Cookie Crew
Encyclopedia
Cookie Crew were a rap music
duo
formed in Clapham
, South London
in 1983.
two sessions for the John Peel
BBC Radio 1
show. They gained a recording contract
from the UK
dance record label
Rhythm King and were put in the studio
with the production
trio Beatmasters
, who put them in a house music
direction.
In July 1987, the resultant single
"Rok Da House" was popular in the nightclub
s. Their follow-up single "Females" also was a minor hit
in October 1987. The continuing popularity of "Rok Da House" in nightclubs eventually renewed interest in the track and garnered a couple of television
appearances on the No Limits programme
. The record
was re-issued at end of December 1987 and crossed over into the mainstream. The song became a Top 5 hit in the UK Singles Chart
at the beginning of February 1988, and was even used for an advertising campaign. The track is often quoted as being the first hip house
record.
The duo moved on to another record label
, ffrr
and different producer
s, resulting in a string of hit singles in 1989, with "Born This Way (Let's Dance)", "Got To Keep On
" with Edwin Starr
and "Come And Get Some"; plus the album
Born This Way! which reached number 24 in the UK Albums Chart
. Got To Keep On" also reached #33 in the U.S.
Dance
chart
.
By 1992 there were differences of opinion between the duo, who wanted to pursue more of an orthodox hip hop
/rap
style, and ffrr's parent label London Records
, who wanted to steer the duo towards more of a pop
oriented style of rap. This resulted in the duo parting company with ffrr and retiring from the hip hop/rap scene. Despite this Pryce and Banfield have remained involved with other projects within the music industry.
The two continued to perform and travel the world. Banfield is the sister
of The Pasadenas
' singer Andrew Banfield, and Pryce was formerly a chef
for the Ministry of Defence
.
¹ - Credited to Beatmasters featuring the Cookie Crew
² - Credited to Cookie Crew featuring Dancin' Danny D (of D Mob
)
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
formed in Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
, South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
in 1983.
Career
Their career took off after winning a national rap championship and recordingSound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
two sessions for the John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
show. They gained a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
from the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
dance record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Rhythm King and were put in the studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
with the production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
trio Beatmasters
Beatmasters
The Beatmasters are a team of dance music songwriters, musicians and producers who were successful as artists in their own right in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s and then went on to produce and remix records for many other groups...
, who put them in a house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
direction.
In July 1987, the resultant single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Rok Da House" was popular in the nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s. Their follow-up single "Females" also was a minor hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
in October 1987. The continuing popularity of "Rok Da House" in nightclubs eventually renewed interest in the track and garnered a couple of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
appearances on the No Limits programme
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
. The record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
was re-issued at end of December 1987 and crossed over into the mainstream. The song became a Top 5 hit in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at the beginning of February 1988, and was even used for an advertising campaign. The track is often quoted as being the first hip house
Hip house
Hip house, also known as house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip-hop. The style rose to prominence during the 1980s in New York and Chicago...
record.
The duo moved on to another record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, ffrr
FFRR Records
FFRR Records is a subsidiary of London Records, founded and run by English DJ Pete Tong. FFRR has also two subsidiaries: Double F Double R Records and Ffrreedom Records...
and different producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s, resulting in a string of hit singles in 1989, with "Born This Way (Let's Dance)", "Got To Keep On
Got To Keep On
"Got To Keep On" is a song by The Cookie Crew which features chorus vocals from Edwin Starr. Released in 1989, the song was an Electronic Funk with a Hip-Hop edge. The song was written by Debbie Price and was produced by Marvin Nemley and Glen Bolton...
" with Edwin Starr
Edwin Starr
Edwin Starr was an American soul music singer. Starr is most famous for his Norman Whitfield produced singles of the 1970s, most notably the number one hit "War".-Biography:...
and "Come And Get Some"; plus the album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Born This Way! which reached number 24 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. Got To Keep On" also reached #33 in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Dance
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
.
By 1992 there were differences of opinion between the duo, who wanted to pursue more of an orthodox hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
/rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
style, and ffrr's parent label London Records
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....
, who wanted to steer the duo towards more of a pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
oriented style of rap. This resulted in the duo parting company with ffrr and retiring from the hip hop/rap scene. Despite this Pryce and Banfield have remained involved with other projects within the music industry.
The two continued to perform and travel the world. Banfield is the sister
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
of The Pasadenas
The Pasadenas
The Pasadenas were a R&B / pop group from the United Kingdom, best known for their hit songs, "Tribute " and "I'm Doing Fine Now".-Career:...
' singer Andrew Banfield, and Pryce was formerly a chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
for the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
.
Singles
| Year | Title | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| July | 1987 | "Rok Da House" | - |
| October | 1987 | "Females" | - |
| January | 1988 | "Rok Da House" ¹ | #5 |
| January | 1989 | "Born This Way (Let's Dance)" | #23 |
| March | 1989 | "Got To Keep On" | #17 |
| July | 1989 | "Come On And Get Some" | #42 |
| July | 1991 | "Secrets (Of Success)" ² | #53 |
| September | 1991 | "Love Will Bring Us Back Together" | – |
| January | 1992 | "Brother Like Sister" | – |
¹ - Credited to Beatmasters featuring the Cookie Crew
² - Credited to Cookie Crew featuring Dancin' Danny D (of D Mob
D Mob
D Mob is one of the stage names used by British house music producer Dancin' Danny D .The 1988 UK hit "We Call It Acieed" hit #3 in the UK Singles Chart, and was one of a wave of acid house singles to enjoy success that year. The video was directed by Marek Budzynski...
)
Albums
- Born This Way! - 1989 - UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
No. 24; U.S. R&BTop R&B/Hip-Hop AlbumsTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
#93 - Fade To Black - 1991