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Everything DBS
Logos Our Brand
When not using one of the official logos below or the band name is part of written content please adhere to the following brand guidelines. The band name must be written as one word using a capital letters at the beginning for each section as follows: DeadBlondeStars.
Bio Our Origins
South Yorkshire grunge/alternative rockers DEADBLONDESTARS have been performing together for several years, building a reputation as one of the region’s finest live rock bands. They released EPs in 2015 and 2018, before finally releasing their well-regarded eponymous debut album in May 2020.
With COVID 19 bringing the world grinding to a halt shortly after the release of their album, DEADBLONDESTARS took to the airwaves in pursuit of wider acclaim, with radio play reaching far and wide across the globe. Like every independent band, few opportunities for live performance during the pandemic left the band isolated from their audience. This led them to film live performances of tracks from the album and distribute them via social media. The enforced downtime also gave the band time to write, refine and record around 30 new songs, before whittling them down to an album’s worth of new material.
Once live music returned, the band secured slots at some of the UK’s finest grassroots music festivals in 2022, including Rock & Blues, Rockin’ The Bowl, Wildfire and Love Rocks. Continued involvement with independent radio stations helped the band reach a new audience, with the listeners of Great Music Stories radio voting DEADBLONDESTARS their Band Of The Year for 2022 (previous winners include Massive Wagons, Those Damn Crows, Scarlet Rebels and Amongst Liars).
Moving into 2023, and with the inertia of a global pandemic fading into the distance, the band’s second album “Metamorphosis” was released in February 2023 to widespread acclaim and gained the band even more exposure across the world. Buoyed by Metamorphosis’s success, DEADBLONDESTARS entered and won the Sheffield region of the Metal 2 The Masses competition, earning a slot on the New Blood Stage at the 2023 Bloodstock Open Air Festival and taking the band’s music to a huge live audience.
After a couple of years performing the songs from Metamorphosis to live audiences far and wide, the band once again returned to the studio to write and record their third album “Devotion”, scheduled for release in Autumn 2026. It promises to be their most ambitious and varied release yet…
Photos Our Faces
Members Who We Are
Gary Walker: Lead Vocals/Guitar
Tom Gratton: Guitar
Oliver Thompson: Guitar/Vocals
Matt Simons: Bass/Vocals
Jamie Machon: Drums
Press Mentions What People Say
DeadBlondeStars set the tone for the night with their dark, brooding intensity. Opening with “11 Teeth”, it’s clear that we are in for both an aural and physical pummelling as the brutal riff at the heart of the song kicks hard before Gary Walker’s soaring vocals cut through the wall of sound created by his bandmates. It is quite obvious that DBS embrace the Seattle sound; however they filter it through the Steel City experience to produce an instantly recognisable grunge vibe underpinned by modern rock sensibilities. With only 30 minutes to hammer home their message, the band quickly move on to “This Tree”, which has a slower paced dream-like quality, before upping the ante with “Worlds Apart”. The riffing, courtesy of twin guitarists Tom Gratton andOliver Thompson, sounds like two tectonic plates grinding against each other while bassist MattSimons batters any survivors of this seismic activity into submission. The only member who belies the underlying good nature of the band is drummer Jamie Machon who smiles throughout the night and steadfastly refuses to conform to the none more black dress code. Nonetheless the drumming pummels, kicking harder than an ornery mule as exemplified by “Shine Any Light” and“Tiny Giants”. All too soon the end of the set approaches in the form of “A Friend Like You”. This song encapsulates all that you need to know about DeadBlondeStars: soaring, passionate vocals over a grinding wall of riffing intensity which overwhelms the senses and draws you deep into the belly of the beast. Best experienced with the volume tuned up to 11, DeadBlondeStars will banish your everyday woes. Emerging Rock Bands
“Metamorphosis” is a powerhouse – the definition of hard rock for a modern age, with a brooding darkness, raw menace and tension that fits the troubled times we live in. Great Music Stories
DeadBlondeStars delivered a performance that was equal parts aggression and introspection, a performance that felt both cathartic and commanding. Their sound draws unmistakable influence from the golden era of grunge, but what sets them apart is the distinctly British twist they bring to the genre. It’s still grunge, yes, but filtered through the industrial heartbeat of SouthYorkshire. The band’s twin guitar attack, led by Tom Gratton and Oliver Thompson, was nothing short of relentless. Their interplay created a layered, immersive musical tapestry, heavy in tone, and emotionally resonant. We Shoot Music
“Metamorphosis” is heavy, moody, downright dark at times, but it never loses its rhythm and ability to make me move. A lot of it is Gary’s vocals, they truly separate this music from the ordinary, but it’s the three-pronged guitar attack that push this thing over the edge IMO. Gary’s vocals carry the day, putting an exclamation point on a distinct sound that is unlike anything elseI am hearing done today. All in all, these boys have a combination that works in any number of dynamics, in any number of decades. Their talent is hard to deny; I don’t care what your genre leanings may be. Rock-n-Review
Sheffield’s DeadBlondeStars were another grunge band on the bill this year, and being reminiscent of Sound Garden, they were an absolute revelation. I try to deliberately not check out bands beforehand because I love the surprise of being hit by brilliance out of the blue, this was definitely one of those moments. Not easy to describe just how amazing the vocals were without mentioning the G.O.A.T that is Chris Cornell, but those high notes had me tripping over my jaw. Ghost Cult Magazine
Their new record, Metamorphosis, understands perfectly how big-sounding, stadium grunge works; the band have just the right mix of sledgehammer nut-cracking and filigree, aching self-absorption, and in opening statements of intent “11 Teeth” and “This Tree” they mark themselves out immediately as a band that not only grasp these concepts – they know how to implement them bloody well, too... Sentinel Daily
Discography Releases to Date
Devotion - October 30th 2026
Stage Plot & Tech Spec
