EMF are an English

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

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 the ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, 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, 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 the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

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

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 Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

music scene before forming EMF in

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

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

. They toured the UK in 1990 with Stereo MCs.

''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 f ...

. 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". "Lies" 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 activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

's murderer.

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; 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 in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

, 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 Seek and destroy (also known as search and destroy, or S&D) is a military strategy which consists of inserting infantry forces into hostile territory and directing them to search and then attack enemy targets before immediately withdrawing. Fi ...

") 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 non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...

's dance compilation album '' Red Hot + Dance'', 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". In the same year, EMF teamed with comedians

Vic Reeves James Roderick Moir (born 24 January 1959), commonly known by his stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian and artist. He has a double act with Bob Mortimer as Reeves & Mortimer. He is known for his surreal sense of humour. In 2003, Ree ...

and

Bob Mortimer Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, author, television presenter, writer and actor. He is one half of the comedy double act Reeves and Mortimer with Jim Moir, Vic Reeves, and appears in the ''Mortimer & Whitehouse ...

and recorded "

I'm a Believer "I'm a Believer" is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by the American band 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 ...

", a cover of

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

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 the 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.

Second reunion and third hiatus (2007–2009)

In 2007 the band reformed 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 incorpo ...

and

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

. 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 ...

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 Lon ...

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.

Third reunion (2012–2019)

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

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...

, alongside

Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the English Civil War who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populism, as sh ...

and

Dodgy Dodgy are an English rock band formed in Hounslow in 1990. The band rose to prominence during the Britpop era of the 1990s. They are best known for their hits "Staying Out for the Summer", "If You're Thinking of Me", and " Good Enough". "Go ...

, 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 ''Videodrome: Long Live the New Flesh''. On 1 October 2016 the band headlined Indie Daze in London.

''From Us To You'' and ''Go Go Sapiens'' (2020–present)

In 2020, the band released a career-spanning vinyl box set titled ''From Us to You''. It contained all the full-length albums remastered, and a fourth disc containing unreleased demos and non-album tracks. On 1 April 2022, the band released an all-new material album, titled ''Go Go Sapiens''. Its first single, "Sister Sandinista", was released 1 March 2022. They also embarked on a short UK tour in early April 2022.

Members

* James Atkin (vocals, guitars) *

Ian Dench Ian Alec Harvey Dench (born 7 August 1964) is an English songwriter and musician. He is the guitarist and principal songwriter for EMF, who scored a major international hit reaching number 1 in the United States with " Unbelievable" in 1991. I ...

(guitars, keyboards) * Stevey Marsh (bass) * Adrian Todd (drums) * Derry Brownson (keyboards, samples)

Former members

* Zac Foley (bass), died 3 January 2002 * DJ Milf (DJ) * Jack Stephens (drums) * Tim Stephens (guitars) * Mark Decloedt (drums) * Richard March (bass)

Later work

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

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, 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, n ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

and is a touring member of

. As of June 2020, he has released four solo albums including ''Circadian Rhythms'' (2023), ''Popcorn Storm'' (2019) and ''A Country Mile'' (2014).

Honours

On 18 March 2025, EMF received a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

in their home town of Cinderford.

Discography

Albums

Compilations

EPs

Singles

Videos

References

Citations

Other sources

External links

* {{Authority control English alternative rock groups English electronic rock musical groups Forest of Dean Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Musical groups reestablished in 2012 Parlophone artists