So first of how did you all meet?
We formed unglamorously from the placement of an ad online and a series of replies. We were going to try and come up with something a bit more romantic, like how we formed in the camaraderie of a police demonstration or in the melee down at the job centre but this is modern life I suppose.
Where are you all from?
We’re a four-piece outfit from around Oxford.
What genre of music do you consider your work to be?
The sound of the Dollymops is mixture of seventies new wave and two tone, eighties alternative and noughties garage rock and indie, hopefully with a sprinkle of originality somewhere there. Take all that, down six or seven vodkas and play a shite squire and you’re about there.
People that enjoy bands like the Strokes, the Libertines, the Buzzcocks, Joy Division, the Sex Pistols, as well as all the others previously mentioned will like us, presumably.
What are your influences?
Musically and lyrically the biggest influences are artists that evoke a sense of place and context, from sixties bands like the Kinks and the Velvet Underground, to seventies punk like the Clash and the Fall and stuff we grew up with like the Streets and the Arctic Monkeys. The themes of the songs can range from the usual stuff that most people experience like love, death and a hatred for their jobs, and more specific grievances like that knuckle-dragging skinhead you encountered in the pub or that hypocritical class warrior on your Facebook feed. All in all, we’re full of love and praise.
What song do you remember most from your childhood?
Probably ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, probably not the most leftfield choice but just a beautiful and timeless classic, in addition to The Strokes “Is This It” – an album that changed our lives.
How can fans-to-be gain access to your music?
‘Fields of Wheat’ and all future releases can be heard on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, and all other streaming platforms.
Have you released anything yet/if you have how has it gone down and are you planning anything for the near future?
We released our debut EP ‘Fields of Wheat’ on the 1st June 2018 and will be releasing more in the near future.
Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
So far, we’ve done quite a few gigs around the usual Oxford haunts like the Wheatsheaf, the Cellar and outside Marks & Spencer’s, as well as a few in London.
Our next local gig is at the Jericho Tavern on 09th August, which is a gig we’ve organised as a fundraiser for the mental health charity Mind. There’s a brilliant lineup of local bands and DJs and we’ll hopefully do the occasion justice with some frenetic renditions of our EP tracks and our upcoming releases.
What has been a high point and low point of your musical career so far?
The high point so far has to be releasing ‘Fields of Wheat’ and all the positive feedback we’ve received from it including a play and interview on BBC Introducing Oxford with Dave Gilyeat. We’re proud of the songs and looking forward to getting back into the studio to do the next one in August.
The low point was probably a gig we did at the Fiddlers Elbow in London. The initial set was alright, but due to a band dropping out we had a far longer slot than expected. Instead of being sensible and leaving the stage, we tried to lap up the limelight with a load of half baked, unrehearsed cover efforts that some members of the band hadn’t even heard before. Not sure they’ll be having us back unless the Camden scene gets desperate.
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