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Utah Saints | |
|---|---|
 Utah Saints performing a live set in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Harrogate,North Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | London,Echo,Ministry of Sound |
| Members | Jez Willis Tim Garbutt |
| Past members | Keith Langley Lee Dyson Pellegrino Riccardi |
| Website | utahsaints |
Utah Saints are an Englishelectronic music duo consisting of members Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt. The band had three top-ten and another five top-40 singles on theUK Singles Chart in the 1990s,[1] as well as number-one dance tracks in the UK and US. They were notable for pioneering use ofsampling technology, in particular, their practice of manipulating samples from mainstream pop, rock, R&B and soul songs and combining them with contrasting dance beats, using the samples in a new context.[citation needed] The band wrote, produced and mixed all of their own music.The duo were joined on stage by additional musicians when they played live from 1991 to 2001. They were one of the first electronic groups to play as a live collective[citation needed] and supported boththe Shamen andU2 live at 10 stadium shows. Since then the duo have performed live sets themselves.
Utah Saints ran clubs from 1988 to 1994, particularly Ricky's and The Gallery (later the Pleasure Rooms). They booked new DJs, includingPete Tong,Carl Cox,Paul Oakenfold,Sasha,Justice,Annie Mac andZane Lowe. They then ran their own Sugarbeat club night from 1998 to 2010 in Leeds, Edinburgh and London, booking a diverse range of acts such as Soulwax, Erol Alkan, Felix Da Housecat, Zane Lowe, Annie Mac and Tiga. They continue to book electronic acts and DJs, curating a stage at Beatherder Festival for three days every year since 2007.
They had five further UK top 40 singles including a top 10 between 2000 and 2012, and continue to produce music, DJ in clubs and at festivals, promote nights, curate festival stages and write music for film, trailers and games.
Utah Saints were described as "the first true stadium house band" bythe KLF'sBill Drummond, though their music is difficult to place into one genre. The dance group originally met as music promoters and DJs for the Mix Nightclub inHarrogate in the early 1990s.[2] They began as MDMA (Mega Dance Metal Allegiance),[3] featuring two formerThe Cassandra Complex members Jez Willis and Keith Langley, along with Bobby Rae and guitarist Martin Scott. Willis started The Utah Saints with the addition of Tim Garbutt.[2] Langley played the drums with the band in the early days and has provided artwork and photography for a number of their releases.
They first hadchart success under the name Utah Saints with the singles "What Can You Do For Me" (UK No. 10), "Something Good" (their biggest UK success at No. 4) and "Believe in Me", a UK No. 8 chart hit,[2][1] which they described as their vocalsample trilogy. "What Can You Do For Me" featured samples fromEurythmics' "There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)" andGwen Guthrie's "Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent". "Something Good" heavily sampledKate Bush's "Cloudbusting" and "Believe in Me" was based on "Love Action" byHuman League and "You Gave Me Love" byCrown Heights Affair.[2] The fourth single "I Want You" was based around a sample from theSlayer song "War Ensemble".[2]
Contrary to rumours, the band was not sued by Kate Bush over the use of a sample from Bush's track "Cloudbusting", in the Utah Saints track "Something Good" – the sample was legally cleared before use.[4] Additionally, Bush sold Utah Saints footage from the video of her original song.[5] This track, with new vocals by the singer and actress Davina Perera, experienced a revival in theclubs in 2008 and reached No. 1 onUK Dance Chart. The track featured newremixes by Van She,High Contrast, Prok & Fitch, eSquire,Ian Carey and more.[6]
Utah Saints then moved away from vocal samples with singles such as "I Want You" (samplingthrash metal bandSlayer)[2] and "I Still Think of You" (Jez Willis providing original vocals on both). The latter was on the soundtrack to the filmShopping and DJ Tim briefly appears in the film[7] Utah Saints also had three songs — "Hands Up", "Techknowledgy" and "Sick" — featured in the hit video gameCarmageddon TDR2000. Their song "Sick" was included on the 2002 PlayStation 2 soundtrackWipeout Fusion. Another single, "Power To The Beats" featured on theFIFA 2001 football game.
After their debut album, the self-titledUtah Saints, and one further single "Ohio", which was based around samples from theJocelyn Brown song "Somebody Else's Guy"[2] and "That's The Way I Like It" byKC & the Sunshine Band, Utah Saints seemed to disappear for several years. They were busy doing remixes (for artists includingBlondie,The Human League,Hawkwind,Simple Minds,James,Annie Lennox andThe Osmonds and the theme to the 1995 movieMortal Kombat), and producing tracks for other artists such asTerrorvision. During this time, they recorded an album that was to be called 'Wired World' but was never released, and produced a handful of tracks that have not been released, with titles such as "Star", "Train" and "Rock".
The Utah Saints then took a break, saying that they stopped before they got into a vicious cycle of people expecting them to come up with hits, and instead write music they wanted to hear.[citation needed] Garbutt toured the United States withOrbital,Moby andAphex Twin, whilst Willis appeared on the dance music radio stationKiss 105 in Yorkshire, hosting a popular Sunday night show on the history of dance music.[8]
They reappeared in late 1999 with charting singles "Love Song" and "Funky Music Sho' 'Nuff Turns Me On" (featuringEdwin Starr on guest vocals),[1] plus "Power to the Beats" and "Lost Vagueness" (featuringChrissie Hynde). They also issued the album,Two, which included samples fromMichael Stipe fromR.E.M.,Joyce Sims, and a track with a sample fromMetallica - the first time a sample had been cleared by the band, with featured vocals byChuck D fromPublic Enemy, andEdwin Starr
In 2000, Utah Saints did the soundtrack for the video gameCarmageddon TDR2000 along with "Power to the Beats" being featured onFIFA 2001. In 2001, they supportedFeeder on the second leg of their UK tour with a DJ set. In 2002, they went quiet again, resurfacing in 2008 with a single release.
They have been working on projects under other names, such as BeatVandals, as well as developing their regularLeeds andEdinburgh-based club night 'SugarBeatClub'. They opened a new recording studio on the outskirts of Leeds with fellow Leeds DJs and producersRiley & Durrant in 2008.
In 2007, their hit "Something Good" was remixed by Australian producersVan She. Originally a bootleg, the Utah Saints approved it and facilitated a re-record with a new vocal performance, overseeing final production and edits. It was signed to theMinistry of Sound record label, who released it in January 2008, where it reached No. 8 in the UK chart – their second biggest chart success, behind the original version of "Something Good". The video for "Something Good 08" featured people doing the "running man" dance that was originally performed byMC Hammer. The track was the most played single in 2008 on BBC Radio 1.[citation needed]
Released oniTunes on 11 January 2009 was the Utah Saints' club mix ofGirls Aloud's "The Loving Kind". In November 2009, the band produced a remix of the Liverpool-based dance duo Killaflaw's "Set Me on Fire". This formed part of Killaflaw's third single and was made available digitally in December of that year. Utah Saints remixed the band "Bring Me The Horizon" the same year.
In August 2010, Utah Saints announced the launch of a new record label called Sugarbeat. The first release was Santero's "Drop the Bomb".[9] Utah Saints played the Together Winter Music Festival in London at the Alexandra Palace on 26 November 2010. Then went to play Beat-Herder festival, on the Toiltrees stage, in 2012.
In 2012, "What Can You Do For Me" was remixed by drum and bass duoDrumsound & Bassline Smith. Utah Saints then added to the remix and the track became a collaboration, received airplay, entered the top 10 on the dance chart and the top 30 in the national chart. Hervé and Tantrum Desire provided new 2012 remixes for the song, the remix by Herve was made to sound like a remix of the original 1990s single, so Herve cut out the new material performed byDrumsound & Bassline Smith. "What Can You Do For Me" peaked at No. 28 on the UK Singles Chart. It was included on the 2012 edition ofMinistry of Sound's Addicted To Bass series. The Cut-Up Boys mashed up "What Can You Do For Me" with "Midnight Run" byExample andFeed Me.
In 2015, Utah Saints released one copy of a work in progress track titled "Swansong D'Amour" which was played on BBC by Mistajam.
Utah Saints revealed on Twitter in October 2021 that they captured crowd noises from fans celebrating theToronto Blue Jays victory during the1992 World Series over theAtlanta Braves. The band says they captured these sounds and incorporated them into performance.[10]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [12] | AUS [13] | CAN [14] | FIN [15] | US [16] | US Heat [16] | |||||||||
| Utah Saints |
| 10 | 111 | 49 | 38 | 165 | 6 | |||||||
| Two |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Title | EP details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [16] | US Heat [16] | ||
| Something Good |
| 182 | 6 |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [18] | AUS [19] | FIN [15] | GER [20] | IRE [21] | ITA [22] | NLD [23] | NZ [24] | SWE [25] | US [26] | ||||
| 1991 | "What Can You Do for Me" | 10 | 90 | — | — | 16 | 23 | — | — | 35 | — | Utah Saints | |
| 1992 | "Something Good" | 4 | 10 | 10 | — | 4 | — | — | 42 | — | 98 | ||
| 1993 | "Believe in Me" | 8 | 92 | 15 | 100 | 9 | — | — | — | 20 | — | ||
| "I Want You" | 25 | — | — | — | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1994 | "I Still Think of You" | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| 1995 | "Ohio" | 42 | 145 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000 | "Love Song" | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Two | |
| "Funky Music"(featuringEdwin Starr) | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Power to the Beats"(featuringChuck D) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2001 | "Lost Vagueness"(featuringChrissie Hynde) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "Something Good '08" | 8 | 32 | — | — | 22 | — | 29 | — | — | — |
| Non-album singles |
| 2010 | "Getting Better"(withIan Watkins) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012 | "What Can You Do for Me" (withDrumsound & Bassline Smith) | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013 | "I Got 5 on It"(with Rory Lyons) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
