Chucks - In Memoriam

The electro swing world suffered a major shock yesterday, when it was announced on the Correspondents’ official Facebook page that Tim Cole – AKA Chucks – had unexpectedly died the preceding Sunday. As the man behind the music of one of the most exciting acts to emerge in the 21^st-century, not just for the electro swing genre, but across the entire spectrum of contemporary dance music – this news hit considerably hard for a great number of people. Chucks was loved by many, and it cannot be overstated just how influential and innovative the music he produced was.

The Correspondents began their journey in 2007, when electro swing was still in its infancy, and had barely reached the shores of Britain. Primarily a duo, the band was made up of Mr (Ian) Bruce on vocals, with Chucks handling production duties. Whilst never intending to explicitly make electro swing, they were without doubt pioneers of the genre, and songs such as ‘What’s Happened To Soho?’, and ‘Washington Square’ acted as blueprints for literally hundreds to follow. In 2013, the band headlined the first ever Swingamajig festival in Birmingham; and continued to expand their sound, as evidenced by the two albums they put out, 2014’s Puppet Loosely Strung, and 2017’s Foolishman. Foolishman in particular saw the act reach incredible new heights, exploring every genre seemingly imaginable, and effectively rewriting the rules of each as they did so. Songs such as ‘Boss’ beautifully demonstrated Chucks’ tremendous ability to create strong contrasting feelings within the music; whilst ‘Pelo Amor’ was an explosion of influences, showcasing the enormous sound that could captivate audiences every night without fail. More recently, songs such as ‘Who Knew’ developed and pushed their sound even further.

In 2017, the Correspondents played a ten-year anniversary show at London’s Electric Brixton – featuring support from such mighty names as DJ Yoda, Krafty Kuts, Chris Tofu, and BBC1’s Rob Da Bank – and it came as no surprise to any that their career had managed to sustain itself for so long. The fantastic thing about them was that – whenever they were playing a stage – no matter how many times you had seen them perform previously, you’d always want to go again, such was their spectacular performance. Evidence of this comes in the fact that, in almost a decade of Swingamajigs, they’re the only act to have headlined twice – three times if you count the joint headline in 2015. And whilst Mr Bruce would often steal the show due to his outlandish dance moves, it was always Chucks holding down the music, the ever-present force at the back of the stage keeping everything together.

If I may be so bold as to reflect upon my own memories of the Correspondents, that first Swingamajig that they headlined was the first ever electro swing event I attended, and I distinctly remember them being the act I was most excited for. I’ve since seen them many many times – including at Boomtown 2016 with the full live band – and most recently at their Cardiff show last November. That particular show clashed with another gig the same night by Primal Scream, and whilst I was frustrated at the time that I missed out on the Primal Scream tickets, I’m now incredibly grateful that I got to see the Correspondents one last time. Many of their songs are amongst my favourites of the extended electro swing genre, but if I had to pick one it would likely be ‘Carnival’, an unreleased track which was always an absolute highlight of the live show. And whilst I didn’t have the good fortune to have known Chucks personally in any way other than in passing, I’m being truly honest when I say that every mutual friend of ours spoke only highly of him.

The band are undoubtedly one of the most important acts in electro swing, and I’d probably go so far as to say the most important act in the genre to have come out of Britain – and Chucks was the backbone of that. As a result of this tragic news, Freshly Squeezed has made What’s Happened To Soho? – the band’s debut EP freely available here, and I’d recommend a listen to anyone wishing to really appreciate Chucks’ skilful level of production. His work will continue to stand unparalleled, and the sound that defined the Correspondents’ music will remain a testament to his visionary and creative spirit.