| Republica | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Windsor, Berkshire, England |
| Current Members: |
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| Past Members: |
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Republica are an English alternative rock band formed in 1994.[1] They reached the height of their popularity from 1996 to 1999. The band went on hiatus in 2001 and reunited in 2008.
The Republica sound was described by the band as "technopop punk rock". The current line-up consists of Saffron (vocals), Tim Dorney (keyboards) and Johnny Male (guitar).
Former Flowered Up keyboard player Tim Dorney and Andy Todd founded Republica.[1] Singer Saffron was an actress at one point, performing for two years in London's Starlight Express. She also appeared in the video for the Chesney Hawkes' hit "The One and Only" and in the video for N-Joi's single "Mindflux". She was also lead vocalist on N-Joi's hit "Anthem" in 1990.
Republica released the first single "Out of This World" in 1994, followed by the single "Bloke" in March 1995. In April 1996, their single "Ready to Go" became their first to chart on the UK Singles Chart, when it reached Number 43. Their debut album Republica was released in July 1996 and reached No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart after being reissued in 1997. The band added Johnny Male,[2] formerly of early 1990s One Little Indian[3] act Soul Family Sensation, as an official member on guitar, with "Ready to Go" remixed as more a rock-sounding dance track. This version became their signature single and reached No. 13.[4] The fourth single, "Drop Dead Gorgeous", reached No. 7.
The group attracted positive press coverage. Emerging after a wave of female-fronted rock bands (such as Elastica, Lush, Sleeper, Echobelly and Kenickie), they had, like Curve and Garbage, a notably more aggressive and electronic sound. In 1997, they contributed a cover of "Are 'Friends' Electric?" to the Gary Numan tribute album Random. That same year, Saffron performed vocals for the Prodigy's "Fuel My Fire" from their album The Fat of the Land.
The band's second album, Speed Ballads, was released in 1998 and reached No. 37 in UK Albums Chart. Its lead single, "From Rush Hour With Love", peaked at No. 20 in UK Singles Chart. The band suffered when their label, Deconstruction Records, folded shortly after the release of Speed Ballads. Deconstruction's back catalogue was swallowed up by BMG and Speed Ballads was never released in the United States. In 2001, Republica went on hiatus. On their official site it was posted the message "Republica are not recording at this time".[5]
In 2002 BMG released the compilation Ready to Go: The Best Of against the band's wishes. After the band went on hiatus, Saffron worked with the Cure, appearing on the single "Just Say Yes" from their Greatest Hits album. She also collaborated with Junkie XL for his 2003 album . In September 2008, Republica reunited at Windsor at a Contra Mundum concert. They played "Ready to Go", "Drop Dead Gorgeous" and a cover of "You Got the Love".[6]
In early 2010, Republica performed a string of gigs.[7] They also issued a remixed version of "Ready to Go" entitled "Ready to Go 2010". In June 2010 the remix was released and reached No. 1 on the Upfront Club chart. The track has been produced by Andy Gray and Alan Moulder. In October 2010, the band performed a comeback gig at O2 Academy Islington followed by several dates in Eastern Europe and the Middle East in 2011. They performed at GuilFest in July 2012.
The band released a new EP, Christiana Obey, and also recorded a session for Brentwood radio station Phoenix FM in April 2013.[8] A joint 20th anniversary tour with the band Space took place in the spring of 2014. In October and early November 2014, Republica toured the UK in support of the Boomtown Rats "Ratlife" tour and took the opportunity to premiere some new material. Friday 29 May 2015 saw the public debut of more new material when Republica performed at the "Under The Bridge" venue in Chelsea, London, with support from Tenek and Kenelis. A deluxe edition of Republica was released on 28 February 2020 on Cherry Red Records.
The band released a new single, "New York" in November 2023, from their upcoming studio album Damaged Gods scheduled to be released in October 2024, their first in 26 years, on Armalyte Industries.[9] The second single off the album, "Hallelujah", was released 28 June 2024.
| Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS | AUT [10] | GER [11] | NED | NZ | SCO | SWI | US [12] | |||
| Republica |
| 4 | 95 | 34 | 47 | 36 | 26 | 9 | 48 | 153 | |
| Speed Ballads |
| 37 | — | — | — | — | — | 45 | — | — | |
| Damaged Gods |
| ||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [14] | AUS [15] | GER | IRE [16] | NED [17] | NZ [18] | SCO [19] | SWE [20] | SWI [21] | US [22] | ||||
| "Out of This World" | 1994 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bloke" | 1995 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Republica | |
| "Ready to Go" (original mix) | 1996 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | 59 | — | — | — | ||
| "Ready to Go" (remix) | 1997 | 13 | 40 | 33 | 26 | 25 | 42 | 12 | 40 | 34 | 56 |
| |
| "Drop Dead Gorgeous" | 7 | 131 | 90 | — | — | 30 | 8 | — | — | 93 | |||
| "From Rush Hour with Love" | 1998 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | 21 | — | — | — | Speed Ballads | |
| "Ready to Go" (remix with Tomcraft) | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | For the Queen (Tomcraft album) | |
| "Ready to Go 2010" | 2010 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "New York" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Damaged Gods | |
| "Hallelujah" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Holly" | 1995 | Republica |
| "Try Everything" | 1998 | Speed Ballads |
