“We need more fight and need more grit. We need more punks and we need more bricks”

‘We Need More Bricks’ from our upcoming self-titled album is out nowhttps://t.co/nc7ptZEifypic.twitter.com/jBgdY8zWKs

— Neck Deep (@NeckDeepUK) November 17, 2023

In an interview with Rock Sound, vocalist Ben Barlow said “We Need More Bricks’ is, in my opinion, Neck Deep at their political best. Touching on everything from the monarchy, immigration, protest laws and international wars. We find ourselves at a cross section in the zeitgeist where bricks could be used to build something, or to be destructive. 

I’m calling on punks and those that want to make a difference, to do so. As well as being our most poignant political track to date, it also features my favourite riff/breakdown we’ve ever written, with a mosh call that, I hope, makes the listener think about their role in the world, and to speak up, take action on the many injustices the world faces today.” 

The new track will be part of the band’s upcoming self-titled album which is set to drop on January 19th 2024. Neck Deep will be the rockers’ fifth studio album and will include previously released singles “Heartbreak Of The Century”, “Take Me With You” and “It Won’t Be Like This Forever”.

Still speaking with Rock Sound, Barlow stated “This album is the sound of us knowing ourselves and knowing our ability. It’s unapologetically us. We’re professional songwriters now and we’ve really honed in on what we’re good at – but it’s also about having fun and enjoying writing these tracks. And there are those little sonic signatures in the mix that even I can’t really put my finger on that just make it Neck Deep. It happens when we get in a room together and it clicks – it’s us just doing our thing like we always have.”

Made from the ground up by us. This is Neck Deep in its truest form. Our self-titled album will be released on January 19. Pre-order now at https://t.co/prCe3obOpgpic.twitter.com/syC9LBq7h3

— Neck Deep (@NeckDeepUK) September 28, 2023

The tracklist for the upcoming album can be found below:

1. Dumbstruck Dumbf**k
2. Sort Yourself Out
3. This Is All My Fault
4. We Need More Bricks
5. Heartbreak Of The Century
6. Go Outside!
7. Take Me With You
8. The May Not Mean To (But They Do)
9. It Won’t Be Like This Forever
10. Moody Weirdo

Neck Deep are set to play an exciting show at London’s Alexandra Palace next year on March 28th. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the band’s website.

It’s been a long time coming but we’re stoked to be finally headlining Ally Pally. We’ve always loved the venue, now it’s our turn for our biggest headline show. We’re expecting it to be the best Neck Deep show ever, & you wouldn’t wanna miss that would ya?

On sale Friday 10am pic.twitter.com/4ifcXNriQB

— Neck Deep (@NeckDeepUK) August 9, 2023

Speaking about the band’s alien-inspired new song, frontman Ben Barlow says the track was “literally as simple as: we should write a song about aliens called ‘Take Me With You.’ So conceptually and lyrically it was pretty straightforward. A few of us in the band are big UFO heads [particularly Seb Barlow, bass] so we had a lot of fun writing this one.”

The song is a playful and more light-hearted take on feeling fed up with the state of earthly situations that the band are noted for and Barlow has stated that the song owes a nod, at least in part, to Blink-182’s hit “Aliens Exist.” Singer for Blink-182 Tom Delonge has long been a vocal believer of UFOs and his company To The Stars made moderate news headlines after the recent US UFO hearings seem to confirm that UFOs, at least, may need to be taken seriously. Neck Deep promise however, that more meaningful songs are in the pipeline and will be released in due course.

It is perhaps surprising that, given the band’s more than ten years on the scene, Neck Deep have never headlined Alexandra Palace but that particular box will be ticked in March when the group finally play its hallowed halls as the top billed band. It is an indication at how much the band has grown in popularity over the years as the group get ready for what will surely be their biggest ever show.

Discussing the March 28th show, the band said, “it’s been a long time coming but we’re stoked to be finally headlining Ally Pally. We’ve always loved the venue, now its our turn for our biggest headline show. We’re expecting it to be the best Neck Deep show ever, and you wouldn’t want to miss that would ya?”

Take Me With You is now available to stream worldwide. Aim your speakers at the sky https://t.co/yyuvLX2PxC pic.twitter.com/hAqCTJ02Ec

— Neck Deep (@NeckDeepUK) August 9, 2023

Tickets for the Alexandra Palace show will go on sale at 10am on Friday, 11 August. Tickets can be purchased here.

Neck Deep Tour:

16/08/2023 – Asylum – Birmingham
17/08 – Rebellion – Manchester
18/08 – Dome, Tufnell Park – London
19/08 – Dome, Tufnell Park – London
15/10 – Key Club – Leeds
16/10 – Slay – Glasgow
17/10 – Globe – Cardiff
19/10 – Doornroosje – Nijmegen, Netherlands
22/10 – Live Music Hall – Cologne, Germany
24/10 – Columbia Theatre – Berlin, Germany
25/10 – Proxima – Warsaw, Poland
26/10 – MeetFactory – Prague, Czech Republic
28/10 – Arena Wien – Vienna, Austria
29/10 – Magazzini Generali – Milan, Italy
30/10 – Technikum – Munich, Germany
01/11 – Plaza – Zurich, Switzerland
02/11 – Vooruit – Ghent, Belgium
03/11 – Schlachtof – Weisbaden, Germany
05/11 – Markthalle – Hamburg, Germany
06/11 – La Machine du Moulin Rouge – Paris, France
28/03 – Alexandra Palace – London

The band from Oklahoma originally had a hit with the single in 1997 when it shot to number one in 12 countries including the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. “MMMBop” was the lead single from the band’s pop rock debut album Middle of Nowhere recorded when the Hanson brother were only teens. Watch the original video below:

The Busted boys shared the new collab on Instagram with the caption, “It’s such an honour to sing this 90’s classic with the band who made it 25 years on from original release. Something a bit different that we hope will bring some happiness to all of you and we cannot wait to have HANSON out with us on tour in September around the UK & Ireland”.

The single will appear on Busted’s upcoming reworked greatest hits album to celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary. The album is set to feature 15 reworked versions of Busted’s fan-favourites. Since their launch in 2002, the band from Essex has had four UK number-one singles, won two Brit awards, and sold over 5 million records worldwide.

Last month Busted shared a revamped version of the 2002 anthem “Loser Kid” featuring the boys from Montreal’s Simple Plan. Listen below:

Welsh pop-punk group Neck Deep also helped turn the band’s 2003 soft acoustic ballad “Meet You There” into an energetic rock track earlier this month. Listen below:

Busted’s Charlie Simpson, Matt Willis, and James Bourne announced their plans to celebrate two decades of the band with a huge comeback UK autumn tour in March much to the delight of fans of the boy band. The trio will be playing 20 dates across the UK in September supported by Hanson. See here for remaining tickets and more information.

Matt revealed to the Mancunion, “We’re mainly going to be playing the first two records. It’s going to be a big Busted love fest. We’ve all just fell back in love with Busted. We’re embracing it. It feels like the right time to do that with our fans.”

For the complete list of Busted’s UK & Europe dates see below:

02/09/23 – Plymouth Pavillions – Plymouth
03/09 – CIA – Cardiff
05/09 – Swansea Arena – Swansea
06/09 – BIC – Bournemouth
07/09 – Brighton Centre – Brighton
09/09 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
10/09 – The O2 – London
12/09 – Bridlington Spa – Bridlington
13/09 – Utilita Arena – Newcastle Upon Tyne
15/09 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
16/09 – Utilita Arena – Newcastle Upon Tyne
17/09 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
19/09 – P&J Live – Aberdeen
20/09 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
22/09 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
23/09 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
24/09 – AO Arena – Manchester,
26/09 – Cardiff International Arena – Cardiff
27/09 – The O2 – London
29/09 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
30/09 – AO Arena – Manchester
01/10 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
06/10 – 3Arena – Dublin
08/10 – The SSE Arena – Belfast
10/10 – The O2 – London

NEW YEAR, NEW BANDS!

We are very excited to inform you that @NeckDeepUK are your 4th and final festival headliner!

Also joining us are @cancerbats, @bronxovision, @thesummerset, @PointNorthBand, @momjeansca and @AsDecemberFalls!https://t.co/hb3406ieze pic.twitter.com/5cPE1PVM1z

— Slam Dunk Festival (@SlamDunkMusic) January 14, 2022

The festival suffered the same fate as all of its counterparts in 2020, however was one of the lucky ones in 2021; although dates were rescheduled from June to September, both Slam Dunk North and Slam Dunk South were able to go forward, featuring headliners such as Don Broco, NOFX, While She Sleeps and Don Broco.

As you can observe from the poster, the festival boasts an extremely exciting line-up this year. Sum 41, who were unable to attend the rescheduled 2021 festival, will be present, and are accompanied by UK pop punk titans Neck Deep, Celtic rockers Dropkick Murphys, and Canadian post-hardcore legends Alexisonfire. The line-up is an absolute dream come true for avid pop punk fans, as there will also be performances by The Story So Far, The Wonder Years, Knuckle Puck, Motion City Soundtrack and Pennywise.

Alexisonfire are not the only throwback outfit on the bill either; Canadian post-hardcore outfit Silverstein will be performing, having had their 20^th anniversary in 2020, along with The Used and American ska punk band The Might Mighty Bosstones. Another group who are a truly special (albeit a little niche) addition to the line-up is Hot Water Music, a post-hardcore/punk rock band that formed in the early 1990s.

There are also a fair few heavier bands billed, such as Canadian hardcore punk outfit Cancer Bats, Australian metalcore band The Amity Affliction, and German metalcore outfit Eskimo Callboy.

Slam Dunk Festival, associated with Slam Dunk Records, was formed in 2006 on a small-scale basis and was held at Millenium Square in Leeds, before being moved to the University of Leeds’ student union. Despite only being able to host a few artists in its early days, the festival still attracted a great deal of popular acts; for example Fall Out Boy headlined in 2006, and were accompanied by now legendary post-hardcore band Thursday. Later years saw the appearance of acts such as Reel Big Fish, Paramore, You Me At Six, Alkaline Trio and Taking Back Sunday, and the festival expanded from its small scale to hosting over forty different acts across six stages.

The run will now kick off in February, although the Welsh band is yet to confirm any actual dates. In a statement shared on Instagram today (January 4), the band noted that a new slate of shows will be announced in the coming days.

In their statement, Neck Deep confirmed that their decision to postpone the All Distortions Are Intentional Tour was due to the rise of COVID-19’s Omicron variant, as well as “the ongoing restrictions in Ireland and Scotland”. The band also informed fans that all tickets purchased for the old shows will remain valid for rescheduled dates.

“This is not a decision we make lightly, As our friends in Sleeps have rightly pointed out, at this time when the government fails to provide clear direction and guidance regarding events, hospitality and entertainment, it feels necessary to take it upon ourselves to do what we think is right for our fans.”

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A post shared by Neck Deep (@neckdeepuk)

US rapper Nothing, Nowhere, has also had to back out of the tour due to issues with scheduling. Their replacement will be named at some point in January, although fans will be happy to hear that hardcore group Higher Power and pop-punk outfit Happydaze will still appear on the tour.

The rescheduled tour is likely to take place in February as the band hinted, though it will have to be sometime after February 9th as Neck Deep are still scheduled to commence a European tour later this month, which will begin with a show in Belgium on January 24th,  before concluding in France on the aforementioned date.

The tour is in support of their most recent 2020 album All Distortions Are Intentional which debuted at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart. The tour was originally postponed all the way back in 2020 due to the COVID outbreak. Many fans may be frustrated that yet again, the tour has been postponed, but they should soon get to see the band live again.

“We are bummed that we have to announce the postponement of our September headline tour, to Spring 2021”, the Wrexham-based band said. Tickets for the London, Manchester and Glasgow shows will remain valid. The Cardiff show is no longer happening, tickets for Cardiff can now be used for the Bristol gig. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, August 5, at 10am here. The shows will be opened by support acts nothing,nowhere. and Higher Power.

“We held on for as long as we could, but the world is just too upside down right now”, the band said on Twitter. This comes after they just released their new album “All Distortions Are Intentional” which debuted at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart.

bad (but hopefully obvious news):
my 2020 UK/EU dates are cancelled
because of…everything.
refunds available at point of purchase.

good news:
i will be touring
with @NeckDeepUK in 2021
hope to see you there. pic.twitter.com/azM6z6dNh8

— n,n. (@nothingnowhere) August 3, 2020

“We held on for as long as we possibly could, waiting on a miracle, but sadly it’s just not going to be possible to go ahead with the shows as planned. Above all, the safety of our fans, crew and ourselves has to come before anything. However, we’ve taken this opportunity to reshape the tour a little bit and are really stoked to add some extra dates in cities that everyone was asking for!”, they announced in a statement.

“We are also super excited to welcome nothing,nowhere. and Higher Power onto the dates. We will see you all in Spring! Stay safe x.” Check out the new dates below:

31/03/2021 – Birmingham – O2 Academy Birmingham
02/04 -Bristol- O2 – Academy Bristol
03/04 – London- O2 – Academy Brixton
05/04 – Edinburgh – Assembly Rooms
06/04 – Glasgow – Barrowlands
07/04 – Newscastle – O2 Academy
09/04– Manchester – Victoria Warehouse
10/04 – Leeds – O2 Academy Leeds

There are no official facts of what really happened on the night, but only fans present at the venue, versions of events. The common thread is that security was too ‘heavy-handed’ with crowd surfers when pulling them out of the crowd, which some describe as ‘slamming people down’ and ‘getting rough’. This lead to fights erupting, first with the fans and security staff, which Neck Deep Bassist Fil Thorpe-Evans clocked onto, urging him to start yelling at the security at the fans defence. He was then pulled off stage by the Rock City security, which obviously wasn’t received well, and escalated to the rest of the band dropping their instruments and joining in. The crew also intervened to help separate the situation.

do love a good fight but not sure what actually happened here #neckdeep #rockcity pic.twitter.com/ibsSKXp1uQ

— S O F I A (@burningphoenixr) October 9, 2017

SECURITY ARE PIECES OF SHIT AND NECK DEEP FUCKING DID SOMETHING THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED pic.twitter.com/Mbrb5UxpYt

— lindsay (@ptvlinds) October 9, 2017

Front man Barlow came back on stage after some time and loud chants from the crowd, to tell them the show was cancelled. “Security fucked it. There was a fight. The show’s over”, and drops his mic. There is a video that surfaced online that also shows Ben outside of the venue later that night apologizing to gig-goers for what went down and how he never intended for the show to be cancelled.

Videos have surfaced on YouTube of the fights from different angles, as well as all over Twitter from fans, which has racked up many likes and re-tweets, with loyal Neck Deep fans sharing this as what they see a ‘heroic act’.

Yesterday the pop-punk band released a statement on their official Twitter account regarding the night’s violent events, in which they explain “no-one involved in a show should ever be in fear of harm or injury – be that fans, crew, venue staff, security or the band.” It also states that the Nottingham gig will be rescheduled, and tickets will be valid again for the new one.

pic.twitter.com/zeiJMhnhqb

— Neck Deep (@NeckDeepUK) October 10, 2017

Nottingham Rock City have also released a statement since the night’s events explaining, “it doesn’t appear that the security staff was disproportionate in their response to the crowd surfing” and “we know how disappointing this has been for the fans who didn’t get to see the band play. We hope to be able to make a further announcement on this shortly.”

The band intends to carry on with the rest of their UK tour, starting with Norwich tonight and ending in Manchester on the 14^th October. You can still get tickets for the upcoming dates here: http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Neck-Deep-tickets/artist/1835140