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Biography
Infobox musical artist| | name = Electronic| image = Electronic band.png| caption = Bernard Sumner (left) and Johnny Marr (right) of Electronic| background = group_or_band| origin = Manchester , United Kingdom| genre = Alternative dance | years_active = 1988 Melody Maker, 13 April 1991-1999 (on indefinite hiatus) | label = Parlophone , Factory Records|Factory EMI | associated_acts = New Order The Smiths Pet Shop Boys Joy Division Bad Lieutenant (band)|Bad Lieutenant | current_members = Bernard Sumner Johnny Marr | past_members = Neil Tennant Karl Bartos Electronic were an alternative dance Supergroup (music)|supergroup formed by New Order singer and guitarist Bernard Sumner and ex- The Smiths|Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr . They co-wrote the majority of their output between 1989 and 1998,Ref_label|a|a|none collaborating with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe , of the Pet Shop Boys , on three tracks in their early years, and former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos on nine songs in 1995.
History
The two first met in 1984 when the Smiths guitarist contributed to a Quando Quango track that Sumner was producing. Later in 1988, Sumner was frustrated because his New Order bandmates were not receptive to his desire to add synth programming to their music.Q& A: Bernard Sumner , Spin (magazine)|Spin , Sep. 21, 2009 http://www.spin.com/articles/qa-bernard-sumner link He decided to produce a solo album but found that he did not enjoy working alone, so he called Marr for help. Q , July 1991
Inspired by contemporary dance music like Italo house and acts such as Technotronic (Sumner even did a remix of Technotronic's " Rockin' Over the Beat " in 1990), their initial concept was to release white label records on Factory Records|Factory and remain an anonymous entity, Reflex , November 1991 Uncut , April 1999 Q , September 2007 in contrast to their considerable reputations with The Smiths and New Order. The track "Lucky Bag" and the name Electronic itself are two of the vestiges of this initial approach. In 1989, Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant suggested a collaboration when he heard of the budding partnership through sleeve designer Mark Farrow Citation needed|date=September 2009 .
The fruits of this union became " Getting Away with It ", Electronic's debut single which was released in December 1989 and sold around a quarter of a million copiesCitation needed|date=September 2009. The drums on this record were played by ABC (band)|ABC 's David Palmer and the string arrangement was written by Anne Dudley . It was a Top 40 hit in America the following spring and they toured in support for Depeche Mode in August, 1990. After this success, Sumner and Marr took a more commercial direction, blending synthesizers, guitars and analogue technology whilst retaining the template of contemporary alternative rock.
Albums
Electronic
Main|Electronic (album)After a year of intensive recording (and eighteen months after "Getting Away with It"), the debut album Electronic (album)|Electronic was released to critical acclaim Melody Maker , 25 May 1991 NME , 25 May 1991 (8/10) Spin , June 1991 Entertainment Weekly , 21 June 1991 (A) Q , July 1991 (5/5) and domestic commercial success,BPI Award, July 1991 ( http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp? rq=search_plat& r_id=1287 link) featuring the Top 10 single " Get the Message (song)|Get the Message " and another Top 40 single, " Feel Every Beat ". The album sold over a million copies worldwide.Warner Bros press release, June 1996
As well as its fusion with rock and pop, Electronic continued their interest in Electronic dance music|dance music by inviting DJs to remix their singles and album tracks; this was a trend that continued throughout their career. Prominent acts that worked on Electronic songs around this period include Danny Rampling , DNA, Dave Shaw and Quando Quango founder and The Haηienda|Haηienda DJ Mike Pickering .
After the first album was released and promoted, Marr and Sumner recorded albums with The The and New Order respectively, regrouping with Neil Tennant in 1992 to record their fourth and highest-charting single " Disappointed ", which had been played live on a short tour of Europe the previous December.
Raise the Pressure
Main|Raise the PressureElectronic was resumed when these activities ended, and work began on the second album in late 1994. The core duo was joined by Karl Bartos, ex-percussionist and songwriter with Kraftwerk (of whom both Sumner and fellow Joy Division member Ian Curtis were fans), who commuted to Manchester for the writing sessions.
After a long period of mixing, Raise the Pressure was eventually released in July 1996 on the Parlophone label in the UK and Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros. Like its predecessor it fused dance music with a guitar-led approach, but some reviewers felt its production was too rich and distracted from the songs. The album spawned two guitar oriented singles, " Forbidden City (Electronic song)|Forbidden City " UK #14 and " For You (Electronic song)|For You " UK #16, with the dancier " Second Nature (Electronic song)|Second Nature " issued in February 1997 and reaching UK #35.
Twisted Tenderness
Main|Twisted TendernessElectronic did not promote Raise the Pressure with a tour, although they performed its singles live on television shows like Top of the Pops and TFI Friday . Instead, they chose to swiftly record their third album. This was to be a reaction to the lengthy processes behind Raise the Pressure , with an emphasis on writing and demoing songs quickly before recording them. City Life , 31 March 1999 Marr and Sumner were joined by Doves (band)|Doves bassist Jimi Goodwin and Black Grape drummer Ged Lynch , and together they made the album Twisted Tenderness as a more conventional four-piece group. The album did not return the group to their early nineties levels of popularity but was well received by the critics. Melody Maker , 24 April 1999 (3.5/5) NME , 17 April 1999 (7/10) Q , May 1999 (4/5) Uncut , May 1999 (4/5)
Current status
Neither Sumner nor Marr has gone on record with any formal dissolution of the band despite both having moved onto other projects. However, in 2003 Marr did agree that the band had reached "its natural conclusion" and was happy with the way it ended on a positive note.'Undercover magazine interview with Johnny Marr', March 23, 2003. http://www.makio-marr.org/jm/articles/uc.htm link Sumner recorded with New Order again and in 2009 formed a new band - Bad Lieutenant (band)|Bad Lieutenant . Marr has since worked with many acts, including Johnny Marr and the Healers|The Healers , Pet Shop Boys , The Cribs and Modest Mouse . Marr and Sumner played with the Doves for the Manchester v Cancer charity concert of January 2006 and the compilation album Get the Message - The Best of Electronic|Get the Message - The Best of was released that September to mild promotion and sales UK #194.
Discography
Infobox artist discography| Artist = Electronic | Image = | Caption = | Alt = | Studio = 3 | Live = | Compilation = 1 | EP = | Singles = 13 | B-sides = | Soundtrack =
Albums
Year
Title
Chart positions
Certifications ( List of music recording sales certifications
U.K. cite web
AUS cite web
U.S. cite web
1991
Electronic (album)
Release date: May 1991
Label: Factory Records
2
42
109
align="left"
British Phonographic Industry|UK : Gold cite web|url= http://tsort.info/music/ay1991.htm
British Phonographic Industry|UK : Silvercite web | title = British certificates: searchable database | url = http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx | publisher = bpi.co.uk |accessdate=30 June 2010
1999
Twisted Tenderness
Release date: April 1999
Label: Parlophone
9
align="left"
2006
Get the Message The Best of Electronic
Release date: September 2006
Label: EMI
194
align="left"
"" denotes releases that did not chart.
Singles
Year
Title
Album
Chart positions
U.K.
AUS
IRL cite web
N.Z. cite web
U.S. Hot 100 cite web
U.S. Club Play
U.S. Dance Sales
US Modern Rock
1989
" Getting Away with It "
Electronic
12
40
32
38
7
13
4
1991
" Get the Message (song)
8
8
15
1
" Tighten Up (Electronic song)
6
" Feel Every Beat "
39
28
27
1992
" Disappointed "
Cool World (soundtrack)
6
17
10
6
9
1996
" Forbidden City (Electronic song)
Raise the Pressure
14
" For You (Electronic song)
16
1997
" Second Nature (Electronic song)
35
" Until the End of Time (Electronic song)
1999
" Prodigal Son (Electronic song)
Twisted Tenderness
" Vivid (Electronic song)
17
" Make It Happen (Electronic song)
" Late at Night (Electronic song)
"" denotes releases that did not chart.
Music videos
Year
Title
Director
1989
"Getting Away with It"
Chris Marker
1990
"Getting Away with It" (US Version)
Greg Copeland and Judith Briant
1991
"Get the Message"
Gunther Deichman
"Feel Every Beat"
Peter Scammell
1992
"Disappointed"
Howard Greenhalgh
1996
"Forbidden City"
Tom Merriton
"For You"
Richard Heslop
1999
"Vivid"
Nick Wood
"Late at Night"
Jason Smith
"Late at Night" (Version 2)
Jason Smith
Notes
a. Note_label|a|a|none Twisted Tenderness was finished by late 1998; the earliest promotional copies were released the following February.
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.feeleverybeat.co.uk/ feel every beat (unofficial website)
Electronic discography DEFAULTSORT:Electronic Category:English electronic music groups Category:English rock music groups Category:Supergroups (music) Category:Musical groups from Manchester Category:Musical groups established in 1988 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1999 Category:Factory Records artists
