Deaf Havana are an English alternative rock (formerly post-hardcore) band f… Read Full Bio ↴Deaf Havana are an English alternative rock (formerly post-hardcore) band from Hunstanton and King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. The band was formed in 2005 at the King's Lynn campus of The College of West Anglia. The current lineup consists of brothers James and Matthew Veck-Gilodi.

Deaf Havana was formed when the original members met at the King's Lynn campus of The College of West Anglia. The band's roots can, however, be traced back much further with Ryan Mellor, James Veck-Gilodi and Lee Wilson all attending Smithdon High School and playing together in various local scene bands. At college, these members were joined by Tom Ogden and Sebastian Spitz. This early lineup saw Veck-Gilodi singing and Mellor taking guitar and vocal duties. The name "Deaf Havana" came from former guitarist Sebastian Spitz, however the name itself has no literal meaning. The band wrote songs and a demo, White Lines But No Camera, was recorded in August 2006 at The Lodge, Northampton. The band toured this lineup until Chris Pennells replaced Spitz. Pennells was formerly a member of the band Something About Dave. Around the same time, Mellor handed over guitar parts to Veck-Gilodi, and took on the lead role.

In late 2006, the band began writing songs for their debut EP, entitled Evangeline. Two songs were roughly recorded, titled "The Smiles Were Forced" and "Where It Begins", which were uploaded onto the band's Myspace page. The EP was soon recorded, with "The Smiles Were Forced" being dropped from the EP's track listing. "Tell Me More Georgie Boy" is the only song from any previous release to make it onto Meet Me Halfway, at Least, and is now called "Another Day in This House".

Beginning in October 2007, the band began work on new songs, which eventually were released on It's Called the Easy Life. On 21 June 2008, the band announced signing a deal consisting of one EP and two albums with Wolf at Your Door Records owner Kevin 'Wolfie' Horak, as well as the recording date for said debut EP, now titled It's Called the Easy Life. The EP was eventually recorded by Jonny Renshaw from Devil Sold His Soul and was mixed by Matt O'Grady (You Me at Six, Architects) and released in October 2008. The EP received strong reviews from various musical publications, following which the band begin to receive some recognition.

On 25 May 2009, the band entered the studio to record their debut studio album, Meet Me Halfway, at Least, with producer Matt O'Grady. The album was released for pre-order from Wolf at Your Door Records on 7 September 2009, and was released on iTunes and shops on 5 October 2009. Two singles have been taken from this album. "Friends Like These" was released, with B-side "Hey Baby, This Is Our Song", on 17 August 2009, for digital download. A video was also released for this single. Their second single, "Nicotine and Alcohol Saved My Life" was released on 15 March 2010, also via digital download. The single contains a remix of "Friends Like These" by Essex band Kenai. Its music video was first shown on music channels and online from 22 February 2010.

In 2010, just prior to the mini tour with All Forgotten, the band announced that Mellor would not be embarking on these tours, due to personal circumstances, with Max d'Albiac from Brides replacing him. Mellor left the band on 10 May 2010, due to the same personal problems that caused him to pull out of 2010 tours. Deaf Havana decided to continue as a four piece and a replacement for Mellor was not sought.

The band began the follow-up to 2009's Meet Me Halfway, at Least in early 2010. They released a new demo track on Myspace and Facebook, entitled "My Life Is Average". On 13 August 2010, the band released a new demo track through their Facebook page entitled "Home Sweet Home".

On 20 May 2011, the band released the first song, called "The World or Nothing", from their untitled second album. The song was not released as a single, but the song is accompanied by a video made from footage taken at Hit The Deck Festival, directed by Jon Stone. The first single from the album was confirmed to be "I'm A Bore, Mostly" on 30 August 2011. It was played on BBC Radio 1 by Zane Lowe and the following week by Sara Cox. The title of the album, Fools and Worthless Liars was made public on 23 September 2011. Deaf Havana also released a music video for the single on 11 October 2011, which accumulated over 20,000 plays on the day of release. They then supported fellow British rockers You Me at Six on tour that month. Fools and Worthless Liars was released on 7 November 2011, coinciding with London Barfly and Norwich Arts Centre release gigs. The album peaked at number 1 on the UK Rock Album Chart.

The band re-recorded an alternative version of Fools and Worthless Liars which was released on 22 October 2012. The Fools and Worthless Liars Deluxe Edition album reached number 51 in the UK Albums Chart (reaching number 28 mid-week). Lead singer, James-Veck Gilodi, expressed his views about his personal influences in the Fools and Worthless Liars Deluxe Documentary saying that he "wanted to do something that was more musical interesting" and record something that was "truer" to the bands actual influences. After playing the St Pancras Station Festival, from which the band thought "went well" and was "thoroughly enjoyable", the band set about re-recording each song on Fools and Worthless Liars hoping to show off their musicianship that may not have come across on the album by using different instruments, sounds and genres.

In October 2012, Deaf Havana began composing new material to be featured on their third album. On 25 January 2013, the band announced that the writing process was complete and that they would enter the studio a week later. It was rumoured, during the highly successful An Evening With Deaf Havana - Unplugged that the new, yet currently unnamed, album would be released "around September". However, no precise date was set or confirmed at this point. It was later revealed in 2012 that the new album would be entitled Old Souls and was to be produced by Lee Batiuk. It was announced to be released on 16 September 2013. Moreover, the band created a feature-length documentary, entitled English Hearts, which was released as a CD/DVD combination on the deluxe version of Old Souls. The feature documented the history of the band, in their own words, and was directed by Jon Stone, a director who had previously filmed the band performing " The World or Nothing" at Hit the Deck Festival.

The band received several high-profile radio plays in the lead up to the album release whilst the band also aired several previews through social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The song "Boston Square" was premiered by Radio One DJ Zane Lowe as his Hottest Record in the World on 14 May 2013. This release which was accompanied with an interview with James Veck-Gilodi. The band coincidentally announced their first partnership with YouTube music video service Vevo, and released the corresponding video for "Boston Square". The band followed up the positive feedback by releasing the track "Speeding Cars" on 18 July 2013, and track which also received positive feedback. On 1 August 2013, the band released another track, entitled "Kings Road Ghosts", despite the band acknowledging "they might get into trouble" for releasing the track early. On 8 August 2013, the band were again invited Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show to premiere their new single "Mildred (Lost a Friend)" as the Hottest Record in the World. Matt Veck-Gilodi supplied the interview on the behalf of the band and was interviewed by Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens, who was deputising for Zane Lowe.

Ahead of their UK tour in November 2015, Deaf Havana released the track "Cassiopeia" from their fourth album, which was originally set to be released in 2016.

In July 2016, the band released the single "Sing" and announced that their album would be released in early 2017 on So Recordings. During their set at Reading and Leeds 2016, the band announced that the album is titled All These Countless Nights and announced its release date as 27 January 2017. Shortly after their Reading and Leeds appearance, the band announced their first UK tour in over 2 years.

On 9 October, the second single from the album, "Trigger", premiered on BBC Radio 1 as Daniel P Carter's Rockest Record. The song had originally premiered in 2014 on the band's European tour, at which time the band had planned to record new material but were dropped from their record label, BMG.

Following their Top 5 album artist=Deaf Havana]All These Countless Nights, Rituals was written as a challenge taken up by James Veck-Gilodi (Vocals) & Phil Gornell (Producer) to subvert the band's writing process, and present songs representative of the band in present.

Rituals is the result of throwing out the 'Deaf Havana rulebook': first; James picked the song titles, second; he wrote the tracks that fit the theme of those titles, third; everything was written on the computer, then the band came in to play all the parts. Working like this felt backwards to James, who previously only written songs on his acoustic guitar, with continuous input from the rest of the band. They set themselves a deadline of April to finish writing, and if any of it was any good, they would make it available by August. No more waiting half a decade for people to finally hear new music.

A recurring theme on the album is one of struggle and redemption. The music is in turn with introspective and joyous, with help form the London Contemporary Voice Choir, who feature on five tracks. The band performed with the choir at their intimate show at London's Union Chapel for the War Child charity as part of the Brit Awards gigs.

The theme of redemption ties into the art the band have wrapped into the album cover, a series by the visual artist Wolf James entitled 'My Love Is Lethal (A personal series dedicated to Letting Go)'.

On 25 November 2021, the band released a statement that while they intended to break up in early 2020, instead James and Matthew will continue on as a duo, with Lee Wilson and Tom Ogden leaving the band.

The Present is a Foreign Land was announced on 21 January 2022 for a 15 July 2022 release; with the album's first single, "Going Clear", releasing the same day.

Everybody's Dancing
Deaf Havana Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I had a plan at 10 years old
To try my best do as I'm told
But that don't catch the pretty peoples' eye
I didn't have the coolest hair
The newest clothes or the richest parents
So I sat alone as the pretty girls walked by
I tried my best at making jokes
Only to trip over my words and choke

So I ran back home and stayed inside my room
I swore I'd never go back alive
Shallow talk breeds shallow minds
But that was just a jealous boy's excuse

'Cause everybody's dancing and I don't feel the same
This room is full of people who barely know my name
And I don't feel like dancing on my own again
Another year without a friend
Another year when I just close my eyes and dance inside my head

With age comes insecurity
Embarrassment and tragedy,
Increasing fear of growing old lonely.
I said I'd put on my dancing shoes
But I've got two left feet and no good moves
And the pretty girls found cooler kids than me.
So I sat and waited patiently until the day I'd finally be asked,
But it never came, no, it never came!

'Cause everybody's dancing and I don't feel the same
This room is full of people who barely know my name
And I don't feel like dancing on my own again
Another year without a friend
Another year when I just close my eyes and dance inside my head

And I found it hard to take some time out of the days that I spent wishing I could be
Anyone but me

'Cause everybody's dancing and I don't feel the same
This room is full of people who barely know my name
'Cause everybody's dancing and I don't feel the same
This room is full of people who barely know my name
And I don't feel like dancing on my own again
Another year without a friend

Another year when I just close my eyes and dance inside my (head)
Another year when I just close my eyes and dance inside my head

Overall Meaning

Deaf Havana's song "Everybody's Dancing" is a poignant and relatable depiction of the feeling of loneliness and isolation in a crowded room. The lyrics detail the story of a young boy who feels excluded from the popular, pretty crowd at school due to his lack of material possessions and social confidence. He tries to make an effort to fit in by making jokes, but only ends up embarrassing himself and retreating into solitude. The song then fast-forwards to the present, where the singer still finds himself feeling out of place in social situations and disheartened by his inability to make meaningful connections with others.

The repeated chorus of "everybody's dancing and I don't feel the same" encapsulates the sense of alienation and disconnection that the singer experiences, despite being surrounded by people. This feeling is further emphasized by the line "this room is full of people who barely know my name," highlighting the superficiality of many social relationships that exist solely on the surface level. The verses also touch on themes of insecurity and fear of growing old alone, as the singer laments his lack of coolness and attractive qualities.

Overall, "Everybody's Dancing" is a masterful portrayal of the universal experience of feeling lonely in a crowd. It captures the vulnerability and anxiety that come with social situations, and the difficulty of overcoming one's own insecurities to make genuine connections with others.

Line by Line Meaning

I had a plan at 10 years old
At a young age, I had aspirations and hopes for what I wanted to achieve.

To try my best do as I'm told
I aimed to follow instructions and comply with what authority figures expected of me.

But that don't catch the pretty peoples' eye
Unfortunately, my efforts went unnoticed by those who were considered popular or attractive.

I didn't have the coolest hair
I lacked the latest trendy hairstyle that was considered desirable at the time.

The newest clothes or the richest parents
I was not fortunate enough to have parents who were wealthy and could afford trendy fashion for me.

So I sat alone as the pretty girls walked by
As a result, I was isolated and left to my own devices, only watching as others who I deemed attractive received attention.

I tried my best at making jokes
I attempted to try and entertain others through the use of humor.

Only to trip over my words and choke
Unfortunately, my nervousness made me unable to come across as genuinely funny, and instead caused me to stumble over my own words in embarrassment.

So I ran back home and stayed inside my room
Feeling defeated, the only place where I felt comfortable and safe was my own bedroom, where I could avoid any potential humiliation from others.

I swore I'd never go back alive
I made a promise to myself never to put myself in that kind of situation again.

Shallow talk breeds shallow minds
I came to the realization that conversation about superficial things would only lead to equally superficial friendships and connections.

But that was just a jealous boy's excuse
Despite feeling rejected and different, I knew that not everything was the fault of others, and that I was likely just making excuses for my own shortcomings.

'Cause everybody's dancing and I don't feel the same
Despite being in the same social situation as many others, I couldn't bring myself to enjoy the party atmosphere.

This room is full of people who barely know my name
I may be around others, but they are not interested in getting to know me past a surface level.

And I don't feel like dancing on my own again
I don't want to repeat the same experience of putting myself in the middle of social situations that make me uncomfortable and isolated.

Another year without a friend
Another year where I continue to struggle with loneliness and isolation from those around me.

Another year when I just close my eyes and dance inside my head
The only way I can cope with feeling unaccepted and alone is to retreat into my own imaginative space in my mind.

With age comes insecurity
As I grow older, I become more aware of my own shortcomings and become increasingly insecure about them.

Embarrassment and tragedy
Being in situations where I feel exposed and vulnerable continue to happen, causing me to feel mortified and hopeless.

Increasing fear of growing old lonely
The more I experience isolation and rejection, the more I worry that this will be a constant throughout my life.

I said I'd put on my dancing shoes
Despite my hesitancy and discomfort in social situations, I have tried to overcome that by putting on a brave front and trying to join in on the fun.

But I've got two left feet and no good moves
Unfortunately, it's not natural for me to be sociable and I am not naturally comfortable in those types of situations. I am awkward and often make mistakes.

And the pretty girls found cooler kids than me
My lack of social skills and style made me undesirable to those I found attractive, and as a result, they would choose those who were more charming and stylish.

So I sat and waited patiently until the day I'd finally be asked
Despite feeling rejected and disappointed, I didn't give up hope and continued to wait for someone to recognize me and be included in social events.

But it never came, no, it never came!
Unfortunately, even with my best efforts, I was never invited to join in with others in a social setting, and continued to feel like an outsider.

And I found it hard to take some time out of the days that I spent wishing I could be
I was so consumed with feeling left out that it was hard to focus on anything else but my shortcomings.

Anyone but me
I wanted to be someone else entirely--someone who had more confidence and social skills and someone that would be more easily accepted by a group.

Contributed by Anthony S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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