Death in Vegas#Transmission

{{short description|English electronic music group}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Death in Vegas

| image = Simon Hanson death in Vegas.png

| caption =

| image_size =

| origin = London, England

| genre = {{hlist|Electronic|neo-psychedelia|shoegaze|trip hop}}

| years_active = 1994–present

| label =

| current_members = Richard Fearless

| past_members = Tim Holmes
Steve Hellier
Dominic Keane
Ian Button
Simon Hanson
Terry Miles
Danny Hammond
Mat Flint
Seamus Beaghen
Dave Neale

}}

Death in Vegas are an English electronic music group, for which Richard Fearless serves as frontman.{{cite book

| first= Martin C.

| last= Strong

| year= 2000

| title= The Great Rock Discography

| edition= 5th

| publisher= Mojo Books

| location= Edinburgh

| page= 250

| isbn= 1-84195-017-3}} The band was formed in 1994 by Fearless and Steve Hellier and signed to Concrete Records under the name of Dead Elvis. Owing to an Irish record label of the same name, Dead Elvis became the title of their first album instead.

History

=''Dead Elvis''=

The band's debut, Dead Elvis (1997), used a blend of musical genres. Most of the tracks are mainly based in electronic dance music. Shortly after the release of the album, Hellier left the band and was replaced by Tim Holmes, who had already been involved with mixing and engineering tracks on the album.

=''The Contino Sessions''=

The band's second album, The Contino Sessions (1999), marked a slight change in direction with more attention to live instrumentation than their first and the inclusion of guest vocalists (including Dot Allison, Bobby Gillespie, Iggy Pop, and Jim Reid). Although predominantly rock-influenced, the album still retained some electronic elements, in particular the opening track, "Dirge", with its drum machine-based rhythm track. "Dirge" was featured on a Levi's jeans commercial, as well as the second installment of The Blair Witch Project, and was used in the trailer for the 2006 film The Black Dahlia. The song was also used in the trailer for the 2013 film Cheap Thrills and used in the 2001 film Disco Pigs, at the end of the 2009 remake of The Last House on the Left, near the end of the Being Human episode "The Longest Day", and in the second episode of season two of Misfits. Along with "Aisha" (with vocals from Iggy Pop), "Dirge" helped the band gain more recognition, culminating in a Mercury Music Prize nomination in 2000. "Dirge" was the subject of a lawsuit by the band Five or Six, as it borrowed extensively from their song "Another Reason". The matter was settled with Five or Six receiving a writing credit. "Aisha" was a top 10 hit in the UK and also featured in the PlayStation 2 title Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec.{{cite book

| first= David

| last= Roberts

| year= 2006

| title= British Hit Singles & Albums

| edition= 19th

| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited

| location= London

| isbn= 1-904994-10-5

| page= 146}}

=''Scorpio Rising''=

In September 2002, the band released their third album, Scorpio Rising, after almost a three-year gap. During their time off, the band had toured and briefly returned to their techno roots with the track "Scorpio", which, although not appearing on any album, was included as the B-side of "Hands Around My Throat", the first single from Scorpio Rising. Scorpio Rising takes its name from the cult avant-garde film of the same name by Kenneth Anger. The lyrics of the title track (featuring vocals from Liam Gallagher) reflected the controversial nature of Anger's film. It also borrowed extensively from Status Quo's "Pictures of Matchstick Men". The matter was settled once again with Francis Rossi receiving a writing credit. It also continued to attract attention from advertisers and filmmakers with "Hands Around My Throat" being used in a Sony Ericsson advert and appearing on the soundtrack to The Animatrix, while the track "Girls" was used on the soundtracks to Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation and Angela Robinson's D.E.B.S.,{{cite web| url=http://musicbrainz.org/release/7da16832-39f2-4795-8956-42986dd8e622.html |title=MusicBrainz D.E.B.S. soundtrack page|publisher=Musicbrainz.org|access-date=2014-04-17}} as well as in an episode of the TV show Veronica Mars and a commercial for BBC's most recent production of Sense and Sensibility. This was their last studio album for Concrete Records. Concrete released a best-of album, entitled Milk It, in 2004.

=''Satan's Circus''=

Death in Vegas set up their own label, Drone Records, and released their fourth album, Satan's Circus, in 2004.

The melody of Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express" and "Kometenmelodie 2" are featured in the tracks "Zugaga" and "Kontroll" respectively. Unlike the previous two albums, Satan's Circus did not feature any guest vocalists. The album was also released as a limited edition double pack including a live CD, recorded on the Scorpio Rising tour at the Brixton Academy, London.

= Oasis album production =

In late December 2003 Death in Vegas was hired by Oasis to produce some tracks on their sixth album Don't Believe the Truth at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall.{{Cite news |last=Pill |first=Steve |date=2004-10-18 |title=Death in Vegas |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/oct/18/popandrock |access-date=2023-07-22 |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last=M |first=Staff |date=2015-01-15 |title=Noel Gallagher talks about past collaborations with Amorphous Androgynous and Death In Vegas |url=https://www.oasismania.co.uk/noel-gallagher-talks-about-the-scrapped-album-with-amorphous-androgynous-and-the-lost-oasis-one-with-death-in-vegas/ |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=OasisMania |language=en-GB}}

=''Trans-Love Energies''=

The band released their fifth studio album, Trans-Love Energies, on 26 September 2011 in the UK. The album featured vocals by Katie Stelmanis of Austra and Richard Fearless.

=''Transmission''=

Death in Vegas' sixth studio album was released on 27 May 2016 on Fearless's Drone Records label,[http://www.droneout.co.uk Drone] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206105916/http://droneout.co.uk/ |date=6 February 2017 }}, indie label founded 2004 in the UK. featuring vocals by writer and sex symbol Sasha Grey. The former Throbbing Gristle members Chris & Cosey remixed "Consequences of love"—a Transmission song performed and composed by Grey and Fearless—and in 2017 Michael Mayer adapted the Chris & Cosey remix in his DJ-Kicks album.{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/23238-dj-kicks/ |title=Michael Mayer DJ-Kicks |date=May 19, 2017 |first=Philip |last=Sherburne |work=Pitchfork |access-date=March 13, 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/dj-kicks-mw0003039230 |title=Michael Mayer DJ-Kicks |first=Paul |last=Simpson |year=2017 |work=AllMusic |access-date=March 13, 2019}} Vice described Transmission as an "EBM-inspired romp through the darker edges of the sleazier clubs in the nightlife spectrum".{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/chris-cosey-remixed-death-in-vegas-so-we-got-death-in-vegas-to-pick-their-favourite-chris-cosey-records/ |title=Chris & Cosey Remixed Death in Vegas so We Got Death in Vegas to Pick Their Favourite Chris & Cosey Records |last=Baines |first=Josh |date=August 22, 2016 |work=Vice |access-date=April 21, 2019}} In a cameo appearance DJ Harvey plays "Consequences of love" in the rave party at the Grand Palais scene of Mission: Impossible – Fallout.{{cite web |url=https://www.what-song.com/Movies/Soundtrack/102615/Mission-Impossible-Fallout |title=Mission Impossible: Fallout Soundtrack |last=Balfe |first=Lorne |work=what-song.com |date=July 27, 2018 |access-date=May 1, 2019}}

Members

=Current members=

=Former members=

  • Tim Holmes - co-production, engineering, mixing (1996–2004)
  • Steve Hellier - co-production, writer, programming (1994–1999)
  • Ian Button - guitar (1996–2011)
  • Terry Miles - keyboards (2002–2004)
  • Danny Hammond - guitar (2002–2004)
  • Seamus Beaghen - keyboards (1996–2002)
  • Mat Flint - bass (1996–2005, 2011)
  • Dave Neale - drums (2011)
  • Dominic Keen - bass (2011)
  • Simon Hanson (Squeeze, Planet Funk) - drums (1998–2004)

Discography

=Studio albums=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
rowspan="2"| Year

!rowspan="2" style="width:225px;"| Album details

!colspan="6"| Peak chart positions

style="width:4em;font-size:75%"| UK
{{cite web|url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/death%20in%20vegas|title=The Official Charts Company - Death in Vegas|date=5 May 2013|publisher=The Official Charts Company}}

!style="width:4em;font-size:75%"| FRA
{{cite web|author=Steffen Hung |url=http://lescharts.com/search.asp?search=death+in+vegas&cat=a |title=Les charts français |publisher=lescharts.com |access-date=2012-10-05}}

!style="width:4em;font-size:75%"| NOR
{{cite web|author=Steffen Hung |url=http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?search=death+in+vegas&cat=a |title=Norwegian charts portal |publisher=norwegiancharts.com |access-date=2012-10-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023739/http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?search=death+in+vegas&cat=a |archive-date=4 March 2016 |df=dmy }}

1997

| Dead Elvis

  • Released: 10 March 1997
  • Label: Concrete

| style="text-align:center;"| 52

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| —

1999

| The Contino Sessions

  • Released: 13 September 1999
  • Label: Concrete

| style="text-align:center;"| 19

| style="text-align:center;"| 72

| style="text-align:center;"| 39

2002

| Scorpio Rising

  • Released: 16 September 2002
  • Label: Concrete

| style="text-align:center;"| 19

| style="text-align:center;"| 22

| style="text-align:center;"| 22

2004

| Satan's Circus

  • Released: 11 October 2004
  • Label: Drone Records

| style="text-align:center;"| 117

| style="text-align:center;"| 79

| style="text-align:center;"| —

2011

| Trans-Love Energies

  • Released: 26 September 2011
  • Label: Portobello

| style="text-align:center;"| 57

| style="text-align:center;"| 141

| style="text-align:center;"| —

2016

| Transmission

  • Released: 27 May 2016
  • Label: Drone Records

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| —

2025

| Death Mask

  • Released: 6 June 2025
  • Label: Drone Records

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| —

= Compilation albums =

= Productions =

=Singles=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Single

! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

style="font-size:smaller;"

!width="35"| UK
{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/660/DEATH-IN-VEGAS |title=Death In Vegas - UK Chart |publisher=The Official Charts Company |access-date=2 March 2015}}

!width="35"| AUS
{{cite book|last=Ryan|first=Gavin|title=Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010|year=2011|publisher=Moonlight Publishing|location=Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia|edition=pdf|pages=77}}

!width="35"| ITA
{{cite web|url=http://italiancharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&artist=Death+In+Vegas&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts |title=Death In Vegas - Italian Chart |publisher=italiancharts.com |access-date=2 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402135232/http://italiancharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&artist=Death+In+Vegas&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts |archive-date=2 April 2015 |df=dmy }}

rowspan="2"|1996

! scope="row"| "Dirt"

| 79

| align="left" rowspan="6"| Dead Elvis

scope="row"| "Rocco"

| 84 || — || —

rowspan="4"|1997

! scope="row"| "Rekkit"

| 91

scope="row"| "Twist And Crawl"

| 81 || — || —

scope="row"| "Dirt (Slayer mix)"

| 61 || — || —

scope="row"| "Rocco" (reissue)

| 51 || — || —

rowspan="2"|1999

! scope="row"| "Dirge" (feat. Dot Allison)

| 135

| align="left" rowspan="4"| The Contino Sessions

scope="row"| "Neptune City"

| — || — || —

rowspan="3"|2000

! scope="row"| "Aisha"

| 9

scope="row"| "Dirge (Slam mix)" (feat. Dot Allison)

| 24 || — || —

scope="row"| "One More Time" (feat. Bobby Gillespie)

| 163 || — || —

| {{non-album single}}

rowspan="2"|2002

! scope="row"| "Hands Around My Throat" (feat. Nicola Kuperus)

| 36

| align="left" rowspan="2"| Scorpio Rising

scope="row"| "Scorpio Rising" (with Liam Gallagher)

| 14 || 81 || 30

rowspan="1"|2016

! scope="row"| "You Disco I Freak" (feat. Sasha Grey)

| —

| align="left" rowspan="1"| Transmission

rowspan="1"|2018

| align="left"| "Honey" (feat. Sasha Grey){{cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/death_in_vegas-honey|title=Death in Vegas "Honey"|last=Barnabe|first=Dylan|work=Exclaim!|date=June 12, 2018|access-date=December 14, 2018}}

| —

| {{non-album single}}

align="center" colspan="8" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

References

{{Reflist}}