Shut Up And Dance
Real Name:
Philip Anthony Johnson (PJ) & Carlton Nevile Hyman (Smiley)
Profile:
Smiley, PJ, DJ Daddy & DJ Hype had built a sound system called Heatwave. They broke into many buildings to start their own illegal raves back in 1986. Smiley & PJ were rappers on the sound system but were also trying to get a record deal. No one would sign them up, and so they started their own label, Shut Up And Dance Records. The name came from the title of one of the songs on their demo tape.
Their first release was a track titled "5,6,7,8", which was sold straight out of the boot of PJ’s Ford Escort, with follow-ups such as "£10.00 To Get In", "£20.00 To Get In", "Lamborghini", & "Derek Went Mad" (Dance Before The Police Come album), which were all massive underground anthems. The follow up album Death Is Not The End contained such monsters as "Raving Im Raving" & "The Green Man". Success brought expansion, and expansion brought artists such as Ragga Twins, The (Reggae Owes Me Money-Album), Nicolette (Now Is Early-Album), Peter Bouncer And Ad’e to name a few. All the above artist were produced by Shut Up & Dance and soon other artists were signed to the label who produced their own music: Codine, MC Duke, Cedrick Winkelburger etc.
Smiley & PJ also started other labels, such as Red Light (2) (Drum & Bass), Ruff Quality Recordings (Experimental Breaks) & the more recent New Deal Recordings, which is a 2 Step/Garage breakbeat outlet responsible for such classics as True Vip & Holdtight .
The SUAD label is the foundation which holds it all together.
Their first release was a track titled "5,6,7,8", which was sold straight out of the boot of PJ’s Ford Escort, with follow-ups such as "£10.00 To Get In", "£20.00 To Get In", "Lamborghini", & "Derek Went Mad" (Dance Before The Police Come album), which were all massive underground anthems. The follow up album Death Is Not The End contained such monsters as "Raving Im Raving" & "The Green Man". Success brought expansion, and expansion brought artists such as Ragga Twins, The (Reggae Owes Me Money-Album), Nicolette (Now Is Early-Album), Peter Bouncer And Ad’e to name a few. All the above artist were produced by Shut Up & Dance and soon other artists were signed to the label who produced their own music: Codine, MC Duke, Cedrick Winkelburger etc.
Smiley & PJ also started other labels, such as Red Light (2) (Drum & Bass), Ruff Quality Recordings (Experimental Breaks) & the more recent New Deal Recordings, which is a 2 Step/Garage breakbeat outlet responsible for such classics as True Vip & Holdtight .
The SUAD label is the foundation which holds it all together.
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Reviews & Discussion
Review by
Jul 20, 2001
(edited over 8 years ago)
They may or may not go down in history for this, but the fact is that SUAD invented Jungle. Yes I did say invented. Listen to '£10 to get in' and you'll see what I mean. There influence in creating a London specifc variation of the Northern noisy techno scene of the early nineties is nothing short of creative genius, and was to evolve into the 'ragga' style of jungle that is so established today.
The importance of Shut Up & Dance can never be underestimated. They were pioneers of the whole breakbeat rave sound along with the likes of Rob Playford and Altern-8. This was music to dance to. Simple yet so effective.
Shut up & Dance can, more than anyone, lay claim to having pretty much invented jungle. When Acid House was still the in thing, Shut Up & Dance were adding breakbeats to the formula with dark twisted basslines and atmospherics, making records that sounded so unique.
I've often said that breaks has never been the same since the old rave days, the tunes don't have the same bounce, melody or groove. Modern breaks artist should look at how these tunes were made and take note. We don't want to hear uber produced tunes with god knows how many sequences or layers. We want tunes to dance to. You only need to listen to the eerie "Dance Before The Police Come" or "£10 to get in" or "The Green Man" to hear their genius. That's also without mentioning the infamous "Raving I'm Raving".
I'm not even going to write about their record label either 'cos i'd be here all day. Sometimes i feel that the whole DIY ethic is missing from dance today which is a shame. There's no feeling of unity anymore because money killed it. Shut Up & Dance, we salute you for doing you own thing. Thanks.
Shut up & Dance can, more than anyone, lay claim to having pretty much invented jungle. When Acid House was still the in thing, Shut Up & Dance were adding breakbeats to the formula with dark twisted basslines and atmospherics, making records that sounded so unique.
I've often said that breaks has never been the same since the old rave days, the tunes don't have the same bounce, melody or groove. Modern breaks artist should look at how these tunes were made and take note. We don't want to hear uber produced tunes with god knows how many sequences or layers. We want tunes to dance to. You only need to listen to the eerie "Dance Before The Police Come" or "£10 to get in" or "The Green Man" to hear their genius. That's also without mentioning the infamous "Raving I'm Raving".
I'm not even going to write about their record label either 'cos i'd be here all day. Sometimes i feel that the whole DIY ethic is missing from dance today which is a shame. There's no feeling of unity anymore because money killed it. Shut Up & Dance, we salute you for doing you own thing. Thanks.