Stage fright: Your chance to appear in Dead Guitars music video
NEW SINGLE: From left, John Rowley, Hallam Lewis, Lou Duffy-Howard, Matt Higgins
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
If you’ve ever watched a fun music video and wished you’d been in it your chance is about to come.
The iconic and legendary Hull indie band usually known as Red Guitars are inviting people to have a starring role in the video for their next single, Blazing Zombies.
All you have to do is be at O’Rileys in Beverley Road, Hull, by 7pm on Sunday, April 27, and as the name suggests – just make yourself look a bit ghoulish.
All you need to do is give yourself a deathly look with some make-up – overdo it with the eyeliner, liberally apply the pale foundation and don’t spare the lipstick. Or you could go the whole hog and imagine you’re an extra from Michael Jackson’s Thriller, or that you’re going to a Halloween party.
You will be part of a free event called The Night of the Dead Guitars, and after about an hour of filming the band (Dead Guitars) will reappear on stage promising a musical treat – some old Red Guitars numbers mixed with cover versions in-keeping with the theme of the night.
“All you need is a ripped T-shirt, some white face paint and a bit of tomato ketchup or fake blood and you’re good,” said guitarist John Rowley. “It’s fun and it’s free and we’re hoping to get about a hundred people or as many as possible to O’Rileys to be in the video – everybody will be in it.”
He added: “It’s a really exciting time for us because it’s the first gig in this new format. It’s going to be a great night.”
After hugely successful comeback tours with their original line-up in 2022 and 2023, the band parted company with singer Jeremy Kidd. In 2024 as a four-piece they released their first single in nearly 40 years, Ho Ho Hum, written and sung by guitarist Hallam Lewis.
The same four original members will be releasing the follow-up, Blazing Zombies. They are Hallam Lewis (guitar, vocals), John Rowley (guitar), Lou Duffy-Howard (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Higgins (drums).
The new single has again been written and sung by Hallam. “His songwriting and singing are better than they’ve ever been,” said John.
Formed in 1982, Red Guitars’ prophetic first single Good Technology topped the Independent Charts and they had further consecutive No 1s with classic cuts Marimba Jive and Steeltown before releasing an independent album Slow to Fade.
Jeremy left the band shortly afterwards and was replaced by Robert Holmes. Red Guitars released their second album, Tales of the Expected, on Virgin Records before splitting up in 1986.
Their reformation in 2022 was revealed by The Hull Story.
The band are not currently using the name Red Guitars because of a legal dispute.
The Night of The Dead Guitars is a free event but the band and venue would like people to book a ticket via Skiddle here to have an idea of numbers