Shamen, The

The Shamen formed in Aberdeen in 1986 to play heavy psychedelic rock, as evidenced on their 1987 debut LP Drop. But there was dissension in The Shamen’s ranks.

Founder Colin Angus had heard hip hop and decided rock ‘n’ roll was no longer where it was at.

Eventually, their style mutated into commercial dance soundscapes, and most of the original members left, leaving a duo of Angus and new bassist Will Sinnott, who was to tragically drown in the Canary Islands in May 1991 while shooting a video

Colin continued the band. and band friend Mr C (real name Richard West) became a full member. Subsequent album Boss Drum provided the act with a UK #1 in September 1992 with Ebeneezer Goode.

This wasn’t the first acid house hit to refer to drugs, but the cheeky double entendre of chorus line “E’s are good, E’s are good, ‘e’s Ebeneezer Goode” and other references throughout Mr C’s lyric made it one of the most blatant drug songs of the period.

The song’s success was doubly satisfying to The Shamen as they lost a chunk of their core audience who saw it as a sell-out.

Derek McKenzie
Vocals, guitar
Peter Stephenson
Keyboards
Colin Angus
Bass, vocals, guitar
Keith McKenzie
Drums
Will Sinnott
Bass
Mr C (Richard West)
Vocals