The Ward Brothers

The Ward Brothers
"The Ward Brothers" as shown on the 1986 single "Why Do You Run".
Background information
Origin	England
Genres	Rock, Pop
Years active	1986–1987, 1996
Labels	Siren Records, Prestige Records, Virgin Records, A&M Records

The Ward Brothers were a British rock-pop band, who scored a top 40 hit in the UK with their 1986 single "Cross that Bridge". The band have released two albums in total.

History

The Ward Brothers formed in Barnsley, England in 1986,^[1] where the band consisted of three members; vocalist and drummer Dave Ward, keyboardist Derek Ward and guitarist Graham Ward.^[2][3]

The band signed to Siren Records and released the album Madness of It All in 1986, produced by Mike Howlett and engineered by Steve Power, whilst Don Was and Frank Fillipetti produced the title track, and Was solely produced "Cross that Bridge".^[4] It was released via Siren Records in the UK, Edisom in Portugal, Virgin/Siren Records in Europe, A&M Records in America and Virgin Music Canada in Canada.^[4] The album was not successful and failed to make any national chartings.

The album spawned four singles in total. "Easy Prey" was released in the UK and Europe (via Virgin Records), failing to make an impact. "Cross that Bridge" was the second single, released in the UK, Europe (via Virgin Records) and America (via A&M Records).^[5] The single broke the band into the top 40 when the single peaked at #32 in the UK during early 1987 for a total of 10 weeks.^[6] It also peaked at #32 in the Netherlands for a total of 8 weeks.^[7] The third single "Why Do You Run?" was released in the UK and Europe,^[8] but failed to capture the same success, where it only managed to peak at #81 in the UK for a total of 2 weeks.^[9] A failed fourth single "I Trusted You" was released in 1987, along with a remix of the song on a 12" vinyl promo in the UK only.^[10]

After the failure of the "Why Do You Run?" and "I Trusted You" singles and the band's debut album, the band soon split up. In 1988, the band's album's title track "Madness of It All" appeared in the episode "Love at First Sight" of the series Miami Vice.^[11] The song had also appeared in the 1986 film The American Way,^[12] whilst "Why Do You Run?" appeared in the 1987 film Stakeout.^[13] In 1987, "Cross that Bridge" appeared on the UK edition of Now That's What I Call Music 9.^[14]

Almost a decade later, the band re-emerged in 1996 with a new album Wave Goodbye to Grandma which was released via Prestige Records in the UK only.^[15] The lead and only single "Friends" was released in the UK and the Netherlands.^[16] Both the album and single were commercial failures and received limited attention. This is the band's final release to date.

Members

• Dave Ward - Lead, backing vocals, percussion, drums
• Derek Ward - Keyboards, programming
• Graham Ward - Guitars, backing vocals

Discography

Albums

• Madness of It All (1986)
• Wave Goodbye to Grandma (1996)

Singles

• "Easy Prey" (1986)
• "Cross that Bridge" (1986) UK No. 32, NL No. 32
• "Why Do You Run?" (1986) UK No. 81
• "I Trusted You" (1987)
• "Friends" (1996)

References