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The Dub Pistols are following a sold out European tour, plus extensive summer festival and winter tours last year with some spring business. The venerable electronic/dub icons are preparing to get stuck into a series of UK shows loaded with the promise of some new material too.

Plotting a string of dates across the nation, the Pistols will be tearing-up stages from the 28 February to 24 April 2020, with confirmed appearances in Milton Keynes, Norwich, Leeds, Bristol, Southend and beyond, including Torquay on April 4.

An Ibiza original

Dubbed ‘the hardest working man in showbiz’ by music industry peers, Barry has worked in music all his adult life. An Ibiza original who had his life changed by acid house, he started running club-nights in London and had soon formed a band, Deja Vu, who arrived during the Flowered Up/Happy Mondays ‘baggy’ era. When Deja Vu split, Barry started DJing and the Dub Pistols formed out of some of these madcap DJ sessions.

Big bad basslines

Releasing the first Dub Pistols album, ‘Point Blank’ in 1998, the last two decades have been a riot of storming shows, missed opportunities, big bad basslines, calamities and triumphs — with scarcely a dull moment in between.

Addict

Fast forward to 2020, and Barry Ashworth’s merry gang of outlaw reprobates are busier than ever and remain an unstoppable force in the UK’s alternative music scene. With a new album Addict slated for release in the autumn (on Sunday Best), the premiere of a brand new band documentary and much more, 2020 promises to be off the chain for the Dub Pistols.

Addict — named after a soon-to-be-released new track ‘Addicted To The Bassline’ (featuring Cheshire Cat) – is the name of what we will soon know as the eighth Dub Pistols album. Already shaping up to be one of the year’s essential releases, the record promises a melting pot of dubwise sensibility, junglist riddims and feelgood party anthems.

Following directly-on from their Official UK Top 40 chart and UK Independent chart Top 5 album Crazy Diamonds, the Pistols’ upcoming LP will feature mic skills from 2-Tone heroine Rhoda Dakar, stalwart MC Navigator, long-term collaborator Lindy Layton, and foundation MCs the Ragga Twins, as well as permanent live vocalist of the past few years, Mr Seanie T. As Barry confidently confirms: “I think it’s the best album we’ve ever done”.

Good-time listening

Whilst the record is guaranteed to be an electrifying, good-time listening experience as you might expect; it hasn’t arrived without its personal difficulties. During the recording process, the Dub Pistols tragically lost one of their most prominent members, Will Hensel. Whilst nothing will replace Will’s energy and influence, the album will aim to pay fitting tribute to the dearly departed Dub Pistol. “[Losing Will] was a real down-point” says Barry, “but we want to celebrate him in this album.”

Documentary

Ahead of the new album, The Pistoleros will also premiere a music documentary that is set to put a spotlight on the band’s extraordinary career to date: ‘WCPGW?’. Standby for further details about the film’s release in due course.

Addict tour

Barry and crew are now preparing to debut their much anticipated new material at UK venues on their upcoming Addict Tour, before sizing-up a series major festival appearances across the globe such as Snowbombing (Austria), Tribal Gathering (Panama), Splore Festival (New Zealand), Electric Castle (Romania), plus UK stalwarts like Camp Bestival, Boomtown and more.

And as if there wasn’t enough on their plates already, the band will also be hosting their own: Mucky Weekender festival at a “Secret Location” in Sussex on the 11th-12th September 2020. So-named after one of their most popular live tracks, the festival is returning for the second time after a roaring SOLD OUT success in 2019 and will boast a hand-picked bill of their favourite DJs and performers including: Justin Robertson, A-Skillz, Uncle Dugs, Jon Carter, Too Many T’s, Don Letts, Doorly and many more; alongside a headline performance from Dub Pistols themselves.

Mucky Weekender

Speaking about putting-on the Mucky Weekender, Barry says: “I’ve always wanted to do my own festival, having come from a promoting background… God-knows if I’m just being an idiot, but I’ve been to enough festivals in my time to know what makes a good festival. I’ve helped so many people with their festivals, so it seems only natural to do our own thing now as well.”

Riotous collision

Full line up and details of the Mucky Weekender can be found here: https://mucky-weekender.co.uk Every bit the riotous collision of drum & bass, hip-hop, ska, dub and punk they’ve always been, Dub Pistols continue to push the boundaries with every release they put to their name. With a reputation as one of the most consistently exhilarating live acts on the touring circuit, don’t miss Barry and the band launching the irrepressible material of their new album ‘Addict’ from this Spring onwards…

Tour postponed

‘ADDICT TOUR’ 2020
28/02 – MILTON KEYNES, The Craufurd Arms
06/03 – PORTSMOUTH, Wedgewood Rooms
07/03 – DOVER, The Booking Hall
20/03 – NORWICH, Epic Studios
21/03 – ALDERSHOT, West End Centre
27/03 – LEEDS, Brudenell Social Club
28/03 – DERBY, The Hairy Dog0
3/04 – BRISTOL, The Fleece
04/04 – TORQUAY, The Foundry
17/04 – SOUTHEND, Chinnery’s
24/04 – TELFORD, Albert’s Shed