EMF were an indie/alternative dance band which formed in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England in 1989 and best known for their 1990 hit "Unbelievable". The band consisted of James Atkin (vocals, guitar), Ian Dench (guitar, keyboards), Derry Brownson (keyboard, samples), Zach Foley (bass) and Mark Decloedt (drums). The band originally disbanded in 1997 and reformed in 2001. Foley died of a drug overdose in January 2002 and the band only played four more shows that year before disbanding once more. ...show more

EMF were an indie/alternative dance band which formed in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England in 1989 and best known for their 1990 hit "Unbelievable". The band consisted of James Atkin (vocals, guitar), Ian Dench (guitar, keyboards), Derry Brownson (keyboard, samples), Zach Foley (bass) and Mark Decloedt (drums). The band originally disbanded in 1997 and reformed in 2001. Foley died of a drug overdose in January 2002 and the band only played four more shows that year before disbanding once more.

The band re-formed for a second reunion in 2007, which ended in May of 2009. The baseball-capped, baggy-shorted EMF - Epsom Mad Funkers or, in the words of their eponymously titled song, Ecstasy Mother Fuckers (the band could never quite make up their minds) - made their first attack on the UK music scene in the autumn of 1990 with the Jesus Jones-influenced Top 10 single "Unbelievable." Sampling hard-hitting US comic Andrew Dice Clay, the single was a catchy pop pile-up featuring fresh-faced vocalist James Atkin's sneery schoolboy vocals, band leader Ian Dench's swaggering rock guitar and a booming bassline, courtesy of Zac Foley. Mischief-maker Derry Brownson (keyboards) and Mark Decloedt (drums) completed the line-up. 'Madchester' had exploded in 1990, and every previously no-hoper band with half an idea sold their souls to hitch a ride on the ensuing 'indie dance' bandwagon.

EMF's ideas were better formed than most, despite the fact that they had been signed by a major label (EMI/Parlophone) after only a handful of gigs. Denounced as beered-up party animals by some and cider-drinking country bumpkins who'd struck lucky by others, the group cultivated a hedonistic young upstart image that ensured that they felt as at home on the cover of Smash Hits as they did the NME. Steered through these giddy times by the older, uglier, Svengali figure of guitarist and songwriter Dench, who had already enjoyed limited success with the band Apple Mosaic, the quintet quickly dispatched identikit follow-up singles in "I Believe" and "Children," with little drop in quality or commercial impact. By this stage "Unbelievable" was breaking the band in the States, but their debut single's worldwide success was to hang heavy on their shoulders in years to come. ...show less