Lawson (band)

Lawson
Background information
Origin	England, United Kingdom
Genres	Pop rock
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Polydor, Mercury, Island
Website	www.lawsonofficial.com
Members	Andy Brown Joel Peat Adam Pitts Ryan Fletcher

Lawson is a British pop rock band, consisting of Andy Brown (acoustic guitar and lead vocals), Ryan Fletcher (bass guitar and backing vocals), Joel Peat (lead guitar and backing vocals) and Adam Pitts (drums). The band is currently based in London. Their debut album, Chapman Square, was released on 22 October 2012 and reached number four on the UK Albums Chart. To date, the band have achieved five UK top 20 hit singles. They are named after Liverpool-based surgeon Dr. David Lawson who performed life saving brain surgery on Brown.^[1]

History

2010: Formation and early career

Lawson began recording material in early 2010. Acoustic versions of their early original material as well as covers of artists such as Bruno Mars and Adele built up an online fanbase. They soon began playing gigs around the United Kingdom, including the Wireless Festival^[2] and the Ultrasound Festival.^[3][4]

2011–2012: Breakthrough

On 8 September 2011, it was announced that the band had been signed to Polydor Records, with a lucrative two-album deal on the cards. After signing to a major label, Lawson were tasked with opening for acts such as The Wanted, Will Young,^[5] Avril Lavigne,^[6] and Jessie J.^[7] The band toured extensively at the beginning of 2012, fitting in a headline tour of the UK in January^[8] and another in May^[9] as well as a one-off intimate show at Monto Water Rats in London^[10] which was streamed worldwide in April. During this time the band worked on material for their debut album with writers and producers such as Carl Falk and John Shanks.

2012–present: Chapman Square

The band's first official single, "When She Was Mine", was released in May 2012 and reached number four on the UK Singles Chart.^[11] Following the single release, the band undertook their second headline tour, selling out venues in London, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield and Birmingham.^[12] The band's second single, "Taking Over Me", was released on in August 2012, peaking at number three in the UK. In the summer of 2012, Lawson performed at T in the Park,^[13] V Festival^[14] and alongside Bruce Springsteen at Hard Rock Calling.^[15] They also announced a Hometown Tour,^[16] playing dates from October through November in their respective home towns and London, where they reside now. In October 2012, the band released their third official single, "Standing in the Dark", which reached number six in the UK. The band later revealed that their debut album, Chapman Square, would be released on 22 October. Guitarist Joel Peat said of the album: "We're all so excited to release our debut album, we've been building up to it for the past four years, and the album's title for us is special, because it is the first place that we played together as a band. Going out on tour to support the album is amazing too. Doing shows in our home towns feels like the perfect way to celebrate. Performing live is what we love the most, so to be able to play our biggest venues to date in the cities where we grew up is very special." Lawson cited many inspirations for their debut album, including John Mayer and Taylor Swift.^[17] On 22 October 2012, Lawson released Chapman Square, peaking at number four in the UK Albums Chart. The album was later certified gold. The band finished the year performing at the Oxford Street Christmas Lights switch on with Robbie Williams^[18] and at the Capital FM Jingle Bell Ball where their performance was watched by Taylor Swift.^[18]

At the beginning of 2013, Lawson played their first headline shows in the US and Canada selling out New York's Bowery Ballroom, The Troubadour in LA and The Mod Club in Canada.^[19] In February, they embarked on the Chapman Square tour, playing 18 sold out shows in the UK and Ireland.^[20] While working on new tracks for the repack of Chapman Square they visited South East Asia^[21] and Australia^[22] as well as announcing numerous festival dates including T In The Park,^[23] V Festival^[24] and Hard Rock Calling^[25] for the second year running and Isle Of Wight Festival for the first time.

"Brokenhearted", featuring American rapper B.o.B, was released as the lead single from the repackaged version of Chapman Square in July 2013, reaching number six in the UK. B.o.B flew over to the UK to perform Brokenhearted with the band at Wembley Stadium for the Capital FM Summertime Ball.^[26] The band announced their second single, "Juliet", while on tour in the US for the second time in 2013.^[27] The track was released on 13 October 2013. British model and actress Kelly Brook stars as the titular character in the video. The band were included in the line-up of the iTunes Festival 2013, opening for Jessie J.^[28] Lawson began their biggest headline tour to date, the "Everywhere We Go Tour", in September 2013.^[29] The repackaged version of their debut album titled Chapman Square / Chapter II was released on 21 October 2013. The reissue featured all twelve of the songs from standard edition of the Chapman Square (though not the full sixteen of the deluxe edition), plus six new songs. The deluxe edition of Chapter II includes a second disc including acoustic songs and a short tour film.^[30]

Members

• Andrew Christopher "Andy" Brown (born 8 May 1987 in Fazakerley, Liverpool)^[31] plays the acoustic guitar and is the lead singer. He is the oldest member of group and previously dated Mollie King from The Saturdays. He used to be in the boy band Avenue along with Max George of The Wanted.

• Adam James Pitts (born 24 December 1990 in Brighton)^[31] is the band's drummer.

• Joel Gilchrist Peat (born 27 June 1990 in Mansfield)^[31] plays lead guitar. He and Ryan attended the same university.

• Ryan Gary Fletcher (born 9 January 1990 in Chesterfield)^[31] plays bass guitar. He and Joel attended the same university.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

• Lawson's official website
• Lawson's official MySpace page