UK quartet The Hot Damn! are set to bring their brand of neon-fuelled Pop Rock to the UK as the group’s Dancing on the Milky Way Tour Kicks Off this week in Cardiff. The band are gearing up to unleash their colourful, high-energy sound on stages across the UK this week, following the recent release of their debut album, Dancing on the Milky Way. The album, which launched on 27th September 2024 through Fat Earth Records, made an immediate impact, reaching #3 on the UK rock chart.
To celebrate the occasion, the band have recorded a stripped-back acoustic cover of Shania Twain’s classic You’re Still the One, a song that frontwoman Gill Montgomery says holds personal significance, saying of the album’s recording process: “It had been a pretty taxing weekend… or year, really. The line ‘looks like we made it’ just kept popping up over the years. We’d been singing it so much along the way that it really felt part of our journey.”
The band’s journey began in 2019, a product of long-standing rock connections forged through former projects. Montgomery and drummer Josie O’Toole, previously of The Amorettes and Tequila Mockingbyrd respectively, initially joined forces to cover tour commitments for their old bands. By 2021, bassist Lzi Hayes joined from her day job as an estate manager at the V&A, and The Hot Damn! was born. ““I think we both had moments where we were like: ‘Can I really be fucked starting again?” Hazed said to Louder Sound, adding: “In a way Covid did us a favour, because it gave us a bit of time to take stock, and miss it, and be like: ‘Yeah, we do want to do this.'”
The band opted to forge their own path with a fresh, neon-saturated aesthetic, trading black attire for tie-dye hues, glitter, and party props. The concept paid off, capturing attention before they’d even released a single. O’Toole saying in Louder Sound, “It’s about making the biggest impression you possibly can. We’re on a shoestring budget, but if we get some party canons from Asda and launch them at the end of the show, it still works. It’s fun, and it’s us.”
Having partnered with Echelon Talent Agency earlier this year, The Hot Damn! have designed their upcoming shows to reflect their “mission to make rock fun again.” While their vision of confetti, glitter curtains, and beach balls seemed ambitious, fans have quickly gravitated toward their light-hearted take on live music.
Montgomery, whose day job includes managing a funeral home in South East London, brings an unconventional perspective to her role in the band. “It’s interesting,” she says. “You’re either for it or you’re not.” But when it comes to performing, she takes inspiration from rock legends who’ve built legacies on charisma, not perfection. “I look at people like Iggy Pop or Alex Harvey. They make it interesting and fun. I never wanted to be an Adele. I just wanted to be different, be… not boring If you’re boring, you’re fucked.”
The Hot Damn! have already made their mark on the airwaves, enjoying A-list radio rotation on Planet Rock, BBC 6 Music, and Germany’s Star FM and Radio BOB!. The band’s debut has also met acclaim, being described by Rockfield as “not only a feel-good instant cure for S.A.D but the spontaneous dancing and prancing around the room it inspires will also get the blood pumping on a cold autumn night.” Now, following their international debut in Germany earlier this year, Dancing on the Milky Way paves the way for The Hot Damn! to share their rose-hued bubblegum brand of rock with audiences across the UK.
