MC Tunes (born 1970, real name Nicky Lockett) was a British rapper from Moss Side Manchester, who worked with 808 State on the 1990 album, The North At Its Heights (ZZT, 1990). The album was a moderate success, reaching #26 in the UK charts, and also saw European and Japanese release. It spawned three UK singles that entered the Uk Charts: "The Only Rhyme That Bites" (ZZT, 1990) reached number 10, "Tunes Split The Atom" (ZZT, 1990) reached number 18 and Primary Rhyming (ZZT, 1990) reached number 67 - this was also the first of the singles to have the "vs 808 State" removed from the cover. 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Rapping is one of the elements of hip hop and the distinguishing feature of hip hop music; it is a form of rhyming lyrics spoken rhythmically over musical instruments, with a musical backdrop of sampling, scratching and mixing by DJs. ... Moss Side is an area of Manchester in England. ... Manchester is a city in the North West of England. ... 808 State are a British electronic music outfit formed in 1988 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1992, Tunes recorded the single "Digital Bad Boy/Could You Understand" (Juice Box, 1992) with A Guy Called Gerald (Gerald Simpson, also from 808 State) 1992 was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... A Guy Called Gerald is the stage name for Gerald Simpson, a musician, record producer and DJ, and perhaps best known for his early work in the Manchester ( UK) acid house scene in the early 1990s and the track Voodoo Ray. At that time, he specialised in techno music produced... 808 State are a British electronic music outfit formed in 1988 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. ...

Following the stalling of his solo career, Tunes form the group The Dust Junkys in 1995, with Sam Brox on guitar, Steve OJ on Bass, Mykey Wilson on drums and Ganiyu Pierre Gasper on turntables. The band struggled to be signed, and instead concentrated on gigging in the Manchester area, building a buzz for their mix of British hip hop and Rock music. 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... British hip hop is an umbrella term for English hip hop, Welsh hip hop and Scottish hip hop. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ...

Whilst gigging with the Dust Junkys, Tunes returned to work with the 808 State in 1996 on a new track, "Pump", taken from their album Thermo Kings (Warner, 1996). It was due to be released as a single, but this never happened. A few years after this, the Dust Junkys were signed to Polydor and released their first single "What Time Is It?" (Polydor, 1997), reaching number 39 in the UK charts. Three more singles and the album Done and Dusted (Polydor, 1997) followed, but despite reasonable popularity there were disputes with the record company and the group were dropped. Done and Dusted was reissued as a special edition with the remix album Dub and Dusted (Polydor, 1998) in 1998, and the band also played the Glastonbury Festival in the same year. 808 State are a British electronic music outfit formed in 1988 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Polydor Records is a record label once headquartered in Germany. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... The view from the stone circle on Thursday afternoon, 2004 The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury Festival or Glasto, is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. ...

More recently, Tunes has guested on the single "Porn Star" (Fuel Records, 2001) by the Pornstarz and "Adrenaline" from the Alabama 3 album Outlaw (Ten Little Indians, 2005). He still regularly gigs in Manchester, and in 2003 the Dust Junkys played a reunion gig at The Roadhouse in Manchester. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Alabama 3 is an psychobilly trip hop band from Brixton, England, a suburb of London. ... The 1945 film version, showing (left to right) Barry Fitzgerald, June Duprez and Walter Huston Ten Little Niggers (also known as Ten Little Indians and And Then There Were None) is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in England in 1939. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Discography

MC Tunes

• The North At Its Heights (ZZT, 1990)

Dust Junkys

• Done and Dusted (Polydor, 1997)
• Done and Dusted Special Edition/Dub and Dusted (polydor, 1998)

External Links

MC Tunes' own website

Heroes of UK Hip Hop's MC Tunes page

Review of the Dust Junkys at the 1998 Glastonbury Festival]