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EpicCenter
"Our music is there to inspire some hope and to pay respect to the power of soul," says Mike Pickering of Epic recording group M People. And what is soul? Simple, he answers: "Any music that you feel and that you deliver with emotion."
The power of soul survives in the grooves of BIZARRE FRUIT, the new album by M People--along with the power of rhythm, and of a great pop hook. This time, Mike Pickering, Paul Heard, and Heather Small are, in the words of Musician magazine, "turning the underground sounds of yesterday--lush disco sweeps with bubbly keyboards, house rhythms with butt-burning bass lines, sway-your-arms choruses--into today's hits."
And it's working: At this writing, on the eve of the album's American release, Bizarre Fruit is platinum-plus in the UK; the first US single, "Open Your Heart," already is a #1 Club Play and Top 5 Dance chart hit. Other Bizarre Fruit tracks like "Search For The Hero," "Walk Away," "Love Rendez- vous" and "Sugar Town" surely will prove no less compelling on dance floors and airwaves alike. "Call it maturity, not a sellout," wrote Request magazine, "and call Bizarre Fruit one of the best dance albums of the year."
The story of M People began in Manchester, the gritty Northern English city which has given the world more than its fair share of vital music: The Fall, Simply Red, and Joy Division are but three names which come to mind. In fact, Mike Pickering was once a Joy Division roadie, then a chef, then a roadie again (for Kraftwerk and Julio Iglesias, among others), then a window-washer.
But it was as a DJ at a legendary Manchester nightclub called The Hacienda that Pickering found his true calling as a mixer and maker of dance music. Mike's skills weren't limited to the wheels of steel: He played sax with Factory Records band Quando Quango and with T-Coy, one of the first UK house outfits. As a Factory A&R man, he was instrumental in the signing of both Happy Mondays and James.
In 1991, the frenetic blur of rave was all the rage in England. But Pickering felt that "dance music needed to get back to the song, like Motown, Stax or the Philly International era. A classic song is the foundation of any kind of music." His early efforts convinced Mike that he needed a partner with greater musical training to help translate his ideas into actual tunes. Enter Paul Heard, who had played bassist for the UK groups Working Week, Strawberry Switchblade, and Orange Juice. One of the first songs the two composed was written with one particular chanteuse in mind: Heather Small, a genteel but passionate singer of West Indian descent who had gained a substantial following with London-based soul band Hot! House.
Heather, Paul and Michael entered the studio and began to lay down the tracks that would even- tually emerge as the group's debut Northern Soul. "It was obvious as we were recording that what we had musically was much more than just a one off thing," Michael says. "It had turned into something really coherent...From then on, we were M People."
Northern Soul was issued in the UK in 1992, and featured the Top Ten singles "Colour My Life" and "How Can I Love You More." A second album, Elegant Slumming, appeared in 1993 to even greater acclaim, reaching #2 on the UK album chart and spinning off three more Top 10 hits: "Moving On Up," "One Night In Heaven," and the group's impassioned rendition of the Dennis Edwards classic "Don't Look Any Further." In the 1993 Brit Awards--the UK equivalent of the Grammys--Elegant Slumming was named Album Of The Year, and M People were voted Best Dance Act for the second consecutive year. The best tracks from both British albums were combined for the US Epic release of Elegant Slumming, which was issued Stateside in June, 1994, powered by the unforgettable single "Movin' On Up." By the spring of '95, M People had earned a total of nine Top Ten UK singles.
Even more impressive was M People's growing reputation as one of Britain's best live acts, in the tradition of CHIC or KC and the Sunshine Band. "People say, 'Isn't it strange for a dance band to play live?'" Mike Pickering remarks. "Don't they remember? That's the way it always was." In concert, M People's gang of three expanded to a posse of ten, and the power to kick it live proved crucial to the band's approach.
BIZARRE FRUIT by M People is nourishment for the body and soul.
"Epic and 550 Music" Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
Copyright Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Reference: http://www.epiccenter.com/EpicCenter/docs/artistbio.qry?artistid=107
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