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Stereo MCs are an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 Trip-hop group.


list Rob Birch, and DJ
Disc jockey

A disc jockey is a person who selects and plays sound recording for an audience. Originally, disk referred to phonograph records, while disc refers to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling....
/producer
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
 Nick Hallam, founded their Gee Street
Gee Street Records

Gee Street Records was a hip hop record label. Jon Baker formed the label in 1984 in a converted warehouse on Gee Street in London, following a trip to New York City, where he had become enamored with hip hop music and culture....
 recording studio
Recording studio

A recording studio is a facility for Sound recording and reproduction. Ideally, the space is specially designed by an acoustics to achieve the desired acoustic properties ....
 and record label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
, with money they were given to leave their London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 flat and, instead of using a backing band, travelled to early gigs on buses, with bags of tapes.

When Gee Street caught the eye of 4th and Broadway, they recorded the debut Stereo MCs' album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
 33-45-78 (1989) on a shoestring budget with DJ Cesare, drummer
Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
 Owen If and backing singer, Cath Coffey
Cath Coffey

Cath Coffey is one of the earliest members of United Kingdom rap music band Stereo MC's. Their 1990 single "Elevate My Mind", in which Coffey was the vocalist, was the first British rap single to reach the US pop charts....
.






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Encyclopedia


Stereo MCs are an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 Trip-hop group.

Members

  • "The Head" - born Nick Hallam, 11 June 1960, Nottingham
    Nottingham

    Nottingham is one of the three major city status in the United Kingdom in the East Midlands and is in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England....
    , England
    England

    native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
    .
  • "Rob B" - born Robert Charles Birch, 11 June 1961, Ruddington
    Ruddington

    Ruddington is an England village situated five miles South of Nottingham in the Borough of Rushcliffe. It has a population of around 6,500 people....
    , Nottinghamshire
    Nottinghamshire

    Nottinghamshire is an Counties of England in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. The county town is traditionally Nottingham, though the council is now based in West Bridgford, a suburb of Greater Nottingham ....
    , England.
  • "Owen If" - born Ian Frederick Rossiter, 20 March 1959, Newport
    Newport

    Newport is a City status in the United Kingdom and Administrative divisions of Wales in Wales, in the United Kingdom. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, located roughly between Cardiff and Bristol, it is the cultural capital and largest urban area in the Historic counties of Wales of Monmouthshire and is governed by the unitary authori...
    , Monmouthshire
    Monmouthshire (historic)

    Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen Historic counties of Wales of Wales and a former Administrative divisions of Wales....
    , England.


Biography

Vocalist Rob Birch, and DJ
Disc jockey

A disc jockey is a person who selects and plays sound recording for an audience. Originally, disk referred to phonograph records, while disc refers to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling....
/producer
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
 Nick Hallam, founded their Gee Street
Gee Street Records

Gee Street Records was a hip hop record label. Jon Baker formed the label in 1984 in a converted warehouse on Gee Street in London, following a trip to New York City, where he had become enamored with hip hop music and culture....
 recording studio
Recording studio

A recording studio is a facility for Sound recording and reproduction. Ideally, the space is specially designed by an acoustics to achieve the desired acoustic properties ....
 and record label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
, with money they were given to leave their London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 flat and, instead of using a backing band, travelled to early gigs on buses, with bags of tapes.

When Gee Street caught the eye of 4th and Broadway, they recorded the debut Stereo MCs' album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
 33-45-78 (1989) on a shoestring budget with DJ Cesare, drummer
Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
 Owen If and backing singer, Cath Coffey
Cath Coffey

Cath Coffey is one of the earliest members of United Kingdom rap music band Stereo MC's. Their 1990 single "Elevate My Mind", in which Coffey was the vocalist, was the first British rap single to reach the US pop charts....
. In 1990, "Elevate My Mind" by the Stereos was the first British hip hop single
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
 to reach the U.S.
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 R&B
Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music first created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s....
 chart
Record chart

Record chart are a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. At home, the emergent indie dance scene (they supported Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays

Happy Mondays are a British alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the musical group's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass guitar, lead guitarist Mark Day , keyboardist Paul Davis , and drummer Gary Whelan ....
 in the U.S.), and a hook-up with the Jungle Brothers
Jungle Brothers

The Jungle Brothers are an American hip-hop music group that pioneered the fusion of jazz and hip-hop and also became the first hip-hop group to use a house music producer....
, ensured ultimate hipness for Supernatural
Supernatural (Stereo MCs album)

Supernatural is a 1990 album by Stereo MCs. The album is their second release. The US release is subtitled "American Mix" and has a different track list....
 (1990), and remixes for the likes of U2
U2

U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
, PM Dawn, Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah

Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American Rapping, Singing, CoverGirl and actress. Latifah's work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe Award award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy Award nominat...
, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Monie Love
Monie Love

Simone Wilson or Simone Gooden known by her stage name Monie Love, is a female, England rapping and former radio personality in the United States of America....
 and Electronic
Electronic (band)

Electronic were an alternative dance group formed by New Order singer and guitarist Bernard Sumner and ex-The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. They co-wrote the majority of their output between 1989 and 1998, collaborating with Neil Tennant on three tracks in their early years, and former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos on nine songs in 1995....
. They are still highly sought after producers, with most of their remix
Remix

A remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. A remixer uses Audio mixing to compose an alternate master recording of a song, adding or subtracting elements, or simply changing the equalization, dynamics, Pitch , tempo, playing time, or almost any other aspect of th...
es being done under the name Ultimatum.

For their live shows, they assembled a live band including singers Andrea Bedassie and Verona Davis, and were one of the few hip hop outfits to play rock
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 music festival
Music festival

A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday....
s at the time. These acclaimed live shows paved the way for 1992's breakthrough Connected, a UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart

The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website ; the full Top 200 is published exclusively in ChartsPlus....
 No.2, which spawned the smashes "Connected", "Step It Up", "Creation" and "Ground Level", and won them BRIT Awards
Brit Awards

The BRIT Awards, often simply called The BRITs, are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of British or Britannia, but has subsequently become a "backronym" for British Record Industry Trust....
 for Best Group and Best Album. When Hallam and Birch set up music publisher Spirit Songs (which signed Finley Quaye
Finley Quaye

Finley Quaye is a British people musician. He won the 1997 Mobo Award for best Reggae act, and the 1998 BRIT Awards for Best British Male Solo Artist....
), the Stereos confirmed their rock star status by taking an eternity to record Connected 's follow-up. A spokesperson told Q
Q (magazine)

Q is a music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, with a circulation of 130,179 as of June 2007.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology — from artists suc...
 magazine in 1997, "They are very keen not to repeat themselves".

But remixes for Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Madonna moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance....
 ("Frozen"), and the Jungle Brothers
Jungle Brothers

The Jungle Brothers are an American hip-hop music group that pioneered the fusion of jazz and hip-hop and also became the first hip-hop group to use a house music producer....
 ("Jungle Brother") in 1998, confirmed that the Stereos were at least still alive.

In 2000, they released a DJ
Disc jockey

A disc jockey is a person who selects and plays sound recording for an audience. Originally, disk referred to phonograph records, while disc refers to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling....
 mix for Studio !K7
Studio !K7

!K7 Records is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany that focuses mostly on electronic music. The name is an abbreviation of the company's original Berlin address, Kaiserdamm 7 ....
's DJ-Kicks
DJ-Kicks

DJ-Kicks is a series of DJ mixs, audio mixing by various artists for the independent record label Studio !K7....
 series and remixed another song for Madonna, ("Music").

2001 saw the release of Deep Down & Dirty, followed by a tour, including slots opening for the recently re-united Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction

Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. For most of its career, the band was composed of vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, guitarist Dave Navarro, and drummer Stephen Perkins....
.

Their most recent album, Double Bubble, was released in July, 2008.

In December 2008 they supported Madness at the O2 Arena in London.

Song Appearances in Advertisements

  • The song "Sofisticated," from Deep Down & Dirty, has been used in a series of commercials for Pizza Hut
    Pizza Hut

    Pizza Hut is a restaurant chain and international franchising based in Addison, Texas, Texas, United States offering different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
    . In some commercials, the original keyboard piano theme is kept, though the other instrumentation is different, presumably newly written by other musicians for the ads.
  • The song "Connected" was used on the soundtrack
    Soundtrack

    The term soundtrack refers to three related concepts: recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; and the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized recorded so...
     for the American
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
     film
    Film

    Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
    , Hackers
    Hackers (film)

    Hackers is a 1995 in film Cinema of the United States thriller film, directed by Iain Softley and starring Angelina Jolie, Johnny Lee Miller, and Matthew Lillard....
    .
  • The song "Connected" is also used as the main title theme for the USA Network Show, "Burn Notice".
  • The song "Connected" was also used on the Carphone Warehouse adverts in the 90s.
  • The song "We Belong In This World Together" was used in a Target
    Target Corporation

    Target Corporation is an United States retailing company that was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1902 under the name of Dayton Dry Goods Company....
     television advertisement in 2008.


Discography


Albums

  • 33-45-78 (1989)
  • The Stereo MCs [EP] (1990)
  • Supernatural
    Supernatural (Stereo MCs album)

    Supernatural is a 1990 album by Stereo MCs. The album is their second release. The US release is subtitled "American Mix" and has a different track list....
     (1990)
  • Connected (1992)
  • DJ-Kicks: Stereo MCs
    DJ-Kicks: Stereo MCs

    DJ-Kicks: Stereo MCs is a DJ mix, Audio mixing by Stereo MCs. It was released on 27 March 2000 on the Studio !K7 independent record label as part of the DJ-Kicks series....
     (mixed by the Stereo MCs) (2000)
  • Deep Down And Dirty (2001)
  • Retroactive (2003) ('best of' compilation album
    Compilation album

    A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from multiple recording artists, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, source or subject matter....
    )
  • Paradise (2005)
  • Live at the BBC (2008)
  • Double Bubble (Stereo MCs album) (2008)


Singles

  • "What Is Soul?" (1988)
  • "Lyrical Machine" (1989)
  • "Elevate My Mind" (1991) #39 US
    Billboard Hot 100

    The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
  • "Lost in Music" (1991)
  • "Connected
    Connected (Stereo MCs song)

    "Connected" was the title track and first single from the Stereo MCs Connected . It reached #20 on the USA Billboard Hot 100 chart and climbed to #18 on the UK Singles Chart....
    " (1992) #18 UK
    UK Singles Chart

    The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
    , #20 US, #5 US Modern Rock
    Modern Rock Tracks

    Hot Modern Rock Tracks is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the forty most-played songs on modern rock radios, most of which are alternative rock songs....
  • "Step It Up" (1992) #12 UK, #58 US, #16 US Modern Rock
  • "Ground Level" (1993) #19 UK
  • "Creation" (1993) #19 UK
  • "Deep Down And Dirty" (2001) #17 UK
  • "Warhead" (2005)


Self-titled EP

Stereo MCs also released a self-titled EP
Gramophone record

A gramophone record is an analog signal sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc....
 in 1990. It was written, produced and composed by themselves, and was released on Island Records
Island Records

Island Records was a record label that was founded by British record producers in Jamaica. It was based in England for many years, but is now owned by Universal Music Group and is operated in the United States through The Island Def Jam Music Group and in the UK through Island Records Group ....
. The song
Song

A song is a musical musical composition which contains vocal parts that are performed, 'sung,' and feature words , commonly accompanied by musical instruments ....
s would later appear on their first full-length album.

Tracklisting

  1. "What Is Soul?" (samples
    Sampling (music)

    In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an musical instrument or a different sound recording of a song....
     Ben E. King
    Ben E. King

    Ben E. King is an United States soul music singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and songwriter of "Stand by Me ," a United States Top 40 hit record in both 1961 and 1987 and a chart-topper in the United Kingdom in 1987, and as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group, The Drifters....
    's "What Is Soul?", David Byrne
    David Byrne (musician)

    David Byrne is a Scotland-United States musician and artist perhaps best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the New Wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1974 and 1991....
     and Brian Eno
    Brian Eno

    Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno , is an England musician, composer, record producer, music theory and singer, who, as a solo artist, is best known as the People known as the father or mother of something of ambient music....
    's "Regiment" and Talking Heads
    Talking Heads

    Talking Heads was an American rock music rock band formed in 1974 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison....
    ' "Once In A Lifetime")
  2. "On 33" (samples George Clinton
    George Clinton (funk musician)

    George Clinton is an United States musician and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the musical bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and is a solo funk artist as of 1981....
    's "Atomic Dog" and Deep Purple
    Deep Purple

    Deep Purple are an English Rock music band formed in Hertford, Hertfordshire in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of Heavy metal music and modern hard rock, although some band members have tried not to categorize themselves as any one genre....
    's "And The Address")
  3. "Bring It On"
  4. "Neighbourhood"
  5. "Gee Street" (samples Rose Royce
    Rose Royce

    Rose Royce is a Grammy Award-winning soul music, funk, and disco band based in Los Angeles. The name "Rose" is taken from frontperson/lead singer Rose Norwalt aka Gwen Dickey....
    's "6 O'Clock DJ")


Audio sample


See also


  • List of number-one dance hits (United States)
    List of number-one dance hits (United States)

    This is a list of number-one dance hits as recorded by Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Play chart — a weekly national survey of popular songs in United States dance clubs....
  • List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart


External links


  • - Official site (requires flash)
  • BBC: