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Maximum Overdrive (song)

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"Maximum Overdrive"
Artwork for continental European and Australian releases
Single by 2 Unlimited
from the album No Limits!
Released8 November 1993 (1993-11-08)[1]
GenreEurodance
Length
  • 3:58
  • 3:43 (single remix)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Phil Wilde
  • Jean-Paul De Coster
2 Unlimited singles chronology
"Faces"
(1993) 		"Maximum Overdrive"
(1993) 		"Let The Beat Control Your Body"
(1994)
Music video
"Maximum Overdrive" on YouTube

"Maximum Overdrive" is a song by Belgian-Dutch Eurodance band 2 Unlimited, released in November 1993 by Byte, ZYX and PWL as the fourth single from their second album, No Limits! (1993). The song was written by band members Ray Slijngaard and Anita Dels with Phil Wilde and Filip Martens, while Wilde produced it with Jean-Paul De Coster. The UK release was the first UK single to maintain all the rap lyrics from Ray used in the European release. "Maximum Overdrive" reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, and was also a number-one hit in Finland and on the European Dance Radio Chart. Its accompanying music video was directed by David Betteridge and filmed in London.

Critical reception

[edit]

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton stated, "In as much as it is possible to classify things like this, 2 Unlimited are the most successful dance act ever."[2] In Pan-European magazine Music & Media's review of No Limits!, they viewed the song as a "potential single", "with a racing car breaking all speed limits."[3] Alan Jones from Music Week commented, "He raps, she sings, the music ponds in typical pop/rave style...yes, the usual 2 Unlimited hallmarks are present and correct, though melodically this is perhaps the weakest single they've released yet. Even so, this will probably scrape into the Top 10."[4] James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update described it as "typical rapped and chanted revving techno-pop".[5] Alex Kadis from Smash Hits gave the song three out of five, writing that "it all hangs together in such a pleasant, catchy way that you're spirited to the record shop in a most unhesitant manner."[6]

Chart performance

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The release scored chart success in many European countries, topping the chart in Finland for three weeks,[7] as well as the European Dance Radio Chart by Music & Media.[8] It peaked at number two in Portugal and Spain. And at number four in Belgian Flanders and number five in the Netherlands. On MTV's European Top 20, it reached number three. In Portugal, the single was held off reaching the number-one position by Depeche Mode's "Condemnation".[9] It was also a top-20 hit in Austria (13), Denmark (14), Germany (16), Ireland (11), Sweden (18), and the UK. In the latter, it peaked at number 15 in its second week at the UK Singles Chart, on 21 November 1993,[10] and number 13 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.[11] "Maximum Overdrive" stormed into the Eurochart Hot 100 on 28 November at number 19, after charting in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK, and peaked three weeks later at number seven.[12] Outside Europe, it made it to number 32 in Australia.

Airplay

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"Maximum Overdrive" entered the European airplay chart Border Breakers at number 19 on 14 November 1993 following crossover airplay in North West-Europe. It peaked at number five on 18 December.[13] On the UK Airplay chart, the single reached number 15.[14]

Music video

[edit]

The music video for "Maximum Overdrive", directed by British director David Betteridge and produced by A&R Filmstudios in London.[15] The concept of the video is a Wacky Races style chase with rivals on skateboards and pogo sticks. It was filmed in a warehouse in Northern London in the fall of 1993[16] and released on 8 November.[17] The video received heavy rotation on MTV Europe[18] and was A-listed on Germany's VIVA.[19] In December 2013, it was also made available on 2 Unlimited's official YouTube channel, and as of early 2024, the video had generated more than a half million views. Betteridge had previously directed the videos for "Get Ready for This", "Twilight Zone", "Workaholic" and "The Magic Friend".

Track listings

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Charts

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 6 November 1993. p. 23.
  2. ^ Masterton, James (14 November 1993). "Week Ending November 20th 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  3. ^ "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 22. 29 May 1993. p. 14. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  4. ^ Jones, Alan (6 November 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 14. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  5. ^ Hamilton, James (13 November 1993). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 7. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  6. ^ Kadis, Alex (10 November 1993). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 53. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Maximum Overdrive" spent 3 weeks at number one on the Finnish singles chart in January 1994.
  8. ^ a b "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 5. 29 January 1994. p. 26. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 50. 11 December 1993. p. 24. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 75 21 November 1993 - 27 November 1993". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 20 November 1993. p. 24. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 51/52. 18 December 1993. p. 31. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  13. ^ Holt, Karen (19 November 1994). "Border Breakers: Monitoring The Impact Of Euro Talent" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 47. p. 20. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  14. ^ a b "The Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. 4 December 1993. p. 26. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  15. ^ "2 Unlimited - Maximum Overdrive music video". Eurokdj.com. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  16. ^ Sutherland, Mark (23 November 1993). "Lights! Cameras! Techno!". Smash Hits. p. 20. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Promos In Production" (PDF). Music Week. 30 October 1993. p. 14. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Station Reports > MTV Europe/London" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 51/52. 18 December 1993. p. 35. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  19. ^ "Station Reports > VIVA TV/Cologne" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 6. 5 February 1994. p. 29. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  20. ^ a b c d e f "Maximum Overdrive", in various Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved 15 February 2008)
  21. ^ "2 Unlimited – Maximum Overdrive" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  22. ^ Musik-Charts durchsuchen
  23. ^ Billboard: Hits of the World, January 15, 1994
  24. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de Archived 8 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  25. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 15 February 2008)
  26. ^ "M-1 Top 40". M-1.fm. 16 January 1994. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  27. ^ "2 Unlimited – Maximum Overdrive" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  28. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  29. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 13 November 1993. p. 4. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Single top 100 over 1993" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  31. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1994" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  32. ^ "1994 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 52. 24 December 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  33. ^ "1994 in Review: European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 52. 24 December 1994. p. 8. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
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