Bentley Rhythm Ace
Also known as	BRA
Origin	Birmingham, England
Genres	Big beat, House, Electronica, Grime
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Skint, Parlophone
Website	bentleyrhythmace.com archives
Members
Mike Stokes Richard March

Bentley Rhythm Ace (BRA) are a duo formed in Birmingham, England in the late 1990s consisting of Mike Stokes and Richard March.

Contents 1 Career 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 Singles 2.3 DJ mixes 3 Band members 4 Trivia 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Career

The band was formed in Birmingham, in 1995 by March, former members of the group Pop Will Eat Itself (with guest appearances by James Atkin, a member of indie band EMF) and Mike. "Both more or less penniless, they drank in the same pub and were forced to buy their records at the cheapest place possible - car boot sales"^[1]. Their live drummer was Fuzz Townshend, with whom March previously played in Pop Will Eat Itself.

BRA signed on the Brighton based record label Skint and released their eponymous debut album, Bentley Rhythm Ace in 1997, that spawned the popular single "Bentleys Gonna Sort You Out!".

A second album, For Your Ears Only, was released in 2000 on Parlophone but was less popular. A further single "Madam, Your Carriage Awaits" was released. The group also compiled a two CD FSUK compilation album.

In 2004, the Bentleys put out a 4 songs record with Sophia Lolley called Angel Face.

The name likely refers to the Rhythm Ace line of analogue drum machines manufactured by Ace Tone, some of which were rebranded and distributed by Bentley Pianos in the UK^[2].

The group epitomises the Big Beat era. Signed to Skint Records, they have enjoyed much commercial success with their music being used on television advertisements and with an enormous underground following.

The group have all but split, playing the occasional low-key DJ set, but have released no further material since 2000. March and Townshend also both teach at Halesowen College in the Music department.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• Bentley Rhythm Ace (1997)
• For Your Ears Only (2000)

[edit] Singles

• "Bentleys Gonna Sort You Out!" (1996)
• "Midlander (There Can Only Be One)" (1996)
• "Bentleys Gonna Sort You Out!"/"Run on the Spot" (1997)
• "Theme from 'Gutbuster'" (2000)
• "How'd I Do Dat???" (2000)
• "Angel Face" (2004) – with Sophia Lolley

[edit] DJ mixes

• FSUK3 (1998)

[edit] Band members

• Richard March (born 4 March 1965, in York, England) - bassist
• Mike Stokes - keyboardist

[edit] Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (July 2009)

• The album track "T-Spot" was used in a commercial for Nik Naks.

• The song "Bentleys Gonna Sort You Out!" was used in a commercial for L'Oréal Shampoo along and an advert for Lynx deodorant in the UK. It was also used as the soundtrack for several of the "100 Greatest..." shows on the UK TV channel, Channel 4.

• "Bentleys Gonna Sort You Out!" was used by CBC Radio as the opening theme for the Saturday afternoon show Definitely Not The Opera. It has since been replaced by an original composition by Owen Pallett as of September 2008.

• "Bentleys Gonna Sort You Out!" is based on the song "Bodybuilding" by Orchester Werner Müller which appears on The In-Kraut

• The song "Feelings" is found only on the PS2 Music Generation Game, MTV:Music Generator 2

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Bentley Rhythm Ace page on MySpace.
• Bentley Rhythm Ace discography on Discogs.
• Smashing Press record label — Bentley Rhythm Ace page with news, bulletin board and links.
• Midlander — fan site.
• Bentley Rhythm Ace page on Coda Agency booking agents.

This article on a United Kingdom electronic music band is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e