Beats International
| Company type | Collective |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | Late 1980s in Brighton, East Sussex, England |
| Founder | Norman Cook |
| Headquarters | Brighton , England |
| Products | Electronic dance music, hip-hop music |
Beats International was a British collective known for its blend of electronic dance music and hip-hop,[1] established in the late 1980s by Norman Cook—who later gained fame as Fatboy Slim—in Brighton, East Sussex, England, following his departure from the Housemartins.[2]
The ensemble functioned as a flexible group featuring vocalist Lindy Layton, former North of Cornwallis frontman Lester Noel, rappers DJ Baptiste (The Crazy MC), MC Wildski, alongside keyboardist Andy Boucher.[2] A distinctive aspect of their live shows was the presence of graffiti artist REQ, who created painted backdrops during performances.[3]
Biography
Before achieving major success, the group released modest hits such as "Blame It on the Bassline" (1989), a hip-house fusion showcasing MC Wildski,[4] and "For Spacious Lies"[5] with Lester Noel. Cook then unified subsequent releases under the name "Beats International."
Their first album, Let Them Eat Bingo, featured these tracks along with the original "Won't Talk About It," which included falsetto vocals by Billy Bragg[3]. The album yielded the UK chart-topping single "Dub Be Good to Me", a reinterpretation of the SOS Band's "Just Be Good to Me" that incorporated a bassline sample from the Clash's "Guns of Brixton".[3] This single was the initial release credited solely to Beats International and showcased Layton's vocal performance.[6][2]
After their number-one hit, they reissued "Won't Talk About It" with Layton and Noel replacing Bragg's vocals, as well as releasing "Burundi Blues," which sampled American singer Bessie Jones, the band Thrashing Doves, and included an introduction by Brian Cant from Camberwick Green on the album version.
Their sophomore album, Excursion on the Version (1991), embraced stronger dub and reggae elements but did not replicate earlier commercial achievements.[3] This release marked the end of Beats International's output before Cook moved on to form Freak Power.[2]
Albums
| Year | Album | UK |
AUS |
US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Let Them Eat Bingo | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center |
| 1991 | Excursion on the Version | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center |
Norman Cook singles
| Year | Title | UK |
NZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "Won't Talk About It"/"Blame It on the Bassline" | 29 | 36 |
| "For Spacious Lies" | 48 |
Note: These singles originate from Let Them Eat Bingo and were subsequently attributed to Beats International.
Singles
| Year | Single | UK |
NED | BEL (FLA) |
FRA | GER |
AUT | SWI | SWE | AUS |
US | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Dub Be Good to Me" | 1 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 76 | Let Them Eat Bingo | |||||||||||
| "Won't Talk About It" | 9 | 28 | — | — | 26 | 27 | 24 | — | 70 | 76 | |||||||||||||
| "Burundi Blues" | 51 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| "For Spacious Lies" (France only) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991 | "Echo Chamber" | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 169 | Excursion on the Version | ||||||||||||
| "The Sun Doesn't Shine" | 66 | — | — | — | 87 | — | — | — | 165 | ||||||||||||||
| "In the Ghetto" | 44 | — | — | — | 89 | {
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{
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{
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{
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{
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{
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"Change Your Mind" (US only) |
|-align="center" colspan="11" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" indicates singles that either did not chart or were not issued. |}
Samples list
- "Burundi Dub"
- Bassline taken from "Thank You for Talkin' to Me Africa" by Sly & The Family Stone
- "Dub Be Good to Me"
- Incorporates elements of "Just Be Good to Me" by The SOS Band
- Bassline derived from "The Guns of Brixton" by The Clash
- "Blame It on the Bassline"
- Phrase "Come on now / give the drummer some" sampled from "Get into Something" by Isley Brothers
- "Won't Talk About It"
- Intro sampled from "Thank You Mr. DJ" by Silver Convention
- Guitar excerpt from "Levi Stubbs Tears" by Billy Bragg
- "Dance to the Drummer's Beat"
- Sampled title track by Herman Kelly & Life
- "Tribute to King Tubby"
- Saxophone introduction taken from "Unwind Yourself" by Marva Whitney
- Excursion on the Version
- "Echo Chamber"
- Contains elements from "Could You Be Loved" by Bob Marley and the Wailers
See also
- List of Billboard number-one dance club songs
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart
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