Baby Charles

Formed in 2001, Baby Charles first established themselves through powerful stage performances rooted in the late-'60s funk tradition, which led to a deal with Milan-based Record Kicks. After releasing the early singles "No Controlling Me" and "Back of My Hand," the group delivered a widely praised cover of Arctic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" in 2008. By that point the Brighton-based ten-piece—Dionne Charles (vocals), Simon Hill (bass), Alex Kirkwood (drums), Toby Sendall (guitar), Lee Nicklen (organ), Oliver Minkley (percussion), Sigi Beare (saxophones), Natasha Gawlinski (saxophone), Georgina Carrol (flute) and Will Rumfitt (trombone)—had drawn notice from leading U.K. funk and soul figures. Their string of heavyweight funk singles together with the self-titled debut album, which the band largely wrote and produced themselves, drew praise from Gilles Peterson, Snowboy, Keb Darge, Jazzman Gerald, DJ Andy Smith, and Mark LaMarr, the last of whom supplied liner notes for Baby Charles (2008). Even so, the well-received first album marked the end of the group's association with Record Kicks, and Baby Charles disbanded in 2010. Several former members later launched new projects, including Beta Hector and the retro-R&B group Derriere.