Biography
On Britain's early hardcore breakbeat scene, no act rivaled Shut Up & Dance for ragga-techno anthems or audacious sampling tactics. The pair also shaped the later streamlining of jump-up breakbeats and b-bwoy attitude that became drum'n'bass in the second half of the decade. PJ and Smiley, both living in the East End bastion of Stoke Newington, launched the Shut Up & Dance label and group from a bedroom base in 1988. Their imprint issued the first Ragga Twins and Nicolette sides throughout 1989, with the Shut Up & Dance duo itself arriving later the same year. Initial 12-inches such as "£10 to Get In" and "Derek Went Mad" revealed their hardcore-techno formula of lifting hooks from major pop acts without hesitation, layering thick breakbeats underneath, projecting raw ragga stance, and unflinchingly attacking the rave circuit's seedy underbelly.
Tracks that followed from the 1990 debut full-length Dance Before the Police Come! quickly turned into scene standards within hardcore and jump-up circles. A second album arrived in 1992 alongside the chart success "Raving, I'm Raving," whose vocal came from former dancehall DJ Peter Bouncer; the single climbed to number two on the UK listings mid-year and prompted the follow-up modest hit "Autobiography of a Crackhead." That breakthrough, however, drew copyright attorneys from no fewer than six major labels over clear infringements of their roster. Shut Up & Dance endured two years of litigation comparable to the cases faced by U.S. hip-hop peers Biz Markie and De La Soul, and the disputes ultimately shuttered the label. The duo resurfaced in 1994 with the retaliatory EP Phuck the Biz, then cut their third album Black Men United for Pulse-8 the next year.
Tracks that followed from the 1990 debut full-length Dance Before the Police Come! quickly turned into scene standards within hardcore and jump-up circles. A second album arrived in 1992 alongside the chart success "Raving, I'm Raving," whose vocal came from former dancehall DJ Peter Bouncer; the single climbed to number two on the UK listings mid-year and prompted the follow-up modest hit "Autobiography of a Crackhead." That breakthrough, however, drew copyright attorneys from no fewer than six major labels over clear infringements of their roster. Shut Up & Dance endured two years of litigation comparable to the cases faced by U.S. hip-hop peers Biz Markie and De La Soul, and the disputes ultimately shuttered the label. The duo resurfaced in 1994 with the retaliatory EP Phuck the Biz, then cut their third album Black Men United for Pulse-8 the next year.
Albums
