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Best remembered for the international smash "Unbelievable", the British dance-rock quintet EMF formed in Cinderford, England in October 1989. All five members — vocalist James Atkin, guitarist Ian Dench, keyboardist Derry Brownson, bassist Zachary Foley and drummer Mark Decloedt — were veterans of the local music scene before founding EMF, whose name supposedly stood for "Epsom Mad Funkers" (although it was widely speculated that the initials instead represented "Ecstasy Mind Fuckers"). Within two months of formation, the group played its first gig; after unearthing a Casio sampler and sequencer in a local thrift shop, a light techno element was added to their rock-oriented sound.
By the end of 1990, EMF's infectious debut single Unbelievable had conquered the U.K. charts; it hit number one in the U.S. the following year. The 1991 album Schubert Dip was also successful, spawning another hit single in "Lies." (The LP also garnered considerable press when Yoko Ono objected to the group's use of a voice sample of Mark David Chapman, the murderer of John Lennon; the offending sound bite was later removed from future pressings.)
In 1992, EMF returned with the Unexplained EP and the much darker full-length effort Stigma; both releases performed badly on the charts, however, and the band effectively vanished from sight until 1995's Cha Cha Cha.
The summer of 1995 saw the band abandoning promotion of Cha Cha Cha and teaming up with comics Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer on a karaoke cover of the Monkees' "I'm a Believer". Their self-promoted follow-up, "Afro King", seen in some quarters as a return to their poppy origins, and in others as too little too late, failed to do as well. The band were subsequently dropped by their label.
The band reunited in the summer of 2001 and released a Greatest Hits CD that coincided with a mini European festival and UK tour. The Greatest Hits CD, called The Best of EMF: Epsom Mad Funkers, featured 2 discs: the first had a collection of singles and fan favorite album tracks, along with 2 brand new tracks: "Incredible" and "Let's Go." The second disc had popular remixes.
The band were primed to write new material and tour more extensively but sadly the sudden passing of bassist Zac Foley on January 2, 2002 shocked the band into silence.
Since then the remaining 4 members have focused their time on personal projects and their families.
5 years .. recently getting back together in the summer of 07 for a private performance, the band, with the help of bassist Richard March from 90’s band PWEI, decided the time was right to come out of the woods and perform again. One show has already been confirmed for December 18th 2007 at The Scala in London with the possibility of further performances in the future.
To keep up to date with what the boys are doing these days, sign up for Blue Highs, the EMF Email newsletter at the band's official website.
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The Asbo Kid
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Named & Shamed
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