Opus III
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Opus III were a techno and house music group from England who had success on the UK Singles Chart and on the U.S. Dance charts. The group consisted of vocalist Kirsty Hawkshaw and producers/musicians Kevin 'The Fly' Dodds, Ian Munro and Nigel 'Spider' Walton. The group members promoted a strong environmental message through their lyrics, album liner notes and photo and video imagery.
Their debut album, Mind Fruit, produced the track "It's a Fine Day", a cover of a 1983 single by Jane & Barton,[1][2] which topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1992 and reached number five on the UK Singles Chart.[3]
The song, now considered a house music classic, is the basis of Orbital's 1992 track "Halcyon" and its album version "Halcyon + On + On" included in their second eponymous album; the "la la la" section of the "It's A Fine Day" chorus was backmasked and sampled throughout the song. Norwegian artist Erlend Øye also covered the song on his album that was part of the DJ-Kicks series.
Hawkshaw returned the favour by appearing in the video for "Halcyon + On + On" playing a housewife who was 'under the influence'. The other single release from Mind Fruit, was "I Talk To The Wind". This was not a big chart success in the UK, only reaching number 52.[3]
Opus III's second album Guru Mother surfaced in 1994 and produced another U.S. number-one dance song "When You Made The Mountain".[4] A third dance chart entry, "Hand in Hand (Looking for Sweet Inspiration)" hit number 14.
The group disbanded after their second album. Hawkshaw is still a major presence in dance music, lending her vocals to a number of electronic and dance music artists and tracks into the opening years of the 21st century, including Delerium, Silent Poets, DJ Tiësto and again with Orbital.[5]
[edit] See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
[edit] References
- ^ "Indie Hits "J"". Cherry Red Records. http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/j.htm. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
- ^ "Edward Barton - News". Edward Barton - Unofficial Web Page. January 25, 2005. http://homepages.force9.net/king1/Barton/News.html. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 408. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Allmusic.com - Charts & Awards
- ^ "Biography by Jason Birchmeier". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=OPUS. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- "Artist Chart History - Opus III". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=23144&model.vnuAlbumId=201662. Retrieved 2006-04-19.
