The Deadbeats

The Deadbeats, from Manchester, UK, have been together since 2004 when they met up for what they describe as 'an excuse to hang out with each other'. During these infrequent meetings the band started to develop their own unique brand of country and blues influenced rock n roll. Armed with only 4 songs and a cover of Elvis Presley's 'That's Alright', The Deadbeats won 1st place in Manchester's 2004 Battle of the Bands and used the prize money to record a demo at the legendary Toe-Rag studios in London. Early tracks Cat Got the Cream, Emptying My Pockets, and Moonshine were played on national radio and as rave reviews from Manchester's music press began to draw attention to them locally, they started to play more frequently. In march 2005 The Deadbeats we overall winners the Glastonbury Festivals Emergin Talent Competition, beating over 5000 bands to the top spot. (The 2004 unsigned competition was won by The Subways.) The Deadbeats performed 5 times at the festival that summer, and were hailed as NME magazines 'Ones to watch.' Q magazine also showed support claiming 'Hoary country rockers shouldn't sound and look this good'. The song 'Moonshine' reached the number 1 in Mojo Magazines filter chart, beating the likes of the Flaming lips and Weezer to the top spot. After Glastonbury 05 the band went through a line up change after original drummer Simon Fairbairnwent missing without explanation and was replaced by Kris ‘Animal Hudson. Taking time out of their creative spells in their north Wales hideout, the band performed at the Isle of White festival Bestival, and has supported bands such as The Coral, Kaiser Chiefs, Pete Doherty, and The La's. After their 1st official UK tour (April/May 06) The Deadbeats released their debut single 'Backdoor Honey' in May 2006 on indie label Concrete Recordings. The single sold out and received some very promising reviews. During the Summer of 2006 The Deadbeats performed at the North by North East festival in Toronto where the band were one of only 2, out of the 420 performers to secure full marks in the official review. The summer saw other successful festival appearances including Love Box Festival, and Secret Garden Festival. One of the highlights of 2006 came when The Deadbeats supported Jools Holland, and performed to an outdoor crowd of 10,000 people in Glastonbury. 2007 nearly started tragically for the band when keyboard player Jo Summers contracted meningitis and the band had to take an unwelcome but understandable break. Luckily, he has made a good recovery and despite this setback, the band are making good progress recording their debut and are due to release 3 online singles in early spring as taste of what to expect on the album.