Stereo MC's are an English hip hop/ electronic dance group which formed in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, England, in 1985. They had an international

top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

hit with their single "

Connected Connected may refer to: Film and television * ''Connected'' (2008 film), a Hong Kong remake of the American movie ''Cellular'' * '' Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology'', a 2011 documentary film * ''Connected'' (2015 TV ...

". After releasing eight albums for

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

, K7, Graffiti Recordings, and Pias, they formed the label Connected with Terranova to release their own material and that of other artists within the house/techno/electronic medium.

Career

Vocalist Rob Birch and disc jockey (DJ)/producer Nick Hallam founded their

Gee Street Gee Street Records was a British hip hop record label started by Jon Baker in 1985. The label's name came from its original location, a converted warehouse on Gee Street (off Old Street) in London, EC1. Between 1980 and 1984, label head Ba ...

recording studio and record label with money they were given to leave their London flat and, dispensing with using a backing band, travelled to early gigs on public transport. As Birch & Hallam they recorded two synth-pop singles in 1983: "What You Say" and "Pray For Me", both released on the A&M label. When Gee Street attracted the attention of

4th & Broadway 4th & B'way Records (pronounced and spelled out completely as Fourth and Broadway Records in the UK) is a US-based subsidiary of Island Records that specialised in street-oriented music such as hip hop. Established in 1984, it was the flagsh ...

, they recorded the debut Stereo MCs' album, ''

33-45-78 ''33-45-78'' is the 1989 debut album by the Stereo MC's. It was recorded on a shoestring budget with DJ Cesare as drummer and Cath Coffey as backing vocalist. ''Billboard'' declared that 33-45-78 proved the band "capable of wildly imaginative ...

'' (1989), on a shoestring budget with DJ Cesare, drummer Owen If and backing vocalist Cath Coffey. In 1990, "Elevate My Mind" was the first British hip hop single to reach the United States R&B record chart. Having supported the

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder (bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joine ...

on a US tour, in the emerging UK

alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the U.S.) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained American and worldwide expos ...

scene, it took an alliance with the

Jungle Brothers Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop trio composed of Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall ( Afrika Baby Bam), and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). Known as the pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music, they were the first hi ...

to ensure chart success for ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'' (1990).

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 ...

work for U2 and

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

followed. Their live band included singers Andrea Bedassie and Verona Davis, and they were one of the few hip hop outfits to play at rock music festivals at the time. 1992's mainstream breakthrough ''

'', a UK Albums Chart #2, contained the hit singles "

", " Step It Up", "Creation", and "Ground Level", and won them

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

for Best Group and Best Album. Hallam and Birch then created the music-publishing firm Spirit Songs, which signed

Finley Quaye Finley Quaye (born 25 March 1974, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish musician. He won the 1997 MOBO Award for best reggae act, and the 1998 BRIT Award for Best Male Solo Artist. Life Finley Quaye is the son of vaudeville pianist Cab Kaye and t ...

. However, the follow-up to ''Connected'' did not appear for almost a decade. Further remix duties for

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

(" Frozen") and the

("Jungle Brother") in 1998 kept the Stereo MCs' name in the limelight. Madonna went on to use the "Frozen" remix on her 2001 Drowned World Tour. In 2000, they released a Disc Jockey mix for

Studio !K7 !K7 Music is a music company based in Berlin, Germany that focuses mostly on electronic music. The name is an abbreviation of the company's original Berlin address, Kaiserdamm 7 (it has since relocated, first to Heidestrasse 52, and currently he ...

's DJ-Kicks series and remixed another song for Madonna ("

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

"). The following year saw the release of ''Deep Down & Dirty'', followed by a tour including slots opening for the recently re-united

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

. Their sixth studio album, ''Double Bubble'', was released in July 2008, followed by their seventh, ''Emperor's Nightingale'', in August 2011. In December 2008, they supported Madness at the

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decem ...

in London. Stereo MCs Orange Music Haifa 2005 03

Drummer Owen If died on July 10, 2022, at the age of 63.

Members

* 'The Head' – born Nick Hallam, 11 June 1960,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. * 'Rob B' – born Robert Charles Birch, 11 June 1961,

Ruddington Ruddington is a large village in the Borough of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, England. The village is south of Nottingham and northwest of Loughborough. It had a population of 6,441 at the 2001 Census, increasing to 7,216 at the 2011 Cens ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, England. * 'Owen If' – born Ian Frederick Rossiter, 20 March 1959 - died 10 July 2022, Newport,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, Wales. * 'Aina Roxx' * ' Cath Coffey'.

Discography

EPs

*''The Stereo MCs'' (1990) This EP was written, produced and composed by the Stereo MC's and released on

. The songs were a compilation of their first three singles, and would later appear on their first album.

Studio albums

*''

'' (1989) *''

'' (1990) *''

'' (1992) #2 UK, #86 AUS *'' Deep Down & Dirty'' (2001) #17 UK, #58 AUS *''Paradise'' (2005) *''Double Bubble'' (2008) *''Emperor's Nightingale'' (2011)

Compilation albums

*''Retroactive'' (2002) *''Live at the BBC'' (2008)

Other albums

*'' DJ-Kicks: Stereo MCs'' (2000) (Remix album of other artists)

Singles

References

External links

Official websiteBritishhiphop.co.uk – The original UK Hip Hop historyStereo Mc's Mixtape for The New WorckStereo Mc's Interview Themselves
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stereo Mcs English hip hop groups Musical groups from Nottingham English electronic music groups English house music groups Hip house music groups Gee Street Records artists Musical groups established in 1985 Brit Award winners 1985 establishments in England