Heavy Load

D

escribed by The Sunday Times in 2009 as "...possibly the most genuinely punk band touring today", Heavy Load was a British punk rock band whose membership met at Southdown Housing, an assisted-living community for people with mental health issues and learning disabilities. The membership consisted of a mix of service users and staff.

The band's name to fame would be the theme for the BAFTA-nominated film Cast Offs and is documented in the film Heavy Load. The other claim to fame would be the band being the founders of Stay Up Late, a charity seeking to improve the social lives of people with learning difficulties by calling for more flexible staff hours.

The act would feature Simon Barker (vocals), Jimmy Nichols (guitar/vocals), Paul Richards (bass), Mick Williams (guitar/vocals) and Michael White (drums) to release Wham (2011), Shut It (2008) and The Queen Mother's Dead (2006).

The act split in September 2012 after a final gig in London's Trafalgar Square as part of the Paralympic festivities. Simon Barker died suddenly on 10 August 2017.