Here for your entertainment, and listening pleasure are a four piece band who hail from Liverpool and have that vital element that has been lacking in the British rock scene:- a vibrant young band, who are smart enough and articulate enough to reflect the look and feel of the UK in the present day. The band have a blend of influences which they used to startling effect. They have the social awareness of The Clash and the hard-wire paranoid skank of A Certain Radio.
Herein lies the mystery of The Dead 60's, through the album you will hear trace of everything from Desmond Dekker, The Skatallites, Lee 'Scratch' Perry to Public Image Ltd, Happy Mondays and The Cure. These boys have got what it takes. The band comprise of Matt McManamon (Lead Singer and Guitar), Ben Gordon (Keys and Guitar), Charlie Turner (Bass) and Bryan Johnson (Drums). The name The Dead 60's is a dig at the Mersey seal of approval "You sound dead 60's!!!" These four Liverpudlians have produced a dazzling debut album of raw quality and sustenance!
Lyrically The 60's delivery a pin-sharp commentary about the world around them. From a country where every city centre, after dark, leads to drunken and disorderly behavior. Deserted and silent, except for the whirring of lonely CCTV cameras. The growth of new towns which encourage discontent, and where even a walk home from the pub after closing time can bring an unwanted element of danger.
The band was formed in the south of Liverpool, by at the time two rival school bands. The bands members had been creating musical sounds from an early age. Influenced by styles such as Jamaican, Ska, Punk and Dub via a relatives record collection, they spent eight months in a studio "learning to play like the wailers". The band were spotted by eagled eyed Deltasonic Boss Alan Wills, who signed the band to his label, barely a year after they had formed!
First single released was You're not the law, this reeked of spook-core skank, leading to the first display of their trademark "Horrorshow-ska". This was to be follow by the single Riot Radio. This was the record that shot them into the ska-dom! Just under two and half minutes of intense-infectious agitated pop. This was to be an NME track of the week! This accolade was brought to the attention of one Stephen Morrissey. The next logic step and one that soon materialized was the band setting off on tour with the man himself.
Next up was The Last Resort, this reached the dizzying heights of a top 20 placing in the charts. This triggered the penning of a contract for the mighty Q Prime Management (home to among others Metallica and Red Hot Chilli Peppers), along side the fact that Riot Radio had become the #3 most Added track at Alternative Radio in America (behind Coldplay and The White Stripes), whilst claiming huge credit for filling every dance floor in Japan.
After returning from tour the band set to recording their debut album, in what were described as many "live sessions". The record was recorded in just six weeks in Liverpool's The Ranch with maverick producer Central Nervous System. Recording sessions had an almost claustrophobic edge to them and this gave the tracks and album as a whole a looser groove with a genuine menace. Red Light pitches skeletal rhythms to the sorted of spooked commentary reserved only for The Skatalites, whilst the sparse New Town Disorder is a damning indictment about the town planners dream going seriously wrong! We Get Low sees The Dead 60's at their most light-hearted. Control This and Loaded Gun reflect the jittery punk funk of the early Happy Mondays, whilst the real gem of the album is Nowhere. A gothic, spliff-at-midnight mantra! It's as if The Dead 60's have the ability to document city life for years to come!
Thirteen razor-sharp songs aimed at both the head and the feet. Thirteen songs which are head and shoulders above their peers and serve as proof that observations of life's bitterest pills often brings the most valuable rewards.
Buy this album! A great band with a great future!!!!!