DRINKS for everyone in the house - it's time to celebrate! Why? Because the Loaded Lads have finally got their own club anthem, a paean to the indomitable, er, spirit of laddism, a marching tune for the mildly inebriated and mad for it generation. It is, of course, Underworld's Born Slippy, and it staggers elegantly on a repeated "lager, lager, lager ..." hook, intoning that magical five letter word like a mystical Budist mantra. It's also a top tune, going over the limit on break beats and tripped out melodies, and well deserving of its continued Top 10 success.
Underworld are three blokes: vocalist/ guitarist Karl Hyde, keyboardist/ technohead Rick Smith and DJ/remixer Darren Emerson, and together they've created some of the most innovative sounds in UK dance music, not to mention giving a few beer monsters something to sing about. Their debut album, Duhnobasswithmyheadman, is an acknowledged classic of its genre, and when it was released in 1994, critics compared it to Primal Scream's landmark Screamadelica album. But, while Bobby Gillespie followed up Screamadelica by rolling off on a Stones trip, Underworld went on to surpass their debut effort with last year's superb Second Toughest In The Infants. Born Slippy is the band's first Top 10 hit single, but when it was released back in March, it slid practically out of view. Soon after, however, it featured on the Trainspotting soundtrack where it caught the attention of the Man in the Pub. When it was finally re released, it gatecrashed the Top 10 with a vengeance, causing hordes of men behaving badly to rush headlong for the floor at dancehalls around the country.
Things haven't always gone so swimmingly for thirtysomethings Karl Hyde and Rick Smith - back in 1982, the pair formed a band called Freur, a sort of electronic New Romantic band which laboured under the misapprehension that they were "funky". Despite having a No 1 hit in Italy with a tune entitled Doot Doot, Freur sank without a trace, but Rick and Karl muddled on as part of a seven piece funk rock band, touring America with Eurythmics and scoring a No 1 hit in Australia. Once again, alas, everything fell apart before it could come together, and the band jacked it in, Rick returning to his home town of Romford to get married, and Karl staying in the US to work as a session guitarist. The only thing they took away with them from their second ill fated combo was the name: Underworld.
It was a timely meeting between Rick Smith and Darren Emerson which sowed the seeds for the true emergence of Underworld into the forefront of 1990s dance. The youngest of the three by at least 10 years, Emerson is one of Britain's hottest DJ's, and he provided the vital third side to the perfect pop pyramid which Karl and Rick had been trying to construct for years. The trio's first single, Mmmm, Skyscraper I Love You, on the Junior Boys Own label, was hailed as a groundbreaking debut, but seemed to stick out like a sore thumb among the more conventional dance tunes of the day. Cult status quickly beckoned, though, and further singles Rez, Spikee and Dark & Long earned plaudits in the music press, and a growing underground following.
ON Friday at The Point, Underworld fans will go overground for a night in front of the big speakers which is being headlined by Iceland's coolest clubber, Bjork. Don't underestimate the pulling power of the support act, however, and don't expect their audience to consist solely of lager lads. Underworld are the hot choice for young dance fans, while the bloke element will probably be more interested in leering at the diminutive Icelandic goddess. Besides, according to Karl Hyde, Born Slippy is merely an observation on drunkenness, and not a celebration of it, but hey, let's not let a bit of irony get in the way of a good night out. All together now: lager, lager lager, lager, lager, lager...
