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Sneaker Pimps are an English electronic music band, formed in Hartlepool in 1994.[1] They are best known for their debut album, Becoming X (1996), and its singles "6 Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar". The band takes its name from an article the Beastie Boys published in their Grand Royal magazine about a man they hired to track down classic sneakers.[2]

Sneaker Pimps
Origin	Hartlepool, County Durham, England
Genres	Electronic trip hop dance-rock downtempo
Years active	1994–2005 2015–present
Labels	Clean Up Virgin Tommy Boy Unfall
Members	Liam Howe Chris Corner
Past members	Kelli Dayton Joe Wilson Dave Westlake
Website	sneakerpimpsmusic.com

The band was founded by electronic musician Liam Howe and guitarist Chris Corner. They later recruited Kelli Ali (then known as Kelli Dayton) as lead singer,[3][4] plus guitarist Joe Wilson and drummer Dave Westlake as backup musicians. After Becoming X, the band decided to replace Ali with Corner on vocals.[5] Wilson and Westlake departed in 2002. In 2016 Howe and Corner revived the group after a lengthy hiatus.[6][7] In 2021, they began releasing new music.[8]

History

Chris Corner and Liam Howe met as teenagers in the 1980s,[1] both taking an interest in recording and studio experimentation. They banded together under the name F.R.I.S.K. and produced the Soul of Indiscretion EP, an early example of what became known as trip hop. The mix of beats and acoustic folk sounds was further explored on two more instrumental EPs: F.R.I.S.K. and World as a Cone. They were signed to Clean Up Records.[9][10] The duo also worked as DJs and producers under the name Line of Flight.[11]

Howe and Corner launched Sneaker Pimps as a recording group in 1994.[12] The following year, they recruited Ian Pickering to help write lyrics for what would become Sneaker Pimps' debut album, Becoming X.[7] Corner recorded vocals for several demo tracks, but the band decided the kind of music they were writing would better suit a female voice.[13] At their manager's suggestion, they saw Kelli Ali (then known as Kelli Dayton) performing in a pub with her band The Lumieres,[12] and invited her to sing on some demos, including an early version of "6 Underground".[9][14] She soon joined the band, and the demos won the group a contract with Virgin Records.[14] The group was presented as a trio featuring Howe, Corner, and Ali; while bassist Joe Wilson and drummer Dave Westlake were added as supporting musicians.[2]

Released in 1996, Becoming X sold over one million copies.[13] The band toured for two years to support the album, including gigs alongside Aphex Twin.[15] A "grueling" tour of the US strained relations within the band,[16] and Howe left the tour prematurely.[14] A remix album, Becoming Remixed, followed in 1998.

Howe and Corner then developed their own studio, also called Line of Flight after their earlier production work, and began sessions for the second Sneaker Pimps album.[2][14] Kelli Ali had taken a break after the Becoming X tour and was away traveling, so Corner sang on the new demos.[14] When Ali returned, she was told by Howe and Corner that her voice was no longer considered suitable for their new music, and that Corner's voice was a better fit.[9][17] Due to other ongoing personality conflicts and the band's concern about being stereotyped as a faddish female-fronted trip-hop act,[2][5] Ali was fired and Corner took over on lead vocals.

This significant lineup change caused Virgin Records to drop the band.[2] Their second album Splinter was released in the UK on Clean Up Records in 1999, and failed to match the commercial success of Becoming X.[18] New songs were premiered during a 2001 European tour opening for Placebo.[9] Their third album Bloodsport was released on Tommy Boy Records in 2002.[18] Howe and Corner also gained notice by writing and producing for other artists, including Natalie Imbruglia, and for remixing songs under the name Line of Flight.[3]

In 2002, Joe Wilson and Dave Westlake left Sneaker Pimps.[19][20] In 2003, a fourth Sneaker Pimps album was demoed but shelved. The album, which started as the soundtrack for an abandoned indie film project called Blind Michael,[7] is referred to in fan circles as SP4.[7][21] Corner then launched the solo project IAMX,[22] which included several songs from the SP4 project.[23][24] After some additional cancelled projects,[25][26] in 2006 Howe and Corner recorded some new demo tracks, commonly referred to as SP5 demos, with an unidentified female singer that turned up on a MiniDisc found in a bar in Russia. The tracks were leaked online and were later confirmed to be legitimate new Sneaker Pimps songs.[7][27]

After several years of side projects, Howe hinted in 2015 that Sneaker Pimps may reform.[28] Corner confirmed the reunion in 2016,[29] and as of early 2019 they were reportedly working on a new album.[6] Deluxe box sets of previous albums and two new studio albums were announced to be released variously across 2021. Date has been pushed back since news was released to an unknown time frame.[30]

In May 2021, the band announced a new album entitled Squaring the Circle.[8] The album was produced at Sawtooth Studios in Pioneertown, California and The Tower Studios in London.[8] Main vocals are shared by Corner and "featured artist" Simonne Jones.[31] Two of the songs, "Lifeline" and "So Far Gone", originate from the SP5 demos titled "Samaritan" and "Sun Ate the Moon", respectively.

Members

In the studio, the band regularly swapped instruments. As Corner explained during the recording sessions for Bloodsport, "we tend towards jobs, but generally we can mix and match. If we get bored of one aspect, someone else jumps in the seat. Gone are the days where it’s like 'You’re the drummer, I’m the synth player."[3] When playing live, however, their roles were more fixed:

Current members

• Chris Corner - vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Liam Howe - keyboards, synths, programming, guitar, percussion

Contributors and former members

• Kelli Ali (vocals)
• Joe Wilson (guitars, bass, backing vocals)
• Dave Westlake (drums, percussion)
• Ian Pickering (lyrics; live synths, bass and vocals)
• Simonne Jones (featured artist on Squaring the Circle: main vocals, backing vocals, spoken word lyrics)[32]
• Cathy Davey (backing vocals on Squaring the Circle)[32]
• Sue Denim (backing vocals and occasional lyrics)
• Zoe Durrant (backing vocals)
• Janine Gezang (IAMX, backing vocals on Squaring the Circle)[32]
• Sarah McDonnell (backing vocals)
• Chris Tate (occasional live keyboards)
• Noel Fielding (occasional live guitar)^{[citation needed]}

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions								Certifications
		UK [33]	UK Indie [34]	AUS [35]	AUT [36]	CAN [37]	SCO [38]	US [39]	US Heat. [40]
Becoming X	Released: 19 August 1996 Label: Clean-up (#CUP020) Formats: CD, LP, CS	27	—	55	—	80	47	111	1	BPI: Gold[41]
Splinter	Released: 25 October 1999 Label: Clean-up (#CUP040) Formats: CD, LP	80	13	—	—	—	—	—	—
Bloodsport	Released: 22 January 2002 Label: Tommy Boy (#TB1532) Formats: CD, LP	—	—	—	68	—	—	—	—
Squaring the Circle	Released: 10 September 2021[42] Label: Unfall[42] (#ORP006) Formats: CD, Digital, LP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

EPs

• Low Five (digital remix EP) (2005)
• Loretta Young Silks (digital remix EP) (2005)
• Rework Collection 1 (2021)[43]
• Rework Collection 2 (2021)[44]
• Rework Collection 3 (2022)[45]
• Rework Collection 4 (2022)[46]

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions										Album
		UK [33]	UK Dance [47]	UK Indie [48]	AUS [35]	CAN Dance [49]	EUR [50]	SCO [51]	US [52]	US Dance [53]	US Alt. [54]
1996	"Tesko Suicide"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Becoming X
	"Roll On"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"6 Underground"	15	—	—	62	—	—	17	45	—	7
1997	"Spin Spin Sugar"	21	1	—	126	2	67	28	87	2	—
	"6 Underground" (re-issue)	9	10	—	—	—	67	11	—	—	—
	"Post-Modern Sleaze"	22	4	—	143	—	—	22	—	—	—
1998	"Spin Spin Sugar" (re-issue)	46	3	9	—	—	—	70	—	—	—
1999	"Low Five"	39	23	8	—	—	—	47	—	—	—	Splinter
	"Ten to Twenty"	56	38	9	—	—	—	68	—	—	—
2001	"7th High" (with Double 99)	114	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7th High (Double 99 album)
2002	"Sick"	100	—	24	—	—	—	—	—	16	—	Bloodsport
	"Bloodsport"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Loretta Young Silks"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021	"Squaring the Circle"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Squaring the Circle
	"Fighter"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Alibis"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2022	"Love Me Stupid" (Simonne Jones Remix)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Rework Collection 3
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Promo singles

• 2002 "Kiro TV"
• 2002 "M'Aidez"

Other appearances

• "Long Hard Road out of Hell," a collaboration with Marilyn Manson on the Spawn Soundtrack (1997)
• "Velvet Divorce," a song on the A Life Less Ordinary Soundtrack (1997)

Music videos

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1996	"Tesko Suicide"	Liam Howe and Joe Wilson	Released on the 2001 DVD The Videos.
	"Spin Spin Sugar"	Toby Tremlett
1997	"6 Underground"
	"Post-Modern Sleaze"	Howard Greenhalgh
1999	"Low Five"	Tom Gidley
2002	"Sick"	Simon Smyth
	"Loretta Young Silks"	Liam Howe
2004	"First And Careless Rapture"[citation needed]	Chris Corner	unreleased
	"Missile"[citation needed] (do not confuse with IAMX single)	unknown
2021	"Fighter"	Chris Corner	Featuring Janine Gezang (IAMX) as fighter.
	"Alibis"	Chris Corner	"A combination of animated still scanned photography and macro video."[55]
2022	"Love Me Stupid (Simonne Jones Remix)"	Chris Corner

References

External links

• "Sneaker Pimps Legacy". New and regularly updated Sneaker Pimps resource website
• Sneakerpimps.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 26 February 2009)
• "Sneaker Pimps Unofficial Website". Archived from the original on 28 December 2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
• "the Sneaker Box". Italian fan site.
• The Stories Behind The Songs at the Wayback Machine (archived 9 December 2004)
• Kirchner, Keith (6 December 2008). "The Sneaker Pimps: Trip-Hop is Dead". Archived from the original on 17 June 2010.

На других языках

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[de] Sneaker Pimps

Die Sneaker Pimps sind eine britische Band, die in den frühen 1990er Jahren von Chris Corner, einem Astrophysikstudenten aus London, und seinem Freund Liam Howe, der in Reading die Kunsthochschule besuchte, gegründet wurde.

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- [en] Sneaker Pimps

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[es] Sneaker Pimps

Sneaker Pimps es una banda musical del tipo trip hop creada en 1994 en originaria de Hartlepool, al noreste de Inglaterra.[1] Son conocidos principalmente por el álbum Becoming X (lanzado en 1996). En 1997 colaboraron con Marilyn Manson en el tema para la banda sonora de la película Spawn "Long Hard Road Out Of Hell". Las canciones más conocidas de la banda son "6 Underground," "Spin Spin Sugar," y "Tesko Suicide" del mismo álbum. El nombre lo escogieron de un artículo publicado por Beastie Boys en la revista Grand Royal acerca de un hombre que contrataron para rastrear zapatos deportivos, sneakers, clásicos.[2]

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[ru] Sneaker Pimps

Sneaker Pimps — британский трип-хоп-коллектив, образованный в городе Хартлпул в 1994 году. На первом альбоме «Becoming X» пела Келли Дейтон (позднее известная как Келли Али). Начиная со второго альбома «Splinter» место вокалиста занял Крис Корнер, а саунд коллектива стал ближе к стилю трип-хоп. На сегодняшний день на счету группы четыре выпущенных студийных альбома и один невыпущенный (по причине отказа записывающей компании). В 2004 году Корнер организовал собственный проект под названием IAMX. Sneaker Pimps не закончили запись последнего альбома и распались. В 2015 году появилась информация о воссоединении группы и записи нового альбома, в начале 2016 года в твиттерах Корнера и Хауи появилась официальная информация о записи альбома. Альбом «Squaring the Circle» вышел 10 сентября 2021 года.

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