Biography Having met on the London jamming scene of the late 1980s, a hot bed of talent which was to produce much of the best funky action of the next few years, John Wallace and William South soon became firm friends and started to work on demos which would eventually lead, via a couple of low key singles, to their first album, Unchain Your Mind which was a worldwide hit on its release in 1995. The lead track “90 in the Shade” went top three in the USA, Jazz FM pronounced it their album of the year and a world tour swiftly followed.|The next album, the critically acclaimed The Last Picture Show, sold less well, perhaps due to the band’s refusal to stand still creatively, but the title track found its way on to the seminal chill out album series Café del Mar and brought the band many new converts as a consequence. After a couple of years of relative inactivity, when both Wallace and South were engaged in extracurricular musical activities, Heavyshift re-emerged in 2000 with Say Hello to Teddy on Jazz FM’s Onion label.|This more straight forward live funk outing sold very well in the UK, and its American release (retitled The Conversation on Instinct Records) is still enjoying healthy airplay today, as is “90 in the Shade”, which is now regarded as a classic of the genre.[citation needed]|Again looking for the creative rather than fiscal way forward, the band slimmed down in 2003 to a power trio (South handling bass duties with his left hand, Doors style) only retaining the services of loyal drummer Julian Fenton, now an integral part of the band sound.|Increasingly distracted by other calls on their individual time, including writing TV/film music/adverts for South, touring his various retro jazz/r ‘n b projects for Wallace, and being the regular drummer for 1980s legends ABC for Fenton, Heavyshift have been less active for the past couple of years. Discography Unchain Your Mind (1995)|The Last Picture Show (1996)|The Cocktail Years (Wallace & South)|The Conversation (2004 - US)|Say Hello To Teddy (2003)|“Hampster on the Wheel” (2009) |
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