Dingus Khan

Formed in 2010, the band rocketed from obscurity to less obscurity in 2012, when they signed to Fierce Panda Records, who saw the opportunity to repeat their international success with Keane and Coldplay.

UK DJ Steve Lamacq publicly endorsed their debut single Knifey Spoony and invited the band to Maida Vale to record a session for his 6 Music show. Their radio-friendly combination of grinding dissonance and murderous revenge fantasies earned them further sessions with BBC Introducing and Mary Anne Hobbs, who declared second single Made a List one of her all-time favourite songs.

Fierce Panda released the band’s debut album Support Mistley Swans in 2012. The record drew national attention to the plight of wildfowl in the small Essex village bordering their hometown and became an instant hit with fans and critics. Artrocker named it album of the month, describing the band as “not so much breaking the mould as using post-modern theory to deconstruct it and remake it in their own image.”

The band toured extensively to promote the album, with festival appearances at Leeds, Reading, Bestival and Latitude, where their performance was described by BBC Introducing as “a master class in how to perform at a festival.”

The band’s history has not been without controversy. In 2014, they were banned from Latitude, after Ben Brown’s expulsion from the festival for a series of alleged misdemeanours (inciting a stage invasion during their set, impersonating a security guard and swimming across the lake in Henham Park to avoid capture). To add insult to injury, the singer found himself fat-shamed in Mojo after the event: “A roly-poly ginger man in a blue velvet robe… goads the audience into paroxysms of frenzy. For the first time this weekend, primal rock’n’roll chaos reigns.” DIY noted, “He’s pretty much naked by this point… his adventure is over. Chances are he might need to sign a few forms if he’s any hope of being allowed back into Henham Park.” Fortunately, the band has fans in high places and returned twice more to capacity crowds at the Alcove stage, at the personal invitation of Lily Allen’s dad, Keith.

Controversy has only fuelled their reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting and unpredictable live acts and they were invited to tour with Future of the Left and to perform as guests of Wolf Alice, who described them (in Bristol Live) as “like watching a carnival on LSD or speed or something.”

In 2015, the two Bens took time out from Dingus Khan to focus on their musical careers and formed SuperGlu. Two and a half years later, they were playing a sold-out showcase for BBC Music and the Department of International Trade at SxSW and being described as “one of the most exciting forces in British guitar music”.

Plans to capitalise on the success of their side hustle were put on hold when Dingus drummer Gaz Burney was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia in 2020. The band went on hiatus while he was undergoing treatment and have performed only a handful of shows since his sad and untimely death in August 2022.

But now they are poised to release their long-awaited second album, Dunce Kap. 10 years in the making, this is the final recording completed with Gaz and a fitting testament to his might behind the kit.

Later this year, they take the album on the road with a fluid and ever-expanding live line-up, featuring most of Anorak Patch and a Colombian artist from the murder capital of South America.

“Everything that’s wrong with modern day pre-packaged music isn’t wrong with Dingus Khan.” – Nitrospective

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