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Biography
Named after a New Order fan club “Epsom Mad Funkers”, EMF formed in 1989 later securing a record deal with EMI/Parlophone after only four live shows. Comprised of frontman James Atkin, guitar and keyboard player Ian Dench, keyboard and synth player Derry Brownson, drummer Mark Decloedt, DJ Milf, guitarist Tim Stephens, and bassist Stevey Marsh, all EMF’s members were well known in the Gloucester music scene prior to forming the group. Dubbed as mixing the Madchester style of music with indie dance, EMF issued their debut single “Unbelievable”, which found instant commercial success. Topping the charts in a host of countries, including the U.S. and the UK, the single samples U.S. comedian Andrew Dice Clay and was produced by Ralph Jezzard.
The band’s full-length “Schubert Dip” subsequently earned its release in 1991 where it peaked at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart. Dubbed somewhat of a disappointment, the album received mixed reviews, yet spawned the singles “I Believe”, “Children”, and “Lies”. A year later the EP “Unexplained” hit the shelves, followed the same year by EMF’s second studio album “Stigma”. Led by the single “It’s You” the record proved another disappointment and was followed by contributing “Unbelievable (The Hovering Feet Mix)” to the 1992 Red Hot Organisation’s dance compilation “Red Hot + Dance”.
EMF’s 1995 album “Cha Cha Cha” came and went without turning many heads despite the singles “Perfect Day” and “Bleeding You Dry”. A cover of the Monkees song “I’m a Believer” saw the group return to the chart with the single peaking at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Following the release of the single “Afro King” EMF announced they were splitting up however continued to play music individually. In 2001 the group returned to release the compilation “Epsom Mad Funkers: The Best of EMF”, spawning two un-charting singles “Incredible” and “Let’s Go”.
Live reviews
If for nothing else, the electro rock outfit EMF would be notable for the fact that they managed to achieve a huge hit single on both sides of the Atlantic - ‘Unbelievable’ topped the charts in the United States, and came in at number three in the UK - but even more interesting is that, technically speaking, the Gloucestershire outfit can also lay claim to having the song that is responsible for the most profanity ever broadcast on radio. During the chorus on ‘Unbelievable’, a constant shout of “what the f*ck was that?” can be heard in the background, and due to the unclear nature of the words uttered, it was never edited out - despite the fact that the CD booklet confirmed that those were indeed the words involved.
Just the fact that a band so open about the drug culture that inspired them could be such a success was incredible in itself (EMF apparently stood for, Ecstasy, Motherf*cker, From Us to You), and after fizzling out in the mid-nineties, they’ve continued to sporadically reform since to play shows to their still-existing cult fanbase; they certainly characterise that Madchester-style sound that was the staple of clubs around the country in the early nineties, so it’s little wonder there’s a nostalgia market for them to exploit.
Joeg_67
