Urban Cookie Collective

Urban Cookie Collective

Urban Cookie Collective are a British pop and chart group from Manchester, United Kingdom, also associated with techno, house, eurodance and dance music. The group forms around Rohan Heath, who plays keyboards and writes and produces their songs. Heath previously works with Yargo and A Guy Called Gerald, studies classical piano as a child, and later abandons a PhD at Vermont University to focus on music.

History

Heath creates Urban Cookie Collective in 1992 after a period that includes touring Japan with the Happy Mondays and leaving A Guy Called Gerald. Before that, he releases “Hardcore Uproar” under the name Together, which reaches number 12 in the UK singles chart in August 1990. The project becomes best known for “The Key The Secret”, which first appears in 1993 and becomes a major hit, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 3 in Australia and number 5 in Germany.

The original vocalist is Diane Charlemagne, who also co-writes some of the group’s tracks. Other main members include Simon Bentall and Peter Samson, who plays bongos. Guest rappers appear at times, giving the recordings a varied studio sound. The group’s lineup also includes Mark Hadfield.

Releases

“The Key The Secret” begins as a home-written track by Heath in a soul and hip hop style, then gains wider attention after a remix creates a strong club response and the song is taken up by Pulse 8. The follow-up single “Feels Like Heaven” is also a success, although later releases do not match the same level of impact.