Richard Philips, known professionally as Richard X, born in Whalley, Lancashire, England, is a British songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Philips first gained attention in the underground music scene releasing mashup bootlegs under the alias Girls on Top, including “I Wanna Dance with Numbers” and “We Don't Give a Damn About Our Friends”. In 2002, Philips achieved a commercial breakthrough producing the Sugababes single “Freak Like Me”, which reached Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and led to a contract with Virgin Records. In 2003, Philips released his debut studio album, Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1, featuring the UK Top 10 singles “Being Nobody” with Liberty X, which reached number 3, and “Finest Dreams” featuring Kelis, which reached number 8. Philips subsequently co-wrote and produced Rachel Stevens' single “Some Girls”, which reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, and Annie's single “Chewing Gum”. Philips expanded his production work to include artists such as M.I.A., Róisín Murphy, Saint Etienne, Goldfrapp, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Will Young, and Erasure on their 2014 studio album The Violet Flame. In 2009, Philips founded the Pleasure Masters label to release Annie's single “Anthonio”, alongside his Black Melody production imprint.
