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The Brand New Heavies is an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing in west London. Centered around songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the core members of the group since its founding, Brand New Heavies are best known for a string of successful singles in the early 1990s featuring N'Dea Davenport as lead vocalist.
The Brand New Heavies
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The Brand New Heavies live at Leverkusener Jazztage in 2016
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Ealing, London, England |
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| Years active | 1985–present |
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| Members | Simon Bartholomew Andrew Levy Angela Ricci |
| Past members | Carleen Anderson N'Dea Davenport Ceri Evans Sulene Fleming Siedah Garrett Lascelles Gordon Dawn Joseph Jan Kincaid Honey Larochelle Ross Kilpatrick Nicole Russo Jay Ella Ruth Sy Smith |
| Website | tbnh |
In 1985, Simon Bartholomew, Jan Kincaid, and Andrew Levy formed a band originally called Brother International.[1] The band recorded a demo which was played at a nightclub called The Cat in the Hat.[2] After the demo received positive feedback in the club, the band was booked to perform at the club.[2][3] In 1987, Brother International opened for James Brown at a concert at Wembley Arena.[2] Shortly after their brief stint with Brown, the group changed their name to The Brand New Heavies, inspired by one of Brown's honorific titles "Minister of New Super Heavy Funk".[4] In June 1988, The Brand New Heavies released a single titled "Got to Give" on Cooltempo Records.[3] In 1989, the group moved to Eddie Piller's Acid Jazz Records and developed a new genre of music called acid jazz.[3]
In mid-1989, The Brand New Heavies released their second single "People Get Ready". The group added female vocalist Jaye Ella Ruth to the lineup and began recording their first album.[5] On 1 June 1990, The Brand New Heavies released their debut self-titled album.[6] The album's lead single "Dream Come True" peaked at number sixty-three on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Ruth departed from the group shortly after the release of single.
At the recommendation of their record label, American singer N'Dea Davenport was added to the lineup in 1990. The group re-recorded and released their first album on Delicious Vinyl with lead vocals by Davenport in 1991. The album peaked at number twenty-four on the UK Albums Chart and earned a silver-certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[7][8] The group reissued their singles; "Dream Come True", "Stay This Way", and "Don't Let It Go to Your Head", all of which peaked in the top forty on the UK Singles Chart.[7] The success of the album invited the group to perform on Soul Train, Showtime at the Apollo, and Top of the Pops. Their follow-up album Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1 was released in 1992.
In March 1994, they released their third album Brother Sister. Brother Sister peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart and earned platinum-certification by the BPI.[7][9] The album spawned the single "Dream On Dreamer" which became crossover hit, peaking within the top twenty on several international music charts.[7] The music video of "Dream On Dreamer" also received a MTV Video Music Award nomination for "Best R&B Video". The album's follow-up singles "Back to Love" and a cover version of "Midnight at the Oasis" peaked in the top thirty on the UK Singles chart.[7] At the Brit Awards in 1995, the group received a nomination for "British Dance Act". Davenport left the group due to irreconcilable differences in 1996 and was replaced with American singer-songwriter Siedah Garrett.
In April 1997, the group's third Shelter was released. Like its predecessor, the album peaked in the top five on the UK Albums Chart and platinum-certification by the BPI.[7][10] The album's lead single "Sometimes" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart and earned silver-certification by the BPI.[11] The album's follow-up singles "You Are the Universe" and "You've Got a Friend" charted in the top twenty-five; with the latter peaking at number nine.[7]
In 1998, Garrett departed from the group to continue her songwriting career. She was replaced by American singer Carleen Anderson. Anderson recorded a few songs with the group, most notably "Saturday Nite" and a re-recorded version of her song "Apparently Nothin'", which appeared on the group's compilation album Trunk Funk – The Best of The Brand New Heavies in September 1999. The album received silver-certification from the BPI.[12] In 2000, Anderson departed from the group to record her third solo album.[13]
In 2000, the group experienced a decline in mainstream popularity. They were dropped from their record deal with FFRR Records and Delicious Vinyl. In 2003, they released their fifth studio album titled We Won't StoponCanyon International.[14] The album failed to reach the success of their previous albums. Their follow-up album Allabouthefunk was independently released in October 2004. The album yield two singles; "Boogie" and "Surrender" which failed to reach the top forty on UK Singles Chart.
In 2005, Davenport accepted the group's invitation to rejoin the group. The group also reunited with Delicious Vinyl and began recording their forthcoming album in London. In June 2006, the group released their seventh album Get Used to It. The album's lead single was a cover version of Stevie Wonder's song "I Don't Know Why (I Love You)", which peaked at number twelve on the UK R&B Singles chart.[7] The group headlined their concert tour from 2006 to 2008. They released two remix albums titled Elephantitis: The Funk + House Remixes (2007)[15] and Elephantitis: The Funk + House Remixes 2 (2009).[16] In October 2009, they released a live album titled Live in London, which features their concert performance at The O2 Arena on 16 October 2008, in London.[17]
In November 2011, The Brand New Heavies released a instrumental album called Dunk Your Trunk.[18] In April 2013, The Brand New Heavies released their album Forward. The album featured lead vocals by Davenport and new addition Dawn Joseph.[19] Davenport however was not invited back to finish recording on the album and when the group released "Sunlight" as the album's lead single, Davenport was not featured in the music video. The group toured during the latter part of 2013, often using concert flyers with Davenport's image to market the tour. In a statement issued from Davenport's Facebook, she announced that she was not invited to rejoin the group on their concert tours and any shows marketed with her likeness would not include her.[20][21] On 10 October 2013, The Brand New Heavies released a statement on their website stating that Dawn Joseph had officially joined the band as full-time lead vocalist.[22]
In October 2014, The Brand New Heavies released their ninth studio album Sweet Freaks, with Dawn Joseph on lead vocals. Jan Kincaid and Dawn Joseph both left The Brand New Heavies in late 2015. In July 2016, Sulene Fleming joined and toured with the group until 2018. In November 2018, the band started touring with Angela Ricci on vocals. In April 2019, The Brand New Heavies released "Getaway", a previously recorded unreleased song which featured N'Dea Davenport on vocals. The group released their studio album, TBNH, on 6 September 2019 on Acid Jazz Records. The album features unreleased songs recorded with Davenport, Siedah Garrett, Angie Stone, Beverley Knight, Angela Ricci, Jack Knight, Honey Larochelle, and Laville.
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee/work | Result | Ref. |
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| 1994 | MTV Video Music Award | Best R&B Video | "Dream on Dreamer" | Nominated | [23] |
| 1995 | Brit Awards | British Dance Act | The Brand New Heavies | Nominated | |
| 2020 | Pop Awards | Lifetime Achievement Award | The Brand New Heavies | Nominated | [24][25] |
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