Words by Samantha Harman
Saturday July 20th.
July heralds the return of summer festival On The Beach, which takes place over two weekends later this month.
The Marine Parade side of Brighton beach will be a hands-in-the-air musical haven on July 19th – 21st and 26th – 28th. As always, the line up promises to be an eclectic mix of heavy hitters such as Carl Cox, Bicep, The Kooks, Sub Focus and 90s electronic duo, Underworld not to mention some prominent supporting acts (Hello The Charlatans…)
Underworld cemented their place in the ’90s underground techno scene, but the group’s definitive breakthrough came in 1996 when their timeless anthem ‘Born Slippy (Nuxx)’ became the soundtrack of a generation after it was featured in Irvine Welsh’s film, Trainspotting.
In 2025, the track will celebrate its 30th birthday (crazy, right?) and is still widely played on dancefloors across the world today, having attained anthem status. It was the success of Born Slippy which catapulted Underworld from the underground into the heart of the mainstream.
The following two decades saw the duo build on that success while never compromising, selling millions of albums, performing countless sold-out shows, and providing scores to productions by Academy Award winning directors such as Anthony Minghella and Danny Boyle.
Underworld have also exhibited in galleries, and provided the sound-track for the Opening Ceremony to the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The critical and commercial success of the band’s Grammy nominated 2016 album ‘Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future’ saw them headline stages at Coachella, Glastonbury and Summer Sonic. On 1st November 2018, the duo launched their DRIFT series, and the release of new material followed every week for a year.
It’s safe to say the boys have kept themselves busy in the years subsequent to the release of their iconic track. Underworld are truly unique, just as at home headlining the world’s biggest festivals and events, playing underground techno clubs and warehouses, sound-tracking theatre productions or taking over art galleries, disused shoe shops and Japanese department stores. We are mega excited to have them as one of the On The Beach headliners for 2024.
The supporting acts on the day are, (A-Z) Boyz Noize, Chloe Robinson, Eats Everything, Emerald, Erol Alkan, Fall Forward and Mall Grab.
