Biography
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Years Active
2008 – present (16 years)
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Founded In
Bedford, England, United Kingdom
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Members
- Luke Rayner (2008 – 2012)
- Matthew Donnelly (2008 – present)
- Robert Damiani (2008 – present)
- Simon Delaney (2008 – present)
Don Broco is a British post-hardcore band formed in Bedford, England, in 2008. The band consists of Rob Damiani (lead vocals), Simon Delaney (guitar), Tom Doyle (bass and programming) and Matt Donnelly (drums, lead and backing vocals). The band have released four studio albums, including Priorities (2012), Automatic (2015) and Technology (2018). Their most recent album Amazing Things (2021) was their first to reach No.1 in the UK Album Charts.
The band’s origins go back to before their university years during high school, attending Bedford Modern School, where they played their first gigs. However, it was not until after studying at Nottingham University that they decided to become a band.
The band name was originally going to be “DON LOCO” (Spanish for “crazy gift”); then Simon Delaney broke his wrist in a football accident, and they changed the name to DON BROCO.
They first toured England in November 2008, playing gigs in the UK. They played at several British festivals during 2009-2011, Camden Crawl, Dowload Festival, Boardmasters, Sonisphere, Slam Dunk, Underage Festival, Amersham Summer Festival among others. They have supported Enter Shikari in 2009 and 2010.
Don Broco released their debut mini-album, 'Big Fat Smile' on 14th February 2011. In the spring, they played support for We Are The Ocean alongside Lower Than Atlantis and Veara on their tour in April to May 2011. Don Broco headed out on another headline tour of 2011 with support from Burn The Fleet and Deaf Havana. Over the summer 2011, Don Broco played a number of UK Festivals including Download Festival, Sonisphere Festival and Hevy Festival, among others.
An accompanying video to the band's B-Side "We Are On Holiday" off their "Dreamboy" single was released in August 2011.
Don Broco supported Four Year Strong on their UK tour in January and February 2012. During this time, before the release of the debut album, Darren Playford and Luke Rayner left the band due to commitment issues and different interests, however they are still on good terms. The band played at several more festivals such as Hit the Deck, Great Escape and Slam Dunk and others in 2012. Don Broco were going to support Futures in April 2012, but their tour was postponed to July 2012.
On 23 March 2012, the band signed with Search and Destroy Records. The band's first single "Priorities" from their debut album of the same name was released on 20 May, with the album released on 13 August.
The band replaced original bassist with new bassist Tom Doyle. In April, the band supported You Me At Six in Dublin and Belfast on their Irish leg of their UK tour. The band replaced the support bill originally consisting of Kids In Glass Houses, The Skints and Mayday Parade, however the Irish leg was rescheduled after Josh Francheschi contracted tonsillitis. The band supported The Used on their April/May UK tour, alongside Marmozets.
In the summer and fall of 2012, Don Broco played alongside bands such as Lower Than Atlantis, Young Guns, Your Demise, Billy Talent and Awolnation.
2013 was filled with festival perfomances and tours, and the band concluded 2013 by releasing their new song "You Wanna Know" as a standalone single which also came as a bundled EP featuring various remixed versions of the song.
2014 was spent writing material for an upcoming album, as well as touring and playling alongside bands such as You Me at Six and Young Kato.
Their next album, "Automatic", was released on 7 August 2015. Their third album Technology was released on February 2nd, 2018. Amazing Things followed in 2021 and hit #1 in the UK in early 2022. In April 2022, Don Broco released the single "Fingernails" on the 25th of the month to help promote their 2023 UK Arena Tour that was announced on the same day, with Papa Roach and Dance Gavin Dance in support. In 2023, they went on to open for American rock bands Pierce the Veil and The Used on their Creative Control Tour in North America.
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