Adam Paul Tinley (born 4 December 1967), known professionally as Adamski, as well as Sonny Eriksson, is an English DJ, musician, singer and record producer, prominent at the time of

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...

for his tracks " N-R-G" and " Killer", a collaboration with

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

, which was a No. 1 song in the UK in 1990.

Career

Tinley was born in

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest (district), New Forest district of Hampshire, England. The town faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a Roll-on/roll-off, car ferry s ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. As a youngster, influenced by

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, he formed his first band The Stupid Babies when he was 11 and living in New Forest in England. He persuaded his 5-year-old brother Dominic to sing while he strummed a small guitar, and sent a demo tape to the indie label Fast Product, run by

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...

's manager Bob Last. "Everyone thought that was a really precocious and strange thing for an 11 year-old to do," Adamski recalls "but I just thought that's what everybody did". The kiddie-punk tracks were released on a sampler. When alternative

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

DJ John Peel started playing their song "Babysitters" the band caused quite a stir, receiving positive write-ups in music magazines like ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' and ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

''. He performed with his brother

Mark Tinley Mark Ty-Wharton (born Mark Tinley; 18 March 1963) is a British music technologist, informal logician and public speaker who specialises in presentations using sound art. He is best known for his work as a guitarist, programmer, sound engineer a ...

, and Johnny Slut of the band

Specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

, as Diskord Datkord. They released their only single in 1988, an electroid cover of "Identity" by punk band

X-Ray Spex X-Ray Spex were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 in London. During their first incarnation (1976–1979), X-Ray Spex released five singles and one album. Their 1977 single " Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and 1978 debut album '' Germfree Adol ...

. It was single of the week in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''. In March 1989, Adamski was booked for his first solo gig at Le Petit Prince Restaurant in Kentish Town, run by his manager Phil Smith. Lenny D, promoter of nightclub Heaven, happened to be walking past, and was convinced by Smith to book Adamski for an all-dayer at Heaven. He quickly catapulted into the upper echelons of the nascent

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

scene. Within a few weeks, Adamski was playing to 8,000 people at Sunrise Festival at

Santa Pod Raceway Santa Pod Raceway is Europe's first permanent drag racing venue for and racing. Located in Podington, Bedfordshire, England, the drag strip was built on a disused World War II, Second World War Royal Air Force (RAF) airbase, known as RAF Pod ...

and, after a bidding war, signed to

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

, producing the first rave record on MCA called '' Liveandirect''. He had success with this first release, which was a collection of tracks recorded live at various raves. It contained a short, live version of his first single " N-R-G", as well as "I Dream of You", which appeared on a free 4-track

7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

single given away with the music paper ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' in 1989. The cover of the single "N-R-G" featured a mocked up

Lucozade Lucozade is a British brand of soft drinks and energy drinks manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter (trading as W. Owen & Son), it wa ...

bottle with the word "Lucozade" replaced with "N-R-G". Adamski toured many clubs with his portable keyboard set up, playing long sets, with an MC, Daddy Chester, and later with

. In front of his keyboard was a UK car number plate with the word ADAMSKI on it. Early versions of future singles " Killer" and " Future Love Paradise" were played on some of the Seal dates. The album, ''Adamski's Thing'', was issued in late 1998 on

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...

ZTT Records ZTT Records is a British record label founded in 1983 by the record producer Trevor Horn, the businesswoman Jill Sinclair and the ''NME'' journalist Paul Morley. They released music by acts including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Grace Jones, the ...

label, recorded at

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing techniques to other forms ...

’s On-U Sound studios. The style followed the trend started with his 1992 album '' Naughty'', with guitars, strings, raw vocals and introspective

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

, but maintaining a rhythmic dance sensibility. ''Adamski's Thing'' spawned two singles, "Intravenous Venus" and "One of the People" (a record featuring dance vocalist Gerideau, that got to No. 56 in the UK Singles Chart). Throughout the late 1990s, Tinley shifted focus to his DJ career. He soon adopted a new moniker, Adam Sky, touring Europe, and making the odd UK appearance such as playing at the electroclash night Nag Nag Nag in London in 2002 – run by his old friend Jonny Slut. As a producer, his songs at that time also included a collaboration with musician Danny Williams. In 2007, he released a remake of The Pop Group's 1979 single "We Are All Prostitutes" with Mark Stewart, which appeared on a number of compilations. His single "ApeX" was released on Kitsuné Music in 2006. In 2009, he began to release more material on Shir Khan's record label. In 2009, he found his way back to the UK to start his Futurewaltz project, working in the 3/4 time signature. Tinley’s latest alter ego is cyberbilly Sonny Eriksson - a self-styled Teddy Boy fusing rockabilly and psychobilly styles with the hypnotic, strange and electronic sounds of today and beyond. In 2020, Adamski released ''Free to Kill Again'', featuring 10 new interpretations of "Killer" with guest features by

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rise to prominence during the punk and Neue Deutsche Welle movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is ...

, Mykki Blanco, Hannah Hu and others. In 2022, Adamski released "Black Butterfly", featuring Robert Owens. The track is a tribute to

Mina Smallman Wilhelmina Tokcumboh "Mina" Smallman (born 29 October 1956) is a British retired Anglican priest and former school teacher. She served as the Archdeacon of Southend in the Diocese of Chelmsford from September 2013 until her retirement in Decemb ...

's daughters Nicole and Bibaa, with all proceeds donated to the charity Million Women Rise. Remixes by done by Captain Mustache, Leeroy Thornhil (

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

Mr. C Richard West (born 2 January 1965), known as Mr. C, is an English house music DJ, producer and rapper. He was the resident DJ at the early acid house "RIP" nights at Clink Street, London, and later was the co-owner/co-founder of London's The En ...

(Superfreq), and Shadow Child. In October 2022, Adamski released "Black Star Acid" on

Boys Noize Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter and DJ known for collaborations with artists including A$AP Rocky, Tommy Cash, and Frank Ocean (for ...

Records.

Discography

Albums

* '' Liveandirect'' (1989) – UK No. 47 * '' Doctor Adamski's Musical Pharmacy'' (1990) – UK No. 8 * '' Naughty'' (1992) * ''Adamski vs The Sentinels'' (1993) * ''Adamski's Thing'' (1998) * ''Killer – The Best of Adamski'' (1999) * ''Mutant Pop'' (1999) * ''This is 3-Step EP'' (2014) * ''Revolt'' (2015) * ''The Sound of Sonny Eriksson'' (2017) * ''The Spirit of Sonny Eriksson'' (EP) (2018) * '' Re:nrgise (2019)'' * ''Free to Kill Again (2020) ''

Singles

Remixes

Miss Kittin Caroline Hervé (born 15 July 1973), known professionally as Kittin, is a French electronic music producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worke ...

and

The Hacker Michel Amato, better known by his stage name The Hacker, is a French electroclash and techno producer who has worked extensively with Miss Kittin. His work has been influenced by electronic artists like Kraftwerk, new wave artists such as the ...

– "

Stock Exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for ...

" (2003) *

Mignon ''Mignon'' () is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. ...

– "Demons of Love" (2004) * ESKA – "She's in the Flowers" (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adamski 1967 births Acid house musicians English house musicians English record producers English techno musicians English male singers Living people MCA Records artists ZTT Records artists People from Lymington Kitsuné Musique artists English electronic dance music DJs