Goldie Lookin Chain
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| Goldie Lookin Chain | |
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 Live at Leeds Festival 2005
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| Background information | |
| Origin |  Newport, Wales, UK |
| Genre(s) | Pop Rap |
| Years active | 2004 - present |
| Label(s) | Atlantic Records Gold Dust Records |
| Website | www.youknowsit.co.uk |
| Members | |
| 2Hats Maggot Billy Webb Eggsy Mystikal Mike Balls Adam Hussain |
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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (January 2008) |
Not to be confused with GLC, the American rapper or the Greater London Council
Goldie Lookin Chain is a rap-pop music group based in Newport, South Wales. The group produces humorous, controversial and often explicit songs that satirise hip hop, today's consumer society, the chav culture and life in Newport and South Wales in general.
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[edit] Background
Many of the songs contain references to places and hang-outs local to Newport. Much of the humour comes from the adoption of hip-hop style and language, adapted into the local South Wales vernacular, partly to poke fun "chav culture". A "clart" means "a person who knows about the GLC" other GLC meanings can be found here - http://www.youknowsit.co.uk/lowtech/dictionary.htm). Their music also satirises gangsta rap by highlighting the disparity between the band's deliberately unglamorous image, and the media hype and glamour usually associated with gangsta rap. While the correct spelling of the name of the group would require correct punctuation (with an apostrophe at the end of Lookin), no sleeve or band literature indicates one.
[edit] Members
[edit] Full time
- Dwain Xain Zedong
- 2Hats
- Maggot
- Billy Webb
- Eggsy
- Mystikal (not to be confused with US rapper of the same name)
- Mike Balls
- Adam Hussain
- ConMan McAuley
- KL from the LK
[edit] Occasional/part-time
- DCI Burnside
- Dipper Nan
- Leeroy Fashions
- C.Live
- Rosco P
- M.C. Flatpress
- Stressed Armstrong
- DJ Euphoria
- Adam's Nan
[edit] History
The group has been signed to the East/West record label, the home of rock band The Darkness. Rumours suggest that GLC was signed after record label bosses heard The Darkness playing GLC tracks whilst on tour (source: BBC Radio 1 - GLC Documentary). GLC went on to support The Darkness in the latter stages of their UK tour.
GLC's first UK Chart Entry was "Half-Man Half-Machine"/"Self Suicide", which reached the top 40. When group member Dwain Xain Zedong was phoned by BBC chart presenter Wes on the Official Chart Show to be informed of this, Xain informed the rest of the band that they had reached number 1, much to the shock of the DJ. "Half-Man Half-Machine" was a surreal song about one of the members (Eggsy) believing he was a robot, dressing up in foil, and going to the shops to buy ten fags and some crisps. The song namechecks many well-known 1980s 8-bit computer systems including Binatone, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.
In August 2004, the group reached number 3 in the UK singles chart with "Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do". With the tagline "The gun is the tool, the mind is the weapon", this track - again satirising the American hip hop scene - was a popular radio hit. The B-Side was album track "Soapbar".
Their first nationally released album was called Greatest Hits, the name a play on both the group's previous lack of commercial success and their "stoner" image; it compiled a mixture of new material and selections from their previous six unofficial albums. It was released in September 2004, and debuted at number 5 in the UK Album Chart. This album was released in May 2005 in the USA with the title "Straight Outta Newport" with cover art similar to NWA's album Straight Outta Compton. However, this version of the album was missing two tracks - "Maggot" and "You Knows I Loves You".
Their next single release was "Your Mother's Got a Penis", with an accompanying video based on a supermarket theme. "Your Mother's Got a Penis" first appeared on their album The Manifesto, and reached #14 in the UK. This song is based on a sample of Yellow Magic Orchestra's' 1980 track "Behind The Mask", later covered by Eric Clapton in 1987.
The band - informally known as "the Chain" or simply "the GLC" - released, "You Knows I Loves You", a parody of 1980s love songs from the albums Greatest Hits and The Manifesto, on 13 December 2004; this reached number 22 in the UK chart. "Your Missus Is A Nutter" is the first single from second album Safe As Fuck. The album was originally going to be called "Safety In Numbers", a tribute to the album Power in Numbers by alternative L.A. rap group Jurassic 5. The single reached #14 in the UK. They dedicated the song to Victoria Beckham, which resulted in them being summoned by the Newport mayor's office, who also objected to the title of their album, Safe as Fuck.
[edit] Controversy
In a further controversial incident in 2005, GLC were invited by the Football Association of Wales to perform before the World Cup Qualifying match against England at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the nature of the band's music and the participation of England star David Beckham, the band dedicated "Your Missus Is a Nutter" to the footballer about his wife, who was present at the match. The ensuing furore, with the Welsh football authorities having to apologise to the Beckhams (despite David Beckham appearing to take the joke in good humour) as well as expressing outrage at the band's perceived lack of respect, prompted many people to question exactly why the organisers had hired them to play in the first place.
[edit] GLC on TV
In January 2006, Maggot appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK. He finished in third place behind Michael Barrymore and the non-celebrity Chantelle Houghton.
In 2005, Eggsy appeared on a special music edition of Celebrity Weakest Link, and proved himself to be quite astute despite his stoner image, finishing second to eventual winner Fish (formerly of Marillion).
[edit] Return to independence, and current plans
On the 7 March 2006 it was reported that the GLC had actually been dropped from Atlantic Records a couple of months previously and were now going to release material on their own Gold Dust Records, which was formed on March 7, 2006 by Adam Hussain. They then formed Gold Dust Records, which is to be producing more music, with an album set for release late summer 2007. There was also talk of a GLC movie at some point, but the band are focussing on their musical career first.
Shortly before they got dropped by their label, they were on tour with UK rock band Feeder. The tour was postponed until the new year when Feeder frontman Grant Nicholas developed bleeding vocal cords. Then before the tour was rescheduled, the GLC were dropped. They still toured with Feeder when the tour was resumed.
Goldie Lookin Chain then co-headlined The Full Ponty music festival day one on 27 May 2006, also with Feeder.
They have also recently taken part in this year's Gumball 3000 doing a DJ set for the pre-race party and taking part in the opening stage in a Bedford Rascal Van.
The group appeared in the 17 June 2006 episode of Doctor Who Confidential, expressing their love of Doctor Who and its local Cardiff production.
In August 2006, the band performed in Ibiza as part of the Ibiza Rocks nights in San Antonio Bay at BarM. Also present at their gig were Wee Man from Jackass and Matthew Pritchard from Dirty Sanchez.
The GLC released an album entitled Under the Counter in early 2008, which is due to be followed in the summer by ASBO for life with a third coming towards the end of the year.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Initial album releases
- Don't Blame the Chain (2001)
- Chain Addiction (2001)
- The Return of the Red Eye (2002)
- The Party Album (2002)
- Adam Hussain's Truth and Slander (2002)
- The Manifesto (2003)
[edit] Major studio albums
- Greatest Hits (USA: Straight Outta Newport) (2004) UK #5
- Safe as Fuck (2005) UK #16
- Under the Counter (17/3/2008)
[edit] Singles
[edit] From Greatest Hits
- 2004 "Half Man Half Machine" (Must Destroy) UK #32
- 2004 "Guns Don't Kill People Rappers Do" (Must Destroy/Atlantic Records) UK #3
- 2004 "Your Mother's Got a Penis" (Atlantic Records) UK #14
- 2004 "You Knows I Loves You" (Atlantic Records) UK #22
[edit] From Safe As Fuck
- 2005 "Your Missus is a Nutter" (Atlantic Records) UK #14
- 2005 "R'n'B" (Atlantic Records) UK #26.
[edit] Band member mini-biographies
Mystikal - (AKA The Druid, The Alchemist, Dr. Boris Gobshite).
He is quite recognisable due to his large beard. He claims to have lived for 2000 years and contributes a blog-style record of his and the band's adventures both on tour and in their daily lives on the Goldie Lookin Chain website, known as Mystikals Musings; due to them touring a lot, its updates are infrequent. His real name is Christopher Edge and he has worked in the Newport Passport Office and the Newport Branch of NTL. He frequently raps about Shamanism, being a druid, riding a golden BMX, time travel and alchemy. He is the only non-Welsh member of the band, and grew up in Manchester.
One of the tracks featuring his rap is based on "Englishman In New York" by Sting. Another track has samples from "The Model" by German synth group Kraftwerk. In his rap for the record R'n'B, he name-checks Enya and the track Orinoco Flow. He has also rapped on the intro to a track called "Paranoia" which is based musically on the track "Walking in the Air" from the cartoon The Snowman, which was made famous by fellow Welsh warbler Aled Jones as a young chorister.
Eggsy/Eggsie - (AKA Mr Love-Eggs, Rene La Loux, Chon Benwa Balls, Raphael de la Ghetto, Professor Doppelganger, Pele Maradona, Arther Zico, Fresh Prince Of Cwmbran).
He is most famously known for pretending to be a robot on the track "Half Man, Half Machine". He has appeared on Irish radio station Q102 (presenter was Pete Wilson) talking about the song "Your Missus Is A Nutter" and the album "Safe as Fuck".
In the track "Professor Doppelganger", the Professor Doppelganger character interviews several of the other AKA characters under hypnosis, so Eggsy is actually speaking to himself in different voices. He is a big fan of the children's TV show The Moomins.
His real name is John Routledge.
Adam Hussain - (AKA Benny Blanco, Short Term, Draw Ambassador).
He is the only member of The GLC to have an album (Adam Hussains Truth & Slander) named after him.
Adam's Nan features on one track (Nan Jam) and according to Adam's rap she's 84.
The track "Charmschool" is based on the original theme tune for the 1980s TV show Grange Hill.
Adam is a fan of TV show Spongebob (in its classic incarnation); his favourite character is Patrick Star.
He has also featured on the show Doctor Who Confidential along with other members of the band displaying his large collection of over 250 Doctor Who videos and DVDs.
Adam grew up in a rather affluent area of Leeds, which is somewhat at odds with his "Emo" image. He has often spoken of being bullied at school for being good at sports.
His real name is Adam Sandler.
2Hats/2-Hats - (AKA Hatsy, 2000AD, The Shotgun Surgeon, Rape Balaclava, Stand-By, Hate Society, Smack Boy).
He is recognisable by his wearing of 2 hats (hence his nickname). His nickname is also a play on the British swear word Twat. He fronts the track Shotgun Surgery.
Some people think he looks a bit like British Actor Ralf Little.
His real name is Andrew David.
The Maggot - (AKA The Hip Hop Vampire).
Recognisable for his abnormal height, as well as appearing on Celebrity Big Brother. Tracks named after him include 'The Maggot', 'Maggot At Midnight', 'Maggot Chant' and 'Maggot's Stand Up'. His name originates from his apparent likeness to a maggot whilst he wore his pink puffer jacket.
Dwain Xain Zedong - (AKA P Xain, Ganja Bizniz, Zardoz, Rhys From The Band).
He writes, produces and creates mixes for a lot of the tracks the band have made.
His real name is Rhys Hutchings.
Mike Balls - (AKA Hardest Man In Soccer Violence).
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He headlines on tracks such as "Dogporn" and "Mike Balls Unofficial World Cup Anthem".
According to an interview for the online site for S4C (Welsh Channel 4), the animal Mike would most like to be is an octopus.
His favourite animal is the cat, and his favourite food is crisps. He worked as a barman at the Megabowl in Newport for 7 years.
His real name is Michael Ball
Billy Webb - (AKA Tim Westcountry, DVS, The Optician)
The youngest member of the GLC crew. He normally relies on the other group members to make sure he doesn't get into trouble. In other words, they keep him safe, which is the GLC way of life. It is rumoured that Billy chose or had his nickname chosen from the 80s children's TV show Alfonso Bonzo.
Billy has appeared on the Irish Radio show Q102 (presenter Pete Wilson) speaking about his relations in Ireland, Maggot in Celebrity Big Brother, and the band Sparks because he and Eggsy were pretending to be The Mael Brothers on Big Brother's Little Brother.
Billy is also a fully qualified landscape gardener. He is normally to be seen wearing leisurewear, and is most recognisable by his tennis-style head-bands. His real name is Greg Johnston.
DCI Burnside - He is the real life brother of Billy Webb, his real name is Lee Johnston.
His nickname is taken from a character, Detective Chief Inspector Frank Burnside, in the ITV show The Bill. He features on the intro to "Superhero".
Dipper Nan - He features on the hidden track "Bedsit" with fellow GLC member Maggot.
His real name is Dan Tracey.
Rosco P - Has appeared at several gigs as an unofficial dancer for The GLC.
His nickname comes from the 80s TV show "The Dukes Of Hazzard" after Sheriff Coltrane with the same name. He used to play for Sheffield United's youth team.
MC Flatpress - (AKA Dave Cocaine). Appears on the track Soapbar.
[edit] External links
- Goldie Lookin Chain website including mp3s
- Official GLC Forum - registration required
- Goldie Lookin' Chain interview
- GLC Info from BBC Wales - GLC related pages and information from BBC Wales
