Shiva was a British band consisting of Louise Dean, Gino Piscitelli and Paul Ross. Formed in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

as Shine, the band changed their name to Shiva prior to the release of their debut single "Work It Out" in 1995. That single reached number 36 on the UK singles chart. A subsequent promotional single, "Freedom", was at number one on

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

's "Cool Cuts" chart at the time of Dean's death from a

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...

driver on 18 June 1995. After initially being cancelled, the track was released in tribute to Dean and charted at number 18 in August 1995. After a memorial event for Dean in November 1995 raised £10,000, Piscitelli and Ross released "Let There Be Love" with

TJ Davis Teresa Jane Davis, known professionally by her stage name TJ Davis, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. She started as a backing vocalist for Gary Numan, D:Ream and Blur, and quickly developed a career of her own. She is kno ...

and toured with her. The band performed at Deva Fest in 2019.

History

Gino Piscitelli, Paul Ross, and Louise Dean formed the band in

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 ...

. Dean had previously been a backing singer for

Rozalla Rozalla Miller (born 18 March 1964), better known as simply Rozalla, is a Zimbabwean electronic music performer who was born in what was then Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). She is best known for her three 1991/92 hit singles " Faith (In the Po ...

and

Urban Cookie Collective Urban Cookie Collective are a British Eurodance group, best known for their 1993 hit single " The Key the Secret". The band was founded by keyboardist/songwriter Rohan Heath. History The band was founded by Rohan Heath (born 19 July 1964, t ...

. At the time, the band was called "Shine", but they were forced to change this after a similarly-named band threatened to block the release of their first single. They released their debut single as "Shiva", naming themselves after the mythological Lord of the Dance. "Work It Out", which contained mixes from West End,

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1961) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Mar ...

, Mindwarp, and Fathers of Sound, charted at number 36 on the UK singles chart. The band then released a subsequent

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

, "Freedom", which topped

's "Cool Cuts" chart. On 18 June 1995, Dean was killed by a van in a hit and run near her home in Huddersfield while crossing a road; a

Moldgreen Moldgreen is a district of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire in England, approximately one mile (1.5 km) east of the town centre between Dalton and Aspley. The main Wakefield Road, the A629, is the main thoroughfare through the district. Th ...

man was charged with causing death by dangerous driving along with six other related charges, and was remanded in custody. The band were due to appear at a

Kiss 102 Kiss 102 was a dance music radio station based in Manchester, England. History The frequency was originally issued to Sunset 102 Radio - The Kickin FM but that suffered some financial problems. In May 1993, the Radio Authority made a deci ...

roadshow that day, and to sign a publishing deal with

BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was formed in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its st ...

the following day. Originally, their second single, "Freedom", was pulled by its label,

FFRR Records FFRR Records (sometimes credited as Full Frequency Range Recordings) is a dance music label founded as a subsidiary of London Records in 1986, with A&R run by the British DJ Pete Tong. Originally a part of London Records' label roster, F ...

; the track was eventually released as a tribute to Dean at the behest of both her mother and the remaining members of the band. Featuring Dean's final recorded performance, and including remixes from BT,

K-Klass K-Klass are a Welsh/English electronic music group from Wrexham, Wales and Chester, England, who are based in Manchester, England. Its original members were Andy Williams, Carl Thomas, Russ Morgan and Paul Roberts. In 1991, K-Klass signed with ...

, and Loveland, the track charted at No. 18 on the UK singles chart in August 1995. ''Billboard'' reported in their 22 July 1995 issue that the band were auditioning replacement singers. On 1 November 1995, a memorial event was held for Dean at Huddersfield Sport Centre. Supported by several clubs including

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, Love to Be,

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, Up Yer Ronson, and

Angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

, the event featured DJ performances from Sasha, Tom Wainwright,

Graeme Park Graeme Park is an historic site and National Historic Landmark at 859 County Line Road in Horsham, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and operated by the non-profit group, The Friends of ...

, Ian Ossia, and Allister Whitehead and live PAs from Shiva,

MN8 MN8 are a British R&B- pop group. They consisted of KG (lead vocalist), Kule T (lead vocalist, songwriter), G-Man (lead vocalist), and Dee Tails (rapper, stylist and choreographer). Career MN8's 1995 debut hit single, " I've Got a Little So ...

, and Evolution; the event raised £10,000 for Campaign Against Drink Driving and Dean's family. In 1996, TJ Davis joined the band, with whom Pescitelli and Ross performed the Northern Exposure tour including gigs at

Tribal Gathering Tribal Gathering is the original British electronic dance music festival that between 1993 and 2004 catered for different types of dance music cultures such as techno, house and drum & bass. After 18 years, Tribal Gathering returns in 2023 for ...

and

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, and released a single, "Let There Be Love", which was remixed by

Mark Picchiotti Mark Picchiotti is an American DJ, producer, remixer and songwriter based out of Chicago, Illinois. As a remixer and producer, Picchiotti has amassed 24 number one singles on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart, and he has remixed such ar ...

. In 2019, the band reunited specifically for Deva Fest, a

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

dance festival.

Single discography

*"Work It Out" (1995) – UK #36 *"Freedom" (1995) – UK #18 *"Let There Be Love" (with TJ Davis) – did not chart

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shiva FFRR Records artists Musical groups from West Yorkshire