UPSTAIRS VENUE

Caustic, cerebral and bizarre, LICE have spent their early years flirting with mainstream acclaim while remaining British punk’s constant outliers. Often a tight-fit for traditional punk fans, LICE have cultivated a devoted following amongst seekers of more transgressive, unusual guitar music.

Emerging from Bristol’s vital avant-garde scene, the group shot to prominence with incendiary DIY headline shows and supports for The Fall, The Fat White Family and Girl Band. In 2017 they became Big Score Records’ first release with standalone single ‘The Human Parasite’, winning their first national press and 6Music support.

In 2018, the band’s arch-advocates IDLES (who took LICE as their support on the Brutalism and Unity tours) released LICE’s ‘early-years’ collection through their label Balley Records. This Double EP, ‘It All Worked Out Great 1+2’, won critical acclaim from the likes of The Guardian, The Quietus and Loud and Quiet, who declared them “the most exciting, inspiring and genuinely deranged new guitar band in the country”.