MC Tunes (born Nicholas William Dennis Hodgson, 1970) is a British rapper from the suburb of Moss Side in Manchester. His name was legally changed to Lockett in 1981. Tunes was one of the big promoters of the Madchester-era during the 1980s and 1990s.
Tunes first worked with 808 State on the 1990 album, The North At Its Heights (ZTT Records). The album was a moderate success, reaching #26 in the UK Albums Chart, and also saw European and Japanese releases. It spawned three UK singles that entered the UK Singles Chart: "The Only Rhyme That Bites" (ZTT, 1990) reached number 10, "Tunes Splits The Atom" (ZTT, 1990) reached number 18 and "Primary Rhyming" (ZTT, 1990) reached number 67 - this was also the first of the singles to have the 'vs 808 State' wording removed from the cover.
In 1992, Tunes recorded the single "Digital Bad Boy/Could You Understand" (Juice Box, 1992) with A Guy Called Gerald (Gerald Simpson, also from 808 State).
Following the stalling of his solo career, Tunes formed the group Dust Junkys in 1995, with Sam Brox on guitar, Steven "Oj" Oliver Jones on bass guitar, Mykey Wilson on drums and Ganiyu Pierre Gasper on turntables. The band concentrated on gigging in the Manchester area and then national tours, building audiences for their mix of British hip hop and Rock music.
Whilst gigging with the Dust Junkys, Tunes returned to work with 808 State in 1996 on a new track, "Pump", taken from their album Thermo Kings (Warner). It was due to be released as a single, but this never happened. A few years after this, the Dust Junkys were signed to Polydor and released their first single "What Time Is It?" (1997), reaching number 39 in the UK chart.
Discography
MC Tunes
The North at Its Heights (ZTT, 1990)
The Only Rhyme That Bites (ZTT, 1990)
Tunes Splits the Atom (ZTT, 1990)
Primary Rhyming (ZTT, 1990)
Damge By Stereo (Hacienda, 2015) - Originally recorded for ZTT 1991
Dust Junkys
Done and Dusted (Polydor, 1997)
Done and Dusted Special Edition/Dub and Dusted (Polydor, 1998)