Shanks & Bigfoot
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Shanks & Bigfoot were a British duo of dance music/UK garage producers Steven Meade and Danny Langsman, best known for their hit single "Sweet Like Chocolate". They were originally known as Doolally, recording the pirate anthem "Straight from the Heart" under this name in 1998. It was the first 2-step garage record to break the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 20. It was subsequently re-released in 2000 on the back of their chart success with "Sweet Like Chocolate", and reached No. 9.
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[edit] Success
The single "Sweet Like Chocolate" was a success even before commercial release, receiving months of club play before debuting at No. 1 and remaining there for two weeks. Much to the surprise of the duo, the song became one of the most popular singles of the late 1990s. The single was the eighth-biggest seller of 1999 in the UK.
"We think it must have captured people's imaginations somehow", said Shanks in an interview. "I don't think you ever think 'this is a big record' when you make one... it was something that just happened." Vocals on the track were sung by Sharon Woolf, who also sung "Straight from the Heart" for them the year before.
The video for "Sweet Like Chocolate" was computer-animated and popular at the time. It featured a girl walking along in an area where almost everything is made of chocolate. The video was created by Visualisation Services Ltd (Darren Lee)[1] and was nominated for a BRIT and a MOBO in 1999, but failed to win on either occasion.
[edit] Aftermath
At the annual MOBO Awards in 1999, Shanks & Bigfoot received three nominations and won one, for Best British Dance Act, beating out Fatboy Slim, Armand van Helden and Phats & Small. Additionally, they were nominated for two Ivor Novello Awards and two BRITs. A bidding war for Shanks & Bigfoot soon resulted, with the duo eventually signing to Zomba Records. They were also in hot demand as songwriters, with Britney Spears asking them to write for her, as well as Beyoncé and Destiny's Child reporting in the now-defunct Ministry magazine, that they loved the record and had taken copies of "Sweet Like Chocolate" back to the US where it was never released. However, it would later show up in a compilation that was released Stateside by Epic in 2001[1].
In 2000 they released their debut and only album Swings and Roundabouts along with the follow-up single to "Sweet Like Chocolate", "Sing-a-Long", which failed to match the commercial success of "Sweet Like Chocolate", peaking at No. 12. UK soul singer Terri Walker, an unknown at the time, provided vocals for all of the album except for "Sweet Like Chocolate". That year they also remixed Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat" as a B-side for their "King for a Day" single, and mixed a Ministry of Sound compilation entitled Ayia Napa – The Album.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Swings and Roundabouts (2000)
- Ayia Napa – The Album (compilation) (2000)
[edit] Singles
- "Straight from the Heart" (as Doolally) (1998, re-released 1999) No. 20 UK; No. 9 UK (re-release)[2]
- "Sweet Like Chocolate" (1999) No. 1 UK[3] (2 weeks); No. 6 Australia[4]
- "Sing-a-Long" (2000) No. 12 UK[3]
[edit] Remixes
- "R.U. Ready" (Shanks & Bigfoot Mix) – Sharon Woolf (1999)
- released on 12" as a promo
- "Will You Wait for Me" (Doolally Vocal Mix + Shanks & Bigfoot Dub) – Kavana (1999)
- "Boost Dem" (Doolally Mix) – Kitachi (1999)
- "Canned Heat" (Shanks & Bigfoot Extended Master Mix) – Jamiroquai (2000)
- released on "King for a Day" single
[edit] References
- ^ Release from Discogs
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 166. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 266. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Sweet Like Chocolate". Australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Shanks+%26+Bigfoot&titel=Sweet+Like+Chocolate&cat=s. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
