Welcome to the DUMDUMS.COM audio page - this page contains various tracks the band recorded..some of which you will have heard, some you won't. One of the main reasons for re-launching the website was so that we could make available to the band's fans some of the songs they recorded but never released...

Shortly before the Dum Dums split in August 2001 they had been working on recording demos of songs that they'd written with a view to them going towards a second album. There were 3 main recording sessions in 2001; One in February where the band laid down 5 tracks, including 'Photographs' (which they had been playing live on the tour the previous November/December), another in April where they recorded 10 tracks and then another in June (shortly before going to Japan) where a further 4 tracks were recorded. In total 19 songs were written and then recorded and now that the website has been re-launched we plan to let you hear some of these songs. Not all of the tracks were finished, and some didn't come out sounding as they were planned, so it's doubtful that you'll ever hear all 19, but at least you get to hear some of them, right?

As well as the unreleased 'album two' demos, we will be putting up several alternative versions of songs that the band DID release and maybe a few demos of songs that were released as well.....

We will be posting new tracks over the next few weeks - so make sure you check back to download the latest songs!

 

Unreleased 'album two' demos

The lines below separate the tracks recorded in the 3 different sessions during 2001 - Feb/April/June.

To download the tracks, right click & choose 'save target as' etc. etc.

01. Closer To You
02. Teen Sensations
03. Photographs
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04. What Do I Want What I Haven't Got?
05. Travelling At Speed
06. The Ghost Gets Around
07. Everyday I Talk To God
08. I Woke Up (But The World Was Sleeping)
09. Kid Set Fire
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10. The Seeker

Check out Josh's comments on some of these songs below:

People were telling me to get away from that 'far too young to be making out' stuff, teenage love and that, which was fair enough since by that time I had like been married for two years !!

Pure pop is kind of a real guilty pleasure for me, I really dig some pop stuff like from the eighties, just spot on melody and hooks, but the down side is that stuff isn't generally very substantial lyrically and people are snobby about it not being very intelligent. This song is pretty simple stuff but I think its good pure pop." - Josh Doyle

Recorded during the February 2001 session.

'Teen Sensations'
"R-R-R-Rock me Amadeus. This is a very different song - this is like an update of Joe Jackson, xtc, Costello, and like kind of faith no more in there!! Well thats one way to wear our influences on our sleeves - this one is very musical too, different parts all over the place. What I really like about this is how unlike anything else it was from then, and theres a good singable chorus there. Lyrically its taking the 'kind of day ive had' theme to a different place - 'you resign your destiny, we'll provide security, we have the seniority....' .The chorus is kind of our saying goodbye to being the kind of teenybopper band we were on the fringes of being - we were always in the middle of the alternative scene and the pop scene. I dig the stop before the end. This song took a lot of planning out on all our parts." - Josh Doyle

'Photographs'
This is probably the most familiar song of the new ones - we played this a lot. Actually this one I was excited about from a chart perspective, I thought this could have done well. We could have brought out we built this city too. Some industry big cheese said to me did I really burn photographs - he couldnt believe me. I think it makes sense to want to destroy anything that a no good bird/bloke gave you. I like that 'I dont want to hear about your boyfriend" line - the amount of times I said 'girlfriend' live though - by accident - no doubt people began to wonder. . . Another big cheese told me this was going to be our first number one. Well he must have liked it. But hmmm no. Someone call SUM 41 and get them to cover it. - Josh Doyle

'Why Do I Want What I Haven't Got?'
This song is very kind of xtc/costello influenced--- about a guy asking himself if he should cheat on his bird.  I'm pretty proud of this lyric, its got some honest lines in there that kind of resonate a bit. I like the guys harmonies on the second and last choruses kind of crosby stills and nash. The last verse compares a stripper with, like, your steady girl, i like that 'winning doesnt mean a thing but it means everything you lose' line because thats a good summing up of the song. - Josh Doyle

'Travelling At Speed'
"This one was great fun to play live, we did a version when we co-headlined with Wheatus in Munich that really tore the house down. It was cool to bring some of our heavy influences out into the open, it was a little frustrating that the world in general saw us from our four singles, which were obviously catchy etc but werent a terrific indication of what we were as a band. So it would have been great to have a properly finished version of this with me singing a little better - I think people would have started to see us in a new light. I like the way the verses are super fullon and the chorus is police-y. Oh yeah this one is about being trapped in a life you have signed yourself up for and getting all claustrophobic." - Josh Doyle

'The Ghost Gets Around'
"I wrote this one after coming back from Jamaica!! Hence slight reggae twinge....yeah slight...I think this is a very dumdums 'pop' side song. Lyrics are about sleeping around, the ghost gets around is like people who get knocked up and no one knows who the father is so its like a false virgin birth, hence the 'ghost'. I love all the imagery in there, its hard to move a story and get a bunch of cool scenery in a song which goes like 3 minutes but i think this one works. Also I love the doo- doo - doo bits. We certainly had a lot of good doo - doo - doo bits in our songs. Good beat and bassline there too, irie, man. The whole thing with the dumdums was to try and do the pop thing but bring some level of lyrical interest there, and this is a good example of that." - Josh Doyle

Recorded during the April 2001 session.

'Everyday I Talk To God'
This is a wicked song, its a pity we couldnt have done a killer big production version of this one . The beats and the playing all round are pretty innovative stuff, kind of break-beat punk pop. Im sure someone will hear this song in a band and try and do what we did here ;) - thats cool as long as its a cool band and they give us some credit... I mean I dig all of these songs and it is great to have them out in the open because we spent a lot of time on them, and I think this album would have been five stars. The topic is a good one for me to, I felt a bit bad saying 'I ask God if he's drunk' because Im sure he doesnt generally conduct himself in that manner, from what i've heard. - Josh Doyle

'I Woke Up But The World Was Sleeping'
"We played this one a few times live, this one is another of my favourites from the stuff off the unreleased demos. Real rock out number. Although this again is a rough demo it gives a good idea. Its terrific to have a great song title, the lyrics write themselves. 'Disembodied heart beats floating through the car park, birds cant fly any higher than the atmosphere' - i dig that lyric. I wonder if people notice this stuff...Oh yeah and look I do a guitar solo !! Go and crank that up right now. Yes I play a note out of tune there that was for personality. But that song rules." - Josh Doyle

'Kids Set Fire'
"Rock out yeah . Tricky riff, more breakbeat punkpop. Lyrically this is about this theory I had - young people have all these reserves of energy and like the government invented rocknroll to subdue the masses and provide an outlet for potentially revolutionary anger. I remember our representatives in the music business community were troubled by the song title, so it gives me great pleasure to say it didnt change. But its not like any kid is going to burn his house down now are they? And they would have surely after 'you do something to me' lyrics anyway? Watch out for Wendy... " - Josh Doyle

'The Seeker'
Josh is yet to write about this song, which is a shame because I'm sure he would have written something very interesting, but he's busy being a father to a new-born baby right now, something that will no doubt give him plenty of lyrical inspiration for the future! - Josh Doyle

So instead, I will be so bold to say that I think this is one of, if not THE best songs the band ever wrote/performed. Despite the impaired vocal take on this demo recording of the track (Josh was suffering from severe hayfever when this was recorded in June 2001) the energy is amazing. Again, like so many others I'm left wishing I could hear a 'proper' recorded version of this song......enjoy. - James (webmaster).

 

Unreleased 'Rarities'

The following track are a mixture of demos of tracks the band recorded, songs that were never released and alternative versions of songs.

To download the tracks, right click & choose 'save target as' etc. etc.

01. Allergies (Originally a b-side for AO2 single, but never released)
02. Everything U.S. Mix (Remixed for American radio/album by Tom Lord-Alge)
03. It Goes Without Saying (Alternative version with guitar solo)
04. Lonely Hearts Company (Acoustic Demo)
05. Setting Sail (Acoustic Demo)
06. Until My Ship Comes In (Early recording featured on 'Blue Promo CD')
07. You Do Something To Me (Produced by Mick Lister, but not released)

'Allergies'
"Our first real heavy song - did this end up being a b-side? It was going to be a b-side on army of two but alas not. This one is real heavy, I think we have done better heavy songs but this was a step towards the new album stuff. Real nod to Pearl Jam in this song, which is fine by me since I never got to be in Pearl Jam except when I went to see them and as they were coming off stage I ran all the way down to the front of my seating area and yelled 'Eddie' and Eddie Vedder looked at me and it was a 'moment'. But that doesnt constitute being part of the band I have been told. " - Josh Doyle

'Everything' (US Mix)
This version of the band's debut single 'Everything' was remixed for the American release of 'It Goes Without Saying'....the track was released by Tom Lord-Alge - who t the time was making his name for mixing 'Enema Of The State' by Blink 182 and other hit records. Although this song was remixed to fit on American radio it didn't really get much airplay due to a lack of support from the band's American label. However - the subtle changes in the mix sound pretty cool. - James

'It Goes Without Saying (Guitar Solo Version)'
This song originally appeared as a b-side on the 'You Do Something To Me' single, despite being the title track fo the band's debut album!? The story goes that the song wasn't recorded in time for it to be included on the album (which had to go & be pressed/manafactured etc.) so it was used as a b-side, and a bloody good one at that! This version is actually the FULL version of the song - the released version had the guitar solo edited from it, I never did find out why......but this version has Josh in all his axe-grinding glory. After all he did make it into the '100 best guitarists in the world' list in Total Guitar in 2000 (or something). Anyone remember what place he came? - James

'Until My Ship Comes In' (blue promo cd version)
This version of ship was recorded live at Trident 2 near Victoria in London
(which sadly no longer exists). We had just recorded 'Everything' which we had talked about putting out a rough mix of as an indie single and needed something extra for the cd. 'Until my ship comes in' was one of the tracks we were so proud of at the time and it seemed therefore a good thing to do. I still think of this song as one of our finest moments.

We met Cathy Burke (sex icon...lads mag pin up) who was hanging out at the studio with a friend. Needless to say... my recollections of the finer details of this recording session have been somewhat eclipsed!! - Steve

'Lonely Hearts Company' (acoustic demo)
This acoustic demo of 'Lonely Hearts' was recorded sometime during the Summer of 2000 in the spare room of a house in Wimbledon. It was recorded/produced by Mick Lister (who produced most of the Dum Dums b-sides) and a guy called Leo Abrahams (who currently plays guitar for Ed Harcourt amongst others!). During this session the band also recorded demos of 'Kinda Day' and 'Setting Sail'... The recording was mixed with many games of FIFA on the Playstation!! - James