EMF
The Cluny, Newcastle Upon Tyne.
eastside present
EMF
plus guests
Wednesday 11th March 2026
Newcastle Cluny
Doors 7.30pm
This event is for 16 and over - No refunds will be issued for under 16's.
More information about EMF tickets
British dance-rock quintet EMF formed in Cinderford, England in October
1989.
All five original members were veterans of the local music scene before
founding EMF, whose name supposedly stood for "Epsom Mad Funkers"
(although it was widely speculated that the initials instead represented
"Ecstasy Mother Fuckers"). Within two months of formation, the group
played its first gig; after unearthing a Casio sampler and sequencer in a
local thrift shop, a light techno element was added to their rock-oriented
sound.
Their debut album, SCHUBERT DIP, was released in May 1991. It was
certi fied platinum (over a million copies sold) in the US in September
1991. It had reached a peak chart position of #3 in the UK and #12 in the
US, as well as finishing the year at #57 overall.
By the end of 1991, their infectious debut single "Unbelievable" had
conquered the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, hitting #1 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and #3 in the UK. The single was certi fied gold (over
500,000 copies sold) in the US in May 1991. The song was in such heavy
rotation for most of the year in America, that it finished as the #6 single
overall for the year.
Further hit singles that succeeded "Unbelievable" included "I Believe,"
"Children" and "Lies."
In 1992, EMF returned with the Unexplained EP and the much darker fulllength
effort STIGMA; STIGMA peaked at #19 on the UK charts, and the
band toured extensively to promote it. It produced hit singles and EMF
live set favourites, "They're Here" and "It's You."
The band released their final full-length album of new material in 1995
with CHA CHA CHA. After a successful European tour, they teamed up
with comics Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer on a cover of the Monkees'
"I'm a Believer," which reached number 2 on the UK charts.
The band reunited in the summer of 2001 and released a Greatest Hits CD
that coincided with a mini European festival and UK tour.
The Greatest Hits CD, called THE BEST OF EMF: EPSOM MAD
FUNKERS, featured 2 discs: the first had a collection of singles and fan
favourite album tracks, along with 2 brand new tracks: "Incredible" and
"Let's Go." The second disc had popular remixes.
The band were primed to write new material and tour more extensively but
the sudden passing of bassist Zac Foley on January 2, 2002 shocked the
band into silence. The remaining 4 original members spent several years
focusing their time on personal projects and their families.
The band reunited in 2007 and have been steadily doing festivals and live
shows in the years since. In 2020, the band released a career-spanning
vinyl box set and have spent most of 2020 and 2021 celebrating 30 years
of EMF.
The band surprised fans by telling them that profits from the merchandise
sold was being used to record a new album, which will be released in
2022. It will be the first album of all new material since 1995.
EMF are very pleased to announce THE BEAUTY AND THE CHAOS UK TOUR in January and February 2024. The energy and love from the past year and a half has energised us and we don’t want to slow down! We’re looking forward to seeing lots of familiar faces out on the road! THE BEAUTY AND THE CHAOS TOUR has us returning to some favourite venues from the past as well as adding exciting new ones to our archive. As the tour name suggests, our brand new studio album THE BEAUTY AND THE CHAOS will be released very soon, no doubt a few tracks from this new masterpiece will make it into the set list alongside all our past favourites which we still love dust off and play every night. LLTNF - James, Ian, Derry, Stevey and Aid