Dub Pistols are an English electronic music band from London, founded in 1996 by Barry Ashworth and Jason O'Bryan. Their sound has been associated with big beat, electronic music, alternative hip-hop, dub, reggae, ska and drum and bass, combining different forms of dance and urban music throughout their career. The band has remained active since 1996, with Barry Ashworth continuing as its central member through various lineups.
The Dub Pistols released their first singles, “There's Gonna Be a Riot” and “Best Got Better”, in 1998, the same year they issued their debut album, Point Blank. Their second album, Six Million Ways to Live, followed in 2001, while Y4K: Next Level Breaks was also released that year. Over the course of their career, the band has released ten studio albums, including Speakers and Tweeters, Rum & Coke, Re-Hash, Worshipping the Dollar, Return of the Pistoleros, Crazy Diamonds, Addict and Frontline.
Their third album, Speakers and Tweeters, was released in 2007 through Sunday Best and featured collaborations with artists including T. K. Lawrence, JMS, Blade, Rodney P and Terry Hall. Collaboration has also been an important part of the Dub Pistols’ work through their remixes of tracks by other artists. Among their notable remixes are Ian Brown’s “Dolphins Were Monkeys”, Limp Bizkit’s “My Way”, The Crystal Method’s “Do It” and Moby’s “James Bond Theme”.
The band’s music has also appeared in film and video game soundtracks. Their songs were featured in films including Blade II, Bad Company, Piranha 3D and Mystery Men. Dub Pistols tracks have also appeared in a number of video games, including FreQuency, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Final Fight: Streetwise, NBA Live 08, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, FIFA 99, Dance Dance Revolution X and Juiced.
Return of the Pistoleros was released in 2015 on Sunday Best Recordings, followed by Crazy Diamonds in 2017 and Addict in 2020, which reached No. 70 on the UK Albums Chart. Their latest studio album, Frontline, was released in March 2023. Across more than two decades, Dub Pistols have developed a distinctive combination of electronic music, dub, reggae, ska and hip-hop, with collaborations, remixes and rhythm-focused production remaining central to their musical identity.
