Gareths been at it again, pulling out another gem of the UK music scene. Thee Dagger Debs, no-nonsense pub-rock ‘n’ roll three-piece from the grim South (as in proper South, not Midlands type South, even more South *shudders*) have been kicking about as a band for roughly 5 years now but Letty, Laura and Delia are hardly on their first rodeos. With plenty of musical experience under their belts, it’s no wonder they quickly grabbed the attention of Damaged Goods Records who snapped them up, releasing their debut self titled album. It’s been an impressive ride so far, with air time of Radio BBC 6 Music, supporting the likes of Eddie and the Hot Rods, Johnny Moped and a whole host of other big names alongside their own hard-hitting tours of the UK and Spain, oh and legal action over their name but we’ll get onto that! So without further delay, I’ll hand this one over to Gareth…
So for those still not in the know, who are you and what’s your band all about?
We are Thee Dagger Debs and I guess you could say we’re all about proper pub-rock. You know, the sort of British R’n’B that you’d hear in the back of some carpeted boozer back in the day. And obviously as we are from now, not then, we also chuck in some 60s garage tinges, and glittery glam for good measure.
Right, lets get this out of the way, weren’t you involved in some legal case based on your old band name? What happened there?
Ugh. The biggest load of nonsense. We were threatened with court action if we didn’t change our name from one thing to something else, because potentially we would be misleading the public or some bollocks.
I heard your new album, on Damaged Goods, and it sounds great. What goes into making a great record from your perspective?
Well obviously you’ve got to have the tunes perfected before you get in there! (Saves faffing about) We had three days to record and mix the album, so we worked our arses off. But we worked with Mike Mariconda (Raunch Hands) and Tena at Sol de Sants studios in Barcelona. Best place we could’ve chosen for our debut. Those lads know their shit. And also sunshine and seaside so perfick.
How did this relationship with Espana begin?
The first time we played in Spain was I think in 2015. Since then we’ve done two tours there and I reckon we’ll probably go again at some point- we enjoy every minute of it. Proper party people!
On a another topic, how do you feel about the state of punk music in the UK? You’ve played up and down the country, do gigs down south differ much to gigs oop north?
It’s a tricky one. I think time and place always has an effect on gigs, but I reckon the punk scene as a whole (so including 60s garage, 70s proto punk and late 70s post punk etc) is still going strong. Maybe not as strong as it was years back, but that has a lot to do with venues closing down or changing. The best nights have always been the little cheap boozers with late licenses! There are plenty of great venues up North and we managed to play a few in our first Tour The North and we’ll be going back to a few at the end of May. Really good people up there too. Very supportive and
instant friends.
Do you think the Internet has diluted punk or do you think it’s made it
stronger now that the movement is much more globally united or is it globally divided?
I don’t really know the scene without the internet! (Ah, the youth of me..) It massively helps when organising gigs or spreading the word about things, but people still like stuff down on paper as well- photocopy fliers or fanzines are still necessary ‘cause people like to collect stuff. Or maybe that’s just me. But I dunno, it’s certainly made the world smaller.
How important do you feel politics are in alternative music? With the world going to shit – is this the time for people to rise up and say ‘fuck off?’
Politics have always had a place in music, whether ‘alternative’ or not, and now is definitely the time for bands to shout it from the rooftops. As my good friend Tim Wells (Bard of Stoke Newington) has said ‘We’ve never had it so bad.’
What does the future hold for the band?
Well we’ve got a few gigs coming up in London (Pump it Up! Fest at The Lexington at the end of July) and our 2nd Tour The North. We’re also starting work on a load of new material and will be deciding what’s going where in terms of a new album and some other releases. We’ll also be getting a proper video done for a new single!
Nice, I keep seeing on your Instagram you have some quality t-shirts available, how can I get my fat sausage fingers on them?
Oh aye, not many of them left! Just email us at theedaggerdebs@gmail.com and we’ll get round to sorting it out. Or just come to one of our gigs. We always like to change our merch so once it’s gone, it’s gone!
Any final words of wisdom?
Come to our gigs and buy me a lager top.
-End Interview-
Cheers for that! We’re looking forward to hearing the new material, hopefully see you up this side of the border some time in the near future. You can catch Thee Dagger Debs this bank holiday weekend as they hit the road for Tour The North #2:
24/05, Chesterfield @ The Neptune Beer Emporium
25/05, Stockton-on-Tees @ Get Hip
26/05, Huddersfield @ Northern Quarter
27/05, Manchester @ Night & Day Cafe
Check out their social media for more gig news and updates on their upcoming releases. Twitter @theedaggerdebs, Instagram @theedaggerdebs and Facebook @ you guessed it, Thee Dagger Debs! Do your ears a favour and grab their record out on Damaged Goods Records.
No CD on Damaged Goods, just vinyl.