Dub Pistols
Encyclopedia
Dub Pistols are a London
based dub music
and big beat
band
, founded by ex-club
promoter
, Barry Ashworth, in 1996. The other members of the band were record producer
and bassist
Jason O'Bryan, Brooklyn
producer and lyricist
, T. K. Lawrence on vocals
, Jap Slut guitarist
John King, and turntablist DJ Stix / Steve Hunt. Guest songwriter
s and vocalists
include Blade
, James Dewes Sheffield (JMS), Rodney King and Terry Hall
. In 2008 Dan Bowskill joined the band.
"There's Gonna Be a Riot" and "Best Got Better". By the time of their 1998 debut album Point Blank
, big beat appeared to have run its course, however Dub Pistols remained an infectious live draw, startling audiences in the United Kingdom
and around the world. The group's second album, Six Million Ways to Live
, appeared in 2001 and was followed a year later by the mix album Y4K: Next Level Breaks.
To date, they have released three studio
album
s as well as contributing to numerous film
soundtrack
s, including Blade II
, Bad Company, and Mystery Men
. They have also released a significant number of remix
ed tracks from other artists
. The most notable of these include a remix of Ian Brown
's "Dolphins Were Monkeys
", Limp Bizkit
's "My Way
", The Crystal Method
's "Do It", and Moby
's "James Bond Theme
".
Their third album, Speakers and Tweeters was released in 2007 through Sunday Best
and features T. K. Lawrence, JMS, Blade, Rodney P and Terry Hall
.
Their latest album Rum'n'Coke was released in May 2009 to a wide musical acclaim.
game FreQuency. The same song was also featured in the multi-platform game Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2
. Their song "Cyclone", featuring T. K. Lawrence was featured in the multi-platform game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
. The song "Soldiers", featuring Planet Asia
was featured in Final Fight: Streetwise
. "Running From The Thoughts", featuring T. K. Lawrence and Terry Hall was used in NBA Live 08
and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
. The song "Gotta Learn" was featured in EA Sports
' FIFA 99. And finally, the song "Open" was used in Dance Dance Revolution X
for the PlayStation 2.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
based dub music
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
and big beat
Big beat
Big beat is a term employed since the mid-1990s by the British music press to describe much of the music by artists such as The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, and Propellerheads typically driven by heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns in...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, founded by ex-club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
promoter
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
, Barry Ashworth, in 1996. The other members of the band were record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Jason O'Bryan, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
producer and lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
, T. K. Lawrence on vocals
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
, Jap Slut guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
John King, and turntablist DJ Stix / Steve Hunt. Guest songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
s and vocalists
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
include Blade
Blade (rapper)
Blade is a British rapper, born in the Armenian quarter of Iran and came to London when he was 7. His first single, Lyrical Maniac recorded in 1989, soon brought Blade to prominence in the fledgling British hip hop scene....
, James Dewes Sheffield (JMS), Rodney King and Terry Hall
Terry Hall (singer)
Terry Hall is the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas. He has released two solo albums and has also collaborated with many artists including David A...
. In 2008 Dan Bowskill joined the band.
Career
The band debuted in late 1998 with the singlesSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"There's Gonna Be a Riot" and "Best Got Better". By the time of their 1998 debut album Point Blank
Point Blank (Dub Pistols album)
-Track listing:# "Unique Freak" # "Best Got Better" # "Cyclone" # "Ghetto" # "Towerblock Trash" # "Westway" # "Keep Movin'" # "Point Blank" # "Blaze the Room" # "Anarchy"...
, big beat appeared to have run its course, however Dub Pistols remained an infectious live draw, startling audiences in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and around the world. The group's second album, Six Million Ways to Live
Six Million Ways to Live
Six Million Ways To Live is an album by dub electronica band Dub Pistols, released in 2005. It was originally released in 2001 as a promotional CD with a different track list.-Track listing:# "Sound Clash" - 01:14...
, appeared in 2001 and was followed a year later by the mix album Y4K: Next Level Breaks.
To date, they have released three studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s as well as contributing to numerous film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s, including Blade II
Blade II
Blade II is a 2002 superhero vampire film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Blade. It is the sequel of the Blade film series. It was written by David S. Goyer, who also wrote the previous film...
, Bad Company, and Mystery Men
Mystery Men
Mystery Men is a 1999 comedy film based on a Dark Horse comic book series feature in Flaming Carrot Comics by Bob Burden, directed by TV commercial director Kinka Usher. It stars William H. Macy, Ben Stiller, and Hank Azaria as a trio of lesser superheroes with fairly unimpressive superpowers who...
. They have also released a significant number of remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed tracks from other artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. The most notable of these include a remix of Ian Brown
Ian Brown
Ian George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
's "Dolphins Were Monkeys
Dolphins Were Monkeys
"Dolphins Were Monkeys" is the second single from Ian Brown's second solo album, Golden Greats. Released on 7 February 2000, it placed at number five on the UK Singles Chart. The single edit is also featured on Brown's compilation album, The Greatest...
", Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 1995, the group's lineup consists of Fred Durst , Wes Borland , Sam Rivers , John Otto and DJ Lethal . The band achieved mainstream success with their second studio album Significant Other, released in 1999...
's "My Way
My Way (Limp Bizkit song)
My Way is a song by Limp Bizkit, from their album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. It was the fourth single released from the album.There were three versions of this single released, but only two were widely available...
", The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...
's "Do It", and Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
's "James Bond Theme
James Bond Theme (Moby's re-version)
"James Bond Theme " is American electronica musician Moby's remake of The James Bond Theme used in the series of James Bond films. This remake was featured in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and is also featured as the second track in Moby's compilation I Like to Score, a compilation of...
".
Their third album, Speakers and Tweeters was released in 2007 through Sunday Best
Sunday Best (music company)
Sunday Best is the British music company founded and run by BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob da Bank. Its primary business is as a record label, but it also stages regular club nights and is the flagship organisation behind the UK music festival Bestival, which takes place on the Isle of Wight each...
and features T. K. Lawrence, JMS, Blade, Rodney P and Terry Hall
Terry Hall (singer)
Terry Hall is the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas. He has released two solo albums and has also collaborated with many artists including David A...
.
Their latest album Rum'n'Coke was released in May 2009 to a wide musical acclaim.
UK shows 2011
The Dub Pistols will be playing the Live and Unsigned Tour at The Hove Centre in Brighton on Saturday 16th April. The punk, dance, reggae duo will be taking to the stage as special guests.Video game soundtracks
Various Dub Pistols songs have been featured in video games. The song "Official Chemical", featuring vocals by JMS, Baqi Abdush-Shaheed and T. K. Lawrence was featured in the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
game FreQuency. The same song was also featured in the multi-platform game Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2
Mat Hoffman Pro BMX 2 is the sequel to Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX. It was made available for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.-Gameplay:...
. Their song "Cyclone", featuring T. K. Lawrence was featured in the multi-platform game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, often abbreviated as THPS2, is the second game in the Tony Hawk's series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2000...
. The song "Soldiers", featuring Planet Asia
Planet Asia
Planet Asia aka King Medallions is an underground hip hop MC from Fresno, California who is a member of hiphop groups the Cali Agents, and Skhool Yard...
was featured in Final Fight: Streetwise
Final Fight: Streetwise
Final Fight: Streetwise is a 3D beat-'em-up produced by Capcom, released in North America and the PAL region for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in . It is a spin-off of the original Final Fight developed by the American team of Capcom Production Studio 8...
. "Running From The Thoughts", featuring T. K. Lawrence and Terry Hall was used in NBA Live 08
NBA Live 08
NBA Live 08 is the 2007 installment of the NBA Live series by EA Sports. It was released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, PC , and PlayStation Portable. This is the first NBA video game to include all three next-generation consoles...
and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
The Wii version was nominated for several Wii-specific awards by IGN in its 2008 video game awards, including Best Sports Game, Best Local Multiplayer Game, Best Online Multiplayer Game, Best Use of the Wii-Mote,. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 scored 8.1 on IGN UK compared to 8.5 for the previous year's...
. The song "Gotta Learn" was featured in EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
' FIFA 99. And finally, the song "Open" was used in Dance Dance Revolution X
Dance Dance Revolution X
Dance Dance Revolution X, abbreviated DDR X or simply X, is a music video game, and a part of the Dance Dance Revolution series. DDR X was originally announced by Konami on May 15, 2008 for the North American PlayStation 2. The arcade version was announced on July 7, 2008, July 9, 2008 in Europe,...
for the PlayStation 2.
Albums
- Point BlankPoint Blank (Dub Pistols album)-Track listing:# "Unique Freak" # "Best Got Better" # "Cyclone" # "Ghetto" # "Towerblock Trash" # "Westway" # "Keep Movin'" # "Point Blank" # "Blaze the Room" # "Anarchy"...
(1998) - Six Million Ways to LiveSix Million Ways to LiveSix Million Ways To Live is an album by dub electronica band Dub Pistols, released in 2005. It was originally released in 2001 as a promotional CD with a different track list.-Track listing:# "Sound Clash" - 01:14...
(2005) - Speakers and TweetersSpeakers and TweetersSpeakers and Tweeters is the third studio album released by London-based band, the Dub Pistols. Many of the tracks feature vocals by ex-Specials singer Terry Hall.-Track listing:All songs co-written by band members Barry Ashworth, T. K...
(2007) - Rum & CokeRum & CokeRum & Coke is a 2009 album by British dub band Dub Pistols. It features guest appearances from Ashley Slater , Lindy Layton and DJ Justin Robertson.-Composition:...
(2009) - Music Is My M16 (2011)
Singles
- "Cyclone" (1998) - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#63 - "Problem Is" (2003) - UK #66 (billed as Dub Pistols featuring Terry Hall)
- "Back To Daylight" (2009)
- "I'm In Love" (2009)