| Josh Doyle | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Josh Doyle |
| Origin | Kent, England |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Occupations | Singer Songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals Electric guitar Acoustic guitar |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | GB Recordings |
| Associated acts | Dum Dums Rogue States |
| Website | JoshDoyle.com |
Josh Doyle is a British-American songwriter and musician who was the lead singer and guitarist for British punk-pop band Dum Dums. He disappeared after the break-up of Dum Dums in 2001, the band having released one album. He resurfaced in Nashville, Tennessee in 2004 with a wife and daughter and a new "folktronica" sound on the independent The End Of Fear EP.
In 2009, Doyle released Values and Virtues EP independently funded by his fanbase. With the proceeds of those sales Doyle was able to tour the UK without a label or any sponsorship, testing a new way forward for artists who have fans but choose not to sign with a record label.
He is currently recording a solo debut album with platinum award winning producer/engineer Joe Baldridge (awarded for Jesus Freak (album) which has sold over two million copies,[1] achieving double platinum certification by the RIAA.)
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Between 1998 and 2001, Dum Dums were among a handful of successful guitar bands amongst a glut of all singing, all dancing boy-bands and female pop starlets. While touring the "toilet" circuit[2] (small clubs across the country such as "The Charlotte" in Leicester and "The Camden Monarch" in London) in the UK, they were signed to Wildstar by Ian McAndrew (Arctic Monkeys, Travis) and exploded across the radiowaves. Their first single 'Everything' hit the Official UK Top 20 and led to four UK hit singles from the first hit album, "It Goes Without Saying".
Doyle became a recognisable face in the UK music scene. The band grew in stature, selling out venues all over the UK including Shepherds Bush Empire in London. They were cover stars of national music magazines including Melody Maker, and due to an awesome live reputation made fans ranging from Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols to John Entwistle of The Who, were invited by Paul Weller (The Jam) to play Earls Court and by Robbie Williams to support him on 30 arena dates.
They played all the major festivals, sharing the stage with The Flaming Lips in Glastonbury, Supergrass at V2000 (the same day they supported Bon Jovi at Wembley Stadium) and a star studded line-up at Party in the Park for 250,000 at Hyde Park. They toured as headliners in Germany and Japan, hitting the Japanese charts with single "Everything", in 2001 signing to MCA in the US.
While recording the follow-up album, after the big US deal, the band span off into personal breakdown. Given a "write more 'pop' or get 'dropped' " ultimatum by the UK label, Doyle decided they had already strayed too much into 'pop' territory and quit the band. He watched as poppier, manufactured copies of his band sprung up such as Busted and McFly and dominated the music charts for the next couple of years, while he could not put his finger on a direction to pursue next. Depression descended and Doyle became reclusive, not leaving the house for days at a time.
In 2003, he and his wife sold and gave away all their personal belongings and moved from the UK to Nashville, Tennessee.
The next year saw him recording the "End Of Fear EP" with college student Sam Shacklock, one half of Intramural[3] (the other half being Statistics frontman and Conor Oberst bandmate Denver Dalley). Doyle released the EP independently from his website, mailing each CD out by hand.
An underground US following developed quickly, and respected zines such as Absolute Punk[4] "a stellar debut, 8/10" and Sound The Sirens "a therapeutic must-have" gave high ratings. Using only MySpace and physical CD mail order sales (no touring, no digital sales, no radio) Doyle slowly but surely sold out of the first run of the EP, with help from a remnant of Dum Dums fans and a growing contingent newly discovered fans from the US.
In 2006 he played rough acoustic demos of new material to rock producer Joe Baldridge (Beck, Family Force 5, Jewel), who agreed to produce his album without even a record deal or management. As he stepped into the studio, he also played his first solo shows in four years in Tennessee supporting Imogen Heap. His new songs impressed so much that he scored international management from Showdown in the US (Creed, MUTEMATH, Paramore, Family Force 5) and Radius in the UK (Imogen Heap, Dum Dums).
In 2009, Doyle released Values and Virtues EP independently funded by his fanbase.[5] With the proceeds of those sales Doyle was able to tour the UK without a label or any sponsorship, testing a new way forward for artists who have fans but choose not to sign with a record label. Interview about his crowd funding project in Music Magazine[6]
In 2010, Josh had his songs featured on ABC TV show The Unusuals and in promos for the ION Network over all the US cable networks. He used the licensing fees to fund a home studio and began his "Songs From The Nuclear War" project in 2011, which itself led to a Midwest US tour and a UK acoustic tour.
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