Deaf Havana are an English alternative rock (formerly post-hardcore) band from Hunstanton and King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. The band was formed in 2005 at the King’s Lynn campus of The College of West Anglia. The current lineup consists of brothers James and Matthew Veck-Gilodi.
Deaf Havana was formed when the original members met at the King’s Lynn campus of The College of West Anglia. The band’s roots can, however, be traced back much further with Ryan Mellor, James Veck-Gilodi and Lee Wilson all attending Smithdon High School and playing together in various local scene bands. At college, these members were joined by Tom Ogden and Sebastian Spitz. This early lineup saw Veck-Gilodi singing and Mellor taking guitar and vocal duties. The name “Deaf Havana” came from former guitarist Sebastian Spitz, however the name itself has no literal meaning. The band wrote songs and a demo, White Lines But No Camera, was recorded in pton. The band toured this lineup until Chris Pennells replaced Spitz. Around the same time, Mellor handed over guitar parts to Veck-Gilodi, and took on the lead role.
In late 2006, the band began writing songs for their debut EP, entitled Evangeline. Two songs were roughly recorded, titled “The Smiles Were Forced” and “Where It Begins”, which were uploaded onto the band’s Myspace page. The EP was soon recorded, with “The Smiles Were Forced” being dropped from the EP’s track listing. “Tell Me More Georgie Boy” is the only song from any previous release to make it onto Meet Me Halfway, at Least, and is now called “Another Day in This House”.
Beginning in , the band began work on new songs, which eventually were released on It’s Called the Easy Life. On , the band announced signing a deal consisting of one EP and two albums with Wolf at Your Door Records owner Kevin ‘Wolfie’ Horak, as well as the recording date for said debut EP, now titled It’s Called the Easy Life. The EP was eventually recorded by Jonny Renshaw from Devil Sold His Soul and was mixed by Matt O’Grady (You Me at Six, Architects) and released in . The EP received strong reviews from various musical publications, following which the band begin to receive some recognition.
On , the band entered the studio to record their debut studio album, Meet Me Halfway, at Least, with producer Matt O’Grady. The album was released for pre-order from Wolf at Your Door Records on , and was released on iTunes and shops on . Two singles have been taken from this album. “Friends Like These” was released, with B-side “Hey Baby, This Is Our Song”, on , for digital download. A video was also released for this single. Their second single, “Nicotine and Alcohol Saved My Life” was released on , also via digital download.
Its music video was first shown on music channels and online from
In 2010, just prior to the mini tour with All Forgotten, the band announced that Mellor would not be embarking on these tours, due to personal circumstances, with Max d’Albiac from https://kissbrides.com/hot-guadalajara-women/ Brides replacing him. Mellor left the band on e personal problems that caused him to pull out of 2010 tours. Deaf Havana decided to continue as a four piece and a replacement for Mellor was not sought.
Pennells was formerly a member of the band Something About Dave
The band began the follow-up to 2009’s Meet Me Halfway, at Least in early 2010. They released a new demo track on Myspace and Facebook, entitled “My Life Is Average”. On , the band released a new demo track through their Facebook page entitled “Home Sweet Home”.