Unbelieveable

from the 12” single, Parlophone Records, 1990



Looking backwards, I’m entirely convinced that the music video for this specific song proved to be a vital early step in the slow proliferation of electronica in the United States; the very sight of all those ecstatic British blokes & birds in baggy clothes and floppy smiles, pupils dilated to the fullest, proved to be something of a clarion call for us kids across the pond here---let’s be honest, it helped a great deal that they were actually a “band”, only having one DJ on stage in the clips didn’t intimidate wary Americans at all. Although the name officially stood for “Epsom Mad Funkers” (in a nod to New Order, surely one of their biggest influences), their own lyrics on the self-titled B-side to the this single, not to mention the clear substance of choice amongst those partying in the video, gave rise to the more commonly known explanation, “Ecstasy, Motherfuckers, From us to you!” It also coincided with an explosion of British & Euro rave compilations hitting music stores, in Florida anyways, and for many of us at that point, the die was fully cast: we would soon be going to raves and, thus, defining something new for ourselves, then just coming out of the ‘80s. Even watching the video now, some 20 years later and as a boring old man, I’m besieged with an endearing sympathy for how innocent it all was…well, minus the drugs anyways, you know what I mean…