Fun Factory (band)
| Fun Factory | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Germany |
| Genres | Eurodance |
| Years active | 1993–1997 1998–2005 2007–present |
| Website | www.fun-factory.de |
| Members | |
| Douglas Diana DGS |
|
| Past members | |
| Balja Marie-Anett Mey Toni Cottura Stephan Browarczyk Rodney Hardison Annett Möller T-Roc Al Walser |
|
Fun Factory was a German Eurodance group formed in 1993, originally consisting of Balja, Steve, Rod D., and Smooth T.. The group enjoyed success in the mid-1990's.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] 1993-1995: Formation and NonStop! The Album
The group was founded in 1993 with four members: Balja, Steve, Rod D., and Smooth T. They released their first CD, NonStop! The Album in 1994. Their second CD Close To You was released in 1995. Before its release, lead singer Balja was replaced with Marie-Anett Mey. Balja can still be seen in the video to Groove Me, and her vocals are heard on the entire album. This album includes most of the songs from their first release, including several hits such as "Close To You", "Take Your Chance", "Pain" and "Groove Me".
[edit] 1995-1997: Fun-Tastic and disbanding
In 1996, Fun Factory released their second album, Fun-Tastic, which contained several hits such as "Celebration", "Do Wah Diddy", "I Love You", and a rap remake of "I Wanna B With U" from their first and second albums. By this time they began to become more popular throughout Europe, and even saw some of their songs chart in the USA and Canada. In 1997 they released a greatest hits album. Soon after the release Smooth T and Rod D left and the original group was disbanded.
[edit] 1998-2000: Second Fun Factory and Next Generation
In 1998, a new Fun Factory formed with an all-new lineup. Their first release, Next Generation, came out in 1999 and sold over 100,000 copies. The music on this new release differed from the style of the first Fun Factory, and were mostly rap, reggae, or pop. Singles from this album include "Sha-la-la-la-la", "Party With Fun Factory", and "Fun Factory's Millennium Theme". In 2002 the ABC of Music the second and last album of the new lineup came up with the moderate success and the group was soon dissolved.
[edit] 2001-2003: ABC of Music and disbanding
Their second and final album, ABC of Music was released in 2002 with moderate success. The second Fun Factory disbanded in 2003.
[edit] 2007-present: Third Generation
German producer Rekardo Heilig started the current version of Fun Factory. In 2007, he searched for new members, and in 2008 he finally revealed them. Although the members changed quite a lot, the current members are Diana, Douglas, DGS. In 2008, the group released their very first single titled "Be Good To Me". Their first performance was at ZDF Fernsehgarten, where they performed their unreleased song "Fiesta De Samba". Since then, they toured mainly around Germany, Poland, Slovakia, but even in Romania. Their second release was in December 2009 for their brand new song "Shut Up!" which was co-written by Toni Cottura himself. Their version of "I Wanna B With U" was performed at We Love The 90's - Part II concert in Germany. According to their official website, the current management will have some changes, and 2012 will be a Fun Factory year.
[edit] Members
Original Fun Factory:
- Balja: Real name is Balca Tözün. The real vocalist of Fun Factory.
- Marie-Anett Mey: Front lady but not singer. Born in Paris, France.
- Smooth T.: Real name is Toni Cottura. Born in Germany.
- Steve: Real name is Stephan Browarczyk. Backing vocalist.
- Rod D.: Real name is Rodney Hardison. Born in America.
Fun Factory #2:
- Annett Möller: Lead singer. Real name is Annett Möller.
- T-Roc: Rapper. Real name is Terrance Lamont Croom, also called Tiger One or Tiger Style..
- Al Walser: Lead singer and rapper from Liechtenstein.
Fun Factory #3:
- Diana Ramdohr: Front vocalist from Germany.
- Douglas Albert: Lead rapper from Hamburg, Germany.
- DGS: Real name is Germain Depry. Lead rapper.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT [1] |
GER [2] |
SWI [1] |
||||||||||||
| NonStop! The Album |
|
— | 41 | — | ||||||||||
| Fun-Tastic |
|
49 | 43 | 36 | ||||||||||
| Next Generation |
|
— | — | — | ||||||||||
| ABC of Music |
|
— | — | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
[edit] Compilation albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT [1] |
GER [4] |
SWI [1] |
||||||||||||
| All Their Best |
|
— | — | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT | CAN Dance [5] |
FRA | GER [6] |
SWE | SUI | U.S. [7] |
U.S. Dance [8] |
|||||||
| 1992 | "Fun Factory's Theme" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | NonStop! The Album | ||||
| 1993 | "Groove Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Close To You" | — | 1 | — | 19 | — | — | 46 | 22 | ||||||
| 1994 | "Take Your Chance" | — | 5 | — | 18 | 35 | 37 | 88 | — | |||||
| "Pain" | 25 | — | — | 24 | 25 | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1995 | "I Wanna B With U" | 18 | 2 | — | 11 | — | — | 45 | 10 | Fun-Tastic | ||||
| "Celebration" | — | 9 | 19 | 12 | — | — | 88 | — | ||||||
| "Doh Wah Diddy" | 11 | 24 | 49 | 6 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1996 | "Don't Go Away" | 31 | — | — | 37 | — | — | 93 | — | |||||
| "I Love You" | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1997 | "Oh Yeah Yeah (I Like It)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 1998 | "Party with Fun Factory" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Next Generation | ||||
| 1999 | "Sha-La-La-La-La" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Wish" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
[edit] Videography
[edit] Music videos
| Year | Music video | Director(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "Groove Me" | Unknown | — |
| 1994 | "Close To You" | Apollon | — |
| "Take Your Chance" | Steve Willis | — | |
| "Pain" | Chopstick | — | |
| 1995 | "I Wanna B With U" | Music in Motion | — |
| "Celebration" | Marcus Adams | — | |
| 1996 | "Doh Wah Diddy" | Music in Motion | — |
| "Don't Go Away" | V. Hannwacker & M. Rosenmüller | — | |
| "I Love You" | Camelot | — | |
| 1999 | "Party With Fun Factory" | Unknown | — |
| 2009 | "Uh La La" | Unknown | — |
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Intl. peak positions
- ^ Germany: peak positions
- ^ Music Canada: Certifications
- ^ Germany: peak positions
- ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Dance Singles". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=dji3ne323a30c4dnh74qk764d7&q1=fun+factory&q2=Dance%2FUrban&interval=20. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ "German peak positions". musicline.de. http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Fun+Factory/single?sort=entry. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ "Fun Factory Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/artist/fun-factory/120602#/artist/fun-factory/chart-history/120602?f=379&g=Singles. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ "Fun Factory Album & Song Chart History - Dance Club Play". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/artist/fun-factory/120602#/artist/fun-factory/chart-history/120602?f=359&g=Singles. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Fun Factory)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=&strInterpret=Fun+Factory&strTtArt=alle&strAwards=checked. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
