Interview with ‘Hat’s Off Gentlemen, it’s Adequate’

I had the delight of interviewing ‘Hats Off Gentleman, it’s Adequate’, an award-winning, independent two-person progressive rock band based in London and formed in 2011. The band consists of Malcolm Galloway, (vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer) and Mark Gatland (bass, backing vocals, keyboards, and co-producer).

Image: Hat's Off Gentleman It's Adequate

They first rose to fame at the ‘Hard Rock Hell’s Prog Festival’ in November 2017 when they stepped in to replace an injured band on the main stage and have gone from strength to strength ever since.

Since then, they have gone on to perform at countless festivals, and charity events and are in the process of recording their eighth studio album ‘The Uncertainty Principle’ (to be released early next year) alongside further UK gigs!

One of the things I most like about this band, is that alongside progressive rock, they also incorporate experimental themes; metal, electronic vibes and classical music alongside historical and scientific elements, I certainly detected some sounds reminiscent of Depeche Mode which delighted me.

Their most recent single is ‘One World That Means The World (Arkhipov)’ and is inspired by Soviet Naval Officer Vasily Arkhipov (1926-1998) who refused to action an order that could have lead to Nuclear War. After the war, the crew were treated like criminals and told it would have been better if they had passed away. This song is a tribute to them and combines different sounds in a way that really makes you think about the impact this decision had on the crew and how important it is to say ‘no’ despite how scary it may be at the time.

The aforementioned eighth studio album is based and named after ‘The Uncertainty Principle’ which in layman's terms, is ‘the more precisely things are measured, the closer we would get to the objective truth’. However, this is not the case and by doing so, other details can be missed. The album will include several stories from the world of quantum physics that relate to this principle and will be a ‘complete work’ rather than individual songs all placed into one album. Of course, they can be listened to separately, but together they also create a world.

Another song by this talented duo that really struck me was ‘Im Tired and Everything Hurts’, an anthem for those who are struggling with invisible disabilities and are fed up with not answering honestly when asked how they are. This subject is close to Malcolm’s heart, as he suffers from Ehler Danhos Syndrome and sadly had to retire from his job as a NeuroPathologist because of it.

Despite this, Malcolm and Mark still manage to put out an incredible amount of work and are always working on something, whether that be artwork for the new album, song lyrics or recording tracks. It is clear they work well together and are not looking to be signed to a label. Malcolm said in his own words, he is ‘very conflict adverse’ but due to playing together for over thirty years, Malcolm and Mark are able to easily discuss changes and not worry about hurting each others egos which makes things easier!

They work hard but do not take themselves too seriously, and although the lyrics are often about serious topics, they make their performances playful and emotionally engaging so it doesn’t take long for them to gather new fans when performing.

To finish things off and just for fun, I asked them what animals they thought they would be, Mark immediately (and amusingly) announced he would be a manatee after he spotted one in Florida and loved it! Malcolm wasn’t sure what animal he would be, but confirmed he would like them to be vegetarian!

You can catch ‘Hats Off Gentleman, It’s Adequate’ in Great Yarmouth on Thursday 17th October and Friday 18th October at HRH Prog XIV at Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth.

Malcolm (left) and Mark (right) from Hats Off Gentleman It's Adequate. Image: Kathryn Thomas