Republica

Republica are an English alternative rock band, formed in 1994.[1] The height of their popularity spanned from 1996 to 1999. The current line-up consists of Saffron (vocals), Tim Dorney (keyboards), Johnny Male (guitar), Conor Lawrence (drums).

This article is about the English rock band. For other uses of "Republica", see Republica (disambiguation).

Republica
Republica at Guilfest 2012
Background information
OriginWindsor, Berkshire, England[1]
Genres
Years active
  • 1994–2001
  • 2008–present
Labels
Associated actsFlowered Up
Websitewww.republicamusic.co.uk
Members
  • Saffron
  • Tim Dorney
  • Johnny Male
  • Conor Lawrence
Past members
  • Pete Riley
  • Andy Todd
  • David Barbarossa
  • Alix Tiernan
  • Mick Pirie
  • Timm Hamm
  • Nigel Champion

The Republica sound was described by the band as "technopop punk rock". The band went on hiatus in 2001 and reunited in 2008. Republica are best known for the single "Ready to Go".

History
Republica live at San Antonio, TX in December 1996

Former Flowered Up keyboard player Tim Dorney and Andy Todd founded Republica.[1] The Nigerian-born Saffron was an actress at one point, performing for two years in London's Starlight Express. She also appeared in the video for the Chesney Hawkes' hit "The One and Only" and in the video for N-Joi's single "Mindflux". She was also lead vocalist on N-Joi's hit "Anthem" in 1990.

Republica released the first single "Out of This World" in 1994, followed by the single "Bloke" in March 1995.

Their debut album Republica was released in July 1996 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts.[2] Their signature single "Ready to Go" with two different music videos peaked at No. 13 in UK Singles Chart.[2] The fourth single "Drop Dead Gorgeous" peaked at No. 7 in UK Singles Chart.[2]

The group attracted positive press coverage. Emerging after a wave of female-fronted rock bands (such as Elastica, Lush, Sleeper, Echobelly and Kenickie), they had, like Curve and Garbage, a notably more aggressive and electronic sound.

In 1997, they contributed a cover of "Are 'Friends' Electric?" to the Gary Numan tribute album Random. That same year, Saffron performed vocals for The Prodigy's "Fuel My Fire" from their album The Fat of the Land.

The second album, Speed Ballads, was released in 1998 and reached No. 37 in UK Albums Chart.[2] Its lead single, "From Rush Hour With Love", peaked at No. 20 in UK Singles Chart.[2]

The band suffered when their label, Deconstruction Records, folded shortly after the release of Speed Ballads. Deconstruction's back catalogue was swallowed up by BMG and Speed Ballads was never released in the United States. In 2001 the band went on hiatus. On their official site it was posted the message "Republica are not recording at this time".[3] In 2002 BMG released the compilation Ready to Go: The Best Of against the band's wishes.

After the band went on hiatus, Saffron worked with The Cure, appearing on the single "Just Say Yes" from their Greatest Hits album. She also collaborated with Junkie XL for his 2003 album Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin.

In September 2008 Republica reunited at Windsor at a Contra Mundum concert. They played "Ready to Go", "Drop Dead Gorgeous" and a cover of "You Got the Love".[4]

In early 2010, pictures appeared on the band's official Facebook page showing the band rehearsing in a studio. In the same year Republica performed a string of gigs.[5] They also issued a remixed version of "Ready to Go" entitled "Ready to Go 2010". In June 2010 the remix was released and reached No. 1 on the Upfront Club chart. The track has been produced by Andy Gray and Alan Moulder.

In October 2010, the band performed a comeback gig at O2 Academy Islington followed by several dates in Eastern Europe and the Middle East in 2011. They performed at GuilFest in July 2012.

The band released a new EP, Christiana Obey, and also recorded a session for Brentwood radio station Phoenix FM in April 2013.[6] A joint 20th anniversary tour with the band Space took place in the spring of 2014.

During October and early November 2014, Republica toured the UK in support of the Boomtown Rats "Ratlife" tour and took the opportunity to premiere some new material.

Friday 29 May 2015 saw the public debut of more new material when Republica performed at the "Under The Bridge" venue in Chelsea, London, with support from Tenek and Kenelis.

A deluxe edition of Republica was released on 28 February 2020 on Cherry Red Records.

Members

Current line-up
  • Saffron (Samantha Sprackling, born 3 June 1968, Ibadan, Nigeria) – vocals, tambourine (1994–2001, 2008–present)
  • Tim Dorney (born 30 March 1965, Ascot, Berkshire) – keyboards, programming, piano (1994–2001, 2008–present)
  • Johnny Male (born 10 October 1963, Windsor, Berkshire) – guitar, backing vocals (formerly of One Little Indian Records's Soul Family Sensation and Sensation) (1994–2001, 2008–present)
  • Conor Lawrence – drums (2012–present)

Former members
  • Pete Riley – drums (1998–2001)
  • Andy Todd – keyboards, acoustic guitar, backing vocals (1994–1997)
  • David Barbarossa – drums (formerly of Bow Wow Wow, and Adam and the Ants) (1994–1997)
  • Alix Tiernan – percussion (1994–1995)
  • Mick Pirie – bass guitar (1994–1995)
  • Timm Hamm – bass guitar (2013–2015) later a member of Future Eyes, Steelheart, Geronimo 7, Imposchine, (concurrently 2015-2017) and Wirerims (2018 - current)
  • Nigel Champion – drums (2008–2012)

Side projects and collaborations
  • Saffron performed vocals for The Prodigy's "Fuel My Fire" from their 1997 album The Fat of the Land.
  • Saffron wrote and performed vocals for Deepsky's "Smile" from their 2002 album In Silico.
  • Saffron recorded the songs "Crusher", "Spirits", and "Beauty Never Fades" on Junkie XL's 2003 album Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin.
  • In 2001 Saffron worked with The Cure on the single "Just Say Yes" for their Greatest Hits. She also featured in "Just Say Yes" video.
  • Dorney briefly reunited with fellow former Flowered Up band member Liam Maher, but they split up in late 2002. Flowered Up tried to re-form in 2007 but Dorney refused, causing the cancellation of a planned reunion tour. He worked as a painter and decorator, and on Contra Mundum with Male releases in 2008 on the White Label.
  • Male co-wrote tracks for Lipslide, the 1997 solo album by Sarah Cracknell of Saint Etienne. He has also featured in cult band Go Kart Mozart.
  • Todd continued as a songwriter, and co-wrote "Reach" by S Club 7, and has also worked with Kylie Minogue. He now operates between his recording studios in London and the Caribbean.

Discography

Studio albums
Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[2]		 AUS
[7]		 AUT
[8]		 GER
[9]		 NED
[10]		 NZ
[11]		 SWI
[12]		 US
[13]
Republica

[14]

 4 95 34 47 36 26 48 153
Speed Ballads

[15]

 37 — — — — — — —

Compilation albums
Title Release date Label
Ready to Go: The Best Of May 2002 Camden

Live albums
Title Release date Label
Live At The Astoria March 2013 Independent Label

Extended plays
Title Release date Label
Christiana Obey March 2013 Independent Label

Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
UK
[2]		 AUS
[7]		 GER
[9]		 IRE
[16]		 NED
[10]		 NZ
[11]		 SWE
[17]		 SWI
[12]		 US
[18]
1994 "Out of This World" — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
1995 "Bloke" 85 — — — — — — — — Republica
1996 "Ready to Go" (original mix) 43 40 — — — — — — —
1997 "Ready to Go" (remix) 13 — 33 26 25 42 40 34 56
"Drop Dead Gorgeous" 7 131 90 — — 30 — — 93
1998 "From Rush Hour with Love" 20 220 — — — — — — — Speed Ballads
"Try Everything" — — — — — — — — —
2007 "Ready to Go" (with Tomcraft) — — — — — — — — — For The Queen (Tomcraft album)
2010 "Ready to Go 2010" — — — — — — — — — Non-album single

Music videos
  • "Bloke", 1996
  • "Ready to Go" (UK version), 1996
  • "Ready to Go" (US version), 1997
  • "Drop Dead Gorgeous", 1997
  • "From Rush Hour With Love" (version 1), 1998
  • "From Rush Hour With Love" (version 2), 1998
  • "Try Everything", 1998
  • "Christiana Obey", 2013

See also
  • List of alternative music artists

References
  1. Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. p. 812. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  2. UK chart peaks:
  3. "R E P U B L I C A". web.archive.org. 17 November 2001.
  4. "Windsorfringe.co.uk". Archived from the original on 6 December 2013.
  5. Wilkinson, Matt (26 April 2010). "Republica to reform for gigs and 'Ready To Go' reissue". NME.
  6. "2013 Creative Sessions: Republica". 14 April 2013.
  7. Australian (ARIA) peaks:
  8. "austriancharts.at > Republica in der Österreichischen Hitparade" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  9. German chart peaks:
  10. "dutchcharts.nl > Republica in Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  11. "charts.nz > Republica in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  12. "hitparade.ch > Republica in der Schweizer Hitparade" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  13. "Republica Chart History > Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  14. "Republica Album". Discogs. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  15. "Speed Ballads Album". Discogs. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  16. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know > Search results for 'Republica' (from irishcharts.ie)". Imgur.com (original source published by Fireball Media). Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  17. "Swedish Charts > Republica in Swedish Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  18. "Republica Chart History > Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
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