Punk band Slaves change name to Soft Play after admitting original was ‘an issue’

‘We want to sincerely apologise to anyone we’ve offended,’ band wrote

British band Slaves, consisting of (L-R) Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent attend the Mercury Music Prize at BBC Broadcasting House on November 20, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images) (Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

The British punk band Slaves have changed their name to Soft Play and apologised to those offended by their original.

The duo, made up of frontman Laurie Vincent and drummer Isaac Holman, had been on hiatus since 2019 due to the death of Vincent’s partner, with whom he has two children.

On Friday (9 December), the band shared a statement on Twitter announcing a comeback under their new banner.

“When we called our band Slaves, it was intended solely as a reference to the grind of day to day life. As younger men, we responded to criticism of the name from a place of fear and defensiveness,” they wrote.

“[...] However, we now recognise that our original intent doesn’t change the fact that the name Slaves is an issue. In this day and age we believe it is very important that people change and make improvements no matter how far down the line they are.

“The name doesn’t represent who we are as people or what our music stands for any longer. We want to sincerely apologise to anyone we’ve offended.”

The band concluded: “Our music is for anyone and everyone.”

The Tunbridge Wells duo released their debut album Are You Satisfied? in June 2015, which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize that year.

Their most recent record, a four-track EP titled The Velvet Ditch was released in July 2019.