Beats International

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Beats International
Origin United Kingdom
Genre(s) Electronic
Years active 1989 - 1991
Label(s) Elektra Records
Telstar Records
Go! Beat
Members
Norman Cook
Lindy Layton
Lester Noel
David John-Baptiste
MC Wildski
Andy Boucher

Beats International was a British electronic music band, formed in the late 1980s by Norman Cook, after his departure from The Housemartins.

Contents

[edit] Career

A loose confederation of musicians, the line-up also included vocalists Lindy Layton, Lester Noel, David John-Baptiste, rapper MC Wildski, keyboardist Andy Boucher. Unusually, the band's live line-up also incorporated a graffiti artist, who would paint designs on a backdrop while the musicians played.

Their first album, Let Them Eat Bingo spawned the UK number one single "Dub Be Good to Me", a re-working of the S.O.S. Band's hit "Just Be Good to Me", based around a sample of the bassline from The Clash's "Guns of Brixton" and featuring Layton on vocals.

The second Beats International album was 1991's Excursion on the Version, which featured a greater use of dub and reggae sounds, but failed to repeat the success of its predecessor. This was the last Beats International recording, with Cook next going on to form Freakpower.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Year Album UK Albums Chart peak
1990 Let Them Eat Bingo
#17
1991 Excursion on the Version
-

[edit] Singles

Year Single UK US[1] US Dance Album
1990 "Dub Be Good to Me"
#1
#76
#1
Let Them Eat Bingo
"Won't Talk About It"
#9
#76
#4
"Burundi Blues"
#51
-
-
1991 "Echo Chamber"
#60
-
-
Excursion on the Version
"The Sun Doesn't Shine"
#66
-
-
"In the Ghetto"
#44
-
-
1992 "Change Your Mind"
-
-
#28

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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