The Zutons

Deltasonic head Alan Wills was initially dubious about the musical talents of McCabe, telling HitQuarters: "I’d heard other bands Dave had played in and I thought they were all rubbish." The Coral's James Skelly was persistent in trying to convince Wills of his friend's potential and the breakthrough finally came when the bedroom demos of the newly formed Zutons persuaded the Deltasonic head into working with them. At first, the band had to battle comparisons to The Coral. Both bands were Merseyside bands prominent members of the Liverpool music scene, on the same record label, shared the same producer, Ian Broudie, and were good friends, with McCabe having previously written songs with James Skelly. The band's music has proved difficult to categorize, being described as "psychedelic cartoon punk". McCabe, who is also the lead songwriter, includes amongst his influences Talking Heads, Devo, Sly & the Family Stone, Dexys Midnight Runners and Madness. The first record the band put out was the 3-track CD Devil's Deal, released in September 2002. The following spring they released Creepin' And A Crawlin', and then the download-only single Haunts Me in November 2003. The band's "Z" logo was changed early in 2004 to avoid confusion with the Zenith logo.