Cub Sport is an Australian pop group from Brisbane, Queensland. The band is composed of singer/songwriter/producer Tim Nelson, keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Zoe Davis, keyboardist/vocalist Sam "Bolan" Netterfield and drummer Dan Puusaari. To date, the band has released four EPs and four studio albums.
History
2010–2013: Career beginnings
Originally formed by singer-songwriter Tim Nelson in 2010 as a backing band for his solo songs, the band released a self-titled debut EP that same year, Tim Nelson & The Cub Scouts. Following a line-up change, the band shortened the name to simply Cub Scouts in 2011. Under the new name, they released two singles—"Evie" in 2011 and "Do You Hear" in 2012—before releasing their second EP Told You So in October 2012. The title track gained popularity on US college radio. The band officially changed their name to Cub Sport in August 2013 following a legal dispute with Scouts Australia. In 2013, they released their third EP, Paradise, which featured two singles: "Pool!" and the title track.
2014–2018: ''This Is Our Vice'' and ''Bats''
Lead guitarist Andrew Williams departed from the band in 2014. He was not replaced, converting the band into a four-piece and shifting both Nelson and bassist Zoe Davis to additional guitar duties. In 2015, the band released the first single from their debut album, "Only Friend". The album, This Is Our Vice, followed on 4 March 2016. In August 2016, they performed a cover of Kanye West's "Ultralight Beam" on the Triple J segment Like a Version. The third and final single from This Is Our Vice, "Come On Mess Me Up", reached number 24 on the 2016 Triple J Hottest 100, their first ever appearance in the annual countdown. Cub Sport toured nationally and internationally in support of This Is Our Vice, both as headliners and support to acts including Ball Park Music, Loon Lake, Andy Bull, Saskwatch, The 1975 and Big Scary. On 30 June 2017, Cub Sport released the first single from their second album, the gospel-influenced "O Lord". The song was written about lead singer Tim Nelson's experience after coming out and his fear of losing his relationship with Netterfield, his now-husband as he felt he finally "had everything to lose". The album, entitled Bats, was released on 22 September 2017 and saw the release of two further singles "Chasin" and "Good Guys Go". The band toured extensively in support of the album, including a sold-out headlining Australian tour in March, a national support for Vance Joy in September and headlined Aurora Aksnes in October. A video for "Hawaiian Party" was released in September 2018, which was directed and produced by the Dolan Twins. The video surpassed one million views within a week of its upload.
2019: ''Cub Sport'' and ''333''
In October 2018, Cub Sport released "Sometimes", the release coincided with the news that the band would release their third self-titled album in January 2019. In November 2018, Cub Sport were inaugural winner of the ARIA Emerging Artist Scholarship. Cub Sport was released on 18 January 2019 via the band's own imprint, Cub Sport Records and peaked at number 12 on the ARIA Charts. During their Australian tour in April, a live review said that lead singer Tim Nelson "is literally like Brisbane's Justin Bieber but more indie and more gay". In October, Cub Sport confirmed a duet with Darren Hayes titled "I Never Cried So Much in My Whole Life". In December 2019, Cub Sport announced the release of the EP 333, which included three singles released weekly over the month. Tim Nelson said "333 is made up of three songs that fit together to conjure a feeling of deep and healing euphoria".
Cub Sport's music has featured on a number of television programs, including Please Like Me, Scream, Are You the One?, The Only Way Is Essex, Switched at Birth and Awkward.
