Derry Bronson, longtime keyboardist for the hitmaking early-'90s UK dance-rock band EMF, has passed away. The band shared the news in an Instagram post earlier today, and the BBC reports that Bronson had recently been treated for a brain tumor. He was 55.
Derran Brownson grew up in the small English town of Cinderford, and he he had already played in a band called Flowerdrum before becoming a founding member of EMF in 1989. EMF's name supposedly stood for "Epsom Mad Funkers," after a New Order fan club, but there has long been wide speculation that the name stands for something else. They signed with EMI after only playing five shows
Guitarist and lead songwriter Ian Dench came out with the melody for EMF's signature 1990 hit "Unbelievable" while hungover, after a night of partying with Browson. The funky, breakbeat-driven hook-machine single, which makes amazing use of an Andrew Dice Clay sample, was a smash all over the world. It even crossed over in America, topping the Hot 100 in summer 1991. The video of EMF performing that song with Tom Jones on some TV show is amazing.
EMF's debut album Schubert Dip went platinum in the US, and it spun off more hits. "I Believe" made it to #6 in the UK, while "Lies" peaked at #19 in America. The band quickly dropped off the map in America. At home, though, they had another hit in 1995, when they teamed up with comedians Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer to cover the Monkees' "I'm A Believer."
EMF broke up in 1995, and Derry Brownson started a new band called LK. Former bassist Zac Foley died of a drug overdose in 2002, at the age of 31. EMF reunited many times over the years, and they released two more album this decade. In 2024, they toured the US for the first time in 33 years. While visibly dealing with health problems, Derry Brownson rejoined EMF at a Bristol show last year. Check out some of his work below.
