| EMF |
| Origin |
Cinderford, Gloucestershire |
| Country |
England,
United Kingdom |
| Years active |
1989–1995, 2001–2002 |
| Genres |
Alternative Rock
Alternative Dance
Techno
House
|
| Labels |
EMI
/ Parlophone |
| Members |
James Atkin
Ian
Dench
Zac
Foley
Derry Brownson
Mark Decloedt |
EMF were a British
indie dance band that came to prominence at the end of the 1980s and the early 1990s. The band came
from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire.
Their first single, "Unbelievable"
got to number 3 in the UK charts and was a number
one hit on the U.S. Billboard
Hot 100 chart. Their debut album, Schubert
Dip, went to number 3 in the UK
Albums Chart.
|
Contents
- 1 Band
Name
- 2 Band
members
- 3 Biography
- 4 Discography
- 5 Trivia
- 6 References
- 7 External
links
|
Band Name
The name "EMF" officially stands for "Epsom Mad Funkers," but
there are unofficial alternatives, such as "Every Mother's Favourite,"
"Eat My Fetus," "English Mother Fuckers," and "Ecstasy Mother Fuckers"
(the last of which occurred in a track called "EMF", a live version of
which featured on the B Side of the single "Unbelievable"). The band
was signed by EMI
/ Parlophone
after a mere four gigs, without even being asked for a demo tape.
Legend has it that A&R
man Nick Mander was made to jump into a river before the band would
agree to sign with EMI.
Band members
- James Atkin (vocals, guitars), born James Saul Atkin, 28 March 1969, in Birmingham.
- Ian Dench (guitars, keyboards),
born 7
August 1964,
in Cheltenham.
- Zac Foley (bass), born Zachary
Sebastian Rex James Foley, 9 December 1970, in Gloucester; Died on 2 January 2002.
- Derry Brownson (keyboards and samples), born 10
November 1970,
in Gloucester.
- Mark Decloedt (drums), born 26 June 1967, in Gloucester.
Biography
They originally toured with DJ
Milf who now has his own band called Stateside and released music under
the name Jose Sanchez. All the members were relatively well known in
the local music scene before forming EMF in Cinderford, UK in October
1989. Derry Brownson had formed a band
called Flowerdrum
with his brother Leigh but left to join Zac, Mark and James as EMF. Ian was last to
join, having already tasted moderate success as a member of Apple
Mosiac.
Their music mixed light techno elements with rockier sounds -
EMF regularly used samplers and sequencers. It has often been argued
that EMF's music was influenced by Jesus Jones. In fact, the two bands
formed a close relationship. Their music has also been counted as part
of Madchester
and indie
dance. EMF were at the time also known for their baseball caps worn
sideways, and the baggy shorts they wore.
In 1990,
their debut "Unbelievable" topped the charts in many countries around
the world, reaching the number one in the USA in 1991. The single
features sampled utterances from comedian Andrew
Dice Clay. In 1991 EMF released their debut album Schubert Dip
which went to number 3 in the UK. The name was explained by songwriter
Ian Dench, as "If ever I'm short of a chord sequence I nick one from
Schubert."
Successful singles from their debut included "I Believe," "Children,"
and "Lies." The last
one turned controversial for including a voice sample of Mark
Chapman, John Lennon's murderer. Yoko Ono
achieved an injunction and a modified version was included in future
pressings.
In 1992,
EMF returned with an EP called Unexplained
EP (including a cover version of "Search and Destroy") and
later their second album Stigma,
both of which did badly in the charts. The singles were "Getting
Through," "They're Here," and "It's You." This has
been explained with EMF's, lack of innovation past their first single,
but also by the rise of Britpop. Until their 1995 album Cha
Cha Cha EMF effectively disappeared from sight.
This album featured the singles "Perfect Day" and "Bleeding
You Dry." Both were highly acclaimed, but failed to sell well.
In summer 1995
EMF teamed up with Vic Reeves and Bob
Mortimer and recorded "I'm a Believer" (a cover song from The
Monkees). This single sold better, but critics were less enthusiastic,
stating desperation.
The band then released Afro King which
was by some regarded as a return to dance-pop origins, but the release
failed to do well. After this, the band split for the first time,
however, all members of the band continued to play music.
In 2001,
EMF gave a reunion gig in London, UK. They also released a best
of album Epsom
Mad Funkers: The Best Of EMF.
The band's bass guitarist, Zac Foley, died on 2
January 2002, due to an overdose of non-prescribed drugs. He was aged
31. EMF played just four more gigs in late 2002, before deciding to
split up for the final time.
In 2005,
Kraft
Foods used EMF's "Unbelievable" in their Kraft Crumbles advertisement
campaign. The surviving members of EMF reconvened to re-record the
tune. The original song's chorus, "It's unbelievable," was replaced
with a more "crumble-centric" chorus, declaring "It's crumbelievable."
Discography
| Year |
Albums |
UK Chart |
US Charts |
| 1991 |
Schubert
Dip |
3 |
3 |
| 1992 |
Unexplained
EP |
18 |
- |
| 1992 |
Stigma |
19 |
- |
| 1995 |
Cha
Cha Cha |
30 |
- |
| 2001 |
Epsom
Mad Funker: The Best Of EMF |
- |
- |
| Year |
Singles |
UK
Singles Chart |
US
Hot 100 |
US Modern Rock |
US Dance |
Album |
| 1990 |
"Unbelievable" |
3 |
1 |
3 |
- |
Schubert
Dip |
| 1991 |
"Lies" |
28 |
18 |
27 |
- |
Schubert
Dip |
| 1991 |
"I Believe" |
6 |
- |
10 |
- |
Schubert
Dip |
| 1991 |
"Children" |
19 |
- |
26 |
- |
Schubert
Dip |
| 1992 |
"Search and Destroy" |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Unexplained
EP |
| 1992 |
"Getting
Through" |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Unexplined
EP / Stigma |
| 1992 |
"They're
Here" |
29 |
- |
27 |
- |
Stigma |
| 1992 |
"It's You" |
23 |
- |
- |
- |
Stigma |
| 1995 |
"Perfect
Day" |
27 |
- |
- |
- |
Cha
Cha Cha |
| 1995 |
"Bleeding
You Dry" |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Cha
Cha Cha |
| 1995 |
"I'm
a Believer" |
3 |
- |
- |
- |
Non-LP Track |
| 1995 |
"Afro King" |
51 |
- |
- |
- |
Non-LP Track |
Trivia
- Pop / rock singer Brie
Larson has made a cover version of their song
"Unbelievable". The song gained a studio
version, and Larson sang the song on her summer 2005 tour.
- The band Thousand Foot Krutch has
recorded a cover version of "Unbelievable",
although it is quite different lyrically.
- Defunct British heavy rock band Skin
made a slightly altered, but raunchier cover of "Unbelievable" for
their "The Money" EP in 1994.
- New
York–based comedy group Whitest Kids U Know has a sketch
based on a fictional documentary (called "Unbelievable") about EMF.
References
- Guinness Book
of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN
0-85112-190-X
- Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
- The Great Rock Discography - 5th Edition - ISBN 1-84195-017-3
- Guinness Rockopedia - ISBN
0-85112-072-5
External links
