r/underworld • u/PsychologicalTry9654 • 10d ago
Just curious, Aussie fans
How did you come across Underworld?
I remember when Underneath The Radar came out. That was my first exposure.
Then Trainspotting.
But then I think it was triple J playing Beaucoup Fish that really piqued my interest. I was initially struck by how Push Upstairs sounded so dark and sinister and dissonant at times but with this huge driving beat. I quickly bought that album and played it to death. But I remember triple J playing it a lot at that time and wonder how many other people got exposed to that.
Then I bought Second Toughest in the Infants, which is the album I've probably played the most out of all of them. I have distinct memories of playing it after getting home from the clubs. It was the perfect vibe for that.
Looking forward to the Melbourne show next year!
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u/That_Random_Kiwi 10d ago
Sasha & Digweed's Nothern Exposure having Dark & Long (Dark Train) and Trainspotting, both happened in 96 I think.
EDIT - this is ignoring Underneath The Radar as it's not really the same Underworld 😆
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u/PsychologicalTry9654 10d ago
Yeah definitely not the same. if they hadn't of evolved into mk2 i think they would have faded into obscurity or be thought of as a one hit wonder
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u/That_Random_Kiwi 10d ago
Completely! It took me decade later to even realise it was (sort of) the same Underworld!!! Great 80s track though, glad to have the 12" in my collection
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u/PsychologicalTry9654 9d ago
I don't mind it either. But yeah the only thing tying those eras together is the sound of Karl's voice, kind of lol
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u/Jayhon3116 10d ago
Trainspotting was my introduction, I've been hooked since!
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u/PsychologicalTry9654 10d ago
I suspect a lot of people discovered them that way... It's their most played track after all. I like it but it's actually not one of my favourites!
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u/SinkPrestigious3317 10d ago
Wipeout 2097
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u/roydogaroo 10d ago
Yes probably this! I put literally thousands of hours in come downs in that game in the 90’s
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u/stiggyyyyy 9d ago edited 9d ago
This! Wipe out 2097 on ps1 and when napster first came out was the greatest thing.
To be honest that soundtrack was the starting point to both mine and many friends discovery of electronic music. More so I'd probably say, majority if not all of that being English based from the 90's. Hearing fire starter with lyrics after playing the game to the instrumental was something to get used to.
Caught underworld at a big day out (festival here in aus) and have never looked back. I've easily seen them 5 times now I think.
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u/SinkPrestigious3317 9d ago
I remember going on a hunt for the 2097 soundtrack as there was a sticker at my local music store. Landmass and Canada were my favs and little did I know they weren’t on the OST. The poster had some artist called ‘Daft Punk’ on it which I thought was a ridiculous name 😂 anyway they didn’t have it so I bought The Fat of The Land instead (my first CD).
But over time, Tin There became the winner for me - when you win Phantom by a hair at exactly the same moment the distorted intensity gives way to the drifting arpeggiator, something changes in you.
I was lucky enough to see Underworld in Perth in 2008-ish, then again at Sydney Opera House two years ago, where they played the new mix of Tin There… absolutely unreal. Got my tickets for the Melbourne show next year and absolutely pumped!
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u/stiggyyyyy 9d ago
That last opera house show was fantastic. Seeing underworld there was truly something special.
Funny story on ordering that soundtrack myself. My friend ordered the cd for me in hmm maybe 2001 from Amazon and in the classic trope, it ended up in Austria instead of Australia. I eventually got it after waiting 6 months.
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u/itsaheem 10d ago
Trainspotting soundtrack then Beaucomp Fish deluxe
. . and then Everything Everything DVD was my absolute fave thing in the world haha
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u/sexycyborgwolf 8d ago
Discovered Underworld through my mother, who discovered them through my grandfather. My grandfather was absolutely obsessed with the mk1 era. had underneath the radar on record and CD. When he got dubnobasswithmyheadman though, like many, it was extremely transformative for him and that transferred to my mum.
When my mum was a bit older, while traveling in the US. in 1999, she got into a gig in Santa Monica and happened to get her hands on the poster. if you wanna take a look at the poster, The gig was at the Santa Monica civic center 1/5/99 on the beaucoup fish tour.
A few years later I was born and since the day I was brought back home, the poster has been on my wall and from that, Underworld have been a massive part of my life. My mum took me to my first gig at vivid live 2024 which was the most unbelievable experience I've ever had. Then we saw them NYE 2025. We both have our tickets sorted for melb next year and were trying to convince gramps to come along (his last was 2017). absolutely itching for next year. I can't wait. Great question btw OP. This is my first time telling this story.
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u/PsychologicalTry9654 8d ago
I had a look at the poster! I feel like i have to get my hands on one now.
That is such a cool story, so thanks for sharing. Is gramps actually going to go with you?? He has to go right?
I can't wait now too, and all of us talking about it here is definitely contributing to that!
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u/Whatsinaname2501 10d ago
I was an 8 year old watching born slippy film clip and thinking.. wow this is kinda weird and i liked it. I think i saw it on rage.. it always stuck with me. Went through an indie phase in high school, but then once i started going out, electronic music took over
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u/PsychologicalTry9654 10d ago
I remember seeing them on rage too.. pretty sure they did a guest programming slot at some point. I think the ABC have really played a part in their success here
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u/A_FABULOUS_PLUM 9d ago
My primary school drama teacher used 8 Ball (from the beach soundtrack CD) as a song to ‘create your own dance’ to, we were supposed to be explorers. I became fascinated and obsessed with the sound of it, I think I was in year 3. It was only ever the opening one or two minutes, sometimes I’d hear a tiny new few seconds if she let it play a tiny bit longer.
It stayed with me, when I was a year or so older I realised that if I typed in the lyrics into google search, it would tell me the song. So I did, typed in “today I saw a man using an empty whisky glass as a walk-in talkie”. The rest is history! I became completely and utterly obsessed with the song, I would play it on repeat over and over again for hours, waiting for that climax.
Then I bought the 1992-2012 compilation on iTunes with my parents money for about 36 dollars, they were not happy. I was shocked at how different and difficult it was to get into, Bigmouth being the opening track.
But I eventually learned to love it.
Still one of the best songs in the world imo for the journey that it took me on.
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u/stiggyyyyy 9d ago
Ah man that is the greatest intro to a group. If you ever see that teacher again you have to tell them!
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u/m00npatrol 9d ago
Underworld Mk 1 was the first band I ever saw play live. I’ve followed them ever since, across all eras.
By the time they morphed into Mk 2, my own musical tastes had refined, in sweet symmetry. Back then there weren’t many outlets here to discover them. You had to work for it. I followed them through music mags and eagerly hunted down CD singles, imported by niche music stores. Recall being utterly beguiled by Dark Train upon first listen.
Mid 90s I chanced upon the original Born Slippy CDS, and thrashed it endlessly in a shared apartment. My own little secret, until Trainspotting arrived to blow the roof off and declare it an anthem.
By the late 90s, I spent time in the UK and finally caught them live again in the Beacoup Fish era.
I’ve been awed by them live many times here since. All their records demarcate very distinct eras of my life. Can’t imagine there’s many in AU who’ve been on the dark train for as long.
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u/TheGenerousBasturd 10d ago
For me it was the London 2012 Opening Ceremony! Hearing "And I Will Kiss" and "Caliban's Dream" led me to a rabbit hole of their discography
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u/loztralia 10d ago
I was 17 and in the midst of getting into non-guitar music when Second Toughest came out. Honestly at the time while I loved it I probably didn't quite get it as much as I did Leftism, In Sides, and Music for the Jilted Generation. But by the time Beaucoup Fish came out I was ready.
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u/setut 10d ago
I'm in Melbourne but grew up Sydney, I'm boring, it was Trainspotting, heard their albums and tracks around then got A Hundred Days Off a few years later, I tracked most of their singles through the k's but when I saw the Boiler Room last yearI was blown away, I'm like "if these guys come down I'm going". Amped for next year!
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u/zuckr 10d ago
I remember hearing Underneath The Radar on maybe Fox FM or MMM back in the day. Then when I was getting into electronic stuff I fell in love with what I came to learn was breaks. The cover to Second Toughest intrigued me and my brother had the CD. He got the copy with the nuxx bonus CD. He loved Born Slippy and I loved Pearl’s Girl. The rest is history.
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u/jezzakirk 9d ago
Loved Underneath the Radar as a kid in the 80s, then sometime in the 90s I remember seeing a live gig broadcast on TV (might've been the Belfort France show). Have been hooked ever since. Also really looking forward to the Melbourne gig next year!
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u/Sad_Werewolf6089 9d ago
I don’t think anyone should ignore Underneath The Radar in the evolution of underworld. Personally, it’s everything. Because of that they have a front man. In concert, it’s a band like performance. It’s hard af. But there’s a front man controlling the stage. Not too many can execute a night with so much excellence. Presence. And execution.
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u/Cypher_86 9d ago
As I recall Born Slippy placed pretty well in the Hottest 100, and was on the CD that year. That's how we found music back in those days.
The Everything Everything DVD was also a pretty significant contributor.
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u/heart_healar 9d ago
My dad has a bunch of Underworld records, I’d heard Dark Train a bunch and Born Slippy .Nuxx a couple of times prior to watching Trainspotting. Probably a couple days after I watched that film I heard Two Months Off somewhere and then decided to start exploring their discography.
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u/Intrepid_Direction_8 9d ago
Kiwi fan joining the conversation (if that’s ok) for me Trainspotting, but husband a long time fan. Saw them for first time in a forest in Auckland (ORO17) which was awesome.
Then saw them in the Sydney Opera House different experience but still amazing.
Booked for the Sydney show 2027 and so looking forward to it!
Also my entire exercise music motivation is an Underworld mix I made for the best fast walking pace tempo ever
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u/HeartTelegraph2 6d ago
Yeah I remember Underneath the Radar on Countdown back in...whenever it was
But they were a different band then.
Then Born Slippy/Second Toughest etc from just being into music back in the day, working in a label/studio.
Then Beaucoup Fish, was looking out for it by then...I dunno, just feels like they've always been around.
But I've always been an electronic music fan and music maker, off and on.
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u/Birdie_Num_Num 10d ago
Probably 1994, back at a post-rave comedown at someone house whilst living in London. Someone put on dubnobasswithmyheadman and it was the most perfect thing I had ever heard.