Viola Beach

Viola Beach
Viola Beach in 2015
Background information
OriginWarrington, England
Genres
Years active2013–2016
Labels
Past members
  • Kris Leonard
  • River Reeves
  • Tomas Lowe
  • Jack Dakin
  • Frankie Coulson
  • Jonny Gibson

Viola Beach were an English indie rock group formed in Warrington in 2013. The band's final line-up consisted of Kris Leonard (vocals, guitar), River Reeves (guitar), Tomas Lowe (bass), and Jack Dakin (drums). All four, along with their manager Craig Tarry, were killed during their first overseas tour when their car fell from a bridge in the Swedish city of Södertälje on 13 February 2016. As of 2025, founding members Frankie Coulson (guitar) and Jonny Gibson (bass) are the last surviving members of the band.

In the week following the crash, their single "Boys That Sing" entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 80 and their previous single "Swings & Waterslides" entered at No. 11 following a public campaign to boost sales. In the same week, "Swings & Waterslides" also entered at No. 3 on the sales-only chart (which excludes streaming data) and "Boys That Sing" entered at No. 27 on the same chart. On 29 July 2016, the self-titled album was posthumously released. It reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart on 5 August 2016.