Emerging as the foremost act within London's acid jazz movement, the Brand New Heavies have converted their passion for refined 1970s funk rhythms into a steadily shifting yet consistently dance-oriented style that has now spanned more than three decades. Near the close of the 1980s the group issued its first recordings and flourished across the following decade with crucial contributions from vocalists N'Dea Davenport, Siedah Garrett, and Carleen Anderson. During that initial ten-year span the band achieved platinum status for the U.K. Top Ten albums Brother Sister (1994) and Shelter (1997) while placing fifteen singles inside the U.K. Top 40, among them the originals "Stay This Way," "Dream On Dreamer," and "Sometimes" as well as reinterpretations of the 1970s classics "Don't Let It Go to Your Head," "Midnight at the Oasis," and "You've Got a Friend." Although their knowing evocation of earlier eras forms a central part of their charm and they surfaced at a moment when hip-hop began to eclipse R&B, the Heavies have stayed current rather than becoming purists, frequently teaming with rappers and younger producers. After their busiest period they have sustained that outlook while expanding their catalog to more than twice its former size. Later standouts include Allabouthefunk (2004), their fifth album to reach the charts, together with Get Used to It (2016) and TBNH (2019), both featuring Davenport and marking returns to their early U.S. and U.K. homes Delicious Vinyl and Acid Jazz.
School friends from the London suburb of Ealing, drummer/vocalist Jan Kincaid, guitarist Simon Bartholomew, and bassist/keyboardist Andrew Levy formed the Brand New Heavies in 1985 as an instrumental trio inspired by James Brown and Meters albums encountered during nights out in the rare groove clubs that helped birth acid jazz. The musicians soon began capturing their own material and gained major visibility once demo tracks received play at the influential Cat in the Hat venue. Adding a horn section, the Brand New Heavies cultivated a devoted following across London's club network. A Cooltempo single titled "Got to Give" led to a deal with the fledgling indie Acid Jazz, after which an association with the larger FFRR brought further momentum. Cut for only 8,000 pounds, the self-titled debut arrived in 1990 to widespread critical praise, reached number 25 on the U.K. album chart, and yielded three Top 40 singles. After vocalist Jay Ella Ruth departed, Delicious Vinyl selected N'Dea Davenport as her replacement for the American market. The Heavies then re-recorded several tracks from the first album for a Stateside version of the self-titled release issued in 1992, on which "Never Stop," previously just outside the U.K. Top 40, climbed to number three on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart. A New York show that included rappers Q-Tip and MC Serch prompted another 1992 project, Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1, featuring appearances by Gang Starr, Main Source, and the Pharcyde along with additional hip-hop artists that strengthened the band's standing abroad.
Brother Sister reached number four in the U.K. in 1994 and earned platinum certification on the strength of four Top 40 hits, one of which was "Dream On Dreamer." Davenport exited to pursue solo work and was succeeded by veteran R&B singer/songwriter Siedah Garrett, best known as co-writer of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror." The Heavies maintained their momentum with Shelter, a 1997 album that likewise produced four Top 40 singles and achieved platinum status. Two years later they released the U.K. anthology Trunk Funk: The Best of the Brand New Heavies, which incorporated fresh material fronted by Carleen Anderson, formerly of Talkin' Loud act Young Disciples. The title reappeared the next year for the U.S. collection Trunk Funk Classics: 1991-2000, again adding a newly recorded track with Davenport. After 2003's We Won't Stop, led chiefly by Sy Smith, and the 2004 self-issued Allabouthefunk with Nicole Russo, Davenport rejoined for an extended stretch that carried the group through multiple releases well into the 2010s, among them Get Used to It (2006), Forward (2013), and the live recording Live in London. During those years the musicians also produced the library-style funk instrumental album Dunk Your Trunk.
Dawn Joseph, who had appeared on Forward, took the lead on the 2014 set Sweet Freaks before departing along with Jan Kincaid. Guided by the remaining founders Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the band continued to perform with rotating vocalists and returned to the Acid Jazz label in 2019 for TBNH. Co-produced by longtime admirer Mark Ronson, the album traded lead vocals among N'Dea Davenport, Siedah Garrett, and Angela Ricci while welcoming guests Beverley Knight and Angie Stone. Shibuya 357, a live set first issued exclusively in Japan, received a full digital release in 2021 nearly twenty-five years after its initial appearance.
