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Staff Picks: Who Said Vamps Were Out of Style?

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Irvine chapter.

Move over One Direction, it looks like a new boy band is rising to fame and they go by The Vamps.

 

The Vamps are a British indie pop group that consists of Bradley Simpson (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), James McVey (vocals and guitar), Connor Ball (vocals and bass guitar), and Tristian Evans (vocals and drums). Their claim to fame started in mid-2012 when the band started posting covers of other artists on their YouTube page. James McVey was managed by Richard Rashman and Joe O’Neill from Prestige Management in 2011 when they decided to form a band. They found Simpson via YouTube, Evans via Facebook and Ball from a friend of a friend. In late 2012, The Vamps were signed to Mercury Records and by early 2013, their fan base had grown by supporting the pop punk band McFly on their Memory Lane Tour.

Not only have they toured alongside McFly, but they’ve also performed for several different UK acts such as The Wanted, JLS, Little Mix and even Selena Gomez in early September. Their debut EP, which was released on September 29, 2013, included their debut single “Can We Dance” that reached over 1 million views within the first two weeks on YouTube, peaked number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, number 1 on the Scottish Singles and Albums Charts and number 21 on the Irish Singles Chart. “Can We Dance” is a catchy, upbeat song that you cannot help but get up and dance to. It’s Indie-pop sound makes you feel happy and free. Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself.

Though The Vamps do not have many songs of their own, their covers make up for the lack of. Their versions of “Walks Like Rihanna” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRXgZdJcAP0) by The Wanted and “I Knew You Were Trouble” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRXgZdJcAP0) by Taylor Swift give us a very good idea of what their sound is like and it’s not disappointing.

Besides their catchy music, The Vamps are four of the most down to earth boys I have ever met. Not only are they good looking and have the most to-die-for accents, but also their personalities are so sweet and charming that they have girls swooning at their feet. Take from someone who has encountered them first hand, the fan-girl within you will not be able to contain herself. Brad, James, Tristian and Connor are so sweet that they also communicate with their fans via Twitter. They are so humble and down to earth that it is obvious their fans are the most important part of the band as a whole.

You may not be familiar with the band members, their songs and covers, or even their personal names but next year will be completely different. Now that they are going to be joining Taylor Swift for the UK leg of her tour, they will slowly start becoming more and more noticeable. These boys have worked long and hard to get to where they are and if I were you I would start looking at where they began. Check out The Vamps YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/Thevampsofficial.

The Vamps debut album drops sometime in 2014 so be sure to keep an eye out for it!

Bianca Duarte is a first year, Film & Media Studies major at the University of California, Irvine. She enjoys writing, reading, and anything media related. Her hobbies include attending events and concerts and scrolling aimlessly through her twitter feed.
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