Shitdisco were a

dance-punk Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk, punk-funk or techno-punk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements.Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-19 ...

band from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, Scotland. They formed in 2003 while studying at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

, consisting of Joel Stone (bass, guitar, vocals), Joe Reeves (bass, guitar, vocals), Jan Lee (keyboards, backing vocals) and Darren Cullen (drums). The band's first single "Disco Blood"/"I Know Kung Fu" was released in December 2005. Signed to record label Fierce Panda, their debut album '' Kingdom of Fear'' was released on 16 April 2007. The group have been compared to

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

and

The Rapture The rapture is an eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurrected believers, will rise "in the c ...

, but admitted influences ranging from

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular m ...

, Arthur Russel and The Prodigy to

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The ...

and

The Clash The Clash were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave music, new wave moveme ...

. Since the release of "Disco Blood"/"I Know Kung Fu" the band toured extensively in the UK and Europe, even playing as far afield as

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. In 2007 they signed to

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

in Japan and Dim Mak Records in America. The members of the group produced two tracks for Japanese new-wave unit 80_pan's 2008 album, ''Disco Baby''. Jan Lee left the band in January 2008 to concentrate on his career as an illustrator, and later also entered the restaurant business. He was replaced by Tom Straughan, similarly on keyboards and backing vocals. In 2009 the band split after mutual agreement. Members went on to form the bands

Age of Consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally cla ...

and Ubre Blanca, while drummer Darren Cullen has also pursued a career in political art. Shitdisco

Album

The band began recording their debut album '' Kingdom of Fear'' at The Premises recording studio in London with former Clor guitarist turned producer Luke Smith. He had previously worked with the band producing remixes for "Disco Blood" & "Reactor Party". The album was to be recorded in two sessions, with the 2nd session taking place after the band had completed the NME New Rave Tour (Oct 2006) supporting

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 ...

. During the tour however, after a gig 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 We ...

, drummer Darren Cullen fell from the roof of the band's tour bus, breaking his right wrist, requiring an operation and the fitting of a metal plate. For the second recording session Kieron Pepper, live drummer for The Prodigy, was brought in to play on two tracks, "Fear of the Future" and "Dream of Infinity". The album also featured the song "Reactor Party" which was produced by

Alan O'Connell Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *Al ...

. '' Kingdom of Fear'', named after the last book by American writer Hunter S. Thompson, was released on 16 April 2007 on Fierce Panda Records.

DJ career

In addition to live performances, the band have become well known for their regular DJ sets, playing from the likes of Bugged Out, Gatecrasher & Modular parties in the UK to Judgement Sundays in Ibiza, a recent North American DJ tour and extensively in the Far East.

Discography

Albums

*'' Kingdom of Fear'' (16 April 2007) *''

The Emanator ''Kingdom of Fear'' is the first album by the Scottish dance-punk/new rave band Shitdisco released on 16 April 2007 on Fierce Panda Records. It contains newly recorded versions of tracks from their double A-side "Disco Blood"/"I Know Kung Fu", ...

'' – US release of ''Kingdom of Fear'' with extra tracks (23 September 2008)

Singles

*"Disco Blood"/"I Know Kung Fu" (2005) (1,000 copies) *"

Reactor Party Reactor Party was the first single released by the band Shitdisco from Glasgow, scotland. It was released on 23 October 2006 and reached #73 in the UK charts. The song is inspired by the gabba rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') ...

" (2006) UK #73 *"OK" (2007) (2,000 copies) *"I Know Kung Fu" (2007)

Compilations

*"Disco Blood" – On Delete Yourself compilation ''Digital Penetration'' (July 2006) *"Reactor Party" – On Neon Nights Mixtape – DMC (June 2007) *"Reactor Party" – On The Bang Gang DJs "Light Sound Dance" – Modular Records (July 2007) *"Reactor Party" – On Ibiza Rocks 2007 – Ministry of Sound (August 2007)

Reviews

Daily Music Guide Interview

Album Review, Kingdom of Fear
- NME.com
Album Review
- From NG Magazine
Album Review on The Line Of Best Fit

Review, March 2006 in Edinburgh
- from The Scotsman
Review, 16/03/06 @ The Barfly, Liverpool
- from gigwise online
Supersweet interview

References

External links

Fierce Panda Records
{{Authority control Scottish rock music groups Dance-punk musical groups Dance-rock musical groups Scottish electronic rock musical groups Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Fierce Panda Records artists