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2 Unlimited

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2 Unlimited

2 Unlimited was a Eurodance act formed in 1991. The project was the brainchild of Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde, and was fronted by a Dutch duo, rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth. During five years of enormous worldwide popularity, the act scored 16 chart hits, including "Get Ready for This", "Twilight Zone", "No Limit" and "Tribal Dance". They are thought to have sold more than 20 million records and 50 million compilations.[1]

On April 11, 2009, Ray and Anita performed together for the first time in 13 years at the "I Love The 90s" concert in Hasselt, Belgium.[2]

Formation

Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde met in their hometown of Antwerp,[3] Belgium, and their first collaboration under the name of Bizz Nizz, the single "Don't Miss The Party Line" [4], was a substantial hit across Europe, including in the United Kingdom where it reached no. 7 in the national singles chart in April 1990.[5] Its success came as a great surprise to the duo and encouraged them to continue working together.

In early 1991, a 19-year-old Ray Slijngaard was working as a chef at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam [6]. Ray was a friend of Quadrophonia rapper Marvin D [7], and whilst attending one of their gigs he took a microphone and started to rap in order to hype up the unenthusiastic crowd. Marvin was impressed and introduced him to DeCoster and Wilde, who got him to record a rap for "Money Money", a track that was being planned as a future Bizz Nizz single. [3] Meanwhile, Anita Doth (Dels is her stage name), also 19, was an administrator in the parking ticket division of an Amsterdam police station. In her spare time she performed in a female rap group called Trouble Sisters and she was spotted by Marvin, who asked her to be a backing singer for him. Ray and Anita became good friends, and some people believe that they had a relationship.

DeCoster and Wilde created an instrumental track called "Get Ready For This" and they decided that it needed some vocals. They asked Ray for his input and he duly recorded a rap for it. The band was initially meant to be a solo project with Ray fronting the act but then he added female vocals from Anita. They were so pleased with the result that they agreed to work with them as a duo, and thus 2 Unlimited was born.

Get Ready! (1991–1992)

They were signed to Byte Records (Belgium) and were licensed to many other record labels, including PWL Continental in the UK, run by Pete Waterman of Stock, Aitken & Waterman fame, who had produced dozens of hits for the likes of Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley. However Waterman, deciding that the rap was unsuitable for the UK market, where instrumental rave music had become extremely popular, removed most of the vocals from the track except for the line "y'all ready for this?", which was sampled from The D.O.C.'s "It's Funky Enough".[8] "Get Ready For This" was an instant hit, peaking at no. 1 in the chart and was the twelfth best-selling single of 1991, earning a silver sales certificate.[9] It went on to reach no. 4 in Belgium, no. 10 in the Netherlands and no. 2 in Australia. It also worked its way up to no. 7 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

A follow-up single, "Twilight Zone", followed in January 1992 also reached no. 1 in the UK, selling 234,000 copies. It topped the chart in the duo's homeland and was certified gold, and it was also a hit in the United States where it charted at #49 on the Hot 100 (and #5 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart). To capitalise on this success, the album Get Ready!, featuring the two singles and seven other brand new tracks including two ballads, was released on February 24. Two further singles were released, "Workaholic" and "The Magic Friend", which helped the album go on to sell 2.6 million copies worldwide.

No Limits (1993–1994)

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Although Ray and Anita were sceptical about the track DeCoster and Wilde wanted to push as the lead single from the act's second album, "No Limit" was released in January 1993 and the repetitive nature of the song helped it become their most successful single ever, and by far the best remembered by the general public even now. The single topped the charts in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and in the United Kingdom where it sold 532,000 copies and ended up the fourth best-seller of 1993.

"Tribal Dance" was released as a single shortly before the album No Limits hit stores in May. Three further singles were issued: "Faces", which was considerably different in pace to previous releases, "Maximum Overdrive" and a re-recorded version of "Let The Beat Control Your Body", which was changed to "Let The Bass Control Your Body" in France to avoid any confusion with the slang word "bite" (meaning "penis"). "Throw The Groove Down" was released after this, but not as a full single release. Alternatively, the American label Radikal Records issued a limited edition titled "The U.S. Remixes".

But despite the phenomenal success that the duo were enjoying, they were criticised heavily by the music industry and the British press dubbed them "2 Untalented". [3] Ray and Anita were dismissed as "puppets" and the lyrical depth of their songs was questioned. However, it should be noted that both performers took an active part in writing their material and Ray's raps were cut from the UK album release, being once again deemed, in Jean-Paul DeCoster's words, "too clumsy for the British market".[citation needed] Whilst some dance music fans also expressed dislike for the commerciality of their sound and the banality of their lyrics, others, such as one music critic in Melody Maker wrote that whilst they were "juvenile" and "puerile", on the other hand "2 Unlimited stand for energy and excitement. And if you're not thrilled by the lobotomising insistence of 'Workaholic', 'Contrast' and the rest you're either dead from the toes up, or too grown-up for your own good."[3]

It was also noted by the band's manager Michel Maartens that 2 Unlimited were launched at a time when "many parents feared that house and techno would damage their children. It was associated with pills and nightly escapades. But Ray and Anita proved to be the acceptable faces of techno. When Mum and Dad saw they were harmless pop stars, all mistrust was over." The band's image and sound were at the same time responsible for both their popularity with the public and their unpopularity with critics, with Melody Maker describing them as "a crude, bastardized assault on tasteful dance standards."[3]

The No Limits album was even more successful than the first, selling in excess of 3 million copies. At the MIDEM convention, 2 Unlimited were presented with 80 platinum and gold awards from 26 different countries,[10] as well as winning "World's Best-Selling Benelux Act" at the World Music Awards 1993.[citation needed]

Real Things (1994–1995)

In May 1994, the duo's tenth single "The Real Thing" was released and it proved that their fans were still interested as they sent the single to no. 1 in the Netherlands and no. 6 in the UK. The title was aimed as a dig at the several other similar sounding eurodance acts who had appeared to copy the 2 Unlimited sound.[citation needed] Their third album, called Real Things, was instantly certified gold in the UK and 2 Unlimited became the first dance act to achieve two number one albums. [11] Only two continental European acts have had more UK number one albums - Pavarotti and ABBA. [11] Real Things was their first album that PWL made no changes to, perhaps because by then rap in dance records had become more common and accepted. "No One" surprised many fans by being a straight-forward pop record and was picked as the second single.

By the end of 1994 they had sold another 322,000 singles in the UK alone [9] and they were still winning more awards than they had room for on their mantelpiece, as they were presented with Smash Hits' "Best Dance Act" award for the second year running, and the Popprijs award for their services to Dutch music.[12] They were also still performing to huge crowds at Wembley Arena in London and to 450,000 people at the Parkpop Festival in the Netherlands.[13] At the height of their career, Ray and Anita were thought to be performing around 200 shows a year.[citation needed]

In March 1995, "Here I Go" was another top 5 hit in their homeland but by charting at no. 22 it broke the duo's run of eleven consecutive UK top 20 hits. The fourth and final single was the ballad "Nothing Like the Rain" which was not quite as successful and did not even receive a UK release.

Whilst they were very popular all around the world, major success continued to elude 2 Unlimited in the United States. Three years after it was originally released, "Get Ready For This" started getting major radio support and charted at no. 83 on the Hot 100 in October 1994, eventually peaking at number 38.[14] This helped first album Get Ready! make its way to the 500,000 mark, earning it a gold certificate despite never climbing higher than no. 197 on the chart. The track has become a firm favourite at arena-based sporting events and has featured on several Hollywood movie soundtracks such as Space Jam, Flubber and Bring It On. It also featured famously in the Friends TV series episode where the group played an acrimonious game of Thanksgiving American Football.

Hits Unlimited (1995–1996)

In October 1995, 2 Unlimited released their first compilation album Hits Unlimited, prompting rumours that they were about to split up. The single "Do What's Good For Me" was another top 20 hit and their 27th appearance on Top Of The Pops. The song was also re-recorded as "Kids Like You And Me" to promote awareness about homeless youth in the Netherlands. Following the surprise belated success of "Get Ready For This" in the USA, the "best of" was heavily promoted there but only managed no. 107 on the Billboard 200, with the single reaching no. 33 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. The rumours continued when Pete Waterman announced that Ray and Anita had split up when in fact they hadn't,[15] and Ray expressed his aspirations to be a record producer. In February 1996, the band performed at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival (Spanish: Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar) in Chile, topping the bill alongside Ace of Base. Despite their insistence that they were planning a world tour, in April 1996, shortly after the release of the single "Jump for Joy", both Ray and Anita announced that 2 Unlimited was over.

It later emerged that after having spent so much time together they were no longer getting on as well as they once had, and there was disagreement about the future sound of 2 Unlimited. They had asked for more creative input and they also felt that they were not getting a fair share of the huge amount of money being earned by the project. As no agreement was reached, they each went their separate ways before a final single ("Spread Your Love") was released in June 1996. Jean-Paul DeCoster went on to sue Anita for breaking her contract, but he lost the case as it was considered that he had not paid Anita enough and was ordered to give her the same amount of money he had demanded of her.[16]

Anita went on to DJ for Dutch radio station Radio 538, recorded a single with reggae artist Mad Cobra and in 2000 released a solo album called Reality. Ray created his own label called X-Ray Records, which scored a Top 10 hit in the Netherlands with T.O.F.'s "Funk It Up". He also released two solo singles in 1997 which failed to chart but found more success in 1999 with the group V.I.P. Allstars. Ray now lives in Monte Carlo with his wife and his son Rayvano, and Anita continues to tour clubs as part of the group Divas of Dance. An Internet petition to reunite Ray, Anita, Jean-Paul and Phil in 2005 was unsuccessful.

II (1998–1999)

As they still owned the rights to the name "2 Unlimited", DeCoster and Wilde recruited two new (again Dutch) singers, Romy van Ooijen (b. 18 November 1971) and Marjon van Iwaarden (b. 18 June]] 1974), in order to capitalise on previous success. "Wanna Get Up" did well in the Netherlands, reaching no. 10 but the single, which was remixed by Sash! for UK release, was unsuccessful in the UK, barely scraping the Top 40.

The album II, was released in April 1998. It was a relative failure and subsequent singles "Edge Of Heaven" and "Never Surrender" could not stop the decline. Before long, both Romy and Marjon left the act.

Remixes (2000–2006)

In 2000, Byte Records released the remix singles "No Limit (Millennium Remixes)" and "Twilight Zone (Millennium Remixes)". A remix album was to be released that year but some master tapes were stolen from Byte, and taken to Russia where they were released as a bootleg compilation. In 2001, Byte finally released it "Greatest Hits Remixes" featuring many new remixes. Some of the remixes from the stolen master tapes released in Russia were not included. The album was released solely in Japan.

In 2002, Trance Remixes: Special Edition was released in Japan featuring many more new remixes not included in the previous compilation.

In recent years, many "best of" compilations have been released in various territories, often with new remixes. Most notably, ZYX Records in 2003 released "No Limit 2.3", and it was a moderate hit, reaching no. 41 in the German singles chart. It was promoted by a new duo, Débora Remagen and James Giscombe[17] they were being lined up as a 2 Unlimited "version 3". They still perform, mainly in Eastern Europe, although are not allowed to use their own voices. This due to copyright issues.

A new CD and DVD set containing all the duo's video-clips called The Complete History was released in 2004 along with a single, "Tribal Dance 2.4" (originally released on 12" vinyl in November 2003 as Tribal Dance 2.3). 2005 saw the release of "The Refreshed Album" in Mexico featuring stunning artwork, but the same remixes found on previous remix albums. In 2006, the DVD was re-packaged with a different CD Greatest Remix Hits, which was released in Australia. The following years would see this package re-released in Argentina, Denmark, Sweden, Asia and South Africa.

Reunion (2009)

Having both continued to perform their old hits separately in nightclubs and university student unions around the world, the original performers Ray and Anita reunited on April 11, 2009, to perform together for the first time in 13 years at the "I Love The 90s" concert in Hasselt, Belgium.[18]

Then on April 30, they performed five songs at the Radio 538 Queen's Day concert at Museumplein in Amsterdam.[19]

Although they are not currently allowed to perform under the name 2 Unlimited, producer Phil Wilde attended the Hasselt gig and gave an interview with a local magazine, and Ray hinted to the crowd that these performances are just the beginning of their comeback, saying "watch the Internet 'cause there's no limits".

On June 8, Ray & Anita were awarded "Most Popular Act of the 1990s", based on number of weeks in the Dutch Top 40.

Discography

Singles

Year Single Highest chart position Album
UK[20] U.S. U.S. Dance AUS NDL SWE ESP DEU AUT SWZ FRA
1991 "Get Ready For This" 1 38 14 2 10 36 2 — — — 2 Get Ready!
1992 "Twilight Zone" 1 49 5 11 1 9 1 20 10 15 1
"Workaholic" 4 — 26 35 1 24 24 11 26 37 5
"The Magic Friend" 11 — — 16 5 27 9 17 26 — 12
1993 "No Limit" 1 — 21 7 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 No Limits
"Tribal Dance" 4 — 7 5 1 1 1 2 3 2 4
"Faces" 8 — — 54 2 11 1 8 10 19 16
"Maximum Overdrive" 15 — — 32 5 18 1 16 13 23 35
1994 "Let the Beat Control Your Body" 6 — — 39 1 11 10 8 11 11 1
"The Real Thing" 6 — — 39 1 2 1 4 7 2 1 Real Things
"No One" 17 — — 30 3 15 1 8 14 15 9
1995 "Here I Go" 22 — — 80 1 20 7 2 7 8 25
"Nothing Like the Rain" — — — — 6 1 14 2 2 6 7
"Do What's Good For Me" 16 — 3 7 13 35 1 50 29 41 6 Hits Unlimited
1996 "Jump for Joy" — — — — 7 32 1 39 24 2 4
"Spread Your Love" — — — 7 10 25 10 4 1 2 3
1998 "Wanna Get Up" 38 — — — 10 58 3 88 — — 70 II
"Edge Of Heaven" — — — — 35 — 8 — — — —
"Never Surrender" — — — — — — 5 — — — —
2003 "No Limit 2.3" — — — — — — — 41 — — — The Complete History
2004 "Tribal Dance 2.4" — — — — — — — 78 58 — —

Albums

Year Title Highest chart position Sales
UK[20] U.S. AUS NLD SWE ESP DEU AUT CH JPN
1992 Get Ready! 37 197 10 12 27 — — — — 65
  • Sales: 2.6 million
  • RIAA certification: Gold
1993 No Limits 1 — 1 1 1 28 4 1 1 1
  • Sales: 3 million
1994 Real Things 1 — 18 1 2 15 3 4 1 1
  • Sales: 2 million
  • BPI certification: Gold
1995 Hits Unlimited 27 107 78 6 — — — — — 78
  • Sales: 1 million
1998 II — — — 55 — — — — — —
1999 Best Unlimited
  • Greatest Hits Compilation
  • Released: January, 1999
 — — — — — — — — — 85
2004 The Complete History — — — — — — — — — —

Remix Albums

Year Title
1993 Power Tracks
2001 Greatest Hits Remixes
2003 Trance Remixes (Special Edition)
2006 Greatest Remix Hits

References

  1. ^ 2 Unlimited - Free Music Downloads, Videos, Lyrics, CDs, MP3s, Bio, Merchandise and Links
  2. ^ http://www.ilovethe90s.be/
  3. ^ a b c d e 2 Unlimited Biography: Contemporary Musicians
  4. ^ Bizz Nizz
  5. ^ http://www.polyhex.com
  6. ^ Raymond Slijngaard & Anita Dels
  7. ^ Quadraphonia
  8. ^ Top 10 Jock Anthems - The Jams and Songs That Make Sports an Event
  9. ^ a b Music Week
  10. ^ http://music.hyperreal.org/library/publicity/2_unlimited/1995_bio
  11. ^ a b UK number one albums
  12. ^ Dutch Rock & Pop Institute
  13. ^ Home - Parkpop - The Hague - 2007
  14. ^ Billboard Database
  15. ^ 2 Unlimited by Rafael Mattos dos Santos
  16. ^ 2 Unlimited biography - The Eurodance Encyclopædia
  17. ^ :: Forum anzeigen - Aktuelle Diskussionen
  18. ^ http://www.ilovethe90s.be/
  19. ^ http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=2458558/pid=2447164 Koninginnedagfeest line-up
  20. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 572. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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