One Dollar Peep Show - Biography
Two Girls, two boys, two laptops and a hell of a lot of chutzpa; 1DPS create a heady electr(on)ic rock 'n' roll noise-pop stew not unlike Martha Reeves and the Vandellas being remixed by Trentemoller, but not quite as good. As happy bothering guitars as upsetting synthesisers, they've listened to too many records to recall which ones have influenced them, although others have compared the band to Metric, The Cardigans, Portishead and an electro Siouxie and the Banshees. And the B52's (which we thought was a little unkind).
Scott: "The first time I saw Nigel play was at the Old Trout in Windsor where he was on stage with a band bowing a cymbal with a cello bow. There was something quite remarkable about what he was doing for two reasons. One was the fact that he looked a lot like a tiny, completely mad, multi-coloured leprechaun and secondly because the noise he was producing with this cymbal and bow was f*****g terrible. It was only later when I met him that I found out he played guitar."
The duo played in bands together for years until, in 2003, they relinquished the live scene and retreated to a small, sweaty room in Reading. Armed only with a computer they found in a skip, they set out to create dirty pop music the like of which had never been seen before. They were not entirely successful.
Singer Minna Harris completed the lineup in 2004- and suddenly it all made sense. Minna's style-one part Martina Topley-Bird to two parts Annie Lennox-strangely suited the boys' ramshackle creations and they took to the road, playing only three gigs, all of which sold out, before splitting up. 
Literally minutes later Chris Britton asked them to record an album for his achingly hip Weird City Electric Company Label. The band enthusiastically agreed before splitting up again. Undeterred by this, the trio eagerly set to work on the opus, mangling guitars, synths and occasionally fire extinguishers into the mix. As the studio descended into anarchy Chris eventually had to resort to banning Scott and Nigel from the premises in order to finish recording Minna's vocals.
Ashley White, a schoolfriend of Minna's, was requisitoned by da 'show to sing backing vocals (B.V.'s) at this stage, and they liked her so much that they did not allow her to leave (but only just got round to mentioning her on here. *Ahem* sorry, Ash). Ashley is now an essential component of the One Dollar Peep Show live revue. Unable to play more than a handful of gigs to promote the album while Minna finished her university education, it nonetheless sold out of its original run of 500 copies largely by word-of-mouth. Now counting a Psychology graduate among their number, the group have reconvened to smoke fags and write and record their debut single, and will be gigging extensively from September onward.
WHAT THEY SAY...
"ones to watch"
Linda Serck - BBC 6
"One Dollar Peep Show mix the discordant with the lush- with a sassy frontwoman singing with clarity and nobility behind virtuoso wah wah guitars, brooding samples and pulsing beats... This band have a captivating presence- they draw people with a silent strength, not saying anything during the songs, just being-it's a cap that fits them well."
