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This UK crossover outfit's commercial breakthrough in the early 90s was the result of both sustained hard work and an original talent. Their line-up revolved around three women and three men: Rob Birch (b. Robert Charles Birch, 11 June 1961, Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, England; vocals), Nick "The Head" Hallam (b. 11 June 1962, Nottingham, England; synthesizers, computers, scratching), and Owen If (b. Ian Frederick Rossiter, 20 March 1959, Newport, Wales; percussion, ex-Bourbonese Qualk), plus Cath Coffey (b. Catherine Muthomi Coffey, Kenya - "I can't tell you my real age because I act and tell different casting directions various different ages), Andrea Bedassie (b. 7 November 1957, London, England), and Verona Davis (b. 18 February 1952, London, England) on backing vocals. Hallam and Birch had been friends in Nottingham since the age of six. There they formed a rock duo titled Dogman And Head, before moving to London in 1985 when they were 17 years old. Together they started recording rap music, though keeping intact their original love of soul, and set up their own label Gee Street Records with John Baker and DJ Richie Rich, from their base in Clapham. They were given a cash windfall when they were each handed £7,000 by a property developer to move out of their adjacent flats. This allowed them to establish the Gee St studio in a basement on the London street of the same name.
The Stereo MC's first recording was "Move It", released before the duo recruited Italian-British DJ Cesare, and formed their alter-ego remix team, Ultimatum. In the meantime, Island Records signed up Gee St for distribution, re-releasing "Move It" in March 1988. Their first remix as Ultimatum arrived shortly afterwards (Jungle Brothers' "Black Is Black'). Cesare left after a tour supporting Jesus Jones, stating that he was unhappy with the band's direction and financial arrangements. He would go on to produce in his own right. Hallam and Birch pressed on, recording a debut album, Supernatural, with Baby Bam of the Jungle Brothers. They also recruited Owen If, originally for live percussion, who had previously been employed at Pinewood Studios as a special effects trainee, working on movies like Batman and Full Metal Jacket. A support tour with Living Colour turned out to be a disaster, however. They enjoyed their first crossover hit with 1991"s "Lost In Music', based on the Ultimatum remix of the Jungle Brothers" "Doin' Your Own Dang". Their remixes have since encompassed artists like Aswad ("Warrior Re-Charge"), Definition Of Sound ("Wear Your Love Like Heaven"), Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy ("Television - The Drug Of The Nation", "Language Of Violence"), Dreams Warriors ("Follow Me Not"), Electronic ("Idiot Country Two"), Mica Paris ("Stand Up", "Contribution"), Monie Love ("It's A Shame", "Monie In The Middle"), P.M. Dawn ("Reality Used To Be A Friend Of Mine"), Queen Latifah ("Dance 4 Me") and U2 ("Mysterious Ways"). Coffey was added to the line-up for "Elevate My Mind", her two female compatriots joining shortly after. She enjoys a concurrent career as an actor and dancer, mainly in black theatre productions. She was even in the famed Broadway flop version of Carrie.
The single "Elevate My Mind" actually gave the Stereo MC's a US Top 40 hit in 1991 - a first for a UK hip-hop outfit. The powerful Connected was released in September 1992 to mounting acclaim; previous albums had all been well received, but this was comfortably their most rounded and spirited effort. However, it was not until the title track and the exquisite rhythms of "Step It Up" hit the UK charts that it was brought to the wider audience it richly deserved. "Connected' also broke into the US Top 20. In its wake the Stereo MC's collared the Best Group category at the 1994 BRIT Awards ceremony, which celebrated the band's pre-eminence within the commercial dance music field to the detriment of their hip-hop roots. The band's failure to release a follow-up proved to be one of the biggest disappointments of the decade. An excellent mix album did appear in March 2000 as part of Studio !K7"s DJ-Kicks series. The session also provided the creative impetus for the band to finally complete work on their new album, which was released to mixed reviews the following May.
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