Its been a very long time since we've driven solidly for two days to play a DTK show.
Its been even longer since we've been on the road for four days with just a handful of hours sleep between shows, but this last weekend we surpassed those unenviable records with our trip to the Orkney Islands.
Meeting at lunch time in Birmingham to load the splitter van that will see us through this mammoth trek we managed to get to Hamilton near Glasgow before the first stroke of bad luck hit.
No gears except third and fifth.
Ash managed to scrape us into a service station car park where we spent the best part of an hour trying to contact the hire company and pondering our next move.
With no contact established & propects looking bleak at best, Matt took a chance that the gears may have slipped out of position.
No idea what he did but within seconds we were up and running again albeit an hour behind time. With our pyro girl Amz supposedly meeting us at 9.30pm at Inverness we had to notify her & the hotel we were running VERY late.
Enter twitchy bum time two....
Thirty miles from Inverness in the dead of night and the fuel gauge goes to empty.
Just made it to Aviemore services on steam. Phew !!
A less than satisfying five hour sleep and it was back on the road again to catch the 1pm ferry from Gills Bay to St Margret's Hope along what can only be described as some beautifully scenic but bum clenchingly scarey roads.
We managed not to plunge into the North Sea and made it to Kirkwall in good time for our show.
A great lively and loud crowd at The Fusion and as always we were treated like kings by the staff.
The enthusiasm of everyone up there really does make up for the horrendous drive. Plus, Orkney Islands is such a lovely place.
After a three hour sleep it was back on the road again for drive to Dundee.
Its been three years since we played the Doghouse and we were all looking forward to it. What we didn't like so much was the constant rain, low cloud and fog that plagued us all the way down the A99 / A9.
Amazing that the moment we left England the sun disappeared and the moment we crossed the border back into England the sun came out again.
Bizzarre !!

Anyhoo,

Amazing crowd turn out for Dundee. Great crowd, very very loud. A really great night form start to finish.

We'd like to thank all the staff at Fusion Bar & Doghouse for doing so much for us and we'd like to thank every single person who braved the horrid weather and turn out in such great numbers.

DRESSED TO KILL are offering you the chance to win 2 tickets to see them play The Garage, Glasgow on Sat Nov 12.
This competition will not be open anywhere else but via the DTK facebook page, so tell all your friends to join us on there.
Its going to be an 'Monster' night in Glasgow with our friends, GALLUS COOPER.

Come and be a part of our 21st Anniversary celebrations !!

DTK have been confirmed alongside a fantastic line up of the UK's biggest & best tribute acts to perform at the Gridlock Festival, Mansfield on June 30 2012.

Headlining the event will be AC/DC tribute, Live Wire with Limehouse Lizzy, Dressed To Kill & Metallica UK as special guest's.

The organiser's of Gridlock have issued this statement:

"Not since the days of Donnington's "Monsters Of Rock" festivals in the 1980's have we seen a line up with the likes of AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Kiss and Metallica. Gridlock rock festival promises over 7 hours of pure classic rock and metal. We have put together the best four tribute bands the UK (if not the world) has to offer. Live/Wire, Limehouse Lizzy, Dressed To Kill and Metallica UK all come together, probably for the first time on one bill. Along with a local up and coming Mansfield metal band Coraya, to stage one hell of a rock show."

For more information visit: Gridlock Festival

Or Tel: 07872 137 395

*please be patient as their website is being constructed at the moment, but will be fully functioning very soon*

Pre-Sale tickets are available for DTK's return to Yardbirds Rock Club, Grimsby on Fri 14 Oct 2011.

Advanced tickets are priced at £5.00 with door tickets priced at £6.00

For ticket info contact Yardbirds Rock Club on: 01472 349222 or go to Yardbirds Myspace

Tickets are also available from Replay Records, Grimsby on 01472 351125 and behind the bar at the club.

Order your ticket now as last year's show was a completely sold out event !!

For those wishing to stay overnight DTK recommend you check out

St James Hotel, Grimsby

Premiere Inn, Grimsby

This hotel is offering rooms for £29.00 at the moment. Book now to avoid disappointment.

Ticket prices for the DTK show at The Diamond are as follows:

Members £6.50
Non Members £7.50

The Diamond also offer accomodation if you wish to stay over after the show.

Rooms start at a very competitive £16.00

Telephone June or Gary on: 01623 456617 or by Email

Visit their website for full details: The Diamond

Tickets are now available for Dressed To Kill at Legends, Newcastle on Fri 11 Nov 2011.

Dressed To Kill will make their annual pilgrimage to the North East for the event and your ticket will include entry into the Hellfire Rock Night after the show.

Tickets can be purchased here:

Ticketweb

or by phone here: 0191 2320430

This show is strictly 18+ only performance. Any person unable to provide correct ID if asked to will not be admitted and will NOT receive a refund.

Tickets are now on sale for Dressed To Kill's long awaited return to The Doghouse, Dundee on Sat 1 Oct 2011.

Tickets are available here:

Ticketweb

Or by phone on:- 01382 206 812

This show is 18+ only.

Tickets are now on sale for Dressed To Kill's return to The Garage, Glasgow on Sat 12 Nov 2011.

Triple G Promotions have announced tickets are available through the following outlets:

Seetickets
Tickets-Scotland
Ticketweb

Also, the brilliant GALLUS COOPER have been confirmed as our very special guests for the Glasgow Garage show.

DTK and Gallus have built up a great working relationship over the years and are also great friends away from the stage.

If you haven't seen them yet, Gallus are about as close to the real thing as you will find.....ANYWHERE !!
This is going to be a fantastic night. Get ordering your tickets now !!

Check Gallus Cooper out:

GALLUS COOPER
GALLUS COOPER Facebook
GALLUS COOPER Myspace

Due to circumstances beyond the control of DTK, our show at The Globe, Cardiff on Fri 26 is cancelled.

We apologise for the extremely short notice & are currently trying to find an alternative venue. However, this is proving to be very difficult with the time frame we have open.

For those who have bought advanced tickets please see your point of purchase for refunds & enquiries.

The show at Revolver, Birkenhead the following date will go ahead as planned.

Dressed To Kill are very proud to announce that we have created our very own fundraising page with Help For Heroes which can be accessed via the link below.

All donations can be made via our that page directly to Help For Heroes using a secure transaction. Also we have links to our fundraising page on facebook & twitter pages and on the DTK website, plus it will be accessible via the DTK app when that goes live very soon.

Don't forget, if your working you can boost the total by selecting 'Gift Aid' which boosts the total donation.

Remember its not the ammount you give that matters, its the help it gives to people far braver than any of us.

As well as up to date news and gig dates with ticket info, the app has loads of picture,video (coming soon), links to all DTK's affliated sites,biogs and much more.

Run exclusivley through the App will be the chance to win tickets to DTK shows, guest passes and other event swag.

The App has been launched on the Android Market initially with Nokia Ovi Store, Blackberry and IPhone to follow very soon.

Dressed To Kill are immensly proud to be the first KISS tribute and maybe even the first tribute band to have created their own App and would like to thank Jason Wood(w00dy) for all his hard work and dedication in making this happen.

The DTK App is free to install but don't forget to leave a small donation to Help For Heroes which can be found in the links section.

To download the App you can click the Android icon below to access the Android Market page

DTK's very own starchild. Ash appeared live on BBC1's "The One Show" last night alongside presenters Matt Baker, Alex Jones, special guest, Justin Lee Collins & Steve Dawson from Saxon.

Lead guitarist Danny Lee James married his fiancee, Sarah Morgan today in a private ceremony at Grimsby Registry Office.

It was attended by family and of course, the other guys from DTK, Ash, Gary, Matt, Ian and their wives & partners.

They were joined by friends from all over the UK for an evening of drunkenness and very bad dad dancing followed at Yardbirds Rock Club with local band, The Dangerous Brothers providing the entertainment and DTK getting onstage for an impromptu jam.

Danny & Sarah will honeymoon on a Nile cruise through Egypt.

Tickets are on sale for our show at the Manor BallRoom, Ipswich on Sat 16 April. If you would like to book yours sooner rather than later, you can get them now by heading over to our DATES page and clicking the DTK logo next to the venue name.

You can also contact We Got Tickets direct by clicking here.

Tickets are £10.00 advance

Tickets are moving fast for our show at River Rooms, Stourbridge on Fri 15 April. If you would like to book yours sooner rather than later, you can get them now by heading over to our DATES page and clicking the DTK logo next to the venue name.

You can also contact the venue direct if you like on 01384 397 177 or using their website

Tickets are priced at £8.00 advanced.

Dressed To Kill are very proud to announce that a very limited edition, 30 page, high quality pictorial history of the bands 21 years will be available to buy very shortly.

The book has been painstakingly compiled and contains some of the very first pictures ever taken of the band (before they even had costumes).

It also has the very best live and studio shots of the band throughout their 21 years taken by some of the UK and Europes top music photographers.

All band members past & present from Dave Patterson and Rich Sawyer through to Danny Lee James and Matt Blakout with Ian Danter and Trevor Lynn featured alongside founding members Gary Piears-Banton and Ashley Brookes are represented. Pictures from Spain, Norway, Japan, Austria as well as unseen backstage shots, press photography and private studio portraits make this a fascinating and must have DTK essential to coincide with their 21st Anniversary.

There are two versions of the book and they will be created to order only.

Version 1
30 Page, high gloss 12"x12" soft cover photobook with gloss finish soft cover.
£20.00 inc p£p

Version 2
30 Page, ultra high gloss 12"x12" soft cover photobook on premium thick paper, matt laminated silk feel finish soft cover.
£25.00 inc p&p

To enquire and reserve your copy of this very limited edition Dressed To Kill photobook you can email here: PhotoBook Enquiry

We'd like to say a MASSIVE Thank you to the people that came to see us in Lanark and Blackburn the other week - two truly unbelievable nights: Lanark, where the promoter had gone all out to fill the venue and succeeded in absolute bucketloads; and Blackburn, where we'd been told that few if any people in Blackburn 'go out', and the theory was proved VERY wrong and a raucous and friendly audience welcomed us to our first 'proper' show there!

Always remember that when you're invited to a party, make the best effort to turn up - so with that in mind, we travelled up to Lanark to play a show at 'The Agricultural centre': we weren't entirely sure what to expect, but upon arriving at the venue, it was very apparent that they knew what they were doing, and Alan the promoter introduced himself and happily informed us that he anticipated around 400 people would be coming - VERY nice to hear for a first show anywhere! Anyway, soundcheck came and went, and then time to get ready, during which we were treated to two support bands - '8 track stereo', and 'No Dice', both of whom played great sets. Then after a quick meet/greet, our 'rumble' intro sounded our arrival to the stage and we were straight into 'Creatures of the night', and the house went wild. And they stayed wild (and bloody noisy too!) until our 2+ hour set was over. Unreal!

Then, after a couple of hours kip in Carlisle, and a steady drive to Blackburn - our show at 'King Georges Hall' - our first show in the city in our 21 year history, and one that gave us a very nice surprise - after being warned of gig-goers' growing apathy, we took to the stage to find a VERY good crowd in front of us - some in KISS makeup, some in KISS masks, but ALL ready to see what the fuss was about - and we gave 'em the old 'Creatures...' / 'Deuce' double whammy and that had everybody going nuts, and again, they remained that way 'til the final bows at the end of a very hot, sweaty, and fun (for various reasons!!) 2+ hour set.

It never ceases to amaze us the dedication and support you show us, even from those who've never seen KISS before, and it's that that keeps us coming back and trying that bit harder the next time - we hope to be back in Lanark and Blackburn again soon, so watch this space!!!

DTK want to say a huge thank you to everyone who turned out to say 'goodbye' to our catman, Ian Danter and to welcome our fox, Matt Blakout at Bilston last Friday. A packed house made for a very memorable night for us all; one that will go a long way to be beaten and hopefully one that both Matt & Ian will remember for a long time.

The first set saw us play with Ian and finish with Ian alone on stage singing Beth. Ian then introduced Matt and passed on his sticks. Matt thundered through the second set and Ian came back to the stage to complete a blistering night.

Hopefully our show at The Standard won't be the last appearance we make there. The future of this hallowed venue is very much in doubt but hopefully Paul & Amanda can fight to keep it standing against all the developers who want to demolish it.

Yet another bombastic night. Matt has now settled in brilliantly and we all agreed this was our best performance so far! Great to meet up with so many friends yet again and some we haven't seen for quite a while.

Pictures from these and other shows (past & present) will soon be on our Gallery page.

Just to let everyone know that tickets for the following shows are now on sale and going fast.

For all DTK shows, tickets can be purchased by using the links we provide on our DATES page. However, we do provide the direct contact information as a second option.

DTK - Agricultural Centre, Lanark (Friday 4 March) Click HERE Ticket Price £13.50 ***

DTK - King Georges Hall, Blackburn (Sat 5 March) Click HERE Ticket Price £10,00 adv

DTK - River Rooms, Stourbridge (Friday 15 April) Click HERE Ticket Price £8.00 adv

*** VIP tickets for this show are now sold out.

DTK have confirmed they will play Russia during May this year. Details will follow shortly however, one show they will play is for Classic Rock Russia. You can see DTK featured in Total Rock here: Total Rock from Feb 7th.

A new chapter has begun for DTK as they debuted 'The Fox' to very noisy and very appreciative audiences in Camberley & Crewe.

Matt Blakout thundered his way through the first shows of 2011 behind his double bass chrome kit. A whole new set list has been put together for this year and the audiences at both Crewe & Camberley were treated to snippets of what's going to be on offer. Such offerings should be very welcomed if songs such as 'Exciter' are aswell received elsewhere this year. Here's a shot of Matt that should evoke a few memories of the late, great, Eric Carr.

Friday 4th Feb 2011 see's a monumental day in the history of Dressed To Kill. For one show only they will perform with TWO drummers!
Ian will make his farewell bow in what will surely be an emotionally charged evening and we'll be formally introducing Matt to the world at the same show.
Ian will take to the stage first for an hour set after which there will be a very short interval where small alterations are made. Then Matt will take his place behind the drum kit for an hour set culminating in BOTH drummers performing the finale.
Don't miss out on this once only opportunity. Get your ticket by using the link provided on our dates page. Bring your friends along and be a part of our history.

So We're now in our 21st Anniversary year. I cant believe it, and the people that came to see us all that time ago cant believe it either - where did the time go???

Well for them, it may have included getting married once or twice, raising families etc. For us, it's been one long tour. And it's never been better. We can't express in words how appreciative we are of everyone's support and help over the last 20 years - without you, there could be no 'Us'.

We kick off 2011 with new drummer Matt Blakout (who will be 'The Fox' if you didn't already know!), and make our yearly trip to Camberley on Friday 28th Jan, followed by a long-awaited return to Crewe (29th Jan!!) - for the first time since Sept 2009, due to the closure of The Limelight. We were sad to lose The 'Limey', especially as it had been a regular haunt of ours for the last 10 years and the crowds were always great.

February 4th will be a memorable night in our history. We'll be playing with TWO drummers! Departing drummer Ian will get the chance to properly say goodbye and Matt Blakout will be formerly introduced as well with both drummers on stage for the finale!

The following night it's down to see our friends at The Standard, Walthamstow. Always a great night in London and we've always had a marvelous welcome from Paul and Amanda.

In March we play north of the border in Lanark. A massive KISS fan has invited us to play the Agricultural Centre there on the Friday 4th; followed by a return to Blackburn. It's been a long, long time since we were there last. This time, we'll be playing a venue that KISS themselves have played - King Georges Hall - on March 5th!!

We're at Stourbridge River Rooms on Friday 15th April. One of our favourite venues with one of our loudest crowds.

Keep checking back for regular updates to our gig listing and don't forget to wish us a happy 21st Birthday!

Ash

• Private Suite for VIP use only
  
• Exclusive VIP Bar
  
• Waitress Service
  
• Priority Seated Viewing From The VIP Balcony
  
• Private Pre-Show Meet & Greet with Dressed To Kill
  

Tickets are now available for the DTK show at the Agricultural Centre, Lanark, Scotland on Mar 4 2011.

Supporting us that night will be NO DICE & THE GUN STREET FEW.

Tickets are available here priced at £13.50 with no p&p or booking costs!!!

Also, there is a limited ammount of barside tables available for this show (10 tables only seating 10 people per table) for £135.00 Check out the website for details by clicking the gig poster below.

We are very proud to announce that Matt Blakout will be joining DTK as our new drummer. Matt, as many of you will know was the drummer with Tigertailz. He will take on the persona of 'The Fox' Matt had this to say about his joining DTK...

"I'm absolutely as proud as Eric Carr was when he first joined Kiss, to be the new drummer in Dressed To Kill. I am so very much looking forward to playing with three other tremendous musicians and playing those awesome tunes that have been the soundtrack to my life from the age of nine years old, when I first heard 'I was made for lovin' you' at a disco in Malta.

My main reason for wanting to be 'Eric' is simple. As with Kiss, Peter's playing was more rock n roll, swings style and obviously when Eric joined the 'Bonham' or rock element came out in the songs as Eric really pushed the beat. This was extremely evident on 'The inner sanctum' where Eric really 'pushed' the older material. That is exactly how I play and I will hopefully 'Eric Carr' the back catalogue as Eric originaly did."

Matt's first official shows with DTK are The Agincourt - Camberley, Fri 28th Jan and The Box - Crewe, Sat 29th Jan. Tickets for these shows and other shows throughout the DTK Alive 1990 - 2011 tour can be found on our DATES page.

We would like to thank everybody who has supported us throughout this year and look forward to seeing you all again hopefully in 2011 to help us celebrate our 21st Anniversary.

A huge thank you to Amabel, Kev, Gary 5150, Shane, Adrian, Bekah and Matt, who have been invaluable to us.

An enormous thank you to our wives & girlfriends who put up with the constant texting, emailing, phone calls & us disappearing at weekends to travel the length & breadth of this country & beyond. So to Cat, Katie, Natalie & Sarah, thank you for your tolerance.

Best wishes to you all, see you in 2011!

Ash, Gary, Ian, Danny

"Ain’t it funny how the time slips away…'cos now I'm leaving and I wish I could stay…" Paul Stanley definitely wrote that song for me. It’s 5 years on from my first show as a full Dressed To Kill member at the Nottingham KISS Expo, and now my time in the world’s longest-running (and best) tribute to the Hottest Band In The World is at an end. I’ve already bored you witless with the reasons why in a previous blog, so let’s just get on with the story of my last 4 gigs shall we?

Witney, Swindon, Cardiff and Norwich – 4 places where we’ve been before recently and were hoping for as good a response as we’d got at each venue in 2009. To be fair, 3 of the 4 were as good if not better than last time out – only Witney Fat Lils seemed a little flatter than I remembered it, but maybe that was because we hadn’t attempted to set the stage on fire this time around!

I recall that night, with Gary calling a halt to Deuce 2/3 of the way through drawing our attention to a little bit of smoke coming from the stage right curtain after our first pyro salvo went off. This we quickly extinguished before carrying on where we’d left off. The crowd loved it though – almost happy to see the place go up in flames…which was odd.

Anyway, this show was a tad more run-of-the-mill for us. It is interesting how the set has really tightened up nicely during 2010 and flowed so, so well throughout the 2nd half of the year. Modern Day Doris opening, Cold Gin 2nd, Creatures popping up now and again, Say Yeah going down a storm…even songs like God Of Thunder seemed to have a new lease of life for me. And God Gave Rock And Roll To You II has become quite the show-stopper. Everyone sings the breakdown section so loud at us, some louder than I thought possible (Glasgow I’m looking at you!) and our little pause before the last chorus generates a huge roar every time. And these are just some of the things I’ll miss.

I won’t miss the travelling through the dead of night to get to the next town/city though. Nobody would miss that aspect of it. The drive from Witney to Swindon was mercifully short by comparison with some we’ve made this year. But it always seems you never get enough sleepy time at the hotel before you have to check out and head off again.

Swindon Furnace was a blast (geddit?) for us thanks in no small part to the tireless efforts of the local promoter who took us there last year to play for a small-ish crowd, but promised many more if we returned. We did and they came! Both Ash and Gary were on their last legs due to them both having heavy colds, but they made it through with flying colours. Of course, the professionalism that Danny and I displayed in covering for them was vital ;o)

Rather than the post-show kebab, roadie and local lad Gary ‘5150’ led us to the local burrito house for a slight change in menu – we were grateful for the change, and I happily devoured one that Ozzy would probably have as a hors d’oeuvre before some massive main burrito to follow, judging by his penchant for them during THAT tv show.

Cardiff was a great night as always. The Globe is yet another venue in the Welsh capital that’s had pressure from local residents complaining about the noise, but thankfully Alan and the management there have been able to ride out the storm where other venues have failed. Which is nice. The soundman, Pete, sprung a surprise on me as we set up the gear by declaring that he was in possession of a Breville talking toaster as voiced by yours truly. That was done about 8 years ago when the Breville people (as Alan P would put it) approached me to voice a talking kettle toaster and sandwich toaster and I remember the huge swell of pride when they went on sale at John Lewis in Solihull not long after – that swell reduced somewhat with the ‘product recall’ notice that appeared in the tabloids a couple of months later with the kettles being less prone to boil, more explode. Hey ho.

But Pete’s toaster still worked evidently, and there’s certainly been no ‘product recall’ for Danny’s smoking guitar lately – the axe belched smoke as required all 4 nights right on cue during the guitar/drum solo and the Cardiff fans responded loudest of all to the smoking pickup. I’m going to miss that part of the show loads, as it gave Danny and I a chance to show off within a framework of a ‘song’ almost. It certainly went down well - hope it continues into next year. Gary had an eventful night at The Globe – his battery gave up the ghost in his wireless unit during ‘Creatures…’ and, once he’d fixed that in time for ‘Deuce’ promptly fell on his arse halfway through that tune as he went over on his monster-booted ankle. Amazingly he never missed a note! In fact, Danny noted that he played it better than normal!!
Anyway, great show and these last 2 shows gave the lads the opportunity to embarrass me in front of the punters by presenting me onstage with a gift for my 5 years of service to the band – namely a book; Drums for Dummies. Danny’s idea you can be certain! It was weird singing Beth for the final time at Norwich, but as we were in Alan Partridge country I felt duty bound to not ‘sing’ the last note but more shout ‘A-HAAA!!’ instead – that brought a giggle or two from stage and crowd who weren’t expecting it.

And before you knew it, the last pyro had gone off after Rock n Roll All Nite and that was it – my time in DTK was over…aside from breaking down the equipment and enduring the 4-hour drive back to Birmingham to unload the gear into our storage room of course. I thought I’d leave you with some phrases that I shall never hear again now that I’m no longer on the road with DTK (I shall leave you to work out which band member/roadie uttered which phrase)

“Shurrup ye gurl”
“It’s quite a hot output so you may have to pad it on the desk”
“Can’t believe we’ve got a gig tonight…”
“Can you give me a spray darling?”
“Hello, I see you do a chicken sheesh and a lamb sheesh, but would it be at all possible to have a little bit of chicken mixed in with a little bit of lamb and a mixture of all 3 sauces please? Thank you ever so much.”
“Shurrup ye peenus”
“Come on…Come ON…COME ON!!!”
“Hello Joey!...Hello Joey! Say something for Mummy!”
"I can’t hear myself for your elephant farts”
"Can we have the table of death next please?”
"There was this marvellous documentary on Tudor Britain that I heard on Radio 4 before the shipping forecast…”
"Did you pack my strap?”
"Ahahahahahahahahahahaha-HAAAAA!?!”
"Can you tie me up please, darling”
"Right, where’s the nearest filth?”
"I’m just going for my third poo…”
"Have I gone green?”
"Ba-dap-bap-dap-DAAAHHH-da dap!...Yeah that’s fine…”
"Doo-de-doo-de-doo-doo. Doo-de-doo-de-doo - PEE-NUS!”
"Oh we’re not playing THAT one are we?”
"HOW much was the van hire again?”
"Where’s my Gorilla Snot?”
"Are you positive you packed my strap?"
"Well, you SAY that…”
“For fooks sake, before we do anything else – logo!”
“I resemble that remark!”
“Could I have his vocal at 75% to mine in the wedge please?”
“Let Danny go in the front on the way – they’re only going to listen to the bloody football anyway…”
“Let’s have Bertrand then!”
“Eccelente!”
“Who needs a blowy?”
“My make-up looks shit tonight”
“What is he wittering on about NOW???”
“So where’s my strap that you said you’d packed, then?”
"Oh Villa Park, is full of shit....Oh Villa Park is full of shit......"
“AHHHEMMMMMM!!!!!”
“I WOKE UP THIS MORNING, AND I SAID TO MYSELF…SELF – WHAT A GREAT F***ING DAY, FOR ROCK AND ROLL. YEAH!!!!!!!!”

And it’s been a great 5 years of rock and roll for me in Dressed To Kill. They’ll be back better than ever in 2011, and I’ll be in the crowd to see it as and when. Don’t be a stranger if you spot me – it’d be nice to catch up as we all watch our fave tribute band doing their stuff. And like I said before – never say ‘never’ about a comeback…!! ;o)

Bless you all and thanks one more time to Ash, Danny & Gary – I’ll miss you, guys.

Ian

We often stumble backstage after a DTK show and have a laugh about something that went wrong – whether it's Danny's smoking guitar making its own mind up about when it will work and when it won't, or whether it's chuckling about someone playing the wrong note in a song with just 4 chords in it. But the last 2 nights at Newcastle Legends and Glasgow Garage, it's been a different topic of conversation – namely how incredible both gigs were, especially Glasgow. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

It's always a long drive from the Midlands up to the North East, especially in a van that steadfastly refuses to get above 56mph (which at least meant we were at maximum fuel economy!!) but we still pulled up outside Legends Bar in Newcastle City centre bang on time at 4pm to load in. Barry, the local PA guru, was already there setting up the speaker system and we all breathed a collective sigh of relief – Barry is one of the best sound engineers in the business; having worked with him at other venues on Tyneside, so we knew we were in safe hands.

It was an early stage time for us (9pm approx) but Legends was packed with KISS devotees when the time came for the intro rumble. The punters were clearly up for a good night out and the singing from them was deafening at times. Danny & I have been playing a joint guitar/drum solo lately, just as Thayer & Singer did on the KISS tour, and it's going down a storm. It went even better at Legends when Danny's guitar was finally coaxed into belching out smoke at the right time without the need for mindless violence. A pleasant change and no mistake – it's also noticeable how well 'Say Yeah' from Sonic Boom is going down in the set alongside the established 'Klassics'.

A swift drive across to Carlisle saw us get our heads down for the night in a travel tavern, before another early load in at Glasgow Garage on Saturday afternoon ahead of us headlining a Monsters Of Mock show for Rock Radio. Such 4-band bills can be the stuff of nightmares when it comes to sharing equipment, but we needn't have worried. Judas Beast loaned their drum kit to all the acts and the sound crew provided guitar & bass cabs aplenty, so changeover times between acts was dramatically reduced. Which was nice.

We've become great friends over the years with Peter and his Gallus Cooper bandmates – they've supported us at the Ferry before now, but as the opening act at the Garage, they had loads more space to really put on a show – and my word they did. A brilliant half hour set (Go To Hell was a particular highlight for me) and it was great for the 4 of us to actually get to see Gallus Cooper play, as usually were getting into makeup and costume when they're on. They were quite superb. As were Non Jovi & Judas Beast who followed them, if soundcheck was anything to go by anyway, as we had to go and get ready once Gallus had finished playing School's Out. The strains of both acts that we could just about make out from the basement dressing rooms certainly sounded fantastic – the punters were getting fantastic value for money, and we had to ensure that remained the case with our hour-long set.

There were 800+ punters in to roar us onto the stage, and they just kept on roaring. All flaming night. I have never heard audience participation like it. Gary said they sang with such force he almost felt himself fall backwards from the front of the stage. Amazing night for all concerned and Glasgow excelled itself once again, just when we thought they couldn't be louder than at the Ferry. It's gone straight into our Top 3 gigs of all time I think. And it was great to meet Non Jovi & Judas Beast, as well as have a great time with the Gallus boys too. Friendships all round.

Better still was the post show grub. The one-way system around Sauchiehall Street meant we got a tad lost looking for a kebab merchants, and elected somewhat disappointedly to head back south and stop on a motorway somewhere for Ginsters, the musicians' only available option for hot food past a certain time. Or so it seemed. But, pulling into a RoadChef on the M74 some minutes later, we encountered a friendly chef on duty who cooked us all a full on fry-up to order with free toast thrown in if you please!! Heaven on a plate – could've eaten a scabby horse to be fair, so we were right royally treated.

Great end to a great weekend. If you were there either night (or indeed both as our trusty stand-in Pyro Girl Amambel was – bless you x) then thanks very much for being part of it. You were stunning. 4 more venues to play before this year – and Witney, Swindon, Cardiff & Norwich audiences have a lot to live up to based on the last 2 nights… :o)

It is with heavy hearts all round that we reluctantly have to say 'cheerio' to our drummer Ian.

Since joining the band in 2005 he's been nothing but professional, dedicated, loyal, supportive and a constant source of comedy genius.

His drumming ability and all round extraordinary musicianship will be sorely missed as will his ability to start flapping & the hilarity that ensues at the slightest chance we might get to a venue more than 8 seconds late for load in.

The countless swearing and shouting as we pass his 'beloved' 'Villa Park (only joking) on the way out toward the M6 will be very poignant come January and Ian isn't sat behind the wheel driving at break neck speed with TalkSPORT blasting on the radio.

And its to TalkSPORT we must turn and thank for Ian's departure. Being so bloody good at his job means he's very much in demand at the station and unfortunately its we, DTK who have to bear the brunt of this. Its a devastating shame for the band but with a wife and family to think about as well as his career, there wasn't much choice in the matter. We all wish him continued success and happiness.

So, we have until the end of the year to appreciate just how lucky we've been to have found someone with Ian's talent, but above all, we have just a few weeks left to appreciate just how much of a great friend Ian has been to us and how much we're going to miss the great times we've had with him.

Gary, Ash & Danny

Ian will be playing the following venues before he puts down his sticks:

Witney - Fat Lil's

Swindon - The Furnace

Cardiff - The Globe

Norwich - Brickmakers Arms.

And so it goes. Come the 4th December, I will extrapolate myself from my Peter Criss wig one last time, scrape the white, black, green, silver & red from my fizzog and prepare to hand over the DRESSED TO KILL drumstool to another poor undeserving sap.

Do I want to leave DTK? No, absolutely NOT! Since I joined in 2005, I have played my favourite songs from my favourite band to some of my favourite people – the UK KISS Army…and beyond! However, sometimes in life you have to stop doing things you love no matter how much you want to continue.

To be fair, I’ve done rather well to have lasted half a decade delicately balancing both a career and a band that demand your presence on a Saturday. If the band just played Fridays, then I’d still be clinging onto that drum stool for dear life, but the Fri/Sat gig routine is what the band needs to do in order to keep costs from getting way out of hand, and my work needs me more and more on Saturdays, so the decision has been made for me in effect.

The last 5 years have given me the best times I have ever spent in any band, whether it’s a covers/tribute act or originals. I’ve played as far afield as Spain, Norway & the Orkneys, and drummed my way through countless KISS Klassics – the band is THAT talented that adding obscurities to the set list has never ever been a problem…like adding ‘I’ve Had Enough’ to the set at the Diamond recently after one stellar run through at sound-check.

And that’s just some of the good stuff. The people I’ve met through being in DTK have been some of the friendliest and loyal folk I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing – not just the band members, of course, but also the crew members we have along for the ride, and the audiences that always always come to see us and have such a great time.

To list all the people who’ve made this band such a pleasure to be in would take me hours and hours – I could list drummer after drummer who’s helped out or just been a brilliant bloke to get on with at gigs; I could name countless guys & gals who travel ages to see us and keep on doing it; and I could tell you loads about promoters, venue bosses and kebab shop owners who deserve oodles of credit for what they do for DTK. You know who you are in that list.

But mainly, it’s been Ash, Gary and Danny (& Trevor who was ‘Ace’ before Danny ) who’ve been amazing to be around. Of course, the lads will claim I’ve jumped before I was pushed…or at least Danny will LOL!! But in all seriousness, I will be as jealous as hell when DTK go out on the road in 2011 and know that I can’t be part of it. To say I’m leaving on great terms with the boys would be something of an understatement – I never thought I’d get the chance to be in such a great, great band AND get to play KISS songs too, but that is exactly how it’s been for me –as well as to be in the company of 3 truly great friends in Ash, Gary & Danny. I salute you gents – it’s been emotional.

So I have just 4 opportunities left to suit up and rock out before I leave – Witney, Swindon, Cardiff & Norwich are the venues concerned. In fact there’s a bit of irony in the whole Norwich thing. Back in early 2000, my work schedule meant I had to leave New Jersey, the Bon Jovi tribute I’d been with for a few years, and my last show with them was in Norwich at the Oval on Dereham Road (don’t look for it, it’s not there anymore), so it’s back to Norfolk to sign off from another band on Saturday 4th December at the Brickmakers.

Of course, you should never say ‘never’ about a DTK comeback, as I rejoined New Jersey 2 years later when circumstances changed at work! So…this might be more ‘au revoir’ than goodbye – I’ll wash the costume & the wig just in case :o)

Peace & Love

Ian

Dressed To Kill return to play Legends in Newcastle on Fri 5th Nov as part of their HELLFIRE ROCK NIGHT. Tickets are priced £4.00 and they gain you entry into the Legends Nightclub after the show. You can buy tickets by using the link provided on our gig dates page.

LEGENDS
77 Grey Street
NEWCASTLE
Tyneside
NE1 6EF

Also that weekend DTK are heading up to Glasgow on Sat 6th Nov to perform for Rock Radio as headliners for their MONSTERS OF MOCK BONFIRE BASH featuring the excellent JUDAS BEAST, GALLUS COOPER & NON JOVI. The event takes place at The Garage and starts around 6.00pm. Tickets are going very fast so if you're thinking about it, better start thinking fast or you'll be disappointed!!! Tickets for this show are priced at £12.50 with a £1.50 booking fee.(Quite a bargain) and can be purchased by clicking the fabulous 'ticket info' facility on our dates page.
Glasgow has always been a great stomping ground for DTK. Its always been a very, very crazy night up there and hopefully this one will be no different. Grab your friends and come along.

THE GARAGE
490 Sauchiehall
GLASGOW
Lanarkshire
G2 3LW

On probably the wettest Friday this year we rolled into Danny's home town of Grimsby for our first full weekend of shows since April. Chances of a rabid turn out were growing slimmer the more the rain came down...and across, then up and eventually down again. Still, we were here and a spot of rain wasn't going to stop us!!

It wasn't going to stop the locals either who turned up in their droves to pack the Yardbirds Rock Club for a fantastic night. Many thanks must go to Robbo & the Warlocks MC who yet again helped more than they needed to and also to Steve Jackson & Katy Forrester of the Grimsby Evening Telegraph & Grimsby Post who blitz the news reading populus with trivia, biogs, pics and all sorts of info regarding DTK over a 5 week period. Saturday we played to an equally, if not more vociferous crowd at The Diamond, Sutton In Ashfield. Brilliant night thoroughly enjoyed by all which even produced (and I'll check to see if its a fact) the only attempted version of I've Had Enough by any kiss tribute band. It went down a storm!!! Thanks to The Diamond owner Gary for keeping us all amused with his awful impersonations of Tommy Cooper yet again and more importantly..... THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO TURNED UP EACH NIGHT TO SEE US !!!!

As you've no doubt noticed, we've changed the layout and format of the site a bit. Its been trimmed down and given a major kick in the ass so hopefully it will be easier to view and navigate around. We'll also be adding a merchandise page and some up to date media very shortly as well.

We'd all like to thank our 'webminx' Bekah for revamping the site at such short notice and with such speed and skill - Thanx hun. We love ya, mwah!!!

If you'd like more info on Bekah's web designing services or her photography, visit her site: TwistedPix

We are VERY sorry for the cancellation on Friday of our show at 'Gasworks' in Bradford - this was due to technical issues far beyond our control. We were very disappointed to have had to reach that conclusion, despite turning up on time and being very ready to Rock; the distinct lack of a stage to set up and play on hampered our efforts.

Apparently, the basement room could not be used as damp had got in, so the ground floor area near the bar was to be used instead. We got there around 5pm and found no stage or PA set up. The staging (bought in especially for the show by Max, the venue owner. He tried his best to make it a spectacle) didn't arrive until 6.30pm. They began building it after a 20 minute unload and we kept reassessing the situation as time went on - it takes time to set up a PA, load our gear in and set it up, before a sound check happens; then and only then can we disappear to the dressing room to turn ourselves into KISS.

At 8.30 we came downstairs after talking in circles about cutting the set short, and even going on without costumes and makeup to enable us to play within the time allotted - 'curfew' for live bands was 12.30am - but decided if the stage still wasn't complete, there would simply be little or no time whatsoever to even do that - we thought that doing a half-arsed show was out of the question: people had travelled for miles to see a full-on KISS tribute band, not a band in t-shirts and jeans.

As we feared, the stage wasn't complete, and went outside at around 8.45pm to discuss the situation with Max, and we agreed that with the stage only 2/3rds complete, the time that it would take to complete it (maybe 30mins), the time needed to assemble, arrange and test the PA (a minimum of 30 mins), the time it would take to load in and set up our gear would be around an hour (we couldn't load in any sooner as there was simply no room in the already open bar area to just leave it lying around), then sound check would take around 30 mins. So, adding it all up (and showtime was meant to be 10pm), it was clear that short of a Royal decree of the clocks going back 2 hours, we wouldn't be able to go ahead with the show.

With heavy hearts, we left the 'Gasworks' around 9pm. We wanted to play, and were fully committed to it. In 20 years of being together, around only 5 of our shows have had to be cancelled - due to ill health of a band member, bereavement, venue closure, or an issue outside the bands control. We take things like this very seriously, and wouldn't come to such a decision after travelling a cumulative total for the bands members of 400 miles to get to Bradford, with any air of ambivalence.

We were at great pains to get as many people as possible to our show in Bradford - coming on here and rallying support, as well as bombarding facebook, and getting a piece in the Telegraph and Argus to preview it. We hope that none of you were inconvenienced, however we apologise in the strongest terms if you felt in any way disappointed. We too felt (very) disappointed, and were looking forward to blowing you all away with our show.

We also hope that you'll come and see us the next time we are in your part of the world...

Tickets for the DTK show at Yardbirds on Fri 1st Oct are on sale at the following places.. Yardbirds Club - Yardbirds

Replay Records in Grimsby & Band members.

Advanced tickets are £5.00
Door charge is £6.00
Get your tickets now to avoid missing out.


Check our gig listings for other shows in 2010. Tickets are now on sale for most venues.

Did you ever think DTK would play with an 'Eric Carr' on the drums ?? Did you ???

Well for one night only in Birkenhead we did !!! As matters beyond our control meant that Ian was unavailable for the two shows we'd planned, we were very lucky that ex-Tigertailz drummer, Matt Blakout stepped in at the very last minute and bailed us out for one of the shows at least. A true pro, he even managed to get a double bass chrome kit which sounded like thunder when he played it. One quick rehearsal prior to leaving for the show was all we managed to get but Matt was superb. Detroit was just like the Inner Sanctum 1980 version. Fast, Furious & Fecking heavy!!

A very late night for us. We didn't get away from Birkenhead until 3am for the journey back to our destinations. Some of us didn't get home until after midday on the Sunday making the whole trip over 26 hours !!!! Thanks to everyone who turned up & packed The Revolver to lend their vocal support for Matt. We all had a great time, even though a certain someone who shall remain nameless forgot to hand over the storage room keys to those travelling back to Birmingham, hahaha.

DTK bass player & proud Spector endorsee, Gary Piears-Banton appears on the latest Spector news bulletin talking about his affiliation with his favourite instrument. Gary has the largest collection of Spector basses in the UK! Check out the full bulletin here: Spector Bass

DRESSED TO KILL, the worlds longest running KISS tribute band are very proud to announce their endorsement with CORT GUITARS & BASSES.