Massive Attack

Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles. The group currently consists of Del Naja and Marshall.

They released their debut album in 1991, Blue Lines, which has been included on numerous best-of lists and is generally considered the first album of the 'trip-hop' genre. The single "Unfinished Sympathy" was a chart hit in Europe, including number one on the Dutch Top 40, and was later voted the 63rd-greatest song of all time in a poll by NME. In 1994, they released their second album, Protection. Thaws left the band later that year to pursue a solo career. In 1998, they released their third album, Mezzanine, giving them their first number one on the UK Albums Chart. Mezzanine also contains the top-10 single "Teardrop", which earned further recognition as the opening theme of the American television series House. In 1999, Vowles left the band, with Del Naja and Marshall continuing as a duo. They further released the albums 100th Window (2003) and Heligoland (2010).

Both Blue Lines and Mezzanine feature in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The group have collaborated with several recurring guest vocalists, including Horace Andy, Shara Nelson, Tracey Thorn, Elizabeth Fraser, Sinéad O'Connor, Damon Albarn and Hope Sandoval.

Massive Attack's awards include a Brit Award for Best British Dance Act, two MTV Europe Music Awards, and two Q Awards. Their five studio albums have sold over 13 million copies worldwide. Massive Attack are also known for supporting several political, human rights and environmental causes.

DJs Daddy G and Mushroom, and rappers Tricky and 3D met as members of partying collective the Wild Bunch in the early 1980s. One of the first homegrown sound systems in the UK, the Wild Bunch became dominant on the Bristol club scene in the mid-1980s.

Massive Attack was created in 1988 as a spin-off quartet. Unsigned, the group (Mushroom, Daddy G, 3D and Tricky) put out "Any Love" as a single. It was co-produced by Bristol double-act Smith & Mighty and featured the falsetto-voiced singer-songwriter Carlton McCarthy. In 1990, they committed to deliver six studio albums and a "best of" compilation to Circa Records. This record label became a subsidiary of, and was later subsumed into, Virgin Records, which in turn was acquired by EMI.

3D co-wrote Neneh Cherry's Manchild in 1989. This working relationship continued with Cherry helping Massive Attack to record their first album Blue Lines. Cherry's partner Cameron McVey was an executive producer of the album and became the group's first manager. Cherry and McVey provided financial support, via the Cherry Bear organisation, and the album was partly recorded in their house. The band used guest vocalists, interspersed with their own sprechgesang stylings, on top of what became regarded as an essentially British creative sampling production; a trademark sound that fused hip hop, soul, reggae and other eclectic references, both musical and lyrical. The album used vocalists including Horace Andy and Shara Nelson, a former Wild Bunch cohort. MC Willie Wee, also once part of the Wild Bunch, featured. Neneh Cherry sang backing vocals on environmentalist anthem, "Hymn of the Big Wheel". Co-production was also provided by Jonny Dollar.

Blue Lines was released on 8 April 1991 on Virgin Records. The album has been retrospectively considered the first of the "trip-hop" genre and received critical acclaim.