eastside events present
BAD TOUCH
THE DUST CODA
(co-headline tour)
plus support
Thursday 2nd October 2025
Newcastle: Northumbria University SU
Doors 7pm
*** all tickets from previous date of Saturday 8th March 2025 remain valid***
“We are a feel-good, dirty rock’n’roll band.” So says Daniel “Seeks” Seekings, guitarist for Norfolk blues-rockers Bad Touch, and really, why does it need to be more complicated than that? Their fifth album, Bittersweet Satisfaction, is a ray of positive energy, a celebration of living in the moment and leaving your troubles at the door. It has a more polished, mainstream sound than they’ve explored before, but still with its roots in the classic rock of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and The Black Crowes.
Frontman Stevie Westwood said, “I love every song. It's slightly more mature. It's a different sound for Bad Touch. It's less balls-to-the-wall rock, with the songs sounding a bit more thoughtful rather than just kind of exploded out of a tin can. Its something to explore and listen to, time after time.
The band formed as teenagers by founders, Seeks and Michael Bailey (bass) in a small hometown of Dereham, Nr Norwich, England back in 2010. Westwood came on board later, and they threw themselves into the live circuit, often playing three gigs across the town’s pubs in a single weekend. They quickly gained a reputation for their electrifying live shows, and with a self-released their debut album, snagged a national support slot with The Quireboys and won the Marshall Ultimate Band accolade.
Since then, they have not looked back, with many highslights, including Download Festival and nationwide tours to thousands of fans. Now, Bittersweet Satisfaction finds them with a renewed sense of purpose and determination. Recorded at The Marshall Studio in Milton Keynes, it was self-produced by the band, engineered by Marshall’s Adam Beer and Ollie Brightman, then mixed & mastered by Grammy & Mercury prize nominated producer Romesh Dodangoda, who has made it all sound suitably immense. Bittersweet Satisfaction is a collection of classic rock anthems with heart and soul to spare.
Really, though, it’s all about the live experience, the coming together of likeminded people to celebrate the healing powers of music. Seeks, said, “The ultimate thing is being on stage. Especially if you've got a roomful of people who are really enjoying the music that you've created.”
“There are so many people that come up and shake my hand and go, ‘Your music has really helped me’, and that's a really special thing,” adds Westwood. “I think that's why music resonates with people, they want to feel that their emotions are validated. That's what I always long for when I come to songwriting – I want to write a song that someone can resonate with and go, ‘I've been here, and this is not necessarily a lovely place, but as long as there's someone else who's feeling the same emotions, then at least I'm not alone.’ Doing the nine-to-five is okay, as long as you got a Bad Touch gig at the end of the week.”
The band have recently recruited Brad Newlands on drums and Pete Lance on guitar, which has sparked a bit of a renaissance and given them fresh impedance, highlighted by the national co-headline tour in October 2025 with The Dust Coda.
The band continue to grow and entertain with dates planned across Europe in 2025.
Also check out other Music events in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Entertainment events in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Festivals in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
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