Knocker (folklore) and Republica: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
:''For [[Stephen King]]'s novel, see ''[[The Tommyknockers]]''.''
| Name = Republica
{{Infobox Paranormalcreatures
| Img =
|Creature_Name = Knocker
| Img_size = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels. Set the value as a number without "px". -->
|Image_Name =
|Image_Caption =
| Landscape =
| Background = group_or_band
|Grouping = [[Mythological creature]] <br/> [[Fairy]] <br/> [[Sprite]]
|Possibilities =
| Alias =
|AKA = Knacker <br/> Tommyknocker
| Origin = [[England]]
| Genre = [[Alternative dance]]<br/>[[Dance-punk]]<br/>[[Techno]]<br/>[[Alternative rock]]<br/>[[Electronica]]
|Country = [[England]]
|Region = [[Cornwall]]
| Years_active = [[circa|c]] 1994-1998
| Label = [[Sony BMG]]/[[Deconstruction Records|Deconstruction]]
|Habitat = Mines
| Associated_acts = [[Flowered Up]]
|First_Reported = In folklore
| URL = [http://www.republica.com/ republica.com]
|Last_Sighted =
|Status = Unconfirmed
| Current_members =
| Past_members = Tim Dorney<br>Andy Todd<br>[[Saffron (singer)|Saffron]]

Johnny Male<br>Pete Riley<br>David Barbarossa<br>
}}
}}
The '''Knocker''', '''Knacker''', '''Bwca''' ([[Welsh language|Welsh]]), '''[[Bucca]]''' ([[Cornish language|Cornish]]) or '''Tommyknocker''' (US) is the [[Wales|Welsh]] and [[Cornish people|Cornish]] equivalent of [[Ireland|Irish]] [[leprechauns]] and [[England|English]] and [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[brownie (elf)|brownies]]. About two feet tall and grizzled, but not misshapen, they live beneath the ground. Here they wear tiny versions of standard miner's garb and commit random mischief, such as stealing miner's unattended tools and food.


'''Republica''' were an [[England|English]] [[musical band|band]] formed in 1994. The height of their popularity spanned from 1996 to 1998. The Republica [[sound]] was described by the band as "[[techno]]-[[Pop music|pop]] [[punk rock]]", although ''[[Melody Maker]]'' took to calling it "[[electronica]]", a label which stuck as a genre category.
Their name comes from the knocking on the mine walls that happens just before cave-ins – actually the creaking of earth and timbers before giving way. To some of the miners, the knockers were malevolent spirits and the knocking was the sound of them hammering at walls and supports to cause the cave-in. To others, who saw them as essentially well-meaning [[practical joker]]s, the knocking was their way of warning the miners that a life-threatening collapse was imminent.


== History ==
While some variety of "[[little people]]" was common to all [[Celt]]ic and northern [[Germanic people]]s, the origin of knockers probably comes from early [[Welsh mythology]], in which they may have been the pre-[[Brythonic]] inhabitants of the [[Celt]]ic west of Britain. Skilled in the arts of mining and tunnelling, they taught these arts to the [[Britons (historic)|Britons]]. These legends may have influenced [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s concept of the [[Dwarves#Tolkien.27s Dwarves|Dwarves]], consummate miners and stoneworkers who taught these skills to men.
Republica was started by former [[Flowered Up]] keyboard player Tim Dorney and Andy Todd, and quickly came to popular attention with their first single "[[Ready to Go]]" and its follow-up "Drop Dead Gorgeous". The lead singer, [[Saffron (singer)|Saffron]], was previously a lead vocalist on [[N-Joi]]'s rave crossover pop hit, "Anthem", in 1990.


The band's [[Republica (album)|self-titled]] first album was released in July 1996 and reached #4 in the album charts. However, their follow-up 1998 album ''[[Speed Ballads]]'' and its lead single, ''From Rush Hour With Love'', reached only #37 and #20 respectively. The group is rumoured to have dissolved shortly afterwards but has never officially stated this. The last message to fans in late 1999 via their official website stated "Republica are not recording at this time".
According to some [[Cornwall|Cornish]] folklore however, the Knockers were the helpful spirits of people who had died in previous accidents in the many tin mines in the county, warning the miners of impending danger. To give thanks for the warnings, and to avoid future peril the miners cast the last bite of their [[pasty|pasties]] into the mines for the Knockers.


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]], who released a ''Best Of'' album. On finding out about the release of ''Ready To Go - the best of Republica'', Saffron promptly posted a statement on her new band's website that said "To all the fans, don't be fooled by this shoddy release. It's completely unofficial, the band had no dealings whatsoever with its release, we were not even informed. The track listing isn't one we'd have picked, the cover photos are so way out of date, poor in quality and overall it won't contribute to us bringing out a brand new album".{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
In the 1820s, immigrant [[Wales|Welsh]] miners brought tales of the knockers and their theft of unwatched items and warning knocks to western [[Pennsylvania]], when they gravitated there to work in the mines. [[Cornish people|Cornish]] miners, much sought after in the years following the 1848 [[gold rush]], brought them to [[California]]. When asked if they had relatives back in [[Cornwall]] who would come to work the mines, the Cornish miners always said something along the lines of "Well, me cousin Jack over in Cornwall wouldst come, could ye pay ’is boat ride", and so came to be called [[Cousin Jack]]s. The Cousin Jacks, as notorious for losing tools as they were for diving out of shafts just before they collapsed, attributed this to their diminutive friends and refused to enter new mines until assured by the management that the knockers were already on duty. Belief in the knockers remained well into the 20th century. When one large mine closed in 1956 and the owners sealed the entrance, fourth, fifth, and sixth generation Cousin Jacks circulated a petition calling on the mineowners to set the knockers free so that they could move on to other mines. The owners complied.<ref>[http://www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/stories/tommyknockers.htm ''Cousin Jacks & Tommyknockers Remain a Part of Our Mining Culture & Heritage'']</ref>
Republica has not released any new material since the release of the "Best Of" album, and, while the bandmembers' pursuit of solo projects would imply the band has split, their official website merely states that they are "not recording at this time"<ref>[http://www.republica.com/ http://www.republica.com]</ref>.


During their lifetime, the group attracted much positive press coverage. Emerging after a wave of female-fronted [[rock band]]s (such as [[Elastica]], [[Lush (band)|Lush]], [[Sleeper (band)|Sleeper]], [[Echobelly]] and [[Kenickie]]), it had, like [[Garbage (band)|Garbage]], a notably more aggressive and electronic sound.
==Cultural References==
* A British TV channel broadcast a children's TV show in the 1980s called "The Knockers". {{fact|date=October 2008}}
* There is a Colorado [[brewery]] named [[Tommyknocker's]] [http://www.tommyknocker.com/].
* The video game [[Darklands (computer game)| Darklands]] featured knockers as enemies later in the game.
* [[Nocker]]s, a [[kith]] in [[White Wolf, Inc.|White Wolf]]'s [[Changeling: The Dreaming]].
* [[The Tommyknockers]] is a [[science fiction]]/[[Horror fiction|horror]] book by [[Stephen King]]. According to [[On Writing]], much of the book is an allegory for his own struggles with substance abuse.
* [[Tommyknockers]] is a [[fantasy]]/[[heavy metal]] song performed by the band [[Blind Guardian]] on their [[1990]] album [[Tales from the Twilight World]].
*"Tommyknocker" is one of the clix availible in the Horror Clix (the "Nightmare" series).
* In [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'' novels, the Knockermen are [[dwarf (Discworld)|dwarf]]s who are trained in safely detonating pockets of [[firedamp]].


Saffron was born in [[Nigeria]] and claims [[Portugal|Portuguese]], [[Han Chinese|Chinese]] and [[England|English]] ancestry. Outside of the band, she was also the featured vocalist on [[The Prodigy]]'s "Fuel My Fire", from their 1997 album ''[[The Fat of the Land]]''.
==References==
<references/>


More recently, Saffron provided guest vocals on Parka's first album ''Attack of the Hundred Yard Hardman'' on the track "DJ In The Corner".
==See also==

*[[Coblynau]]
==Members==
*[[Kobold]]
* [[Saffron (singer)|Saffron]] - (Samantha Sprackling, born [[3 June]] [[1968]], [[Ibadan]], [[Nigeria]]) - [[vocals]]
*[[Gnome]]
* [[Tim Dorney]] - (born [[30 March]] [[1965]], [[Ascot, Berkshire|Ascot]], [[Berkshire]]) - [[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]]
*[[Gremlin]]
* [[Andy Todd]] - [[keyboardist]]
*[[Pisky]]
* [[Johnny Male]] - (born [[10 October]] [[1963]], [[Windsor, Berkshire]]) - [[guitar]] (formerly of [[One Little Indian Records]]'s Soul Family Sensation and Sensation)
*[[Vogs]]
* [[Pete Riley]] - [[drum kit|drum]]s
*[[Peter and the Piskies: Cornish Folk and Fairy Tales]]
* [[David Barbarossa]] - [[drum kit|drum]]s (formerly of [[Bow Wow Wow]], and [[Adam & the Ants]])
*[[Cornish emigration]]
* [[John Lane]] (Lovett) - [[guitar]]
*[[Mining in Cornwall]]

== Former members' later projects ==
* Saffron recorded the songs "Crusher", "Spirits", and "Beauty Never Fades" on [[Junkie XL]]'s 2003 album ''[[Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin]]''.
* In 2001 Saffron worked with [[The Cure]] on two tracks for their Greatest Hits album and features in the video for "[[Just Say Yes]]".
* In 2005, Saffron was working on a new band called Swarm.
* Keyboard player Tim Dorney briefly reunited with fellow former Flowered Up band member Liam Maher, but they split up in late 2002. Flowered Up tried to re-form in 2007 but Dorney refused, causing the cancellation of a planned reunion tour. He is currently working as a painter and decorator and working on Contra Mundum with Jonny Male releases in early 2008 on White Label.
* The Republica website states that Johnny Male is now part of a band called Cheap Glue, but no more details have emerged. JMale also co-wrote tracks for ''Lipslide'', the 1997 solo album by [[Sarah Cracknell]] of [[Saint Etienne (band)|Saint Etienne]] and "[[Reach (S Club 7 song)|Reach]]" by [[S Club 7]]. He has recently moved to [[Tobago]] where he continues to write songs.

== Discography ==
=== Albums ===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
|-
!Title
!Release date
!Label
!width="40"|<small>[[UK Albums Chart|U.K. Albums]]</small>
!width="40"|<small>[[Billboard 200|U.S. Albums]]</small>
!width="40"|<small>[[Heatseekers|U.S. Heatseekers]]</small>
!width="40"|<small>[[Media Control Charts|German Albums]]<small>
|-
| align=left |''[[Republica (album)|Republica]]''
| align=center|[[5 October]] 1996
| align=left rowspan=3|Deconstruction<br>Records
| align=center|4
| align=center|153
| align=center|6
| align=center|47
|-
| align=left |''Republica - Limited Edition 2 Disk Set (Live Versions)''
| align=center|1998
| align=center|-
| align=center|-
| align=center|-
| align=center|-
|-
| align=left |''[[Speed Ballads]]''
| align=center|30 July 1998
| align=center|37
| align=center|n/a
| align=center|n/a
| align=center|n/a
|-
| align=left |''Ready To Go: The Best Of''
| align=center|27 May 2002
| align=left |Camden
| align=center|-
| align=center|-
| align=center|-
| align=center|-
|-
|}

*Note: A U.S. release date was set for ''Speed Ballads'' for Jan. 1999 but Deconstruction records went out of business in late 1998 so this never occurred.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}

=== Singles ===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Title
!Release<br>date
!Album
!width="40"|<small>[[UK singles chart|UK singles]]<small>
!width="40"|<small>[[Billboard Hot 100|U.S. Hot 100]]<small>
!width="40"|<small>[[Modern Rock Tracks|U.S. Modern Rock]]<small>
!width="40"|<small>[[Media Control Charts|GER singles]]<small>
!width="45"|<small>[[ARIA Chart|Australia]]</small>
|-
|align="left" |"Out of this World"
|align="center" rowspan=2|1994
|align="left" |''-''
|align="center" |-
|align="center" |-
|align="center" |-
|align="center" |-
|align="center" |n/a
|-
|align="left" |"Bloke"
|align="left" |''Bloke EP''
|align="center" |85
|align="center" |-
|align="center" |-
|align="center" |-
|align="center" |n/a
|-
|align="left" |"[[Ready to Go]]"
|align="center" |1996
|align="left" rowspan=3|''Republica''
|align="center" |43
|align="center" |-
|align="center" |-
|align="center" |-
|align="center" |40
|-
|align="left" |"[[Ready to Go|Ready to Go (U.S. Mix)]]" <small>(re-issue)</small>
|align="center" rowspan=2|1997
|align="center" |13
|align="center" |56
|align="center" |7
|align="center" |33
|align="center" |n/a
|-
|align="left" |"Drop Dead Gorgeous"
|align="center" |7
|align="center" |93
|align="center" |39
|align="center" |90
|align="center" |-
|-
|align="left" |"From Rush Hour With Love"
|align="center" rowspan=2|1998
|align="left" rowspan=2|''Speed Ballads''
|align="center" |20
|align="center" |n/a
|align="center" |n/a
|align="center" |n/a
|align="center" |-
|-
|align="left" |"Try Everything"
|align="center" |-
|align="center" |n/a
|align="center" |n/a
|align="center" |n/a
|align="center" |n/a
|-
|}
hmmmmmmmmm is this true?

== Audio sample ==
{{Listen|filename=Republica - Drop Dead Gorgeous excerpt.ogg|title=Republica - Drop Dead Gorgeous excerpt|description=An excerpt from ''Drop Dead Gorgeous''}}

== See also ==
* [[List of alternative music artists]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.republica.com/ Official website] (Swarm link for Saffron no longer working)
*[http://beer.bonoa.net/knocker.jpg Cornish Knocker]
* [http://www.republica.org.uk Fanclub Republica website] (appears to be dead)
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/10/25/goblins_feature.shtml BBC page on Devon myths and legends]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Bor4zefbk7gf2 All Music Guide entry for Republica]

Βio


[[Category:Celtic legendary creatures]]
[[Category:1990s music groups]]
[[Category:Miners]]
[[Category:Alternative musical groups]]
[[Category:Cornish culture]]
[[Category:British house music groups]]
[[Category:History of Cornwall]]
[[Category:English musical groups]]
[[Category:British techno music groups]]
[[Category:English rock music groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1996]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1998]]


[[fr:Knocker]]
[[de:Republica]]
[[ja:ノッカー]]
[[fr:Republica]]
[[ru:Republica]]
[[sv:Republica]]

Revision as of 11:54, 13 October 2008

Republica

Republica were an English band formed in 1994. The height of their popularity spanned from 1996 to 1998. The Republica sound was described by the band as "techno-pop punk rock", although Melody Maker took to calling it "electronica", a label which stuck as a genre category.

History

Republica was started by former Flowered Up keyboard player Tim Dorney and Andy Todd, and quickly came to popular attention with their first single "Ready to Go" and its follow-up "Drop Dead Gorgeous". The lead singer, Saffron, was previously a lead vocalist on N-Joi's rave crossover pop hit, "Anthem", in 1990.

The band's self-titled first album was released in July 1996 and reached #4 in the album charts. However, their follow-up 1998 album Speed Ballads and its lead single, From Rush Hour With Love, reached only #37 and #20 respectively. The group is rumoured to have dissolved shortly afterwards but has never officially stated this. The last message to fans in late 1999 via their official website stated "Republica are not recording at this time".

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, who released a Best Of album. On finding out about the release of Ready To Go - the best of Republica, Saffron promptly posted a statement on her new band's website that said "To all the fans, don't be fooled by this shoddy release. It's completely unofficial, the band had no dealings whatsoever with its release, we were not even informed. The track listing isn't one we'd have picked, the cover photos are so way out of date, poor in quality and overall it won't contribute to us bringing out a brand new album".[citation needed] Republica has not released any new material since the release of the "Best Of" album, and, while the bandmembers' pursuit of solo projects would imply the band has split, their official website merely states that they are "not recording at this time"[1].

During their lifetime, the group attracted much positive press coverage. Emerging after a wave of female-fronted rock bands (such as Elastica, Lush, Sleeper, Echobelly and Kenickie), it had, like Garbage, a notably more aggressive and electronic sound.

Saffron was born in Nigeria and claims Portuguese, Chinese and English ancestry. Outside of the band, she was also the featured vocalist on The Prodigy's "Fuel My Fire", from their 1997 album The Fat of the Land.

More recently, Saffron provided guest vocals on Parka's first album Attack of the Hundred Yard Hardman on the track "DJ In The Corner".

Members

Former members' later projects

  • Saffron recorded the songs "Crusher", "Spirits", and "Beauty Never Fades" on Junkie XL's 2003 album Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin.
  • In 2001 Saffron worked with The Cure on two tracks for their Greatest Hits album and features in the video for "Just Say Yes".
  • In 2005, Saffron was working on a new band called Swarm.
  • Keyboard player Tim Dorney briefly reunited with fellow former Flowered Up band member Liam Maher, but they split up in late 2002. Flowered Up tried to re-form in 2007 but Dorney refused, causing the cancellation of a planned reunion tour. He is currently working as a painter and decorator and working on Contra Mundum with Jonny Male releases in early 2008 on White Label.
  • The Republica website states that Johnny Male is now part of a band called Cheap Glue, but no more details have emerged. JMale also co-wrote tracks for Lipslide, the 1997 solo album by Sarah Cracknell of Saint Etienne and "Reach" by S Club 7. He has recently moved to Tobago where he continues to write songs.

Discography

Albums

Title Release date Label U.K. Albums U.S. Albums U.S. Heatseekers German Albums
Republica 5 October 1996 Deconstruction
Records 		4 153 6 47
Republica - Limited Edition 2 Disk Set (Live Versions) 1998 - - - -
Speed Ballads 30 July 1998 37 n/a n/a n/a
Ready To Go: The Best Of 27 May 2002 Camden - - - -
  • Note: A U.S. release date was set for Speed Ballads for Jan. 1999 but Deconstruction records went out of business in late 1998 so this never occurred.[citation needed]

Singles

Title Release
date 		Album UK singles U.S. Hot 100 U.S. Modern Rock GER singles Australia
"Out of this World" 1994 - - - - - n/a
"Bloke" Bloke EP 85 - - - n/a
"Ready to Go" 1996 Republica 43 - - - 40
"Ready to Go (U.S. Mix)" (re-issue) 1997 13 56 7 33 n/a
"Drop Dead Gorgeous" 7 93 39 90 -
"From Rush Hour With Love" 1998 Speed Ballads 20 n/a n/a n/a -
"Try Everything" - n/a n/a n/a n/a

hmmmmmmmmm is this true?

Audio sample

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.republica.com

External links

Βio

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