English hip hop music group
Stereo MC's
|
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Stereo MC's in
concert
, August 2006
|
|
Origin
| Clapham
, London, England
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Genres
| |
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Years active
| 1985?present
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Labels
| |
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|
Members
| Nick Hallam
Rob Birch
Cath Coffey
Tansay Omar
|
---|
|
Past members
| Owen If
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Website
| Official website
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Stereo MC's
are an English
hip hop
and
electronic dance
group that formed in
Clapham
, London, England, in 1985.
[1]
They had an international
top 20
hit with their single "
Connected
" and a UK top 20 hit with "
Step It Up
". After releasing eight albums for
Island Records
, K7, Graffiti Recordings, and Pias, they formed the label Connected with the band
Terranova
to release their own material and that of other artists within the house/techno/electronic genre.
[2]
Career
[
edit
]
Rob Birch (vocalist/songwriter) and Nick Hallam (DJ/producer) co-founded the
Gee Street
recording studio and record label, in 1985 along with
Jon Baker
and DJ Richie Rich.
[3]
[4]
Part of the finance came from Birch and Hallam's joint receipt of £14,000 from a property developer, on condition they vacated their adjacent flats.
[3]
When Gee Street attracted the attention of
4th & Broadway
, they recorded the debut Stereo MCs' album,
33-45-78
(1989), on a shoestring budget with DJ Cesare.
[3]
Drummer Owen If and backing vocalist
Cath Coffey
joined the group for the
Supernatural
LP
.
[1]
In 1990, "Elevate My Mind" was the first British hip hop single to reach the US
Billboard
R&B
chart
.
[3]
[5]
Having supported the
Happy Mondays
on a US tour, in the emerging UK
alternative dance
scene, it took an alliance with the
Jungle Brothers
to ensure chart success for
Supernatural
(1990).
[1]
Remix
work for
U2
and
Queen Latifah
followed.
[5]
Their live band included singers Andrea Bedassie and Verona Davis,
[1]
and they were one of the few hip hop outfits to play at rock music festivals at the time.
[5]
1992's mainstream breakthrough
Connected
, a number 2 success in the
UK Albums Chart
, contained the hit singles "
Connected
", "
Step It Up
", "Creation", and "Ground Level", and won them 1994
Brit Awards
for Best Group and Best Album.
[1]
Hallam and Birch then created the music-publishing firm Spirit Songs, which signed
Finley Quaye
.
[5]
However, the follow-up to
Connected
did not appear for almost a decade. Further remix duties for
Madonna
("
Frozen
"),
Tricky
("Makes Me Wanna Die" Weekend Mix), and the
Jungle Brothers
("Jungle Brother") in 1998 kept the Stereo MCs' name in the limelight.
[5]
Madonna went on to use the "Frozen" remix on her 2001
Drowned World Tour
.
[
citation needed
]
In 2000, they released a Disc Jockey mix for
Studio !K7
's
DJ-Kicks
series and remixed another song for Madonna ("
Music
"). The following year saw the release of
Deep Down & Dirty
, followed by a tour including slots opening for the recently re-united
Jane's Addiction
.
[
citation needed
]
Their sixth studio album,
Double Bubble
, was released in July 2008, followed by their seventh,
Emperor's Nightingale
, in August 2011. In December 2008, they supported
Madness
at the
O2 Arena
in London.
[
citation needed
]
Drummer Owen If died on 10 July 2022, at the age of 63.
[6]
Members
[
edit
]
- Nick Hallam ? born 11 June 1960,
Nottingham
, England.
[1]
- 'Rob B' ? born Robert Charles Birch, 11 June 1961,
Ruddington
,
Nottinghamshire
, England.
[1]
- 'Owen If' ? born Ian Frederick Rossiter, 20 March 1959,
Newport
,
Monmouthshire
, Wales
[1]
? died 10 July 2022, Newport, Wales.
[6]
- Cath Coffey
? born Catherine Muthomi Coffey, c. 1965,
Eldoret
, Kenya.
[3]
Discography
[
edit
]
This
EP
was written, produced and composed by the Stereo MC's and released on
Island Records
. The songs were a compilation of their first three singles, and would later appear on their first album.
Studio albums
[
edit
]
Compilation albums
[
edit
]
- Retroactive
(2002)
- Live at the BBC
(2008)
Other albums
[
edit
]
Singles
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Strong, Martin C. (2000).
The Great Rock Discography
(5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. p. 935.
ISBN
1-84195-017-3
.
- ^
"KOMPAKT.FM // BLOG // Read: Terranova and Stereo MC's start new label, Connected + win merch"
.
Kompakt.fm
. Retrieved
19 November
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Colin Larkin
, ed. (1997).
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music
(Concise ed.).
Virgin Books
.
ISBN
1-85227-745-9
.
- ^
Colin Larkin
, ed. (1998).
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music
(First ed.).
Virgin Books
. p. 134.
ISBN
0-7535-0252-6
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Roberts, David (1998).
Guinness Rockopedia
(1st ed.). London: Guinness Publishing Ltd. p.
420
.
ISBN
0-85112-072-5
.
- ^
a
b
Doole, Kerry (14 July 2022).
"Obituaries, July 14, 2022"
.
Fyimusicnews.ca
. Retrieved
18 October
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
Australian (
ARIA Chart
) peaks:
- Top 50 peaks:
"Stereo MC's - Australian Chart"
. Australian-charts.com
. Retrieved
16 October
2011
.
- Top 100 peaks:
Ryan, Gavin (2011).
Australia's Music Charts 1988?2010
(PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 266.
- ^
a
b
Roberts, David (2006).
British Hit Singles & Albums
(19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 528.
ISBN
1-904994-10-5
.
- ^
"Stereo MC's - UK Chart"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved
4 January
2016
.
- ^
"Stereo MC's - Austrian Chart"
. Austriancharts.at
. Retrieved
16 October
2011
.
- ^
"Stereo MC's - Flemish Chart"
. Ultratop.be
. Retrieved
16 October
2011
.
- ^
"Stereo MC's - French Chart"
. Lescharts.com
. Retrieved
16 October
2011
.
- ^
"Stereo MC's - Dutch Chart"
. Dutchcharts.nl
. Retrieved
4 January
2016
.
- ^
"Stereo MC's - New Zealand Chart"
. Charts.nz
. Retrieved
16 October
2011
.
- ^
"Stereo MC's - Swedish Chart"
. Swedishcharts.com
. Retrieved
16 October
2011
.
- ^
"Stereo MC's - Swiss Chart"
. Hitparade.ch
. Retrieved
16 October
2011
.
- ^
"Stereo MC's - US Hot 100"
. Billboard.com
. Retrieved
4 January
2016
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
- Rob Birch
- Nick Hallam
- Ian Frederick Rossiter
|
Studio albums
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Compilation albums
| |
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Singles
| |
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International
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National
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Artists
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