Who Are One Thousand Motels?

One Thousand Motels is the stripped-back, no-passengers collaboration between Rat Scabies (drummer and co-founder of The Damned) and Chris Constantinou (aka Chris De Niro — best known for his work with The Mutants, The Wolfmen, Sinead O’Connor, Jackie Onassis and as the bassist/backing vocalist for Adam Ant –  a long-time collaborator across punk, rock and beyond).

It’s two heavy hitters with nothing to hide: drums, bass, guitars, grit, hooks — and the kind of groove you only get when the players have actually lived inside the music for decades. One Thousand Motels grew out of the pair’s work together in The Mutants, then became its own thing: leaner, sharper, and built to move.

Sonically, they don’t box themselves in. It’s rock ’n’ roll with punk DNA, but it slides through garage swagger, bluesy grit, funk attitude and psychedelic edges without ever sounding like a nostalgia act. This is music made in the present tense — instinctive, loud, and properly alive.

Their releases include 2% Out of Sync and Get In Where You Fit In – records that feel like late-night neon and bad decisions, raw at the edges, hooked in the middle, and driven by players who know exactly when to kick the door in.

This Spring, both albums are getting a fresh treatment, with a limited run of special coloured vinyl for people who still want the real thing in their hands. The physical release is through Rotator Records (FOAD Musick), Dublin, Ireland and both albums will also be released digitally through Cherry Red Records – so keep your eyes and ears on this site for further details!

If you know Rat Scabies, you already know the point: precision chaos with that unmistakable swing. If you know Chris Constantinou, you know the other half: melody, low-end muscle, and a songwriter’s ear that can drag a chorus out of a back-alley riff. Together, One Thousand Motels isn’t a side-project — it’s a proper band: real noise, no filler, no pretending.