last years hero

Formed in 2001, Australian pop punk rockers Last Years Hero are a band that are on a steady road of progression, as songwriters, performers and as a talented act that are determined to turn their dreams into reality.

The history of the band is short and sweet. Their debut release – “Start Over” EP was released in November 2002, enjoys a few spins on Triple J and Triple M and ends up selling just over 2000 copies in Australia before getting licensed by Japanese punk rock specialists, Big Mouth (Brand New, Yellowcard, One Dollar Short) who sell a further 6000 copies in Japan and then getting a track on a US compilation put out by Nice Guy Records which put them alongside bands like Midtown, Blueline Medic and Strike Anywhere.

The release and success of “Start Over” (2002) would see the band work hard on the live front in their hometown of Perth, and providing the foundations for their 1st tour of Australia’s eastern states. Hard work on the live front resulted in great turnouts to the band’s shows resulting in support slots throughout 2003 and early 2004 with high profile international and national bands such as No Use For A Name, Guttermouth, Frenzal Rhomb, Bodyjar, Useless ID, Yellowcard, Strung Out, Less Than Jake and One Dollar Short, plus performances at the Cosmonautical and Yak It Up youth festivals performing to crowds of over 5000.

2004 was a massive year for the band. The release of their very successful debut album TELL YOU WHEN (2004) saw them tour the Australian country side relentlessly and embark on their first international tour. The album has been well received and has been a success throughout Australia due to the band making trips to the east coast four times in 2004 including the Triple J and Blunt Magazine presented national album tour. Meanwhile as well as the album doing well in Australia, it was going through the roof in Japan, selling over 7000 copies and staying in the top ten punk charts at Tower Records for weeks including at stint in the number 1 spot. This led to an amazing 6 date SMASH JPN presented tour of Japan with US punk rockers Rufio, Pulley and Don’t Look Down in November 2004. The tour was a huge success winning over crowds and adding to their ever growing popularity.

On the home front LYH played a number of high profile festivals and shared the stage with numerous big name outfits from across the globe. The Soundwave Festival was a highlight for the band, playing to thousands of people and sharing the stage with US bands Lagwagon, MXPX and Unwritten Law. The perfect end to the year was just ahead scoring the sold out Perth New Found Glory/Reggie and the Full Effect support slot.

2005 kicked off to a great start, with LAST YEARS HERO scoring their first appearance on the BIG DAY OUT which was something special for the band to be a part of, and quickly followed up with support slots for Strung Out in April, which were the last shows for the band before knuckling down to start writing material for their new record. The band has spent some time refining their sound and is almost ready to unleash their refreshing brand of Power Pop/Rock, combined with their punk rock ethos that makes for an energetic, exciting and entertaining experience. With the band in the pre-production stages of the new record, and having secured recent support slots for Silverstein and Taking Back Sunday, Last Years Hero continue work building audiences for their music.

With new drummer Ryan McNally in tow, and the search currently on to secure a new label for release of their forthcoming second album, Last Years Hero are a band looking forward to a year of change, and with it, the possibilities that lay ahead.
If the potential coming out of the new songs is anything to go by, 2007 could well be the year that Last Years Hero step into the limelight and show the world that a bunch of young rockers from the most isolated city in the world can mix it with the best.