Released in March 2011, the record made an immediate impact on the UK music scene. It entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 4 and went on to sell more than half a million copies, earning platinum status. The album’s sharp, energetic guitar work and infectious choruses drew comparisons to The Strokes and The Ramones, while establishing The Vaccines as one of the most exciting new British bands of the decade. Its standout singles – ‘If You Wanna’, ‘Post Break-Up Sex’ and ‘Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)’ – quickly became festival anthems and remain some of the group’s most popular tracks to this day.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Vaccines (@thevaccines)

To mark the milestone, the band will perform the album in full alongside other highlights from their catalogue. The tour begins on March 3 at O2 City Hall in Newcastle and will visit major cities including Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham and Bristol, before closing with a headline date at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on March 13. Chicago band Brigitte Calls Me Baby will join as special guests across the run.

The Vaccines 2025 UK Tour Dates:

• March 3 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
• March 4 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh
• March 6 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
• March 7 – O2 Academy, Birmingham
• March 9 – O2 Academy, Leeds
• March 10 – Rock City, Nottingham
• March 11 – The Prospect Building, Bristol
• March 13 – O2 Academy Brixton, London

When ‘What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?’ first arrived, it was hailed as a defining debut of the early 2010s indie rock revival. Critics praised the band’s ability to channel raw, garage-rock energy into sharp three-minute tracks that resonated with both mainstream and alternative audiences. The album earned a Mercury Prize nomination and saw the band booked for major slots at festivals including Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds and Coachella, cementing their rapid rise.

Since then, The Vaccines have released five more albums, including ‘Come of Age’ (2012) and ‘Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations’ (2024), continuing to refine their sound and expand their fan base. However, their debut remains a landmark moment in their career — and for many fans, a defining soundtrack of the early 2010s.

Presale tickets go on sale Wednesday August 27 at 10am BST and can be accessed here. The general sale will then commence on Friday August 29 at 10am BST and can be accessed here.

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/the-vaccines-announce-uk-tour-to-mark-15-years-of-debut-album/feed/ 0 https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/behind-the-scenes-at-barn-on-the-farm-2022/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/behind-the-scenes-at-barn-on-the-farm-2022/#comments Tue, 05 Jul 2022 19:35:47 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=57116 Barn On The Farm Festival in Gloucester wrapped up it’s 2022 comeback in the early hours of yesterday morning for it’s 11th return to Over Farm. The festival has enjoyed a particularly well fated and illustrious lineup in the decade it’s been operating and become a hotly tipped breeding ground for all the next big things in music. Having started the festival back in 2009, its founder Josh Sanger has always had a knack for spotting new talent and giving them a platform to do their thing before anyone else. An impressive list of previous invitees has since emerged, with Ed Sheeran, Hozier, George Ezra, Sam Fender, Maggie Rogers, Lewis Capaldi, Dermot Kennedy, Ben Howard, and Rag’n’Bone Man being but a few names to feature on lineups gone by.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Barn On The Farm (@barnonthefarm)

This year, I was lucky enough to play the festival and get a chance to snoop around (I moonlight as a wannabe popstar), and to cut to the chase, was pretty blown away by what Josh and his team have managed to put together over the years. Scattered with 3 stages, Barn, Outdoor, and Main, and accommodating no more than 2000 people, the site is small but bustling with more charm and sincerity than most festivals I’ve attended. Taking advantage of it’s status as a working farm, you can find ostriches, alpacas, donkeys, enormous pigs, and horses casually walking amongst the fields whilst interested and usually inebriated festival goers look on both amused and enamoured. There are hammocks, outdoor beds, orchards, and even the curious new addition of “Grandma’s House” to enjoy as you wonder around the site, the latter being the creation of chief festival designer Harriet Lily. Grandma’s House, a tiny wooden shack with an overgrown lawn and bras and stockings hanging on a washing line, remained a mystery until it’s opening at 19.00 on the Friday night, when it soon became swarmed with people looking to enjoy the late night DJ set that went on inside. Only able to house 15 people at a time, you are allowed to enjoy an aptly designated 15 minutes of dancing before being kicked out for the next batch of clubbers, with 220 Kid even dropping by to play a surprise set this year. Elsewhere James Bay, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Vaccines, Maisie Peters, Easy Life, Maverick Sabre, and Tom Walker headlined across the various stages over the weekend, with Holly Humberstone, Beabadoobee, Griff, and many other hotly tipped rising stars playing just beneath them.

As an artist playing there, the first thing you notice is an overwhelming sense of acceptance and welcome on arrival. The green room is the same for everyone, whether you’re me or Bombay Bicycle Club, everyone is put under one big barn roof that I can only imagine houses tractors during it’s everyday running as a farm. On the first weekend of July every year though, it’s home to hundreds of creatives from around the world as they wait to get on stage. With beer, cider, food, coffee, tea, and even a very friendly man named Tom’s bake off worthy homemade brownies scattered around the room, anything you want- the wonderful green room staff have got you covered.

Unfortunately I only get 500ish words to write this article, so I’m going to have to stop prattling on, however I would highly highly recommend checking this festival out and going next year. I think it’s my favourite I’ve attended so far and can’t sing it’s praises enough. For more info click here.

In September they announced the first wave of music acts with Courteeners, Blossoms, Nothing But Thieves among others. “WE ARE BUZZING TO ANNOUNCE OUR FIRST WAVE OF ACTS FOR Y NOT FESTIVAL 2022! SO EXCITED TO WELCOME BOTH COURTEENERS AND BLOSSOMS AS OUR HEADLINERS, PLUS A RETURNING HEADLINER TO BE REVEALED SOON..” they shared at the time. 

Yesterday, the festival organisers topped up the list with legends, Stereophonics and Welsh rockers Manic Street Preachers. The Vaccines and Nothing But Thieves are also added to the slot. “The new editions don’t stop there… Easy Life, Sea Girls, The Snuts, Dinosaur Pile Up, The Big Moon, Black Honey, Orla Gartland, The Reytons, The Futureheads, Dream Wife, Yard Act, Billie Marten & Baby Queen are all along for the long awaited 15th edition of Y Not!” tease organisers.

The 15th edition of the festival will take place between 29-31 July in Pikehall and it looks incredible already. Stereophonics will make a comeback after their headline set in 2017. The band’s founding member Richard Jones said: “We can’t wait to finally play Y Not again next summer – if the last time we performed there is anything to go by, next year’s festival will be great“.

“Back in 2017 the rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of the crowd who were up for a good time – I remember watching Slaves and Jake Bugg who were both on form. After a tough couple of years for everyone, it will be a very memorable weekend. See you there!”

Four-time Brit award winner Manic Street Preachers will also join the 2022 stage sharing the biggest hits and some tracks from their recent No 1 album The Ultra Vivid Lament.

Justin Young from The Vaccines, who also played at the festival in 2017 said: “In 2017, we sat backstage in torrential rain desperately hoping that we’d be allowed to play for everyone at Y Not”.

“The gods decided it wasn’t to be, and we left the festival as miserable as the weather. So we couldn’t be happier that after a 5 year wait, we’re finally getting the chance to right that wrong and bring the thunder ourselves…”

Tickets to the festival and more info are available here. You can win VIP tickets to the festival by retweeting the below tweet. Good Luck!

LIKE AND RETWEET FOR A CHANCE TO WIN 6X VIP TICKETS WITH THURSDAY ENTRY!!!

HERE IT IS! So excited for the long awaited performances by Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers, while The Vaccines return for a thunderous set on the Sunday

https://t.co/czQUqAnUZw pic.twitter.com/2LTRPtFNbs

— Y Not Festival (@ynotfestival) November 4, 2021

The band took to their Instagram to announce the single’s release to fans, the post also features a clip from the single’s accompanying music video.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Vaccines (@thevaccines)

The new single has been partnered with an exciting new music video directed by Santiago Arriaga, a Mexican director and producer known for his narrative works, the director has been nominated for various awards and has also been featured within the Venice Film Festival. Matching the manic energy and hopeful messages heard within the new single musically and lyrically, the accompanying music video also presents themes of initial confusion and finding hope within the context of loss.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Justin Young has described the music video and has illustrated the subject matter which they wished to convey throughout the medium. Young also comments on the set location for the video and the connection in which it holds for the group. “We wanted the ‘Alone Star’ video to be one of hope, capturing the moment when you realise all is not lost. Anyone that has driven through the desert to Las Vegas will know about the roadside casinos that start popping up and lighting the freeways as you arrive into Nevada. This motel is exactly the same sort of institution, existing in the shadows of Love City where feelings of all kinds can be found if you look hard enough. Mexico is one of our favourite places in the world and an intensely characterful place, literally metres away from where we recorded this song, so it felt like the perfect location for our protagonists to find what they were looking for…”

The single was first introduced to fans via radio play, ‘Alone Star’ had its first play on Jack Saunders show on BBC Radio 1 on Thursday evening. The new track is the third single to be released from the band’s upcoming album entitled ‘Back In Love City’, the album’s first single ‘Headphones Baby’ was released 14th May 2021 and the album’s title track ‘Back In Love City’ was release 25th June 2021. The group recruited celebrated producer Daniel Ledinsky to join their team for the new album, Ledinsky is known for his work with Rihanna as well as Brooklyn alt-rockers TV on the Radio. As stated by Young, the group’s forthcoming album was recorded close to the video’s set location. The band’s fifth studio album set to be released on 10th September 2021 was recorded at Sonic Ranch located in El Paso Texas, the popular recording studio famed as the largest residential recording studio in the world.

In support of the band’s album release this autumn, The Vaccines will hit the road in September for their UK tour. The group have partnered with the Music Venue Trust on selected dates of their newly announced UK tour, the trust has been instrumental in their efforts to save live music venues throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The first leg of the tour will begin at Aylesbury Waterside located within Buckinghamshire and will end in Bournemouth with a performance at Bournemouth Old Fire Station.

Along with the group’s official tour, the ‘Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)‘ performers will also support their new album’s release with a small tour of record store performances partnered with live venues, the full list of dates can be found below.

Tickets go on sale 13th August 2021 at 9am, click here to purchase tickets.

Click here to pre-order the album.

The Vaccines UK tour dates

08/09/2021 – Rough Trade X SWX – Bristol
09/09 – Banquet X Pryzm – Kingston
10/09 – Crash x Wardrobe – Leeds
11/09 – HMV X The Vault – Birmingham (Acoustic)
12/09 – Beartree X The Leadmill – Sheffield (Daytime show)
13/09 – Roughtrade X The Level – Nottingham
14/09 – HMV X Empire – Coventry
15/09 – Truck X O2 Academy – Oxford (Acoustic)
16/09 – Rough Trade X Brixton Electric – London
18/09 – Waterside Theatre – Aylesbury
20/09 – Exeter Phoenix – Exeter
21/09 – Cheese And Grain – Frome
23/09 – Sugarmill – Stoke- On- Trent
24/09 – Roadmender – Northampton
26/09 – De La War Pavilion – Bexhill
28/09 – Esquires – Bedford
29/09 – Cambridge Junction – Cambridge
01/10 – The Waterfront – Norwich
03/10 – Concorde 2 – Brighton
04/10 – Glouster Guildhall – Glouster
05/10 – The Old Fire Station – Bournemouth

The album, produced by Daniel Ledinsky, who has worked with chart-toppers such as Tove Lo, Rhianna and Shakira, will be released 10 September 2021, and  follows on from their 2018 record “Combat Sports.” The Vaccines have so far released two singles from “Back In Love City,” including the track of the same name and the already acclaimed “Headphones Baby.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Vaccines (@thevaccines)

Lead vocalist Justin Young revealed the inspiration for their forthcoming record “Back In Love City” was a combination of a house swap in Los Angeles and Ridley Scott’s futuristic interpretation of the city in “Blade Runner.” He commented: “In some obvious ways we’re more connected than ever But we’re also more polarised than we’ve been for 100 years and the world is getting colder. What if there was a place where love and other emotions had run dry – but you could go to Love City to get them?”

In an interview with NME in late 2020, Young said: “The new Vaccines album is heavier than anything we’ve ever done and it’s quite brutal in places. I’m sure that’s a consequence of having made a pretty record”. He continued: “There’s lots of riffs. Yeah actually, there’s two punky songs on there. It’s weird, it’s the poppiest and most colourful record, but – actually, I’m gonna stop myself there. It just feels really heavy, it’s quite face-melting in places. Lots more screaming. It’s good, I think”.

In March, The Vaccines celebrated the tenth anniversary of their debut album “What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?” which featured the 2011 hits “If you Wanna,” “Norgaard,” and “Post Break-Up Sex.” To celebrate, the West London band released previously unheard raw demos of their debut hits.

The indie-rock band announced their first show in two years earlier this week, playing via There Is Light non-ticketed livestream on 18 July 2021. 

this feels gooooood – new single ‘headphones baby’ coming friday! https://t.co/VKJB2lmVeL pic.twitter.com/KelfaqPQxh

— The Vaccines (@thevaccines) May 11, 2021

At the end of last year the band finished working on their fifth studio album. That time they have shared a picture on social media confirming that record will have 13 songs and run for 47 minutes. Frontman Justin Young revealed last year that the album was ready in 2019 saying: “We finished recording an album at the end of last year. Pre-Covid, the plan was never to release it this year. We were going to do some additional production and sit on it and continue to write”. 

mixed pic.twitter.com/G94dh4DgPe

— The Vaccines (@thevaccines) December 10, 2020

Young added in an interview with NME that the new album will be heavier than the previous ones: “The new Vaccines album is heavier than anything we’ve ever done and it’s quite brutal in places. I’m sure that’s a consequence of having made a pretty record”. He continued: “There’s lots of riffs. Yeah actually, there’s two punky songs on there. It’s weird, it’s the poppiest and most colourful record, but – actually, I’m gonna stop myself there. It just feels really heavy, it’s quite face-melting in places. Lots more screaming. It’s good, I think”.

The Vaccines debuted 10 years ago with an album ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines’ that peaked at No4 in UK Charts. Year later they released the No1 album ‘Come Of Age’. Recently asked about the anniversary tour Young commented: “It’s funny because we should do something. Whether it’s a tour, I don’t know. For me at least, it’s been a hell of a 10 years”.

The Vaccines new single is out this Friday and can be pre-ordered here.

The band took to their Instagram to announce the news.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Vaccines (@thevaccines)

The demos included in the new collection include raw and stripped back early renditions of ‘If You Wanna’, ‘Post Break Up Sex’ and ‘Nørgaard’. A reissue of their debut album has also been released as well as a special edition pressing on pink vinyl, complete with a coupon for the download of the original album as well as a new and limited insert, with only 2500 pressings the LP is sure to become a coveted item for any fan. All releases also include the new demo collection. The band also took to their Instagram page to post their podcast, where, in celebration of the new release they discuss each track.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Vaccines (@thevaccines)

The debut album entered the UK album charts at number four and sired six singles. The album’s first single, ‘Wreckin Bar (Ra Ra Ra)/ Blow It Up’ was an unexpected hit for the band and gained a large amount of airplay, the single was released on November 22nd 2010 and both tracks were selected as Zane Lowe’s Hottest Record in the world on October 6th 2010. ‘Post-Break-Up Sex’ was the second single to be released on January 21st 2011 as a digital download as well on 7’’ Vinyl the next day. The third single, ‘If You Wanna’, released on March 18th 2011, became the highest viewed music video on YouTube at the point of release with over 7.5 million views. Originally released as the band’s first demo, the track was re-recorded for release from the album.

The album’s next singles, ‘All in White’ and ‘Nørgaard’, were released in the June and August of the same year. ‘Nørgaard’ was chosen as the free ‘Single of the week’ on iTunes and was written about Danish supermodel Amanda Nørgaard. The debut’s sixth and final single ‘Wetsuit” / “Tiger Blood’ was released in December of the same year. All lyrics from the album were written by lead singer and guitarist, Justin Young. The 33-year-old singer and musician has been playing music since his teens, starting his musical career in Alt-Country and Hardcore Punk bands . He clearly has artistic genes as he is the great-grandson of celebrated painter Walter Hayward-Young.

Last month The Vaccines announced they were working on new material, heralding it as the best record they have made. The band have been working on their follow up to the 2018 album, ‘Combat Sport’ since last year. In February of this year, the band posted an interview on their Twitter page speaking further about their new work.

Click here to order the album and pre-order the Vinyl.

On the 19th of February, The Vaccines reposted a snippet from an interview with the Rock Neto radio station, where band’s frontman Justin Young discussed the new album. He said, “I really truly believe it’s the best record we’ve ever made. I think for a long time we’ve maybe threatened to make a record that’s good but we haven’t quite managed it. It’s heavier in places, but it’s poppier in others, it’s a lot more kind of, I think well rounded like sonically and musically and lyrically. I don’t know I think it’s such a great record.”

Young further said that the band had recorded the album outside El Paso Texas towards the end of 2019, and that they finished recording the album right before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic but that “listening to it now it really resonates in a different way, it’s weirdly reflective of this year I think. It’s the longest record we’ve ever made – I think it’s like 13 or 14 tracks.” 

The band’s repost of the snippet of the interview comes shortly after the preview of their cover song ‘High Horse’ by Kacey Musgrave, which is set to feature on their upcoming EP ‘Karaoke’. For the song, The Vaccines’ stripped back Musgrave’s disco and fuck grooves. In the video for the cover, frontman Justin Young sang along to the track standing in front an Elvis Presley cut-out wearing a white cowboy hat. You can watch the video down below:

The musician’s vocals were “infused” with the brand’s “most alluring cocktail ever made” as he performed the sea shanty with “a dark twist” in light of Covid-19, and concerts being cancelled. Young performed to tables with bottles of liquor of them, under the sobriquet The Serenading Sirens. The one-minute performance of the sea shanty was meant to celebrate the upcoming Valentines Day (the 14th of February). Watch the performance down below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kraken Rum UK (@krakenrumuk)

Fans of The Vaccines’ now have the chance of winning one of the one hundred bottles that were produced by the brand, by contributing their own original verse to the sea shanty ‘My Jolly Sailor’. A limited edition Serenading Sirens vinyl, which includes a “metal-thrash version” B-side is also now available to buy.

You can register and submit your original work to the League Of Darkness website here, where the sea shanty is also available to stream and download. The deadline to submit your song to the completion is February the 8th, and the winner will be announced the very next day.

Speaking of the cover of ‘My Jolly Sailor’, Young said, “Doomed love is the muse behind almost every song I’ve ever written. Forget the bouquets or borrowed clichés, listeners of ‘My Jolly Sailor’ can expect to hear the harrowing, tragic demise of traditional Valentine’s Day romance. Plug in your headphones and enjoy the beautiful sadness of unrequited love.”

The Vaccines, recently also revealed that their work-in-progress fifth studio album has been mixed. Until the release of the album however, Young and co, are set to release their ‘Cosy Karaoke’ covers EP, which was created with a creative take on Queens Of The Stone Age‘s 2002 single ‘No One Knows’.

our new 6 song EP ‘maserati anxiety designed’ is out today everywhere – in this life and the next. it’s a M.A.D world nowhttps://t.co/D86JRhHSOc pic.twitter.com/E3CFI46KMs

— Halloweens (@halloweensband) August 21, 2020

Maserati Anxiety Designed has a slick, low-key, synth vibe, in contrast to the vintage pop sound of Morning Kiss at the Acropolis. What the two records have in common is a vast amount of talent – we shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking of this as ‘just’ a side project, because it’s as tight and curated as anything. ‘Creative outlet’ is a far more appropriate term; you can really tell that Justin Young just has songs spilling out of him. And Timothy Lanham has a really exciting angle to give to them.

Thinking about side projects, this is what Young told The Line Of Best Fit: “The Vaccines are the great love of my life – it changed everything for me. It’s the thing I lose sleep over, the thing I think about all morning and night, it’s the main and most important thing in our lives. But when you’re in a band for almost ten years with four other people, you do have to collaborate and compromise.”

Maserati Anxiety Designed, the title track, is tightly controlled, switching between its urgent verses and then slowing down for the refrain “I hate how quickly you can change your mind.” Its best lyric is “Try to destroy it / Helen of Troy it” – there’s that line, and the Acropolis setting of the first album, and then (possibly the record’s best moment) “you’re well versed in all of the classics / Roman, Greek and Reebok too” in ‘Divinity Pools’. It’s making me think I want to have a great conversation with Justin Young about ancient Greece.

‘Divinity Pools’ was the first teaser single, released earlier this year, and it’s a real highlight of the record. Its other great moment is “I feel like I could cry / streaming on demand / but it’s so off brand.” This is the video, an ode to lockdown in London and Australia (where Lanham has been since March). There’s a lot of running.

The other real highlight of Maserati Anxiety Designed is ‘Lonely Boy Forever’, the second single (released July 24). I’d say this one grows and grows – it’s good at first, but it’s great after a few listens. ‘Lonely Boy Forever’ masterfully deploys one of the EP’s greatest strengths: a catchy and super tight chorus.

The whole EP is only seventeen minutes long and not one of those minutes is wasted; at the end of ‘Alligator Jackie’ it stops just like that, with a single note and a rhyme on ‘incidental’. A lot of Halloweens’ early material came out of a song writing session in Paris, and there’s definitely something European about it all. If, for most people, the Vaccines remind them of Friday night gigs and a lot of people wearing great denim, then Halloweens are more like long summer days in Europe where you might idle around a museum and briefly become obsessed with a specific ancient statue. If that’s what you think you’re missing, then stream Maserati Anxiety Designed from today (August 21).