Ashley Beedle (born November 25, 1962, in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

, England) is a British

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

DJ and producer. He was a member of the groups

Black Science Orchestra Black Science Orchestra was a musical project headed chiefly by the British DJ and producer Ashley Beedle, which produced a number of disco and rare groove-inspired house records in the 1990s. History Enlisting the help of Rob Mello and John Howa ...

and

X-Press 2 X-Press 2 are an English electronic dance music duo. The members are DJ Diesel (Darren House) and DJ Rocky (Darren Rock). Ashley Beedle left to pursue solo projects in 2009. They were DJ Award winners in 2002 and Ivor Novello winners in 20 ...

in addition to releasing material under his own name.

Career

Beedle first began DJing in the late 1980s during the heyday 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 ...

. After hearing

Norman Jay Norman Jay MBE (born Norman Bernard Joseph on 6 November 1957) is a British club, radio and sound system DJ. He first came to prominence playing unlicensed "warehouse" parties in the early 1980s, and through his involvement with the then-pira ...

KISS FM Kiss FM, Kiss Radio or variants may refer to: Asia-Oceania * Various Kiss FM-branded stations in the Philippines ** 95.1 Kiss FM, Lucena, Quezon ** 102.3 Kiss FM, Tagbilaran, Bohol * Kiss92 FM, Singapore * KISS 969, Sri Lanka * Kiss Radio Taiwan ...

, he became more interested in deep

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

. In the early 1990s, he teamed up with Rob Mello and John Howard to form the

, who released several club hits in the 1990s (such as their remix of

The Trammps The Trammps are an American disco and soul band, who were based in Philadelphia and were one of the first disco bands. The band's first major success was their 1972 cover version of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", while the first disco tr ...

's "Where Were You?", "Strong", and "New Jersey Deep").Ashley Beedle
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Beedle and the Black Science Orchestra were among the first British acid house artists to achieve notice in the house music community in the United States.Ashley Beedle: The 5 Magazine Interview
''5 Chicago'', March 11, 2016. While working with the Black Science Orchestra (whose debut full-length arrived late in 1994), Beedle also started a project with David Hill and Rocky & Diesel, known as The Ballistic Brothers. The resulting LP, 1994's ''London Hooligan Soul'', was a major dance music hit. Soon after this release, he teamed up again with Rocky & Diesel as

; their single "The Sound" became a dance hit in America. The Ballistic Brothers returned in 1997 with a second full-length, ''Rude System'', and alongside them Beedle released two solo EPs. Beedle continued to remix into the 2000s, and was head of the labels Soundboy Entertainment, Afroart, and Ill Sun. In 2003, Beedle remixed

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's 1979 single "

Are You Ready for Love "Are You Ready for Love" is a song recorded by English musician Elton John in 1977 and first released in the UK in 1979 as the first single from the EP '' The Thom Bell Sessions''. It was written by Leroy Bell, Thom Bell and Casey James, a ...

". It became a number-one hit, Beedle's first chart-topper and John's fifth. In 2010, he collaborated with

Darren Morris Darren Morris (born 24 September 1974) is a former Wales international rugby union player who also represented the British & Irish Lions. He moved to Texas in 2015 as Director of Rugby for Griffins Rugby in Dallas, Texas, USA. Club career Mo ...

on ''Mavis'', an album inspired by

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Durin ...

.Review of ''Mavis''

Pop Matters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fil ...

, April 20, 2010. Beedle is one of the musicians mentioned in the lyrics to the

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

song "Teachers". He featured on the song "Should I Stay or Should I Blow", from the BPA's 2009 debut album, ''

I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat ''I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat'' is the debut album of British electronic act The Brighton Port Authority. It was released on Southern Fried on 6 January 2009 exclusively on amazon.com, with a regular release on 3 February. The Bri ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beedle, Ashley English house musicians English record producers English DJs People from Hemel Hempstead Living people 1962 births Electronic dance music DJs