Viola Beach: Lauded up-and-coming indie band, featuring Jack Dakin, River Reeves, Kris Leonard and Tomas Lowe

Throughout 2015, Viola Beach had been on a roller-coaster ride of festivals, recording and radio sessions

Viola Beach, from left: Jack Dakin, River Reeves, Kris Leonard and Tomas Lowe (BBC)

Viola Beach were an indie pop band on the verge of making it on the British scene: four young, floppy-topped music fans who created dreamy guitar music with the festival feel-good factor.

They were conceived as a band in 2013 when frontman, Kris Leonard, and drummer, Jack Dakin, met by chance at Warrington bus station. They had been friends at primary school but had since lost touch – and realised that they had a shared love of music.

After initially playing with two other members, Leonard ran into guitarist River Reeves last year on a music course at Warrington's Priestley College and discovered the bassist Tomas Lowe at a local music bar. The current line-up played its debut gig in May at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

Asked recently about how growing up in the Cheshire town had influenced their music, Leonard said, “Being from Warrington has definitely had a big effect on the messages in the songs, I guess. I had nothing to do other than drink cider and smoke rollies in a park and chase after girls – that comes out a lot in the sort of tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Also, the town is very grey and industrial, so for us, this idea of escapism is something we feel quite strongly about.”

Leonard was working as a toilet cleaner when he received a text message from a friend about BBC Introducing, a showcase for young and unsigned bands. He uploaded a track and the band were soon invited to record a session at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios. It was broadcast on Radio 1 last November.

Elise Cobain of BBC Introducing described them as “emerging indie charmers” with “infectious anthems” and suggested an affinity with the bands Coasts and The Kooks. Leonard, however, was always reluctant to link the band with any particular musical influences. “I can never answer that question like a normal person does,” he said. “I'm not consciously influenced by anyone. I don't want us to be the 'next' anyone, you know?”

Such was their dedication to their music that they had lost their former jobs. “We don't actually do anything else, thinking about it,” said Leonard. “We all got fired from our jobs because we were never there to work.”

Throughout 2015, Viola Beach had been on a roller-coaster ride of festivals, recording and radio sessions. They had played at Leeds and Reading festivals on the BBC Introducing stage in August, and in Warrington the following month, at a gig headlined by Pixie Lott.

The band's debut single, “Swings and Waterslides”, was released in September and had made it on to the Radio 1 playlist. They had spent time with the producer Ian Grimble, known for his work with Mumford and Sons, to record a second single, “Boys That Sing”.

Asked how they made their songs, Leonard said, “We like to get the drums right first. Music for me is something primarily to dance to, so if you can't dance to the drumbeat we start again.”

A string of appearances had been planned for this year – on tour supporting the band Blossoms and a slot at the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, which the band had recently announced with much excitement on their Facebook page.

They had just played their first overseas gig at the Where's the Music? festival in Norrköping, Stockholm when tragedy struck: their car left the bridge over the Södertälje canal, near Stockholm, and plunged 80ft into the water below. All four band members and their manager, Craig Tarry, died. Stockholm police spokesperson, Carina Skagerlind, said that “all possible causes” were being investigated.

Tarry's father, Colin, said, “They were cracking lads, all from Warrington. Craig told us he was going to Sweden and was very excited. They were due to go to Texas next month... Craig lived for music and was so passionate about it.”

The musician Billy Bragg said “Saddened to hear of the deaths of the members of Viola Beach and their tour manager in tragic circumstances... A young band, on their first tour outside of the UK, it shouldn't have ended this way.”

The band has now made it into the Top 10 posthumously with their first single, “Swings and Waterslides”, a dancy, joyful track with lyrical hints of love and playful innocence:

Feeling a lighter breeze

The sun it shines on all you see

You squint trying to look at me

But can I use your lighter please?

You're not with me tonight

And only you could make it right