RHYS from GLC (Dwain Xain Zedong,[1][2] P. Xain[1]) Graham Taylor (Graham The Bear) Billy Webb (Tim Westcountry) Tom Clugston (DJ Killer Tom) John Rutledge (Eggsy) Adam Hussain Mike Balls Mystikal 2Hats Leeroy Fashions
Goldie Lookin Chain are a Welsh comedy hip hop group from Newport, south-east Wales. The group produces humorous, and often explicit songs that satirise hip hop, today's consumer society, the "chav" culture and life in Newport and South Wales in general.
History
The group recorded six albums prior to securing a major record deal. They signed to East West Records, the home of rock band The Darkness. The band came to the attention of label executive Korda Marshall, who heard the group's music played by members of The Darkness whilst on tour.[3] GLC went on to support The Darkness in the latter stages of their UK tour. The group form part of an era known as Cool Cymru for the popularity of Welsh music and arts internationally in that period.
GLC's first UK chart entry was "Half Man Half Machine", which reached the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart.[4] When group member Rhys Hutchings was phoned by BBC chart presenter Wes on the Official Chart Show to be informed of this, Xain informed the rest of the band that they had reached number 1, much to the shock of the DJ.[2] "Half Man Half Machine" was a surreal song about Eggsy believing he was a robot, dressing up in foil, and going to the shops to buy cigarettes and crisps. The song namechecks many well-known 1980s 8-bit computer systems including Binatone, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, ZX81 and BBC Micro.
In August 2004, the group reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart with "Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do".[4] With the tagline "The gun is the tool, the mind is the weapon", the track became a popular radio hit, satirising the American hip hop scene. The B-side was the album track "Soapbar".
Their first nationally released album was called Greatest Hits, the name a play on both the group's previous lack of commercial success and their "stoner" image; it compiled a mixture of new material and selections from their previous six unofficial albums. It was released in September 2004, and debuted at number 5 in the UK Albums Chart.[4] The album was released in May 2005 in the US with the title Straight Outta Newport, with cover art similar to N.W.A's album Straight Outta Compton. However, this version of the album was missing two tracks – "Maggot" and "You Knows I Loves You".
Their next single release was "Your Mother's Got a Penis", with an accompanying video based on a supermarket theme. "Your Mother's Got a Penis" first appeared on their album The Manifesto, and reached No. 14 in the UK.[4]
The band – informally known as "the Chain" or simply "the GLC" – released "You Knows I Loves You Baby", a parody of 1980s love songs from the albums Greatest Hits and The Manifesto, on 13 December 2004; this reached number 22 in the UK chart.[4] "Your Missus Is a Nutter" was the first single from second album Safe as Fuck. The album was originally going to be called "Safety in Numbers", a tribute to the album Power in Numbers by alternative L.A. rap group Jurassic 5. The single reached No. 14 in the UK.[4]
In 2005, GLC were invited by the Football Association of Wales (FAW) to perform before the World Cup qualifying match against England at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. The band dedicated "Your Missus Is a Nutter" to David Beckham about his wife, who was present at the match. The ensuing furore, with the Welshfootball authorities having to apologise to the Beckhams[5], as well as expressing outrage at the band's perceived lack of respect, prompted many people to question why the organisers, knowing their reputation, had hired them to play in the first place.[6]
On 17 October 2011, GLC released the album Blue Waffle, featuring new songs including "Biscuit", "I Seen Your Mother", "K Hole" and "If I Told You". Later that year, group member and Doctor Who fan Adam Hussain contributed a memory about "How a first date was interrupted by The Doctor"[7][self-published source?] to a forthcoming Doctor Who charity book, designed to raise money for Alzheimer's Research UK.
GLC released the follow-up to their album Greatest Hits, titled Greatest Hits 2, in 2015.
Sponsorship of Newport County Football Club
Since their inception in the early 2000s, the group have maintained a close affiliation with their hometown football club, Newport County. GLC sponsored the team's kit during the team's 2004–05 season. Originally intended only for wear in matches in the FAW Premier Cup, County were drawn away to similarly colour shirted Caernarfon Town in the competition, leading to the club's GLC sponsored shirt being worn for two league matches, away to Maidenhead United and at home against Redbridge F.C.[8][self-published source?] In 2021, they designed Newport's 3rd kit in collaboration with Hummel.[9]
