Adam Paul Tinley (born 4 December 1967), known professionally as Adamski, as well as Sonny Eriksson, is an English DJ, musician, singer and record producer, prominent at the time of

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...

for his tracks " N-R-G" and "

Killer A killer is someone or something that kills, such as a murderer or a serial killer. Killer may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Killer (''Home and Away''), a character from ''Home and Away'' * Killer Kane, ...

", a collaboration with

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

, which was a No. 1 song in the UK in 1990.

Career

Tinley was born in

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England. As a youngster, influenced by punk rock and

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, he formed his first band The Stupid Babies when he was 11 and living in New Forest in England. He persuaded his 5-year-old brother Dominic to sing while he strummed a small guitar, and sent a demo tape to the indie label

Fast Product Fast Product was an independent record label, established in Edinburgh by Bob Last, his partner, Hilary Morrison and Tim Pearce in December 1977. Its first release was also the first single by the Mekons, released on 20 January 1978. The labe ...

, run by

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

's manager Bob Last. "Everyone thought that was a really precocious and strange thing for an 11 year-old to do," Adamski recalls "but I just thought that's what everybody did". The kiddie-punk tracks were released on a sampler. When alternative

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

DJ John Peel started playing their song "Babysitters" the band caused quite a stir, receiving positive write-ups in music magazines like ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' and ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

''. He performed with his brother

Mark Tinley Mark Ty-Wharton (born Mark Tinley; 18 March 1963) is a British music technologist, informal logician and public speaker who specialises in presentations using sound art. He is best known for his work as a guitarist, programmer, sound engineer and ...

, and

Johnny Slut Specimen are a British band founded in the 1980s. Their music has been described as spanning many different genres of music, including glam, goth, punk and post-punk, and the band is widely credited as one of the pioneers of the goth subcultu ...

of the band

Specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

, as Diskord Datkord. They released their only single in 1988, an electroid cover of "Identity" by punk band

X-Ray Spex X-Ray Spex were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 in London. During their first incarnation (1976–1979), X-Ray Spex released five singles and one album. Their 1977 single " Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and 1978 debut album '' Germfree Adol ...

. It was single of the week in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''. In March 1989, Adamski was booked for his first solo gig at Le Petit Prince Restaurant in Kentish Town, run by his manager Phil Smith. Lenny D, promoter of nightclub Heaven, happened to be walking past, and was convinced by Smith to book Adamski for an all-dayer at Heaven. He quickly catapulted into the upper echelons of the nascent

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

scene. Within a few weeks, Adamski was playing to 8,000 people at Sunrise Festival at

Santa Pod Raceway Santa Pod Raceway, located in Podington, Bedfordshire, England, is Europe's first permanent drag racing venue for 1/4 and 1/8 mile racing. It was built on a disused Second World War air base, ( RAF Podington), once used by the USAAF's 92nd Bo ...

and, after a bidding war, signed to

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

, producing the first rave record on MCA called ''

Liveandirect ''Liveandirect'' is a live album by English acid house and rave producer Adamski. Released in December 1989 by MCA Records, it is his debut album. Having gained a following and positive reputation in the UK rave scene in the late 1980s where h ...

''. He had success with this first release, which was a collection of tracks recorded live at various raves. It contained a short, live version of his first single " N-R-G", as well as "I Dream of You", which appeared on a free 4-track 7" vinyl single given away with the music paper ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' in 1989. The cover of the single "N-R-G" featured a mocked up

Lucozade Lucozade is a British brand of soft drink manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter (trading as W. Owen & Son), it was acquired by the B ...

bottle with the word "Lucozade" replaced with "N-R-G". Adamski toured many clubs with his portable keyboard set up, playing long sets, with an MC, Daddy Chester, and later with

. In front of his keyboard was a UK car number plate with the word ADAMSKI on it. Early versions of future singles "

" and " Future Love Paradise" were played on some of the Seal dates. The album, ''Adamski's Thing'', was issued in late 1998 on

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

ZTT Records ZTT Records is a British record label founded in 1983 by record producer Trevor Horn, Horn's wife and businesswoman Jill Sinclair, and ''New Musical Express'' (NME) journalist Paul Morley. The label's name was also stylised as ZANG TUMB TUUM and ...

label, recorded at

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958, London, England) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing technique ...

’s On-U Sound studios. The style followed the trend started with his 1992 album '' Naughty'', with guitars,

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, raw vocals and introspective

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

, but maintaining a rhythmic dance sensibility. ''Adamski's Thing'' spawned two singles, "Intravenous Venus" and "One of the People" (a record featuring dance vocalist Gerideau, that got to No. 56 in the UK Singles Chart). Throughout the late 90s Tinley shifted focus to his DJ career. He soon adopted a new moniker, Adam Sky, touring Europe, and making the odd UK appearance such as playing at seminal electroclash night

Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag was an influential London club night at Simon Hobart's Ghetto nightclub. Founded by DJ, promoter and musician Jonny Slut in 2002, it ran for six years. The night is commonly associated with the ambisexual post-electroclash scene. His ...

in London in 2002 – run by his old friend

Jonny Slut Specimen are a British band founded in the 1980s. Their music has been described as spanning many different genres of music, including glam, goth, punk and post-punk, and the band is widely credited as one of the pioneers of the goth subculture ...

. As a producer, his songs at that time also included a collaboration with musician Danny Williams. In 2007, he released a remake of

The Pop Group The Pop Group are an English rock band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith. Their work in the late 1970s crosse ...

's 1979 single "We Are All Prostitutes" with Mark Stewart which appeared on a number of compilations. His single "ApeX" was released on Kitsuné Music in 2006. In 2009, he began to release more material on Shir Khan's record label. In 2009 he found his way back to the UK to start his Futurewaltz project, working in the 3/4 time signature. Tinley’s latest alter ego is cyberbilly Sonny Eriksson - a self-styled Teddy Boy fusing rockabilly and psychobilly styles with the hypnotic, strange and electronic sounds of today and beyond. In 2020 Adamski release
Free To Kill Again
featuring 10 new interpretations of his classic track ‘Killer' with guest features by

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the Punk subculture, punk and New wave music, new wave movements in the late 1970s a ...

Mykki Blanco Mykki Blanco (born April 2, 1986) is an American rapper, performance artist, poet and activist. She has collaborated musically with artists including Kanye West, Teyana Taylor, and Dev Hynes, Blood Orange. Early life Blanco was born in Orange ...

, Hannah Hu and more. In 2022 Adamski released Black Butterfly, featuring legendary house singer Robert Owens. The track is a tribute to

Mina Smallman Wilhelmina Tokcumboh "Mina" Smallman (born 29 October 1956) is a British retired Anglican priest and former school teacher. She served as the Archdeacon of Southend in the Diocese of Chelmsford from September 2013 until her retirement in December ...

’s daughters Nicole and Bibaa, with all proceeds donated to the charity Million Women Rise. Remixes by Captain Mustache, Leeroy Thornhil (

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

Mr. C Richard West (born 2 January 1965), known as Mr. C, is an English house music DJ, producer and rapper. He was the resident DJ at the early acid house "RIP" nights at Clink Street, London, and later was the co-owner/co-founder of London's The En ...

(Superfreq), and

Shadow Child Simon Neale (born 20 January 1977 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England), known by his stage names Shadow Child and Dave Spoon, is an English radio DJ and dance music producer. He's also part of the duo Avec alongside Doorly. He was part of the lin ...

. In October 2022 Adamski released Black Star Acid (

Boys Noize Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a Berlin-based German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter, and DJ. It is similar to the name of Ridha's label, Boysnoize Records, which he esta ...

Records)

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (1989) – UK No. 47 * '' Doctor Adamski's Musical Pharmacy'' (1990) – UK No. 8 * '' Naughty'' (1992) * ''Adamski vs The Sentinels'' (1993) * ''Adamski's Thing'' (1998) * ''Killer – The Best of Adamski'' (1999) * ''Mutant Pop'' (1999) * ''This is 3-Step EP'' (2014) * ''Revolt'' (2015) * ''The Sound of Sonny Eriksson'' (2017) * ''The Spirit of Sonny Eriksson'' (EP) (2018) * '' Re:nrgise (2019)'' * ''Free to Kill Again (2020) ''

Singles

Remixes

Miss Kittin Caroline Hervé (born 1973), known professionally as Miss Kittin, is a French electronic music producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles " 1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked ...

and

The Hacker ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

– "

Stock Exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

" (2003) *

Mignon ''Mignon'' is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. The ...

– "Demons of Love" (2004) *

ESKA Eska Mtungwazi (born 1971), known professionally as Eska, is a London-born British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Following her inaugural release as a solo artist with her 2013 ''Gatekeeper EP'', her eponymous debut album, '' ESKA' ...

– "She's in the Flowers" (2015)

References

External links

* * Adamski biography at Allmusic*
ZTT Records official site
* Ian Peel:
Warriors of pop, 21 years of ZTT
'

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

, September 2004 (copy at ''Zang Tuum Tumb and all that'') Article about ZTT's history, contains info on Adamski
Interview with ''Kool'' magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamski 1967 births Acid house musicians English electronic musicians English house musicians English record producers English techno musicians English dance musicians English male singers English DJs Living people MCA Records artists ZTT Records artists People from Lymington Kitsuné artists Electronic dance music DJs