| EMF | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Cinderford, Gloucestershire |
| Genres | Indie dance |
| Years active | 1989–1995 2001–2009 |
| Labels | Parlophone |
| Past members | |
| James Atkin Ian Dench Derry Brownson Mark Decloedt Richard March Tim Stephens Phil Cleary Zac Foley (deceased) Milf |
|
EMF ("Epsom Mad Funkers") were an indie dance band from the United Kingdom. The band, from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, came to prominence at the beginning of the 1990s. During its initial eight year run (1989–1997), EMF had released three studio albums and had gone on hiatus and reformed twice. Their first single, "Unbelievable," reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart,[1] and was a number one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their debut album, Schubert Dip, went to number 3 in the UK Albums Chart.[1]
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The name "EMF" is an abbreviation of "Epsom Mad Funkers", a name taken from a fan club of the band New Order.
The initials were rumored at times to stand for something else. The song, "Head the Ball", which featured on the remix single release of "Lies," featured the repeating lines "Electro Motive Force" and "Ecstasy Mother Fuckers" during the song, the two most commonly rumoured names.
The band was signed by EMI/Parlophone after four concerts, without even being asked for a demo tape.
They originally toured with the DJ Milf EMF, who now has his own band called Stateside Hombres, and released music under the name Jose Sanchez. All the members were relatively well known in the local music scene before forming EMF in Cinderford, in October 1989. Brownson had formed a band called Flowerdrum with his brother Leigh, but left to join Foley, Decloedt and Atkin as EMF. Dench was last to join, having already tasted moderate success as a member of Apple Mosaic.
Their music mixed light techno elements with rockier sounds - EMF regularly used samplers and sequencers. It has often been argued that EMF's music was influenced by Jesus Jones. In fact, the two bands formed a close relationship. Their music has also been counted as part of Madchester and indie dance. They toured the UK in 1990 with Stereo MCs,[3] who were at that point relatively unknown.
In 1990, their debut "Unbelievable" topped the charts in many countries around the world, reaching the number one in the US in July 1991. The single featured sampled utterances from comedian Andrew Dice Clay. In 1991, EMF released their debut album Schubert Dip which went to number 3 in the UK.[1] The name was explained by songwriter Ian Dench, as "If ever I'm short of a chord sequence I nick one from Schubert." Successful singles from their debut included "I Believe", "Children", and "Lies". The last one turned controversial for including a voice sample of Mark Chapman, John Lennon's murderer. Yoko Ono achieved an injunction, and a modified version was included in future pressings.[2]
In 1992, EMF returned with the Unexplained EP (including a cover version of "Search and Destroy") and later Stigma, their second album. Both of these releases did poorly in the charts. The singles were "Getting Through", "They're Here", and "It's You".
Also in 1992, EMF appeared on the Red Hot Organization's dance compilation album, Red Hot + Dance, contributing an original track, "Unbelievable (The Hovering Feet Mix)". The album attempted to raise awareness and money in support of the AIDS epidemic, and all proceeds were donated to AIDS charities.
Until their 1995 album, Cha Cha Cha, EMF effectively disappeared from sight. This album featured the singles "Perfect Day" and "Bleeding You Dry".
In 1995, EMF teamed up with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and recorded "I'm a Believer", a cover of The Monkees song.[2] This single reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] The band then released Afro King which failed to do well. After this, the band split for the first time, however, all members of the band continued to play music.
In 2001, EMF gave a reunion gig in London. They also released a best of album, Epsom Mad Funkers: The Best Of EMF.
The band's bass guitarist, Zac Foley, died on 3 January 2002[4] at 31 years of age, due to an overdose of non-prescribed drugs. EMF played just four more gigs in late 2002, before splitting up again.
In 2005, Kraft Foods used EMF's "Unbelievable" in their Kraft Crumbles advertisement campaign. The original song's chorus, "It's unbelievable", was replaced with the product claim: "It's crumbelievable". The advertisement was later parodied by Stephen Colbert on his show The Colbert Report.
In 2007, the band announced they would be reforming to play a one-off gig at the Scala in King's Cross, London, on 18 December. The place of Foley was taken by Richard March, formerly of Pop Will Eat Itself and Bentley Rhythm Ace.
In 2007, Hallmark Cards used EMF's "Unbelievable" in their musical Mother's Day Cards advertising campaign. The mother was shown opening the card, heard the daughter say "Mom you Rock" followed by the music of EMF.
In 2008, EMF played the Portsmouth Festival on 9 October, and supported Carter USM at Birmingham Academy and London's Brixton Academy in November that year.
In May 2009, EMF announced that due to personal issues, the band would not be doing any more shows in the near future, thus ending their second reunion.
| Year | Album | UK[1] | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Schubert Dip | 3 | 12 |
| 1992 | Stigma | 19 | - |
| 1995 | Cha Cha Cha | 30 | - |
| Year | Album | UK[1] | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Best Of EMF: Epsom Mad Funkers | - | - |
| Year | Single | UK[1] | US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Dance | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Unbelievable" | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | Schubert Dip |
| 1991 | "I Believe" | 6 | - | 10 | - | |
| "Children" | 19 | - | 26 | - | ||
| "Lies" | 28 | 18 | 27 | 6 | ||
| 1992 | Unexplained EP | 18 | - | - | - | Unexplained EP |
| "They're Here" | 29 | - | 27 | 5 | Stigma | |
| "It's You" | 23 | - | - | - | ||
| 1995 | "Perfect Day" | 27 | - | - | - | Cha Cha Cha |
| "Bleeding You Dry" | - | - | - | - | ||
| "I'm a Believer" | 3 | - | - | - | non-LP track | |
| "Afro King" | 51 | - | - | - | ||
| 2001 | "Incredible" | - | - | - | - | The Best of EMF: Epsom Mad Funkers |
| "Let's Go" | - | - | - | - |