Bad Boy Chiller Crew have revealed that they considered breaking up amid “the worst time of our lives”, following their return with new music.
The Bradford rap trio, who were nominated for Best Group at the BRITs 2023, shared their new single ‘Niki Lauda’ last Friday (October 17) via Irish label Greenback Records.
According to a press release, the song ushers in “a new beginning” for the band after they sued their former record label, House Anxiety – claiming that they were owed approximately £400,000 in unpaid royalties.
A judge confirmed in July that a deal between the band and the label had expired (via BBC News). Part of the case against House Anxiety is still ongoing, and the company continues to “totally” deny the BBCC’s claim that the group is owed money.
During a new interview with BBC Newsbeat, Kane Welsh recalled the trio feeling like they were “jogging on the spot” when they were unable to release new music amid the legal proceedings.
Bad Boy Chiller Crew even considered splitting up, with Gareth “GK” Kelly explaining: “I was ready to give it up.”
He continued: “We didn’t earn a living. What we had left got thrown into solicitor and court fees. It was the worst time of our lives.”
Welsh said they had been waiting to release new material that was ready and sitting on hard drives. “We were putting all this work and effort in, eight hours a day, making music that we couldn’t even release,” he explained.
Kelly added: “But what we’re trying to do is bring the old sound back.”
Kane remembered that Bad Boy Chiller Crew had been in Magaluf when they found out they were able to share new music. “We’d just missed our flight. We got a FaceTime call, found out the good news and the flight had been forgotten about,” he said.
The group then acknowledged the rapidly changing trends within the music industry nowadays. “I feel like we took what we had for granted,” Kane said. Kelly explained: “Now, when we perform, you enjoy it a lot more. We’ve got each other and that’s all we’ve ever needed.”
As BBC News reports, House Anxiety considers itself an “artist-friendly” label and denies any wrongdoing.
The trio documented the legal battle on their summer 2025 single ‘Royalties & Loyalties’, before releasing another new track called ‘Party Time’ last month. Details of their next album are yet to be revealed.
BBCC released their mixtape ‘Full Wack No Brakes’ (2020) through the independent House Anxiety. Its follow-up, ‘Disrespectful’ (2022), and 2023 album ‘Influential’ both arrived via Relentless Records and Sony Music Entertainment UK under exclusive license from House Anxiety.
In June 2024, Bad Boy Chiller Crew independently released an EP called ‘Summer 24’. However, the project was later removed from Spotify after House Anxiety claimed it was in breach of its contract.
‘Disrespectful’ reached Number Two in the UK albums chart in 2022. NME gave the project a four-star review, writing: “Bad Boy Chiller Crew clearly just want to keep making songs that purposefully and brilliantly celebrate the hedonistic corners of life – and that desire should be embraced.
“They locate their power not just in the recording booth, but on stage, the race track and the dancefloor, fully self-aware and seemingly unstoppable.”
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