Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Unlimited"

 

 

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IFPI Platinum Europe Awards Awards by month & year 1996 AWARDS ARTIST ALBUM TITLE COMPANY AWARD LEVEL 2 UNLIMITED REAL THINGS BYTE RECORDS 1 AC/DC BALLBREAKER WARNER MUSIC 1 ACE OF BASE THE BRIDGE POLYGRAM 1 AEROSMITH BIG ONES MCA 1 ALAIN SOUCHON C'EST DEJA CA VIRGIN RECORDS 1 ALANIS MORISSETTE JAGGED LITTLE PILL WARNER MUSIC 1 ANDRE RIEU STRAUSS & CO POLYGRAM 1 ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER THE VERY BEST OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER POLYGRAM 1 ANNIE LENNOX MEDUSA BMG 1 BACKSTREET BOYS BACKSTREET BOYS (ALBUM) ZOMBA RECORDS 1 BEATLES ANTHOLOGY I EMI 1 BEATLES LIVE AT THE BBC EMI 1 BEAUTIFUL SOUTH CARRYON UP THE CHARTS POLYGRAM 2 BJORK POST POLYGRAM 1 BLUR GREAT ESCAPE EMI 1 BLUR PARKLIFE EMI 1 BON JOVI CROSS ROADS POLYGRAM 5 BON JOVI THESE DAYS POLYGRAM 2 BOYS II MEN BOYS II MEN POLYGRAM 1 BOYZONE SAID & DONE POLYGRAM 1 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GREATEST HITS SONY MUSIC EUROPE 3 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD SONY MUSIC EUROPE 1 CELINE DION D'EUX SONY MUSIC EUROPE 4 CELINE DION FALLING INTO YOU SONY MUSIC EUROPE 4 CELINE DION THE COLOUR OF MY LOVE SONY MUSIC EUROPE 4 CHRIS REA THE VERY BEST OF CHRIS REA WARNER MUSIC 1 CRANBERRIES NO NEED TO ARGUE POLYGRAM 4 CRANBERRIES TO THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED POLYGRAM 1 CRASH TEST DUMMIES GOD SHUFFLED HIS FEET BMG 1 CYNDI LAUPER GREATEST HITS SONY MUSIC EUROPE 1 EAGLES VERY BEST OF THE EAGLES WARNER MUSIC 1 EAST 17 STEAM POLYGRAM 1 ELTON JOHN LOVE SONGS POLYGRAM 2 ELTON JOHN MADE IN ENGLAND POLYGRAM 1 ENIGMA CROSS OF CHANGES VIRGIN RECORDS 1 ENYA THE MEMORY OF TREES WARNER MUSIC 2 ERIC CLAPTON FROM THE CRADLE WARNER MUSIC 1 EROS RAMAZZOTTI DOVE C'E MUSICA BMG 3 FRANCIS CABREL SAMEDI SOIR SUR LA TERRE SONY MUSIC EUROPE 2 FUGEES THE SCORE SONY MUSIC EUROPE 3 GEORGE MICHAEL OLDER VIRGIN RECORDS 3 GIPSY KINGS GREATEST HITS SONY MUSIC EUROPE 1 GREEN DAY DOOKIE WARNER MUSIC 1 INXS THE GREATEST HITS POLYGRAM 1 JAMIROQUAI TRAVELLING WITHOUT MOVING SONY MUSIC EUROPE 1 JANET JACKSON DESIGN OF A DECADE POLYGRAM 1 JOE COCKER HAVE A LITTLE FAITH EMI 1 JULIO IGLESIAS CRAZY SONY MUSIC EUROPE 1 JULIO IGLESIAS LA CARRETERA SONY MUSIC EUROPE 1 KLAUS JEPSEN DER KONIG DER LOWEN POLYGRAM 1 LAURA PAUSINI LAURA (HER SECOND ALBUM) WARNER MUSIC 1 LAURA PAUSINI LAURA PAUSINI WARNER MUSIC 1 MADONNA BEDTIME STORIES WARNER MUSIC 1 MADONNA SOMETHING TO REMEMBER WARNER MUSIC 2 MARIAH CAREY DAYDREAM SONY MUSIC EUROPE 3 MARIAH CAREY MERRY CHRISTMAS SONY MUSIC EUROPE 1 MEAT LOAF WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD VIRGIN RECORDS 1 METALLICA LOAD POLYGRAM 1 MICHAEL BOLTON GREATEST HITS SONY MUSIC EUROPE 1 MICHAEL JACKSON HISTORY SONY MUSIC EUROPE 6 MONKS OF SILOS CANTO GREGORLANO EMI 1 M-PEOPLE BIZARRE FRUIT BMG 1 NIRVANA UNPLUGGED MCA 2 OASIS DEFINITELY MAYBE SONY MUSIC EUROPE 2 OASIS MORNING GLORY SONY MUSIC EUROPE 5 OFFSPRING SMASH EPITAPH 2 OST WAITING TO EXHALE BMG 1 OST PHILADELPHIA SONY MUSIC EUROPE 1 OST THE LION KING SOUNDTRACK WALT DISNEY 3 PATRICIA KAAS TOUR DE CHARME(studio) SONY MUSIC EUROPE 1 PAUL WELLER STANLEY ROAD POLYGRAM 1 PHIL COLLINS DANCE INTO THE LIGHT WARNER MUSIC 1 PINK FLOYD PULSE EMI 1 PRODIGY MUSIC FOR THE JILTED GENERATION XL RECORDINGS 1 PULP DIFFERENT CLASS POLYGRAM 1 PUR ABENTEUERLAND INTERCORD 1 QUEEN MADE IN HEAVEN EMI 3 RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS ONE HOT MINUTE WARNER MUSIC 1 REDNEX SEX & VIOLINS ZOMBA RECORDS 1 REM MONSTER WARNER MUSIC 2 REM NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI WARNER MUSIC 1 ROBSON & JEROME ROBSON & JEROME BMG 2 ROLLING STONES STRIPPED VIRGIN RECORDS 1 ROLLING STONES VOODOO LOUNGE VIRGIN RECORDS 1 ROXETTE CRASH BOOM BANG EMI 1 ROXETTE DON'T BORE US GET TO THE CHORUS EMI 1 SACRED SPIRIT CHANTS AND DANCES OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN VIRGIN RECORDS 1 SADE THE BEST OF SADE SONY MUSIC EUROPE 2 SEAL SEAL (2ND ALBUM) WARNER MUSIC 1 SIMPLY RED GREATEST HITS WARNER MUSIC 1 SIMPLY RED LIFE WARNER MUSIC 2 SMURFS TECHNO IS COOL - VOLUME 1 EMI 1 STING FIELDS OF GOLD POLYGRAM 3 TAKE THAT GREATEST HITS BMG 2 TAKE THAT NOBODY ELSE BMG 2 THREE TENORS, THE THE THREE TENORS IN CONCERT 1994 WARNER MUSIC 2 TINA TURNER WILDEST DREAMS EMI 1 TLC CRAZY SEXY COOL BMG 1 WESTERNHAGEN AFFENTHEATER WARNER MUSIC 1 WET WET WET END OF PART ONE POLYGRAM 3 WET WET WET PICTURE THIS POLYGRAM 1 ZUCCHERO SPIRITODIVINO POLYGRAM 1 ZZ TOP ANTENNA BMG 1

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2 Unlimited is a Dutch techno supersensation. The members

are 22 year old rapper Kid Ray, and 21 year old Anita. They both co-write

all their songs, along with their producers Phil Wilde, and J.P. DeCoster.

Wilde has worked with other techno groups such as Belgium's AB Logic. Both

Kid Ray, and Anita have had previous experience; Ray has toured with Marvin

D, and has been rapping since age 16. Anita used to sing in a group called

Trouble Sisters. It was at a Marvin D concert that the two met.

              2 Unlimited exploded onto the European techno/rave scene in

late 1991 with the hit single "Get Ready For This", a song that stayed at #2

in Europe for four months. Later came "Twilight Zone", which made it to #2

on the Gallup/Music Ltd./BBC (London) poll in March of 1992. In the U.S.,

on the Rockpool Promotions charts, the single hit #3 in July of the same

year. "Twilight Zone" would go on to become one of 2 Unlimited's many

popular singles.

              "Get Ready For This", and "Twilight Zone" both came from

2 Unlimited's debut album, "Get Ready", which also spawned another hit

single, "Workaholic", which hit #4 in London in June of 1992, and has

been used in the opening and closing of the worlwide radio show "U.K.

Chart Attack", produced in London.

              After the success of "Get Ready" came their second album,

"No Limits" in early 1993. The debut single, "No Limit" did so well

in London that it knocked Whitney Houston's smash hit "I Will Always

Love You" from the #1 spot in April of 1993.  This single hit #1 in Austria,

Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Italy, Norway,

Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The next single, "Tribal

Dance" was also very well recieved. Another single, "Faces" only made it

to #10 in October of 1993, but the final single from the album, "Let

The Beat Control Your Body", hit #6 in winter of 1993. "No Limits"

hit #3 in London in July of 1993.

              2 Unlimited's third album, "Real Things", was released in

the U.S. in July of 1994. In Europe, it and the debut single, "The Real

Thing" both hit #1. The second single, "No One" is currently in the top

5 in Belgium, and has not yet been released on cassette in the U.S.

Another single is planned for European release in early 95.

              Their success has not gone without notice. Kid Ray and Anita

have performed at the 1993 World Music Awards ("No Limit"), and at the

following year's awards ("Let The Beat Control Your Body"). And, at the

MIDEM Convention in Winter of 1993, they won 80 awards for their album

sales; gold and platinum. This makes for a total of over 120 MIDEM awards in

their career. Finally, they are featured in a dance compilation

"Dance Mix USA", and performed in its informercial. Their songs, "No Limit",

and "Tribal Dance" are featured.

              The awards the recieved were well deserved.  In 1993 alone,

they sold a million singles in Europe.  Their "No Limits" album has sold well

in excess of 2.5 million copies in Europe.  Their work has always done well

on the European charts; the lowest placing of a single they've had was

"Magic Friend", which hit #15.

              Speaking of compilation albums, they are featured on

"Rave 'Til Dawn" with the instrumental version of "Get Ready For This",

and on the recent "Welcome to The Future", with the Breakbeat mix of

"No Limit".  They also appear on "100% Energy" with "Let The Beat

Control Your Body".

              2 Unlimited had planned a U.S. tour to start in September of

1993, but it was delayed until at least late Feburary due to last minute

problems. They have played clubs in America before, and a tour is set

to begin in early '95 in clubs nationwide, as well as in Mexico.

              The record labels that make 2 Unlimited's music possible are

in America, Critique Records in Worburn, Massacusetts, and Radikal Records

in Teaneck, New Jersey. In Belgium, it's Byte Records, and their music

is licensed for international hearing by ToCo International in the

Netherlands.

 

 

 

 

 

2 Unlimited

Techno band

Despite Its name, 2 Unlimited is actually a quartet, comprised of two behind-the-scenes composer-producers, Phil Wilde and Jean Paul de Coster, and two lyricist-performers, Anita Doth and Ray Slijngaard. The four have worked together since 1991, presenting their audience with regular contributions to the techno sound, the dance club style prevalent throughout Europe in the 1990s. All of the group's 14 singles have broken the top ten charts and achieved gold and platinum sales world-wide. Ironically, the quartet's happy careen through sales and celebrity has been accompanied by relentless scorn from music reviewers; their name has become synonymous with techno at its most commercial.

Phil Wilde and Jean Paul de Coster, both from Antwerp, Belgium, created 2 Unlimited in their studio, initially without any performers or vocalists. Both were already adept with the studio's equipment but, more importantly, they also shared a sensitivity to what will make a crowd dance. Wilde built his reputation deejaying for eight years on the demanding European club scene before Investing in his own studio; de Coster ran a successful Antwerp record store. Wilde also provided an experienced background in composition and performance, which he first learned studying classical piano.

Wilde and de Coster first collaborated on a single called "Don't Miss the Party Line" by Bizz Nizz. When the piece made the European top ten in 1990, the producers decided to continue working together. In 1991 they set down the instrumental dance track "Get Ready for This," that would later receive vocals with some additional help. As de Coster recalled In Billboard, "We invited rapper Ray Slijngaard to have a go at it. We had worked with him before on 'Money Money,' an unreleased single by Bizz Nizz. By September, he returned the tape to us. To our surprise, he had also added the female vocals of a certain Anita Doth, a traffic warden from Amsterdam. He told us she was a good friend of his out of the city's nightlife. Ray discussed the possibility of forming a duo to front the project." Happy with what they heard, the producers took Slijngaard and Doth on board.

"Give Them Something Visual"

The team quickly worked out a production routine. Wilde and de Coster composed the music, then carefully, deliberately designed the track on the mixing board. Meanwhile, Doth and Slijngaard worked up the lyrics; "Once we have the melody," Wilde told Tony Horkins from Melody Maker In 1994, "I give them a cassette—one instrumental, and one with my piano melody... They write the lyrics and they come back to the studio. " Even the vocals, the only acoustic element to begin with, could be sampled to carry a particular sound throughout. Explaining the use of Doth's voice, for example, Wilde told Horkins that "she does actually sing all three choruses, say, but if one of them is very good we'll use it all the way through. It's best for the record."

Writing for Melody Maker In 1994, Tom Sheehan noted the "widespread suspicion that Slijngaard and [Doth] are brainless puppets." Although Wilde and de Coster deny the charges, they do allow most of the creative and entrepreneurial credit to fall on their own shoulders. Doth and Slijngaard take second place, acknowledged as largely competent collaborators, but never touted as the driving force of the operation or even as vocal divas. They provide the look of 2 Unlimited—faces, vocals, bodies, outfits, dance routines, video style, and even logo—which all Involved consider vital to the group's success. "If you want continuity for your projects," de Coster told Flick, "you better give them something visual too... .That way, the kids out there can easily relate to It. "

Both born in the Netherlands in 1971, the vocalists came to the producers with part-time music backgrounds. Slijngaard supported himself as a chef at the Schipjol Airport in Amsterdam, rapping at night with a friend and dancing at the city's clubs; he had something of a reputation for his skills as a break dancer. Doth belonged to an all-female group called Trouble Sisters and did some modeling, but made her living in the traffic-wardens' division of the Amsterdam police. When "Get Ready for This" came their way, neither one expected it to really change their lives. Talking with Sheehan, Doth recalled that she hoped to "sell a few in Holland and Belgium, maybe a dance hit in England." Slijngaard added that "At best...I thought maybe I'd get some money to open my own restaurant." When the collaboration proved to be successful enough to make them all professional, Doth and Slijngaard took on more creative roles. Slijngaard told Flick that "Having that kind of input has been key.... I could never be a part of a situation that didn't allow for my creative expression and growth."

Dubbed "2 Untalented" by Press

Like their producers, the vocalists also brought with them an intimate knowledge of the techno audience, since both had been regulars on the Amsterdam underground circuit. Despite that background, however, the two ultimately took part in the mainstreaming of techno. Their manager, Michel Maartens, described that phenomenon for Flick: "When they surfaced, 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 mom and dad saw they were harmless pop stars—which is essentially what they still are—all mistrust was over." The mainstreaming, accomplished by all four artists together, contributed simultaneously to the group's appeal and to its ill-treatment. Charging the quartet with superficiality and unoriginality, the press heaped scorn on them, regularly referring to them as "2 Untalented." Simon Price, for example, reviewing Real Things for Melody Maker in 1994, declared that "2 Unlimited are—at best—a crude, bastardized assault on tasteful dance standards."

Ironically, however, 2 Unlimited proved at least as Irresistible as they were unlikable, as most of the commentators from Melody Maker have demonstrated over the years. Reviewing Get Ready in 1992, Paul Lester suggested the paradox that 2 Unlimited seemed to pose for music critics: the music's simultaneous shallowness and infectiousness. After noting the "juvenile puerility of the lyrics and rhythms," he concluded that "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."

Calvin Bush commented on the same phenomenon in 1993; he told Melody Maker readers, "I truly admire the way a nation can unite as one to destroy them and they just have bigger hits than ever before. They're harmless, gormless goons who'll be outta sight shortly. Right now, though, they're Number One Band in Hell by consensus." Band member Slijngaard defended the act to Sheehan with a simple honesty about their motivation: "Underground bands don't want to sell records....I respect that, but I want to sell records. I want to make money."

And Sell Records They Did

By 1996, 2 Unlimited had 14 consecutive singles that went top ten in the international market. Their earliest effort, "Get Ready for This," reached Number Two on the charts. By far their greatest achievement was 1993's "No Limits," which hit Number One in 35 countries and sold in excess of two million copies worldwide by 1996. Its attendant album broke three million in sales; Real Things debuted at the top of Billboards Hits of the World chart when it came out in 1995. By the time they released a greatest hits compilation in 1996, the record industry had presented them with over 150 gold and platinum records, and MTV had honored the release of Real Things with a three-hour television special at Disneyland, Paris.

For the Record ...

Members include Phil Wilde (bom in Belgium), synthesizer, sampler, and mixing board; Jean Paul de Coster (born in Belgium), synthesizer, sampler, and mixing board; Ray Slijngaard (born c. 1971, in Holland), vocals; and Anita Doth (born c. 1971, in Holland), vocals.

Wilde and de Coster began as duo, mixing dance single "Get Ready for This," as an instrumental track, 1991; Doth and Slijngaard joined on vocals the same year; group released Get Ready, PWL, 1992.

Awards: Smash Hits magazine Best Newcomer Award, 1992, and Best Dance Act Award, 1993.

Address: Record company—Critique/BMG Records, 1540 Broadway, Times Square, New York, NY 10036.

The 1995 release of Hits Unlimited was accompanied by an aggressive American advertising campaign aimed at increasing the group's sales in the United States. Despite their celebrity status in European markets—led first by England, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, later with France and Germany—and Asian and South American markets, name recognition had persistently eluded 2 Unlimited in the United States. Their music was familiar to any regular club-goer in America; as noted by Larry Flick, their singles had "saturation airplay in nightclubs, television sports programs, malls, boutiques, even aerobic workout sessions." However, that same club-goer would be hard put to name the group behind the tune.

Selected discography

Get Ready (includes "Get Ready for This," "Twilight Zone," "Workaholic," and "Contrast"), PWL, 1992.

No Limits (includes "No Limits"), PWL, 1993.

Real Things, PWL, 1994.

Hits Unlimited, PWL/Radikal, 1995.

Sources

Billboard, September, 1994; March 9, 1996.

Melody Maker, February 22, 1992; July 10, 1993; May 14, 1994; June 4, 1994; February 17, 1996.

—Ondine Le Blanc

 

 

 

 

 

2 Unlimited   Period 1991 - 1996 Genre   Editorial Techno house project set up by Belgian producers duo Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde. The songs are performed by Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth. 2 Unlimited are the first to successfully make a crossover between underground hardcore techno and mainstream pop.
Line-up Anita Dels lyricist, vocals  Jean-Paul de Coster composer, producer  Phil Wilde composer, producer  Ray Slijngaard lyricist, rap
Other musicians Marjon van Iwaarden vocals  Romy van Ooijen vocals
BIOGRAPHY
1991 Belgian producers duo Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde have already scored several hits under the names Bizz Nizz and T99 when they score another underground hit in Britain as 2 Unlimited with the instrumental track Get Ready For This. Because they want to take the project on the road they contact rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth. At that moment Ray works in the kitchen of Schiphol Airport and Anita works at the administrative department of the traffic police. Besides their day jobs they also perform as dancer and singer respectively. The vocal version of Get Ready For This also becomes a hit.
1992 Ray and Anita travel the world to promote 2 Unlimited. Besides Europe, they also go to India, Turkey, Korea, Japan, South America and Africa. In August they score a hit with The Magic Friend. Two weeks before every official release 12" white labels are distributed among the club DJ's.
1993 No Limit is released. The first single taken from the second album No Limits dominates the charts for weeks on end and holds the number one position in 35 European countries. In June and July the band travels to the US and in August they're off to Asia. August also sees the release of the single Faces. The fourth single to be released is Maximum Overdrive. Ray and Anita travel to Eastern Europe and Russia. In the meantime several national (2 Brothers On The Fourth Floor) and international (Culture Beat) acts try to follow into 2 Unlimited's footsteps. 2 Unlimited is awarded Best Selling Dutch Act at the World Music Awards and the readers of the British pop magazine Smash Hits choose them as Best Dance Act.	2 Brothers On The 4th Floor
1994 The single Let The Beat Control Your Body is released, followed by 2 Unlimited's third album Real Things. MTV broadcasts a three-hour special about the band. 2 Unlimited performs at the Parkpop festival in The Hague. With the single Twilight Zone 2 Unlimited finally succeeds in entering the Billboard Hot 100 Singles.
1995 Ray and Anita receive the Popprijs ('Pop Award'). Here I Go becomes 2 Unlimited's 12th successive single that enters the Top 10. Nothing Like The Rain is the first ballad to be released on single. Four years after its official release Get Ready For This finally enters the Billboard Hot 100 Singles. Ray sets up his own record company called Raymar Productions (later Rayvano Records). He signs several dance, hiphop, jungle and R&B artists. The label's most successful act is T.O.F. with the single Funk It Up. Hits Unlimited, which contains the band's biggest successes, is released.
1996 In April Ray Slijngaard and Anita Doth announce that they will leave 2 Unlimited because they can no longer identify with the musical course of De Coster and Wilde and because they earn much less than the two producers. So far the band has sold over 20 million records worldwide. After the break-up Ray concerns himself with his record company and his family and Anita starts working for music station TMF and Radio 538.	Ray Slijngaard
1997 Ray records a song with R&B girl group Dignity and also releases his first solo-single 3X A Day. Both fail to reach the charts.	Dignity
1998 De Coster and Wilde present their new single Wanna Get Up in March. Singers Romy van Ooijen and Marjon van Iwaarden have replaced Ray and Anita. A new album is released in April.
1999 Ray forms V.I.P. Allstars. The first single, When It's My Turn Baby, also features Orpheo (formerly Késhaw) and female rapper Strezz. Anita also starts a solo career. In April her single Universe is released, which fails to enter the charts. She records her debut album in New York, London and Amsterdam with producers Todd Terry (Robin S. and Cher), Steve Mac (Boyzone) en Adamski (Seal). The second V.I.P. Allstars single, Mamacita, is released in August.	KéShaw
2000 Marjon van Iwaarden leaves 2 Unlimited to pursue a solo career. Anita Doth releases her second solo single. DJ's Razor & Guido, DJ Jean and Robin Albers remix the old 2 Unlimited hits before they are re-released.	DJ Jean Robin Albers
2002 After performing for the Stichting Doe Een Wens ('Make A Wish Foundation') Anita Doth and Linda Estelle (T-Spoon) and Des'ray (2 Brothers On The Fourth Floor) decide to form the Diva's of Dance. The trio performs disco and dance classics from the '80s and '90s completed with their own chart successes.	2 Brothers On The 4th Floor T-Spoon
Mentioned in the biography of