Interview by Adrian Hextall
In the cramped, sticker-plastered dressing room of London’s famous 100 Club, the air is thick with the specific kind of adrenaline that only exists minutes before a rock and roll band takes the stage. There is also a hint of sweat that permeates in the room from the thousands of bands that have performed there over the decades. That sort of vibe, smell, ‘comfort’ that comes from the dressing room just highlights the fact that the show I’m about to witness will be more than a little bit special. There’s real sense of camaraderie here, a shared language built over decades of sweat, feedback, and motorway miles. This is the inner sanctum of the WitchDoktors, spelt with a ‘fuckin’-K’, as they will remind you with a grin, arguably the capital’s longest-serving purveyors of garage punk.
Andy Last, Tony Major, Lee Page, and Joe Colfar are not just bandmates; they are a functioning ecosystem, the current (over a decade-long) four-cylinder engine that has seen the band driving the underground scene since 1992. They are often described as the “missing link” between the primal 1960s garage sound, the snarl of 1970s punk, and the swagger of rockabilly. But as they tour in support of their sixth studio album, ‘Izzatso?’, it becomes clear that the WitchDoktors are done bridging gaps. They have built their own island, and on this record, the weather is changing.
The new album is a direct challenge to the modern world; a jagged question mark hurled at an era defined by misinformation. The album, to these ears, is a nod to a bygone era of cool, yet it feels sharply contemporary. Andy Last, the band’s vocalist and guitarist, leans forward with a smile to explain the origins. He references Max Décharné, the former Gallon Drunk drummer / singer in Flaming Stars and author who penned a “Straight from the fridge, Dad – A dictionary of hipster slang”, based on 1950s B-movies.
“Izzatso?” was an old saying from the beat generation, Andy says. “It was a phrase that carried a certain weight, a scepticism. We were looking for something that represented the album. At one point we were saying that we didn’t know what to call it, and someone just asked, is that so? It was a question mark. It just fit.”
Tony Major, the band’s guitarist and co-vocalist, nods in agreement. He points out that the subject matter of the songs required a title that pulled it all together. With tracks like ‘Planet of Pain’, the band is addressing the state of the world where everyone pushes back. Nobody is comfortable being told anything because nobody believes any news source anymore. There is a layer of doubt over everything. You have to ask yourself if what you believe is actually the reality or if you are just taking it in.
The title also serves as a subtle tribute to one of the band’s heroes, Joe Strummer. Tony recalls that Strummer always spoke about challenging narratives, about not believing everything you read. It was about questioning authority and influence. Joe ‘Drummer(!)’ chips in; “Strummer is an all-time rock hero for the band, and that spirit of defiance runs through the veins of ‘Izzatso?’”.
However, the creation of this record was not without its ghosts. The album’s gestation was prolonged by the global pandemic, but its completion was marked by a profound tragedy: the loss of Pat Collier. A legendary producer and musician, Collier had worked with the WitchDoktors since 2007, shaping their sound on previous records like ‘$3 Hooker’ and ‘Voodoo Eye’. He was, for all intents and purposes, the fifth member of the band.
“We started the album probably three years ago and did the first nine songs with Pat,” Tony says, his voice dropping a register. “When Pat passed away, we were left with these tracks. Six of them were absolute keepers, but we didn’t know what to do. It was a massive blow. We were thinking we would have to find someone else to go to, but it was hard. Pat just knew us. He knew what we were about. Everything was second nature with him. He mixed things automatically for us. He was a huge influence.”
The void left by Collier was eventually filled by Grant Strang, who operates out of Silver Shark Studios. In a twist of fate that felt almost ordained, Silver Shark was one of the studios previously built and owned by Pat. With a passion for having things a certain way, the environment was identical. It was the same carpet, the same blue paint, the same excessive number of downlighters in the ceiling.
“Walking in there, it felt like he was still there,” Andy adds. “It was surreal. You would be sitting behind the guy recording, looking at the room, which was exactly like one of Pat’s studios, and for a second you’d think it was him. But the vocal room was much more comfortable technically. We felt at home. The album is dedicated to Pat.”
While the spirit of their late producer hangs over the record, ‘Izzatso?’ also marks a significant expansion of the WitchDoktors’ sonic palette. This is not just three chords and the truth; it is a layered, complex, and collaborative effort. The album features a host of guest musicians, pushing the band into territories they have previously only skirted.
Leigh Heggarty from Ruts DC lends his slide guitar skills to the opening track, ‘Lightning Strike’.” Lee Page, the band’s bassist, explains that the collaboration was a logical step given their history of sharing stages. Part of the ambition for this album was to push the collaboration piece. “We wanted to get people on board to help us take the sound into new territories.”
The result is a record that feels eclectic. There are horns, saxophones, and keyboards adding texture to the grit. Adds Joe; “Jamie from my other project, the dub-reggae outfit The Gyrators, provided the keyboard work (that Tony describes as outstanding)”, adding a colour to the recordings that shifted the vibe toward the experimentalism of The Clash’s ‘Sandinista!’.
This musical evolution is matched by a lyrical shift. The WitchDoktors have always revelled in a trashy, B-movie aesthetic, songs about zombies, swamps, and movie stars. But ‘Izzatso?’ sees them tackling weightier subjects. The lead single, ‘Before the War’, is a driving anthem that deals with PTSD, with proceeds going to the charity PTSDUK.
The pandemic also fundamentally changed the way the band wrote. During the lockdowns, Andy bought an 8-track recorder and began circulating demos to the rest of the band. They would hold “pre-production” meetings over Zoom, drinking beer and dissecting the tracks virtually. However, it was only when they finally got back into a room together that the alchemy truly happened.
‘Spanner in the Works’, a single and a standout track with a distinct reggae-punk lilt, is the perfect example of this organic process. Andy laughs as he recalls the song’s origins. “It started the other way around. The fast part that is now at the end was originally at the beginning. The song went into a breakdown in the middle. But when we were in the room, we just tipped the whole thing on its head. Joe started drumming it with a skankier feel, and we thought, why don’t we save the fast bit for the end? You can hear the energy of four people working it out in real-time. That only happened because we were in a real room, not a virtual one.”
This chemistry is the lifeblood of the WitchDoktors. Joe Colfar, the drummer, is the youngest member, having joined the band over a decade ago. The standing joke is that he joined when he was ten, though he corrects this to thirteen with a smirk. His influence, particularly his background in reggae and dub, has provided a new rhythmic backbone for the band.
“Joe operates like no other drummer”, Lee says admiringly. “For ‘Lightning Strike’, he literally sat there and gave us three options. He played it three different ways and said, that’s it, pick one. Some people faff around for ages, but Joe just gives you the goods.
One of the album’s hidden gems is the track ‘One Shot’, a six-and-a-half-minute epic that unfortunately didn’t make the setlist for the 100 Club show due to time constraints. It features a call-and-response vocal hook, “Strike one! Strike two!” and more that elevates the song into an anthem.
“That’s Joe doing the shouting”, Andy says admiringly. Joe responds “It was a deliberate shout-out to baseball. Three strikes and you’re out. The lyric also equates a nuclear attack to a strike. You are the guy with the bat, and you have one shot to hit it back.”
Tony emphasizes the importance of this unit. “We operate superbly well when there are three or four of us on the vocal line. All of us are up front because we are all frontmen in a way. Lee is a frontman on the bass; Joe is a frontman on the drums. We all take care of it. It’s four cylinders making the engine work.”
That engine has been running for over thirty years, a fact that commands respect in a city that often devours its own history. The WitchDoktors are inextricably linked to the lore of London’s Soho, specifically the legendary 12 Bar Club on Denmark Street. For almost seven years, the band held a residency there, playing the first Friday of every month in the tiny, sweltering “forge” area of the venue.
“You can’t talk about the band without mentioning the 12 Bar”, Tony says, a look of nostalgia crossing his face. “We played the last two nights there before it closed.” It was a legendary five-year residency. playing in front of that old fireplace that people will know so well (and miss), you could smell the chimney. It had a vibe that you just can’t manufacture.
The closure of venues like the 12 Bar and the darker, grittier corners of Soho has changed the landscape, but the band remains philosophical. They list off the remaining bastions of live music, The 100 Club, Hope’n’Anchor, Camden Underworld, Water Rats, New Cross Inn, Dublin Castle, as well as The Prince Albert in Brighton. They are still out there, grinding, pulling in crowds that range from loyal followers to new converts.
“I look forward, to make eye contact”, Andy says. “I look at the tops of their heads mostly, but if I see someone smiling, or a couple having a really great time, that’s it. We played a show recently where a couple came up to the merch desk afterwards. They said they saw us in 1996 in Colchester and hadn’t seen us since. They were in their thirties then, and they were back again. When you see that, when you see people dancing and getting involved, you give them a wink. It’s amazing the impact that has.”
The WitchDoktors are a rare breed. They have survived the trends, the venue closures, and even personal tragedy. They have emerged with an album that is arguably their best work to date, a record that respects their roots while refusing to be constrained by them. ‘Izzatso?’ is not just a collection of songs; it is a statement of intent. It is the sound of a band that knows exactly who they are.
As the interview winds down, the conversation turns to their love of playing seaside towns, a fitting nod to their line “Every day was like a holiday.” As I write they will have played a matinee show in Brighton at the aforementioned Prince Albert venue. The hard work and graft continues apace.
The WitchDoktors might be the “missing link” of garage punk, but they are far from a relic. They are a living, breathing, sweating testament to the power of a guitar, a solid beat, and the enduring bond of friendship. In a world of fake news and digital disconnect, they offer something undeniably real. Is that so? Absolutely.
‘Izzatso?’ is out now on Bomber Music and can be purchased at
https://store.bombermusic.com/products/witchdoktors-izzatso-vinyl-lp?
Our review of the album is here:
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