MASSIVE WAGONS team up with Andy’s Man Club for UK Tour

Lancastrian rock squad Massive Wagons got serious on their last single “Night Skies“, tackling the very important subject of mental health… albeit still with a bit of their trademark panache.

The track was taken from their forthcoming seventh studio album Earth To Grace – set for release on November 8 via Earache Records – and prompted an outpouring of stories online under the #ItsOkayToTalk hashtag. The song also quickly became Planet Rock’s #1 Most Played track that week.

Now the band are going one step further, taking charity Andy’s Man Club on the road with them for their UK headline tour in November. Andy’s Man Club are a men’s suicide prevention charity, offering free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups, for men over 18 going through storms in their lives, with approximately 225 clubs meeting weekly across the UK and online. Clubs are free to attend with no registration required. Andrew Roberts, for whom the club is named, was only 23 years old when he took his own life. On average one man every two hours takes his life in the UK.

Here’s the band to tell you more…

 The charity will have a stall in the foyer of each venue, with 4-6 facilitators from local Andy’s Man Clubs at each UK tour date, roaming as welcoming “sweepers” amongst attendees, handing out wristbands, and sharing details of their local club meetings for more support. There will also be on stage talks during band changeovers and an interactive installation posing the five questions each meeting is structured around, for gig goers to answer.

You can watch a video here, or by clicking below, of the band honestly considering the five questions themselves in their own impromptu meeting.

The band elaborate:

Guitarist Adam Thistlethwaite states, “We couldn’t be more onboard with what Andy’s Man Club stand for and their message. Their team are lovely people and it’s a real bonus for us to spread their word along with our music. It can be hard for anyone to admit they are having a difficult time, but focusing on breaking down the social and mental blocks that make it especially difficult for some men to come forward, that has been sorely needed and is highly commendable. I just hope that our involvement with Andy’s Man Club further spreads this message and encourages more people to take that first step, and speaking from personal experience it really does help.”

Frontman Baz Mills adds, “I really never expected the reaction we got from people for ‘Night Skies’,  I mean there is the reaction about the song, which was great!!!…. but then there is the reaction to the message, which was proper overwhelming! The inbox messages we have had, while on one hand are a tough read, on the other hand are people talking, which is the goal isn’t it, to open up, people are opening up, and that really warms my heart, knowing the song and its message have potentially contributed to people’s decision to talk about personal issues that are harming their mental health.

While we were pushing all of the mental health lifelines out there, the ones who cater for specific ages, genders, or sexualities, we have had the biggest reaction for the song from men. We have had a lot of personal messages from fellas who are really starting to shake the stigma attached to men speaking about mental health, and that’s why we have teamed up with Andy’s Man Club to take their show on the road with us!

There seems to be a real movement in men’s mental health at the moment, and Andy’s Man Club are one of those at the very centre, extremely well organised and motivated to help blokes who just don’t seem to feel like they have anyone to turn to. Please, if you are reading this, or any of the associated press or have seen the video to ‘Night Skies’ and you are feeling mentally overwhelmed, whether you are a bloke, a woman, a child, teenager, OAP, a veteran, or LGBTQ, and feeling under pressure from your mind and are struggling – please reach out to someone, mental health has no agenda or label discrimination, it doesn’t attack people based on age or gender, everyone is susceptible. Don’t suffer in silence… #itsokaytotalk  Big love!”

Luke, the charity’s North West Area Lead, comments, “Myself and everyone here at ANDYSMANCLUB would like to thank Massive Wagons for collaborating with us and are kind enough to invite us on their UK tour, helping us raise awareness and spread the message that #ITSOKAYTOTALK. We can’t wait to meet you all on all 7 of the UK tour dates. Please make sure you stop by our stall for a chat.”

To find out more about Andy’s Man Club, email info@andysmanclub.co.uk or head to www.andysmanclub.co.uk.

Earth To Grace is out on 8th November 2024 and is available to pre-order now on coloured vinyl, black vinyl, signed bonus edition CD and more at earache.com/massivewagons.

These British rock gems enter their fifteenth year as a band with more fire behind them than ever, having newly announced a 9-date headline tour for November across the UK and Ireland with special guests Florence Black. Kicking off at Nottingham’s Rock City on 22nd November and finishing at Belfast’s Limelight 2 on 7th December, the tour will see them headline their biggest venues to date and will follow a run in Europe with Kissin’ Dynamite in October. Mills comments, “We will be taking the new album out on tour to new, bigger venues. We have made the leap to some absolutely iconic venues around the UK and it will be a really proud moment for us to step out on these stages as headliners. This tour is 15 years in the making – we’re playing venues like Rock City, Manchester Ritz and Shepherd’s Bush Empire, to name three. Our first ever show was Carnforth Railway club (10 songs played twice!) and now we are in venues that have seen the greats come and go. It really is a testament to hard work and the rock fans in the UK, we really wouldn’t be doing this without you. See you in November!”

UK & IRE DATES:
22 Nov – Rock City, Nottingham
23 Nov – SWX, Bristol
24 Nov – Engine Rooms, Southampton
26 Nov – O2 Institute, Birmingham
27 Nov – SWG3, Glasgow
29 Nov – O2 Ritz, Manchester
30 Nov – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London
6 Dec – Grand Social, Dublin
7 Dec – Limelight 2

Become a patron and join the Wagons World here: https://www.patreon.com/wagonsworld
 
 
Massive Wagons are:
Barry ‘Baz’ Mills – vocals
Adam Thistlethwaite – guitars
Stephen Holl – guitars
Alex Thistlethwaite – drums
Adam ‘Bowz’ Bouskill – bass.

 

MASSIVE WAGONS team up with Andy’s Man Club for UK Tour @RockNews

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