Beginnings: 1992–1996 In the early 1990s, the band Nightcrawlers was formed as a more soul and funk-influenced pop act and featured vocalist John Reid (who had some local success as a DJ and vocalist under the name Robinson Reid with acts like
This Way Up in the late 1980s). The band signed to Island Records' 4th & Broadway record label and released their debut single "Living Inside a Dream", which failed to reach any commercial success. The band then decided to release a second single, "
Push the Feeling On", which also failed to go Top 40 in its original acid jazz-styled version and so the band were dropped from Island records, splitting up not so long afterwards. However, "
Push the Feeling On" found some success on the American dance scene and briefly crossed over to pop radio, resulting in a minor hit, peaking at No. 80 on the
Billboard Hot 100, where it spent fifteen weeks on the chart (it peaked at No. 7 on the US
Hot Dance Club Play chart). Most of "
Push the Feeling On" success is due to the B-side, a remix by
Marc Kinchen, an American record producer who has had a number of hits in the UK charts under the name MK. Kinchen essentially reinvented the track by stripping down the song to one vocal line out of the chorus and creating an unusual sounding track around it. His version, originally entitled 'MK's Nocturnal Dub' but more famously known as 'The Dub of Doom Mix', became heavily played on the underground scene for two years in the UK, eventually reaching No. 22 on the
UK singles chart in October 1994 when it was commercially released. In 1995, MK created new mixes for the track and the single was once again re-released, this time licensed to London's ffrr dance label. It peaked at No. 3 on the
UK Singles Chart, becoming Nightcrawlers' biggest hit in the United Kingdom. Reid then signed to BMG as a solo artist under the Nightcrawlers name, with his records being issued on the new Final Vinyl imprint through Arista Records. Reid released four further consecutive singles, all featuring remixes by MK. "
Surrender Your Love" peaked at No. 7, "
Don't Let the Feeling Go" peaked at No. 13, "
Let's Push It" peaked at No. 23 and "Should I Ever (Fall in Love)" peaked at No. 34. In 2021, the MK remix of "Push the Feeling On" was sampled by British producer
Henry 'Riton' Smithson, who had teamed up with social media stars Mufasa and Hypeman to record the track, called "
Friday". Credited to Riton X Nightcrawlers featuring Mufasa and Hypeman, the record was issued by Sony's Ministry of Sound Recordings and entered the
UK singles chart at number 60 on 22 January 2021 and eventually reached the top 5. After appearing in the video for "Friday", Reid went on to provide vocals on producer Kevin Christie's follow-up to "
Rasputin" (a remix/revamp of the Boney M. song which he - Majestic - took into the Top 20 of the UK singles chart). The new collaborative single was released by Ministry of Sound Records and called "Losing My Mind", with the artist credit typeset as Majestic X Nightcrawlers. John Reid's death was announced on 16 June 2025. He was 61. ==Solo work==