The Dub Pistols coalesced in the mid-’90s and initially surfed the big beat wave along with acts like the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim. They had chart hits like ‘Cyclone’ and ‘There’s Gonna Be A Riot’ on Concrete Records, remixed the likes of Moby and Limp Bizkit, and made dramatic inroads into America. Their debut album ‘Point Blank’, cemented their position as party-rockers extraordinaire, and by the time it came to their second album around the ‘Six Million Ways To Live’, with guest vocals by reggae great Horace Andy and lead singer of The Specials, Terry Hall — they were more concerned with some of the world’s problems.
As the noughties progressed, they signed to Sunday Best and went a bit more poppy for ‘Speakers & Tweeters’, which included cover versions of ‘Rapture’ by Blondie, ‘Peaches’ by The Stranglers and ‘Gangsters‘ by The Specials – a track they had been making their own live. After guesting on their second album with ‘Problem Is’, estranged Specials singer Terry Hall started singing live with them, and the warm reaction he received from music fans was instrumental in him agreeing to reform his infamous 2-Tone band a few years later.
Next Dubs album ‘Rum & Coke’, so named after some infamous recording sessions in Barbados, introduced more guest vocalists such as former Freak Power man Ashley Slater and Beats International gal Lindy Layton, and with long-player ‘Worshipping The Dollar’ in 2012 they consolidated their position as one of the foremost festival-rockers in Europe.
2015 brought ‘The Return Of The Pistoleros’ and then 2017 saw their biggest selling album to date ‘Crazy Diamonds’. Non stop touring and creativity in the studio saw their fan base grow in numbers with continued support from all corners of the planet.
Like their incendiary live shows, their DJ sets are a riotous mix of dub, drum & bass, hip-hop, punk and ska. They’ll be heading out on tour this year in support of the new releases, album and documentary ‘What The F*** Can Possibly Go Wrong’ so look out 2020, here come the Dub Pistols.