing.[15] The lead role in the video was played by actor Jamie Dorrington. who has appeared in the British soap opera, Emmerdale.
Musical style edit
Imogen Bell described Bravado Cartel's sound as "a mix of old-school rock like Led Zeppelin and new-school mashups of mould-breakers Arctic Monkeys fused with the swagger of Oasis". The same review compared the synth and piano inflected rock of the band as comparable to early Kasabian.[2]
Discography edit
Studio albums edit
- Law and Order – 2009
- Revelator – 2012
- The Vaults – 2013
- Violence Has no Place at the Table of Democracy – 2016[16]
- Anything for an Easy Life – 2019
References edit
- ^ 'Live and Unsigned 2012: The Grand Final', MusicRadar, 16 July 2012.
- ^ a b Imogen Bell, 'Apollo Festival 2014 Review', Soundsphere, 24 June 2014.
- ^ 'Smile A While Revealed', Huddersfield Town AFC, 29 November 2013.
- ^ 'Smile Awhile Set for Burnley Release', Huddersfield Town AFC, 11 November 2013.
- ^ 'Smile Awhile – full version in aid of the Town Foundation', 34,929 views.
- ^ Susie Beever, 'Inspirational cancer survivor Emma Kirke's fundraising single hits the UK Top 40', Yorkshire Examiner Live, 17 May 2016.
- ^ Tony Earnshaw, 'Whatever happened to Huddersfield band RedStar which released Town song Smile Awhile?', Yorkshire Examiner Live, 12 August 2017.
- ^ Tony Earnshaw, 'Stateside Tour Ends in Triumph for Bravado Cartel', Yorkshire Examiner Live, 19 October 2017.
- ^ 'SAD, Bridges and Tunnels, Bravado Cartel, Queen and the Savage Kings', Do NYC, 19 April 2019.
- ^ '3rd Triumphant U.S. Tour under our belts!', Bravadocartel.co.uk, (1 June 2019).
- ^ Chloe Glover, 'RedStar aiming to shine in the US after being signed to label run by John Lennon's former publicist', Yorkshire Examiner Live (17 August 2015).
- ^ David Cowan and Craig Jones, '24 Photos from Huddersfield from an unforgettable night out in the town', Yorkshire Examiner Live, 21 November 2021.
- ^ "Andy's Man Club | #ITSOKAYTOTALK". Andysmanclub.co.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ "New single to be released championing Andy's Man Club with video filmed at Halifax's Piece Hall". Halifaxcourier.coo.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ "BattenBrook". Battenbrook.com. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Rachel Brown, 'Album Review: Violence Has No Place At The Table of Democracy', Northern Exposure, 16 June 2017.