Welly pays tribute to Viola Beach band killed in car crash

Popular nightclub [W]elly is mourning the loss of rising band Viola Beach following the tragic crash that claimed all four members and their manager.

The Warrington-based band had been due to play at the music venue on February the 24th. They were aged between 19 and 32 and officially formed in May of last year.

General Manager Mark Hall told Hull Daily Mail: “I think they were just about to make it, they were OK. They were on the way up and just about to make it big.

“It’s just such a shame. They were far too young. It’s very sad.”

Band-members Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe and Jack Dakin were killed along with manager Craig Tarry when their car drove into a gap and crashed into a canal at the Saltskogs junction, 25 metres below the highway bridge.

The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday morning in the Swedish city of Stockholm.

They were performing in the Swedish music festival Where is the music? Fellow musicians who were at the festival said they were “fantastic people to be around”. They died hours after playing their first gig outside the UK.

Dates for a post-mortem have not been confirmed. The case has been passed on to a specialist traffic incident team.

Our thoughts are with their families and friends.