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On this day, 24 February 2002, Cornish band Haven played Cardiff’s Barfly. The band had just released their debut album Between The Senses which peaked at #26 on the UK album charts.
The band formed after Gary Briggs moved to Cornwall and met Nathan Wason in a record shop in Penzance in 1996. After recruiting drummer Tom Lewis and London born Iwan Gronow, the band moved to Manchester in 1999 after being discovered by the former Smiths' manager Joe Moss set them up with a regular slot at The Night and Day Café.
In 2001, drummer Tom Lewis left the band and was replaced by Manchester drummer Jack Mitchell. Through Moss's Smiths connections they also played support slots for Johnny Marr's band The Healers, and others including Badly Drawn Boy. The band's first release was the Til The End EP in May 2001, with further singles following, including the top-75 UK hit "Let It Live" and their top-30 breakthrough "Say Something".They also appeared on New Music Television, presented by Marc Almond for ITV1 in 2001.
Their debut album, Between The Senses, was released in February 2002, and reached No. 26 in the UK Albums Chart. A second album was released in 2004, and the band constantly remained on tour. Their record label merged with another and the band were asked to record a third album. However, with the deadline set soon after the tour, Haven did not manage to record enough material to complete what the label wanted. They were subsequently released from their recording contract, and the band split up in 2006.
