Shut Up and Dance

Shut Up and Dance are an English duo that fused hip hop, house and hardcore. They are acknowledged as one of the pioneers of breakbeat hardcore and jungle music. Career The group was formed in 1988 in Stoke Newington, London, by Philip 'PJ' Johnson and Carlton 'Smiley' Hyman. In 1990, they made the lower end of the UK chart with two singles, "£10 to Get In" and "Lamborghini", both released on their own record label, Shut Up and Dance Records. At this time, they also worked with the Ragga Twins for the first time and produced their first releases. In 1992, they reached No. 43 with their double A-side single "Autobiography of a Crackhead / The Green Man", before hitting the headlines in May of that year when they released "Raving I'm Raving", based on Marc Cohn's hit single "Walking in Memphis". Upon its release, Cohn obtained an injunction to stop production of further copies of the single due to the lack of clearance. A court order was also sought to prevent the sale of any copies already produced, but Cohn was persuaded to allow such sales on condition that all the proceeds went to charity. This caused panic-buying of the copies on sale, as consumers knew that no more would be produced. The single soared to No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, but plummeted to No. 15 the following week, before leaving the chart completely. Nevertheless, the No. 2 chart position earned them a live performance slot on BBC One's Top of the Pops alongside Bassheads, Don-E and Lisa Stansfield on the 28 May 1992 episode, though as they could not perform the "Walking in Memphis" melody they had to sing the lyrics to another tune. Shut Up and Dance released one further single from their Death Is Not the End album, "The Art of Moving Butts", which featured singer Erin. The album itself reached No. 38 on the UK Albums Chart in June 1992.