The ‘Somebody To You’ singer told The Daily Star Column: “James McVey is working on a solo project, Connor Ball is writing a lot, and Tristan Evans has just announced the pregnancy with partner Nikki. There’s a lot of life going on. We’re not putting any pressure on it. It’ll just happen with it happens. I think that’s the best way… Naturally at some point we’ll get back together, end up writing, and if we like it we’ll carry on. We all know it’s always going to be there. Every step of the way it’s always been, we’re friends before bandmates. We have a very special bond… We’re family at this point. I know a lot of other bands who started at a similar time that aren’t as close as we are, and the friendships have just faded away.”

The Vamps formed back in 2012 and quickly became very popular all around the world, collaborating with artists such as Demi Lovato, Shawn Mendes and more. The band took a break back in 2020 with guitarist James McVey stating: “It was getting to a point where it was turning into a conveyer belt. We loved what we were doing but it was about making sure that we weren’t going to burnout. We needed to live a little bit. Last year we had a moment where we wanted to take some time apart just to see what would happen and we naturally gravitated back together, which was nice as I imagine a lot of bands after nine years of touring probably don’t ever come back.”

The band celebrated with an anniversary tour in September 2024 in order to mark their 10th anniversary on tour, having released single ‘Seat At The Table’ over two years ago.

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A post shared by Bradley Simpson (@bradleywillsimpson)

The English band hasn’t released an album since their 2020 release ‘Cherry Blossom’, but the frontman, now embarking on a solo career, has insisted the group haven’t called it quits as he even wrote a song called ‘The Band’s Not Breaking Up’ on his debut solo record ‘The Panic Years’.

Tickets are now available via Ticketmaster.

During the group’s ten years together, they have released five studio albums and will utilise this back catalogue to mark the anniversary, a special greatest hits fanzine will be released on 14th October. The compilation has been created with a very personal touch and will contain different forms of media, including photos, special edition band merchandise, art cards and a CD with a tracklist of unreleased recordings. All the specially curated contents will be enclosed within a zine book, the publication will also include documents which chart the band’s career, further exclusive photographs of the group and the band member’s personal objects, a QR which provides more links to content and exclusively created band interviews.

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Brittain McVey has spoken with BANG Showbiz concerning the group’s tin anniversary, “I think for a lot of people, there are various moments over the last 10 years that offer up nostalgia. Up until this point, every tour has been based on a specific album, like last year we had the ‘Cherry Blossom’ album and tour in September. But this one is going to be different because we want to get all the albums from the last decade into the show. Hopefully, it will be the sort of show where – some people might have been really big fans of the first or the second album and we want people to relive those moments with us. It’s going to be emotional, but it’s going to be so hard to pick a set list because we’ve got five albums now!”

Throughout the group’s career they have enjoyed great success, The Vamps scored their first number one album with their third studio album Night & Day and received two Gold certifications for their first two albums Meet The Vamps and Wake Up. Due to their commercial success, the band have worked with some big names in music such as Demi Lovato on the 2014 single “Somebody To You” and performed with Taylor Swift on tour.

Frontman Simpson has also spoken on the group’s experiences, the singer talks about how the band had opportunities to meet and work with their heroes, “Meeting Dave Grohl for me was just ridiculous because he’s been one of my idols for so long. They say don’t meet your heroes but it was just very inspiring to learn that you can be a good person and also just be a sheer legend. Connor got to meet Brendon Urie from Panic at the Disco. James as well, like when we got to tour with Taylor [Swift] which was amazing.”

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The anniversary campaign’s live aspect is soon approaching, the band’s The Greatest Hits Tour will kick off on 23rd November 2022 at Manchester’s 02 Apollo. The group will perform at the Brighton Centre on 25th November 2022 and will appear at London’s The 02 Arena on 27th November 2022. After seven more UK arena shows, the band will conclude their Greatest hits tour on 11th December 2022 at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena.

The Vamps 10 Years Of The Vamps – The Greatest Hits Tour

23/11/2022 – O2 Apollo – Manchester
25/11 – Brighton Centre – Brighton
27/11 – The O2 – London
30/11 – Bournemouth International Centre – Bournemouth
01/12 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
03/12 – 3Arena – Dublin
05/12 – SSE Arena – Belfast
07/12 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
08/12 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
10/12 – Royal Concert Hall – Nottingham
11/12 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham

Click here to purchase tickets.

Click here to pre-order 10 Years Of The Vamps.

SPLENDOUR LINE UP ANNOUNCED

We’re thrilled to announce @richardashcroft & @SupergrassHQ as our headliners, joining a bill full of incredible artists & much more yet to be announced!

Nottingham’s biggest summer party is back, get your tickets now: https://t.co/c4JAvwqwNk pic.twitter.com/mWiC8ju2US

— Splendour Festival (@splendourfest) March 5, 2021

The Splendour Festival dates back to 2008 when it kicked off as a two-day event with performances from the likes of Ocean Colour Scene, Kate Nash, Rufus Wainwright and Paolo Nutini. The festival has grown exponentially since then, and the last Splendour in 2019 was the biggest to date, with 25,000 in attendance to see headliners Manic Street Preachers, The Specials, Rag’n’Bone Man and All Saints.

In an interview with the Nottingham Post, Splendour organiser Anton Lockwood explained that the festival would comply with the most up-to-date public health guidance. He said “We are working on the best information we have. Obviously there will be more detailed work on guidelines and protocol for events like Splendour. We are monitoring that and contributing to that and as those guidelines come out we’ll obviously follow those and abide by the legislation and all the guidelines. We are able to go ahead thanks to the amazing work of everyone getting the vaccine out there and a shout out to Nottingham Professor Jonathan Van-Tam (Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England) – I think he is brilliant – we will listen to his advice but we want to have a big party.”

Lockwood added “We want people to come out and see some great live music – that is what we are trying to achieve. I am really excited to be going to a gig to be honest and go and see some live music. We obviously want it to be safe, obviously we are going to follow the legislation and the guidelines that are in place that people far more expert than us are developing.”

Richard Ashcroft‘s headline set at Splendour was set to follow two sold-out comeback gigs at the London Palladium in May. The Wigan vocalist – who is currently working on an acoustic greatest hits album – returned to action last month with a cover of John Lennon’s 1973 track Bring On The Lucie (Freda Peeple).

Fellow Splendour headliners Supergrass, who reformed in 2019 after a nine-year hiatus, will eagerly await a return to the stage this year. The indie veterans had been due to tour the United States, Australia and Europe last year – topped off by a fifth scheduled appearance at Glastonbury – before all their live commitments were scuppered by the pandemic. The Oxford rockers, who produced one of the defining singles of the 1990s in Alright, last released an album in 2008 (Diamond Hoo Ha).

1980s pop icon Rick Astley continues to defy expectations (most recently by covering Slipknot and The Strokes on his TikTok account) and has enjoyed a steady period of critical success ever since his well-received 2016 comeback LP 50. The Lancastrian singer’s appearance at Splendour will compliment seventeen separate UK tour dates scheduled for this year, culminating in a gig at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on November 12th.

Becky Hill‘s performance at Splendour should coincide with the release of her as-yet-untitled debut studio album this summer. The former The Voice UK contestant, who scored a 2014 number #1 single with Gecko (Overdrive), most recently provided vocals for Bruno Martini and Magnificence’s January release Wake Up With You.

Other acts confirmed for Splendour 2021 include British pop-rockers The Vamps, Heaven Is A Place on Earth singer Belinda Carlisle, London indie outfit Sleeper and up-and-coming Nottinghamshire artist Tori Sheard. Tickets for Splendour are available through the festival website.

THE VAMPS LIVE AT HACKNEY ROUND CHAPEL // 21 NOVEMBER // GLOBAL LIVESTREAM https://t.co/QYlRgbcyU1 #TheVampLive pic.twitter.com/Sju5YlU51S

— The Vamps (@TheVampsband) November 3, 2020

The live stream event, set to be hosted in the Camden Round Chapel, will be time zone synced so you can watch it from around the world and choose the time that suits you (the times will be listed below). The gig itself will not have any seating and be live-streamed only. This is because of the new 2nd lockdown coming into action tomorrow (05/11/2020) with some social and recreational events and sites closing for the duration of the lockdown.

The live stream will be covering hits from the band’s past repertoire like ‘All Night’  and ‘Somebody to you’ but also from their latest album Cherry Blossom. Fans will truly be spoilt as many may be starved from the lack of live shows and gigs, for some it may even be their first live steam gig of the pandemic year. This gig may be the one not to miss after the critical success of their latest album.  

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NUMBER 1 thank you SO much. We’ll never forget this

A post shared by The Vamps (@thevamps) on Oct 23, 2020 at 9:22am PDT

Last month (October 2020) The Vamps release Cherry Blossom it quickly became a critical success setting in the top 100 album charts around the world. However, at home in the British isles, Cherry Blossom has reached number 1 in both the UK and Scottish album charts! Although they haven’t had any singles reach the top numbers they have reached the top 10’s however, this chart-topping album is a great success for the pop band.

Talking to Music-News The Vamps gave a positive message to fans as encouragement before the live stream “In a year of so much uncertainty and divide it was more important than ever for us that we find a way to still share some music live with you. In normal times we would currently be heading out on the road to bring a Vamps show to you in person but as we all know this year hasn’t quite gone to plan”

With the live stream fast approaching tickets for the show will go on sale from 9 am Friday 6th November. If you want to catch the show sign up for the stream here! I think after a year like this we could really use a good gig as I feel most of us have really missed the gig life. Hopefully for now The Vamps will be able to satisfy our craving and tide us over until gigs continue.

• Livestream #1 – (UK & EUROPE): 8pm GMT / 9pm CET
• Livestream #2 – (US EAST COAST) : 8pm EST
• Livestream #3 – (US WEST COAST) : 8PM PST
• Livestream #4 – (AUS, NZ & ASIA) : 8pm AEDT / 10pm NZDT / 6pm JST & KST

Fans will be able to purchase through the general sale, or access VIP tickets (only available from AXS) which offer early entry, a soundcheck experience, a Q&A with the band, and a tour poster laminate. The pre-sale begins on 6th October, followed by the O2 Priority pre-sale on 7th October.

Furthermore, a portion of the profits from VIP tickets will be donated to Help Refugees via Choose Love. Choose Love helps people to connect easily to combat loneliness, anxiety, depression, disconnection, and lack of purpose. The Help Refugees foundation is a charity for refugees in Europe who provide vital aid to people fleeing war, persecution, and climate change.

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U K – T O U R – 2 0 2 1 – O N – S A L E – 8 – O C T O B E R – 4 P M 

A post shared by The Vamps (@thevamps) on Sep 28, 2020 at 2:06am PDT

‘Cherry Blossom’ is due for release on 16th October and is available for pre-order now. Two singles have already been shared from the record: Lead single ‘Married In Vegas’ which came out in July, and ‘Chemicals’, the most recent track, released 10th September.

Based on what has been heard so far, fans are in for a treat when the album comes out. While ‘Married In Vegas’ is an upbeat, free-spirited pop-rock track with laid back beats and sensual vocals, ‘Chemicals’ takes on a new sound for the band – a bass-heavy electro-pop song.

The Vamps formed in 2012 and signed to Mercury Records the same year. The members – Bradley Simpson (vocals, guitar), James McVey (guitar), Connor Ball (bass), and Tristan Evans (drums) – have released three studio albums so far, and ‘Cherry Blossom’ will be their fourth. The band has headlined London’s O2 Arena five years in a row, and started up their own record label in 2015, titled Steady Records.

Check out the full tour dates below.

26/04/2021 – O2 Academy – Bournemouth
28/04 – O2 Academy – Sheffield
29/04 – O2 Academy – Leeds
01/05 – O2 Academy – Newcastle
02/05 – O2 Academy – Glasgow
04/05 – O2 Academy – Manchester
05/05 – O2 Academy – Liverpool
07/05 – O2 Academy – Birmingham
09/05 – Eventim Apollo – London

Our debut album is OUT NOW! What!!! That sounds so surreal to say. Honestly this is a dream come true. We love this album with all of our hearts we are so happy you get to hear it finally. We hope you enjoy. https://t.co/iTeUhDvhP9

❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/txBOhouiA8

— New Hope Club (@NewHopeClub) February 14, 2020

The group is made up of members Blake Richardson (lead vocals, guitar, piano), George Smith (guitar, piano, backing vocals), and Reece Bibby (bass, drums, backing vocals). In an interview with Daily Star, Smith revealed that the band is hoping their songwriting will really come through and set them apart from other bands, like One Direction, who they are often compared to.

He said “It’s always been a big thing for us to write our own songs as well because our favourite bands like the Beatles, who were like the first band to ever really write all of their own songs, and then Oasis too, following in their footsteps.”

Having built a strong relationship with their fans since they formed in 2015, New Hope Club has updated followers through their social media, sharing tours, releases, and their daily life. This is how the band promoted the new album, with the first mention back in September 2019. Smith spoke about their fans, saying “They have always been supportive of everything”.

The album reached number 5 on the UK Official Album Chart, with an incredible response from fans and critics. Many of the songs on the album were already released as singles, with 2017 song ‘Fixed’ now at 14 million streams on Spotify. New Hope Club collaborated with DJ R3HAB on ‘Let Me Down Slow’ for the album, creating a music video to go which is currently at 1 million views on their YouTube channel.

Also on the channel, the trio regularly upload live performances, challenge videos, and covers of their favourite artists, including Harry Styles’ ‘Adore You’, Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Before You Go’ and Dua Lipa’s ‘Don’t Start Now’. This is another amazing way that the band connects with their following and continues to have so much fun with their music.

When the album was released, the band held signings in Edinburgh, Leeds, and Kingston, and plan to tour the UK in April. Check out the full tour dates below and get tickets on the official website.

05/04/2020 – Olympia Theatre – Dublin, Ireland
09/04 – O2 Institute – Birmingham, UK
11/04 – Eventim Hammersmith Apollo – London, UK
14/04 – O2 Ritz Manchester – Manchester, UK
16/04 – SWG3 Studio Warehouse – Glasgow, UK

DEBUT ALBUM TOUR – get your tickets now, you don’t want to miss out ❤️ https://t.co/76YYLNbLcp pic.twitter.com/O0o18iEJKv

— New Hope Club (@NewHopeClub) February 26, 2020

The three members of New Hope Club joined in 2015 after Bibby left his band Stereo Kicks, who had appeared on The X Factor. They were discovered by another UK band The Vamps, who signed New Hope Club to their label Steady Records (a subsidiary of Virgin EMI Records). The band went on support The Vamps on multiple tours, release their own EPs and singles, and eventually headline their own shows in 2018.

The show will be called ‘BBC Children in Need Rocks for Terry’, a charity event which will raise money for BBC Children in Need, which Sir Terry presented from the outset in 1980 until 2014. He didn’t present the show in 2015 as he was unwell.

The show will take place at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Speaking to NME, Fearne Cotton, presenter and friend of Terry Wogan said: “It has been an honour working with Sir Terry across the years on Children in Need and it’s a privilege to be hosting Rocks in celebration of his life. It’s going to be a very special evening with some great artists performing some of his favourite tracks.”

Fellow host of the show Greg James added: “It’s a privilege to host Rocks alongside Fearne. Sir Terry was, in my eyes, the ultimate broadcaster. A friend to millions on his radio show and a hero to millions more through his work with Children in Need. It’s an absolute honour to be asked to be part of the concert. It’s going to be a brilliant night.”

Earlier this year, it was rumoured that Robbie Williams would be rejoining Take That but earlier this week in light of the Apple Music Festival, he released more solo material.

Tickets for the concert can be found on the BBC’s Children in Need website and it will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and BBC One.