Drag Queen Bingo


Drag Queen Bingo are song-writing team Matt Green and Steve Long, guitarist Danny Joyce, bassist Ed Long, drummer Sam Keen and Dale Townsend on Hammond Organ. Originally formed in the summer of 2006, the Bingo, minus Dale who joined the band later, set about working on the first Green/Long compilations under the guise of Zeb and the Buzz and The Problem before the chance synchronised airing of Sex and the City and The Mighty Boosh on different channels one late winter evening gave the band their distinctive mantle. Originally a pretty straightforward indie rock outfit, musical sections became more and more elaborate and influences became more and more varied, from the New York Dolls and Bowie to the BJM and the Dandy Warhols.

2007 was spent tightening the Bingo’s stage performance and trying to find the distinctive style that they were looking for. Prolific song-writing meant that new songs could be unveiled from gig to gig and only the strongest songs in the set survived. Early tracks like “F*ck Politics (Let’s Have Sex)” and Drop The Bomb were popular with audiences but needed to be reigned in as by the summer of 2007 the sound of a Bingo set was becoming too varied and their identity diluted. With this in mind the Green/Long song-writing machine went back into overdrive and the set was gutted to make way for a more psychedelic indie mix, with catchy hooks and melodies combined with a rich, diverse sound from the full band. It was at this point that Matt started actively searching for an organ player, a much discussed target for some time. Dale Townsend offered his services (or was he worn down over time?) and by late 2007 the line-up was complete, and the songs were reworked again to get the most out of this new backline.

By this point songs were coming from collaborations between front man Steve and guitarist Matt, such as the organ driven tribute to unrequited love (again, should that be stalking?) “Too Close For Comfort” as well as individually written gems like Matt’s “Give Me A Buzz”, a chilled psychedelic track that borrows moments of inspiration from both sides of the Atlantic, and “Hammer My Condition Home”, a rasping Black Crowes style confession by Steve, with a fantastic guitar riff from Dan. In early 2008 the boys were in the studio again to record their latest demo, before returning to stages around the midlands. The rest of the year involves far further jaunts around the country supporting the likes of Jesus Deluxe, The Crooks, The Pockets and Mint Ive, all of whom have supported the Nuneaton boys hugely as they try to reach a larger audience. A deal to record their album with producer Little Bobby in Brighton over the summer too means a busy time ahead and a full length independent release before the end of the year should be reason enough to keep new and old fans excited!

E-mail: thedragqueenbingo@hotmail.co.uk
Myspace: www.myspace.com/thedragqueenbingo

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