Colourbox
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genre(s)	electronica, soul, reggae
Years active	1982 - 1987
Label(s)	4AD
Associated acts	M/A/R/R/S
Former members
Steven Young Martyn Young Ian Robbins Lorita Grahame

Colourbox were an English electronic outfit on the 4AD Records record label in the 1980s. They attempted an electronically-tinged reggae and soul-influenced pop music, constrained by the technology they had access to at the time. They released a number of records from 1982 until 1987. The band was formed by brothers Martyn and Steve Young, with guest singers until Lorita Grahame joined as a permanent member in 1983.

The band finally had an international hit in 1987 with "Pump Up The Volume" (see 1987 in music), a collaboration with A R Kane under the name M/A/R/R/S. The song was notable for being constructed almost entirely from samples of other records, a novel thing for a popular record at that time. The pressures of sudden success and the long running litigation caused by the use of samples ended up causing the band never to record again.

UK Discography (all on the 4AD label)

Singles

• "Breakdown/Tarantula" (7" AD215, 12" BAD215) - 1982 - featuring Debian Curry
• "Breakdown/Tarantula" (7" AD304, 12" BAD304) - 1st May 1983
• "Say You/Fast Dump" (7" AD403, 12" BAD403) - 1st March 1984
• "Punch/Keep On Pushing" (7" AD406, 12" BAD406) - 1984
• "The Moon Is Blue/You Keep Me Hanging On" (7" AD 507, 12" BAD507) - 15th July 1985
• "Baby I Love You So/Looks Like We’re Shy One Horse/Shoot Out" (7" AD 604, 12" BAD604) - 14th April 1986
• "The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme/Philip Glass" (7" AD605, 12" BAD605) - 1st April 1986

Albums

• Colourbox (mini-LP MAD315, CD MAD315CD) - 7th November 1983 (CD released 1986)
• Colourbox (LP CAD508, CD CAD508CD, Cassette CADC508) - 12th August 1985 - these are different albums
• Colourbox (LP MAD509) - 12th August 1985 - free mini album with first 10,000 copies of CAD 508
• Best Of Colourbox 82/87 (CD GAD2107CD) - 15th October 2001

External links

• 4AD official discography and profile
• Full discography including compilations and some promos
• Unofficial Colourbox site
• The Colourbox samples list
• MARRS FAQ