You’ve heard about the film, what about the band? Heavy Load band members Paul Richards (bass guitar); Simon Barker (vocals); Jimmy Nichols (rhythm guitar); Michael White (drums); Mick Williams (lead guitar) talk about the band, the film and aspriations.
How did you start the band in the first place?
Paul Jim started it
Jimmy Yeah, I wanted to be in a band.
Paul So he sent a memo to people in the same housing association and Michael and Simon said they’d join and that was it.
Michael I always wanted to be in rock and roll. My mum plays the piano and my dad was a singer so I’ve always heard music. I always thought I was going to be in the music business. Heavy Load is the only band I’ve ever been in.
How has the process of making the film changed the band?
Paul It has enlarged some egos in some places and it’s given us the impetus to be more ambitious and experiment a bit more and try to get our sound out to a more mainstream audience. Ultimately the experience has been enriching -we’ve done stuff we would never have dreamed of before.
Michael It has made me more relaxed and confident. I would like to be a professional performer.
What do you think of the finished film?
Simon I like the film -I’d like to see it again but I can’t afford it at the moment.
Paul You’re going to get some dvd’s -free!
Michael It’s a really great film actually. But I think it should be longer -maybe three or four hours.
How do you think the film will change people’s perception of learning difficulties?
Paul I hope that people watching the film will se the individuals in the band as individuals and forget about learning difficulties. It’s not a film about learning difficulties. Hopefully they’ll get to know the characters and lose some preconceptions.
What are Heavy Load’s aspirations now?
Paul Our immediate plans are to release the next album and at the same time we want to bring out a compilation of other UK artists with learning disabilities called Wild Thing: Songs from the Disabled Underground, volume one. We’re planning it to be a series! We’ll just do more gigs and see what happens.
Michael I want to be a serious actor. Maybe supporting roles, bit parts. I want to be rich and famous.
• Heavy Load will be shown as part of the View From Here with a talk by the director and Jerry Rothwell and a member of the band, on Thursday, December 4 7pm at the Alexandra Cinema, Newton Abbot.
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