Jeremy Williams-Chalmers, Arts Correspondent

Brand New Heavies Funk-Driven Partying

Brand New Heavies
Photo: Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Brand New Heavies Photo: Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Formed almost a decade prior, the Brand New Heavies had enjoyed fleeting chart success at the start of the 1990s; however, it was with their third studio album—Brother Sister—that they soared to #4 in the UK Album Charts. While the record would be their final release (for a decade) with their original vocalist, N'Dea Davenport, it would spawn two Top 20 chart hits and set them very much on the map of mainstream success. While N'Dea did return to the band for a brief period, the original duo of rocker Simon Bartholomew and funkster Andrew Levy remains firmly intact, and they have taken to the road with vocalist Angela Ricci to celebrate the landmark birthday of their acid jazz masterpiece.

To warm the audience up, Bristol 9-piece Cut Capers are on hand to get the party well and truly started. Their explosive set features vocalist Naomi Johnson. Their killer vocals, infectious brass playfulness, and occasional mini rap leave the audience wanting more, more, more.

Cut Capers
Photo: Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Cut Capers Photo: Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Brand New Heavies
Photo: Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Brand New Heavies Photo: Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Cut Capers
Photo: Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Cut Capers Photo: Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Brand New Heavies
Photo: Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Brand New Heavies Photo: Jeremy Williams-Chalmers


After just a short interval, the Brand New Heavies take centre stage and launch into Have A Good Time. With a concert dedicated to their 1994 album, they take the brave step of staying true to the album's tracklisting for the entirety of the show. The move sees their biggest hits featured early in the set, and while they are brilliantly performed, it does mean that some of their lesser-known album tracks see the audience disengage at moments. With the band making light of the situation, they introduce songs that they state the audience will not know.

While the injection of a few of their bigger hits into the mix may have re-engaged the audience at times, there is no denying that this is a band that knows how to perform and whose hit album does have intriguing twists and turns. Notable set highlights alongside those bigger hits (Midnight at the Oasis / Dream on Dreamer) are Fake and Brother Sister. As they return for an encore with some of their biggest hits, the party once again gets started on what has been a night of funk-driven partying.