Sports Team

The group met whilst studying at the University of Cambridge, aside from Dewdney, who studied at the University of Bristol.[5][6] The band performed in their early days at the Portland Arms, a pub in the north of Cambridge.[7] The band's members continued to work their day jobs until they became better known.[7] Henry Young was a sports reporter for CNN.[8][7]

Their debut EP Winter Nets was released in January 2018 on Nice Swan Records, and their sophomore EP Keep Walking! was released in 2019.[9]

Their debut album Deep Down Happy was released on 5 June 2020 on Island Records and Bright Antenna Records.[10][11] The lead single Here's The Thing was released on 17 February 2020.[12] The album received four out of five stars from NME, and was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2020.[13][14][15]

Sports Team also released a limited edition B-sides and rarities vinyl on 28 May 2021 called Plant Test, which they announced on their Instagram. It was made only available at independent retailers in the UK.[16]

On 28 March 2022 the band announced their second album, Gulp!, alongside lead single "R Entertainment".[17] Gulp was released on 23 September 2022, and received four out of five stars from NME.[18]

After releasing their debut EP Winter Nets, the band performed a show in September 2018 at Scala in London, which the band's lyricist Knaggs described as when the group started "being in a band nearly every single day".[19]

Following the Scala show, the band went on to play at both Electric Ballroom and O2 Forum Kentish Town in 2019 with sell-out shows.[19] The band's preference for surprise shows at venues like The Nag's Head in Camberwell led to DIY describing the shows as harking "back to the heady days of The Libertines".[19]

The band have been described as holding unusual engagements with their fans, from their annual trips to Margate by coach where "fans, bands and booze collide for unscripted antics",[19] and for taking "whole venues to the pub with them" after a show.[19]

However this has been balanced with media commentary on the band's Cambridge educations, at a time when bands like Idles and Fontaines D.C. have pushed working class lyrics.[20] Alex Rice notably drew criticism for declaring in The Guardian that HMLTD were “one of the worst bands ever” in part due to the fact their members "go to Goldsmiths".[21] Clash stated in 2019 that "Sports Team can’t quite shake off their entitlement".[22]

• Official website