EMF are an English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

band from

Cinderford Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census. The town came into existence in the 19th century, following the rapid expansion of Cinde ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...

, who came to prominence at the beginning of the 1990s. During their initial eight-year run, from 1989 to 1997, the band released three studio albums before a hiatus. Their first single, " Unbelievable", reached number 3 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and was a number 1 hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Their debut album, '' Schubert Dip'', went to number 3 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. In April 2022, EMF released their first album of new material in 27 years, ''Go Go Sapiens''.

Band name

The name EMF is an initialism of Epsom Mad Funkers, a name taken from a fan club of the band New Order in 1989. The song "Head the Ball", which featured on the

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

single release of "Lies", featured the repeating lines "

electromotive force In electromagnetism and electronics, electromotive force (also electromotance, abbreviated emf, denoted \mathcal or ) is an energy transfer to an electric circuit per unit of electric charge, measured in volts. Devices called electrical '' tran ...

" and "ecstasy mother fucker". On the reissue of the band's 1991 album '' Schubert Dip'', after the song "Longtime", there is a

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as to ...

titled "EMF". In this, the chorus lyrics start off with "E for Ecstasy, M for my mind's in my feet, F from us to you" and then move on to "E for Ecstasy, M for mother fucker mother fucker, F from us to you".

Biography

Formation (1989)

All the members of the band were relatively well known in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

music scene before forming EMF in

in October 1989. Keyboard and sampler player Derry Brownson had formed a band called Flowerdrum but left to join bass guitarist Zac Foley, drummer Marc Decloedt and singer James Atkin as EMF. Ian Dench was the last to join, having already tasted moderate success as guitarist for Apple Mosaic. The band's music also has been counted as part of

Madchester Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance scene. Indie-dance (sometimes referred to as indie-rave) saw artists merging indie music ...

and

alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the U.S.) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained American and worldwide expos ...

. They toured the UK in 1990 with

Stereo MCs Stereo MC's are an English hip hop/ electronic dance group which formed in Nottingham, England, in 1985. They had an international top 20 hit with their single " Connected". After releasing eight albums for Island Records, K7, Graffiti Recordi ...

, a band that was relatively unknown at that point.

''Schubert Dip'' and ''Stigma'' (1990–1992)

In 1990, their debut single " Unbelievable" topped the charts in many countries around the world, reaching number 1 in the U.S. in July 1991. The single featured sampled utterances from comedian

Andrew Dice Clay Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman". In 1990, he became the fi ...

. In 1991, EMF released their debut album '' Schubert Dip'' which went to number 3 in the UK. 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 the album included " I Believe", "Children", and "Lies". The last was controversial as it included a voice sample of Mark Chapman,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's murderer.

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

, Lennon's wife, achieved an injunction, and a modified version was included in future pressings. In 1992, EMF returned with the '' Unexplained EP'' (including a cover version of "

Search and Destroy Search and destroy, seek and destroy, or simply S&D is a military strategy best known for its employment in the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War. The strategy consists of inserting ground forces into hostile territory, ''search''ing out ...

") and later '' Stigma'', their second album. Both of these releases did poorly in the charts. The singles released were "Getting Through", " They're Here", and " It's You". Also in 1992, EMF appeared on the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

's dance compilation album ''

Red Hot + Dance ''Red Hot + Dance'' is an album produced by the Red Hot Organization, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness to fight the onslaught of HIV/AIDS. Pop star George Michael was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition and ...

'', contributing "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.

''Cha Cha Cha'' and first hiatus (1995–2000)

EMF's third album, '' Cha Cha Cha'', was released in 1995 and featured the singles " Perfect Day" and "

Bleeding You Dry Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vag ...

". In the same year, EMF teamed with comedians Vic Reeves and

Bob Mortimer Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, podcast presenter and actor. He is known for his work with Vic Reeves as part of their Vic and Bob comedy double act, and more recently the '' Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishi ...

and recorded "

I'm a Believer "I'm a Believer" is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by the Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number-one spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week endi ...

", a cover of

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

song. This single reached No. 3 in the UK singles chart. Following the release of the '' Afro King'' single (which failed to do well), the band split up for the first time. However, all members of the band continued to play music. Ian Dench formed the indie rock band Whistler, which was active from 1998 to 2000. James Atkin formed the big beat trio Cooler and Derry Brownson formed alternative rock trio LK. Zac Foley became the bass player for Carrie.

Reunion and second hiatus (2001–2006)

In 2001, EMF played a reunion gig in London. They also released a greatest hits album: '' Epsom Mad Funkers: The Best of EMF''. Zac Foley died on 3 January 2002 at the age of 31, due to an overdose of non-prescribed drugs. Following his death, EMF played just four more gigs in late 2002 before splitting again. Atkin would go on to form Beauty School (which released three singles between 2005 and 2006). In 2005,

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arran ...

used EMF's "Unbelievable" in an advertisement for its Kraft Crumbles. The original song's chorus "You're unbelievable" was replaced with "They're crumbelievable". The advertisement later was parodied by

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...

on his show ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...

''.

Second reunion (2007–2009)

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 Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a grebo act, they changed style to incorp ...

and

Bentley Rhythm Ace Bentley Rhythm Ace (BRA) are a British electronic music duo formed in Birmingham in 1995, consisting of Mike Stokes and Richard March. Career The band was formed in Birmingham by Richard March, formerly with the group Pop Will Eat Itself, and ...

. In 2007,

Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a private, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was award ...

used EMF's "Unbelievable" in its advertising for Mother's Day cards. 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 Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (also known as Carter USM or simply Carter) were an English indie rock band formed in 1987 by singer Jim "Jim Bob" Morrison and guitarist Les "Fruitbat" Carter. They made their name with a distinctive style o ...

at Birmingham Academy and London's

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

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.

2012 and beyond

In 2012, they reformed to play at the inaugural festival Lakefest in

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...

, alongside Levellers and Dodgy, on 18 and 19 May. The band welcomed new bassist Stevey Marsh during this show. For the first time they performed every track from the album '' Schubert Dip'' in order to coincide with the 21st anniversary re-release. The band headlined at the Westbury Festival on 25 August 2012. In December 2012, the band played 'Schubert Dip' and 'Stigma' from start to finish at the Gloucester Guildhall. The show was recorded and sold as a live Blu-ray/DVD titled "Long Live the New Flesh." On October 1, 2016, the band headlined Indie Daze in London. In 2020, the band successfully crowdfunded a career-spanning vinyl boxset titled 'From Us to You.' It contained all the full-length albums remastered, and a 4th vinyl containing unreleased demos and fan favorite non-album tracks. In February 2022, the band announced an all-new material album, titled ''Go Go Sapiens'' that was released 1 April 2022. Its first single, "Sister Sandinista", was released 1 March 2022. They also had a short UK tour in early April 2022.

Members

* James Atkin (vocals, guitars) * Ian Dench (guitars, keyboards) * Stevey Marsh (bass) * Adrian Todd (drums) * Derry Brownson (keyboards, samples)

Former members

* Zac Foley (bass), born 9 December 1970, Gloucester; died 2 January 2002 * Jack Stephens (drums) * Tim Stephens (guitars) * Phil Cleary (guest vocals) * Mark Decloedt (drums) * DJ Milf (turntables, programming) * Richard March (bass) * Lee Berrecloth (guitarist)

Later work

Since 2010 James Atkin has taught music at Holy Family Catholic School in

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west o ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

and is a touring member of

. As of June 2020, he has released four solo albums including ''Popcorn Storm'' (2019) and ''A Country Mile'' (2014).

Discography

Albums

Compilations

EPs

Singles

Videos

References

Citations

Other sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emf Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 English electronic music groups Madchester groups English rock music groups Forest of Dean Musical groups disestablished in 1997 Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Musical groups reestablished in 2012 Parlophone artists Alternative dance musical groups English alternative rock groups Dance-rock musical groups