Kicks Like a Mule is 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 consisting of Richard Russell and

Nick Halkes Nick Halkes (born Nigel Halkes) is a UK based music industry executive best known for signing a breaking dance act the Prodigy and being one of the founders of the XL Recordings label. He is now an artist manager and music publisher managing L ...

. Their first

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 ...

, " The Bouncer", peaked at No. 7 in 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 ...

when it was released in 1992. Although both Halkes and Russell worked at the

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six albu ...

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 ...

at the time of the single's release (XL being run by Russell to this day), it was released on

Rebel MC Michael Alec Anthony West (born 27 August 1964 in Islington, London, England), better known as Rebel MC and Congo Natty, is a British jungle producer and toaster. He has also gone by aliases including Conquering Lion, Blackstar, Tribe of Issach ...

’s independent Tribal Bass label. It featured a repeated vocal sample of an archetypal club bouncer saying "Your name's not down, you're not coming in" and "Not tonight, you're not on the list." Kicks Like a Mule were also responsible for the

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 ...

of Awesome 3's "Don’t Go", and produced the song "Pass the Rizla" by

London Posse London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

which was featured on the ''London Underground'' EP on XL Records in 1993. This was also featured on the 2001 reissue of London Posse's

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 ...

''Gangster Chronicle''. Their second single, "Number One" was also released on the Tribal Bass label. As 'Lifelike', Russell and Halkes also recorded the song "Like Life", which was released on

FFRR Records FFRR Records (sometimes credited as Full Frequency Range Recordings) is a dance music label previously run and founded by English DJ Pete Tong. Originally the dance music label of London Records, FFRR is currently a sublabel of Parlophone ...

. Although this was meant to be the first fruits of an album project, the album never materialised. In 2006, homage was paid to Kicks Like a Mule in the form of a cover of "The Bouncer" by

Klaxons Klaxons were an English rock band, based in London. Following the release of several 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles " Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut ...

, with Kicks Like a Mule returning the favour by covering the Klaxon's "

Gravity's Rainbow ''Gravity's Rainbow'' is a 1973 novel by American writer Thomas Pynchon. The narrative is set primarily in Europe at the end of World War II and centers on the design, production and dispatch of V-2 rockets by the German military. In particular, ...

". In 2008, live DJ sets at Epidemik, Bestival, Bangface and Break! followed with remixes of the likes of M.I.A. (featured on ''Kitsune Maison Vol. 5''),

Axwell Axel Christofer Hedfors (; born 18 December 1977), better known by his stage name Axwell, is a Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and owner of Axtone Records. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia along with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello ...

The Gossip Gossip (or The Gossip) was an American indie rock band formed in Searcy, Arkansas, originally active from 1999 until 2016. For most of their career, the band consisted of singer Beth Ditto, multi-instrumentalist Brace Paine, and drummer Hanna ...

DJ Mehdi Mehdi Favéris-Essadi (20 January 1977 – 13 September 2011), better known by his stage name DJ Mehdi, was a French hip hop and house music producer and DJ. He was signed to the label Ed Banger Records, founded by his friend Pedro Winter, in ...

and more. Most recently, under the revised artist name K.L.A.M., the act have both remixed and supported The Prodigy on part of their arena tour and also remixed

Kid Sister Melissa Young (born July 3, 1980), known professionally as Kid Sister, is an American rapper based in Chicago, Illinois. She is known for her single " Pro Nails", which features Kanye West, and for her work as a member of the British music colle ...

for Fools Gold and DJed at

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organ ...

in 2010.

Discography

*1992: " The Bouncer" - UK #7 *1992: "Number One" (featuring Longsy D) *2007: "

" *2010: ''Funky 4'' EP

References

External links

Myspace
{{Authority control English electronic music duos Breakbeat hardcore music groups Electronic dance music duos Male musical duos Musical groups from Sheffield XL Recordings artists