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Apollo 440 Information
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'Apollo 440' is a British musical band formed in 1990 in Liverpool by brothers Trevor and Howard Gray with fellow Liverpudlian Noko. All members sing and add a profusion of samples, electronics, and computer-based sounds.
After relocating to the Camden area of London, Apollo 440 recorded their debut album, Millennium Fever, and released it in 1994 on their own Stealth Sonic Recordings (distributed by Epic Records). They have successfully invaded both the pop charts and the dancefloor with their combination of rock'n'roll, techno, and ambient. They also changed the writing of their name from 'Apollo 440' to 'Apollo Four Forty' in 1996, which is how it has been printed on album covers since.
The band had been most known for its remixes until the release of Liquid Cool in the UK. However, it was not until the success of the singles Krupa and Ain't Talkin' 'bout Dub that their own musical efforts were brought onto an international scale - paticularily the latter contributed greatly to putting Apollo 440 into spotlight.
Currently, the band resides in Islington, London, having once again moved its headquarters (affectionately labelled 'Apollo Control').
Discography
Albums
* Millennium Fever (1994)
* Electro Glide in Blue (1997)
* Gettin' High on Your Own Supply (1999) #20 UK
* Dude Descending a Staircase (2003)
Singles
* Lolita (1991)
* Destiny (1991)
* Blackout (1992)
* Rumble E.P. (1993)
* Astral America (1994) #36 UK
* Liquid Cool (1994) #35 UK
* (Don't Fear) The Reaper (1995) #35 UK
* Krupa (1996) #23 UK
* Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Dub (1997) #7 UK
* Raw Power (1997) #32 UK
* Carrera Rapida (1997)
* Rendez-Vous 98 (with Jean Michel Jarre; 1998) #12 UK
* Lost In Space (1998) #4 UK
* Stop The Rock (1999) #10 UK
* Heart Go Boom (1999) #57 UK
* Promo only: Cold Rock The Mic / Crazee Horse (2000)
* Charlie's Angels 2000 (2000) #29 UK
* Say What? (with 28 Days; 2001) #23 Australia
* Dude Descending A Staircase (feat. The Beatnuts; 2003) #58 UK
Soundtracks
Apollo 440's music is often found featured in various soundtracks of all sorts: movies, games, shows. The list of soundtracks they contributed to is long - because of this, this list only includes soundtracks which are exclusively done by Apollo 440.
* Rapid Racer (1997), format: Playstation CD (Audio CD plus game data track)
* Anti-Grav (2004), format: PlayStation 2 DVD
Vocalists
Apollo Four Forty have a history of working together with various vocalists to achieve their musical goals. Whilst their debut album, Millennium Fever, was sung almost exclusively by Noko, the Liverpudlian has since withdrawn from his vocalist status in the band to make way for various guest appearances, including, but not limited to:
*'Billy MacKenzie' on Pain In Any Language (Album: Electro Glide in Blue), coincidentially the last song Billy recorded.
*'' on Electro Glide in Blue (Album: Electro Glide In Blue) and numerous tracks on the Dude Descending a Staircase album
*'' on Something's Got to Give (Album: Dude Descending a Staircase)
*'Jalal Nuriddin' on Children of the Future (Album: Dude Descending a Staircase)
*'The Beatnuts' on Dude Descending a Staircase (Album: Dude Descending a Staircase)
*'Elizabeth Gray' on Christiane (Album: Dude Descending a Staircase) and Stealth Mass (Album: Electro Glide in Blue)
*'Mary Mary' (Ian Hoxley) on Ain't Talkin' 'bout Dub, Raw Power (Album: Electro Glide in Blue) and Stop The Rock (Album: Gettin' High On Your Own Supply).
Tribute to Jean Baudrillard
The album Millennium Fever is an intended tribute to the french postmodernist Jean Baudrillard. Since the release of that album, other references to Jean Baudrillard's works have popped up.
*The track Astral America, reference to Baudrillard's America essay where the term is mentioned.
*The track The Perfect Crime, reference to Baudrillard's book by the same name.
*The lyrics of Stealth Requiem include references to hyperreality.
Tribute to Alcor
The entire song "Liquid Cool" (released as a b-side in 1993, as a single in 1994, and on the Millennium Fever album) was made in tribute of Alcor, a company focussed on the research and organization of cryonization. A reference to this topic is also found in the song "Millennium Fever": "I've been dreaming of freezing my mind in California." Until 1994, this is where Alcor were situated. They have since moved to Arizona so the reference is no longer clear. Contact details for Alcor also appeared on the sleeve of the thematically-appropriate single "Don't Fear The Reaper", a cover of the Blue é–yster Cult song.
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