Biography
A quartet rooted in Yorkshire yet based in south London channels the same sardonic and brooding post-punk spirit embraced by numerous British guitar bands that emerged between the late 2010s and early 2020s. Vocalist Zach Lawrence, drummer Alfie Husband, and bassist George Ullyott, all born in the late 1990s and raised in separate Yorkshire towns, first played together as teenagers in the punk outfit Mice on Mars before relocating to London in August 2017. There they connected with guitarist Will King, two years their elder, who completed the original Deadletter lineup when the group formed in early 2020.
The self-released May 2020 single “Good Old Days,” sharp-tongued and angular, earned airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music. Their next sardonic social critique, the September track “Fit for Work,” introduced their characteristic saxophone and received spins from 6 Music presenters Steve Lamacq and Tom Robinson as well as on BBC Radio 1. The January 2021 release “Fall of the Big Screen,” bold and driving, repeated the Radio 1 exposure, while the July single “Monday Night Terrors” delivered an audacious stop-start structure. James Bates joined on second guitar the following month, and the band encountered music journalist and saxophonist Poppy Richler at the End of the Road Festival in September.
Departing from self-released material, Deadletter issued their first label-backed singles in early 2022: the Bloc Party-like “Pop Culture Connoisseur” appeared on Nice Swan in March, followed by “Line the Cows” on Make-A-Dance in May. The band then signed with So Recordings. Richler came aboard shortly before recording the danceable Heat! EP, released in November 2022, and Sam Jones replaced Bates prior to its release. The EP gained further visibility through a high-profile support tour with labelmates Placebo. Two standalone 2023 singles, “The Snitching Hour” and “Degenerate Inanimate,” marked the year’s output. Three additional tracks issued as mid-2024 singles first surfaced on the August EP More Heat!, whose full contents were later incorporated into the Jim Abbiss-produced album Hysterical Strength, released in September 2024. The LP reached the Top 20 on the Scottish album chart; although Richler performed on every track, she departed the group before the album appeared.
The self-released May 2020 single “Good Old Days,” sharp-tongued and angular, earned airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music. Their next sardonic social critique, the September track “Fit for Work,” introduced their characteristic saxophone and received spins from 6 Music presenters Steve Lamacq and Tom Robinson as well as on BBC Radio 1. The January 2021 release “Fall of the Big Screen,” bold and driving, repeated the Radio 1 exposure, while the July single “Monday Night Terrors” delivered an audacious stop-start structure. James Bates joined on second guitar the following month, and the band encountered music journalist and saxophonist Poppy Richler at the End of the Road Festival in September.
Departing from self-released material, Deadletter issued their first label-backed singles in early 2022: the Bloc Party-like “Pop Culture Connoisseur” appeared on Nice Swan in March, followed by “Line the Cows” on Make-A-Dance in May. The band then signed with So Recordings. Richler came aboard shortly before recording the danceable Heat! EP, released in November 2022, and Sam Jones replaced Bates prior to its release. The EP gained further visibility through a high-profile support tour with labelmates Placebo. Two standalone 2023 singles, “The Snitching Hour” and “Degenerate Inanimate,” marked the year’s output. Three additional tracks issued as mid-2024 singles first surfaced on the August EP More Heat!, whose full contents were later incorporated into the Jim Abbiss-produced album Hysterical Strength, released in September 2024. The LP reached the Top 20 on the Scottish album chart; although Richler performed on every track, she departed the group before the album appeared.
Albums
Singles
