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‘Dance legends’ – NME

‘Utah Saints – Legends in the game’ – Zane Lowe

‘These guys invented rave’ – Annie Mac – BBC Radio 1

‘The first true Stadium House band’ – The KLF 

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Pioneering UK electronic dance music artists Utah Saints reissue their eponymous debut album on October 19, 2024.

Utah Saints are one of the most important acts since the inception of the electronic dance music phenomenon. Early adopters of sampling, they brought the artform – used chiefly in hip-hop in the 1980s – into new realms.

Formed in Leeds in 1991, the group consisted of Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt. Jez, a former fanzine writer, mobile DJ and rock band bass player, and Tim, a skilled DMC finalist DJ from Harrogate, started collaborating when Jez brought Tim a rough track featuring an Annie Lennox sample. Their innovative use of samplers and turntables quickly became central to the Utah Saints signature sound.

Their debut track, ‘What Can You Do For Me,’ incorporated samples from Eurythmics and Gwen Guthrie. Pressing 1,000 orange vinyl records, they sent one to Pete Tong at BBC Radio 1, who played it immediately, leading to a slew of record labels vying to sign them. They chose London Records, where Tong was head of A&R. The immediate Top 10 success of this single led to a remix request from Annie Lennox herself for her single ‘Little Bird’, further boosting their profile.

Their next hit, the Top 5 ‘Something Good’, sampled Kate Bush’s ‘Cloudbusting’, and remains to this day the only sample usage Kate Bush has ever granted. The song’s iconic stuttering refrain ‘U-U-U-Utah Saints’ became widely recognized. This single’s success prompted the BBC to use it for their coverage of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. When the label realised that it was also going to be a massive hit, they promptly offered the guys an album deal.

The self-titled album went Top 10 in the UK and earned Utah Saints 3 x Top 10 singles (‘Something Good’, ‘What Can You Do For Me’, and ‘Believe In Me’). Recorded at Lion Studios in Leeds, the album skilfully mixed various genres and featured an adventurous selection of covers and samples from artists as diverse as Simple Minds, and Human League, to Sylvester and Slayer.

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As they developed into a live band in the early 90s incorporating rock, dance and hip-hop elements, playing bigger and bigger shows and conquering the charts, the sampler became their lead singer and turntable scratching acted as their lead guitarist.

The KLF’s Bill Drummond described Utah Saints as ‘the first true stadium house band’, an idea they ran with a year later, supporting U2 on the European leg of their Zoo TV Tour in 1993. Playing these massive gigs, they paved the way for future rock/rave acts like The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers.

Utah Saints’ have rightly earned their place as pioneering figures in electronic dance music, with ‘Something Good’ and ‘What Can You Do For Me’ having been revisited and re-entered the UK Charts in both the 00s and 10s respectively. Today, having transitioned to a two-person DJ team, Utah Saints continue to thrive. Their 500+ club nights they have promoted in Leeds and Edinburgh remain a strong part of club history and they continue to program The Ring stage at Lancashire’s legendary Beatherder Festival.

On October 19, 2024, Utah Saints reissue their eponymous debut album, out of print since its original release over 30 years ago, on Vinyl, 2 x LP, 2 x CD and DSPs.  The album has been remastered and extended including rarities and choice reworks by the likes of David Morales, CJ Bolland and Andrew Weatherall.

As prelude to the album reissue fellow Yorkshiremen Soul Mass Transit System come through with a bumping speed garage edit of their dance classic, ‘What Can You Do For Me’, upping the BPMs and injecting massive peaks, fills and a monster bass to ignite proceedings.

Utah Saints ‘What Can You Do For Me’ (Soul Mass Transit System Remix) Out Now – Available Here

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AMNPLIFY – DB