Quartet are ready to Vamp it up with screaming crowds
The Vamps headline the Motorpoint Arena in Attercliffe – and are promising a treat for fans.
Connor Ball, bassist with the band, said: “Fans can expect lots of surprises.”
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Hide AdAhead of the tour, the band – Connor, frontman Brad Simpson, guitarist James McVey and drummer Tristan Evans – have been working on the follow-up to debut album Meet the Vamps, which reached number two after its release a year ago.
Connor says: “We’ve been in a studio recording the second album. It’s going well. We are working on it at the moment to get it finished.
“We’re trying to make it the best we can. It’s a bit more electronic than the first, a bit like MGMT or The Police with the guitars.
“Hopefully, it should be out before the end of the year.”
All five of their singles have also reached the top 10, starting with thir breakthrough track Can We Dance two years ago, before Wild Heart, Last Night, Somebody to You and Oh Cecilia (Breaking My Heart) last year.
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Hide AdHowever, this tour is just to get the band back out on the road.
Nineteen-year-old Connor says: “We just love touring and playing live so much, we wanted to do it again.
“It won’t be the same tour as last time, it will be completely different.”
Support comes from another boyband in Union J, who formed on The X Factor in 2012, eventually finishing fourth in the TV talent show.
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Hide AdConnor said: “Union J lads are wicked. We’re delighted to get them on tour.
“They’re really cool guys. We have known them since we started, so it is cool to do a proper tour together.”
After the tour, the band have some summer shows lined up – including a Forest Live gig in Sherwood Pines, near Worksop, on Saturday, June 27 – before promoting the second album.
“We did one summer of continuous shows which was great,” says Connor. “Summer shows are wicked.
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Hide Ad“Everyone is up for a great time because its warm and sunny.”
However, for now Connor is just enjoying the moment – even if the boyband label is a bit misleading.
“We’ve been very lucky,” he says. “It’s really good.
“I think part of the secret of our success is being nice to people - it goes a long way.
“There are people who like the stuff you do, but if people like you as people, that’s another thing.
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Hide Ad“And we don’t mind being labelled. Everyone gets labelled, but we play our own instruments, we record every song.
“We love doing it, because we love playing music, so people can say whatever.”
The Vamps play Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena tomorrow. Doors open at 6.30pm, with the first act – Luke Friend, who finished third on TV talent show The X Factor in 2013 – on at 7.30pm.
The Tide, a California guitar band who have just signed to The Vamps’ new record label, are due on at 7.40pm before Union J at 8.05pm and The Vamps at 8.55pm.
A handful of newly released tickets are available for the previously sold-out show. To buy, visit www.motorpointarenasheffield.co.uk