HIMALAYAS

Himalayas first came together as high school students in Cardiff during 2015, quickly establishing themselves as an act worth watching through a string of memorable singles, high-profile support slots with acts ranging from Manic Street Preachers to Foo Fighters, and candid commentary on the economic pressures facing touring musicians after the pandemic.

Schoolmates Joe Williams and Mike Griffiths began collaborating almost immediately, performing locally as a duo with Williams handling lead vocals and rhythm guitar while Griffiths supplied lead guitar and backing vocals. The pair soon expanded the lineup by recruiting another classmate, drummer James Goulbourn, who in turn brought in bassist Louis Heaps. Drawing from the heavy guitar-driven approach of Queens of the Stone Age and Muse, the quartet recorded their debut EP Ecstasy at a brisk pace; standout cuts included “How Do You Sleep?” and “Cheap Thrills,” the latter eventually surpassing several million streams.

Momentum built sharply in 2017 once “Thank God I’m Not You” entered regular rotation on both BBC Radio 1 and Virgin Radio, ultimately accumulating more than 40 million streams within its first few years. Follow-up single “Sigh on a Hurricane” also performed strongly, eclipsing 12 million streams, while additional releases such as 2018’s “If I Tell You” and 2019’s “The Masquerade” became fixtures of the band’s live sets. Festival appearances at Reading and Leeds as well as South by Southwest in 2018 further raised their profile, alongside the early single “Alone.”

Although the COVID-19 lockdown threatened to stall their progress, Himalayas rebounded in 2021 with an English television debut and opening dates for Welsh rock stalwarts Manic Street Preachers. The following year they signed with Nettwerk Records, which issued their first full-length album, From Hell to Here, in 2023. In 2024 the group continued issuing standalone tracks, among them the hard-hitting “V.O.V.,” whose lyrics originated from a set of words supplied by AC/DC’s Brian Johnson. Additional exposure arrived via support slots for Foo Fighters, while Williams and Heaps simultaneously drew attention by describing their day jobs—supermarket shifts for Williams and coffee-shop work for Heaps—when not recording or touring.