EMF
We are absiolutely thrilled to announce Gloucestershire Legends EMF are playing Nibley Festival this year. There is a genuine buzz of excitement in the Nibley team camp to have been able to book such an iconic act.
British dance-rock quintet EMF formed in Cinderford, England in October 1989. All five original members were veterans of the local music scene before founding EMF, whose name supposedly stood for “Epsom Mad Funkers" (although it was widely speculated that the initials instead represented a less family friendly title). Within two months of formation, the group played its first gig; after unearthing a Casio sampler and sequencer in a local thrift shop, a light techno element was added to their rock-oriented sound.
Their debut album, SCHUBERT DIP, was released in May 1991. It was certified platinum (over a million copies sold) in the US in September 1991. It had reached a peak chart position of #3 in the UK and #12 in the US, as well as finishing the year at #57 overall. By the end of 1991, their infectious debut single “Unbelievable” had conquered the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 in the UK. The single was certi fied gold (over 500,000 copies sold) in the US in May 1991. The song was in such heavy rotation for most of the year in America, that it finished as the #6 single overall for the year.
Further hit singles that succeeded “Unbelievable” included “I Believe,” “Children” and “Lies.”
In 1992, EMF returned with the Unexplained EP and the much darker full- length effort STIGMA; STIGMA peaked at #19 on the UK charts, and the band toured extensively to promote it. It produced hit singles and EMF live set favourites, “They’re Here” and “It’s You.”
The band released their final full-length album of new material with the original line-up in 1995 with CHA CHA CHA. After a successful European tour, they teamed up with comics Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer on a cover of the Monkees' "I'm a Believer,” which reached number 2 on the UK charts.
The band reunited in the summer of 2001 and released a Greatest Hits CD THE BEST OF EMF: EPSOM MAD
FUNKERS, featured 2 discs: the first had a collection of singles and fan favourite album tracks, along with 2 brand new tracks: "Incredible" and "Let's Go." The second disc had popular remixes.
The band were primed to write new material and tour more extensively but the sudden passing of bassist Zac Foley on January 2, 2002 shocked the band into silence. The remaining 4 original members spent several years focusing their time on personal projects and their families.
Happily the band reunited in 2007 and have been steadily doing festivals and live shows in the years since. In 2020, the band released a career-spanning vinyl box set and have spent most of 2020 and 2021 celebrating 30 years of EMF. The band surprised fans by telling them that profits from the merchandise sold was being used to record a new album,released in 2023 . GO GO SAPIENS the first album of all new material since 1995 has been followed in 2024 by THE BEAUTY AND THE CHAOS with accompanying single "Hello People" a sublime pop song with a call to arms with tolerance against the hate-myths of immigaration which features Stephen Fry.
Disclaimer - Parents with younger children please be advised they still use the term “mutha funker” more than a Samuel L Jackson character in a Tarantino film! This is reflected in theior performance time.
Performing on Saturday
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