By Gemma Peplow

Think of a list of annoying celebrities and there are loads of obvious choices. Heather Mills, David Blaine, Jodie Marsh and 90 per cent of the people who have appeared on Big Brother are a few that spring to mind. There's a whole website dedicated to hating Tom Cruise.

So why, then, have the not-annoying-at-all band Does It Offend You, Yeah? been bombarded with abusive letters and e-mails?

"It's the name," says drummer Rob Bloomfield, one quarter of the Reading band.

"People get so upset by the name, I think because it's so stupid. We get things like 'I'm never going to listen to your music because of your name'. I don't understand it. It amuses us."

As we speak, Rob is in Hollywood, chilling out after the last gig of a hectic tour. It's a gig that will go down in the history books, as singer James Rushent ended up in a LA hospital after breaking his ankle on stage.

"That's an exclusive – you're the first person we've talked to," says Rob.

"It was him freaking out, going all rock 'n' roll on stage. Then he just sort of looked at me like a wounded deer.

"We're supposed to be going to Australia tomorrow for two weeks so it's kind of ruined it for James. We'll be on the beaches drinking cocktails, he'll be in his bedroom high on Vicodin.

"We'll still play, but he'll have to sit. Luckily, James was quite drunk."

DIOYY, who this year released debut album You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into, are a difficult band around to pigeonhole.

The album is a mix of indie rock with electro numbers thrown in.

"I'm glad the album confuses people a little bit, as it means we can go in any direction," says Rob.

"We didn't want to just put out an electro album as we'd be labelled a dance act. Now we can do anything next. Country and western, perhaps."

They've already gathered quite a fan-base in America.

"We've got a really big following in LA and New York. We're working on all the bits in between," Rob says.

"We had our first front page in Hollywood. It was weird seeing my face on the corner of every newsstand.

"All I could think was 'Oh no, look at my double chin'."

Does It Offend You, Yeah? play at The Charlotte on Wednesday, October 15. Support comes from shadowy dance rockers South Central. Tickets cost £10. To buy, go to: