On 3 August 1987, M|A|R|R|S released “Pump Up the Volume” on 4AD. UK Singles Chart #1 for three weeks, US Billboard #13. The first UK #1 built entirely from samples - more than 30 source tracks, among them Public Enemy, Chris Montez, Eric B. & Rakim, James Brown and The Ohio Players. A lawsuit from Stock Aitken Waterman over an unauthorised sample of Mel & Kim's “Respectable”. The project dissolved after nine months - one track, one #1. The Akai S900 became the hub of the production, and its use here shaped house music for the next three years.
M|A|R|R|S: two acts, one track
The M|A|R|R|S name is an acronym of the members' initials: Martyn Young and Alex Ayuli of AR Kane, plus Rudy Tambala (also AR Kane), Ross (Martin Young) and Steven Young of Colourbox. Both acts were on 4AD Records.
Ivo Watts-Russell, 4AD's head, pitched them a joint track in January 1987. The idea: marry AR Kane's avant-garde guitar noise with Colourbox's dance electronics. Work began in February at Powerhouse Studios, Stanmore, north-west London.
The plan had been to release this as a B-side on an eclectic EP. Nobody expected a #1.
Recording: a collage cut in 10 days
“Pump Up the Volume” was assembled over 10 days in February-March 1987. Chief engineer: John Fryer (who would go on to produce Depeche Mode's Violator). Main samplers - the Akai S900 (12-bit, up to 0.63 seconds per sample) and the E-mu Emulator II (8-bit, up to 17.6 seconds).
Key samples:
- “Pump up the volume” - lifted from Eric B. & Rakim “I Know You Got Soul” (1987, James Brown in the original)
- Drums - James Brown “Funky Drummer” (1970) + Public Enemy “Rebel Without a Pause” (1987)
- Synth - Chris Montez “Let's Dance” (1962), manipulated through the Akai S900
- “Brothers and sisters” vocal - Rakim from Eric B. & Rakim
- A cryptic “Yeah, yeah, yeah” - Mel & Kim “Respectable” (1987, producers Stock Aitken Waterman)
Total sources - over 30. M|A|R|R|S had cleared exactly none of them. In 1987 UK copyright law was unclear on sampling (explicit criminalisation of unlicensed sampling only happened in 1991).
Anatomy of the sound
- Key: F♯ minor (central), with modulations across samples
- BPM: 114
- Length: 3:33 (single), 5:12 (12-inch)
- Primary sampler: Akai S900 (key hooks)
- Secondary sampler: E-mu Emulator II (long passages, drums)
- Drum machine: Roland TR-808 (claps on top)
- Mixer: Soundcraft 24, routed to an SSL 6000E
- Scratching: Dave Dorrell (DJ, added during the mix)
- Producers: Colourbox + AR Kane (self-produced)
- Studio: Powerhouse Studios, Stanmore, February-March 1987
- Release: 3 August 1987, 4AD Records
The Stock Aitken Waterman lawsuit: $180,000
By the end of August 1987 “Pump Up the Volume” was UK #1. 4AD received a letter from Pete Waterman, head of Stock Aitken Waterman, demanding damages for the unauthorised use of “Yeah, yeah, yeah” from Mel & Kim “Respectable”. Waterman wanted $180,000 - more than 4AD was making on the single.
Ivo Watts-Russell negotiated. The final deal: 4AD paid $70,000 out of court and stripped the “Yeah, yeah, yeah” sample from all future pressings. The original 12-inch stayed as it was, but new presses (from September 1987 onwards) lacked that sample.
A small detail: collectors in the 1990s paid up to £80 for an original 7-inch from the first press run - exactly because of the missing SAW sample. It became a “hidden Easter egg” for the hardcore.
“Pump Up the Volume” changes sampling law
The success of “Pump Up the Volume” and the subsequent lawsuits (not only SAW, but threats from James Brown and Public Enemy) triggered a change in UK copyright law. In 1988 the UK passed the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, which for the first time spelled out: “an unauthorised sample is a breach of copyright and requires licensing”.
Before 1987, sampling in the UK had been a grey zone. After “Pump Up the Volume”, every future hit that used samples had to go through a clearance process. That temporarily slowed UK hip-hop's development, but it also pushed artists toward original production rather than collage.
Chart history and breakup
UK Singles Chart: #1 for three weeks (August-September 1987), 17 weeks in the chart. US Billboard Hot 100: #13 (peak in January 1988). Australia: #1 for two weeks. Canada: #1 for one week. UK sales - 1.2 million, US - 800,000.
Nine months after release, M|A|R|R|S broke up. AR Kane and Colourbox couldn't agree on how to split the royalties after the hit. AR Kane accused Colourbox of “stealing” creative control; Colourbox accused AR Kane of “passivity” during the sessions. Ivo Watts-Russell, in a 1992 interview, admitted: “M|A|R|R|S was an experiment that worked too well for the people involved”.
What to listen for next
Sampling enters UK mainstream 1987-1988: “Pump Up the Volume” (1987) → “Beat Dis” Bomb the Bass (1988) → “Stutter Rap” Morris Minor & the Majors (1988). Three UK hits built on sample collages.
Scratching and sampling in the 80s: “Rockit” Herbie Hancock (1983) → “Pump Up the Volume” (1987) → “Bizarre Love Triangle” New Order (1986). Three versions of one idea - the studio as an instrument.