Jean Jacques Smoothie

Jean Jacques Smoothie
Smoothie in 2010
Background information
Birth name	Steve Robson
Also known as	Brinkley Paste[1]
Born	Gloucester, England
Origin	Cardiff, Wales
Genres	big beat[1] house[1] French house[1]
Occupations	DJ producer
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Plastic Raygun
Website	jeanjacquessmoothie.com

Jean Jacques Smoothie (born Steve Robson) is a British DJ, producer, and record label founder.^[2][1] Originally from Gloucester, England, Robson moved in 1994 to Cardiff, Wales, where he began DJing and founded a record label, Plastic Raygun, with some friends.

Robson released his debut single in 1997 and adopted the Smoothie stage name the following year. In 2001, he attained a surprise hit with "2 People", a house music song featuring sampled vocals by Minnie Riperton. The single reached number 12 on the UK singles chart and was the country's most-played song on radio for six weeks. Since then, Smoothie has released further singles, remixed tracks for artists including Kylie Minogue, and performed DJ sets throughout Europe. Smoothie is considered a one-hit wonder.^[3]

Biography

Early life

Robson was born in Gloucester, England.^[1] In 1994, he moved to Cardiff, Wales, to pursue a degree in broadcasting.^[1] While in Cardiff, he began DJing, buying his first decks on the same day that he broke up with his girlfriend.^[1] His first performance was in 1994, in the back bar of a student nightclub titled "the Cheesey Club".^[1]

1997-2000: Early recordings

In 1997, Robson and some friends set up their own record label, Plastic Raygun, and began releasing singles.^[1] His debut single, "The Magnificent", was released that year.^[1] Robson reported that it sold approximately 1,500 copies, although he regarded it as a "badly produced big beat" track.^[1] His next single, "Nite Time", sampled a song by The Isley Brothers and drew inspiration from Parisian house music.^[1] The single was not a commercial success, but it prompted Robson to adopt the stage name Jean Jacques Smoothie, given his music's French influences.^[1] Following the release of "Nite Time", Smoothie landed a recording session with British DJ Steve Lamacq.^[1] Recording under the pseudonym Brinkley Paste, Robson made a number of songs, including what would become "2 People".^[1]

2001-2002: "2 People" and mainstream success

Main article: 2 People (song)

In 2001, Smoothie released the single "2 People", which prominently samples vocals from the 1975 single "Inside My Love" by American vocalist Minnie Riperton.^[4] Smoothie released the song on his own Plastic Raygun label, although he secured a further distribution deal with a larger label, The Echo Label.^[4] The single caught the attention of French producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï and English duo Moloko, both of whom recorded remixes that were featured on its CD single.^[4][5]

The single initially attained modest commercial success, peaking at number 30 on the UK Independent Singles chart in early September 2001.^[6] However, following the September 11 attacks in the United States, radio programmers in the UK began removing certain, potentially insensitive songs from rotation, leading them to add new ones — including "2 People" — to their playlists in their place.^[4] Fueled by this strong airplay, the song became a surprise hit.^[4] The single became the most-played on UK radio for six weeks, sold over 100,000 copies, and reached number 12 on the UK Singles chart, as well as entering several other singles charts internationally.^{[4][7][8][9][10]} It also became a top 5 hit on the UK Dance and Independent Singles charts, and ranked as one of the United Kingdom's 200 biggest hits of 2001.^[11][12]

Following the success of "2 People", Smoothie was invited to remix Kylie Minogue's 2002 single "In Your Eyes", as well as performing on Top of the Pops and receiving an award at the 2001 Welsh Music Awards.^[1][4] He released a follow-up single, "Love & Evil", in 2002, and it attained modest success, entering the UK Singles chart and peaking within the top 30 of the UK Dance and Independent Singles charts.^[7][11][12] However, due to the success of "2 People", Smoothie is now considered a one-hit wonder.^[3]

2003-present: Further releases

In 2003, Smoothie released another single, "Keep It Movin'".^[5] For the tenth anniversary of "2 People", in 2011, Smoothie released an EP of new versions of the track, featuring new vocals from American singer Tara Busch in place of the original vocals by Riperton.^[4][13] He also continues to remix songs and perform as a live DJ.^[5]

Discography

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions								Album
		UK [7]	UK Dance [11]	UK Ind. [12]	AUS [14]	BEL (FL) [8]	BEL (WA) Tip [15]	EU [9]	SCO [10]
"The Magnificent"	1998	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Non-album singles
"Nite Time"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"2 People"	2001	13	5	3	63	18	9	51	14
"Love & Evil"	2002	83	21	18	—	—	—	—	85
"Keep It Movin'"	2003	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Remixes

• 2001, "Mirwais Extended Mix" (of "2 People")
• 2001, "Moloko's Maxique Mix" (of "2 People")
• 2001, "Louis La Roche Mix" (of "2 People")
• 2002, "Acoustic Mix" (of "Love & Evil")

References

1. "BBC Wales - Music - Jean Jacques Smoothie - Biography". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
2. "BBC - Wales - Music - Jean Jacques Smoothie". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
3. Lloyd, Kate (May 16, 2022). "Out on the town with Bad Boy Chiller Crew". Time Out. Retrieved July 4, 2023. It was him who pulled together the group's first proper song, chopping up a remix of DJ Jean Jacques Smoothie's 2001 one-hit wonder '2 People' and writing verses to go over it.
4. McLaren, James (September 8, 2011). "Jean Jacques Smoothie's 2People". BBC. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
5. "Jean Jacques Smoothie: Biography". Resident Advisor. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
6. "Official Independent Singles Chart on 7/10/2001 6 October 2001 - 12 October 2001". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
7. "Jean Jacques Smoothie". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
8. "Discografie Jean Jacques Smoothie". ultratop.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 February 2021.
9. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 43. 20 October 2001. p. 11. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
10. Peak chart positions for singles on the Scottish Singles Chart:
    • "2 People": "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 − 7 October 2001 − 13 October 2001". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
    • "Love & Evil": "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 − 6 October 2002 − 12 October 2002". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
11. Peak chart positions for singles on the UK Dance Singles Chart:
    • "2 People": "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40 − 7 October 2001 − 13 October 2001". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
    • "Love & Evil": "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40 − 6 October 2002 − 12 October 2002". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
12. Peak chart positions for singles on the UK Independent Singles Chart:
    • "2 People": "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50 − 7 October 2001 − 13 October 2001". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
    • "Love & Evil": "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50 − 6 October 2002 − 12 October 2002". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
13. Carlson, Dean. "2People [2011 Rework]". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
14. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 257.
15. "Discographie Jean Jacques Smoothie". ultratop.be (in French). Retrieved 23 February 2021.