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.
Times Change Friends Leave and Life Doesn't Stop for Anybody
Deaf Havana Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doctors appointments and getting what you want
Your school years passed you by without a scratch
Your fathers pride, good intentions and your mothers loving hands
Being young at heart became a sin, (Being young at heart became a sin)
So you grew up and you gave in
I remember when you said that you'd be in this with us 'til the very end
Peacfully we watched you slip away, into the depths of the drugs
And the mistress on whos mental state you'd prey
If she was the spark to ignite the flame, then we were the floods
When the fires came but she held the torches high for you that day
Remember when you said, all you wanted was to be where you are today
I remember when you said that you'd be in this with us 'til the very end
Being young at heart became a sin, (Being young at heart became a sin)
So you grew up and you gave in
Remember when you said, all you wanted was to be where you are today
I remember when you said that you'd be in this with us 'til the very end
My dear old friend
The song "Times Change Friends Leave and Life Doesn't Stop for Anybody" by Deaf Havana addresses the harsh realities of growing up, losing touch with friends and ultimately losing someone you cared for due to their addiction to drugs. The song is about a person who was raised in a privileged environment, with doctors' appointments and getting whatever they wanted. They passed through school without any major problems, thanks to their father's pride, good intentions and their mother's loving hands. However, being young at heart became a crime, and they eventually gave in to growing up.
The lyrics speak of someone who had dreams and aspirations while they were growing up, but as they got older and were faced with the realities of life, they gave up on their hopes and dreams. The song talks about how the singer, who at one point in his life promised to stay with his friends till the very end, started drifting away from them slowly, lost in the world of drugs and mental illness. The singer of the song seems to have been influenced by a person referred to as a mistress, who was herself struggling with mental health problems. The singer's addiction to drugs caused them to lose touch with their friends, who watched helplessly as the singer slipped away from them.
The song is a poignant reminder of how even the most privileged of us can succumb to addiction and how addiction can damage relationships with friends and family. The song's message is a call to action for anyone who has lost touch with someone they care about because of addiction. It's a reminder that we should reach out to those who are struggling and try to help them in whatever way we can.
Line by Line Meaning
You truly are your mothers son, raised on praise
You have always been the one who was pampered and given praise by your mother
Doctors appointments and getting what you want
You never had to face a real struggle, always got what you wanted, even doctor appointments were scheduled by someone else
Your school years passed you by without a scratch
You didn't face any challenges in school, you just passed by without any major obstacles
Your fathers pride, good intentions and your mothers loving hands
Your parents had nothing but good intentions for you, they were proud of you and your mother always showed you love and affection
Being young at heart became a sin, (Being young at heart became a sin)
Although being young at heart is seen as a positive thing by most people, you were brought up to believe that it was wrong
So you grew up and you gave in
You eventually gave up on being young at heart and just followed the norms of the society
Remember when you said, all you wanted was to be where you are today
You had a goal and ambition to be where you are today
I remember when you said that you'd be in this with us 'til the very end
You promised to stick with your friends till the very end
Peacefully we watched you slip away, into the depths of the drugs
We stood by helplessly as you slipped further into drug addiction
And the mistress on whos mental state you'd prey
You relied on someone who was vulnerable mentally to fuel your drug addiction
If she was the spark to ignite the flame, then we were the floods
If she was the reason for your addiction, we were trying to help you overcome it
When the fires came but she held the torches high for you that day
Even when things got tough, she still stood by you and helped you through it
Being young at heart became a sin, (Being young at heart became a sin)
You were so influenced by societal norms that you gave up on your free spirit and youthful innocence
So you grew up and you gave in
You compromised on your true self and became something that you never truly wanted to be
Remember when you said, all you wanted was to be where you are today
You achieved your goals, but not in a way that was true to who you are
I remember when you said that you'd be in this with us 'til the very end
You broke your promise to stick with your friends through thick and thin
My dear old friend
Despite the disappointments, there is still a sense of love and nostalgia towards you from your friends
Contributed by Lila V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.