Random Hand is a British

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band, formed in

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

in 2002. Their sound combines a variety of genres, including

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and dub. The band is typically associated with the

punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of Punk rock, music, Punk ideologies, ideologies, Punk fashion, fashion, and other forms of expression, Punk visual art, visual art, dance, Punk literature, literature, and film. La ...

, due to their ethics and sociopolitical lyrical content.

Biography

Early career

Formed in late 2002, the band's original lineup consisted of Joe Tilston (bass and vocals), Robin Leitch (vocals and trombone), Matt Crosher (guitar and vocals), and Joe Dimuantes (percussion and samples). Random Hand played their first show on 31 December 2002 in a friend's basement in

Haworth Haworth ( , , ) is a village in West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines south-west of Keighley, 8 miles (13 km) north of Halifax, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhop ...

, with other shows around

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, namely in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and Halifax. In the summer of 2003, the band recorded a demo, which was given as a free release for

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

. In late 2004, the band spent time with producer TimG to record the ''On The March'' EP. The band set off on their first tour in January 2004 with Catch-it Kebabs and Zen Baseball Bat. This tour was soon followed by a self-booked UK tour in March to coincide with the release of their debut EP, ''On The March''. The band then performed at events like Morcambe's Wasted Festival and shows with

The Planet Smashers The Planet Smashers are a Canadian ska punk band from Montreal. Since their formation in 1993, they have been a staple of the Montreal music scene. During the third wave of ska, they performed nationally and later internationally, with tours in ...

, Adequate Seven,

Sonic Boom Six Sonic Boom Six (often shortened to SB6) are an English five-piece band from Manchester, United Kingdom. Their eclectic sound combines different elements of several genres and has been described by ''Kerrang!'' as "taking ska, pop, grime, du ...

Bad Manners Bad Manners are an English Two-tone (music genre), two-tone and ska Musical ensemble, band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included ''Top of the Pops'' and the live film documentary ''Dance Craze'' (1981). They were at ...

, The Beat,

Skindred Skindred is a Welsh band that fuses heavy metal with other genres, most notably reggae. Formed in Newport in 1998, they are well known for their energetic and involving live performances and have won several awards including "Best Live Band" a ...

, and Babar Luck. The latter teamed up with the band in the studio to record two tracks.

''Change of Plan''

The band began to be represented by Hidden Talent Booking in 2006. This saw Random Hand playing shows on Adequate Seven's final tour,

Lightyear A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distance, astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by t ...

's reunion tour and the ''Three Way Dance'' with Sonic Boom Six,

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and Crazy Arm, before heading to the studio to record their debut album ''Change of Plan''. The record was released on Riot Music on 7 May 2007. Following the release, the band toured with

Voodoo Glow Skulls Voodoo Glow Skulls are an American ska punk band formed in 1988 in Riverside, California, by brothers Frank, Eddie, and Jorge Casillas and their longtime friend Jerry O'Neill. Voodoo Glow Skulls first played at backyard parties and later at Spa ...

, Grown at Home, The JB Conspiracy and

Left Alone Left Alone is a punk rock band from Wilmington, California. They were formed in May 1996 by lead vocalist and guitarist Elvis Cortez. Cortez formed his own label, Smelvis Records, to release Left Alone's records, and has since expanded the la ...

, and played at the festivals City Invasion, Rebellion and

Leeds Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...

. Songs from the album received regular play on the '' Mike Davies Show'' and were played on the ''

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music. Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...

Show'', and the band recorded a session at

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...

Studios for the

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

''Punk Show'' in late 2007. Their songs also appeared on several cover CDs for '' Big Cheese Magazine''. In September 2007 Random Hand signed to independent music publisher Bomber Music also they use them to this day and for their newest album. In 2008, the band went on their first headline tour of the UK, with 20 dates across the UK. The band then joined

on their 2008 west coast United States tour. 2008 also saw performances at several festivals in the UK, in April at City Invasion in Bolton and London, and at the end of May as part of their tour with Sonic Boom Six and

Big D and the Kids Table Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts, when its members converged in college. Their first release was on their own Fork in Hand Records label, but have since teamed with Springman Records a ...

, and at Dunk Fest, Strummercamp and in August at Rebellion. The band appeared at the 2008 Reading and

on the Lock-Up stage.

''Inhale/Exhale''

In early September 2008, Random Hand announced the upcoming January 2009 release of their second album, ''Inhale/Exhale'' on Rebel Alliance Records. The band again worked with ''Change Of Plans producer Peter Miles. Random Hand recorded the album in November 2008 and it was released in February. Touring with

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

legends

Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album '' Turn the Radio Off''. So ...

followed a 21 date January headline tour in support of the new album. Separate tours with Canadian punks Propagandhi and Manchester peers Sonic Boom Six took place in April and May 2009. Visibility and awareness of the second album in comparison to Change Of Plan increased with more investment from the band and new label. A video was released for debut single 'Anger Management', which was released on CD and download in September 2009. Prior to the release, the band embarked on a 14 date UK headline tour with UK reggae band The Skints.

''Seething Is Believing''

In late 2009, the band started writing material for a third album. During January and February 2010 the band took part in the Rebel Alliance Tour with The Skints, Mouthwash & Chris Murray, with all the bands having releases on Rebel Alliance Recordings. During this tour, drummer and founding member Joe Dimuantes decided to leave the band. The band took a few months out to practice with new drummer Sean Howe who had been formerly of The Wayriders and Out From Animals. As well as to finish writing their third album. In the meantime, singer/trombonist Robin Leitch and bassist Joe Tilston played solo shows whilst the band took a break from touring. To make up for the shows missed due to van problems Random Hand played a clutch of "

pay what you want Pay what you want (or PWYW, also referred to as value-for-value model) is a pricing strategy where buyers pay their desired amount for a given commodity. This amount can sometimes include zero. A minimum (floor) price may be set, and/or a suggest ...

" shows to repay fans for cancelled shows. In June 2010, the band self re-released their first album, ''Change of Plan'' via Bomber Music with some added tracks from their "On The March" EP as ''Another Change Of Plan'' and in July the band toured to promote the release. The cover was designed by Simon Mitchell, who has provided the artwork for t-shirts, posters, album and EP covers for many underground bands such as MikeTV. On 12 December 2010, the band played a triple headline show along with

The Creepshow The Creepshow is a Canadian rock band from Burlington, Ontario. The band formed in 2005 when the four original members got together with the purpose of starting a psychobilly band. The Creepshow writes the majority of their songs about horror fi ...

and The Skints. The Hydropaths and ACiD DROP also performed as part of the Slam Dunk punk and ska all day gig at

The Cockpit The Cockpit can refer to: * Cockpit Theatre, a 17th-century theatre in London (also known as the Phoenix) that opened in 1616 * The Cockpit, a theatre in London, England that opened in 1970 * ''The Cockpit'' (OVA), a three-part anime series made ...

in Leeds. The third album ''Seething Is Believing'' was released on Bomber Music in March 2011. In April 2012, the band announced that founding member and guitarist Matthew Crosher had been told to leave the band, with Dan Walsh confirmed as his replacement.

''Hit Reset'' and hiatus

On Facebook (on the 15th February), Random Hand announced that they would be going on indefinite hiatus to allow them to spend time with their families. They ended this stage in their careers with a tour and

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects, such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist pa ...

Campaign to release their final album ''Hit Reset'', which was made available to download for donators on 13 September 2015. They ended their live career in spectacular fashion with their sell out final gig at the Camden Underworld supported by friends in Faintest Idea, River Jumpers and

, in the latter of whom provided a lot of support to Random Hand in their early days. In October 2017, after a two year break, Random Hand announced their return in 2018 with appearances at Mighty Sounds Festival in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, and OutCider Festival and Manchester Punk Festival in the UK.

''Hit Remix''

In late October 2021 Random Hand released a collaborative album with bands and artists such as

and Call Me Malcom remixing their previous album ''Hit Reset'' featuring the ''Hit Reset'' album cover with the appearance of distortion.

Random Hand

The band released their eponymous fifth album (coinciding with their twentieth anniversary) on the 20th of September 2023.

Members

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2002 till:02/01/2019 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:2002 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:2002 Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals,_trombone id:bass value:blue legend:Bass,_vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar,_vocals id:drums value:purple legend:Drums id:line1 value:black legend:Studio_albums id:line2 value:pink legend:Minor_releases LineData = layer:back color:line1 at:09/25/2007 at:01/25/2009 at:02/13/2010 at:03/04/2011 at:01/01/2015 color:line2 at:02/21/2003 at:08/04/2004 at:01/18/2013 BarData = bar:Robin text:"Robin Leitch" bar:Tiltson text:"Joe Tilston" bar:Matthew text:"Matthew Crosher" bar:Dan text:"Dan Walsh" bar:Joe text:"Joe Dimuantes" bar:Sean text:"Sean Howe" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Robin from:01/01/2002 till:end color:vocals bar:Tiltson from:01/01/2002 till:end color:bass bar:Matthew from:01/01/2002 till:03/10/2012 color:guitar bar:Dan from:04/20/2012 till:end color:guitar bar:Joe from:01/01/2002 till:05/27/2009 color:drums bar:Sean from:08/24/2009 till:end color:drums

Discography

Studio, live albums and compilations

EPs

Singles

References

{{Authority control Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom People from Keighley