What's So Hideous About Do Me Bad Things?

Being proclaimed for next big thingdom by your record label and supporting the nations most celebrated lycra-clad rock band on a much-hyped arena tour might make some bands feel like they have a lot to live up to. But a certain sparkly nine-piece, themselves about to release their second single and embark on a nationwide tour, are quite nonchalant about their citation as the best thing about to happen to rock.

Do Me Bad Things bassist and vocalist Ad Lick is unconcerned about matching the overnight success of their Must Destroy label mates The Darkness. “They are one of the biggest bands in the country, probably one of the biggest bands in the world, it would be silly to suppose we are gonna fight them in any way, we aren’t looking to get to be as big as they are so quickly”. Wise words from the 23 year-old, probably the butchest man you are ever likely to see in glitter eye make-up and chiffon.

So, no pressure then.

The launch of Do Me Bad Things next single, W‘What’s Hideous‘, is looming with a March 28^th release date and a 19-date venue tour to support. “This single seems to have come around very quickly and crept up on us, it’s exciting though” says the bloke known to his mum as Adam. “It’s a much darker song than the it appears, it’s very upbeat and poppy, but there is actually quite a disconcerting undertone to it. Especially some of the lyrics and the phrasing in it are quite dark. I mean, what is hideous?”. My thoughts exactly and the mind boggles! It is taken from the forthcoming album ‘Yes!’, due to be born on April 11th. A positive moniker from the ”positive people” of Do Me Bad Things.

Written by the bands drummer Hurricane Tommy, the single does indeed have a glam façade, with grunting riffs and singalong vocals powerful enough to affect your endocrine system. ‘What’s Hideous’ is currently playing on Radio 1’s C-List and follows last October’s ‘Time For Deliverance‘.

The Croydon nonet spent the latter part of 2004 touring with The Darkness and Ash and “a good time was had by all.”

“They are all good boys, so are the Ash folk and we had a wonderful time. It was great playing such large venues. We were living very different lifestyles while on tour though. The Darkness would turn up just before sound check and leave, whereas we turn up four hours before sound check, hang around, not really knowing what to do with ourselves. We were playing really early too, which gave us WAY too much time to get off our faces.”

Ad and co are anticipating their own tour, kicking off on March 30^th at the Cavern in Exeter. “I just can’t wait for our the tour, it’s gonna be awesome. We haven’t really done anything for last couple of months but we are playing the Mean Fiddler in London on April 14^th which should be cool, we are drafting in a keyboard player for that night, so the sound is gonna get even bigger and even more extravagant.

Big and extravagant illustrates Do Me Bad Things exactly. Combining self-confessed “crushing doom-rock” with elaborate male and female make-up, bizarre costumes, big fat dirty guitar riffs, eight potential vocalists and a front man so camp, he has forced less imaginative reviewers to draw comparisons to Scissor Sisters queen Jake Shears. Is it unfair to evaluate two such disparate bands? “It’s kinda naïve to make such a comparison. We have a camp front man and female singers and so do they, but they do piffle disco. It’s a very loose comparison, but they do what they do well”. How very diplomatic!

As for the stage costumes, it is safe to say that no self-respecting stylist would do that to any self-respecting rock star, so the band tend to raid the dressing-up box. Their look is hard to put into words, so please do consult a photo. It’s not a typical slick and aesthetically pleasing adoption and the scary thing is that they are planning to try out some new, more flamboyant things on the tour, “some things will be toned down a bit, some shows will be more over the top“.

In the early days after forming on St. Valentines Day 2003, the girls were “forced to wear big gold masks and stuff. We used to wear paint all over our faces, I think someone once wore shorts and cowboy boots, Tommy had blood all over his shorts.” Terrifying thought. “We did it at first to get noticed, then we got noticed and now can’t stop doing it. If I wore it off-stage though I’d get ****ing beaten-up, especially around Croydon”.

Although Ad won’t admit to adhering to any direct influences as “if you cite your influences, you can often end up sounding way too close to those influences”, he will admit to being a disciple of heavy rock. Being an eclectic nine-piece, they come from a broad spectrum of tastes and collectively listen to Ben Folds Five, Fu Man Chu and Steely Dan.

After the tour, Do Me Bad Things, who are described by their own website as a “scum-bag band” plan to take their show to the summer festival crowds. “I can guarantee we will be at almost all the festivals, which should be great”. This will either be mortally terrifying or fantastically euphoric depending on what the attendee spent the previous evening indulging in.