This weekend sees electronic dance music giants Utah Saints play one of their most intimate gigs right here in Peterborough, ahead of plans to release new music next year.
Having played arenas, festivals and huge venues around the world we’re getting an amazing opportunity to see them up close and personal at The Queen’s Head in Peterborough on Saturday September 28.
The DJs and music producers Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt still tour the country and have had a busy summer at dozens of events including Beautiful Days Festival in Devon and Party in the Park in Newcastle, with many more to come.
The Utah Saints appearance in Peterborough leads into the vinyl reissue of their pioneering self titled debut album for National Album Day on October 19.
Fans of Utah Saints will be pleased to hear they are also planning to release new music next year.
The gig is brought to us by Eclectic Ballroom and city promoters Zed Malik and Jim Norton who work hard to bring bigger names to Peterborough like Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin’ Criminals) and Jazzie B at the Cathedral. The vibe continues with Craig Charles (BBC Six) heading our way on November 29.
First though, it’s time to appreciate Utah Saints, one of the most important acts since the inception of the electronic dance music phenomenon, live in Peterborough. Early adopters of sampling, they brought the artform - used chiefly in hip-hop in the 1980s - into new realms.
Their debut track, What Can You Do For Me, incorporated samples from Eurythmics and Gwen Guthrie. Pressing 1,000 orange vinyl records, they sent one to Pete Tong at BBC Radio 1, who played it immediately.
Their next hit, the Top 5 Something Good, sampled Kate Bush's Cloudbusting, and remains to this day the only sample usage Kate Bush has ever granted. The song’s iconic stuttering refrain ‘U-U-Utah Saints’ became widely recognised. This single’s success prompted the BBC to use it for their coverage of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
They’ve not looked back since. ESP grabbed a word with Tim Garbutt who says he has close connections with Peterborough and knows the city well, being good friends with our own local heroes, Shades of Rhythm. This is one of their smaller venues to play but he’s looking forward to it.
“We’ve done festivals but also 200 capacity venues. It’s good to balance it out with something quite intimate. When you do festivals you don’t really lock eyes with anyone, you’re just looking out at a crowd, but in a small club they’re right there in front of you. It makes you up your game."
Tim says they’ll be playing an exciting DJ set including their versions of other people’s tracks as well as their own music – “There’ll be a lot of energy!”
As well as a fresh interest in vinyl there is also a revival of dance music fans keen to get back out there.
“A lot of our generation seems to want to go out again now the kids have grown up and gone off to uni,” says Tim. “We get a really good mix of demographic, young and old which is cool to see.”
Utah Saints released their debut album back in 1993 so what have been the highlights since then?
“I left school at 16 and had my turntables and honed my craft – I’m lucky to still be doing it as a job,” says Tim. “That’s been a real highlight for me, that I’m still doing it full time.
"We’ve been out playing all summer, I haven’t had a weekend off. We’re busier now than we were a few years ago which is crazy but there seems to be a resurgence in people wanting to go out again.
“When we appeared on Top of the Pops, which was a big deal back in the day, and had an album in the shops my dad thought I had then got a ‘proper job’. We’ve travelled around the world and supported U2 on stadium tours around Europe.
"We’re still as passionate about it as we were back then. The day we’re not is the day we’ll do something else.”
Utah Saints are still very much at the top of their game, DJ'ing regularly each month as well as curating festival stages such as Beatherder - putting on an eclectic range of artists and DJ's.
Don’t miss your chance to see them perform at The Queen's Head in Peterborough on Saturday September 28 with support from DJs Pat Unwin, Mark Goodliff and Eclectic Ballroom.
Ticket Link - https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/eclectic-ballroom
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