The Grid

The Grid

For other uses of the title The Grid, see The Grid (disambiguation).

The Grid are an English electronic dance group, consisting of Richard Norris and David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell), with contributions from the likes of percussionist Steve Sidelnyk and Luke Gifford. They are most known for the hits Swamp Thing, Crystal Clear, Texas Cowboys, Rollercoaster and Floatation.

They are about to release a new single in late 2007 entitled Put Your Hands Together which features remixes from The Grid, MHC, Kriss Darang & Paul Jackson.

A 2nd single is planned along with a new album to follow in 2008 which is entitled Doppelganger and is a welcome return to the classic Grid sound.

Both the album and singles (as well as the act themselves) are signed to the legendary Some Bizzare label.

The act is exclusively managed by Angel Artists.

Band Member Details

• Richard Norris (born 23 June 1965, London) - Keyboards
• David Ball (born 3 May 1959, Blackpool, Lancashire) - Keyboards

Biography

The Grid formed in 1988 and had their first success with debut single, the Balearic classic Floatation on East West in 1990. They went on to release a string of singles and four albums, and toured the UK, Europe, Asia and Australia. Their 1994 single Swamp Thing, which featured elaborate banjo lines (played by Roger Dinsdale) over house beats was widely popular in the UK, Europe and Australia, reaching #3 in the UK and Australia, as well as charting highly throughout the world. The single sold a million copies. The Grid's 1994 album Evolver, which contained the Swamp Thing single, reached number fourteen in the UK album charts. Other hits by The Grid include Texas Cowboys, Rollercoaster and Flotation.

Contrary to popular belief, The Grid never actually split up, they just mutually agreed to put the act "on ice" so they could both pursue individual music interests they felt would help them to expand musically & that would eventually enhance The Grid in the long term when they decided to continue with the act.

Dave Ball reformed Soft Cell with Marc Almond (another act that has never officially split up) and released a new album on Cooking Vinyl Records to critical acclaim as well as a live version of classic Soft Cell material and new tracks. He was also seen to be writing music scores for films.

Richard Norris went away and formed The Droyds which went on to remix the likes of Armand Van Helden amongst others. He has also just finished writing the official biography of Paul Oakenfold which is published by Bantam Press on 24th Sept 2007.

By 2005 the pair were back together and were reportedly to have been in the studio recording new tracks for an eagerly awaited return. They also played two gigs under the name GDM with female singer Misty Woods.

The album Doppelganger was signed to the Some Bizzare Records which is scheduled for a 2008 release.

The act is managed exclusively by Angel Artists.

Discography

Albums

1. Electric Head (1990)
2. 456 (1992)
3. Evolver (1994)
4. Music for Dancing (1995)
5. Doppelgänger (2007 Some Bizzare Records)

Singles

1. On The Grid (1989) (promo only)
2. Intergalactica (1989) (promo only)
3. Floatation (1990)
4. A Beat Called Love (1990)
5. Origins Of Dance (1990) (Dr. Timothy Leary meets The Grid)
6. Boom! (1991)
7. Figure Of 8 (1992)
8. Heartbeat (1992)
9. Crystal Clear (1993)
10. Texas Cowboys (1993)
11. Swamp Thing (1994)
12. Rollercoaster (1994)
13. Texas Cowboys (1994) (re-issue)
14. Diablo (1995)
15. Slammer / Slinker (2006) (promo only)
16. Put Your Hands Together (2007) (Remixes: The Grid/MHC/Kriss Darang/Paul Jackson)

External links

• Grid Central - An Unofficial Page for The Grid
• The Grid on allmusic.com
• The Grid MySpace page
• The Grid's Management MySpace page