Republica are an English alternative rock band formed in 1994. They reached the height of their popularity from 1996 to 1999.
The band went on hiatus in 2001 and reunited in 2008.
members: Saffron
formed in: Windsor
genres: alternative rock, techno
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Former Flowered Up keyboardist Tim Dorney met producer/engineer Andy Todd while both musicians were working in the studio for the band Soul Family Sensation. The two decided to form Republica as an electronic-oriented outfit. They recruited singer Saffron, who was an actress at one point, performing for two years in London's Starlight Express. She also appeared in the video for Chesney Hawkes' hit "The One and Only" and in the video for N-Joi's single "Mindflux". She was also lead vocalist on N-Joi's hit "Anthem" in 1990. Republica's first lineup was rounded out with Alix Tiernan on drums and Mick Pirie on bass. Influences on the band included Simple Minds, Japan, the Human League, Gary Numan, OMD, Depeche Mode, the Cure, the Clash, the...
"Ready to Go" is a song by English alternative rock band Republica, released as a single in April 1996 from the band's debut album, Republica (1996). Two versions of the song, the US mix and the original mix, were included.
This version was later featured on a greatest hits collection, Ready to Go: The Best Of.
Lyrically, the song is inspired by 1970s and 1980s avant-punk singers who sang about everyday, real-life happenings "that weren't existential or just a love song." Singer Saffron said,
Scottish Aberdeen Evening Express stated that "this classic bit of punk-fuelled dance could well do the business." Daina Darzin from Cash Box felt the song "has monster radio hit written all over it." She added, "An intense, percolating, anthemic dance/rock thing that begs to boom out of the radios of convertibles nationwide, "Ready To Go" has been the Modern Rock #1 most added two weeks in a row, with consecutive double digit adds, including 99X in Atlanta, The Edge in Dallas, WBCN in Boston and Q101 in Chicago." The Daily Vault's Alfredo Narvaez declared it as "one of the best examples of pop mixing with techno. The song throws in acoustic guitars, electric guitars and every other noise you can think of and it sounds great." Tracey...
Two different music videos were released, each for the different versions of the song. In the video for the original single release, lead singer Saffron is jumping on the roof of a building. The video was released in 1996, and the shots took place somewhere in East London. This video is very sunny and upbeat. The video also features lead singer Saffron playing the Sega Saturn video games Virtua Fighter 2 and Hang-On GP. The second music video, produced by Ben Grosse for the remix of the track, was released in early 1997. Saffron is shown singing in a warehouse with the band, then she is jumping, dancing and doing humorous mimics in front of the camera, often singing into a large megaphone. The video features rapid edit cuts, fast frame...
American entertainment company BuzzFeed ranked "Ready to Go" number 37 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s" in 2017. It is used as the song that both Sunderland A.F.C. and Farnborough F.C. walk out to upon entering the pitch before a match begins. "Ready to Go" was featured as the theme song for the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster at Cedar Point, until its closure in 2021. In 2024, Republica confirmed that a rereleased version of the song will be used for Top Thrill 2. Same year, Billboard magazine ranked the song number 94 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Jock Jams of All Time".