About Dodgy
Dodgy are an English rock band formed in Hounslow in 1990. The band rose to prominence during the Britpop era of the 1990s. They are best known for their hits "Staying Out for the Summer", "If You're Thinking of Me", and "Good Enough". Good Enough was their biggest hit, reaching No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. They released their latest album, What Are We Fighting For, in September 2016.
Dodgy were born from the ashes of Purple, a trio from Bromsgrove and Redditch, who had moved to London and was composed of Nigel Clark on bass, Mathew Priest on drums and David Griffiths on guitar. Shortly after their arrival in London in 1988, Frederic Colier joined the band as the bass guitarist, with Clark providing vocals. The new formation first settled in Battersea, using their living quarters as a rehearsal space. The quartet then relocated to a semi-detached house in Hounslow, where they turned the garage in the back garden into a soundproof rehearsal room, using old wooden pallets and rolled up carpet stuffed into the gaps, then covered in extra carpet.
The band played in local pubs and small venues until cracks started to appear when Clark and Priest's direction compared negatively against Colier and Griffiths' musical leanings.
Dissension led to the dismissal of Griffiths and Frederic, with Clark and Priest going it alone for the time being. The two decided that a guitarist was needed. So after placing an ad in the magazine Loot, the band invited Ben Lurie, a guitarist from Australia, to join them, only to see him leave them less than a week later to join The Jesus and Mary Chain. Shortly after they discovered guitarist Andy Miller, who came from Neasden ). Armed with this new venture, the band decided to change its name while on a heady night out.
Miller moved in with the boys in Hounslow in the early part of 1990. From then on the three of them were constantly in the garage, piecing songs together through Clark's song writing from the night before. Their sound started to come together, not too far from what the band are now well known for, today.
Priest, while out one night, became engrossed in a conversation with some guy who happened to manage bands. Priest then popped a cassette tape demo of the band into the guy's jacket pocket, without him knowing anything about it. This chap turned out to be Andrew Winters. The next day, Winters reached into his pocket, found the tape and played it, then rang the number included within the cassette case. They found their manager.
Map & Directions To Venue
