No bandwagon jumpers these, The Whip's origins can be traced back to ill-fated indie-electro pioneers, Nylon Pylon, a band stymied by the usual major label bullshit. When Pylon fell apart, however, Bruce and Danny retreated, undeterred, to a damp, strip-lit and reputedly haunted cellar in a Salford pub to regroup. They spent six months dodging loose plaster and freezing their electrodes off in this self-imposed "boot camp", laying the foundations for The Whip. "It's positive, a little seedy," they say of the name. "It just sounds good." 
 
They took inspiration from the things that they love, from Manchester, from clubland. 'Blackout' - a highlight of their imminent Jim Abbis-produced debut, 'X Marks Destination' - was written in tribute to a Hacienda (and the old DJ trick of cutting all the lights at peak moments) that The Whip are too young to have experienced. 'Trash', meanwhile - which, from an initial run of 500 12" singles, has grown into a nationwide indie-electro anthem - was designed specifically to catch the ear of the DJs and the crowd at influential Manc disco-punk night, Club Suicide. "That's what we believed in," nods Bruce. "Going out clubbing we'd just been getting more and more excited by dance music and, naturally, we wanted to be a part of it."