Setting the pace
Dreadzone were an ideal support for the Levellers, both in terms of their social and political mindset and their ability to whip a crowd into a frenzy. The band fuses dub and reggae with folk, dance and rock to create a rhythm fueled melting pot of noise.
With both The Levellers and Dreadzone appealing to the same group of people, this was always set to be a well-received set. Dreadzone also have something of a cult following meaning they brought their own audience to the party, and party it certainly was.
On the down side, those not so familiar with Dreadzone’s work, not unlikely given they’ve only scored one top twenty hit single in fifteen years, may have found it followed a similar, and to an extent, predictable pattern. However as a half hour warm up for The Levellers it definitely did the trick.
The hit single in question, ‘Little Britain’, released long before we were aware that there was “only one gay in the village” or that “computer says no”, appeared near the end of the set. This one cross over into commercial success doesn’t stand out in the same way as watching a current or recent indie band at a festival where people have turned up waiting for one song, and this track in no ways dwarfs the rest of an over all strong collection of tracks.
Following the death of Dreadzone guitarist Steve Roberts, brother of founder and former Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts in October 2006, the band took time out from the live scene. However 2007 saw them back in action, and if you’re festival trip this summer co-insides with their’s, you’d be well advised to give them a look: You’ll struggle to have a crap time.