Beat Union
Beat Union | |
|---|---|
 Beat Union in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Shortcut to Newark |
| Origin | Birmingham, Bromsgrove and Redditch, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Pop punk |
| Years active | 2003–2009 |
| Labels | Haddock Recordings Science Records |
| Members | Dave Warsop Dean Ashton Ade Preston Luke Johnson |
| Past members | Mark Andrews |
| Website | Official site |
Beat Union was a pop-punk band from Birmingham, Bromsgrove and Redditch, United Kingdom. They were formerly known as Shortcut to Newark.[1] The group has garnered comparisons to Elvis Costello and The Jam, as well as pop punk groups like Green Day.[2][3]
In 2006 the band toured the UK with Bedouin Soundclash and Zox.[4]
Their debut full-length album, Disconnected, was released on Science Records in April 2008.[5] It was produced with the help of John Feldmann, producer and frontman of Goldfinger.[6] Rolling Stone named their song "She Is the Gun" Song of the Day on 17 July 2008.[7] The song also received rotation on BBC Radio 1, where it rose to #5 on the station's airplay charts.[8]
After releasing the album, the group toured with Goldfinger and then played the 2008 Warped Tour in the U.S.[9] A U.S. fall tour has been announced with Flogging Molly, followed by UK dates with Less Than Jake.[10]
In August 2009, Luke Johnson was officially announced as Lostprophets new drummer, as a permanent member providing "it all works out".[11] Beat Union then officially split up, after being dropped by their record label due to the failure of their debut album. Bar Luke Johnson, none of the former members are currently signed to any record label and are gigging small venues within the West Midlands area in local bands. Dave Warsop is currently in a band called Suedehead, who have opened up for acts like Social Distortion.
Lineup
- Dave Warsop – Lead Vocals, Guitar (Shooter McGavin/Shortcut To Newark/Suedehead/Sharp Shock)
- Luke Johnson (aka Jocko Johnson) – Drums (Shooter McGavin/Shortcut To Newark/Amen/Lostprophets[12])
- Dean Ashton – Guitar, Backup Vocals (Shooter McGavin/Shortcut To Newark/Farse/The King Blues/Diamond Head)
- Ade Preston – Bass, Backup Vocals (Farse/The High Society/The King Blues)
Discography
- As Shooter McGavin
- "Saving The Day" 7" – Boss Tuneage (2001)
- "Split with Dugong" 7" – Rock 'Em Dead Records (2001)
- As Shortcut to Newark
- "Heads in Hands Heads in Half" 7" EP – Boss Tuneage (2003)
- Gearing Up for Getting Down CD – (Suckapunch Records (2006)
- As Beat Union
- "She Is The Gun" 7"/CD – Haddock Recordings (2007)
- Disconnected CD – Science Records (2008)
References
- ^ "Shortcut to Newark". purevolume. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
- ^ Review of Disconnected. Allmusic
- ^ Review of Disconnected Archived 7 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Alternative Press, June 2008.
- ^ Bedouin Soundclash, Beat Union, & Zox. BBC, 25 August 2006.
- ^ Beat Union Get Disconnected Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Chart Attack, 14 April 2008.
- ^ Review of Disconnected. Aversion.com.
- ^ Song of the Day. Rolling Stone online (mirror at Yahoo!), 17 July 2008.
- ^ For this album, Beat Union has hired music video director Daniel Chesnut to do videos for tracks: "Calling" and "Pressure Zone".Beat Union travel the world for summer festivals and fall dates with Flogging Molly and Less Than Jake. Cleveland Leader, 5 August 2008.
- ^ Beat Union at Allmusic
- ^ Beat Union to Flog Molly This Fall. Antimusic, 6 August 2008.
- ^ "Lostprophets Announce New Drummer And Look Forward To Reading And Leeds – Features". Rocksound.tv. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ "propAMENda :: Amen band, Scum and Casey Chaos fansite :: biography". A.guillou.free.fr. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
External links
- Official band site
- Official Myspace page
- Science Records band page
- Beat Union Take To The States Feature article. PlugInMusic.com