Issue 3 // 2011
“ To me the whole punk ethic is that anything goes. It’s not a sound punk; it’s an ethos.” Ask a band about their on stage nightmares and you’ll usually get told of broken equipment and occasionally over eager fans storming the stage. Maybe an incident of mid gig spewing, if you’re in the right interview. But this is the Dub Pistols and Barry Ashworth’s done everything on stage from snapping his leg to knocking himself out on a crash barrier only to be hauled back on stage by security and landing arse up with his trousers down. And his off stage infamy is even more faithfully documented. “I had loads of gear on me and a friend put me in a wheelchair… I was flicking a bean up in my mouth, doing a wheelie, landing and doing a line on the middle of the fucking table.” This in Ibiza airport in front of throngs of journalists and airport security. “But that’s just the life we led.” So when getting ready to meet the legendary geezer before a Brighton gig, I have no idea what I’m in for. But, whether it’s because he’s separated from the rest of the Pistols or simply because he’s still only a pint or so in, the Ashworth I meet looks reassuringly far from taking another mid interview public leak.
Over the past 14 years, the Dub Pistols have earned themselves notoriety and a strong and loyal fan base, despite the fact that they have always refused to conform to any one genre and have expressed a ‘distaste’ for the mainstream. Like that time Ashworth said the worst thing to happen would be Radio One liking one of their songs. When I ask why: “These are drunken rants.” Shall I get you another drink? “I’ll get one now. I think radio one is what radio one is. I think their daytime playlist is just disgusting. Simple as that. Ninety percent of the music on there is absolute rubbish.” And don’t get him started on the shows that churn out the musical wannabes. “I hate the X Factor full stop… Louis Walsh and all that vocal training that they do, and just doing covers of absolute fucking gabba.” But, with Dub Pistols announcing that their music is to feature on a new PC football game, I’m curious that, for a band so averse to the mainstream, they don’t have an issue with using their music for soundtracks. But Ashworth points out that this doesn’t involve a conflict of opinion for them.
“ We’ve had music on FIFA , we’ve had music on Tony Hawks. Most people know us from Tony hawks one of the first games. Cyclone was a big hit because of Tony Hawks. I don’t mind music on games , I’m alright. And we’ve done a lot of films as well. And now days as a band that’s a big source of income as well so I haven’t got a problem with that.” Whatever; their particular brand of bloody chaos on stage, off and in the studio has worked for the past 14 years, and with the new album in the making, Ashworth promises, “much of the same… This one, we’ve gone back a little bit rawer and I’ve been trying to aim the songs more for live than necessarily for the album… So similar sort of sound, but what is our sound I don’t know.”
Instead, he soberly assures me that he’s left a lot of that infamy in his past.
“ As much as my behaviours been well documented I’ve never wanted to advertise it. I’m lucky. I’ve been lucky.” Words
Amy Lavelle illustration
Steven Silverwood
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