Kiss AMC was a British hip hop group formed in Manchester in the late 1980s. The group's name comes from the initials of its two members, Ann Marie Copeland and Christine Leveridge (sister of Paul Leveridge, known as Kermit, who was a member of the Ruthless Rap Assassins and later, Black Grape).
In 1989 they had a big hit in the European mainland with the song 'A bit of...'. The song contained a sample of U2's January 1983 hit 'New Years' Day'. In the 1980s, the use of samples was not yet commonplace and the members of Kiss AMC took a risk using U2's guitar sample, which was later approved by the group. 'A bit of...' turned out to be a success and reached number 7 in the Dutch Top 40 singles chart.
After this triumph, the success of Kiss AMC quickly ended and the group disappeared into thin air. Attempts to match the success of 'A bit of...' characterized by a fast rhythm were unsuccessful.
Links to Peel[]
Peel seemed to have discovered the group in 1989 around the same time as the Ruthless Rap Assassins, who were on the same label and had a brother-sister connection with Paul Leveridge of the Ruthless Rap Assassins being the brother of Christine Leveridge of Kiss AMC. Although the group was promoted by Peel via airplays of The Raw Side single and a session, he seemed to have lost interest in them by the time the 90's arrived.
Sessions[]
1. Recorded: 1989-06-18. First Broadcast: 03 July 1989. Repeated: 09 August 1989
- Rawside / Yakety Yak / Doc Martens
Other Shows Played[]
- 31 May 1989: The Raw Side (single - A Bit Of..) Syncopate
- 05 June 1989: The Raw Side (single - A Bit Of..) Syncopate
- 12 June 1989 (BBC World Service): The Raw Side (The Make Sure Side) (12" - A Bit Of...) Syncopate
- 15 June 1989: The Raw Side (single - A Bit Of..) Syncopate
- 22 June 1989: The Raw Side (single - A Bit Of..) Syncopate
- 1997
- 13 January 1997 (John Peel's Classic Sessions): The Raw Side