Massive Wagons

Massive Wagons began in 2009 in their hometown of Lancaster, England with vocalist Barry Mills and guitarist Adam Thistlethwaite who were at the time on the local live circuit as part of indie rock band Ace Face (though with Mills on bass guitar). The duo decided to strike out with their own music of a harder hitting variety, with the stage show to match. The decision was influenced by the resurging popularity of hard rock acts of the time, primarily Airbourne and Black Stone Cherry and the duos lifelong affinity for classic rock acts such as UFO, Rainbow and Slade. Adams brother Alex was recruited on drums and old school buddy Adam Bouskill joined on bass, freeing Mills to focus on the role of frontman, the line-up was completed by Carl Cochrane on rhythm guitar. For a while the 5 piece was nameless until they jokingly adopted the nickname of a local barmaid for their first gig, only for the name to stick and become their official moniker.

For the next three years, after recording the 5 track, self-released EP 'Sniff The Riff', Massive Wagons ceaselessly played throughout north England and Scotland, in both pubs and clubs and became a popular act at biker rallies. The band drew the attention of independent London based label, Casket Records and in 2012 released their first full album 'Fire It Up'. Only 1000 physical copies were printed and have since become a much sought after collector’s item.

Massive Wagons emerged as a formidable live act in the old school tradition of playing hundreds of shows a year, with Mills emerging a showman of unique talents, blending the flair of Dave Lee Roth and the vocal prowess of Noddy Holder, backed by a group of ever confident musicians. Massive Wagons won the 2013 Nationwide 'Highway To Hell' competition, beating over 200 other acts, and signing a multi album contract with Ibiza based independent label 'Off Yer Rocka'. 'Fight The System' was released in 2014 but despite the strength of songs including 'Red Dress' and the title track, it failed to receive the radio support it deserved. Nevertheless it became an underground success and the band continued to tour in support of the album and through relentless live activity earned a sizable following throughout the UK. A live/rarities album ‘The Good The Bad And The Ugly’ was released in late 2015.

With renewed determination (and no small amount of belligerence) Massive Wagons returned to the studio. In April 2016, spearheaded by the singles ‘Tokyo’ and ‘Ratio’ - 'Welcome To The World' was released to critical acclaim in the UK and Europe, even gaining minor mainstream coverage due to breaking the iTunes top 100 album charts in several territories. The band embarked on their first headline 02 Academy tour, and through the remainder of the year they were invited to perform at festivals in the UK and Europe and supported The Wildhearts on a UK tour around their own busy headline schedule. By 2017 Massive Wagons had generated national interest through writing hard hitting riffs and infectious melodies wrought with wry humour and electric live performances.

'Back To The Stack' a standalone single released in April 2017 in tribute to the late Rick Parfitt was the bands most successful yet, and introduced Massive Wagons to a wider audience of all ages, proving their mainstream potential and attracting the attention of more prominent labels. After a summer of festivals Massive Wagons signed to Earache Records worldwide.

Late 2017 saw the bands first line up change, with Stevie Holl replacing Carl Cochrane on rhythm guitar. Massive Wagons have recorded their next highly anticipated studio album, penned for a 2018 release. Several high profile festival performances are lined up through 2018, as well as their biggest UK headline tour to date, with many shows, including the prodigious London Borderline selling out in advance.

Videos