Viola beach biography

2016 studio album by Viola Beach

Viola Beach is the only studio album by English indie rock group Viola Beach. It was released in the United Kingdom on 29 July 2016, by Fuller Beans Records. The album includes the singles "Swings & Waterslides" and "Boys That Sing". The album peaked to number one on the UK Albums Chart.

Background

The album was announced on 17 June for release on 29 July 2016, and consists of 9 tracks including "Boys That Sing" and a BBC session. The album was released on the band's own Fuller Beans Records label. The announcement was accompanied by a statement from Viola Beach's families. To mark the release, a mixed-media animation video was released for the single "Boys That Sing" in July 2016.

Singles

"Swings & Waterslides" was released as the lead single from the album on 27 August 2015. The song peaked to number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, after the four band members and their manager Craig Tarry were killed in an incident on the E4motorway bridge at Södertälje, southwest of Stockholm, Sweden on 13 February 2016. "Boys That Sing" was released as the second single from the album on 22 January 2016. The song peaked at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart.

Chart performance

On 1 August 2016, the album was at number one on The Official Chart Update, 6,000 combined sales ahead of Electric Light Orchestra's album, All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra. On 5 August 2016, Viola Beach entered the UK Albums Chart at number one. After the album got to number one, the families of the band said: "The tragic circumstance that met Viola Beach and their manager Craig that fateful night in Sweden will not now define their lives. What will now define their lives and what they will be remembered for, forever, is the music they were so passionate about making together. For that, we will be eternally humbled and ever

English indie rock group

For the community in Canada, see Viola Beach, Alberta.

Viola Beach were an English indie rock group formed in Warrington in 2013. The band's final line-up consisted of Kris Leonard (vocals, guitar), River Reeves (guitar), Tomas Lowe (bass), and Jack Dakin (drums). All four, along with their manager Craig Tarry, were killed during their first overseas tour when their car fell from a bridge in the Swedish city of Södertälje on 13 February 2016. As of 2024, founding members Frankie Coulson (guitar) and Jonny Gibson (bass) are the last surviving members of the band.

In the week following the crash, their single "Boys That Sing" entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 80 and their previous single "Swings & Waterslides" entered at No. 11 following a public campaign to boost sales. In the same week, "Swings & Waterslides" also entered at No. 3 on the sales-only chart (which excludes streaming data) and "Boys That Sing" entered at No. 27 on the same chart. On 29 July 2016, the self-titled album was posthumously released. It reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart on 5 August 2016.

Career

Viola Beach formed in Warrington in May 2013, the original members being Kris Leonard (guitar and vocals), Frankie Coulson (guitar), Jonny Gibson (bass), and Jack Dakin (drums). The band's final line-up was formed when Coulson and Gibson opted to leave the band in 2015 in order to focus on their university studies, and were replaced by River Reeves (guitar) and Tomas Lowe (bass) respectively.

By September of their formation year,

Swedish police said they received a call about 02:30 local time (01:30 GMT) and were on the scene within five minutes.

They said divers recovered the bodies of the victims - aged between 20 and 33 - after their Nissan Qashqai plunged through a gap in the bridge which had opened to let a boat pass underneath.

The bridge has a middle section that rises directly upwards without tilting, leaving a gap that the car drove into, the police said.

A barrier before the opening has flashing lights and warning signs, the officer handling the case said, and other drivers were waiting behind the barrier.

Inspector Martin Bergholm said: "For some reason, the car drove through the barriers and crashed down into the canal.

"The witnesses just saw a car beside them and kind of disappear."

Eyewitness Jonny Alexandersson told the BBC he was waiting for the bridge to go down when he saw a car coming very fast on the left side.

"It was very tight," he said. "They passed me and in front of me was a taxi and the car smashed the side of this car and then they go in the barrier, then I don't see anything more of the car, the lights were gone."