Releases by republica

Republica is an alternative rock band formed in 1994 in England, United Kingdom. The group originally consisted of Samantha Sprackling (also known as Saffron) on vocals, Tim Dorney on keyboards, Johnny Male on guitars, and later Pete Riley on drums, who joined in 1997. Earlier members included Andy Todd on keyboards and David Barbarossa on drums, both of whom were part of the original 1994 lineup until 1997. Alix Tiernan (percussion) and Mick Pirie (bass) also performed with the group during its early years. The band's sound has been described by its members as a blend of techno, pop, punk, and rock. Republica was founded by Tim Dorney, formerly of Flowered Up, and Andy Todd. Saffron, born on 3 June 1968 in Ibadan, Nigeria, was previously an actress and performed for two years in London's production of Starlight Express. She appeared in the music videos for Chesney Hawkes's single "The One and Only" and N-Joi's "Mindflux", and was the lead vocalist on N-Joi's 1990 hit "Anthem". The band released its first single "Out of this World" in 1994, followed by "Bloke" in early 1995. Their debut album "Republica" came out in July 1996 and reached number four on the UK Albums Chart. The single "Ready to Go" became a commercial success and is considered the group's signature song, peaking at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. Another single from the album, "Drop Dead Gorgeous", reached number seven in the UK. In 1997, Saffron contributed vocals to The Prodigy's track "Fuel My Fire", which appeared on their album "The Fat of the Land". Republica's second album, "Speed Ballads", was released in 1998 and reached number 37 on the UK Albums Chart. Its lead single, "From Rush Hour With Love", peaked at number 20 in the UK. Following the collapse of their label, Deconstruction Records, soon after the release of "Speed Ballads", Republica's activity diminished, and the band went on hiatus in 2001. BMG, which acquired Deconstruction's catalogue, released a compilation album in 2002. After the hiatus, Saffron collaborated with other artists, including appearing on The Cure’s song "Just Say Yes" and working with Junkie XL on his 2003 album "Radio JXL: A Broadcast From the Computer Hell Cabin". Republica reformed in 2008 and performed three songs at a Contra Mundum concert in Windsor. They continued to perform live in 2010 and released a remixed version of their hit single titled "Ready to Go 2010", produced by Andy Gray and Alan Moulder. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.