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808 State are an English Dance outfit formed in 1988 in Manchester , taking their name from the Roland TR-808 Drum Machine . Widely regarded as one of the pioneers of Acid House , they were formed by Graham Massey , Martin Price and Gerald Simpson (later to record as A Guy Called Gerald ) and released their debut ''Newbuild'' in 1988. Autechre and Aphex Twin have often cited ''Newbuild'' as being enormously influential, and the group achieved some degree of chart success in the UK in the early 1990s with releases "Pacific State", "Cubik" and "In yer face". HISTORY The group 808 State was formed in 1988 in Manchester, England. They were considered pioneers of the Acid House sound, a staple and foundation of Rave Music . Martin Price, who owned a popular and legendary record store called Eastern Bloc and who founded the independent label Creed, joined up with producer and local musician Graham Massey. They teamed up with Gerald Simpson, who collaborated the effort. At this time, 808 State recorded the debut ''EP Newbuild'', in 1988. MC Tunes (real name ''Nicky Lockett'') was a Manchester Rapper , who worked with the band on the 1990 album, ''The North At Its Heights''. The album was a moderate success, reaching #26 in the UK Chart s, and also saw European and Japanese release. It spawned three UK singles, ''The Only Rhyme That Bites'' (UK #10), ''Tunes Split The Atom'' (UK #18) and ''Primary Rhyming'' (UK #67). Tunes later returned in 1996 to work with on a new track, ''Pump'', taken from their album ''Thermo Kings''. It was due to be released as a single, but this never happened. Simpson left the group in 1989 to form his own solo project, A Guy called Gerald. His biggest song being Voodoo Ray. At this point, the remaining personnel enlisted ) and ex- Sugarcubes vocalist Björk . In 1992, Price left the group to do solo producing, eventually forming his own label, Sun Text. The remaining members released a fourth album called Gorgeous, and after that, did some remix work for David Bowie , Soundgarden , and other performers, before returning with the album entitled ''Don Solaris'' in 1996. They released a greatest-hits compilation named ''808:88-98'' in 1998. The band is still active, touring and performing DJ sets, and releasing albums and singles to the dance and rave scene. PSEUDONYMS AND SIDE PROJECTS 808 State and its various members have recorded under a variety of pseudonyms. An early EP, containing the tracks ''Massage-a-Rama'' and ''Sex Mechanic'', was released under the name Lounge Jays. These tracks have since been re-released by Rephlex Records on the ''Prebuild'' LP. Another early EP, ''Wax on the Melt'', was released under the name '''Hit Squad Mcr'''. This is the only EP to which all five members of the group (Graham Massey, Martin Price, Gerald Simpson, Andrew Barker and Darren Partington) contributed simultaneously. Graham Massey recorded a solo EP under the name Massonix. He was also a member of Biting Tongues , an experimental Jazz Rock group signed to Factory Records . Martin Price left 808 State in 1991 and released a couple of EPs under the name Switzerland. Andrew Barker has produced a small number of tracks as Atlas while Darren Partington has recorded under the name '''Jeep'''. Together they're perhaps more familiar to Sunset 102FM listeners as '''The Spinmasters'''. TRIVIA
BAND MEMBERS
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Discography trivia
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