808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson, and they released their debut Newbuild in September 1988.
The band secured commercial success in 1989, when their song "Pacific State" was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJ Gary Davies.
Martin Price was the owner of a recor...
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808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson, and they released their debut Newbuild in September 1988.
The band secured commercial success in 1989, when their song "Pacific State" was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJ Gary Davies.
Martin Price was the owner of a record store, Eastern Bloc, and was also the founder of the independent record label, Creed. Customers Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson joined with Price to form a hip-hop group called Hit Squad Manchester. Soon after, the band shifted to an acid house sound, recording the debut Newbuild in 1988, while using the name 808 State for the first time. The album was released on Price's own record label. Massey had been a member of the band Aqua in the 1970s, along with the violinist Graham Clark, a former pupil of Manchester Grammar School.
The band's ...
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