Emerging as a regular presence on Britain's soul and funk revival circuit, the Pimptones assembled in 2007 under the leadership of guitarist, composer, and arranger Nick Pride. Their opening release, the single "Deeper Pimp," delivered a nostalgic yet club-ready sound that drew notice from prominent U.K. broadcaster Craig Charles and additional tastemakers, securing regional support dates with Maceo Parker, Candi Staton, and the Youngblood Brass Band. The track also spotlighted the group's signature "live band bootleg" mash-up technique, a dynamic highlight of their stage performances.
Although the debut album It's the Pimptones surfaced in 2009, wider recognition arrived with the 2011 follow-up Midnight Feast of Jazz on Milan's Record Kicks, driven especially by the single "Waitin' So Long" featuring vocalist Jess Roberts. The next year brought a remix edition titled Remixed Feast of Jazz, credited to TM Juke, Diesler, Smoove, and Renegades of Jazz, and paired a funky reinterpretation of "Unfinished Sympathy" with "White Lines" as a double-A-side single.
The 2014 switch to Légère yielded Rejuiced Phat Shake, a set reflecting broader musical range and spotlighting assorted guest vocalists, among them Beth Macari, who subsequently joined on a permanent basis. A stable lineup of Ian Paterson on bass, Oz Cassidy on drums, Keith Nicholson on trumpet, and Alex Saxon on saxophone and flute, alongside Pride and Macari, tracked the second album Go Deep for Légère during 2015 sessions in the band's hometown of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, U.K. Issued the following year, the record marked a return to core old-school soul and funk foundations.
