b. Richard Philips, Whalley, Lancashire, England. This UK DJ/producer made a name for himself in 2001 by releasing mysterious "bootleg" (releases without the correct legal clearances) singles that spliced contemporary tracks with electro pop hits from the 80s. He describes his trademark sound as "the sound of my youth reprocessed through my mid-20s". Using the moniker Girls On Top, he released a limited 7-inch single that fused Whitney Houston with Kraftwerk, "I Wanna Dance With Numbers". The b-side featured "Being Boiled" by the Human League with TLC's "No Scrubs" to make "Being Scrubbed". The tracks caused a storm on the London R&B scene and made a significant impact with taste-making DJs. In August 2001, the DJ released another single as Girls On Top, one side featuring a sample from Gary Numan's "Are Friends Electric?" called "We Don't Give A Damn About Our Friends", a reworked version of which would later become a massive UK number 1 hit for the Sugababes as "Freak Like Me" in May 2002. On the b-side, was a combination of the seminal electronic track "Warm Leatherette" by the Normal and Missy Elliott's "She's A Bitch" called "Warm Bitch". Unlike other crude and unimaginative bootlegged dance tracks of the time, Richard X's offerings were well received by the critics for the deft musical juxtaposition, their wit, and the genuine respect with which the original tracks had been treated. Richard X then collaborated with Liberty X on their "Being Nobody", a combination of Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" and the DJ's own instrumental version of the Human League's "Being Boiled".

Listen to Richard X at Finetune.

• Coldplay
• Blur
• Coral
• Cornershop
• Flaming Lips
• Franz Ferdinand
• Kings Of Leon
• Pulp
• Queens Of The Stone Age
• Super Furry Animals
• The Hives
• The Strokes
• The Vines
• The White Stripes
• !!! (Chk Chk Chk)
• 22-20's
• Doves
• Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
• Hope Of The States
• Hot Hot Heat