Bodyslam (band) - History

History

Bodyslam was originally called La-On (Thai: ละอ่อน) which means kids or younger people in the Lanna language. In 1996, the band entered a band competition for high school students called "Hot Wave Music Awards" and won first prize, beating nearly a hundred other bands. La-on quickly signed a record deal with record company Music Bugs, and released a self-titled pop-rock album in 1997. "Dai Rue Plao" (ได้หรือเปล่า) became their most recognized song. The band members portrayed roles of themselves in the lakorn (Thai TV series) Thep Niyai Nai Sano (เทพนิยายนายเสนาะ) and later released the series' soundtrack that same year.

The band returned in 2002 under the new name Bodyslam, shifting to heavier rock music with only three of the original six members remaining. The first self-titled album under their new name as a three-piece band was successful. The second album, Drive, was released in 2003, becoming equally successful as their previous album. They won Channel Thailand Music Video Awards for "Favorite Group" for the music video Plai Thang (ปลายทาง: End of the road).

After the second album, the band went through many changes. They left Music Bugs and later signed a deal with Genie Records, a subsidiary of GMM Grammy, Thailand's largest record company. The band's guitarist Ratthapol "Pao" Pannachet left the band for a solo career (with an album in November 2005). Bodyslam then became a four-piece band. Bodylsam's long-time touring drummer, Chad, was finally announced as an official member and had appeared in music videos, posters, and album covers. The fourth member was Thanachai "Yod" Tantrakul, the new guitarist who was brought in to replace Pao.

Bodyslam's third album Believe was released in April 2005 and made them one of GMM Grammy's premier bands. The success of this album rocketed the band to stardom and took them on a long national tour which took up most of 2005 and some of 2006. They won 4th Fat Awards for "Favorite Album" and "Khwam Chuea" became "Song of The Year".

On 15 September 2007, Bodyslam released their fourth album Save my life and a major concert in Bangkok followed in early October of that same year.

The success of the new album had brought them a bigger fan base. They became one of the most popular bands in Thailand. Save My Life won Season Awards for "Best Rock Group", "Best Rock Album" and "Best Rock Song" for "Yahpid" (ยาพิษ: Poison) in March 2008.

The single "Kraam" (คราม: Light blue) was release in November 2009, and the fifth studio album of the same name, was released in the spring of 2010 (After late to June 2010 with 2010 Thai political protests). They performed the largest concert in Thailand called Bodyslam Live in Kraam, at Rajamangala National Stadium on November 27, 2010 with an audience of 65,000 people. They finished their tour on April 7, 2011 with the Bodyslam Live in Laos : World Tour at New Laos National Stadium.

They are currently planning their next album, the first single from which has already been released.

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