Drunken Balordi

Please drink irresponsibly.
Drunken Balordi are the musical equivalent of a particulary mess night out with backpackers in a Walkabout pub. Hailing from Italy, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand - and based in London - they throw everything but the kitchen sink at their boozy mix of gypsy punk, folk, dub, Joe Strummer worship and bleary eyed drinking songs. With a cacophony of accordions, fiddles and whisky soaked vocals, tracks like the shambling Italian Nightmare - complete with a doff of the cap to The Clash's Guns of Brixton - are what is must sound like inside Shane MacGowan's head.
There's nothing pretty about Drunken Balordi - this is a puke stained, beer goggles potrait of bad decisions at 2am, so it's quite possible that's the best time to listen to it, sobbing into your kebab while locked out of your flat.
5 out of 10
Emma Johnston - Classic Rock

It’s an album full of passionate stories and bleary eyed tales – anthems for a weekend fuelled by booze, romance, philosophy and hedonism. Drunken Balordi have encapsulated perfectly the multi-cultural spirit that runs through the very veins of their gypsy punk fabric, delivering a genuinely fantastic debut album (and one of the most interesting albums of 2010) that will undoubtedly justify their hype and announce their arrival into the mainstream glare. - Stereoboard.com

"dirty punk'n'roll just how we like it, if you don't jump around to these guys you aint got no legs" - Ray 'rudeboy' Gange March 2010 - The Grosvenor

'Fuck Art let's Dance These guys are a promoter's dream they fuse beautiful music from around the world causing a riot and leaving you wanting more, watch out people your in for a treat' - Junktion7 Nottingham England - Junktion7

I went to see Alabama3 play at the JAMM in Brixton a few weeks ago. As I was waiting around by the bar this gypsy punk band came on stage. I didn't know who these guys were but they were bloody great, they packed the room in minutes and had the audience going mad... there was two or three people stage-diving (something you don’t see much of these days!)
Cool tunes, the band are all very animated, and the singer/guitarist Billy King is a great frontman with a vocal style like Joe Strummer of the Clash (who are my all time favourite punk band and I got the shivers down my back as soon as I realised who his voice reminded me of) and Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, another legend. The band has a very original style, gypsy but with a lot more punk attitude than Gogol (whom I also love).
I managed to talk to Billy after the show (funnily enough at the bar!) and he was nice enough to offer me a shot and was very approachable even though he was like a lunatic on stage with his fingers taped up, strumming the guitar so fast at one point that his right arm was a blur, while the violin player was the devil himself driving the crowd insane!
I have since gone to their MySpace page and see that they are playing JAMM once again in Brixton on the 19th of December with none other than Shane MacGowan DJ-ing after their set, which doesn’t surprise me as these guys are on the rise.
I strongly advise anyone who is looking for a high energy gig, great tunes and a good time that this is a band to go and see, they will leave you covered in sweat and with a smile on your face, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they start playing the festival circuit next year.
You guys have gotta check them out for yourselves, and if you ever read this Billy… see you at the next gig… I owe you a drink! - John (Avenue-B)
- (Avenue-B)

I saw Drunken Balordi playing on Saturday night at DEX and even though they went on at about 2am and everyone was drunk it was one of the best live acts that I have seen in London for a long time! I think they are a great band that will go a long way; I can honestly see them playing big festivals next year. The PA sound wasn't great but still the energy that the band transmitted more than compensated for the bad sound. Drunken Balordi are a great band with great sounds that could rock any party or crowd. WOW! - Steve Sheppard (This Is London) - This is London

A variety of gypsy, Roma, klezmer & Balkan melodies, all dished out with punk energy – (Time Out) - Time Out

Excellent music while having fun. Great band! – (LastFM.com) - Last FM

…including tonight the excellent Drunken Balordi, whose bizarre gypsy-punk mish-mash threatened to steal the limelight from a stripped-down Alabama 3. – Miguel Mascolinas (Music Planet Magazine) - Music Planet Magazine

London based Drunken Balordi is combining rugged vocals, acoustic instruments and folky licks to produce a fresh gypsy punk sound reminiscent of early Gogol Bordello.
This one year old band is able to raise havoc with the crowd in minutes, as I witnessed last night in Mehanata. Dj Mistho's Mehanata Bulgarian Bar NYC
- Dj Mistho