Steven Young of Colourbox has passed away

[dropcap]Steven[/dropcap] Young of Colourbox has sadly passed away. Colourbox were a band with an uniquely eclectic and electronic sound—taking influence from reggae and soul, and beat-box driven hip-hop rhythms, and even industrial. The project was formed by brothers’ Martyn and Steven Young and Ian Robbins, and originally featured vocalist Debian Curry. However, Curry and Robbins departed the band in 1983; with vocalist Lorita Grahame stepping in and taking up vocal duties from that point on.

Colourbox were pioneers in the art of sampling, most notably with their international hit in 1987 with Pump Up the Volume, a collaboration with A.R. Kane under the name M/A/R/R/S. This track was one of the first cases of litigation resulting from the use of samples, and ultimately led to the demise of Colourbox.

Most goths however—know Colourbox through their label 4AD, and the track Tarantula which was re-imagined on the This Mortal Coil album Filigree and Shadow, an album on which Steven Young is credited with Drum Programming. Steven, along with his brother Martin also performed Piano and Synths on the This Mortal Coil album It’ll End In Tears, with Steven co-writing and performing piano on the track A Single Wish.

Here is the original version of Tarantula:

And the This Mortal Coil version: