As they gear up to celebrate 20 years of riotous marauding, the Dub Pistols are prepping their seventh album Crazy Diamonds in 2017 and there’ll be a documentary about the band dropping at some point in the year, too. And they’ll be out on the road, as usual, of course — the hardest working band in showbiz.

A kinda 21st century equivalent of 2-Tone acts The Specials or The Beat, the Dub Pistols are the quintessential festival band. Coming over a bit like if King Tubby and The Skatalites bumped into Terry Hall at a Goldie gig, the Dubs have reached their two decade milestone with a lot of ups and downs along the way.

They’ve worked with vocal legends like Rodney P, Busta Rhymes, Gregory Isaacs, Terry Hall, Lindy Layton, Akala and Horace Andy, while the band’s mainstays are fiercely loyal and dedicated. An unorthodox collective of musicians who each have their own personal interests and solo projects, when they come together to form the Dub Pistols some dubwise magic happens.

“The next album is actually a bit more chilled-out than the last two,” says Barry. “It’s still a classic Dub Pistols album, but ‘Return Of The Pistoleros’ and ‘Worshipping The Dollar’ were more club-orientated — leaning more towards peak-time bangers. This album is a bit more relaxed, with a smoked-out reggae vibe — although there are still a couple of bangers on there.”

The guests on the next album read like a who’s who of conscious styles. Dancehall dons Beenie Man and Cutty Ranks, reggae singer Earl16, young hip-hop act Too Many T’s, seminal MCs Navigator and the Ragga Twins, and long-time collaborator Lindy Layton (and dope rapper Genesis Elijah??) all bring their unique talents. Some of these will be appearing with the Dubs live over the coming year as the band present a history lesson in all the different bases they’ve covered over the past two decades. With added bass!

Tickets available from Wendesday June 21st 10:00.