Massive Ego

Massive Ego formed in 1996 with original band members Marc Massive and Andy Thirlwall. Over the years there have been several line-up changes for the band however the consistent factor in the band is front man Marc. Who over the last decade has modelled for Dolce and Gabbana, Paul Smith, appeared in various pop videos for the likes of Elton John, Take That, Holly Johnson, advertising campaigns for Levis and Nikos with model agency Storm & So Dam Tuff, to name but a few. Over the years Marc has graced many magazine covers and has been the subject to press interest largely due to the various outrageous androgynous looks he fashions for the Massive Ego image. He also spent time working as a dancer for Boy George and his project "Jesus Loves You" and MC Kinky of "Everything Starts With An E" fame, giving him a taste of things to come.
Massive Ego found a niche within the gay community who welcomed the bands fresh approach and take on dance music. Their distinctive High Energy / Trance sound largely pioneered by producer Ross Alexander and ex-PWL producer Barry Stone have seen the band participate in UK club tours and annual performances at the biggest Pride events and at celebrity parties.
Over the years the band has had its fair share of line-up changes, with some musicians being part of the group for live appearances, whereas other's taking an active part in song creation and studio recording. Some ex-member's started out with the band, using it as a stepping stone to lead onto their own projects. Most notably of these is Dan Black who brought live guitar to the sound of Massive Ego early on in the band's career, both live on stage and in the studio, and who has since had # 1 tracks in Italy and recently voted one of Radio 1's 'top new names to watch out for' in 2009. The early live gigs of the band often featured lead & bass guitar (Barnaby), drummer as well as keyboards. Other notable longer term member's were Steady (ex Minty) & Dean Bright (Deana-lina..who also previously played keyboards for Dead Or Alive) who alongside Marc Massive took to the road on several tours of clubs the length and beadth of the UK including Heaven, The Fridge, Sound, Ghetto, Flamingo's & NG1 to name just a few. Performance's have included top billing at Manchester Mardi Gras, Euro Pride, Brighton Pride, Summer Rites, Big Gay Out in Finsbury Park and many others. Massive Ego supported Sigue Sigue Sputnik on tour, performed at Steve Strange's (Visage) book launch in London and were watched at The Salon on Channel 5, and Celebrity Big Brothers Little brother for Channel 4.
Massive Ego has seen UK single releases on Academy Street Records, Klone Records and Pop One, and releases in Japan on Avex Trax, and Australia's Pro-DJ label. Massive Ego has proved their endurance through the relentless, ever changing climate of the music industry and are constantly experimenting with new looks and sounds. Perhaps these are just a couple of reasons why their loyal fan base just carries on growing.
Massive Ego's studio schedule in 2004 saw a delightful re-working of the Adventures hit "Broken Land" which features vocalist The Infidel (better known as MC Kinky, and another duet recording with Dusty O, a cover of the Bobby O classic "A Whisper To A Scream" and a storming version of Cerrones "Supernature". If that wasn't enough! 2004 saw new keyboardist and love interest Olly join the Massive line up. Olly, an established performance artist in his own right, joined the bands extensive tour, and together they performed the length and breadth of the UK, including dates in Manchester, Leeds, Blackpool, Nottingham, Brighton and London's Finsbury Park in front of over 10,000 people. A promo video for Planet Earth was shot in 2004 and was released in the USA on two DVD music compilations CLUB VISION and CLUB VIDEO. To round of an eventful year a Massive Ego Ltd Edition EP was released featuring 9 12" mixes as a thank you to the diehard fans that have stuck by the Massives from day one.
2004 saw Marc Massive establish himself as an underground DJ in London. His first residency was and still is his own Friday night club called Pop Cell where the best of the 80's, electro and NRG can be heard. Andy Bell (Erasure) amongst others has been a regular sighting. Marc also DJ'd in the VIP Lounge at Church in The Cafe De Paris, The Black Cap, 2 Too Much, The Green, Cuckoo Couture & Stonewalls. Back in the recording studio the band recorded a new track 'Never Felt As Good' with their producer Ross Alexander, and this time more than ever taking the sound into elektro territory.
The following year saw Marc & Olly venturing into bigger club/art event curating, with the ACT ART 3- Public Disordar event, which was a highly successful art/club night featuring over 60 artists from the world of film, performance, live art, sculpture & photography. Later in the year the band received very sad & un-expected news that their fabulous band member of several years & good friend Steady had passed away, this really dented the band's confidence and it also nearly marked the end for Massive Ego. It wasn't till 2006 that they felt ready to return & being a highly visual band & something Steady would have loved ,Massive Ego were soon to be back in front of the camera, filming a visual feast of a promo for the track 'Supernature' in 2006, as well as back into the recording studio to record a new track 'Sweet Harmony'. The 'Supernature' promo went on to be screened in clubs/bars & malls right across America through Club Vision.
In May there was another very popular ACT ART event entitledACT ART 4- Memoirs of a Merkin, which repeated the winning formula of a one night only art/club event, gaining the curators Marc & Olly and the event acres of press & interviews & much public interest. To mark the bands 10th year in existence, Klone Records decided it was time for an official debut album release, featuring many previously un-released original tracks, proving if it needed to be proved that they were more than just a covers band, the band set to work compiling the album called 'Nite Klub Skewl', and overseeing the very important accompanying artwork/booklet. This enhanced CD featuring the two previous videos for 'Planet Earth' & 'Supernature' was un-leashed upon the world on Monday 29th January 2007.
Two more successful ACT ART events followed with ACT ART 5- Till Death Us Do Art & ACT ART 6- Dying For It! Both curated again by Marc & Olly and taking place in the much bigger 1000 capacity venue The Arches in London Bridge and attracting capacity crowds and live apperances from the likes of Billie Ray Martin, Pete Burns & Andy Bell. The band returned to the recording studio in 2008 to record Sex Drive & Hallo Spaceboy with GrooveSisters Media, and saw releases on several Klone compilations including the successful Gayfest & Mad About The Boy series of albums.
Bang up to date and Massive Ego have moved into new territories licensing the Nite Klub Skewl album to German label Dance Street/ZYX Records, who re-packaged and re-named the album Master & Servant, adding 3 new tracks including I Like Boys, Hallo SpaceBoy and Sex Drive releasing it on March 17th 2009. The album will be followed by a brand new single/EP by Massive Ego of Master & Servant & Sex Drive and featuring brand new mixes from LOEP/KlubKidz/Andromeda Rising & Almighty Records producer Castro Boy. An accompanying video for Master & Servant was shot by the band in London on March 5th which will be included on the single release. Making this one of the bands strongest releases to date.
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