In 1983 Dempsey became the bassist for Liverpool's then-recently formed new wave band the Lotus Eaters, replacing original bassist Phil Lucking. They signed to Arista Records and released their debut single "The First Picture of You" in June 1983 (reaching No. 15 in the UK charts), followed by the singles "You Don't Need Someone New" (August '83) and "Set Me Apart" (1984). The 1984 debut album "No Sense of Sin" followed with the single "Out On Your Own", and finally "It Hurts" in early 1985. Both Dempsey and founding member Jem Kelly left the group in 1985: co-founder Peter Coyle continued under the Lotus Eaters name for a short time live with replacement members whilst Kelly went on to reform his earlier band the Wild Swans.