Nicholas William Dennis Hodgson (born 28 March 1970), also known as MC Tunes, is an English rapper from the Moss Side area in Manchester. His name was legally changed to Lockett in 1981, and he also goes by the name Nicky Lockett. Tunes played a significant role in the Madchester-music scene during the 1980s and 1990s. In his early career Tunes took niche music genres into the UK Singles Chart, whilst fronting 808 State, and later achieved cult status with the rap rock band Dust Junkys.

In April 2014, it was announced that Damage by Stereo, Tunes' 'lost' second album was to be finally released.

808 State

Tunes first worked with 808 State on the 1990 album The North at Its Heights (ZTT Records). The album was a moderate success, reaching number 26 in the UK Albums Chart, and also saw European and Japanese releases. It spawned three UK singles that entered the UK Singles Chart: "The Only Rhyme That Bites" (ZTT, 1990) reached number 10 and again (ZTT, 1992) reached number 47, "Tunes Splits The Atom" (ZTT, 1990) number 18 and "Primary Rhyming" (ZTT, 1990) peaked at number 67 – this was also the first of the singles to have the 'versus 808 State' wording removed from the cover credits.

On 9 February 2015, Damage By Stereo was eventually released, almost 24 years after it was originally recorded. The album was made available on a limited edition double CD, Serial Number HAC018, featuring the 10 original tracks intended for the album and a five track bonus disc featuring dance remixes by 808 State's Andy Barker, DJ & Producer Mark Wells, the Dust Brothers, TtrueAR and The Laboratory Project. Two slightly different versions of the CD were manufactured. One hundred copies were created for guests at the official album launch party held at South Manchester, with another limited batch of CDs being produced for general release. The album was also made available digitally through Hacienda Records and on various other digital platforms including iTunes and Spotify. MC Tunes released "Dance Yourself To Death" with 808 State and The Dust Brothers on 4 November 2022.

Dust Junkys

Following the stalling of his solo career, Tunes formed the Dust Junkys in 1995, The Dust Junkys music was subject to remixes by artists such as Fun Loving Criminals. The track "Fever" was featured on the soundtrack for the Sony PlayStation game, Driver 2.

The most widely recognized piece of Dust Junkys music, originally called "Rinse (Beatbox Wash)", released as the B-side of "Living in the Pocket of a Drug Queen?", came to prominence as the main hook of Fatboy Slim's "Gangster Trippin'". The track peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. "Gangster Trippin'" was also featured on the Fatboy Slim album You've Come a Long Way, Baby, where 25% of the songwriting credits were attributed to Dust Junkys and MC Tunes.

Filmography

In 1990, ZTT Records commissioned film maker Howard Walmsley to create a film to promote MC Tunes music career. This became the foundation for a film called Nish Clish Banging, The MC Tunes Tapes which was completed in 2011, and shown in art house cinemas in the North West of England. The University of Central Lancashire screened the film to a capacity crowd at the Mitchell and Kenyon cinema in Preston, Lancashire, on 15 November 2012. The screening was followed by Terry Christian conducting an interview with Lockett and Walmsley, and a question and answer session with the audience. In the interview, Tunes candidly talked about the controversy that had surrounded his career and personal life.

In addition to being featured in music promotional films, in 2007 Tunes played himself in the independent feature film, Diary of a Bad Lad.

Discography

MC Tunes

Albums

  • The North at Its Heights (ZTT, 1990) Chart No. 62

References

  • ZTT Records official site
  • Warriors of pop, 21 years of ZTT Record Collector, September 2004 (copy at Zang Tuum Tumb and all that) Article about ZTT's history, contains information on MC Tunes
  • Heroes of UK Hip Hop's MC Tunes page
  • Review of the Dust Junkys at the 1998 Glastonbury Festival