Before Punk, there was a band called the Doctors Of Madness. They exploded onto the British music scene in 1975 and departed just three years later. But even in this short space of time, they left a legacy. The Guardian proclaimed DoM as the “the missing link between David Bowie and The Sex Pistols.” Now 40 years after their implosion, they are back and damn right it’s political!

We live in Dark Times

Doctors Of Madness return with a new album called Dark Times, and it’s an album seething with lyrical anger and passion. It’s quite possibly the most potent and incisive musical dissection of modern life and contemporary politics released the decade. We’ve had a sneak preview and it’s a snarling and seething summation of the dark times we find ourselves living in. Dark Times will be released on 13th September.

The all star Doctors Of Madness cast

Richard ‘Kid’ Strange has assembled a motley crew of musical heavy weights to bring his dystopian vision to life. Inlcluding producer John Leckie (Radiohead), Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Sarah Jane Morris (Communards), Terry Edwards (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave), Steve ‘Boltz’ Bolton (The Who) and there is still time to shine a light on young protest singer Lily Bud (Band of Holy Joy) and Susumu Ukei and Mackii Ukei of Japanese extreme glam-metal band Sister Paul.

Make It Stop!

Lead single Make It Stop! released today, is an impassioned howl against the global drift to right wing extremism and persecution of minorities. The track is already a live showstopper for the band and features the thrilling cross-generational combination of Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and Lily Bud on backing vocals. Prepare to feel the hair on your neck stand on end.

Discover more about Doctors Of Madness

Among the many fans of the band were acts as diverse as The Damned, Vic Reeves, Joe Elliott of Def Leppard, Spiritualized, Julian Cope, The Adverts, The Skids and Simple Minds.  The Sex Pistols supported them, so did The Jam. Oh, and Joy Division. They were the first to combine the avant-garde approach of The Velvet Underground with a distinctly European aesthetic. The blue hair, exotic stage-names, the lyrical themes of urban decay, political propaganda, mind control and madness were all taken up by the punk bands who followed in their wake.  Doctors of Madness were trailblazers, pioneers, adventurers…pushing the boundaries of rock music and theatre to see how far it would go before it bust. What happened after them was due, in no small part, to what they achieved in three short years.

Doctors Of Madness Links

 

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