Bizarre Inc were an English

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

group. Formed in 1989 as a duo between

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

DJs Dean Meredith and Mark "Aaron" Archer (not to be confused with the film producer of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

), they later re-formed as a

trio Trio may refer to: Music Groups * Trio (music), an ensemble of three performers, or a composition for such an ensemble ** Jazz trio, pianist, double bassist, drummer ** Minuet and trio, a form in classical music ** String trio, a group of three ...

consisting of Meredith, Andrew Meecham, and Carl Turner in 1990.

Career

The group formed as Meredith and Archer linked to start an acid-house/techno project under 'Blue Chip Records'. A label owned by former Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts. The first releases were (and still are) only available on 12'' vinyl: "It's Time to Get Funky" (BLUE C14R), later shortened to "Time to Get Funky" (BLUE C14RR); and the 6-track debut album ''Technological'', both written and produced by Meredith and Archer. By 1990, Archer left Meredith to work as producer and writer with different house and techno projects, a greater part of which were for Network Records. He was also known as DJ Nex for a long time; later on he released material under names such as Mr. Nex, O.P.D., Xen Mantra, and others (including

Nexus 21 Altern 8 is a British electronic music act, comprising Mark Archer and Chris Peat, until Peat left the group in 1994. Best known in the early 1990s, their trademark was electronic rave music with a heavy bass line. Notable Altern 8 tracks inc ...

and

Altern-8 Altern 8 is a British electronic music act, comprising Mark Archer and Chris Peat, until Peat left the group in 1994. Best known in the early 1990s, their trademark was electronic rave music with a heavy bass line. Notable Altern 8 tracks inc ...

with co-producer Chris Peat). Still in the same year, two other experienced DJs – Andrew Meecham and Carl Turner – joined Bizarre Inc, thus forming a new trio. The first 12'' they released together was "Bizarre Theme" / "X-Static" on the now-defunct

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

Vinyl Solution Vinyl Solution was a record label of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the offshoot of an independent London-based record store based at 231 Portobello Road (now known as Intoxica Records). The label signed many unconventional acts in a number of unc ...

. This first track got a moderate acceptance, and their next single, "Such a Feeling", which sampled the

Aurra Aurra was an American 1980s soul group, which, at the time of its biggest success on Salsoul Records, featured Curt Jones (guitar/vocals) and Starleana Young (vocals) and included Steve Washington (bass/guitar/drums), Philip Field (keyboards/sy ...

club hit "Such a Feeling", peaked at number 13. The next single, "Playing with Knives", peaked at number 4; the song's vinyl (7-inch and 12-inch) releases were issued on a couple of different European labels. On 19 October 1992, Bizarre Inc released the album '' Energique''. shortly after the BPI Silver Certified "I'm Gonna Get You" single featuring

Angie Brown Angie Brown (born 13 June 1963) is a British singer and songwriter from Brixton, South London. Brown is a co-artist on the hit single " I'm Gonna Get You" (1992) by Bizarre Inc. She performed on a number of recordings with Bizarre Inc as lead ...

was released on 21 September via

12-inch vinyl The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compar ...

. It reached number one on the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

for two weeks in January (also hitting number 47 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100). The follow up "Took My Love", also made number one for two weeks on the Hot Dance Club chart in late April.

is featured as lead vocalist on both releases. A third song, "Love in Motion" (featuring Yvonne Yanney), peaked at number 4 on the U.S. dance chart in late 1993. Three of Bizarre Inc's hit singles appeared on ''Energique'' in 1992. In 1994, a remix for Madonna's single "Secret" was included on both the U.S. 12" Single and CD Maxi-Single. They also released a third album, the more commercial ''Surprise'', on Some Bizzare in 1996. Meecham and Meredith have continued releasing new music together under the name Chicken Lips. In the UK, their biggest singles remain "Playing with Knives" (number 4) and "I'm Gonna Get You" (number 3), the latter of which was a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

dance-pop hit and was one of the biggest sellers of that year.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

{{Authority control English techno music groups Hardcore techno music groups English electronic dance music DJs Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups from Staffordshire English remixers English record producers Some Bizzare Records artists

Career

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

See also

References