Making light of disability
Updated on 02 October 2008
Heavy Load, the UK's only disabled punk band, are the subject of a rockumentary released this week.
A charismatic lead singer, a drummer who dreams of solo success, two guitarists and a bass player - Heavy Load are a band just like any other.
Except that they're not. The disabled group are billed as Lewes's answer to The Ramones.
Heavy Load: extended interviews
The full script
Heavyload are as aspiring a rock band as you'll ever see. They've been together 12 years but they're a band with a difference.
Three out of the five members have a learning disability.
They write and perform their own material - songs like Is Bruce Forsyth Dead?, We Love George Michael, and We're All In A Film. The latter is a song that's only too true.
The dynamic drummer, Michael White, and the rest of the team are the stars of a documentary being released in British cinemas tomorrow.
The documentary director, Jerry Rothwell, spotted the band on a grainy leaflet in a doctor's surgery.
Their influences are diverse, from Kylie Minogue through Iron Maiden, to the inspiration behind We Love George Michael.
Centre stage too is a campaign they've launched called Stay Up Late, allowing disabled people to see the end of gigs without having to leave early when their support workers go off shift.
Heavy Load have played all over the country and toured the US, but when it comes to the rock 'n' roll lifestyle of trashing hotel rooms, they've clearly got some way to go.
