The Dubious Brothers
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The Dubious Brothers were a UK band operating largely between 1986 and 1990 in and around the Leamington Spa area.
Their music was often based around music hall, light jazz and traditional dance genres, but used sampling heavily to create a more orchestral sound. Composers Erik Satie and Kurt Weill were also a strong influence.
In contrast to the backward-looking music, the lyrics were normally current political satire. The British establishment were mercilessly mocked, and often those opposing them too. With "The Dog Ate My Poll Tax Form" it's clear who was in the wrong, but "What a lovely day for a Hunt Sabotage" is slightly more ambiguous. An audience of several hundred university students dancing a rhumba made sense when they were also singing "South America welcomes the Nazis". Other themes included the mundanity of middle class life and the frustrations of broken dream.
The core of the band was a five-piece - vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, but they were augmented by two dancers dressed in surgeon's gowns and masks who would also operate various dadaist machines on stage. The main band were dressed as various establishment throwbacks - WWII pilots and airmen, undertakers in frockcoats etc.
The band were hugely popular at the University of Warwick where they were treated as returning gods after every gig. But with limited popularity elsewhere, they disbanded in the early 1990s. Lead singer and primary songwriter Monty released two more albums and an EP before succumbing to a proper job - he is now one of the UK's leading libel lawyers...under his real name.
Discography
- Absolute Bethlehem (album)
- Foresite saga (album)
- The Dog ate my Poll Tax Form (EP)
- South America Welcomes the Nazis (single)
- Don't laugh at me (single)
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