Danielle Moore first appeared on the Paper radar at various Manchester clubs and after parties in the wild 90s.
It turned out her 6am Shirley Bassey impressions were an ad hoc audition for Jim and Chris, who had just released the sample heavy ‘A Nice Hot Bath With’ along with bass player Tim Davies, and were looking for a singer.
Photograph by Al Baker, Robodisco at Planet K, 2000
The first song she wrote, in 20 minutes, was the seminal ‘You Started Something’, which is one of the defining nu-disco tracks of the era. The album that followed ‘The Wicked Is Music’ was the blueprint for the Crazy P(enis) sound, who would go on to be one of dance music’s best loved and most ground-breaking acts
From Danni’s early shy and self conscious beginnings as a performer and songwriter, she grew in confidence to become one of the most charismatic front people of her generation. But in all those years, she never changed from that warm, hilarious and slightly geeky girl we first met, who could never quite believe that people liked what she did.
The three photos below are, we think, from Sankey’s Soap circa the distant past, possibly as part of Paper’s monthly Robodisco and one of the band’s first gigs.
Sankeys Soap (Bugged Out), Manchester circa 2000, © Paper Recordings, Photograph by Unknown
Sankeys Soap (Bugged Out), Manchester circa 2000, © Paper Recordings, Photograph by Unknown
Sankeys Soap (Bugged Out), Manchester circa 2000, © Paper Recordings, Photograph by Unknown
Their first photo shoot, with Danni sporting her instantly recognisable badger stripe mullet, preserved forever on The Wicked Is Music artwork, was taken in front of the Manchester Apollo. The haircut’s mere mention would provoke much hilarity and eye rolling.
Photography by Simon King © Paper Recordings, 2001
The band expanded, bringing Cream’s Mav (Mark Woodley) in on percussion. They hit the road, playing gigs where and when they could and were one of the first UK house and disco acts of that time to play live.
Photography by Simon King, © Paper Recordings, 2003
Having given up working for the man at Adidas, Danni held down various jobs whilst earning her stripes as a DJ in the bars and clubs of Manchester, with the ultimate aim of earning a living from music. It was very much a man’s world back then and she was one of the second generation post-acid house female DJs. Soul, funk, disco and of course, her beloved Prince featured heavily. In more recent times as gigs got bigger and later, she played sets of blinding deep house but with that Danni softness. Following her set at the Trades Club in 2023 , she told Ben Davis that ‘she didn’t like playing vocals’. He pointed out the irony!
© Photograph: Ben Davis
The infamous horse’s head, that was brought out at every party and festival for years. Danni always led the charge and the hundreds of photos from this period are probably best left locked in the cupboard!
© Photograph: Unknown, 2007
Danni with her beloved Dot, who can be spotted in Mr Scruff’s Nice Up The Function feat. Roots Manuva alongside various other Manchester scenesters.
© Photograph: Ben Davis, 2004
Crazy P added two backing singers to the live shows, Holly Backler and Tom Bailey; seen here in Australia, which had a particular love for the band from the early years. They signed to Shiva Records for ‘A Night on Earth’ and were encouraged to write a ‘hit single’, which never seemed to sit right. They then signed to 20:20 Vision Recordings and freed from pressure, the world opened up as they hit their sweet spot of underground house and disco.
© Photograph: Unknown, 2003
The Crazy P Soundsystem developed as a halfway house between the live shows, which could be very expensive to book, and DJ set with Danni jumping on the mic and very much an equal part of the DJ team alongside Jim and Chris.
© Photograph: Ben Davis
© Photograph: Unknown, 2003
© Photograph: Unknown
Crazy P went on to be a mainstay on the festival circuit as reliable crowd rockers. The Big Chill were champions of the band, giving them their first headline slot on the second stage at the Lulworth Castle in 2001. They toured extensively, playing annually at Love International, supporting the likes of Chic, Chaka Khan, Róisín Murphy plus curating and headlining London’s Koko.
© Photograph: Ben Davis, 2004
© Photograph: Ben Davis, 2004
© Photograph: Unknown, 2003
Photograph: Scott Kershaw, 2006
Photograph: Unknown, circa 2003-04
Photograph: Unknown, 2007
Press shot of side project The Bionics with Ben Davis and Tim Davies, with added robot heads.
© Photograph: Simon King, 2007
© Photograph: Ben Davis, 2003
© Photograph: Unknown, 2005