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Dead Pony
Dead Pony performing in 2024
Dead Pony performing in 2024
Background information
Also known asCrystal (2015–2020)
OriginGlasgow, Scotland
Genres
Years active2015-present
Labels
Members
  • Anna Shields
  • Blair Crichton
  • Liam Adams
  • Euan Lyons
Past members
  • Lewis Clarke
  • George McGarrity
  • Ross Taylor
  • Aidan McAllister
  • Lizzie Reid
Websitedeadponyband.com

Dead Pony, formerly known as Crystal, is a rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band started as a duo comprising vocalist Anna Shields and guitarist Blair Crichton after she wanted a guitarist to make music with. After she formed Crystal with Crichton and three of her university classmates, the band supported Paolo Nutini at a BBC Scotland's Hogmanay concert, appeared on Tony Visconti's Unsigned Heroes, and released the Sex Rich EP. Shields and Crichton then formed a quartet with bassist Lizzie Reid and drummer Aidan McAllister and released numerous singles, before Liam Adams replaced Reid and the band changed their name to Dead Pony. After Euan Lyons replaced McAllister, the band released the EP War Boys, which was inspired by the 2015 movie Mad Max: Fury Road, and performed at numerous festivals. Their 2024 album, Ignore This, charted at No. 8 on the Scottish Album Charts.

History[edit]

2015-2019: Formation and early releases[edit]

In 2015,[1] Glasgow YouTuber Anna Shields reached out to fellow Glaswegian Blair Crichton, as she wanted a guitarist to make music with.[2] The pair bonded over their love of 1990s grunge bands,[1] and eventually began making music as a duo,[2] choosing the name Crystal after an early track reminded Shields of a Spyro the Dragon sound effect triggered by Spyro collecting gems and crystals.[1] Shields and Crichton were later joined by Lewis Clarke, George McGarrity, and Ross Taylor, who Shields was studying commercial music alongside at the University of the West of Scotland.[a] The band first came to prominence in 2016 after winning a competition to support Paolo Nutini at a BBC Scotland's Hogmanay concert.[4] After being featured on Tony Visconti's Unsigned Heroes,[5] a Sky Arts series,[6] they released the singles "Passed Down"[2] and "Sugar Sweet"[7] and the EP, Sex Rich.[5]

The band then diversified into blues rock and then into grunge;[1] around this time, Clarke, McGarrity, and Taylor left. The duo were later formed a quartet with acoustic folk musician Lizzie Reid,[1] the granddaughter of the trade unionist Jimmy Reid,[8] and blues rock musician Aidan McAllister.[1] In 2018, they released "Heaven", a track written from the perspective of a theist questioning their belief system, alongside a music video.[4] They then released "Sex Rich" in January 2019[9] and "Sugar Sweet" in April 2019.[10] After winning Pirate Prodigy 2019,[11] a competition operated by Pirate Studios,[12] they released "Speak of the Devil".[11] Reid then left the band[13] and was replaced by Liam Adams in late 2019.[14]

2020-2022: Name change and War Boys[edit]

"A horse – a pony – is one of the most beautiful, majestic creatures on the planet, and there’s something really tragic about the idea of it lying there dead. That sense of waste, and the anger and confusion it brings, reflects what we’ve been feeling recently – but coming to terms with it has kinda’ become the vibe of this band." [sic]

Summers talking to The Sunflower Lounge in 2023[15]

In April 2020,[15] the band renamed themselves "Dead Pony" after their then-unreleased track "Everything is Easy",[13] an attempt at conveying the feelings of betrayal the band felt when they were told that Santa Claus was fictional.[16] They did this as Shields and Crichton wanted to tighten up their image.[17] Shields and Reid released a remote cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" during the pandemic, and "Everything is Easy" was released on 1 May 2020, their first release on LAB Records.[b] A subsequent track, "Sharp Tongues", addressed rumours and those who started them and was released in July,[19] with a self-shot music video released that September.[20] In November 2020, the band were nominated for "Best Rock/Alternative Act" at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards,[21] an award won by Fauves;[22] they were later nominated for that award ceremony's Sound of Young Scotland Award in 2022, which was won by Berta Kennedy.[23]

Later that month, the band announced that they were working on an EP and released "23, Never Me",[21] a punk rock track[24] about ending unhealthy friendships.[21] The cover art for the single featured a recently-administered tattoo of the track's title on Shields' arm, which was performed by the drummer for Lucia & the Best Boys.[25] Euan Lyons replaced McAllister in mid-2021;[c] by August 2022, McAllister was gigging as half of the alternative rock duo Brasser.[28] The band then band released a further single in March 2022, "Bullet Farm",[29] which was based around a riff from a chase scene in Mad Max: Fury Road.[26] They then supported Twin Atlantic.[30] That June, they released "Zero" and announced their debut EP, War Boys,[31] which was entirely Mad Max-themed.[32] They then played Glastonbury Festival 2022 on the BBC Introducing stage,[33] before releasing the EP's title track and then the EP that September.[34]

2023-present: Ignore This and festivals[edit]

Vocalist Anna Shields in 2024

The band supported Mother Mother that November,[35] before releasing a cover version of Nelly Furtado's "Maneater" the following month.[36] In June 2023, they then released "MK Nothing", a track Shields wrote after dreaming of a woman brainwashed by MKUltra to assassinate villains,[37] alongside a music video.[38] The band then supported Chvrches[39] and performed at 2000trees,[40] before releasing "Mana" in July, a track describing survival in a post-apocalyptic ghost town.[41] Around this time, they performed at TRNSMT,[42] Truck Festival, Y Not Festival,[43] and Tartan Heart Festival.[44] They released "Cobra" in August 2023, a combination of rock music and break beats,[43] before playing a headline tour the following month and releasing the lost love ballad "About Love" the month after that.[45] That November, the band won won the P&J Live Spotlight Award at the Scottish Music Awards.[46]

The band announced their debut album, Ignore This, in December 2023, alongside the release of new videos for "Cobra" and "About Love". The album got its title from the band's experience of being ignored,[47] and was recorded during two weeks in a Scottish Highlands[48] cabin, during which time it rained constantly. On the last day, they wrote the self-empowerment track "Rainbows" after the rain stopped and they saw one in the sky;[49] they released the track as a single that March,[50] followed by its music video the month after.[51] Ignore This was released in April 2024[49] and featured "MK Nothing", "Mana", "Cobra", "About Love", "Rainbows",[49] four interludes,[52] and seven other tracks.[49] Designed to evoke surfing between VHS tapes,[52] the album charted at No. 8 on the Scottish Albums Chart.[53] The band then asserted that they would play a seven-date headline tour in December 2024.[54]

Artistry[edit]

Shields stated in a April 2018 interview with The Skinny that she personally took inspiration from Kathleen Hanna, the lead vocalist of Bikini Kill,[4] while Lauren Jack of The Scotsman wrote that Shields "clearly" took inspiration from Paramore's Hayley Williams, even to the point of replicating some of her dance moves.[44] Iain Smith wrote in November 2020 that Shields took inspiration "from the pop and indie spheres with elements of grunge" and that Crichton's influences included metal and hard rock,[17] while Crichton used a 2023 Skinny piece to suggest that "Nirvana's simple, tasteful chord progressions and interesting note choices" had moulded the band's sound.[55]

"Heaven"'s style was influenced by Nirvana and The Breeders, while the song's vocals were inspired by Wolf Alice and Fleetwood Mac and its music video was initially inspired by the works of Courtney Barnett and Wolf Alice.[4] Their cover of "Maneater" was inspired by N.E.R.D., Justin Timberlake, and Limp Bizkit, as the band were listening to significant volumes of music from the early 2000s at the time,[36] while "Cobra"'s musical stylings were inspired by The Prodigy, who the band described as their "idols" in a 2024 Rock Sound interview.[49]

Emma Flynn of DIY described "23, Never Me" as "menacing" pop-punk and likened its chorus to works by the Marmozets,[56] while Alex Curle of When the Horn Blows described War Boys as having "flairs and dabbles of grunge, punk and hard rock with sounds similar to the soft and hard undertones of Wolf Alice and Bikini Kill".[57] Reviewing Ignore This, Samantha Hall of Distorted Sound wrote that the album "features everything from nu-metal riffs to pop-punk energy, as well as classic rock guitar solos and electro-synth".[52]

Members[edit]

  • Anna Shields – vocals, guitar (2015–present)
  • Blair Crichton – guitar (2015–present)
  • Liam Adams – bass (2019–present)
  • Euan Lyons – drums (2021–present)

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart
positions
UK Indie
[53] 		SCO
[53]
Ignore This
(Dead Pony)
  • Released: 5 April 2024[58]
  • Format: CD, digital, LP
  • Label: LAB Records
 11 8

EPs[edit]

Title Details
Youth
(Crystal)
Sex Rich
(Crystal)
War Boys
(Dead Pony)

Singles[edit]

As lead artist[edit]

Singles as lead artist
Title Year Album Ref.
"Heaven"
(Crystal) 		2018 Non-album single [60]
"Sex Rich"
(Crystal) 		2019 Sex Rich [61]
"Sugar Sweet"
(Crystal) 		[62]
"Speak of the Devil"
(Crystal) 		Non-album single [63]
"Everything is Easy"
(Dead Pony) 		2020 [58]
"Sharp Tongues"
(Dead Pony) 		[58]
"23, Never Me"
(Dead Pony) 		War Boys [58]
"Bullet Farm"
(Dead Pony) 		2022 [58]
"Zero"
(Dead Pony) 		[58]
"War Boys"
(Dead Pony) 		[58]
"Maneater"
(Dead Pony) 		Non-album single [58]
"MK Nothing"
(Dead Pony) 		2023 Ignore This [58]
"Mana"
(Dead Pony) 		[58]
"Cobra"
(Dead Pony) 		[58]
"About Love"
(Dead Pony) 		[58]
"Rainbows"
(Dead Pony) 		2024 [58]
"Generation Gap"
(Mazare & Dead Pony) 		The Losers Club[64] [58]

Other appearances[edit]

Song Year Album Ref.
"Siren"
(Crystal) 		2015 Blastproof 2015 [65]
"Paper"
(Crystal) 		2015 Blastproof 2015 [65]

Tours[edit]

Headlining[edit]

  • Ignore This Tour (2024)[66]

Supporting[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^
    • For Taylor's name being Ross, see [3].
    • For everything else, see [2].
  2. ^
    • For the fact that the Fleetwood Mac cover was "Dreams", see [18].
    • For everything else, see [13].
  3. ^
    • For the fact that he replaced McAllister, see [26].
    • For mid-2021, see [14].
    • For the fact that his name was in fact Euan Lyons, see [27].

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "CRYSTAL: 'We're always evolving as artists and getting better at writing and performing' | News & Features - The List". list.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d McQuade, Christopher (22 June 2017). "Glasgow band CRYSTAL warm up for new single". Glasgow Live. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b SEX RICH EP, Spotify, 25 November 2017, retrieved 6 July 2024
  4. ^ a b c d "CRYSTAL - Heaven (Video Premiere): The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Sneaky Pete's". Sneaky Pete's. 28 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  6. ^ Cairns, Dan (7 July 2024). "Tony Visconti and his Unsigned Heroes". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Crystal, Scotland On Sunday, 8 April 2018". New Found Sound. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Granddaughter of Jimmy Reid could be Scotland's answer to Joni Mitchell". The Herald. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  9. ^ "PREMIERE: CRYSTAL 'Sex Rich' | New Music". Tenement TV. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  10. ^ "CRYSTAL 'Sugar Sweet' | Listen". Tenement TV. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b "This Feeling Track of the Day: Crystal 'Speak Of The Devil'". Gigslutz. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Pirate Studios launch a hunt for fresh UK talent with their Pirate Prodigy programme". dmy.co. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "TTV TALKS: Dead Pony on their name change, signing to LAB Records, future plans and more". Tenement TV. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  14. ^ a b The Sound Lab (27 June 2022). Interview with Dead Pony - Glastonbury Festival 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2024 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ a b "Dead Pony". The Sunflower Lounge. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Dead Pony confront the brutal realities of growing up in frantic "Everything is Easy" | Best Fit". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Dead Pony: Bridging the chasm between chaos and harmony". Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (Virtual Collab) Anna & Lizzie | hello everyone! i hope you're doing okay. amidst this mass quarantine, I thought it would be nice to do a virtual collab with Lizzie to (hopefully) lift your spirits a bit. this is one of our favourite songs ever and it was so much fun to record our rendition of it. i hope we did it justice 🙂 thank you to my angel Lizzie Reid for recording this with me. it was so nice to sing with you again even if it was over a computer screen 💘💘💘 anyway, stay safe and see you shortly. love, anna xx". Facebook. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  19. ^ Murray, Robin (23 July 2020). "Dead Pony Strike Back With New Single 'Sharp Tongues'". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Dead Pony have released a new video for 'Sharp Tongues'". Dork. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  21. ^ a b c "Dead Pony Share Punishing New Cut '23, Never Me'". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  22. ^ Holland, Cath (24 November 2020). "Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMA) 2020 Winners Revealed - God Is In The TV". Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Fergus McCreadie's 'Forest Floor' revealed as winner of Scottish Album of the Year Award". www.creativescotland.com. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  24. ^ "15 of the Best New Bands from Scotland". Gigwise. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  25. ^ "Dead Pony: 'People don't really sing about friendship breakups. To me, they can be more hurtful than relationship breakups.'". The Glasgow Guardian. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  26. ^ a b "Future Sound: Dead Pony | News & Features - The List". list.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  27. ^ "Under the Radar: Jonah Eli". The Scotsman. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  28. ^ "Brasser at The Hug and Pint, Glasgow on 07 Aug 2022". The Hug and Pint. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  29. ^ "Dead Pony 'Bullet Farm' | New Music". Tenement TV. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  30. ^ Walker, Shiona (18 May 2022). "PHOTO GALLERY: Twin Atlantic, Declan Welsh And The Decadent West, Dead Pony, Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, 12/05/2022". Bring the Noise UK. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  31. ^ Taylor, Sam (9 June 2022). "Dead Pony embrace their rock side with new single 'Zero', from their debut EP". Dork. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  32. ^ FaceCulture (17 December 2022). Dead Pony interview - Touring, Mad Max, perseverance, musical growth and more! (2022). Retrieved 8 July 2024 – via YouTube.
  33. ^ "BBC Music - Glastonbury, 2022, Wolf Alice present BBC Music Introducing at Glastonbury". BBC. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  34. ^ Heasley, Ellis (2 September 2022). "Dead Pony release new song 'War Boys'". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  35. ^ Lear, Mark (23 November 2022). "Mother Mother in Manchester: Massive appreciation from the crowd which could be the 'concert of the year'". Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  36. ^ a b Weaver, James (11 December 2022). "Dead Pony release new cover of Nelly Furtado's 'Maneater'". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  37. ^ "Listen to Dead Pony's explosive new single, MK Nothing". Kerrang!. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  38. ^ Taylor, Sam (6 June 2023). "Dead Pony's new single is about a girl who's mind controlled to assassinate bad guys". Dork. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  39. ^ ""They've Still Got It"- Live Review: Chvrches @ Rock City". Impact Magazine. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  40. ^ "The big review: 2000trees festival 2023". Kerrang!. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  41. ^ "Dead Pony have released an intense new single, MANA". Kerrang!. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  42. ^ Williams, Katie (9 July 2022). "Spot yourself in the crowd as Paolo Nutini wraps up day one of TRNSMT". Glasgow Live. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  43. ^ a b Taylor, Sam (18 August 2023). "Dead Pony have dropped their "diss track to everyone we stand against", new single 'Cobra'". Dork. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  44. ^ a b "Dead Pony kick off UK tour in style with Aberdeen show". The Scotsman. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  45. ^ Taylor, Sam (27 October 2023). "Dead Pony have dropped a ballad about lost love, new single 'About Love'". Dork. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  46. ^ "Complete lineup of winners announced for the 2023 Specsavers Scottish Music Awards | News". What's On Glasgow. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  47. ^ Kelly, Tyler Damara (14 December 2023). "Dead Pony announce their debut album, IGNORE THIS". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  48. ^ Picker, Ciaran (29 February 2024). "Dead Pony: "We didn't have time to mess around"". Dork. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  49. ^ a b c d e "Dead Pony, 'IGNORE THIS'". RockSound. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  50. ^ Weaver, James (1 March 2024). "Dead Pony release new song 'Rainbows'". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  51. ^ Taylor, Sam (2 April 2024). "Dead Pony have shared a new video for 'Rainbows', a song about loving yourself". Dork. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  52. ^ a b c Hall, Samantha (2 April 2024). "ALBUM REVIEW: Ignore This - Dead Pony". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  53. ^ a b c "IGNORE THIS – DEAD PONY - Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  54. ^ Carter, Emily (22 April 2024). "Dead Pony announce winter headline tour". Kerrang!. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  55. ^ "Celebrating 30 Years of Nirvana's In Utero - The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  56. ^ "The Neu Bulletin (Banji, Dead Pony, Jesswar and more!)". DIY. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  57. ^ "EP Review: Dead Pony - 'War Boys'". When The Horn Blows. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  58. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Dead Pony - Discography". Spotify. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  59. ^ Youth, Spotify, 28 September 2016, retrieved 6 July 2024
  60. ^ Heaven, Spotify, 4 April 2018, retrieved 6 July 2024
  61. ^ Sex Rich, Spotify, 11 January 2019, retrieved 6 July 2024
  62. ^ Sugar Sweet, Spotify, 26 April 2019, retrieved 6 July 2024
  63. ^ Speak of the Devil, Spotify, 1 August 2019, retrieved 6 July 2024
  64. ^ "The Losers Club - EP". Spotify. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  65. ^ a b Blastproof 2015, Spotify, 16 July 2015, retrieved 6 July 2024
  66. ^ @DeadPonyBand (22 April 2024). "HEADLINE TOUR!! Let's goooo 😎 IGNORE THIS tour across the UK this December 🔥" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  67. ^ "Baby Strange announce support acts for UK tour". Tenement TV. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  68. ^ @mothermother (11 November 2022). "Hey FamFam, we're excited to announce support for the upcoming UK + EU dates! We'll be joined by @Robert_Grace in Dublin, PAMELA in Helsinki and @DeadPonyBand for all remaining dates" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  69. ^ @KidKapichi (11 March 2024). "As the beginning of our world tour gets closer, tickets are starting to sell out! Can't wait to take 'There Goes The Neighbourhood' on the road with some old favourites as well. Grab your tickets now to avoid disappointment 💛" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  70. ^ Carter, Emily (29 May 2024). "Against The Current announce two intimate summer shows with Dead Pony". Kerrang!. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
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