l-r.. chris wilkie (guitar strummin')... sarah blackwood (vocal sheen)... steve hillier (keys n tunes n words)...
Dubstar's new single NO MORE TALK has earned them a deservedly frothing amout of attention both at home and abroad... So who are they and where do they come from..? Are they really pink fluffy bunny-wunnies..?
Dubstar formed a couple of years ago in north-east England. DJ Steve Hillier, originally from London, and guitarist Chris Wilkie from Gateshead had met up in the Newcastle clubs where Steve was working and formed The Joans. Vocal duties were taken over by Halifax lass Sarah Blackwood after a mutual friend left a tape of her singing at Steve's house, and Dubstar was born. They were soon signed to Food Records, on the strength of a demo tape, and their first single Stars tickled the charts and won general admiration for its swirling combination of dance and pop song and downright bloody miserable lyrics. "Stars is an indicator of our state of mind. Which is, basically, that everything's crap," explained Steve cheerily.
The second single, Anywhere, was also a minor chart success and was soon followed by Disgraceful in the Autumn of 1995. The band's debut album came complete with a perfectly innocent sleeve which could, remarkably, be construed as actually rather resmbling a rude part of the female anatomy... Disgraceful received widespread critical acclaim and has now sold over 150,000 copies.
Probably their best-known single so far is Not So Manic Now which dipped into the UK top 20 in 1996. The song is actually a cover version, and was written by obscure West Yorkshire band Brick Supply.
Dubstar toured after the release of Disgraceful, and again in early 96, playing mostly club and college venues. Their gigs are an interesting experience - Sarah admits to "feeling like crapping me pants" when she's on stage, and clings to the mic stand for dear life, occassionally swigging from a can of Red Stripe and throwing in the odd "Cheers"! They also supported Erasure on the UK Tiny Tour, a "dream come true" for Steve, who has been described by producer Stephen Hague as "the Vince Clarke of his generation".
Another interesting experience is actually meeting the band.. they are so completely un-popstar.. Steve unerringly friendly and approachable and just downright nice, Sarah lovely and friendly and approachable and just downright nice, Chris reservedly friendly and downright nice.. they seem surprised to be.. well.. pop stars.. as if it's all happening to someone else.
And so that, in a nutshell, is dubstar. For jucier gossip and deeper details dip into the archive of press appearances - try this one first.