Hard-graft rock is what they play... MASSIVE WAGONS are hard-wired to work hard... their musical journey began in 2009 in Lancaster, England when vocalist Barry “Baz” Mills and guitarist Adam “Phil” Thistlethwaite met on the local circuit, playing with an indie rock band known as “Ace Face” (with Mills on bass). Adams' brother, Alex “Roy” Thistlethwaite, was recruited for drums and school-friend Adam Bouskill joined to play bass, freeing Barry to focus on the role of frontman for a new project that was influenced, in part, by the growing popularity of rock acts such as: Airbourne and Black Stone Cherry, and based on a shared love of British rock acts like UFO, Rainbow and Slade. The line-up was completed by Carl Cochrane on rhythm guitar. The five piece adopted a politically incorrect sobriquet: MASSIVE WAGONS. “Nothing comes easy... it didn't when we first started, and we knew it wouldn't get any easier later on...” says Barry. “We knew we wanted to play 1990s sounding Brit Rock, something like Terrorvision for example... working man's hard rock. And we wanted our characteristic Britishness to shine through: we love Thunder and we love UFO and we wanted to include the same kind of satire, the same kind of understatement and the same spirit of enterprise in our material. We think those bands embody the essence of what it is to be British.” During the next three years, after recording an E.P. titled “Sniff the Riff” MASSIVE WAGONS played endlessly across Northern Britain. Fans of Airborne and Rainbow worshipped their first full album: “Fire It Up” [Casket Records, 2011.] A fan choice was “Area 51” a hot favourite at their frequent live shows, many of them biker rallies; it features a mind-blowing “Tie Your Mother Down” style riff and some seriously bad-ass rhythms. People said, “We've not been as excited by rock for a very, very long time...” says Mills, who began to emerge as a talented showman at this time, while the band became an ever more reliable and redoubtable live act. MASSIVE WAGONS won the national “Highway to Hell” competition in 2013 and signed a contract with independent label “Off Yer Rocka”. “Fight the System” (2014) included the melodic anthem “Roll with The Rhythm” (reminiscent of Bon Jovi circa 1986) and the same year saw the band continue to tour in support of the album. At the end of 2015 a live album of rarities was released, titled “The Good the Bad and The Ugly”. In April 2016, led by feel-good singles “Tokyo” and “Ratio” their landmark album “Welcome to the World” came out. The recording was filled with amazing hits that reminded fans of Drive-By Truckers and Thin Lizzy. The band embarked on their first headline O2 Academy tour and supported The Wildhearts as they continued to work on a unstoppable schedule. “Back to The Stack” their independent release of April 2017, is a tribute to the late Rick Parfitt of Status Quo, and has been one of the bands most successful recordings. The number introduced MASSIVE WAGONS to wider audiences and established them as a band with huge potential. After a summer of festivals, they signed with Earache Records and released “Full Nelson” during the summer of 2018. The album introduced their vigorous brand of graft-rock to a new legion of fans, attracted by punchy, unadulterated, hard-rock sounds and Barry's vocals: described as comparable to Dave Lee Roth or Noddy Holder. In late 2017 the band made its first and only line-up change, when Stephen Holl replaced Carl Cochrane on rhythm guitar. Barry explains the band rationale: “It seems mad to us... but the term “Classic Rock” is seen as interchangeable with 'American Rock' as if the British never contributed to the genre... It's as if Traffic, Blind Faith, Humble Pie, Status Quo, and The Move had never existed.” “They [the media] compared us to Cheap Trick, then Van Halen and even Y&T which is crazy because those bands were all so very different [to each other] and to us. It begs the question: is classic rock a musical genre, or is it a historical epoch? Are we seeing rock through the hazy filter of nostalgia? And if we are, isn't that a bad thing? Shouldn't rock be full of life? Shouldn't rock be vibrant. Shouldn’t rock be talking about now?” “So, one of the aims of MASSIVE WAGONS is to take what people think of as quintessential “American classic rock” you know, the sort of material once produced by Ram Jam, Poison, Enuff Z'Nuff, Ratt and Skid Row... and create fresh ideas, using the familiar format — to bring modern songs to modern fans… Mind you, this time, we'll be bringing classic rock marked “Made in Britain”. “It's important to note that we're not hit and quit it types,” adds Carl. “Having said that, it's true we are dependable and consistent, but it doesn't mean we want to bring our listeners a diet of sameyness. So, we enjoy being creative: things like weird timings on drums, slewed bass, satirical lyrics, and intricate solos... and we really like to explore our “Black Lace” humour — the absurd, naughty, provocative, postcard stuff.” “We might be rock 'n' rollers... and we might be toilers, but we're not buzz killers...” adds Alex. “We don't want to come across as a bunch of boring betties... we write songs that can be listened to over-and-over, songs with plenty of hooks... songs with passion and fire, songs that an audience can get up and dance their little hearts out to.” “We have a massive amount of fuel left in our tanks, so for example, we’re ready to make our fifth album...” says Barry. “It was an advantage to be a new band, and it's been a tight learning curve that kept us together, with incremental successes along the way... but we don't want to waste any time. That's why we keep rolling...” “And we need to think about going through the next set of doors on the rock 'n' roll stairway. Even if they're marked: “Danger.” So what? We’ll get through them, won’t we? And although we don't want to jump off the rock 'n' roll trampoline without a plan... we keep toiling and we keep learning. And that’s how we stay smart. ‘Cos we got to make this work... because nowadays we have three families to feed, and we gotta put food on the table and keep the lights on at home...” “But to be honest,” says Adam, “We're never more motivated than when people connect to our material. And that's why every day is more exciting than the last...” “Our credo is: Look out for one another, don't be a balloon head, and keep on with the graft.” .