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Republica

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Republica

Republica were an English band formed in 1994. The height of their popularity spanned from 1996 to 1998. The Republica sound was described by the band as "techno-pop punk rock", although Melody Maker took to calling it "electronica", a label which stuck as a genre category.

History

Republica was started by former Flowered Up keyboard player Tim Dorney and Andy Todd, and quickly came to popular attention with their first single "Ready to Go" and its follow-up "Drop Dead Gorgeous". The lead singer, Saffron, was previously a lead vocalist on N-Joi's rave crossover pop hit, "Anthem", in 1990.

The band's self-titled first album was released in July 1996 and reached #4 in the album charts. However, their follow-up 1998 album Speed Ballads and its lead single, From Rush Hour With Love, reached only #37 and #20 respectively. The group is rumoured to have dissolved shortly afterwards but has never officially stated this. The last message to fans in late 1999 via their official website stated "Republica are not recording at this time".

The band suffered when their label, Deconstruction Records, folded shortly after the release of Speed Ballads. Deconstruction's back catalogue was swallowed up by BMG, who released a Best Of album. On finding out about the release of Ready To Go - the best of Republica, Saffron promptly posted a statement on her new band's website that said "To all the fans, don't be fooled by this shoddy release. It's completely unofficial, the band had no dealings whatsoever with its release, we were not even informed. The track listing isn't one we'd have picked, the cover photos are so way out of date, poor in quality and overall it won't contribute to us bringing out a brand new album".[citation needed] Republica has not released any new material since the release of the "Best Of" album, and, while the bandmembers' pursuit of solo projects would imply the band has split, their official website merely states that they are "not recording at this time"[1].

During their lifetime, the group attracted much positive press coverage. Emerging after a wave of female-fronted rock bands (such as Elastica, Lush, Sleeper, Echobelly and Kenickie), it had, like Garbage, a notably more aggressive and electronic sound.

Saffron was born in Nigeria and claims Portuguese, Chinese and English ancestry. Outside of the band, she was also the featured vocalist on The Prodigy's "Fuel My Fire", from their 1997 album The Fat of the Land.

More recently, Saffron provided guest vocals on Parka's first album Attack of the Hundred Yard Hardman on the track "DJ In The Corner".

Members

Best-known lineup

Later members

Former members' later projects

  • Saffron recorded the songs "Crusher", "Spirits", and "Beauty Never Fades" on Junkie XL's 2003 album Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin.
  • In 2001 Saffron worked with The Cure on two tracks for their Greatest Hits album and features in the video for "Just Say Yes".
  • In 2005, Saffron was working on a new band called Swarm.
  • Keyboard player Tim Dorney briefly reunited with fellow former Flowered Up band member Liam Maher, but they split up in late 2002. Flowered Up tried to re-form in 2007 but Dorney refused, causing the cancellation of a planned reunion tour. He is currently working as a painter and decorator and working on Contra Mundum with Jonny Male releases in early 2008 on White Label.
  • The Republica website states that Johnny Male is now part of a band called Cheap Glue, but no more details have emerged. JMale also co-wrote tracks for Lipslide, the 1997 solo album by Sarah Cracknell of Saint Etienne.
  • In September 26, 2008 Republica reunited at Windsor at a Contra Mundum (Johnny Male and Tim Dorney's new band) live presentation with Saffron as special guest. They played Republica song's "Ready to Go", "Drop Dead Gorgeous" and a cover called "U've Got the Love".[2]
  • Founder member of Republica, Andrew Todd (Toddy) continued as a song writer, co-wrote Reach by S Club 7, and has also worked with Kylie Mynogue. He now flits between his studios in London and the Caribbean.

Discography

Albums

Title Release date Label UK Albums Chart[3] U.S. Albums U.S. Heatseekers German Albums
Republica 5 October 1996 Deconstruction
Records 		4 153 6 47
Republica - Limited Edition 2 Disk Set (Live Versions) 1998 - - - -
Speed Ballads 30 July 1998 37 n/a n/a n/a
Ready To Go: The Best Of 27 May 2002 Camden - - - -
  • Note: A U.S. release date was set for Speed Ballads for January 1999 but Deconstruction records went out of business in late 1998 so this never occurred.[citation needed]

Singles

Title Release
date 		Album UK Singles Chart[3] U.S. Hot 100 U.S. Modern Rock GER singles Australia
"Out of this World" 1994 - - - - - n/a
"Bloke" Bloke EP - - - - n/a
"Ready to Go" 1996 Republica 43 - - - 40
"Ready to Go (U.S. Mix)" (re-issue) 1997 13 56 7 33 n/a
"Drop Dead Gorgeous" 7 93 39 90 -
"From Rush Hour With Love" 1998 Speed Ballads 20 n/a n/a n/a -
"Try Everything" - n/a n/a n/a n/a

Audio sample

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.republica.com
  2. ^ http://www.windsorfringe.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79:republica-reunion&catid=1:whats-on&Itemid=16
  3. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 458. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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