WITH THANKS TO RED LIGHT
This page and opposite page: Kelvin Swaby, second from left, with bandmates Dan Taylor, Spencer Page and Chris Ellul
It felt magical to walk to the Royal Crescent to work on new ideas
How you like me now? Ahead of headlining Somerset’s The Shindig Weekender in May, Bath-born Kelvin Swaby – the frontman of global sensations The Heavy – tells LISA EVANS why Bath’s music scene inspired him, why the Royal Crescent is one of his favourite places in the world, and why he’s jealous of Bath Life’s HQ…
44 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk
ust like the Super Bowl or Groundhog Day, The Heavy are celebrated and admired in America, while, in the UK, although most people know their biggest hit – How You Like Me Now? – the genredefying band are, by comparison, still relatively unfamiliar to some. Funny that, as Kelvin Swaby, the lead singer, who is also one of the founding members and a principal songwriter, was born and raised in Bath, and two of the other members still live here. Let me just reiterate that when I say they are huge in America, I mean they’re enormous. Their music played at the Obama re-election campaign, they became the first band in history to ever get an encore from David Letterman on his US television show, and they’ve featured on some of the coolest movie soundtracks including Horrible Bosses starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, critically acclaimed Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale drama The Fighter, and Quentin Tarantino-directed The Hateful Eight. Popularity for the four-piece has been growing around the world since their inception in 2007, but, no matter how successful they become, Kelvin will never forget the place it all started – Bath. As he relaxes on a sunny day at his home in Florida, he admits he’s jealous of my current location at Bath Life HQ next to The Circus. As