A string quartet at Cambridge became a pop hit factory

Clean Bandit began at Jesus College, Cambridge, where Grace Chatto and Jack Patterson met as undergraduates. Jack was interested in Chatto's classical string quartet and began making samples from recordings of its concerts. He brought in his younger brother Luke on drums. Their friend Love Ssega joined as the original vocalist but left to pursue a PhD in laser analytics.

The name comes from a Russian phrase whose meaning is close to complete bastard, though Patterson later said it is more affectionate, something like utter rascal. In 2011 Chatto and Jack Patterson also set up a film production company, Cleanfilm, to make music videos for themselves and other artists. The group is an instrumental trio that features guest vocalists, with Jack as principal songwriter and video director, and Grace co-producing the music and managing the project.

Their first single, "A+E", appeared in December 2012 and peaked at number 100 in the UK. The second, "Mozart's House", reached number 17. Then in January 2014 came “Rather Be” with Jess Glynne, the fastest-selling January release since 1996, a UK number one and a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording and two Ivor Novello Awards for Jack Patterson.

Three more UK number ones followed: "Rockabye" with Sean Paul and Anne-Marie, which was the 2016 Christmas number one, "Symphony" with Zara Larsson in 2017 and "Solo" with Demi Lovato in 2018. By 2016 they had sold over 13 million singles and 1.6 million albums. Their method stayed the same throughout: take the poise of a string quartet, add a dance floor, and invite a singer to supply the hook.