The Vamps

***The Vamps*** are a British pop rock band consisting of members Brad Simpson (lead vocals and guitar), James McVey (lead guitar and vocals), Connor Ball (bass guitar and vocals) and Tristan Evans (drums and vocals).

They guest starred in the 31st episode of Alex & Co.

## History

In 2011 James McVey was already managed by Richard Rashman and Joe O'Neill of Prestige Management. Deciding he wanted to form a band, McVey subsequently discovered Bradley Simpson through YouTube. Together, the pair wrote songs towards the later months of 2011, with Simpson later becoming lead singer. In 2012, Simpson and McVey met Tristan Evans through Facebook. The trio then met Connor Ball via a mutual friend. In mid-2012, the band started uploading cover songs to their YouTube channel.

On 22 July 2013, the band uploaded their first original song, "Wildheart" (later re-titled "Wild Heart"), onto their YouTube account; the video receiving over 46,000 views within the first two days. On 6 August 2013, they released the music video for their debut single "Can We Dance", which received over 1 million views within two weeks. "Can We Dance" was released on 29 September 2013 and debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart on 6 October 2013; beaten to number two by OneRepublic's "Counting Stars", which sold 1,250 copies more. On 19 November 2013 the band announced they would release their debut album around Easter. On 22 November 2013, The Vamps announced that their second single would be "Wild Heart". The song received its first airplay three days later and was released on 19 January 2014, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart the following week.

On 13 March 2014, The Vamps announced that their debut album would be released on 14 April 2014. On 22 March, it was revealed the album would be titled Meet The Vamps. On 6 April, they released "Last Night" as the third single from the album. It debuted at number two in the UK. On 17 April, Meet The Vamps debuted at number two on the Irish Albums Chart, kept off the top spot by Paolo Nutini's Caustic Love. The same album beat The Vamps to number one on the UK Albums Chart.

In May 2014, it was announced that The Vamps would be making a cameo appearance in the soap opera, Hollyoaks on 14 May 2014. Hollyoaks released a teaser clip about The Vamps' appearance on YouTube. They were seen getting a picture with Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell) as she goes to their concert with Sienna Blake (Anna Passey).

The Vamps released their second studio album "Wake Up" on 27 November 2015. The lead song from the album, "Wake Up", was released on 2 October 2015. A music video for the song features the acting debut of Brooklyn Beckham.

A music video for the only promotional single "Stolen Moments" was released in 2015.

In 2016 The Vamps recorded a version of "Kung Fu Fighting" for the animated film Kung Fu Panda 3, which was accompanied by a music video. On 16 August 2016, The Vamps were featured on Vishal Dadlani & Shekhar Ravjiani song "Beliya" a bollywood-pop song.

## Tours

### Headlining

* Mini Tour (2013)
* Meet The Vamps Tour (2014)
* Vamps World Tour (2015)
* The Vamps Arena Tour (2015)
* Wake Up World Tour (2016)

### Supporting

* McFly - Memory Lane Tour (2013)
* Selena Gomez - Stars Dance Tour (UK, 7 and 8 September 2013)
* Taylor Swift - Red Tour (shows in London, UK, February 2014)
* R5 - Louder World Tour (show in Brirmingham, March 2014)
* The Wanted - Word of Mouth Tour (UK & Ireland, 12 to 31 March and 1 April 2014)
* Austin Mahone - Live on Tour (North America, July & August 2014)

## Trivia

* Tristan Evans wasn't in episode 31, but they didn't explain the reason.