DMC World Magazine

Underworld direct the London Olympics

Karl and Rick chase gold in 2012

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) today confirmed that members of the British electronic group Underworld, Rick Smith and Karl Hyde, have been appointed as music directors of the London Olympics and will work with acclaimed film producer Danny Boyle.

The duo, whose hits include Born Slippy (that appeared in Trainspotting which was directed by Boyle), will create music for the Olympics opening ceremony.

Hyde said: “We want to leave people with a musical memory of the show rather than a purely visual one. It’s a great honour to be asked to do this and one we’re taking very seriously – it’s certainly not something we’ll get the chance to do again.”

Boyle, who is the artistic director of the ceremony, said: “Appointing Underworld to direct the music in the Olympic opening ceremony is the final piece of the jigsaw for the team of leading British creatives who will deliver the ceremonies.

“What’s interesting about working with them is how much broader their taste is than you might imagine. With Frankenstein we really saw how far we could take a broader approach than we’d used together on the films.”

Words : Music Week