Sports Team are an indie, alt-rock band comprised of lead vocalist Alex Rice, rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rob Knaggs, lead guitarist Henry Young, bassist Oli Dewdney, keyboardist Ben Mack and drummer Al Greenwood. The band, who experiment with post-punk instrumentation and jovially delivered lyrics, have over 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and two UK Top 5 albums, respectively from their 2020 release ‘Deep Down Happy’ which peaked at number 2 and their sophomore album ‘Gulp’ released in 2022 and peaked at 3.

The ‘Here’s The Thing’ band uploaded a phone recording of the altercation alongside the caption: “Just been robbed at gun point 10 minutes into the US tour. Stopped for coffee. Man runs in saying some guys are smashing into a van. Ran out to try to stop it and find masked guys ransacking the van. Start yelling and they pull out a gun. Police response was “submit an online report.” Lost a lot of personal gear, but they didn’t get the instruments so driving on to Sacramento to play tonight. They can take our Nintendo Switches but they can never take our ability to play rock songs about motorways. In all seriousness pretty shocking how resigned everyone seemed to be to it. “It happens”. 9am at some petrol station Starbucks. Wild.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sports Team (@sportsteam)

The band’s frontman, Alex Rice recalled the experience to Sky News stating, they responded with “natural reaction, you sprint towards it and try to stop it, and immediately [one of the robbers] pulls a gun… He pulls a gun, he sort of points it at our tour manager Lauren, there’s another guy loading stuff out and a third guy in a getaway car”.

He continued: We all sprint back into the Starbucks. They’ve taken a huge amount of personal stuff and musical equipment from the middle of our van. So haven’t played a note yet, one minute in, we’ve got our stuff taken.”

Rice’s testament to the event and the band’s first-hand experience seems to prove their astonishment surrounding gun control in the US. Sports Team notified the police of the incident, who advised them to submit an online report, in a taken-aback statement Rice claimed that was the “saddest bit to see” that “people take this [gun altercations] in their stride now”.

Apart from a few missing passports and the panic of getting home to the UK in time for Christmas, Sports Team were adamant to start and complete their US tour.  They were to continue their drive to Sacramento to perform there last night.

Sports Team are currently in the US to promote their upcoming third album, ‘Boy These Days’, which is set to release February 2025. Thus far, the indie band has released two tracks from the LP including: ‘I’m In Love (Subaru)’ and ‘Condensation’. This current tour will showcase Sports Team’s artistry which has evolved from their Mercury Prize nominated debut to their upcoming and unreleased third album.

The lead single from their forthcoming album is a slower 80s style Bryan Ferry inspired track about a Subaru. ‘I’m In Love (Subaru)’ has been released with an accompanying music Video, directed by Dora Paphides, which sees the six members of the Mercury Prize nominated band all gathered and playing their instruments around a red Subaru as the singer, Alex Rice, sings about his love for the car. Watch the video below.

According to Rolling Stone Rice said about the new single: “The song captures that tension between those glossy inanimate objects you can project any desire onto versus all the stuff that creeps in behind it. It should be a very uncomplicated love song, talking about cars and how people perceive their relationships, but with humanity, nothing is ever that simple.”

He continued talking about how Bryan Ferry influenced the single: “Having been in London guitar world for a quite while, I began looking at people like Bryan Ferry and how it can be a bit more fun if you play around with characters.

“He looks like he’s having a better time than a lot of the bands from our generation, and that’s what you want to be shooting for. The video we did with Dora really taps into that dramatic side too. It’s something that has always been there, but it felt right to really explore it around this song.”

Fans can pre-order the album here on CD, vinyl or cassette as well as a special picture disc vinyl. You can also buy exclusive ‘Boys These Days’ t-shirts from the group’s official store.

The announcement of the upcoming record has come alongside an announcement that Sports Team will be embarking on a run of ten shows as part of a headline UK tour later this year in support of the project. The tour will take place throughout November and will begin with a performance at Manchester’s New Century Hall followed by shows in Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds and Bristol before coming to an end at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town on the 25th of November.

Tickets for the tour will go on sale at 10am on Friday the 26th of July and fans can buy tickets here. Before that there will be a presale which will begin at the same time on the 24th of July, and fans can access this by pre-ordering a copy of ‘Boys These Days’ from their official store.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sports Team (@sportsteam)

The full list of Sports Team’s 2024 dates are below:

14 – Manchester, New Century Hall
15 – Birmingham, Castle & Falcon
16 – Liverpool, Arts Club
18 – Sheffield, Foundry
19 – Glasgow, SWG3
20 – Newcastle, Boiler Shop
22 – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
23 – Leeds, Wardrobe
24 – Bristol, Trinity Centre
25 – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town

Merky FC was inspired by the lack of leadership positions held by those with Black Heritage. The partnership currently “creates a multi-year career programme, and opportunities for those who do not currently have fair access and representation within the industry.”

Amidst the launch of their second season on the programme (beginning October 2023), Stormzy and Adidas have released a report that highlights the importance of allyship within the football industry.

In a recent report published by Merky FC, the partnership announced their expansion, as they increase the number of football industry positions they recruit for from 15 to 50. Both Stormzy and Adidas are calling on their allies to form part of a career programme, which will commence in January 2024.

#Merky FC is back, but this year, we’ve got to go bigger.

Share one of the 50 #MerkyFC roles with a friend now to change the game. https://t.co/pllMjqO5zv@adidasfootballpic.twitter.com/qXSodEy07V

— Stormzy (@stormzy) October 5, 2023

All roles will include placements with leading brands, that will offer work experience in an effort to change the game for Black and Black Heritage youth. The Merky FC partners offering placements in this season of the programme are:

Adidas
Arsenal FC
EA
Football Co (GOAL)
Fulham FC
Guild
Hill & Knowlton Strategies
Homeground
IMG
ITV
JOE
KSS
LADbible
Manchester United
#Merky FC
Scottish FA
SI Games
Sky Sports
Soccerbible
TEAM
The Midnight Club
Transferroom
Twelfth Man
Veo
Wasserman
Women In Football

According to the report, 56 per cent of young Black and mixed-Black heritage people aspire to work in the industry, yet only 6.7 per cent of senior roles in football are occupied by someone from this community, and this partnership aims to break through these barriers to entry and provide more representation within football.

A press release states “adidas and Stormzy understand that allyship alone cannot tackle the disparities within the industry, however by using the #Merky FC approach – referring candidates, mentorship programmes and establishing role models, believe this can be replicated across the industry to help boost representation. “

Those interested in registering their interest in the roles Merky FC are offering can do so by clicking here. The deadline for registering interest is October 19th.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sports Team (@sportsteam)

The last slide on the post seems to possibly reveal the much speculated Glastonbury secret sets and even some of the stages you can see them on. Artists and stages named included George Ezra on The Park Stage, Anderson Paak on the West Holts Stage, Arcade Fire on the John Peel Stage, Green Day on the BBC Introducing Stage, Chemical Brothers on the Arcadia Stage, Megan The Stallion playing with Due Lipa, and even… Drum roll please… Billie Eilish joining Harry Styles on stage. None of this has been confirmed, and knowing Sports Teams playful notoriety, none of it has probably been permitted by the powers that be at Worthy Farm either. One thing is for sure though, if any of it possesses even a glimmer of truth then Sports Team have just dropped a serious spoiler. With collaborations like Billie Eilish and Harry Styles possibly in the pipeline, it’s fair to say Glastonbury just got that little bit more interesting.

The world renowned festival is now well underway, with Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis opening the gates on Wednesday 22 June and revellers pitching their tents and flocking to Worthy Farms luscious fields in preparation for the main lineup to begin tomorrow. This years headliners include Gen Z superstar Billie Eilish, Beatles legend Paul McCartney, and American lyrical sensation Kendrick Lamar, all of whom are due to grace the historic Pyramid Stage throughout the weekend. It marks the first time the festival has opened its gates in 2 years due to the perpetual cancelations and delays caused by the pandemic, but back with a bang now, everyone attending seems to be enjoying themselves, happy and grateful to return after years of government enforced lockdowns and distancing measures.

To those there right now, we sincerely hope the rumours listed above are true, and if so, that Sports Team don’t get into too much trouble either.

They received favourable reviews across the board for their debut album Deep Down Happy, gaining a nomination for the 2020 Mercury Prize and even battling Lady Gaga in a hotly contested fight for the No.1 position on the UK Album Charts. They ended up narrowly losing out to the American juggernaut, peaking at No.2 in the UK in June 2020, but going to No.1 in Scotland.

A fair amount of pressure naturally follows in the wake of their debuts success, the age old problem of the difficult second album, however judging by what we’ve heard so far, it’s looking in good shape. Last month I covered their catchy and enjoyably boisterous single “The Game”, and now we have the follow up “Cool It Kid”. It opens up with a plodding Pixies-esque bass line and spacious distorted guitar before Rice’s nasally idiosyncratic vocal storms in with “Doctor doctor my heart’s on so tight, It sings like lobsters when you boil them alive“. A pretty gruelling opening sentiment then, we do hope you are alright Alex. Laterally the song picks up into a simple yet emphatic chorus “Hey! Cool it kid, Hold your ground, The wheels that are running you down, Will come around“. You can check it out here:

Speaking recently with NME, Sports Team said that the song is about “getting too deep in your stress about stuff and sometimes saying to yourself, ‘You know what, maybe sometimes you should sit back and it’s best not to react on your intense irrational emotions.”

The band have an 11-date tour scheduled across the UK and Ireland between October 11 and 25 2022, with 17 shows in the US also preceding this from mid September until early October. They have quite the live reputation too, often taking fan interaction to the next level by inviting the whole venue to the pub with them afterwards, so if you fancy a pint with the lads then I suggest grabbing a ticket to see them soon.

Sports Team are scheduled to play shows in Leeds Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Southampton, Bristol, Norwich, London, Belfast and Dublin throughout October with tickets on sale now. You can grab them here.

I doubt this latest single is going to do much for their reputation with pubs and venues around the country. With a chorus that is sure to test the patience of even the most seasoned doormen and security, Sports Team are back with a lovely bit of ammunition for their live repertoire. Speaking with Dork, the band explain a bit of the meaning behind the song: “It’s a mantra for a ‘nation of landlords’. Something to mutter to yourself behind the electric gates as the world burns around you. It’s that bunkered, “island mentality”, where someone has allowed themselves to believe that the news is what happens to other people.”

Often leaning into colloquial lyrical territory that romanticises middle England and indulges in our intimate fascination with Wetherspoons and chip shops, Sports Team aren’t afraid of ploughing depth with their music and making a statement. “The Game” seems to continue in this vain with lyrics that challenge small town complacency and lack of socio-political awareness, with lyrics like “Don’t you grow to that damp mentality, To that look but never see, To that old monotony”. It’s no wonder that their debut album Deep Down Happy was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2020, describing themselves as a band that “calls to mind a loving but fractious family, bickering one minute, weeping with laughter the next”, Sports Team provide brave and cutting insight, with “The Game” and their previous single “R Entertainment” being no exception.

With their new album Gulp! arriving on July 22nd, and a string of UK and European tour dates recently being announced, it looks like Sports Team are in for a big year. Don’t be shy and miss a chance to see them live, just maybe take this article as a warning and prepare accordingly. You can pre-order their new album and buy tickets for their upcoming shows here. UK dates below:

06/04/2022 – O2 Institute – Birmingham
07/29 – Edinburgh Academicals Sports Ground – Edinburgh
08/05 – Cardiff University Students’ Union – Cardiff
08/27 – Victorious Festival – Portsmouth

Sports Team are set to be the Friday headliners, bringing their brand of indie bangers to Norfolk. Sports Team are gearing up for the release of a demos and unreleased material LP, ‘Plant Test’ that is available only through independent record shops. Sports Team also recently dropped a new single, ‘Happy (God’s Own Country’).

The Big Moon are due to take part, their second album ‘Walking Like We Do’ was released as the country was on the verge of lockdown, so they’re doubtlessly itching to get their groove on in the live arena again. Post-punkers Do Nothing are on the line up, their second EP ‘Glueland’ was a real hit amongst fans, plus some other superb bands including Regressive Left, Vanity Fairy and many, many more.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Do Nothing (@thebanddonothing)

deep tan are on the bill, another band setting up for a tour and an EP release. The trio are set to drop their debut EP in the coming weeks. Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard are exciting additions to the bill, BBB play a superb blend of glam rock and classic rock, Bowie and Stones-esque – its bound to be a huge party.

Wild Paths is a multi-venue festival set to take place over four days. There are upwards of 200 acts on the bill, set to be spread over 20 stages. The genres represented are eclectic, from hip-hop to jazz, via post-punk and soul, there is really something for everyone here.

Wild Paths is due to celebrate art as well as music, with drag queens, tattoo artists and speakers all taking part. It’s an incredibly exciting weekend coming up and a celebration of live music. As the date for the resumption of live music draws ever closer, announcements like this really kicks the excitement up a notch.

Sports Team’s annual Margate trips are infamous in the indie scene; they hire a bus from London and take a rabble rousing bunch on a trip to the sunny Kent coast. This year, Sports Team are doing it in style – they’ve recruited a fantastic line up and the event is now an all-dayer across two venues.

Alex Rice and co have curated quite the lineup for 2021’s seaside holiday. Post-punk upstarts TV Priest are hot off their debut, ‘Uppers’, an in-your-face, raucous album jam-packed with songs to get the pit going. Courting are on the bill, who’s superb EP ‘Grand National’ dropped a matter of weeks ago. Both of these bands have a cult following of dedicated fans – Margate ’21 tickets are going to sell fast!

English Teacher are one of the most exciting additions to the bill: their band of melodic, spoken word indie will strike a chord with Dry Cleaning fans. A further addition is instrumental groove aficionados Los Bitchos, who dropped two superb singles in 2019. There are some DJ sets included, from Golf Ahias, Billie Martin and indie legend and cheif Maccabee, Orlando Weeks.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sports Team (@sportsteam)

Sports Team themselves are fresh from the release of new track, ‘Happy (God’s Own Country’), which is a brilliant, frantic, two minute snapshot of English life and a satire on Tory Britain. The Margate bus trip is bound to be an exciting post-lockdown party for any indie fan. Each of the bands on this bill bring their own niche and the day will surely be full of fun, cans and indie bangers.

Sports Team are also due to play a lengthy UK tour, kicking off in Manchester this winter. They’re stopping off at cities country wide to tour debut album ‘Deep Down Happy’.

Sports Team released their superb debut, ‘Deep Down Happy’ as the country was firmly in the grip of Covid. The happy-go-lucky record was a well needed distraction, taking aim at modern life and poking fun at the middle classes. ‘Happy’ is no different thematically: the band have a knack for taking the piss, this time with cottagecore, tax returns and Nigel Farage’s political stomping ground Thanet firmly in the crosshairs.

The video that accompanies the track plays out like a fever dream as the band re-enact The Wicker Man. Dishy frontman Alex Rice is clad in an eminently stylish suit, fag in hand, delivering the tongue in cheek lyrics, whilst the rest of the band are clad in a variety of costumes to play out the re-enactment.

Video for Happy (God’s Own Country) out now. Directed by Georgina Cammalleri — special thanks to Micheal, Sue, Judith and the Phoenix Morris troupehttps://t.co/glQ2jVUR5A pic.twitter.com/dpFq3K3R1z

— Sports Team (@SportsTeam_) April 22, 2021

Rice’s lyrics vary from the obscene to the strikingly relevant as he vocalises concerns about the alt-right. The track itself feels like a two and a half minute satirisation of the misplaced patriotism and flag-loving at the heart of Tory Britain right now.

Earlier this year, Sports Team announced ‘Plant Test’ a compilation of unmastered work, b-sides and rarities. The vinyl release is being sold exclusively through independent stores and is set for release at the end of May.

The band are scheduled to play a UK tour, stopping off at a variety of well loved venues up and down the country. They are yet to take to the stage following ‘Deep Down Happy’, but I get the sense that Sports Team’s upcoming tour is sure to be a huge party.

if ‘Happy’ is anything to go by, we can expect more of the same from Sports Team: raucous, fun and satirical. As the sun has started to break through this week, ‘Happy’ is prefect beer-garden music.

‘Stations of the Cross’ is something of a profound song title, and the lyrics betray a real shrewdness. “Weekends follow weekends / like the stations of the cross” Rice sings. “And it’s not that you’re unhappy you’re just happy on and off.” Under the surface of a flashy, cool setup at Kennington’s iconic cricket ground, there lies a bleakness about growing older and disillusioned. It strikes a great contrast with Sports Teams’ unique, and cheery, guitar band sound.

Sports Team rarely take themselves too seriously, though. From their record label account, Holm Front, they called it a “mostly competent version.” They are underselling themselves; the energy of the video is contagious.

Deep Down Happy has been nominated for the 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize, which will be announced live on The One Show next Thursday (September 24). Although there won’t be a ceremony on the scale of previous years, there will be plenty of TV and radio coverage throughout next week to celebrate all the nominees. The full run of events can be found here.

Speaking to NME about their upcoming nomination, Alex Rice said, “I’d rather win The Mercury Prize than anything else. It’s just bigger than anything else. It does feel like recognition from people just like us, who are obsessed with music, which is incredible.”

All in all, it’s been a big week for Sports Team. With precedent out of the window, what better way to prepare for an awards ceremony than by attempting to beat Pete Doherty’s time on the mega breakfast challenge at Margate’s Dalby Café? This is what guitarist Henry Young got up to yesterday – the band shared the following pictures of his attempt. For those interested, the breakfast consists of four rashers of bacon, four fried eggs, four sausages, onion rings, mushrooms, beans, bubble and squeak, hash browns, two slices of toast and – of course – a quarter-pounder burger with a side of chips.

Pete Doherty, if you have any pride, you will come down to the Dolby and defend your title pic.twitter.com/yZ5veZw7U3

— Sports Team (@SportsTeam_) September 15, 2020

Unlike Doherty, Young didn’t finish. Sports Team followed up with a tweet that just says “flop team”. 

Next April, Sports Team are heading up and down the country for a small UK and Ireland tour – although they won’t be returning to Margate on this occasion. You can see where to catch them below.

20/04/21 – The Grand Social – Dublin
22/04 – Leeds University Stylus – Leeds
23/04 – The Albert Hall – Manchester
25/04 – Rock City – Nottingham
26/04 – SWG3 – Glasgow
28/04 – SWX Bristol – Bristol
29/04 – O2 Academy Brixton – London