The Shop All major credit cards accepted!!       Download us on iTunes

Dates for your diary:

20 June 15:00 Millfield School, Street, Sommerset

21 June 20:00 Cardiff Student Union
Stay Up Late Wales launch!!

27 June 16:45 Glastonbury Festival, Shangri la Zone
Neil Young, The Boss and Us!!!!!!
Read the Daily Dust preview

5 July 15:00 Farnborough
BBC Radio Ouch! Festival

8 July 19:30 Proud Gallery, Camden, London
With La Rebla Fam and Dj sets from Tim Westwood and Mathew Horne! And apparently someone famous will be jamming with us.... Free beer for the 1st hour!!
Tickets are £5 and available on line:
www.viewlondon.co.uk

23 July 20:00 Ocean Rooms Brighton
Pebbles after school club benefit night

24 July 20:00 Beautiful Octopus, Albany Theatre Deptford

5 Sept 15:00 Bow Community Festival
Always an incredible line up - this year The Imagined Village, Sham 69 and more

15 Nov 19:30 Brentwood Theatre, Brentwood
Screening, Q&A's and gig! Tickets available here:



18 November, Eden Project, Cornwall
all enquiries to the Brandon Trust info@brandontrust.org



Wild Things Volume 2 - coming soon

Following the success of last year’s CD ‘Wild Things – sounds of the disabled underground Vol.1’ we’ve decided to bring out Volume 2. This time it'll be a double CD and will feature artists from all over the world. We're really excited about this one - some incredible tunes!

We are planning to release the CD in July 2009 on our own ‘Get In Or Get Out’ record label and all proceeds will go towards furthering the work of our Stay Up Late campaign (please see www.stayuplate.org for more details). Greenbelt Festival have helped to sponsor this release through the Trust Greenbelt initiative.

Have a listen to the music and join the party:
www.myspace.com/disabledunderground



Get Us...

Rosetti sponsors Heavy Load with Adam Black guitars

JJ Hudson sponsors Heavy Load with catwalk T Shirts

...rock!







Cinema run:







Reviews:

Keswick Film Festival, 13th Feb

On our way up the M6 heading for Cumbria, in the middle of winter in the back of a freezing cold van, I'm thinking to myself, "It better be worth it"....

We'd never seen so many cushions in a holiday cottage - we were certainly going to be comfortable! And Anne and everyone at the Film Festival got the beers in... so far so good!

Good crowd for the film - would anyone come to the gig at the rugby club?....

It was packed! Filling a venue so far away from home where we didn't know anyone was incredible - we felt like indie legends! People had come up from Liverpool and down from Scotland just to see us, all totally up for it. And we played a great gig too - airing for the first time a new track called "Shut It" (listing in true Heavy Load style everyone we think really ought to shut their faces) also the beginnings of a new one called "Sexy Film" came about during the sound check... ooh sexy, sexy film.

Was it worth it?... TOTALLY


ICA, London 1st October

flashback... arriving in the lobby to see our incredible yellow film poster... Paul on the edge, imploding and tearing a calf muscle... press calls... Channel 4 News interview... huge applause... Q&A's... Simon out amongst the audience, "What do you want to ask me?"... friends and family... and Sham 69... hugs and warmth in the bar... Luminous Frenzy, very dark, very big, immense... The Load taking to the stage... huge crowd... huge encore... huge fun!... Jim cooler than cool... Simon on cockroach duty... Michael salutes the crowd... Sham 69... legends of the punk era... a storming set... and us joining them on stage for "If the kids are united"... Paul waving his crutch... me, Si and Michael on the mic... Can it get any better than this?...


Bethnal Green Community Festival, London 6th Sept Supporting The Blockheads!

This review captures everything that we're about -
thanks Alexis:

Alexis Petridis meets Heavy Load
The Guardian, Saturday September 13


Dada Fest "Sideshow", Liverpool 4th Sept

Disability on-line review by Colin Hambrook

This band have touched the zeitgeist taking punk rock full circle. They embody the fun, give it a go and piss in the face of convention, mentality of the movement that took the 1970s by storm. They keep it real because of who they are. Punk started with the Ramones and other
bands who exploited the idea of doing a parody of learning disabled people. And now we have a learning disabled band parodying the Ramones. They do a song about going to the USA which is a direct steal.

Heavy Load are going from strength to strength - launching their film at the ICA and being asked to support The Blockheads. Way to go!

Colin Hambrook, Disability Arts


The film wins The Audience Award @ BritDocs!! and The Load play a blinder....



You know you've arrived when your band's personal assistant introduces herself as you pull up at the venue. The only thing missing was the blue smarties and the crate of Jack...

The film got a massive cheer at the screening, and the Q&A's had all the randomness that comes with The Load. It was looking good for the awards that night...

We'd never seen Jerry looking so intense as we all sat waiting for the results. And then there he is, collecting the Audience Award from Larry Charles, the guy who directed Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Fantasic!! We're all feeling really proud, and it's not even our film! Thanks for everything Jerry and Al - it's amazing what's happened.

The gig at the bar went down a treat - full of mad women in the mosh pit. Simon joined them at one point, and was later boasting about getting a snog off someone... High point was Jerry and Al joining us on backing vocals for "We're in a film".

Thanks for having us BritDocs! And a special thanks to Hanna and Amelia.


18th June - New York
Film screening @ disTHIS

Gig at Arlene's Grocery
Support from 4 Wheel City




Where do you start? This was always going to be an amazing trip, but it went way beyond our expectations...

It started at T5 in Heathrow and a sighting of Duran Duran Duran Duran's Mr Le Bon. Simon asked him if he wanted an autograph, but he feined disinterest...

Barker wasted no time on the flight and got chatting up the BA stewardesses. One 'lovely lady' asked what we were all up to, so we told her, and Simon says, "You can throw your knickers at me!". From that point on we were treated like the superstars that we are. I got a hard time because a 'lovely gentleman' took a shine. Who cares? It's nice that anyone fancies you, isn't it... and I got a shed load of gin miniatures!!

Dumped our bags at the hotel and headed downtown to find where we'd be playing the next night; Arlene's Grocery is everything you'd want from a sweaty NY grunge club - we couldn't wait! In fact it was so cool we stopped there, had some beers and stayed up late.

The film was really well received at the screening at DisThis the next day, and it was followed by a Q&A session with us and Jerry. It was starting to sink in... here we were, in NY, holding up our Stay Up Late USA banner at a full house, getting 'psychoed up' for the gig at Arlene's...

The gig was wild man! 4 Wheel City kicked things off with a killin' Hip Hop set about the reality of guns, adjusting to life in a wheelchair and falling in love with your care assistant. Major cool dudes who love their Moms.

We did our usual stuff... but we were on fire, inspired by our journey so far and the warmth of everybody we've met. We were "demons", "pumas", and we were playing our set with the energy and passion that can only come from a true punk band. Simon was stripped to the waiste, anarchic and very sweaty; Jim looked like he'd stepped out of the Velvet Underground with his newly aquired fly sunglasses, and he couldn't stop smiling! Michael was serious man, and hit those muthas with untold power. Paul... solid, happy. Me? VERY happy!

Thanks Lawrence from DisThis and Catherine for helping to make this all come true!! We love you.

The barmaid loved our set, and helped get us on our way... after that it got very messy....

Next morning we were at WBAI Radio giving an interview and playing some of our tracks off the new album. Each of us had something to say, can't remember what we said, but we were relieved to leave the building without a huge fine for any profanities. Thank god for 5 second delays and mute buttons... Mr Barker!

The 'lovely ladies' at IFC, Christine and Electra, treated us to to a slap-up lunch in front of BIG screens for the Germany V Portugal match... heaven! Followed by a tour of Manhatten in a BIG white limo. Some of life's memories will sadly be lost in the ether of time, but not these... Brooklyn Bridge to the sound of "Farty Animals" (hefartlastnight, hefartlastnight), Morgan's musical limo chairs...

Thanks IFC, and Loads of love to Christine.

Sightseeing and photo-calls in Times Square, standing next to the mural of Joe Strummer, getting off the plane with our guitars, staggering home with Michael (it's always the drummer isn't it?)...

Morgan, we love having you 'round man - thanks for being with us and bringing your camera!!!

Big New York medals of honnor to the bravest support workers we've had the pleasure to have known... Chris, Ian and Laura..... Now pull your fingers out and do some work!


Wychwood 08, Saturday 31st May

Arrived at the place we like to call home (The Wykwar Beer Tent) to find the atmosphere... gentle, and in need of some serious Load business. It didn't take long before the mayhem began. All we can say is, "sorry" to all those who lost their pints, but we hope you managed to grab a beachball for yourself as a memento. Our tight-wad drummer Michael says he'll buy everyone a replacement pint next time we see you!

Aired some new tracks: the closet gay anthem for the 00's, "We love George Michael", and the very dark, but totally inspired "(Is) Bruce Forsyth (dead)?".

Thanks again to an amazing crowd who got well into it, Janet and Graham for having us back and the mysterious Mr Gormley and his YouTube filming!

Have you heard? "(We're all going to the) USA"!!!


LA Times Review

New York Times Review

The Brink Review - by our original bass player Paul H

Hesterglock's 'Shut It' Review

Pop Muse Review

The Guardian, Society - Wednesday, 5th March

News:

10th March - 'Heavy Load' the movie received its world premiere at the prestigious South By Southwest film and music festival in Austin, Texas. (!!!!!)

IFC interview with Jerry and Paul @ SXSW

Movie website - check it out, it's flash!!... and you can see the trailer, and find out how the band started, and who was hanging on our bedroom walls...
www.heavyloadthemovie.com

New album, "Shut It" - Out Now. Available on this page (visit the shop)or on download at i Tunes. All songs written by the band, featuring cover artwork by Lester Magoogan (Check out Lester's work at Art Republic). A monster psychadelic wig-out!! Tracks include, "Is Bruce Forsyth Dead?", "Flashing Lights", "Counting Screws"," (We're all going to the) USA", "We love George Michael".

New badge designs - set of 5, collectable, essential.
visit the shop

* My Space *

Have a look at our My Space page. Not only can you hear a selection of our tunes, but you can also meet our strange friends from all over the world. It's a strange world, isn't it....?

www.myspace.com/heavyloaduk