Oxfordshire band Dirty Money are on a mission to become “the greatest band you’ve never heard… but you will” with a catchy rock sound that they describe as “bold, brash and ballsy.”
The Dirty Money story began one Christmas when vocalist John Hudson made the trip back home tp his mum’s house from Los Angeles. He decided to pop into his local pub The Cherry Tree, which had various guitars and bass guitars adorning its walls, where he met owner Ross Hutton (bass) and Mark Walker (guitar). The trio hit it off immediately and John stayed in the pub for three days over the holidays.
Although John moved back to the States for three years, they stayed in touch and, upon moving back to the UK, he stayed with Ross and his wife while he was looking for a place to live. Mark and Ross were in a band together, but when that split up just before lockdown John jumped at the opportunity to form a new one. However, completing the band proved more challenging before discovering Luis Silver (drums) in February 2022.
As John tells us: “Trying to find a drummer was a different story altogether. I think we had about five sit in with us that either we didn’t feel fitted or they just disappeared off the face of the earth so we really struggled. It was like trying to find rocking horse shit, if you’ll excuse the expression. Then Ross, being the salesman that he is, struck upon the ingenious idea that he’d look through the classifieds for people looking to sell their drums and that was how we happened to find Silver. Poor guy was trying to sell his drums and, instead, Ross convinced him to keep them and join the band. I’m not sure if his Mrs has fully forgiven him yet.
Since then, the band has crafted a sound that John describes as “a blend of classic and modern rock with catchy hooks and powerful guitar riffs.” And he adds: “Our real strength though lies in our live performances which are raw, high energy and completely unapologetic. We feel that we always manage to build a bond with our audiences and that we’re very good at making an experience for all involved out of a gig.”
Our first taste of this is Dirty Money’s debut single If, which has a delicious retro hard rock feel to it. The track opens up with a funky little stabbing riff and a bubbling bass that feed into two laid-back opening verses. That flows into a big catchy chorus “If I held you like I want to, Never letting go again, I’ve been kicked around this world and back, Through hell and back again, Back again,” which gives way to a chunky riff. It drops back into a mellow verse and another catchy chorus. This time it gives way to a fun guitar solo that sets up an energetic outro, which culminates in a final blast of the chorus.
On the single, John told us: “We’ve been getting a fantastic response to If and it’s been getting some great radio play on different stations across the country. So, for a debut single, it’s been phenomenal. If people haven’t listened to it yet, why not?! (just kidding). If is a fusion of high-octane rock n roll and introspective lyrics that delve into the depths of human experience. It captures the emotions of longing, loss and desire, packaged in a sonic experience. It’s definitely on the softer side of the spectrum to what we normally do but it’s still fairly indicative of our sound.” Check it out in the stream below:
The Dirty Money sound is inspired by the likes of Guns ‘n’ Roses, Black Stone Cherry, Zeppelin, Clutch, and Idles, with a broad spectrum of lyrical inspiration spanning from Bob Dylan to Sage Francis to Alexander Ebert and more.
And on what inspires them to write music, John explains: “Life. I don’t think any music has the ability to resonate with a listener unless there’s the truth behind it that they can connect with. So it really does depend on what we’re feeling at the time. Themes and topics are almost always too contrived and an audience will always pick up on that. You really need to be able to make yourself vulnerable and expose that element of your own emotions in your music for people to connect with. That’s the beautiful thing about music, it has an honesty you don’t get in everyday life.”
It’s been a little while since their debut single, but rest assured there’s plenty to come from Dirty Money soon. The band is currently working on their debut EP and is in the midst of some great gigs, which include playing at MK11 in Milton Keynes on 16 July and supporting The Meteors at Retro in Manchester on 17 July. Check out all their upcoming gigs here.
You can follow Dirty Money on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify and Bandcamp.
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