Utah Saints who sampled lyrics by Kate Bush say they are 'honoured' to play Ribble Valley's Beat-Herder festival

“We went out and bought Kate Bush’s album Hounds of Love and scoured it for something exciting and upbeat,” recalled Utah Saints co-founder Jez Willis, who is fine-tuning the double act for their annual appearance at this month’s Beat-Herder festival in the Ribble Valley.

The Utah Saints homed in on Cloudbusting’s iconic line: ‘I Just know that something good is going to happen,’ and the Saints banked a global dancefloor smash. “We always wanted to do music as a full-time job, but never expected hits. We just tried to make interesting tunes that we thought would be good.”

“The tune for Something Good was penned before we decided on any samples. We used it in such a way that it (Something Good) stood up

as a song in its own right.”

It is clever stuff and the Utah Saints’ distinctive sound of electronic dance music still sits snugly in between the underground and the mainstream. They were once dubbed ‘The first true stadium House band’, by the KLF’s Bill Drummond,’ but they are just as in touch with their underground roots thirty-odd years after Something Good zoomed up the music charts. “Our recording hardware was very basic in the early nineties, with Something Good recorded on Atari computers and saved to floppy discs. Kate Bush’s vocal came straight off her CD.

“We had to bend the first part of her vocal to keep it in time, which is why it goes ‘oo-oo-aye.’

Willis has no idea if Kate Bush ever heard it, but thoughtfully they sent her a thank-you letter after she granted the Yorkshire ravers permission to use her vocals on Something Good. “We were incredibly honoured that we were the only act that Kate Bush has cleared a sample for - and we hope it’s because we created something new out of her singing. Countless other people have approached Kate Bush over the years, so it was a wonderful privilege, and we will always be grateful to her.”

Their collaborations have been as eclectic as the music they create. But while Willis has toured and performed as a band and a DJ with U2, Public Enemy, Edwin Starr, Iggy Pop and Pendulum, he says it is a July weekend in the trees and fields of the Ribble Valley that just can’t be beaten. “Beat-Herder is one of the most magical festivals in England".

When you visit their workshop in Yorkshire, it feels like you are visiting a sonic art gallery. “Beat-Herder still has the energy and vibe of your first rave, that’s how special it is. he lads who run it are all creative people, but very different individuals also, and somehow every year they pull together this amazing festival that Utah Saints and so many others are honoured to play.”

• Beat-Herder runs from Thursday to Sunday, July 17th to the 20th and acts include Hybrid Minds, Black Lace, Dream Frequency, Gok Wan, Greg Wilson, The Lancashire Hotpots and many more. Tickets available from www.tickets.beat-herder.co.uk