Bring Me The Horizon: who are the Sheffield rock band set to headline the 20th Download Festival in 2023?

Bring Me The Horizon have been announced as headliners of next year’s 20th anniversary four-day edition of Download Festival.

The rock band, formed in Sheffield, will take to the stage on Friday 9 June, at the festival in Donington Park, Castle Donington, Derby.

Singer Oli Sykes said: “Download Festival was one of the first festivals I ever attended as a punter. It was our first amazing festival experience to play as a band, and now the fact that we are headlining such a prestigious event blows my mind. We can’t wait to bring a whole new sound and show for the Download audience.”

But who are the band, and what songs are they known for? Here’s everything you need to know.

Who are Bring Me The Horizon?

BRIT and Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum selling Bring Me The Horizon are a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004.

The band, consisting of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fish, are one of the most electrifying and successful rock bands to emerge from the UK scene.

They have received four Kerrang! Awards, including two for Best British Band and one for Best Live Band, and have been nominated for two Grammy Awards.

The band have released five studio albums and has sold over 4 million records worldwide.

What are their biggest hits?

Bring Me the Horizon’s biggest hits include Throne, Drown, Happy Song and Can You Feel My Heart.

The group’s biggest-ever UK single is Throne, with 412,500 chart sales. The song peaked at number 51 on the UK charts but has millions of streams.

“Can You Feel My Heart” is the opening track and third single from Bring Me The Horizon’s fourth studio album Sempiternal.

It debuted on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart at number 26 on 7 April 2013 and later peaked in the top five, eventually spending 12 weeks in the top 40.

In 2019, Billboard ranked the song number eight on their list of the ten greatest Bring Me The Horizon songs, and in 2022, Kerrang ranked the song number six on their list of the 20 greatest Bring Me the Horizon songs.

"Drown," which features on the band's fifth studio album That'sThe Spirit, was released on 21 October 2014. It reached No. 17 in the UK, becoming the band's first top-20 single in their home country.

"Happy Song" was another song featured on 2015’s That's The Spirit and was released as the second single from the album on 13 July 2015.

The single topped the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and reached number 55 on the UK Singles Chart. It made the number 2 spot on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and number 19 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart.

How did Bring Me the Horizon get their name?

Their name comes from a line of dialogue spoken by Captain Jack Sparrow in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, where Captain Jack Sparrow says: "Now, bring me that horizon."

Matt Kean told EastScene: "At the time, there were a lot of bands that had names that you would associate with this kind of music. They just stayed away from all the pretentious or predictable stuff. And they were sitting around one day watching the movie and heard the line and thought it would be a laugh."

When is Bring Me the Horizon performing?

Bring Me The Horizon are currently touring and will visit several European cities throughout early 2023, before returning to the UK to play at Download Festival.

The band are scheduled to play in the following cities:

• Hannover, Germany, Swiss Life Hall - 2 February 2023
• Berlin, Germany, Max-Schmeling-Halle - 3 February 2023
• Frankfurt, Germany, Festhalle Frankfurt - 4 February 2023
• Gliwice, Poland, Arena Gliwice - 6 February 2023
• Prague, Czech Republic, Small Sports Hall - 7 February 2023
• Vienna, Austria, Wiener Stadthalle Halle D - 9 February 2023
• Munich, Germany, Zenith, Die Kulturhalle - 10 February 2023
• Assago, Italy, Mediolanum Forum - 11 February 2023
• Toulouse, France, Zenith Toulouse Metropole - 13 February 2023
• Lisbon, Portugal, Sala Tejo, Altice Arena - 15 February 2023
• Madrid, Spain, Palacio Vistalegre - 18 February 2023
• Barcelona, Spain, Sant Jordi Club - 19 February 2023
• Basel, Switzerland, St. Jakobshalle - 21 February 2023
• Stuttgart, Germany, Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle - 22 February 2023
• Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ziggo Dome - 24 February 2023
• Hamburg, Germany, Barclays Arena - 25 February 2023
• Düsseldorf, Germany, Mitsubishi Electric HALLE - 26 February 2023
• Antwerp, Belgium, Lotto Arena - 28 February 2023
• Castle Donington, UK, Download Festival - 8 June 2023

How can I get tickets to watch Bring Me the Horizon?

Tickets for their performance at Download Festival go on general sale this Thursday (10 November) at 10 am. There is a pre-sale open now for Barclaycard card holders.

Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster.