"Gunman" | ||||
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Single by 187 Lockdown | ||||
from the album 187 | ||||
Released | 3 November 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1997 | |||
Genre | Speed garage | |||
Label | EastWest | |||
Songwriter(s) | Danny Harrison, Julian Jonah | |||
Producer(s) | Danny Harrison, Julian Jonah | |||
187 Lockdown singles chronology | ||||
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"Gunman" is the debut single by English speed garage duo 187 Lockdown. The song was released twice, first in November 1997 where it reached No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 on the UK Dance Chart, then again the following year, peaking one place lower at No. 17. [1]
The song contains samples of Ennio Morricone's "Carillon (Watch chimes)" (from the film For a Few Dollars More ), and a vocal sample from Dr Alimantado's "Gimmie Mi Gun". [2]
In 1999, Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger ranked the song at number 84 in his list of the "Top 100 Singles of the 90s", saying "'Gunman' is crude, undeniable stuff, formulaic as hell but a formula that felt – feels – fresh, exciting and accessible." [3]
The Guardian listed "Gunman" at number 8 in their list of "The best UK garage tracks - ranked!" in 2019. [4]
Mixmag included the song in their list of "The 15 Best Speed Garage Records Released in '97 and '98". [5]
Redbull.com included the song in their list of "10 underground UK garage classics that still sound fresh today". [6]
Chart (1997) | Peak position |
---|---|
Scotland (OCC) [7] | 51 |
UK Singles (OCC) [8] | 16 |
UK Dance (Official Charts Company) [9] | 1 |
Chart (1998) | Peak position |
Scotland (OCC) [10] | 41 |
UK Singles (OCC) [11] | 17 |
187 Lockdown was a British speed garage act, comprising Danny Harrison and Julian Jonah. The duo produced one album, with four singles released from it, and remixed many songs towards the end of the 1990s.
"Turn Back Time" is a song by Danish dance-pop group Aqua, released as their seventh single overall, and the sixth from their 1997 debut album, Aquarium. The song was also included on the soundtrack for the 1998 film Sliding Doors and was released across the world throughout 1998. Sampling the Pet Shop Boys' 1988 single "Heart", the track possesses less of a bubble pop sound than Aqua's other releases; it is slow-paced and shows the full range of Lene Nystrøm Rasted's vocals but maintains the Aqua sound. In Japan, "Turn Back Time" was released along with "My Oh My".
"Return of the Mack" is a song written and recorded by British R&B singer Mark Morrison, released as the third single from his debut album by the same name (1996). It topped the UK Singles Chart a month after its release, then became a European and Australian hit. In the United States, it reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and went platinum. The accompanying music video was released in the United Kingdom in March 1996 and in the United States in February 1997.
"Groovejet " is a song by Italian electronic music producer Spiller featuring vocals from British singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Various versions of the single were later featured on the German reissue and some UK editions of Ellis-Bextor's debut solo album, Read My Lips.
"Ride on Time" is a song by the Italian dance group Black Box. It was released as a single in 1989 and included on Black Box's debut album, Dreamland (1990).
"Let Me Be Your Fantasy" is a song by British musical group Baby D. It was written and produced by band member Floyd Dyce and the vocals were sung by Dorothy Fearon. Dyce has said "My idea for Fantasy was to try to develop an original song on top of hard beats: something you could sing along to as you were raving." It was originally released by Production House Records in October 1992, when it reached No. 76 on the UK Singles Chart. On 7 November 1994, London Records subsidiary Systematic re-released the song, and it subsequently became a UK No. 1 hit for two weeks. A partially black-and-white music video was produced to promote the single. In 1996, it was included on the group's only album, Deliverance. Same year, it earned an award for Best Dance Tune at the International Dance Music Awards in London. And Mixmag ranked it No. 42 in their ranking of the "100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time". The rave track is now widely regarded as a classic of its genre.
"Hideaway" is a song by American house music group De'Lacy, featuring vocals by Rainie Lassiter. It is the group's most successful single and is written by Kevin Hedge and Josh Milan, and produced by Blaze. The Deep Dish remix peaked at number-one in Italy. It also reached number nine in the UK and number 38 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US. The song has been remixed and re-released several times. A remixed version, called "Hideaway 1998", which featured a mix by Nu‑Birth, peaked at number 21 in 1998. The song was released a third time in 2006 and reached number 82 in the Netherlands.
"People Hold On" is a 1989 song recorded by British band Coldcut and singer Lisa Stansfield, released as the first single from the band's debut album, What's That Noise? (1989). It was written by Matt Black, Jonathan More and Stansfield, and produced by Coldcut. The song received positive reviews from music critics and became a commercial success. It was released as a single on 13 March 1989 and reached number eleven on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the US Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart. The song was remixed by Blaze, Juan Atkins, Dimitri from Paris, Mark Saunders, Eric Kupper, Tyrone Perkins and Masters At Work.
"Closer than Close" is a song by American musician Rosie Gaines, a former singer in Prince and the New Power Generation. After being released in 1995 as a track on her fifth album by the same name, bootlegs of garage mixes started appearing. Thus started a two-year mission by Glaswegian house and garage indie Big Bang Records to release the track properly in 1997. It peaked at number four in the UK and number six on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. "Closer than Close" is Gaines' most successful song to date, and widely considered as a club classic.
"Never Gonna Let You Go" is a song by American singer Tina Moore. Originally released as a single in May 1995 from her self-titled debut album, the song reached number 27 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In August 1997, a UK garage remix of the song by Kelly G was released on the Delirious label and became a top-10 hit in the UK, peaking at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number 23 in September 1997. Several remixes are included on the CD and 12-inch formats, such as the 'Tuff Jam Classic Vocal Mix' and 'Warehouse Junkie Mix'.
"Flowers" is the debut single by UK garage duo Sweet Female Attitude, released on 3 April 2000. The song uses the same chord sequence as Erik Satie's Trois Gymnopédies, and the actual piece can be heard in the version by The House & Garage Orchestra, from the 2018 album Garage Classics.
"Kung-Fu" is a song by English speed garage duo 187 Lockdown, released in 1998. The song was a top 10 hit, peaking at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached No. 1 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.
UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from R&B, jungle and dance-pop. It is defined by percussive, shuffled rhythms with syncopated hi-hats, cymbals and snares, and may include either 4/4 house kick patterns or more irregular "2-step" rhythms. Garage tracks also commonly feature 'chopped up' and time-stretched or pitch-shifted vocal samples complementing the underlying rhythmic structure at a tempo usually around 130 BPM.
"RipGroove" is the debut single by English speed garage duo Double 99. A huge underground UK club hit in 1997 when first released on an EP as their alias R.I.P. Productions, the song was officially released as a single twice, first in May 1997 where it reached No. 31 on the UK Singles Chart, then again in October in a new mix featuring vocals by MC Top Cat, peaking seventeen places higher at No. 14. The song appeared on their sole album, 7th High, released in 2001.
"Sincere" is the debut single by English UK garage musician MJ Cole, released in 1998. It features Nova Casper and Jay Dee on vocals. The song initially peaked at No. 38 on the UK Singles Chart, but a re-release in 2000 containing new mixes proved even more successful, peaking at No. 13. It also reached No. 1 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.
"My Love" is a song by British singer Kele Le Roc. It was released as a single on 15 March 1999 as the second single from her debut album, Everybody's Somebody. Like her previous single "Little Bit of Lovin'", the song peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart, and it also peaked at No. 48 in New Zealand in January 2001. In 1999, the song won a MOBO Award for Best Single. Several remixes of the song became underground hits in the UK.
"Destiny", also titled "Destiny (Sleepless)", is a song by UK garage duo Dem 2. It was released as a single in late 1997 and also in 1998 and reached No. 58 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.
"Anytime" is a song by Nu-Birth, an alias of UK garage duo 187 Lockdown. The song features Janette Sewell on vocals. It was first released in 1996 on Nu Jak Recordings then as an official single in 1997 via XL Recordings/Locked On, reaching No. 48 on the UK Singles Chart. A re-release the following year featuring new mixes peaked seven places higher at No. 41. The 1997 release also reached No. 1 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.
Smokin Beats are a house and garage duo consisting of Paul Landon and Neil Rumney. The duo founded their own record label Smokin Beats and released a string of singles throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and one album Ready to Fly in 1997. They are best known for the 1997 hit single "Dreams" featuring singer Lyn Eden which reached No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 on the UK Dance Chart. Redbull.com included the song in their list of "10 underground UK garage classics that still sound fresh today".
"Love Shy" is a song by the Danish singer Kristine Blond, released as a single in 1998. It peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart. Two years later, it reached the top forty in the UK again, landing at number 28 in November 2000, due to the Club Asylum remix of the track becoming a UK garage club hit. The theme of the song discussed incelibacy and overcoming it.