The Beatmasters | |
---|---|
Origin | London, England |
Genres | House, hip house, dance-pop |
Years active | 1986–present |
Labels | Rhythm King SBK EMI Records London Records ARS Entertainment Belgium Loverush Digital Sire/Warner Bros. Records |
The Beatmasters are an English electronic music group who gained success in the UK in the late 1980s with four top 20 hit singles. They then went on to produce and remix records for other artists, including Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and Marc Almond. [1] The group's string of chart hit singles include "Burn It Up", "Hey DJ! (I Can't Dance to that Music You're Playing)", "Who's in the House" (featuring Merlin) and "Rok da House". The latter, having been recorded in 1986, is one of the earliest examples of hip house and most likely the first song of the genre. Hip house is a subgenre of house music which features rap vocals performed over a house rhythm track.
Their initial success brought comparisons with pop record producers Stock Aitken Waterman, [2] but the Beatmasters cited rival producers Coldcut as their major competitor. [3]
Manda Glanfield and Paul Carter (both regulars on the London club scene) were working in the TV commercial jingle industry where they were introduced to third member, Richard Walmsley. Signing to the burgeoning record label Rhythm King, they joined labelmates Bomb the Bass and S'Express in regularly appearing in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during 1988 and 1989.
The group had seven UK chart singles, including the No. 14 hit "Burn It Up", which featured P. P. Arnold and "Rok da House" with the Cookie Crew, which was their first and biggest hit, peaking at No. 5 in early 1988. Another notable single was "Hey DJ - I Can't Dance to that Music You're Playing" / "Ska Train", which introduced the rapper/singer Betty Boo to the general public and gave the group a No. 7 chart hit in 1989. [4]
They released two albums under the Beatmasters moniker: Anywayawanna (1989) and Life & Soul (1992). [5] These albums were later repackaged on BMG Records under the title Anywayawanna – The Best of the Beatmasters (2004).
Carter and Glanfield forged a successful writing, remixing and production career. Their first success as a duo came in 1991 with a reworking of the re-released Shamen single "Move Any Mountain/Progen91" which charted at No. 4. In 1992, production work commenced on the Shamen album Boss Drum , which included the singles "LSI (Love Sex Intelligence)", "Phorever People" and the highly controversial "Ebeneezer Goode" - the latter spending a month at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. [6]
They went on to write, produce and remix for many other artists including Marc Almond, Pet Shop Boys, Blur, Roachford, Betty Boo, Naomi Campbell, Adam Rickitt, Moby, Aswad, Eternal, Tina Turner, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Scooch and Girls Aloud. Still working, the Beatmasters continue to produce dance, pop and rock music.
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
UK | AUS [9] | ||
Anywayawanna |
| 30 | 129 |
Life and Soul |
| — | 162 |
Anywayawanna – The Best of the Beatmasters |
| — | — |
Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [10] | IRE | NED | BEL (FLA) | FRA | GER [11] | AUS [12] [13] [14] | NZ | |||
1987 | "Rok da House" (featuring The Cookie Crew) | 5 | 17 | 15 | 32 | 35 | — | 37 | 7 | Anywayawanna |
1988 | "Burn It Up" (featuring P. P. Arnold) | 14 | 15 | 54 | — | — | — | 165 [15] | 24 | |
1989 | "Who's in the House" (featuring MC Merlin) | 8 | 15 | 45 | 40 | — | — | 137 [16] | — | |
"Hey DJ!/I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing) (featuring Betty Boo) / Ska Train" | 7 | 17 | 14 | 35 | — | 93 | 88 | 10 | ||
"Warm Love" (featuring Claudia Fontaine) | 51 | 24 | 79 | — | — | — | 117 [17] | — | ||
1991 | "Dunno What It Is About You" (featuring Elaine Vassell) | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | 162 | — | Life & Soul |
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (featuring JC-001) | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | 93 | — | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. |
Erasure are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a member of synth-pop duo Yazoo. From their fourth single, "Sometimes" (1986), Erasure established themselves on the UK Singles Chart, becoming one of the most successful acts of the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. From 1986 to 2007, the pair achieved 24 consecutive top-40 entries in the UK singles chart. By 2009, 34 of their 37 chart-eligible singles and EPs had made the UK top 40, including 17 climbing into the top 10. At the 1989 Brit Awards, Erasure won the Brit Award for Best British Group.
Vincent John Martin, known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously the main songwriter for several groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and the Assembly. In Erasure, he is known for his deadpan and low-key onstage demeanour, often remaining motionless over his keyboard, in sharp contrast to lead vocalist Andy Bell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics.
Alison Moira Clarkson, better known as Betty Boo, is a British singer, songwriter and rapper. She first came to mainstream prominence in the late 1980s following a collaboration with the Beatmasters on the song "Hey DJ/I Can't Dance ". Between 1990 and 1992 she had a successful solo career, which spawned a number of chart-placing singles, most notably "Doin' the Do", "Where Are You Baby?", and "Let Me Take You There".
Afrodiziak was a British singing group composed of Caron Wheeler, Claudia Fontaine, and later Naomi Thompson, that was active in the 1980s. As a duo, Wheeler and Fontaine were best known for performing backing vocals on the Jam's final single "Beat Surrender" in 1982 and Elvis Costello's 1983 album Punch the Clock, especially its lead single, the international hit "Everyday I Write the Book".
The Shamen were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter Stephenson joined shortly after to take over on keyboards from Angus. Several other people were later in the band. Angus then teamed up with Will Sinnott, and together they found credibility as pioneers of rock/dance crossover. When rapper Mr. C joined, the band moved on to international commercial success with "Ebeneezer Goode" and their 1992 Boss Drum album.
Sound of the Underground is the debut studio album by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud, formed through the ITV television series Popstars: The Rivals. It was released in Ireland on 23 May 2003, in the United Kingdom and Europe on 26 May 2003, and reissued on 17 November 2003 through Polydor. Girls Aloud worked with a variety of musicians and producers on Sound of the Underground, which was largely inspired by 1980s music. Comparisons were made with artists such as Bananarama, The Bangles, Blondie and Spice Girls.
This is a summary of 1992 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
Boss Drum is the Shamen's 1992 album, released a year after the death of bassist Will Sinnott. It features their UK number one single "Ebeneezer Goode". Critics gave the album positive feedback and the album reached number three on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry in December 1992.
"Behind the Wheel" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode from their sixth studio album, Music for the Masses (1987). It was released on 28 December 1987 as the album's third single, reaching number 21 in the United Kingdom, number six in both Switzerland and West Germany, also entering the US Billboard Hot 100 as its predecessors.
The She Rockers were a female hip hop group from London, featuring Donna 'She Roc' McConnell, Antonia 'MC Aurra' Jolly, Dupe Fagbesa and Alison Clarkson.
"Ebeneezer Goode" is a song by Scottish electronic music group the Shamen which, heavily remixed by the Beatmasters, became their biggest hit when released as a single on 24 August 1992 by One Little Indian. The group's original version featured on the vinyl edition of their fifth album, Boss Drum (1992).
Rhythm King Records Ltd was a British independent record label, founded in the mid-1980s by Martin Heath, Adele Nozedar, DJ Jay Strongman and James Horrocks. It was based in Chiswick, London.
"Jump (For My Love)" is an electropop song by American girl group the Pointer Sisters, released on April 11, 1984, as the third single from their tenth studio album, Break Out (1983). The song hit the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, R&B, and Dance charts, and it was the best-selling American dance single of 1984, sold as a trio of songs including "I Need You" and "Automatic". The song features June Pointer on lead vocals and scored global chart success.
"Move Any Mountain" is a song by Scottish electronic music group the Shamen, first released under the title "Pro›gen". With an official remix by the Beatmasters, the song was re-released in the UK in summer 1991 and was their first top-10 single, reaching number four in the UK Singles Chart. It was included on the band's second album, En-Tact (1990), and is also their only top-40 hit in the US, where the song peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1992.
"Shine" is a song by British reggae group Aswad. It was written by Joe Cang and Aswad, who also produced it. Released on 6 June 1994 by Bubblin' label in a radically remixed form courtesy of the Beatmasters, it was the first single from the group's seventeenth album, Rise and Shine (1994). The song is the band's second-biggest hit in the United Kingdom, after 1988's "Don't Turn Around", reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart. "Shine" also became a top-40 hit in several European countries and New Zealand.
"Phorever People" is a song by Scottish electronic dance music band the Shamen. It features vocals by singer Jhelisa Anderson and was released in December 1992 by One Little Indian as a single from their fifth album, Boss Drum (1992). The single topped the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and was another hit for the group in the UK, going to number five on the UK Singles Chart. It also became a top-10 hit in Denmark and Ireland, while reaching the top 20 in Austria, Finland, France and Sweden. A music video, directed by British director Richard Heslop, was made to accompany the song.
"Doin' the Do" is a song by English singer, songwriter and pop-rap artist Betty Boo, released in May 1990 by Warner Bros. as the second single from her debut album, Boomania (1990). The song was co-written and co-produced by Boo, reaching the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Boo has stated in interviews, that the name of the song basically means 'I'm getting on and doing things'. Much later after the song was released, someone told her it was a slang expression for cunnilingus.
Fantastic Star is the ninth studio album by the British singer/songwriter Marc Almond. It was released in 1996 and reached number fifty-four on the UK Albums Chart. It includes the singles "Adored and Explored", "The Idol", "Child Star" and the double A-side "Brilliant Creatures" / "Out There". The album was Almond's last on a major record label until 2007's Stardom Road.
Anywayawanna is the debut studio album by English dance and electronic music group the Beatmasters. It was released in 1989 on the Rhythm King record label. It should not be confused with their 2004 compilation album, Anywayawanna – The Best of the Beatmasters, which features similar artwork.