Biography
A trio of unconventional Yorkshire DJs and producers—Timmy Christmas, born Tim Sheridan, Keith Binner and Chico Ijomanta—emerged as an eccentric UK-based outfit whose members all sport beards. They first crossed paths during the mid-80s while spinning records on Leeds’ student dance-music circuit, frequently holding court at the Mile High Club nights held at The Gallery, the same venue that launched Utah Saints. That fertile Leeds environment also nurtured celebrated club nights such as Vague, Back To Basics and Manumission. Timmy Christmas became known for endurance sets, once playing continuously for forty-eight hours at Glastonbury Festival, while his typical appearances at the decks still average six hours.
After a lengthy absence from the spotlight, the three returned with two commercially angled singles built around prominent samples of vintage dance tracks. “The Word,” drawn from the soundtrack of the 1978 hit film Grease, came first; it was followed by “Double Double Dutch,” which leaned heavily on Malcolm McLaren’s “Double Dutch.” Critical response in the UK press was cool, yet both singles registered modestly on the charts. Around the same period the group secured an extraordinary seven-album deal with Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto Records. In 1999 they also launched a weekly Friday-night residency at the high-tech London venue home in the West End. Their remix work encompasses credits for Utah Saints, Finitribe, Moloko and Fuzz Townsend.
The debut album Dope Radio offered an eclectic excursion from dub to pure pop, conceived as a psychedelic concept piece framed around the transmissions of an imaginary radio station. Its lead single, “Barabajagal,” featured guest vocals from Shaun Ryder and Howard Marks—the latter choice carrying extra irony given Marks’ reputation as a prolific international marijuana smuggler. Utah Saints supplied a remix of that track. The Dope Smugglaz maintain an active DJ schedule across the UK and Europe as well as locally.
After a lengthy absence from the spotlight, the three returned with two commercially angled singles built around prominent samples of vintage dance tracks. “The Word,” drawn from the soundtrack of the 1978 hit film Grease, came first; it was followed by “Double Double Dutch,” which leaned heavily on Malcolm McLaren’s “Double Dutch.” Critical response in the UK press was cool, yet both singles registered modestly on the charts. Around the same period the group secured an extraordinary seven-album deal with Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto Records. In 1999 they also launched a weekly Friday-night residency at the high-tech London venue home in the West End. Their remix work encompasses credits for Utah Saints, Finitribe, Moloko and Fuzz Townsend.
The debut album Dope Radio offered an eclectic excursion from dub to pure pop, conceived as a psychedelic concept piece framed around the transmissions of an imaginary radio station. Its lead single, “Barabajagal,” featured guest vocals from Shaun Ryder and Howard Marks—the latter choice carrying extra irony given Marks’ reputation as a prolific international marijuana smuggler. Utah Saints supplied a remix of that track. The Dope Smugglaz maintain an active DJ schedule across the UK and Europe as well as locally.