In 1984, the first 'house' track was pressed and released. It was called "On & On" by Jesse Saunders and would kick start the rise of house music. Frankie Knuckles, Steve 'Silk' Hurley, Marshall Jefferson and many more DJs in the USA started releasing more tracks that would develop the sound of house. These tracks would then make it to British shores; "Love Can't Turn Around" by Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk and Darryl Pandy would become the first house tracks to enter the UK Top 40. It would be Steve 'Silk' Hurley who would secure the first #1 house single in the UK in January 1987 with "Jack Your Body". These house songs started to inspire many people in the country to make house tracks. One of these would make it to #1 in the UK charts and its backstory and influence is worthy of its own story.
In 1980 a music label named 4AD was formed in London by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent as a sub-label to Beggar's Banquet. For the first four releases, the label was named Axis; the name was changed after they found out that there was another label called Axis at the time. Peter Kent would leave 4AD in at the end of 1980. For the first few years, 4AD would release music from acts such as Bauhaus, Modern English, The Birthday Party, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Throwing Muses and many more. These bands offered sounds ranging from goth, shoegaze, rock, punk and neoclassical.
4AD's most well known song at that point was from Ivo Watts-Russell's project named This Mortal Coil. "Song To The Siren" was a cover originally sung by Tim Buckley, this time it was sung by Elizabeth Frazer. The song got to #1 in the Indie Charts and even made a dent in the UK Singles Charts at #66 in 1984. Three years later, 4AD would find themselves in new territories; territories the label would have never expected.
Colourbox formed in 1982. It consisted of Martyn and Steven Young, Ian Robbins and Debbion Currie. Their sound was filled with electronic synths and soul and sounded futuristic for the early 1980s. This could be heard in their first two tracks they released on 4AD, "Breakdown" and "Tarantula". A year later, Debbion Currie left and was replaced by Lorita Grahame. The band would go on to release more tracks and would release a full album in 1985 named "Colourbox". This featured their most well known song, "The Moon Is Blue"; despite never charting in the main charts, it was still a massive hit in the indie dance scene. At one point, they released a track called "The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme" was almost chosen as the theme tune for the BBC's coverage of the 1986 World Cup. Things were going well for Colourbox.
At this time, another group signed to 4AD. A.R. Kane consisted of Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala, they formed after watching a performance of the Cocteau Twins on Channel 4. Their first release, "When You're Sad" was released on One Little Indian in 1986; their next song "Lollita" was released on 4AD in 1987. After the release of the track, A.R. Kane asked the label that they wanted to work with Adrian Sherwood on their next material. Ivo had a better idea, the duo should collaborate with Colourbox on a project together. Both bands agreed, not knowing what was to happen next.
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| M/A/R/R/S - Photo: 4AD |
At first, both A.R. Kane and Colourbox struggled to gel their sounds together. The producer, John Fryer, was finding it hard to get both bands to find a common ground. This lead to both bands making a song each, with both then adding additional sounds for the final format. Colourbox's song was "Pump Up The Volume", consisting of 29 samples from Eric B & Rakim, James Brown, Criminal Element Orchestra etc. Turntable scratches came from DJs CJ Mackintosh and Dave Dorrell. The distorted guitar sounds were created from A.R Kane.
A.R. Kane's song was "Anitina (The First Time I See She Dance)", featuring drum beats by Colourbox. It may have not been full of sample as "Pump Up The Volume", but it stood out as its own song. Colourbox were not sure about the song and tried to convince Ivo that "Pump Up The Volume" should be released and not "Anitina". Ivo was not impressed and told them that A.R. Kane would not be happy if they were singled out of the project and it would have meant that the track would be delayed for another few months. The two tracks were completed and now the project needed a name. M/A/R/R/S was chosen; M for Martyn, A for Alex, R for Rudy, R for Ivo Watts-Russell and S for Steven. It was now time for the project to be released into the world.
M/A/R/R/S would release the two tracks into the club as promos without the name of the band, probably because it would turn many heads away if people found out this was a 4AD project. "Pump Up The Volume" would turn out to be popular in clubs and was commercially released on the 3rd of August 1987. On its first week of release, it debuted at #35 in the UK Singles Charts; it would reach as high as #2 in the UK two weeks later after it was released on CD. However, the song at the top of "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley, produced by Stock Aitken Waterman.
S.A.W. were not happy with M/A/R/R/S as they sent an injunction to the band saying that they stole a seven second sample from their song "Roadblock". Pete Waterman called the situation 'wholesale theft', with some people calling hypocrisy after some found out that S.A.W. had sampled Colonel Abram's "Trapped" for "Never Gonna Give You Up". S.A.W. would withdraw the injunction as Waterman was worried it would damage the sales of the 7" version, which did not contain the offending sample. M/A/R/R/S and S.A.W. would settle out of court and "Pump Up The Volume" eventually made it to #1 in the UK Singles Charts where it remained for two weeks. 4AD had finally made it to the top of the charts, with a groundbreaking dance song that caused nightmares to create.
Around this time, 4AD had signed the Pixies, an American band that would go on to transform the sound of alternative music and inspire Nirvana's mammoth hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Other releases during the making and release of "Pump Up The Volume" came from Dead Can Dance, Throwing Muses, Pieter Nooten & Michael Brook, Xymox and Frazier Chorus. These sounds may have not been similar to the sounds of house but it would go on to keep the spirit of 4AD going. Colourbox and A.R. Kane, however, had left the label after "Pump Up The Volume"; the headaches the project formed was too much and both groups would go their own ways. Colourbox split up and A.R. Kane signed to Rough Trade until the label's demise in 1991.
The success of "Pump Up The Volume" would be felt all over the world in the next few years. Projects such as S'Xpress, Beatmasters, Bomb The Bass and Coldcut experimented with samples and made tracks that would also make it into the Top 10 charts. "Pump Up The Volume" was parodied by a novelty group by Star Turn on 45 (Pints) named "Pump Up The Bitter", it reached #12 in the UK Singles Charts in 1988. From there, stars were created, especially with the influential Italo House track "Ride On Time" by Black Box. It would be at this point where house music would evolve into the Second Summer Of Love in 1989 and the early 90s underground rave scene. Today, house music remains dominant in the UK. Since 2020, there have been 11 dance songs that have got to #1 in the UK Singles Charts and, as of recently, dance music is currently escalating in popularity as it has provided more hits in the charts.
4AD chose not to go down the route of dance music, instead sticking to what originally made the label what it was before M/A/R/R/S. The label is currently enjoying success in its own ways. In 2017, the National became the first band on 4AD to secure a UK #1 album with "Sleep Well Beast". Other signings such as Grimes, Daughter, Dry Cleaning, The Breeders, Big Thief, Stornoway and Future Islands have experienced success on the label. But none of these releases have come close to what M/A/R/R/S had found itself in. Not only did "Pump Up The Volume" become a massive club hit, it has gone on to transform the modern sound of the dance music industry that we listen to today.
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