RELEASE ‘STATIONS OF THE CROSS AT THE OVAL’ VIDEO AHEAD OF 2020 HYUNDAI MERCURY PRIZE ‘ALBUMS OF THE YEAR’
CO-HOST THE RADIO 1 FUTURE SOUNDS SHOW WITH ANNIE MAC AND PERFORM AND CHAT ON CHRIS EVANS VIRGIN RADIO BREAKFAST SHOW
DEBUT ALBUM ‘DEEP DOWN HAPPY’ OUT NOW
It’s been a crazy week on air for Sports Team, from co-hosting the Radio 1 Future Sounds show with Annie Mac, to being Chris Evan’s live studio guests on Virgin Radio. The band spoke candidly to their favourite 90s host, remincising car journeys with parents and now confronted with hyperbolic praise from Evans: “They’re funny, they’re clever, they’re quietly irate. I love your music… what does it feel like to be geniuses?”. This comes ahead of the 6-piece’s 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize ‘Album of the Year’ performance, which will be broadcast live on BBC Four TV on 24th September. The band have been shortlisted for their critically acclaimed, number 2 charting debut album Deep Down Happy, alongside Dua Lipa, Kano, Charli XCX, Michael Kiwanuka and more. During lockdown, the band (packed out) iconic cricket ground The Oval, and performed album favourite Stations of the Cross to (0) fans. Broadcast live on Sunday Brunch, the video is now available on YouTube.
Watch ‘Stations Of The Cross’ at the Oval here: https://SportsTeam.lnk.to/StationsOvalPR
Listen to ‘Deep Down Happy’ here: http://sportsteam.lnk.to/DeepDownHappyPR
Sports Team have built an incredibly loyal, impassioned fanbase, who carried the Gaga x Sports Team chart battle conversation on Twitter. From a Lewis Capaldi summoning circle which led to support from the superstar (proving witchcraft does work), to TV fisherman Jeremy Wade, and Sam Fender, Sports Team fans were out in force, showing comradeship for the future of guitar music. With no record stores open, and no live shows due to lockdown, the six-piece still managed to achieve the biggest selling album of the week in Independent Retail, a mammoth feat for Britain’s next breakthrough band. The six piece also announced their biggest UK tour to date, with the band back on the road doing what they do best next Spring and headlining O2 Academy Brixton on 29 April 2021.
UK & IRELAND TOUR
20 April Dublin The Grand Social
22 April Leeds Leeds University Stylus
23 April Manchester The Albert Hall
25 April Nottingham Rock City
26 April Glasgow SWG3
28 April Bristol SWX Bristol
29 April London O2 Academy Brixton
PRAISE FOR DEEP DOWN HAPPY
“Recalling the rambunctious spirit of Blur and Pulp” – 4* THE TIMES
“As far as 'guitar music' is concerned, it's game on. Full of charm & unpredictability” – 4* Independent
The gobbiest new bunch on the block cement their early promise with a debut album full of hedonism, tribalism and untamed energy” – 4* NME
“Love them or hate them, dismiss them at your peril” 4* DIY
“The album bounces by with the logic of a free-for-all pub debate” Rolling Stone
“Sounding like a gang having fun should be simple, but it’s a spirit that’s been missing lately. Sports Team deserve a medal for bringing it back” 4* Daily Star
“an album soaked in teen spirit…Sports Team are the complete package” – 5* DORK
“Their tales of life in your 20s in modern Britain is unmistakably now” – Q
“A debut as wry, energetic and charismatic as their inexhaustible live presence has always promised” – Loud & Quiet
“Sports Team evoke britpop spirit of Pulp, while throwing in nods to American punk (Iggy pop is a fan)” – Daily Mail
"May we introduce you to your new favourite band” – ES Magazine
“The weirdo UK guitar band you need to know”- PAPER
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