Whatever Happened To...
EMF
By Lisa Hood-Anklewicz

In October 1989 in Cinderford, England, five young men came together unaware that in just a few months time they would be taking the music world by storm.  EMF consisted of vocalist James Atkin, guitarist Ian Dench, keyboardist Derry Brownson, bassist Zachary Foley and drummer Mark De Cloedt.  The music they began playing together that fall was rock-oriented but had a light techno/dance element to it, particularly due to the sampling that they were experimenting with.  The sound was in sync with other successful bands from the burgeoning Manchester scene (including Jesus Jones and The Happy Mondays), and it resulted in almost immediate success for the boys.  Before the end of the year they played their first gig and by the fall of 1990, their first single “Unbelievable” was burning up the UK charts, eventually peaking at #3.

In early 1991, EMF released a second single, “I Believe,” which also gained them great attention in the UK, peaking at #6 in the charts.  In the meantime, work on their first full length album was underway, and in the spring a third single, “Children” was released in promotion for the release of Schubert Dip. 

EMF were an instant hit in the UK and plans for the release of Schubert Dip in North America were set for June 1991.  Their first single, “Unbelievable” was chosen again to be the first out of the box for the North American market, and while the album was being released in the UK, the single was hitting the airwaves in the US.  “Unbelievable” proved to be an even bigger success in the US than it had been in the UK, hitting #1 in the charts and being certified Gold at the end of May 1991, before the album had even been released.

In both in the UK and the US, “Lies” was chosen to be the next single, which created some controversy for the band.  Known for their use of samples in their songs, it wasn’t unexpected to find some in “Lies”.  However, the original recording of “Lies” contained a sample of the voice of Mark David Chapman reciting lyrics of John Lennon’s “Watching the Wheels” from his prison cell.  Obviously, this came to the attention of Yoko Ono and it resulted in an out of court settlement and removal of the offending sample from all future pressings of the song.  Luckily for EMF, other samples they used proved much less controversial, which included Kermit the Frog.  In the US, “Lies” did see some success, reaching #18 on the charts; however the following releases, “I Believe” and “Children” did not receive the same response. 

Also during this time EMF was facing controversy over their name.  A rumour had started somewhere that EMF stood for Ecstasy Mother Fuckers, which spread like wildfire through the media and gave many parents a reason to prevent their children from listening to the album.  Although the band had established the EMF was short for Epsom Mad Funkers, the rumour persisted with a vengeance, something that was not lost on the boys.  The band began to slap on a live recording of a song entitled “EMF,” in which the lyric “ecstasy mother fuckers” is often heard, as b-sides to single releases of songs from Schubert Dip.

At this point, EMF’s career began to unfold in two different ways, one in the UK and one in the US.  Schubert Dip debuted at #3 in the UK, spending a total of 19 weeks on the charts, while in the US, despite being certified Platinum that fall, the album spent 36 weeks on US charts but only managed to peak #12 position.

In the spring of 1992, EMF was back in the studio, releasing an EP, Unexplained, in the spring, followed by their sophomore album Stigma in the fall.  Both releases hit the UK and US markets at the same time, but to different receptions.

“They’re Here” was released as a single in promotion of Stigma but it saw very little fanfare in the US.  And although it wasn’t received with the same enthusiasm as their previous releases in the UK, “They’re Here” still managed to crack the Top 30 charts.  A second single, “It’s You” was released shortly after the album dropped, but only in the UK.

Unexplained and Stigma were well received overall in the UK, but not with anywhere near the same success of Schubert Dip.  By the end of 1992, EMF was having continued good fortune in the UK, but had already been chalked up as a “one-hit wonder” in the US.  Stigma’s release in the US was viewed as a failed attempt to follow up the success of “Unbelievable” and Schubert Dip, and EMF faded into obscurity.

1993 saw the release of “Remixes and Collaborations” and a compilation album “All Night Rave.”  No new material was released until 1995, when Cha Cha Cha hit stores in the UK.  EMF’s third album managed to spend only 1 week on the UK chart at the #30 position.  Two singles from the album, “Perfect Day” and “Bleeding You Dry” saw little success, and the album was never released in North America.  In the summer of 1995, EMF did manage one last trip to the top of the charts in the UK with a cover of The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer”.

Shortly afterwards, EMF disbanded and all five of the members moved on to different projects.  However, in the summer of 2001, they came back together for a reunion tour in the UK in promotion of The Best of EMF: Epsom Mad Funkers.  Finally setting the name game straight, the release would be a two disc collection of their original work as well as a number of remixes.  EMF found that their fan base was still their and eager for more, and the reunion tour was quite successful.

Rumours of new material had been flying around, and it looked like EMF might push the reunion into something more.  However, during New Years celebrations, tragedy struck when bassist Zachary Foley was found dead due to a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.  Foley was officially pronounced dead on January 2, 2002, after a friend had found him in his apartment.

As for EMF, there was some discussion of the possibility of continuing without Foley.  It seems for now, however, that the remaining members have chosen to focus on other projects.  Ian Dench is currently playing with Amanda Ghost (www.amanda-ghost.com), who recently played SXSW.  James Atkin is with Beauty School (www.beautyschool.org.uk), and Derry Brownson is working on a solo project under the name DG Brownson.

 

Sources:

www.emf-theband.com
www.whisperinandhollerin.co.uk
www.vh1.com 

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