The Gig Cartel - Gig guide: Dub Pistols Newcastle Anarchy Brew

Dub Pistols Newcastle Anarchy Brew

(featuring Dub Pistols)

Venue: Newcastle Anarchy Brew

How many bands have the career longevity to release ten albums? They might have been perilously close to falling apart on various occasions in their history, but the Dub Pistols have rolled with the punches and are now gearing up to release their tenth album in early 2025.

It’s been a long road travelled, full of twists and turns, but with their legion of faithful fans and numerous collaborators and friends the Dubs are in a better place now than they’ve ever been, with a new album, their own festival, a documentary, a book and more international tours on the horizon. These renegade Pistoleros are unstoppable.

The Dub Pistols grew out of the big beat explosion of the mid-1990s. Big beat was the anything-goes reaction to formulaic house music, where — thanks to the wonders of sampling technology — literally anything could be thrown into a dance tune. Taking a cue from the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim, main man Barry Ashworth began making block rockin’ beats with pal Jason O’Bryan, and bombastic first offering ‘There’s Gonna Be A Riot’ was signed by Concrete Records, a subsidiary of DeConstruction.

A string of missives followed in its wake — ‘Best Get Better’, the explosive ‘Westway EP’, and then a chipper ‘Cyclone’, which dented the UK national charts — and debut album ‘Point Blank’ was released in 1998...