Propellerheads
| Company type | Music duo |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Bath, Somerset , England |
| Products | Electronic music |
Propellerheads was an electronic music duo originating from Bath, Somerset, England, established in 1995 by Will White and Alex Gifford.
History
Prior to forming Propellerheads, Alex Gifford contributed saxophone performances to The Stranglers, appearing on their albums Dreamtime (1986) and 10 (1990).
Their first release, the Dive! EP, came out in 1996 under the independent label Wall of Sound. The duo gained wider attention in 1997 through their remix of John Barry's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" for David Arnold's James Bond tribute album Shaken & Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project. Additionally, they collaborated with Arnold on the track "Backseat Driver" for the soundtrack of Tomorrow Never Dies. Following this, they released the single "History Repeating", which blended big beat and jazz elements and featured Shirley Bassey.
Their 1998 album Decksandrumsandrockandroll was distributed by Wall of Sound across Europe and by DreamWorks in the United States and Japan. DreamWorks editions included collaborations with hip hop groups De La Soul and Jungle Brothers, while the Japanese release offered a special two-disc edition containing earlier singles. The song "Spybreak!" gained notable exposure after its inclusion in the 1999 film The Matrix. Furthermore, their remixed cover of "Crash" served as BBC Radio 1's 'Official Chart Show' theme from 1998 until 2002 and was featured in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
Following touring activities, Will White experienced illness. In 1998, they issued the Extended Play EP, which included Gifford’s debut rap performance on "Props' Vote of Gratitude" and marked a short hiatus for the duo. Subsequently, Gifford moved to New York to produce Jungle Brothers' 1999 album V.I.P., contributing vocals alongside The Black Eyed Peas; meanwhile, White played drums on the album’s title track. White also produced Rufus Wainwright's song "Shadows" on his 2001 album Poses, released a mix for the Beatz and Bobz series, and became involved with the De-Fex project.
In 1998, their track "Bang On!" was featured in the Nintendo 64 game Wipeout 64 as well as on the soundtrack for Lost in Space. This song later appeared in the Xbox launch title Mad Dash Racing in 2001. Other compositions such as "Lethal Cut" and "Big Dog" were incorporated into video games Wipeout 3 and the PAL version of Gran Turismo 2, respectively.
In 2000, Propellerheads created a remix of Shirley Bassey's 1964 hit "Goldfinger" for her remix compilation Diamonds Are Forever. The following year, they recorded "Star Crossed Lovers" with Martha Wainwright for the Red Hot Organization’s AIDS awareness tribute album Red Hot + Indigo, honoring Duke Ellington.
To celebrate Wall of Sound’s tenth anniversary in October 2003, Gifford contributed a mix CD to a two-disc compilation that included artists such as Röyksopp. The opening track was a new Propellerheads composition titled "Ten Years (Johnston's Strut, Part 1)", featuring Brooklyn-based writer Livingroom Johnston.
Their rendition of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was utilized in a promotional trailer for Disney/Pixar's film The Incredibles. Additionally, it was highlighted as a preferred track by Horizon presenter Kevin Fong on his episode of Desert Island Discs, where it accompanied his commute during his time at NASA.
Will White also took part in live performances with Long Range, a project led by Phil Hartnoll of Orbital.
Studio album
| Album Title | Release Information | Highest Chart Rankings | Certifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK |
AUS |
CAN |
EUR |
FIN |
FRA |
GER |
NLD |
NZ |
US | |||
| Decksandrumsandrockandroll |
|
6 | 13 | 56 | 18 | 36 | 20 | 26 | 29 | 11 | 100 | |
EPs
| Release Year | EP Title | Included Tracks | Highest Chart Positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK |
AUS |
FRA |
HUN |
ITA |
NZ | |||
| 1996 | Dive |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | Propellerheads |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | Extended Play |
|
184 | 41 | 77 | 1 | 11 | 8 |
Singles
| Year Released | Single Title | Highest Chart Rankings Achieved | Corresponding Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK |
AUS |
EUR |
FIN |
FRA |
GER |
NLD |
NZ |
SCO |
US Dance | |||
| 1996 | "Take California" | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Decksandrumsandrockandroll |
| 1997 | "Spybreak!" | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 47 | — | |
| "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (collaboration with David Arnold) |
7 | — | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | — | ||
| "Bang On!"/"Dive" | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "History Repeating" (featuring vocalist Shirley Bassey) |
19 | 55 | 67 | 16 | 71 | 65 | 52 | 32 | 24 | 10 | ||
| 1998 | "Bang On!" | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 56 | — | |
| "Velvet Pants" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Other appearances
| Track | Year | Performer | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" | 1997 | Various Artists | Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project |
| "Lopez (Hard On)" (A Progressive Mix By The Propellerheads) (808 State) |
1998 | 808 State | "Lopez" single |
| "Goldfinger" (Propellerheads Mix) (Shirley Bassey) |
2000 | Shirley Bassey | The Remix Album...Diamonds Are Forever |
| "Star Crossed Lovers" (Propellerheads + Martha Wainwright) |
2001 | Various Artists | Red Hot + Indigo |
| "Ten Years (Johnston's Strut Part 1)" | 2003 | Various Artists | Off The Wall (10 Years Of Wall Of Sound) |