Gat Decor
Gat Decor
[edit]Gat Decor (also styled Gat Décor) were an English electronic music production group formed in Hammersmith, London, active from 1992 to 1997. They are best known for the 1992 track "Passion", widely regarded as one of the defining records of the early progressive house genre.
Members
[edit]The core members of Gat Decor were British DJs and producers:
- Simon Slater — primary creative force; continued to license and manage "Passion" long after the group disbanded
- Laurence Nelson-Boudville — co-producer
- Simon Hanson — co-producer
Name Origin
[edit]The name Gat Decor is an anagram of Tag Records, a record store located in Soho, London, which was a significant hub of the early 1990s UK underground house music scene.
Discography
[edit]Singles
[edit]| Year | Title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Passion" | Effective Records | Original release; B-side featured Darren Emerson's debut remix. Re-issued 1996 with vocal by Beverley Skeete; peaked at #6 in the UK. |
| 1993 | "Do You Want It Right Now" | Effective Records | Second and final official single |
Production Credits
[edit]In addition to their own releases, Gat Decor provided production and remix work for other artists:
| Year | Artist | Track |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Euphoria | "Love You Right" |
| 1992 | The Odd Company | "Swing in Trance" |
| 1993 | Latitude | "Building a Bridge" |
| 1994 | Jean-Michel Jarre | "Chronologie Part 6" |
"Passion"
[edit]"Passion" was originally released in 1992 on Effective Records as a 12-inch single. The A-side, known as The Naked Mix, was an instrumental progressive house track that became an immediate underground hit in UK clubs. The B-side featured a remix by Darren Emerson, notable as one of Emerson's earliest remix credits before his rise to prominence as a member of Underworld.
A 1996 re-release subtitled the "Do You Want It Right Now Mix" incorporated a new vocal performance by singer Beverley Skeete and reached number six on the UK Singles Chart, introducing the track to a mainstream audience four years after its original underground success.
The track has since become a touchstone of early 1990s UK dance culture. In 2020, Mixmag included "Passion" in its list of the greatest drops in dance music history, and NME ranked it among the best house music songs ever recorded. That same year, Tomorrowland included it in their official Ibiza 500 list.
Legacy
[edit]Despite releasing only two official singles, Gat Decor left a lasting impression on electronic dance music. "Passion" has been remixed and bootlegged extensively over the decades, with notable mixes by Junior Vasquez and DJ Chus, among others. Simon Slater has continued to manage and license the track, keeping it in circulation well beyond the group's active years.
See Also
[edit]References
[edit]- Phillips, Dom (2009). Superstar DJs Here We Go!: The Rise and Fall of the Superstar DJ. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4070-2695-4.