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M|A|R|R|S
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
M|A|R|R|S was a one-off collaboration from 1987 between two groups on the London label 4AD: Colourbox, the brothers Martyn and Steve Young, and A.R. Kane, Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala. The name was formed from the members' first names. That one single showed how you could build a dance record out of pieces of other records.
Music and breakthrough
Pump Up the Volume was recorded at Blackwing Studios, a former church in south London. Martyn Young and engineer John Fryer made a tight house beat. The DJs C.J. Mackintosh and Dave Dorrell then added scratches and samples. The title phrase comes from I Know You Got Soul by Eric B. & Rakim, the oriental vocals of the Israeli singer Ofra Haza come from Im Nin'Alu, and there are drums from Kool & the Gang and the Bar-Kays. The single was released in August 1987 and in October spent two weeks at number 1 in England. It also reached number 1 in the Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand, and number 13 in the United States.
Influence
Stock Aitken Waterman took legal action to have a fragment of their Roadblock removed, and for the American release a shout by James Brown was also cut out. Since the early 1990s a sample has had to be cleared in advance. Pump Up the Volume is regarded as one of the first big British house hits and helped make British house and the building of records from samples popular. In April 1988 S'Express reached number 1 in England with Theme from S'Express, also a collage of samples.
Listening
Pump Up the Volume · M|A|R|R|S, 1987Apple Music ↗
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Mixtape 7: The 1980sNL Reader
- Mixtape 9: The InstrumentNL Reader