Dubstar are an English indie-dance duo,Note: An American indie hip hop artist has released some tracks and video via the Internet under the name "Dubstar", but is not connected to the band in any way. performing songs with hints of

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...

and synth, as well as the occasional

pop ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cur ...

and guitar-laden

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

with

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

twists. The group was formed in 1992 by Steve Hillier and Chris Wilkie in

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

Sarah Blackwood Sarah Blackwood (born 6 May 1971) is an English recording artist. She came to prominence as the lead singer of Dubstar, and as Client B in the band Client (band), Client. Career Blackwood was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, attended a ...

joined in 1993 as vocalist. "

Stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

", the best-selling single by Dubstar, received a great deal of play time in clubs. Many

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es were also created of this song and it was covered by

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

band

Lacuna Coil Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded nine studio albums, two extended plays, two ...

on their 2000 EP ''

Halflife Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable ato ...

''.

Career

Formerly known as The Joans, Dubstar were initially a two-piece band, with Chris Wilkie playing guitar and Steve Hillier singing and playing keyboards. Gavin Lee joined The Joans in the autumn of 1992 and played drums and, later, bass guitar before leaving to pursue a career at British Airways the following year. Performance artist and musician Mark Greenwood also played bass in The Joans for a number gigs in the summer of 1992. Sarah Blackwood was invited to join the band in August 1993, after her boyfriend accidentally left a cassette tape of her singing in Steve Hillier's flat in

Jesmond Jesmond is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, situated to the east of the Town Moor. Jesmond is considered to be one of the most affluent suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, with higher average house prices than most other areas of the city. H ...

. Blackwood replaced Hillier on vocals in early 1994. Dubstar appointed

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

-based

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and

talent manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee the day-to-da ...

Graeme Robinson as their manager after Robinson had seen them play in a sparsely attended Newcastle

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

in March 1994. Robinson renamed the band and provided

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

time and produced independent demos of seventeen

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

s which he brought to the attention of former ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, Andy Ross, who promptly signed the band to his Camden-based

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

Food Records Food Records was a British rock record label set up in 1984 by David Balfe (formally of Zoo Records), who later took on Andy Ross as his partner. Originally formed as an independent record label with distribution going through Rough Trade Distr ...

. Ross engaged the services of

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

and New Order producer

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session k ...

to co-produce a number of tracks with Robinson for their critically acclaimed debut album ''Disgraceful'' (1995), and commissioned an advertising campaign featuring Robert Steel's controversial "pencil case vulva"

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

. The

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 ...

charted well on release in July 1995, and by January 1996 Dubstar had arrived in the Top 20 of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

with "Not So Manic Now" (originally written and recorded by Brick Supply), followed by a re-released "Stars", which marked Dubstar's UK chart zenith. In June 1997, Dubstar contributed a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of "Everyday I Die" to the

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his d ...

tribute album ''

Random In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of pattern or predictability in events. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no :wikt:order, order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Ind ...

''. In September, the band released their second UK album, ''

Goodbye Goodbye, Good bye, or Good-bye is a parting phrase and may refer to: Film * ''Goodbye'' (1918 film), a British drama directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Goodbye'' (1995 film) (''Tot Ziens!''), a Dutch film directed by Heddy Honigmann * ''Goodbye'' ...

''. The group's debut US album, also called ''Goodbye'', was released on

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

in 1998 and combined tracks from both the first and second albums. The third original Dubstar album, ''

Make It Better ''Make It Better'' is the third studio album by British dance-pop band Dubstar. It was released August 2000 on Food, and spawned two singles: "I (Friday Night)" and "The Self Same Thing". The single "I (Friday Night) was released in the UK on 1 ...

'', was released in 2000. Hillier quit the band just before its release. EMI released a best-of

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

titled '' Stars: The Best of Dubstar'' in 2004. In 2002, Blackwood was recruited by ex-

Frazier Chorus Frazier Chorus were an English pop group from Brighton, England. They were known for their unconventional instrumentation, including synthesizers, trumpets, flutes and clarinets, as well as frontman Tim Freeman's "soft, heavily accented ... t ...

member Kate Holmes to join her duo

Technique Technique or techniques may refer to: Music * The Techniques, a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group of the 1960s *Technique (band), a British female synth pop band in the 1990s * ''Technique'' (album), by New Order, 1989 * ''Techniques'' (album), by M ...

, replacing singer

Xan Tyler Xan Tyler is a British pop singer. Career Born and raised in South London, Tyler began her singing career as a backing singer. After working with numerous bands and as a session singer, she signed to Alan McGee's Creation Records as one half ...

for a European tour with

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

. Shortly afterwards, Holmes and Blackwood decided to write together and formed a new pseudonymous electropop act,

Client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuable ...

(stylised CLIEИT). The duo would not have their faces photographed in promotional photos, with Holmes and Blackwood being referred to Client A and Client B. Client would chart three singles in the UK, with their biggest, "Pornography", getting to number 22 in 2005. Posts in 2008 on their official Myspace page stated that the recording of Dubstar's fourth album was underway. However, in November 2008 they made a post to their Facebook group stating that Blackwood would not participate, and the future of the album was up in the air. Blackwood and Wilkie have worked together in the interim, as Blackwood's first solo album, 2008's ''Acoustic at the Club Bar & Dining'', features Wilkie on guitar; the seven-track live recording was released exclusively online, and consists of acoustic versions of Dubstar and Client songs, plus covers of tracks by

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

and New Order. On 12 April 2010, the band released a cover of "

I'm in Love with a German Film Star "I'm in Love with a German Film Star" is a post-punk song by the British band the Passions. It was released as a single by Polydor Records on 23 January 1981,''Post Punk Diary: 1980–1982'' by George Gimarc and reached No. 25 on the UK Singles C ...

" for an

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

project. Interviewed by Andrew Collins on

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

that afternoon, Blackwood confirmed that the band were back together and would be going into studio to record tracks for a new Dubstar album, although she would continue to also record with Client. However, in December 2010, it was announced that Blackwood had left Client and a new member was being recruited to front that band. Dubstar released a new single, "Waltz ", on 1 June 2018. Via their website, they revealed that it was taken from a new album titled ''One'', due for release on 28 September 2018. The album was produced by

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

and published by the band's own label, Northern Writes. The release date was 12 October 2018. On 27 August 2020, Dubstar released a

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

-inspired track titled "Hygiene Strip". A video for the new song was released on the same day. Later in 2020, the duo released the disco-pop track "I Can See You Outside", which was recorded during the United Kingdom's first COVID-19 lockdown and which was co-produced with Stephen Hague. Dubstar announced via Facebook, on 27 August 2021, a new single titled "Tectonic Plates", co-produced by Stephen Hague and Chris Wilkie, to be released on 8 September on the Northern Writes label.

Personnel

–

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Chris Wilkie –

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Former personnel

* Steve Hillier – songwriting,

keyboard 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 ...

programming (1992–2014)

Additional live band members

* Rochelle Vincente –

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Diid Osman –

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

* Paul Wadsworth –

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

Discography

The discography of Dubstar consists of five studio albums, a compilation album, an extended play, thirteen singles, and six songs exclusive to compilation and soundtrack albums. Prior to 2018, all of the group's work was released by

with the exception of their compilation album which was released by EMI, due to the closure of Food Records in 2001. In 2018, the group started releasing records on their own label, Northern Writes. Their fifth album ‘Two’ saw the duo enter re-enter the UK album charts for the first time since 1997’s album ‘Goodbye’.

Studio albums

* ''

Disgraceful ''Disgraceful'' is a 1995 album by British band Dubstar. It is also their debut and was released in October 1995 on the Food Records label, a division of EMI that was also home to Blur. The album features two covers; "Not So Manic Now" which ...

'' (9 October 1995, Food Records) * ''

'' (22 September 1997, Food Records) * ''

'' (28 August 2000, Food Records) * ''One'' (12 October 2018, Northern Writes Records) * ''Two'' (6 May 2022, Northern Writes Records)

Compilation albums

* '' Stars: The Best of Dubstar'' (29 March 2004, EMI)

Singles

The following singles were released in the UK:

Music videos

* "

" (1995) * "Anywhere" (1995) * "Not So Manic Now" (1995) * "

" (new version (vacuum cleaner in the sky)) (1996) * "

" (USA version) (1996) * "Elevator Song" (1996) * "No More Talk" (1997) * "Cathedral Park" (1997) * "I Will Be Your Girlfriend" (1998) * "I (Friday Night)" (2000) * "The Self Same Thing" (2000) * "You Were Never In Love" (2018) * "Love Comes Late" (2018) * "Why Don't You Kiss Me" (2018) * "I Can See You Outside" (2020) * “Token” (2022) * "I Can See You Outside (new version)" (2022)

Extended plays

* ''The Self Same Thing'' (2000, Food/EMI) (chart-ineligible EP)

Exclusive songs

* "Not So Fast" – ''Volume Sixteen'' (1996) * "Everyday I Die" – ''Random, Volume 1: A

Tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

'' (1997) * "In Charge" – ''

Shooting Fish ''Shooting Fish'' is a 1997 British romantic crime comedy film directed by Stefan Schwartz and co-written with Richard Holmes. Starring Dan Futterman and Stuart Townsend as two con men with Kate Beckinsale as their unwilling assistant, the film ...

Soundtrack'' (1997) * "

Jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgust. ...

" – ''Come Again'' (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, UK, 1997) / ''Essential: Interpretations'' (

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, 1998) * "Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son" featuring

Sacha Distel Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French singer, guitarist, songwriter and actor who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, "Scoubidou", ...

– ''Song for Eurotrash'' (1998) * "

" from ''Peace'', a compilation for

(2010) * "Circle Turns" –

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

single (2012)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubstar Alternative dance musical groups Britpop groups Dream pop musical groups English synth-pop groups English musical duos Male–female musical duos Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups from Newcastle upon Tyne Parlophone artists Female-fronted musical groups