It was old school friends Jan, Andrew
and Simon pursuing their near-obsessive love of soul music and 70's funk that
inspired them to form The Brand New Heavies.
Growing up in the London suburb of Ealing, the trio of childhood friends became
avid record collectors, and then regular clubbers on the ‘rare groove’ scene
where they would hear records by the likes of James Brown, The Crusaders, Mass
Production, the Meters, Rufus, and a mass of early to late 70's funksters.
"At the age of 15, we were very passionate about dance and soul
music" , Andrew recalls, "and we got so into it that the only thing
left was to try it ourselves".
Rehearsing
regularly at Jan's home the boys put their grooves on to tape, and were later
over the moon when DJ’s at the seminal 'Cat in the Hat' club began cutting from
James Brown records to cassettes of the band's jams.
Initially
an instrumental-only band, the BNH would augment their trio with a brass
section; playing the clubs and rare groove parties for several years where they
built a significant and fiercely loyal following among - what was then - a cult
audience. They even secured a record deal, but were swiftly dropped by a
confused record company when Acid House burst on the scene; prefering to jump
on the latter bandwagon.
It
was Acid Jazz, the maverick independent that gave the band the relatively tiny
budget of Ј8000 to
record an album. The result, in 1990 was a muscular, funky album of original
music with its roots firmly in the 70's funk mould. In a world full of samples,
sequencers, and electronic bleeps, it was refreshing to hear an album played by
musicians with real instruments, and the rave reviews that followed reflected
the same.
In
the U.S.A. TBNH were like a breath of fresh air. Delicious Vinyl, the New York
based independent label seized upon TBNH, but put the band together with their
own vocalist N'dea Davenport: an excellent, gutsy, soul singer who re-recorded
some of the, Heavies songs made with their former singer Jay Ella Ruth who had
since left the band.
Releasing
'Never Stop' - from the album - as a single in the U.S.A. proved to be an uncanny
move. The college radio stations played the single by this new English band,
and R&B radio played the single because it was essentially a contemporary
soul record. BINGO!, the single raced into the R&B charts; a first time hit
by a U.K. group since Soul II Soul some four years previous.
In the U.K.
the eponymously titled BNH album spawned the hits "Dream Come True",
"Never Stop", and "Stay This Way", therefore broadening
their audience from rare groove cult to mainstream success.
When
BNH played live in the USA they were feted by audiences that hadn’t seen live
funk bands in a long time, but especially impressed were the rap community who
saw in ‘the Heavies’ a band playing grooves that rappers would usually sample
from old 70's records.
So impressed with the BNH were legendary funksters and R&B artists like Ray
Charles who invited the band to play his 50th anniversary in the music biz. Where
the Heavies finally met some of their heroes like Stevie Wonder and Ouincy
Jones.
By the time the band played New York
it was the new young hip-hoppers that latched on to their sound. After a
blazing 'Heavies set at the S,.O.B. club the gig ended in a near riot when O-Tip
from A Tribe Called Ouest and MC Serch from 3rd. Bass joined them onstage for
some drastic free-styling over the 'Heavies non-stop grooves. It seemed that
everybody was fighting to go on stage with the band, whilst some 2,000
ticketless punters outside were fighting to get into the gig.
And this from an English band!
After
the reception received in New York
it seemed an obvious move to make a hip-hop record. They did. Their next album
was a first of its kind.
In June 1992 The Brand New Heavies recorded 'Heavy Rhyme Experience Vol. 1'
LIVE in the studio with Black Sheep, Pharcyde, Main Source, Master Ace, and
Grand Puba Maxwell to name but a few.
Following
the release of 'Heavy Rhyme Experience...' the entire group returned to London
to work on their second album proper which was to become 'Brother Sister'.
'Brother Sister' was released to critical acclaim, platinum sales, and a
sold-out UK
tour that took in the major summer festivals. It was to be N'dea Davenport's
last time with the band. She was originally signed to Delicious Vinyl as a solo
artist and it was always on the cards that she would eventually make her own
album.
After her marriage in '95, she set up home in New Orleans and began writing for her debut
album.
A
string of chart singles like, "Dream On Dreamer", "Midnight At
The Oasis", "Back To Love", "Close To You" and
"Spend Some Time" established The Brand New Heavies as one of the
UK's finest contemporary soul/dance groups, albeit paving the way for the likes
of Jamiroquai, an old friend who was waiting in the wings.
With
the departure of N'dea Davenport it looked as though it would be tough to find
a lead vocalist to fill her shoes but alas, such is the 'Heavies credibility
among the International soul fraternity that none other than SIEDAH GARRETT
came along.
SIEDAH is perhaps best known in the UK as the singer who dueted with
Michael Jackson on "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". However in her
native U.S.
she is known as a prolific singer and songwriter of remarkable pedigree. SIEDAH
originally hooked up with Jackson through Ouincy
Jones who played Jackson
a demo of, "Man In The Mirror". Garrett co-wrote and sang the demo in
which Jackson was so impressed with her voice that he invited her to sing with
him on the, 'Dangerous' tour where she sang the duet live and provided backing
vocals throughout the tour. Siedah went on to co-write 'Keep The Faith' with Jackson, featured on the
'Dangerous' album.
As
an in-demand backing vocalist Siedah has performed with everyone from Johnnie
Mathis to Donna Summer, from The Pointer Sisters to RuPaul, including such
prestigious pop/dance artists like The Commodores and Madonna. Songs penned by
her have turned up on such smash hit albums like Ouincy Jones' 'Back On The
Block' and Paula Abdul's 'Forever Your Girl'. She's written songs for everyone
from Micheal Jackson to Aretha Franklin and many, many artists between, and
now........now she's a Brand New Heavy!
The
boys met up with Siedah in '96 to write and record their third album; the
results of which will be released at the end of March '97. Entitled 'SHELTER',
the album boasts 13 new songs all written and produced by The Brand New
Heavies.
A single, 'Sometimes' will be released in the UK on the 31st. of March.
The band recently went to New York
to re-work the single with KENNY 'DOPE' GONZALEZ and LOUIS VEGA, otherwise
known as MASTERS AT WORK to give a 'NUYORICAN' flavour to the single.
Today the band have a new lead
vocalist to join their ranks: none other than Carleen Anderson.
The
Brand New Heavies continue their tradition that started in 1989 when the band
recruited local girl, Jay Ella Ruth (TBNH) to their ranks, followed by Nґdea Davenport (Brother Sister) from
New Orleans, then Siedah Garret, singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles, joined
the Band in 1996 to make The Brand New Heavies third platinum album Shelter.
The
band found a new lead vocalist on their own doorstep; the orginal Acid Jazz
Queen Carleen Anderson. Orginally from the U.S.A, Carleen - the daughter of the
legendary Vicki Anderson and step-daughter of Bobby Bird, both members of the
James Brown Revue since the early sixties - settled in the U.K. in 1991
when she joined The Young Disciples for their hugely influential self titled
album. The band are currently working on a new album due for release on FFRR
later in the year. In the meantime, The Brand New Heavies are set to release a
new single entitled "Saturday Night".
