Four piece indie band Viola Beach tragically died in February while in Sweden after their car accidentally fell over 80ft into a canal. Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe, Jack Dakin and their manager Craig Tarry, unfortunately, didn’t survive the crash.
Viola Beach was at the peak of their career, with success, demand and popularity continuously going their way. It was such a shame that true talent got taken away before they really could showcase their full potential to the world. Nevertheless, their story touched the hearts of music fans worldwide, immediately sending music lovers all over into a Viola Beach craze. Soon after their tragic death, tributes came in from social medias and a national campaign started to get the boys single ‘Swings and Waterslides’ to number one in the UK Top 40. The support received was incredible, and they even had such musical legends as Liam Gallagher supporting the campaign for the boys success.
In recent events, the support for the late Viola Beach reached a new level. At Glastonbury 2016, Coldplay did something during their set which moved the hearts of millions of people. Setting the finale of Glastonbury off in true Coldplay style, fireworks, glitter cannons and 100,000 interactive LCD wristbands were all used, but nothing could emotionally prepare everyone for what Coldplay’s Chris Martin was about to do. He paid a very moving and emotional tribute to the boys, before introducing Viola Beach’s hit ‘Boys That Sing‘ which Coldplay then continued to play, with projections of Viola Beach performing on the Pyramid Stage’s giant screen. In his moving speech, he stated that by playing Boys That Sing, they were creating an alternative future for Viola Beach, one of positivity by letting them ‘headline Glastonbury’ for a song. Pretty amazing for a four piece indie band from Warrington.
The positive exposure that Viola Beach has had during the past few months has been something which is truly worthy of such young and talented boys. And with one final legacy for the boys, their self-titled album has been released today via the band’s own label Fuller Beans Records. The album is made up of 9 songs which have been specially selected, and beautifully represent what they were about. The families of the boys released a statement saying “We believe the best way to celebrate our sons’ lives is to release an album of their songs. This is their legacy and we know deep in our hearts that the boys would want the world to listen to the music they poured everything into”. Although the album release is under very devastating circumstances, the world now has an insight to what the boys stood for, and what could have been achieved.
With the boys’ families hoping that the album brings happiness to people listening and with a story that has touched the world, we can only hope that Viola Beach’s album is successful. Click Here to purchase the boys album and be part of creating a lasting legacy for the Viola Beach boys.
Did you miss Coldplay paying tribute to Viola Beach? Watch the breathtaking moment here.
Bursting with pride. Tonight the @Viola_Beach boys' music made it to the greatest stage of them all https://t.co/Bnzb9FAkxU
— BBC Music Introducing (@bbcintroducing) June 26, 2016