Underworld are a British electronic group formed in 1986 in Romford, Essex, England, by Karl Hyde (vocals, guitar, production) and Rick Smith (keyboards, production), assisted by Darren Price (keyboards, production) when playing live. They are best known for their unique mix of techno, trance, dance, ambient and sometimes drum and bass, the vocal parts performed by Hyde as spoken-word streams of consciousness, and for their outstanding live shows. The band gained worldwide fame with Born Slippy .NUXX from Trainspotting soundtrack. Before Underworld, Hyde and Smith started out in 1979 on The Screen Gemz band while working together in a diner in the city of Cardiff, where both had been studying. ...show more

Underworld are a British electronic group formed in 1986 in Romford, Essex, England, by Karl Hyde (vocals, guitar, production) and Rick Smith (keyboards, production), assisted by Darren Price (keyboards, production) when playing live. They are best known for their unique mix of techno, trance, dance, ambient and sometimes drum and bass, the vocal parts performed by Hyde as spoken-word streams of consciousness, and for their outstanding live shows. The band gained worldwide fame with Born Slippy .NUXX from Trainspotting soundtrack. Before Underworld, Hyde and Smith started out in 1979 on The Screen Gemz band while working together in a diner in the city of Cardiff, where both had been studying.

In 1983 they recorded two albums for CBS Records with a proto-electroclash new romantic band whose name was a graphic squiggle, later entitled Freur. In 1986 Hyde and Smith formed Underworld, after disbanding of Freur. They tried a more guitar-oriented funky electropop sound on their two albums released on Sire Records: Underneath the Radar (1987) and Change the Weather (1989). This initial lineup (also called Underworld Mk1) consisted of Karl Hyde, Rick Smith, Alfie Thomas, Bryn Burrows, Baz Allen and Pascal Consoli before sinking back into obscurity and disbanding in 1990.

British DJ Darren Emerson hooked up with Hyde and Smith in 1992 and helped them refine their sound into something more sleek and beat-oriented, yet still shot through with tinges of blues, rock and spoken-word streams of consciousness. After several releases on Junior Boy's Own as Lemon Interupt, the trio re-adopted the Underworld name in 1992. Two songs from this era are Rez and Spikee. In addition to their music, Hyde and Smith are members of Tomato, a graphic design company which has done high-profile work for clients around the world as well as art for all of Underworld's releases. ...show less