01/09/2016 Explained : Viola Beach

"What is your opinion on Viola Beach and their debut album? Do you think the right thing to do was release it to the public?"

The bands Maida Vale Session for BBC Introducing was my only time to hear them play live. Before I had watched their Sofar Session, days after it was published, and I love it but Madia Vale was broadcasted live, in real time. In all honesty, I didn't realise how good they were until that night. Up until that point, I had heard of them and knew the track 'Boys That Sing'. It was an 'earworm track', a song I couldn't get out of my head. Hearing that song live at Maida Vale proved to me how good they were. The session itself won me over. Once again, it made me remember why I love small bands, like Viola Beach. The bands who need to work their way up through tiny venues and are nowhere near sold out gigs. People who take music seriously but don't take themselves as seriously. The bands who have something to prove. The people who are content with a small gig and a tiny audience, as long as the audience enjoys it.

Do I think it should have been released to the public? The boys wanted people to hear their music. It's why they toured, it's why they were a band, it's why they played. They wanted to do what they loved and what they loved was making music.

When the album was released and went straight to number one, the families and friends of the band released the following statement, which is similar to the way I see this album.

“The tragedy that ended Craig, Jack, Kris, River & Tom's lives in Sweden and the pain and sense of loss will never leave us. By sending the Viola Beach album to Number 1 the public have sent out an important message to the world.

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 thankful to every single person who by buying this glorious album has invested in their lasting musical legacy. The pain will never leave us but neither will the affection shown by every fan. Maybe one day that affection will live longer in the memory than the pain.

So from us all, a simple but heartfelt 'thank you’.”
 
Yes, it is very difficult to listen to. It's bittersweet. Listening to an album which the band themselves haven't heard. They never were given the proper chance to sit and make an album. All their recordings weren't special recordings for the album, they were just recordings. Nothing was specifically done for this album and in a sense, it shows to the public how much work goes into recording music. When we lost this band, an album was still made through using their pre-recorded tracks. There were no album writing sessions, just one of recordings and demos. There are tracks which may have never made it onto an album. They may have rewritten or lost completely.

You listen thinking about what could have been. On their first international gig we lost them. At the time, the music industry was opening up to Viola Beach. They were getting ready to play more festivals in the UK and abroad. They were flying out to SXSW in a matter of weeks and touring with across the UK with Blossoms in just days. This was going to be a huge year for them. The type of year bands work towards for years. The big year where they finally get noticed. When they get radio play and festival audiences crowding around small stages to watch them play.

The year that never happened.

A small indie band from Warrington's debut album went to straight to number one in the UK charts on the day of its release. It isn't a common occurrence. It's pretty extraordinary, but when you know how much this meant to the band who were desperate just to play live, to let people hear their music, I don't think there is anything better which could have happened.

Difficult as it is to listen to, I like the album. It may not have been exactly what the band wanted to be on their debut album but it is still a good album, regardless of circumstances.

I still believe releasing the bands recordings to the public was the right thing to do. Regardless of its chart status, people bought the album. They paid for Viola Beach's music. As a musician, is that not all you could ask for, for people to want your music to enjoy it?


I woke up on Valentines day 2016 with a card from my mum and the news of the bands accident. I remember it so clearly. Soon after, my feed was flooded by other musicians who were just learning of the tragedy. Friends, bands they played with, people they opened up for took to social media in shock.

In answer to the original question, I love Viola Beach. Their debut album is stunning, heartbreaking and I'm glad it was released. Their music means something to a lot of people. People sing the songs they wrote, they enjoy them, they cry at them.

Viola Beach had a huge impact on the music industry. I think they proved to people just how good smaller bands are. They showed how there is a huge, global community out there of people who genuinely support smaller bands, not just the hollow people who claim they do.