Artist · chart history
Age Of Chance
Band Leeds United Kingdom Active 1985–1992
Age Of Chance formed in 1985 in Leeds, United Kingdom and was active until 1992. Age Of Chance has 4 chart appearances on 3 radio countdowns from 2 stations on RockLists, spanning 1985–1989. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Kiss”, which appears on 1 list with a best position of #2. The station that charted Age Of Chance most often is John Peel (BBC Radio 1), with 3 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1986.
Age Of Chance came out of Leeds sounding like a pileup where hip-hop beats, punk snarl, Northern soul and industrial clatter all collided, and they were proud of the wreckage. Singer Steven E barked his vocals in a hard, nasal honk, often through a megaphone, and the lineup has been listed as Steve Elvidge, Neil Howson, Charles Hutchinson, Jan Perry and Geoff Taylor. Even their record sleeves were loud: bold, graphic artwork dreamed up with the Designers Republic.
Their breakthrough was a cover nobody could have predicted: Prince's "Kiss" rebuilt as a clanging, heavy-metal dance track, which went all the way to the top of the UK Indie Chart and turned up on the Crush Collision EP. Before that, "Bible Of The Beats" and "Motor City" had already shown what they were after, guitars and beats fighting it out on the same floor.
They signed with Virgin and the British music press adored them, but a major hit at home never came, though "Don't Get Mad… Get Even" climbed into the U.S. dance club chart. Public Enemy's Hank Shocklee and Carl Ryder remixed "Take It" from 1000 Years of Trouble in 1988, making Age Of Chance the first band Public Enemy ever remixed. Mecca followed in 1989 with "Times Up". They stood shoulder to shoulder with Pop Will Eat Itself, Coldcut and the JAMMs in Britain's first wave of sample-happy bands.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Age Of Chance on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiss | 1 | #2 | – | 1986 | |
| 2 | Bible Of The Beats | 1 | #27 | – | 1986 | |
| 3 | Motor City | 1 | #30 | – | 1985 | |
| 4 | Times Up | 1 | #102 | – | 1989 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 102 | Times Up | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1989 |
| 1986 | 2 | Kiss | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1986 |
| 1986 | 27 | Bible Of The Beats | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1986 |
| 1985 | 30 | Motor City | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1985 |
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