Sports Team is an English alternative rock band based in London. The band consists of lead vocalist Alex Rice, rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rob Knaggs, lead guitarist Henry Young, bassist Oli Dewdney, drummer Al Greenwood, and keyboardist Ben Mack. According to The Guardian, their songs "romanticise Middle England" and idiosyncrasies like Wetherspoons,[1]flip phones,[2] the M5,[3] and fishing.[4][5]
History
The group met while studying at the University of Cambridge, aside from Dewdney, who studied at the University of Bristol.[5][6] The band performed in their early days at the Portland Arms, a pub in the north of Cambridge.[7] The band's members continued to work their day jobs until they became better known.[7] Henry Young was a sports reporter for CNN.[8][7]
In December 2024, Sports Team were robbed at gunpoint in Vallejo, California on the first day of their US tour, losing their passports, stage equipment and personal belongings.[9]
Releases
Their debut EP Winter Nets was released in January 2018 on Nice Swan Records, and their second EP Keep Walking! was released in 2019.[10]
Sports Team released a limited edition B-sides and rarities vinyl on 28 May 2021 called Plant Test, which they announced on their Instagram. It was made only available at independent retailers in the UK.[17]
On 28 March 2022, the band announced their second album, Gulp!, alongside lead single "R Entertainment".[18]Gulp was released on 23 September 2022, and received four out of five stars from NME.[19]
On 18 July 2024, the band announced their third album Boys These Days as well as releasing the first single "I'm in Love (Subaru)" and headlining their first show in London in two years at Omeara.[20]
Critical reception
After releasing their debut EP Winter Nets, the band performed a show in September 2018 at Scala in London, which the band's lyricist Knaggs described as when the group started "being in a band nearly every single day".[21]
Following the Scala show, the band went on to play at both Electric Ballroom and O2 Forum Kentish Town in 2019 with sell-out shows.[21] The band's preference for surprise shows at venues like The Nag's Head in Camberwell led to DIY describing the shows as harking "back to the heady days of The Libertines".[21]
Style
The band have been described as holding unusual engagements with their fans, from their annual trips to Margate by coach where "fans, bands and booze collide for unscripted antics",[21] and for taking "whole venues to the pub with them" after a show.[21]
However, this has been balanced with media commentary on the band's Cambridge educations, at a time when bands like Idles and Fontaines D.C. have pushed working class lyrics.[22] Alex Rice notably drew criticism[from whom?] for disparaging London musicians in The Guardian for being Goldsmiths graduates who he dubbed "Gucci" magicians, in reference to HMLTD, who he declared were "one of the worst bands ever".[23]Clash stated in 2019 that "Sports Team can't quite shake off their entitlement".[24]
