Chakk were an
industrial funk
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 ...
band from
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, who existed from 1981 until 1987.
[Chakk](_blank)
(AllMusic) Members were Alan Cross,
Mark Brydon
Mark Errington Brydon (born 22 December 1960) is an English bassist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, recording engineer, remixer and producer best known as a member of the group Moloko.
Previous work
Brydon comes from Sunderland, England, bu ...
, Dee Boyle, Sim Lister, Jake Harries and Jon Stuart.
[Chakk](_blank)
(discogs.com) The band never achieved commercial success, but have been noted for their wide influence on later British dance music, particularly via Fon Studios.
[Simpson, Dave (2011)]
'Catalyst bands': What do you mean, you've never heard of them?
, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 21 July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2012 Mark Brydon later went on to form and achieved success with
Moloko
Moloko () were an English-Irish electronic music duo formed in Sheffield, England, consisting of vocalist Róisín Murphy and music producer, producer Mark Brydon. Blending elements of electronica and dance music, they are best known for their ...
.
History
Chakk's first single, "Out of the Flesh", produced by
Richard H. Kirk, on
Cabaret Voltaire's Doublevision label, reached number three on the independent charts in 1984. The band recorded a
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 ...
session on 17 October 1984 ("Cut The Dust", "Sedative Ends", "No. 3 Sound", "Mother Tongues"). Their second single "You", released in 1985, was also an indie hit, reaching number 14. They then signed an album deal with
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 ...
, who released ''10 Days in an Elevator''. The initial version of the album was rejected and a rerecorded version was finally released in 1986; it did not sell well and the band was dropped later that year.
[ They released a few more singles and split in 1987.
Non-MCA recordings from "You" onwards were released on their own Fon Records label ("Fuck Off ]Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
" or "Fear of Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
", from a piece of 1940s graffiti on a wall in Sheffield),[Young, Rob (2005) ''Warp: Labels Unlimited'', Black Dog Publishing, , p. 29] which was started by the band with their manager, Amrik Rai (formerly a journalist for ''New Musical Express
''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 inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...
''). Rai also ran a record shop of the same name for a time.
Brydon built Fon Studios with the MCA advance money (reportedly £100,000) in 1985[Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 39][Fish, Mick (2002) ''Industrial Evolution: Through the 80s with Cabaret Voltaire'', SAF Publishing Ltd, , p. 172] as it was cheaper to build a studio in Sheffield than to record in London. Fon Studios and the Fon Force production team became important to Sheffield music and paved the way for labels like Warp.[ Brydon did significant later work in production (including "]House Arrest
House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
" by Krush) and started Moloko
Moloko () were an English-Irish electronic music duo formed in Sheffield, England, consisting of vocalist Róisín Murphy and music producer, producer Mark Brydon. Blending elements of electronica and dance music, they are best known for their ...
with Róisín Murphy
Róisín Marie Murphy ( , ; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer, songwriter and record producer who first became known in the 1990s as one half of the Pop music, pop duo Moloko alongside the English musician Mark Brydon. After the breakup of M ...
.
Aftermath
In 2007, a digital compilation of the band's FON Records' singles was released.
Chakk were featured in Eve Wood's documentary films on the Sheffield music scene, ''Made in Sheffield'' (2009) and ''The Beat Is the Law'' (2011).[City music beat goes on into new decades]
", '' Sheffield Telegraph'', 2 November 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2012[City bands are back on the beat]
, '' Sheffield Telegraph'', 18 November 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2012
In 2016, the band's debut album ''Clocks and Babies'' was remastered and reissued on CD and digitally.
Discography
Albums
* ''Clocks and Babies'' (cassette, 1982)
* ''10 Days in an Elevator'' (LP+EP, MCA MCG-6006, 1986)
* ''Beneath the Dancefloor – Basement Tapes'' (Chakk 1983–1984) (mini-LP, Fon FONX-6, 1987)
* ''Out of the Flesh: The Singles'' (download only, iTunes, 2007)
Singles
* "Out of the Flesh (Mix I)" (6:00) // "Out of the Flesh (Mix II)" (3:53) / "Out of the Flesh (Mix III)" (5:06) (12", Doublevision DVR-6, 1984) – UK Indie no. 4
Collaboration
* (with The Swanhunters) "Bloodsport" (12", Fon SWAN-3, 1986)Swanhunters, With the Chakk – Bloodsport (Vinyl) at Discogs
/ref>
:"Bloodsport (The Full Report)" // "Bloodsport (State of Emergency)" / "Bloodsport (Too Little Too Late)"
References
External links
*
* statistics and tagging at Last.FM
{{Authority control
English industrial music groups
Musical groups from Sheffield
Musical groups established in 1981