THE BRAND NEW HEAVIESB
reaking out of the late 80s
London club scene, within a few
short years The Brand New
Heavies became transatlantic
soul stars, rubbing noses with
the very heroes they once idolised. Through
a combination of chance and raw talent,
these school friends discovered a fresh
formula for funk – acid jazz. And in doing
so, if their youthful press shots are anything
to go by, they’ve stumbled upon the elixir of
life. Their feelgood music has served them
well over 30-plus years, evidently as good
for the body as for the soul.
“I never get bored of it,” says bassist
Andrew Levy, who catches up with Classic
Pop before heading over to Japan for a
four-day residency. In fact, Andrew is now- “It’s still hard to say that,” he chuckles.
But, as we discover, he has plenty of
unfi nished business. This year sees The
Brand New Heavies at something of a
crossroads in their career. They’re back with
a vibrant new studio album, TBNH, their fi rst
since the departure of founder member and
long-time drummer, Jan Kincaid, and they’ve
reunited on record with on-off frontwoman
N’Dea Davenport. It turns out the two events
might well be linked...
T H E B R A N D N E W H E A V I E Sreaking out of the late 80s
London club scene, within a fewmight well be linked...The Brand New
Heavies were
formed in 1985
in West London