REPUBLICA - BLOKE

Republica are an alternative rock band formed in 1994 in England, United Kingdom. The group consists of Samantha Sprackling (aka Saffron, vocals), Tim Dorney (keyboards), Johnny Male (guitars) and Pete Riley (drums). Other members have been Andy Todd (keyboards), David Barbarossa (drums), Alix Tiernan (percussion) and Mick Pirie (bass). The Republica sound was described by the band as "techno-pop punk rock". Former Flowered Up keyboard player Tim Dorney and Andy Todd founded Republica. Saffron was born in 3 June 1968 in Ibadan, Nigeria. She 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". Saffron 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 January 1995. Their debut album Republica was released in July 1996 and reached #4 in the charts. The single "Ready To Go" peaked at #13 in UK Singles Chart. "Ready To Go" also became the band' signature song. The fourth single "Drop Dead Gorgeous" ranked #7 in UK Singles Chart. In 1997 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 #37 in UK Albums Chart. Its lead single, "From Rush Hour With Love", peaked at #20 in UK Singles Chart. Their label, Deconstruction Records, folded shortly after the release of Speed Ballads. Deconstruction's back catalogue was swallowed up by BMG, who released a Best Of album in 2002. The band went on hiatus in 2001. Following the breakup of Republica, Saffron worked with The Cure, appearing on the track "Just Say Yes". She also collaborated with Junkie XL for his 2003 album Radio JXL: A Broadcast From the Computer Hell Cabin. In 2008 Republica reunited at Windsor at a Contra Mundum concert and performed three songs. In 2010 they performed a string of gigs. They also issued a remixed version of "Ready To Go" entitled "Ready To Go 2010". The track has been 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.