Eskimos & Egypt

This mid-90s group is a highly regarded, mellow groove coalition. Their name was originally invoked as a gesture in support of the Inuit people’s struggle for their own homeland. The four-piece, Salford, Manchester-based band consists of Paul Cundall (b. 5 April 1963, Manchester, Lancashire, England; keyboards, sequencer), Christopher O’Hare (b. 13 October 1966, Manchester, Lancashire, England; vocals, keyboards), Mark Compton (b. 14 October 1963, Salford, Manchester, England) and David Pryde (b. David Cameron Pryde, 1967, Dublin, Eire). They made their vinyl debut in December 1987 with ‘The Cold’ on Village Records, shortly after appearing live for the first time at Manchester’s Cloud Nine venue. After a succession of singles that built their dancefloor credentials, including the Axl Rose-slamming ‘The Power Of G N’R’, their breakthrough release came with the gangland-inspired ‘US:UK’ single. Typically, it was awash with sweet female harmonies, furious raps and a slice of rock guitar. Other singles such as ‘Fall From Grace’ followed, with remixes from Moby and the Beatmasters. However, by 1994 they had been dropped by One Little Indian Records (though the band itself insisted that they had walked).