By Rich Morris

I eat play dough
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Garage pop darlings and full-time glamourpusses Dum Dum Girls are following up the release of their fuzzy, warm-hearted debut I Will Be on Sub Pop with a European tour, including UK dates in London, Sheffield, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Manchester. Anyone who's seen the band live knows that their mix of Ramones punk and sunshine 60s pop has the power to knock your beehive off. Soundblab caught up with head Dum Dum Girl Dee Dee to chat about the upcoming tour, dancing to Sisco's 'Thong Song' and keeping sunglasses handy.

Do you have a favourite place to play live?

Madame Jo Jo's tops the list. The decor and vibe were amazing. DDG would love to play there on Tranny Shack or Kitsch Cabaret night.

Any places you're looking forward to visiting on this tour? Will you get much of a chance to look around and explore?

We don't have much free time, but we did have a day off today in Antwerp, Belgium. Our hotel is terrible, so we spent hours walking around the city centre and down to the water. There was a gorgeous cathedral we visited, built in 1351, quite a few other gold-adorned religious and political buildings. We bought some fudge and ran around a flea market buying strawberries, tasting cheeses, and smelling waffles. We do our best to get out of the van, venue, or hotel as much as possible.

Are you happy with the reception you've been getting in the UK?

Definitely - it's been surprising and wonderful.

Have you got over your stage fright now? Is touring something you enjoy or is it stressful?

I am generally fine; I can get shaken by a few things, but I won't admit them because that might give them an unfair advantage.

How do you prepare for playing live? Do you have any rituals before you hit the stage?

Apply black, cat-eyeliner then orange-red lipstick, stretch out a bit, occasionally dance to Sisco's 'Thong Song', do the choral warm-ups I learned in high school, give each other big smooches.

Do you feel it makes a difference being four girls on tour together?

It's a very special environment.

Is your glamorous image easy to maintain on tour?

It definitely takes effort to not look like shit after a few weeks. We exercise and try to eat well, get as much sleep as we can, and make sure that if we party all night long, we have our sunglasses on hand.

Dum Dum Girls will be playing the following UK dates:

24-Jul London The 1234 Festival

25-Jul Sheffield Tramlines Festival Drowned In Sound present

26-Jul Newcastle The Cluny

27-Jul Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire

28-Jul Manchester SOUND CONTROL

30-Jul London Cargo

Soundblab will be catching up with Dum Dum Girls next week for a full interview. Stay tuned!