Heavy Load

From: Brighton and Lewes

Influences: George Michael, Sham 69, Status Quo, Kylie, The Who, The Sonics, Cliff Richard, Suzie Quatro, The Clash, Bros, Elvis Presley, Marc Bolan, The Stranglers, The Birthday Party, Ramones, The Fall, Nick Berry, Sonic Youth, Rachel Stevens, Girls Aloud, The Cramps, Leo Sayer, and Wreckless Eric.

Profile: Named as “The most important punk band playing in the UK today” by the Sunday Times Style Magazine, Heavy Load’s move into the mainstream music circuit was documented on film by director and producer Jerry Rothwell.

The five-piece band, which features three members with a learning disability, combines a punk attitude with a genuine sense of fun in their live shows.

Combining original material with classic covers the band, who met through Southdown Housing, has been performing together for the last 14 years.

Since the release of Heavy Load The Movie, which was an official selection of the 2008 South By South West Film Festival, they have played shows at Glastonbury and Wychwood festivals, as well as in New York, Berlin, and London’s Trafalgar Square. To find out more about the movie visit www.heavyloadthemovie.com

As well as producing two albums, The Queen Mother’s Dead and Shut It with a third on the way, they were also responsible for the theme tune for Channel 4 drama series Cast Offs.

The quintet are campaigners for disabled rights, setting up the Stay Up Late campaign, which aimed to help people with disabilities enjoy proper full nights out, not just until their support workers finish their shifts. For more information about the campaign visit www.stayuplate.org

And they have documented the sound of the disabled underground with the compilation Wild Things, with a third volume on its way.

Shut It (right click on the track to download, left click to stream)

Website: www.heavyload.org

MySpace: www.myspace.com/heavyloaduk