Neck Deep have just announced their biggest UK headline tour to date, for September. It’s been a busy few weeks for the Welsh boys having just finished their fourth album, ‘All Distortions Are Intentional’, to go with a six date run that boasts two nights in Manchester and Glasgow, at the 02 Victoria Warehouse and Barrowland Ballroom respectively, a show in their native Wales at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena, before culminating at London’s Alexandra Palace.
We have to confess to us loving a bit of NECK DEEP here in the SOUTH WALES LIFE office. They are a Welsh pop punk band from Wrexham who formed 8 years ago now when singer Ben Barlow met former lead guitarist Lloyd Roberts. The pair posted a song (“What Did You Expect?”) online under the name Neck Deep.
We were going to put the original or even the beefed up versions that came a few years later. The guys though have a massive fan base in Florida, particularly Orlando and Tampa. This acoustic version was recorded at a signing at Park Avenue CDs. Just be aware there is bad language in the attached videos – you have been warned……
It wasn’t long before that song soon gained attention online, resulting in the addition of rhythm guitarist Matt West, drummer Dani Washington/Abasi, and former bassist Fil Thorpe-Evans. They released a pair of EPs, Rain in July (2012) and A History of Bad Decisions (2013), both recorded by Ben’s older brother. The guys then signed to Hopeless Records that August.
Following the release of their debut album Wishful Thinking in 2014, the band became a full-time project, with the band members leaving their jobs and/or dropping out of university courses. Shortly after the release of their second album Life’s Not out to Get You in 2015. When Lloyd Roberts left the band, Sam Bowden (formerly of Climates and Blood Youth) joined in his place. The group’s third album The Peace and the Panic was then released in 2017.
So the guys are out on tour this year and we get to see them right here in South Wales. Speaking of the tour, long-term collaborator and new full-time bassist Seb Barlow told us….
“We are incredibly excited (and nervous) to be playing such big and prestigious venues! When we started this band, we never even dreamed of playing at places like Alexandra Palace and Victoria Warehouse, so to headline them feels surreal. Not that we have ever felt the need to prove ourselves to anyone, but coming back with an album we are all incredibly proud of and confident in, we felt we needed to play rooms that reflect that. We had these venues in mind when we were writing this record, so, now is the time to do it.”
Here’s the video to the current single LOWLIFE.
NECK DEEP get to the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff on the 18th September. Early ticket access is available to all fans who purchase (or have already purchased) Neck Deep’s new album from the official Neck Deep Store before 11.59pm GMT on Sunday 15th March. Early access code and instructions will be emailed before 6pm GMT on Tuesday 17th March. Tickets go on general sale from Friday 20th March at 10am and you can get them here NECK or of course you can call the box office on 02920-224488