Underworld



Underworld are a British electronic group formed in 1980 in Cardiff and the principal name under which musicians Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have recorded together. Darren Price has toured with the band since 2005, after the departure of Darren Emerson in 2000. Known for visual style and dynamic live performances, Underworld have influenced a wide range of artists and been featured in soundtracks and scores for films, television, and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Their eighth studio album, Barking, was released on 13 September 2010. (Read more at Wikipedia.)

Links to Peel
Although Underworld scored Festive Fifty entries as their popularity soared in the mid-1990s, the band didn’t have a Peel session until a live set from Maida Vale on 10 December 2003. Hyde and Smith were subsequently invited to sit in for Peel during his final holiday in Peru, on 19 October 2004. After his death, the band performed a 10-minute DJ set at the Keeping It Peel tribute show on 16 December 2004.

In a 2014 interview with Annie Nightingale, Karl Hyde credited Peel with "probably my most important musical education, under the covers with a transistor radio stuck to my ear listening to this weird stuff.” He also remembered him and Smith sending their music to Peel in the early 1980s:

"“We were living in Cardiff. We only wanted to do two things. One was work with Brian Eno, and two was for John Peel to play our music on the radio. We were on the dole and we would send these tapes off in cornflake packets with a little magazine we designed, and he would play them on the radio. … You felt like there was a relationship there, like I’m sure thousands of bands did, because John talked to them personally and responded to them personally. That is what was really special about John.”"

After losing touch with Peel for many years, Underworld were finally invited to do their first session in 2003:

"“We know John has been playing Underworld on the air and we were talking to one of the guys that takes our music to radio and I said, ‘You know what, I’ve always wanted to do John Peel sessions. Let’s do a John Peel session.’ ‘I’ll talk to them and see if we can do it.’ And we did, and that is when we really sort of became friends again.'"

"“When we met in the studio, we started talking. We went to dinner before the session, as he did with all his bands, and just got so into it we almost missed going on air. Then curiously our conversations from there led on to him asking Rick and I to look after his show when he went away. And I mean that – what can you say? It’s like the church you have grown up in, the minister has asked you to look after the church while he is away. You know, it’s your faith. So that in itself was extraordinary.”"

Festive Fifty Entries

 * 1994 Festive Fifty: Dirty Epic FF#43
 * 1996 Festive Fifty: Born Slippy (NUXX) FF#5

Sessions
Two sessions. No known commercial release.

1. Live session at Maida Vale, 10 December 2003. Not repeated.
 * Leutin / 2 Months Off / Jumbo / Trim / Moaner / Nuxx/Born Slippy

2. Live DJ set at Maida Vale, 16 December 2004 (Keeping It Peel tribute show)
 * tracks not known

Other Shows Played
(The following list was compiled only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive. Please add more information if known.)


 * 1994
 * 05 February 1994: Surfboy (CD – Dubnobasswithmyheadman) Junior Boys Own
 * 18 February 1994: Dark & Long (CD - Dubnobasswithmyheadman) Junior Boys Own
 * 19 February 1994: Spoonman (LP – Dubnobasswithmyheadman) Junior Boys Own
 * 30 July 1994: Murder Them (12 inch) Fist 2 Fist
 * 19 August 1994: Murder Them (12 inch) Fist 2 Fist
 * 30 September 1994: Sandboy Inna Problem (12") Fist 2 Fist
 * 15 October 1994 (BFBS): Sound Boy In A Problem (12") Fist 2 Fist
 * 17 December 1994: Dirty Epic (CD-Dubnobasswithmyheadman) Junior Boy's Own FF#43


 * 1995
 * 15 April 1995: Cowgirl (12 inch) Junior Boy's Own


 * 1996
 * 29 December 1996: Born Slippy (NUXX) (Soundtrack LP-Trainspotting) Premier FF#5


 * 1997
 * 16 February 1997: Spikee (Various Artists 2xCD – Foundations: Coming Up From The Streets) Feedback Communications (JP: ‘Of course what I’ve done here is play the wrong track. And the track I’m playing you at the moment is something like 12 minutes long. So I’m gonna have to fade it out at this juncture.’)
 * 01 July 1997: Moaner (Soundtrack CD-Batman & Robin: Music From And Inspired By The "Batman & Robin" Motion Picture) Warner
 * 23 December 1997: Moaner (Soundtrack CD-Batman & Robin: Music From And Inspired By The "Batman & Robin" Motion Picture) Warner Bros


 * 1998
 * 15 December 1998: King Of Snake (Dave Clarke remix) (12") Junior Boys Own


 * 1999
 * 07 January 1999: King Of Snake (Dave Clarke remix) (12") Junior Boys Own
 * 18 February 1999: Winjer (LP: Beaucoup Fish) Junior Boys Own
 * 23 February 1999: Push Upstairs (LP: Beaucoup Fish) Junior Boys Own
 * 24 June 1999: Shudder / King Of Snake (Fatboy Slim Remix) (part of Steve Lamacq ('Slim') Mix, with ‘Fat Boy’ Peel at Glastonbury)


 * 2002
 * 24 September 2002: Momove (LP - A Hundred Days Off) JBO


 * 2004
 * 19 October 2004: Rick Smith and Karl Hyde of Underworld sit in for Peel while the great man is on holiday in Peru.