| MC Tunes | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Nicholas William Dennis Hodgson |
| Also known as | Lockett |
| Born | 1 January 1970 Moss Side, Manchester |
| Origin | Manchester |
| Genres | Rap, Hip hop, Madchester |
| Occupations | Rapper, songwriter |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | ZTT Records |
| Associated acts | Happy Mondays, Bez, 808 State |
MC Tunes (born Nicholas William Dennis Hodgson, 1970) is a British rapper from the Moss Side area in Manchester. His name was legally changed to Lockett in 1981. Tunes was one of the big promoters of the Madchester-era during the 1980s and 1990s.
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Tunes first worked with 808 State on the 1990 album, The North At Its Heights (ZTT Records).[1] The album was a moderate success, reaching No.26 in the UK Albums Chart, and also saw European and Japanese releases. It spawned three UK singles that entered the UK Singles Chart: "The Only Rhyme That Bites" (ZTT, 1990) reached number 10, "Tunes Splits The Atom" (ZTT, 1990) reached number 18 and "Primary Rhyming" (ZTT, 1990) reached number 67 – this was also the first of the singles to have the 'vs 808 State' wording removed from the cover.
In 1992, Tunes recorded the single "Digital Bad Boy/Could You Understand" (Juice Box, 1992) with A Guy Called Gerald (Gerald Simpson, also from 808 State).[1]
Following the stalling of his solo career, Tunes formed the group Dust Junkys in 1995,[1] with Sam Brox on guitar, Stephen "Oj" Oliver Jones on bass guitar, Mykey Wilson on drums and Ganiyu Pierre Gasper on turntables. The band concentrated on gigging in the Manchester area and then national tours, building audiences for their mix of British hip hop and Rock music.
Whilst gigging with the Dust Junkys, Tunes returned to work with 808 State in 1996 on a new track, "Pump", taken from their album Thermo Kings (Warner). It was due to be released as a single, but this never happened. A few years after this, the Dust Junkys were signed to Polydor and released their first single "Living in the pocket of a drug queen?" (1997), followed by "Nonstop operation" and "What time is it?" which reached number 39 in the UK chart.[2]
Fatboy Slim sampled the track "Beatbox Wash" for "Gangster Trippin" on the You've Come a Long Way, Baby album. The single garnered much success. One of Tunes biggest complaints is that he still hasn't been paid for this sample...
Tunes still lives in Manchester.
Besides music, in 2007 Tunes played himself in the independent feature film, Diary of a Bad Lad.