Channel M Breakfast Show - Live Acoustic performance of 'Flunkies'
Salford Advertiser Feature
Burton Mail Review
Huddersfield Examiner Review
Hailing from Salford, The Deodates unleash their schizophrenic brand of Trash Pop. ‘I’ve always been attracted to the tension in opposites coming together and fighting against each other, it’s the basis of everything we are about’ says Gary L. Hope, (vocals and guitar).
This is clear in the music, with insanely catchy and hook-laden pop sensibilities providing the backdrop for dark, caustic lyrics. ‘First and foremost, each song has got to have a great melody and a hook, it’s the law…but I’m really drawn to the idea of people singing at the top of their lungs, then having to double back and check what they just said’
This paradox shouldn’t work, but it does, and transcends through the whole band. ‘We generally don’t get along on a personal level; most days I can’t stand to be in the same building as that fucker’ offers Thomas Richard Pickford III (Drums), ‘but when we come together as The Deodates, the whole thing just gels. It turns me on’.
At over six feet tall and with a skinhead, the suit-clad Gary L Hope is an unconventional frontman. Not that he cares: ‘Fuck convention. Convention is what has turned this once great musical city to a retrospective laughing stock. It’s given me the chip on my shoulder that fuels my songwriting. I refuse to kowtow to people’s expectations’
Gary’s split personality has never been more evident than when he found himself holding both a degree in English Literature and a criminal conviction for assault. ‘It happened a long time ago and it’s spent now. It wasn’t my proudest hour but I got past it – despite the whole thing being a fucking travesty…I’ve always had the easy going exterior but it’s tempered with something beneath, a sense of outrage’
The new EP ’Don’t Expect Too Much’, released on Taboo Music (the label they started), is the perfect Trash Pop showcase. It has been praised throughout the UK by many, notably BBC Radio 2 DJ and TV Presenter Mark Radcliffe. The Deodates have appeared on Channel M television, have been played by Steve Lamacq, XFM, Radio 1 and on BBC stations throughout the country, to name but a few.
Their live shows are an unmissable experience. Manic energy and excitement are the driving forces, and the audience need to remind themselves that yes, it’s two people laying waste to the stage. 'People leave our shows not knowing whether to fuck or fight; and that’s the response we expect', Gary offers. Raw but always tight. Solid drums providing the canvas for frazzled blurts of guitar. Most important of all, infectious melodies delivered by THAT voice, veering from controlled croon to unhinged shriek and all the way back again.
Someone once wrote that The Deodates ’could cause the world of indie to collapse.’ A lofty claim, but one they welcome with open arms. Thomas confirms: ‘If you are big into your classic Madchester scene then don’t come and watch us. You won’t like us, our music or anything we stand for. If you are after an exciting and unpredictable show, you’ll love us’
‘Perfectly placing themselves somewhere between the caustic bite of The Metro’s and The Libertines driving Indie-garage-pop… a promising EP full of hooks, riffs & tunes a plenty’
Subba-Cultcha.Com
'Testament to their song writing abilities that “Flunkies†seems so memorable despite only one listen....rasping new wave of guitar pop'
Manchester Music
'Screams originality'
Sunderland Echo
‘It’s an EP packed with fairly incontestable direct hits from the raucous Salford gunslinging duo that make much of the post-Libertines generation seem like they're firing blanks.’
Crud Magazine
‘Great music… The Deodates make a heck of a racket with just guitar and drums, without ever sounding like White Stripes-clones, and are worth checking out.’
Entertainmentmanchester.com
‘A rocket-fuelled injection of Salfordian soul…gritty, working-class edge to the sort of tunes that are going to have mass appeal to the country's disaffected youth. With two fingers in the face of the establishment, the pounding electric guitars are used like weapons to smash down the barriers…get your sorry arses across to Manchester next month for an incredibly incendiary experience.’
Selby Times
'Packed with energy and strictly no nonsense, this EP is peculiarly compelling.'
LastBroadcast.co.uk