"Beat Dis" is a song by British act

Bomb the Bass Bomb the Bass is an electronic music alias of English musician and producer Timothy Simenon (born June 1967). As a name, Bomb the Bass came from Simenon's approach to collaging and mixing sounds whilst DJing in the mid- to late 1980s; he says ...

, a studio production group formed by producer Tim Simenon originally as the Rhythm King All Stars, with producer Pascal Gabriel and Adele Nozedar from Indians in Moscow involved too. From Bomb the Bass' first album ''Into the Dragon'', the track largely consists of samples, like other hits of the time such as " Pump Up the Volume" by

M/A/R/R/S MARRS (stylised M, A, R, R, S) were a 1987 recording collective formed by the groups A.R. Kane and Colourbox, which only released one commercial disc. It became "a one-hit wonder of rare influence" because of their international hit " Pump Up ...

and "

Theme from S'Express "Theme from S-Express" is an acid house song by British electronic dance music group S'Express, from their debut studio album, ''Original Soundtrack'' (1989), written and produced by Mark Moore and Pascal Gabriel. One of the landmarks of early ac ...

" by

S'Express S'Express (pronounced ''ess-express''; sometimes spelled S'Xpress or S-Express) was a British dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre. " Theme from S'Express", which contain ...

. The centre label on the record features a

smiley A smiley, sometimes called a smiley face, is a basic ideogram representing a Smile, smiling face. Since the 1950s, it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram or as a form of communication, such as em ...

lifted from ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

''. This usage was the origin of the use of the smiley as a symbol for

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 ...

. "Beat Dis" was first released on Simenon's own Mister-Ron label in 1987. It debuted at number five on the UK Singles Chart on 20 February 1988, and peaked at number two a week later. It was also a hit in Europe, reaching the top 10 in at least five countries, and in New Zealand, where it peaked at number five. It reached number one on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart for one week and is Bomb the Bass' only chart hit in the US.

Release

"Beat Dis" was pressed on vinyl in the United States and released back into the United Kingdom as an import release.

Samples used

This is an incomplete list of samples used in "Beat Dis". Samples used in different versions may vary. *

Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is a retired American DJ, rapper, and record producer. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of ...

& the

Soulsonic Force Soulsonic Force (also referred to as Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force) is an American electro-funk and hip hop ensemble led by Afrika Bambaataa who helped establish hip-hop in the early 1980s with songs such as " Planet Rock." They were also ...

– " Looking for the Perfect Beat", originally released in 1982 (12"); first LP release on '' Planet Rock: The Album'', 1986 *

Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays is an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including " Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) in ...

– "Son of Shaft" from ''Son of Shaft'', 1971 (7") *

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

– "

Funky Drummer "Funky Drummer" is a song by James Brown recorded in 1969 and released as a single in 1970. Its drum break, Musical improvisation, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampling (music), sampled music recordings. Recor ...

", originally released in 1971 (7"); first LP release on '' In the Jungle Groove'', 1986 * Dialogue from an episode of the TV series ''

Car 54, Where Are You? ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City Po ...

'' * Opening title sequence of the TV series '' Dragnet'' *

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ...

– "It's My Thing", originally released in 1987 (12"); first LP release on '' Strictly Business'', 1988 *

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

– " Rock Steady" from ''

Young, Gifted and Black ''Young, Gifted and Black'' is the eighteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Aretha Franklin, released in early 1972, by Atlantic Records. The album climbed to number 2 on ''Billboards R&B albums survey and peaked at Number 11 ...

'', 1972 (LP) *

Funky 4+1 Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the mi ...

– "Feel It (The Mexican)" from ''Feel It (The Mexican)'', 1983 (12") *

Hashim Hashim () is a common male Arabic given name. Notable people with the name include: *Hashim ibn Abd Manaf * Hashim Amir Ali * Hashim Shah * Hashim Amla * Hashim Thaçi * Hashim Khan * Hashim Qureshi * Mir Hashim Ali Khan *Hashim al-Atassi * Hashi ...

– "Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)" from ''Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)'', 1983 (EP) *

Indeep Indeep was a 1980s New York City, New York–based musical group, group that was best known for its song "Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life". Career The group was led by its songwriter-musician Michael Cleveland, and it was known for employing a ...

– " Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" from ''Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life!'', 1982 (LP) *

Jimmy Castor Bunch James Walter Castor (January 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012) was an American funk, R&B and Soul music, soul musician. He is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", "The Bertha Butt Bo ...

– "It's Just Begun" from ''It's Just Begun'', 1972 (LP) *

Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), known professionally by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapping , rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Walker is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major rec ...

– "Christmas Rappin'" from ''

'', 1980 (LP) * Line from a radio broadcast by Fiorello H. La Guardia *

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, ''Playboy'' Playmate, and sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was known for her numerous publicity stunts and open personal life. He ...

– "That Makes It" from ''Jayne Mansfield Busts Up Las Vegas'', 1962 (LP) * Theme from the 1966 film ''

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' (, literally "''The good, the ugly, the bad''") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Cleef as "the Bad", and Eli Wallach a ...

'', composed by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

* Original Concept – "Pump That Bass" from ''Bite'n My Stylee'', 1986 (12") *

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

– "Housequake" from '' Sign “☮” the Times'', 1987 (LP) *

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

– "

Rebel Without a Pause "Rebel Without a Pause" is a song by hip hop group Public Enemy and the first single from their 1988 album, ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back''. The title is a reference to the 1955 film '' Rebel Without a Cause''. History "Rebel Wi ...

" from ''

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'' is the second studio album by American Hip hop music, hip hop group Public Enemy, released on June 28, 1988, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. It was recorded from 1987 to 1988 in sessio ...

'', 1987 (LP; portion originally sampled from "

The Grunt "The Grunt" is a funk instrumental recorded in 1970 by James Brown's band The J.B.'s. It was released as a two-part single on King. It was one of only two instrumental singles recorded by the original J.B.'s lineup with Bootsy and Catfish Collins. ...

" by

The J.B.'s The J.B.'s (sometimes punctuated The JB's or The J.B.s) was James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records, the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs, The James Brown Soul Train, Mace ...

and "Funky Drummer" by James Brown) * "Russian Roulette" from ''Stereo Spectacular: Demonstration & Sound Effects'', 1963 (LP) *

Schoolly D Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. (born June 22, 1962), better known by the stage name Schoolly D, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Biography Schoolly D was born Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. in West Philadelphia and raised in Philadelph ...

– "Saturday Night" from '' Saturday Night! - The Album'', 1986 (LP) *

Frankie Smith Franklyn Leon Smith (January 29, 1940 – March 8, 2019) was an American funk musician and R&B/soul songwriter. He was best known for his 1981 hit single " Double Dutch Bus". Career Smith went to college in Tennessee for elementary education ...

– "

Double Dutch Bus "Double Dutch Bus" is a funk song by Frankie Smith, made famous for its extensive use of the "izz" infix form of slang. It was released in February 1981, although some sources indicate 1980 as the original release date. The single capitalized ...

" from ''Children of Tomorrow'', 1981 (LP) * Opening title sequence of the TV series '' Thunderbirds'' * "Train Sequence", narrated by Geoffrey Sumner from ''A Journey Into Stereo Sound'', 1958 (LP) *

Trouble Funk Trouble Funk is an American R&B and funk band from Washington, D.C. The group helped to popularize funk and the subgenre go-go in the Washington metropolitan area. Among the band's well-known songs is the go-go anthem "Hey, Fellas". They rele ...

– "Double Trouble" from ''Saturday Night Live! From Washington D.C.'', 1983 (LP) *

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s, and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band le ...

and

– "Blow Your Head" from ''Damn Right I Am Somebody'', 1974 (LP)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1987 songs 1987 debut singles 1988 singles Bomb the Bass songs Songs written by Pascal Gabriel Song recordings produced by Bomb the Bass Electronic instrumentals English house music songs Acid house songs Hip house songs UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles