Robbed hit of the week 7/3/20 - Republica's "Ready To Go"...

"Ready To Go" - Republica
from the album Republica (1996)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #56

Ed. Note: This week's "robbed hit" is a bit late due to technical issues, but I can't pass this one up.)

This week's "robbed hit" comes from the British dance-rock band Republica, who came together in the mid 1990s, with synth players Andy Todd and Tim Dorney recruiting singer Saffron, a stage actress who had previously sung on rave act N-Joi's single "Anthem", which made the top ten on the British singles chart (#8) and the American dance chart (#4) in 1990. Along with Adam & The Ants drummer David Barbarossa and guitarist Johnny Male, the band released a one-off single "Out Of This World" in 1994. The following year, Republica previewed their self-titled debut album with the track "Bloke", which was a minor hit in their British homeland at #81.

In 1995, the group returned with another single, "Ready To Go", which when originally released in a different mix, just missed the British top-40 at #43, while making it at #40 down under in Australia. A year later, the remixed track became their biggest international success, finally making its way to American shores...

While "Ready To Go" climbed all the way to #7 on Billboard magazine's Alternative Rock radio chart, the song stopped a handful of notches under the halfway mark on the official pop Hot 100 list in November of 1996. Internationally, the single got a boost after its remixed American success, making the top-40 in Belgium (#8), Iceland (#12), the UK (#13), the Netherlands (#25), Ireland (#26), Germany (#33), Switzerland (#34), and Sweden (#40). The Republica album peaked at #4 in their native UK, and made the American Billboard 200 sales chart at #156.

The band's next single, "Drop Dead Gorgeous", nicked the American pop chart at #93, while popping in for a week at #39 on the Alternative Rock list. Internationally, it was their biggest hit in the UK at #7, as well as their sole top-40 hit in New Zealand at #30.

Barbarossa left in 1997, to be replaced by Pete Riley. In 1998, after Saffron guested on a track on rave kings the Prodigy's #1 album Fat Of The Land, Republica came back with their second album Speed Ballads. However, at the same time, their label Deconstruction was folding, and the lack of promotion caused lead single "From Rush Hour With Love" to stop at #20, and the album to not get released in the Americas at all. Without any support, the band stepped away in 2001.

Saffron, Dorney, and Male reunited in 2008, and since have been playing gigs and releasing new mixes of "Ready To Go", but a new album has yet to emerge.

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


Here is the original mix and video for "Ready To Go" from 1995, which the synths overplayed the guitars...

Next up, their American TV debut on Conan O'Brien...

And lastly, live in concert in Germany in 1997...