Propellerheads were an English electronic music duo, formed in 1995 in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

by Will White and Alex Gifford.

History

Prior to Propellerheads' formation, Alex Gifford played as a backing saxophonist for

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...

appearing on the albums ''

Dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...

'' (1986) and '' 10'' (1990) as well as the live album ''

All Live and All of the Night ''All Live and All of the Night'' is the second live album by English rock band the Stranglers, released on 8 February 1988 by Epic Records. The release peaked at No. 12 in the UK Albums Chart in March 1988. Background By 1986, the band were ...

'' (1988). Their first release was an EP named ''Dive!'', released in 1996 through the independent label

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

. They gained fame the next year by providing a

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

for

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

movie composer

David Arnold David Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is an English film composer whose credits include scoring five James Bond films (1997-2008), as well as ''Stargate'' (1994), ''Independence Day'' (1996), ''Godzilla'' (1998), '' Shaft'' (2000), '' 2 Fast 2 F ...

's Bond tribute album '' Shaken & Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project'' covering John Barry's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", the theme song to the sixth James Bond film, re-orchestrated by Arnold. They also collaborated with Arnold on the track "Backseat Driver" for the soundtrack of the Bond film ''

Tomorrow Never Dies ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' is a 1997 spy film, the eighteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay ...

''. The single " History Repeating" followed, a collaboration with

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

(also well known for her James Bond music), fusing big beat with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. The Propellerheads album ''

Decksandrumsandrockandroll ''Decksandrumsandrockandroll'' is the only studio album by English electronic music duo Propellerheads. It was originally released by Wall of Sound on 26 January 1998 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it was released by DreamWorks R ...

'' was released in 1998 by Wall of Sound in Europe and DreamWorks in the US and Japan. The DreamWorks versions include collaborations with

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artists

De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...

and

Jungle Brothers Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop trio composed of Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall (Afrika Baby Bam) and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). Hailed as pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music, they were the first hip-hop g ...

, and the Japanese version is a two disc special edition including some of their earlier singles. A track from the album, "

Spybreak! "Spybreak!" is a 1997 single by the British big beat group Propellerheads from their album, ''Decksandrumsandrockandroll.'' There are two versions of this song, called "Spybreak! (Long One)" and "Spybreak! (Short One)". The former is approximat ...

", became widely known after its use in the lobby scene in the 1999 feature film ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

''. They are also noted for providing "Crash" (a remixed cover version of Brass Incorporated's " At the Sign of the Swinging Cymbal", perhaps best known as the theme song of

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 ...

's ''

Pick of the Pops ''Pick of the Pops'' is a long-running BBC Radio programme; it was based originally on the Top 20 from the UK singles chart and was first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on 4 October 1955. It transferred to BBC Radio 1 (simulcast on BBC Rad ...

'') as the theme tune to Radio 1's 'Official Chart Show' between 1998 and 2002, when

Mark Goodier Mark Goodier (born 9 June 1961) is a Zimbabwean-born British radio disc jockey and broadcaster best known for his time on BBC Radio 1 between 1987 and 2002. He had two spells presenting the station's Top 40 singles chart, from September 1990 ...

was the host. This song was also used in the 1999 hit

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

'' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me''. After touring for their hit album, White fell ill. They released ''Extended Play EP'' in 1998, and in the song "Props' Vote of Gratitude", Alex Gifford raps for the first time, explaining to the listener that the band would "be back after this short break". Gifford moved to New York and produced the

' 1999 album ''V.I.P.'', in which he raps with

The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

among others. White provided the drums for the eponymous track. He has also produced "Shadows", a track for

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded eleven studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical opera ...

on his 2001 album ''Poses''. White has since released a mix compilation for the ''Beatz and Bobz'' series, and he has also appeared as a member of the De-Fex music project. In November 1998, the song "Bang On!" was included in the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...

video game ''

Wipeout 64 ''Wipeout 64'' is a 1998 racing game, racing video game developed by Psygnosis and published by Midway Games for the Nintendo 64. It is the third game in the ''Wipeout (Psygnosis video game series), Wipeout'' series and remains the only one publ ...

''. Earlier that same year, the same song was also featured on the ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. Lightly dramatic, sometimes comedic in tone, the series was inspired by the 1812 J ...

'' soundtrack. "Bang On!" would later be featured in the 2001

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

video game '' Mad Dash Racing'' as part of the game console's launch into the American market. Another song "Lethal Cut" was featured in the PlayStation game ''

Wipeout 3 ''Wipeout 3'' is a 1999 racing video game developed by Psygnosis and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the fourth game and third main instalment in the ''Wipeout'' series, following '' Wipeout 64'' (1998), an ...

'', while "Big Dog" was featured in the background music of the PAL version of ''

Gran Turismo 2 ''Gran Turismo 2'' is a 1999 sim racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the sequel to '' Gran Turismo'', the second installment of the '' Gran Turismo'' series, a ...

''. Following their 1997 collaboration, in 2000, Propellerheads again worked with Shirley Bassey, this time remixing her 1964 song " Goldfinger". This version was included on Bassey's remix album, '' Diamonds Are Forever''. In 2001, the band recorded "Star Crossed Lovers" with

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III and the younger si ...

for 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 compilation album ''

Red Hot + Indigo Red Hot + Indigo is the 13th entry from the Red Hot AIDS benefit series of compilation albums produced by Paul Heck. It marks the tenth anniversary of the Red Hot Organization (RHO), an international organization which uses mass media as a fund ...

'', a tribute to

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. In October 2003, Wall of Sound celebrated its tenth birthday. To commemorate the occasion, the label released a two-disc album charting ten years of its pioneering British music. The first CD featured

Röyksopp Röyksopp () a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø formed in 1998. The duo consists of childhood friends Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland who formed Röyksopp during the Bergen Wave. After experimenting with different Electronic Mu ...

The Wiseguys The Wiseguys were a British electronic duo active in the mid to late 1990s. They only released one proper album together, as their sophomore album, '' The Antidote'', was solely produced by Touché. This album included the hits " Start the Co ...

and Mekon, while Gifford provided a mix CD for the second disc. The first track on that disc, "Ten Years (Johnston's Strut, Part 1)", was a new song by Propellerheads featuring the

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

-based writer Livingroom Johnston. One of the trailers for the Disney/

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

film ''

The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American animated superhero film written and directed by Brad Bird. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer ...

'' featured "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Their version of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" featured as a choice of Horizon presenter

Kevin Fong Kevin Jeremy San Yoong Fong (born 21 May 1971)Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Provo, Utah, US: Ancestry.com Inc, 2008. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. ...

on ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'', as this was the track he played every morning when driving to the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

while working with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

. White was part of the live incarnation of Long Range, the now-defunct project of

Phil Hartnoll Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root ter ...

History

Discography

Studio album

EPs

Singles

Other appearances

References

Further reading