6 Underground
Encyclopedia
"6 Underground" is a song by the British
band Sneaker Pimps
, from their 1996
album Becoming X
. First released as a single in the UK in October 1996, the song reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart
and had moderate radio airplay in the United States. However, after appearing on the soundtrack of the 1997 American film The Saint
, radio stations began playing it more frequently; many stations continue to keep the song in their playlists. The single was re-released in the UK in May 1997, where it reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100
.
Originally, the song was a club hit in the UK. After the commercial success and popularity of the album version of the song, the group released several remix
es, some of which become hits in dance clubs and radio stations with a dance format. The version most frequently heard on radio was the remix by Nellee Hooper
(which appeared as a hidden track
on the album).
The cover art for the 1996 single is created from a Lego piece popular in the 1980s. The piece is a large, square, grey platform with mountains and craters for building space scenes.
The harp
melody at the beginning of the song is sampled
from the track "Golden Girl" from the soundtrack for the 1964 James Bond
movie Goldfinger
(specifically the scene where Bond discovers Jill Masterson
covered in gold paint).
It has appeared in a number of TV shows too: it was the opening theme song of the short-lived television series Titans
, during the opening credits of episode #221 "Friends in Deed" of Beverly Hills, 90210
, during the Daria
episode "The Invitation", and on promos for The History Channel
's new series, Cities of the Underworld
, during the episode "Tess, Lies and Videotape" of Roswell
, as well as the FX series Over There
. The song plays in the background in the British sitcom Game On, where Mathew Malone seduces a teddy bear.
In 1998, the song formed part of the soundtrack for the first episode of the second series of Chris Morris
's radio programme Blue Jam
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band Sneaker Pimps
Sneaker Pimps
Sneaker Pimps were a British trip-hop band formed in Hartlepool, England in 1994. They are best known for their first album Becoming X and particularly the singles "6 Underground", "Spin Spin Sugar", and "Tesko Suicide" from the same album...
, from their 1996
1996 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...
album Becoming X
Becoming X
Becoming X is the debut album from Sneaker Pimps released in 1996. The album was successful in the United Kingdom, while "6 Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar" would become hits in the US....
. First released as a single in the UK in October 1996, the song reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and had moderate radio airplay in the United States. However, after appearing on the soundtrack of the 1997 American film The Saint
The Saint (film)
The Saint is a 1997 film based on the character of Simon Templar created by Leslie Charteris in 1928 for a series of books published as "The Saint." The film stars Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue and Rade Šerbedžija...
, radio stations began playing it more frequently; many stations continue to keep the song in their playlists. The single was re-released in the UK in May 1997, where it reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Originally, the song was a club hit in the UK. After the commercial success and popularity of the album version of the song, the group released several remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es, some of which become hits in dance clubs and radio stations with a dance format. The version most frequently heard on radio was the remix by Nellee Hooper
Nellee Hooper
Nellee Hooper is a British producer/remixer/composer best known for his work with Björk, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Sinéad O'Connor, Garbage, Andrea Corr, U2, Sneaker Pimps, Soul II Soul and Massive Attack...
(which appeared as a hidden track
Hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
on the album).
The cover art for the 1996 single is created from a Lego piece popular in the 1980s. The piece is a large, square, grey platform with mountains and craters for building space scenes.
The harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
melody at the beginning of the song is sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
from the track "Golden Girl" from the soundtrack for the 1964 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movie Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
(specifically the scene where Bond discovers Jill Masterson
Jill Masterson
Jill Masterton is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Goldfinger. For the film adaptation both she and her sister Tilly had their surname changed to Masterson. Jill Masterson was played by Shirley Eaton....
covered in gold paint).
Music video
The music video for the song, directed by Toby Tremlett, gives off a dark atmosphere. Throughout the video, the camera focuses on Kelli Dayton singing in the middle of a dark room sitting in a dentist chair that she spins around. The camera follows Dayton as she slowly walks around the darkened room singing the song. There are also several smaller lit rooms within the larger dark room, depicting different scenes such as a man dressed in black practicing various poses, a woman dressed in a nightgown who is vacuuming the floor, a young woman posing around a chair in a red tie shirt and black skirt, a toddler dressed in a costume tossing Halloween candy and an overweight man eating spaghetti while sitting in a recliner. The other band members are usually seen lurking behind Dayton in this video, including in some scenes where the band is standing in one of the small, brightly-lit rooms. At the end of the video, the people in the smaller rooms seem to freeze in place, and in the big room, the band poses at Dayton's dentist chair, and then the lights go out. The video uses the Nellee Hooper edit of the song.In film, television and radio
The song has been featured in many films:- The SaintThe Saint (film)The Saint is a 1997 film based on the character of Simon Templar created by Leslie Charteris in 1928 for a series of books published as "The Saint." The film stars Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue and Rade Šerbedžija...
, just before the sensual scene - The WatcherThe Watcher (film)The Watcher is a 2000 American thriller directed by Joe Charbanic and starring James Spader, Keanu Reeves and Marisa Tomei. Set in Chicago, the film is about a retired FBI agent who is stalked and taunted by a serial killer.-Plot:...
, in a camera store when David Allen Griffin (Keanu ReevesKeanu ReevesKeanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
) is seducing his next victim, an employee of the store - Can't Hardly WaitCan't Hardly WaitCan't Hardly Wait is a 1998 American teen comedy film written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. It stars Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, and Jennifer Love Hewitt, and is notable for a number of "before-they-were-famous" appearances by various...
, upon the entrance of Jennifer Love HewittJennifer Love HewittJennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress, producer, television director and former singer-songwriter. Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in television commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated...
's character Amanda Beckett to the party that makes up the core of the film - A Man ApartA Man ApartA Man Apart is a 2003 action-thriller-drama film directed by F. Gary Gray and released by New Line Cinema. The film stars Vin Diesel and Larenz Tate. The story follows undercover DEA agent Sean Vetter who is on a vendetta to take down a mysterious drug lord named Diablo after his wife is murdered...
- Cruel IntentionsCruel IntentionsCruel Intentions is a 1999 American drama film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film is an adaptation of the 18th-century French epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Laclos and is set among wealthy teenagers living in modern New York...
- Dogtown and Z-BoysDogtown and Z-BoysDogtown and Z-Boys is a 2001 documentary film directed by Stacy Peralta. Using a mix of film the Zephyr skateboard team shot in the 1970s by Craig Stecyk and more recent interviews, the documentary tells the story of a group of teenage surfer/skateboarders and their influence on the history of...
, in the segment about Pacific Ocean ParkPacific Ocean ParkPacific Ocean Park was a twenty-eight acre , nautical-themed amusement park built on a pier at Pier Avenue in the Ocean Park section of Santa Monica, California, which was intended to compete with Disneyland...
pier - Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, when Matthew McConaugheyMatthew McConaugheyMatthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
has long hair in the bar.
It has appeared in a number of TV shows too: it was the opening theme song of the short-lived television series Titans
Titans (TV series)
Titans is a short-lived American prime time soap opera that debuted on October 4, 2000 on NBC. Thirteen episodes were filmed, of which eleven were actually aired. Produced by Aaron Spelling, the series was initially marketed as a "Dynasty for the new millennium," attempting to emulate the style of...
, during the opening credits of episode #221 "Friends in Deed" of Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
, during the Daria
Daria
Daria is an American animated television series produced by Paramount Television, and created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn for MTV. The series focuses on Daria Morgendorffer, a smart, acerbic, and somewhat misanthropic teenage girl who observes the world around her...
episode "The Invitation", and on promos for The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
's new series, Cities of the Underworld
Cities of the Underworld
Cities of the Underworld was an American documentary television series that premiered on March 2, 2007 on History. The program explored the subterranean environment and culture beneath various civilizations...
, during the episode "Tess, Lies and Videotape" of Roswell
Roswell (TV series)
Roswell is an American science fiction television series developed, produced, and co-written by Jason Katims. The series debuted on October 6, 1999 on The WB and moved to UPN for the third season. The last episode aired May 14, 2002...
, as well as the FX series Over There
Over There (TV series)
Over There is an action / drama / war television series that aired on FX. It premiered in the United States on July 27, 2005 and premiered in Canada on September 6, 2005 on the History Television channel. The series was presented in 16:9 widescreen format in the U.S...
. The song plays in the background in the British sitcom Game On, where Mathew Malone seduces a teddy bear.
In 1998, the song formed part of the soundtrack for the first episode of the second series of Chris Morris
Chris Morris (satirist)
Christopher Morris is an English satirist, writer, director and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today and Brass Eye, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.In 2010 Morris...
's radio programme Blue Jam
Blue Jam
Blue Jam was an ambient radio comedy programme created and directed by Chris Morris. It aired on BBC Radio 1 in the early hours of the morning from 1997 to 1999....
.