Dirty Vegas

In 2001 the South London trio Dirty Vegas assembled when unrelated DJs Ben Harris and Paul Harris linked up with longtime acquaintance Steve Smith on vocals. Fresh from Ibiza, Smith drew on the experience to sketch the first version of “Days Go By,” a track that surfaced as a worldwide club favorite and reached the U.K. Top 30 upon its late-2001 release. One year later the song appeared in a U.S. Mitsubishi Eclipse advertisement, an exposure that carried it onto the American pop charts, to the summit of Billboard’s dance chart, and ultimately to a Grammy for Best Dance Recording. Capitol issued the group’s self-titled debut album that same year, after which the members handled remixes for Justin Timberlake and Madonna. In 2003 Ultra put out the mix collection A Night at the Tables, and the following year the studio album One moved the sound toward greater guitar emphasis. A hiatus began in 2005, during which each member pursued individual work, among them Smith’s 2008 solo release This Town. The original electronic style returned with the 2009 single “Changes” and a Ladytron remix of “Tomorrow.” Two years afterward Electric Love merged the swirling electronica of the first album with the melodic indie-pop approach of the second.