Bentley Rhythm Ace (BRA) are a British

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

duo formed in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

in 1995, consisting of Mike Stokes and Richard March.

Career

The

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

was formed in

by Richard March, formerly with the group

Pop Will Eat Itself Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a grebo act, they changed style to incorp ...

, and Mike Stokes formerly with Bugweed Centipede, with guest appearances by James Atkin, a member of

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

band EMF. ''"Both more or less penniless, they drank in the same pub and were forced to buy their records at the cheapest place possible - car boot sales"''. Their live drummers include

Keith York Keith York is an English session drummer who has toured throughout the world and worked with a range of bands, including The Lightning Seeds, Pitchshifter, bivouac, Ladytron, and Esoteric, Bentley Rhythm Ace, Broadcast and Love Amongst Ruin. He w ...

and Car SOS's

Fuzz Townshend John Richard Keith "Fuzz" Townshend (born 31 July 1964) is a British drummer, TV presenter of National Geographic Channel's ''Car SOS'' (also shown on Channel 4/More4), motoring journalist for '' Classic Car Weekly'', former technical editor o ...

(alongside whom March previously played with in Pop Will Eat Itself), while EMF's James Atkin is also involved with BRA as a touring member. BRA signed on the

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

based

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Skint and released their eponymous debut album, ''

Bentley Rhythm Ace Bentley Rhythm Ace (BRA) are a British electronic music duo formed in Birmingham in 1995, consisting of Mike Stokes and Richard March. Career The band was formed in Birmingham by Richard March, formerly with the group Pop Will Eat Itself, and ...

'' in 1997, which spawned the popular

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"Bentleys Gonna Sort You Out!". A second

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

For Your Ears Only ''For Your Ears Only'' is the second studio album by Bentley Rhythm Ace, released through Parlophone in 2000. It peaked at number 48 on the UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and ...

'', was released in 2000 on

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

but was less popular. A further single "Madam, Your Carriage Awaits" was released. The group also compiled a two CD ''FSUK''

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

. In 2004, the Bentleys released a 4-song record with Sophia Lolley called ''Angel Face''. The name probably refers to the Rhythm Ace line of analogue drum machines manufactured by

Ace Tone Ace Electronic Industries Inc., or Ace Tone was a manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, including electronic organs, analogue drum machines, and electronic drums, as well as amplifiers and effects pedals. Founded in 1960 by Ikutaro Kake ...

, some of which were rebranded and distributed by Bentley Pianos in the UK.ACE-TONE ARCHIVE PAGE
retrieved 2 April 2006. The group epitomises the

big beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as th ...

era. Signed to

Skint Records Skint Records is a Brighton and Hove based dance music record label owned by JC Reid, Tim Jeffery and Damian Harris. It was created as a sublabel of Loaded Records, also founded by Reid and Jeffery. Along with Wall of Sound, the label was a l ...

, they enjoyed commercial success with their music being used on television

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

s and having an underground following. The group split in 2000 after which they played the occasional low-key DJ set. In 2016, the duo reformed and played live sets across the UK at festivals, supporting

The Wonder Stuff The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying considerable chart and live success in the ...

's December tour and headlining a few of their own shows. Michael Barrie Whoosh released a new LP in December 2021 entitled "cant remember where i left myself". After Mike announced he no longer wanted to perform live BRA continue to play occasional shows as a three piece with James, Fuzz and Richard

Discography

Albums

Singles

DJ mixes

* ''FSUK3'' (1998)

Band members

* Richard March (born 4 March 1965,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England) - bass, engineering * Mike Stokes (born 15 June 1971,

, England) -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

turntables A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, programming * James Atkin (vocalist for EMF, born 28 March 1969, Birmingham) - vocals, guitars *

(born 31 July 1964, Hammersmith, London, England) - drums

References

External links

Bentley Rhythm Ace
page on Myspace
Bentley Rhythm Ace
discography on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control English electronic music duos Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands Big beat groups