SUGARHILL GANG

The Venue, Derby, June 15

TWO of the biggest songs from the origins of hip-hop will be heard again in Derby in June when genre pioneers the SugarHill Gang and Grandmaster Flash bring their joint-headline tour to the UK.

It was in 1979, as disco was drawing to a close, that the US East Coast gave birth to a music phenomenon that continues to dominate youth culture today. In Englewood, New Jersey a three-piece called SugarHill Gang were preparing to create Rapper’s Delight, a single that would sell eight million copies.

Meanwhile, in the projects of South Bronx, Grandmaster Flash had assembled with The Furious Five, who were simultaneously spreading the word via major hit White Lines.

The tour features SugarHill Gang’s Hen Dog, Master Gee and Wonder Mike, Furious Five’s Melle Mel, and Scorpio.

■The Venue is in Abbey Street, Derby, DE22 3SJ. Tickets are £20 in advance from livemusicderby.co.uk.