Heavy Load is a punk outfit subject to the inflammatory mix of ego, fantasy and desire that fuels any emerging band. The band is also, uniquely, made up of musicians with and without learning disabilities, which makes its survival a precarious negotiation between two different worlds: on the one hand the institutional timetable of day centres, work placements and social workers; on the other hand the chaotic life of rehearsal rooms, studios and gigs.

Specialising in thrash covers of late 70’s punk and punk versions of recent pop, Heavy Load is unlikely to have a top ten hit. ‘We like to take a classic song’ says guitarist Mick, ‘and crucify it’. Their cacophonic reinterpretation of Kylie’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head possesses a frenzied anarchy that bears no resemblance to the disco original. On stage the band fizz with an energy which challenges people’s narrow conceptions of the ‘spaz’ or the ‘idiot’. They triumph through a combination of raucous energy, attitude and sheer volume.

Shot over two years, including the period in which Heavy Load recorded their first album, The Queen Mother’s Dead, the film is a comedy of conflicting ambitions which captures the sweat and romance of playing in a band, and follows the band members as they move out of the ghetto of disability club nights to test whether their dreams can survive in the mainstream.