Artist · chart history
M/A/R/R/S
Band London United Kingdom Active 1987–1987 1987 group known for “Pump Up the Volume”
M/A/R/R/S formed in 1987 in London, United Kingdom and was active until 1987. M/A/R/R/S has 6 chart appearances on 6 radio countdowns from 6 stations on RockLists, spanning 1987–2023. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Pump Up the Volume”, which appears on 6 lists with a best position of #46. The station that charted M/A/R/R/S most often is John Peel (BBC Radio 1), with 1 appearance. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1987.
M/A/R/R/S wasn't really a band at all. It was a recording collective thrown together in London in 1987 by 2 groups, A.R. Kane and Colourbox, with Martyn Young and Steven Young among its members, and it produced exactly one commercial record.
That record was "Pump Up the Volume", and it was enough. It's a house track that hits like a pirate radio broadcast, all thumping groove and voices flying in from every direction, as if it had been beamed straight in from the clubs. It became an international hit, and it was the only single they ever released.
There was no follow-up, just the one disc and a long shadow: few one-hit wonders have cast a longer one.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by M/A/R/R/S on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pump Up the Volume | 6 | #46 | – | 1987 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 526 | Pump Up the Volume | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s |
| 2021 | 486 | Pump Up the Volume | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s |
| 1999 | 754 | Pump Up the Volume | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) |
| 1987 | 89 | Pump Up the Volume | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1987 |
| 1987 | 53 | Pump Up the Volume | WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1987 |
| 1987 | 46 | Pump Up the Volume | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1987 |
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