Plagiarism! - Coldplay(2011) Mystic(2000) Peter Allen(1976)

Seems like even reputable bands, such as Coldplay, are not immune from blatant plagiasrism... - Shame...

Coldplay - Every Teardrop is a Waterfall (2011)
S KOR#1, IT#3, BE#3, ES#4, UK#6, CH#6, NL#6, DK#8, CAN#9, NZ#13, AUS#14, IRL#16, FIN#16, US#14, FR#20, AT#23, DE#28

Mystic/The Sacados - Ritmo de la Noche (2000)

Peter Allen - I go to Rio (1976)
AUS#1

Marta Sanchez - Estrellas De Fuego (1998)

Marta Sánchez López was born on 8 May 1966 in Madrid, Spain. Her father, Antonio Sánchez Camporro, was a Galician opera singer. Marta's music career began with the band Cristal Oskuro, but shortly after she was discovered by Tino Azores, a sound technician for the pop group Olé Olé. In 1985, Marta became the lead singer of Olé Olé, which brought her to fame and made her one of the biggest sex symbols of the 1980s in Spain, during a time when the country was easing the traditional rigid moral values of Catholicism. Her first hit with Olé-Olé was 'Lilly Marleen', a Spanish adaptation of the popular World War II German love song. Other hits like 'Bailando Sin Salir de Casa' and 'Con Sólo Una Mirada' followed with the group. She remained with the band until 1991 before deciding to pursue a solo career.
In 1993, Marta released her debut solo album, Mujer. Her first single 'Desesperada' was released both in Spain and The Americas. Mujer's 2nd single, 'Tal Vez' was provided by Thomas Anders - of Modern Talking fame - but it was the 3rd single 'De Mujer a Mujer' which would establish her as a household name all over Latin America.
Her 4th album - Desconocida - released in 1998 which includes 'Estrellas De Fuego' was released in 1998. This one caught my attention, and remains to be one of my favourite Spanish language tracks of all time.


Marta Sanchez - Estrellas De Fuego (1998)



Lyrics:

El cielo es un velo
de terciopelo de irreal suavidad... ahahahaha

Estrellas de hielo
que están de duelo con su luz fantasmal...

Ah, ah, ah
Yo no sé cuál es la que brilla para mí
Ah, ah, ah
Díme tú cuál es la que tengo que seguir...

Estrellas de fuego
Con ellas juego a volar más allá.

Ah, ah, ah
Yo no sé cuál es la que brilla para mí.
Ah, ah, ah
Díme tú cuál es la que tengo que seguir.
Ah, ah, ah
Yo no sé cuál es la que brilla para mí
Ah, ah, ah
Díme tú cuál es la que tengo que seguir....

Cuentan la verdad en esta inmensidad
Volveré a imaginar que son mías nada más.
Y que nadie las puede jamás - alcanzar...

Ah, ah, ah
Yo no sé cuál es la que brilla para mí
Ah, ah, ah
Díme tú cuál es la que tengo que seguir
Ah, ah, ah
Yo no sé cuál es la que brilla para mí
Ah, ah, ah
Díme tú cuál es la que tengo que seguir...

Flotan en la oscuridad...
en esta inmensidad... ahahahaha

Ha ha...
Volveré a imaginar....

Safri Duo - Played A Live (2000/2001)

Uffe Savery (*1966) and Morten Friis (*1968), a.k.a. Safri Duo, met in 1977 while attending the Tivoli Garden Boys' Guard, and later, during their time at the Royal Swedish Conservatory of Music, formed the Safri Duo, whose name originated from the first letters of their respective surnames. Initially very classically oriented, by 1999 they were discovered by a label executive working on classical music. After being signed, a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica was set to be released in 2000. The result was the popular 'Played-A-Live', which became one of the most popular songs in Europe in 2001. Earlier in 2000, a track named "The Bongo Song" started appearing on club's playlists. Produced by Michael Parsberg, it soon got airtime on MTV Europe. The mix between tribal drums over trance proved to be a success, and it ended the year as one of the best selling singles in Europe in 2000 as well as featuring prominently in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. This resulted in Safri Duo guesting along with Danish pop group Aqua during the interval of the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 held in Copenhagen.
The track sold 1.5 million copies, being the 4th fastest selling single in Europe - ever.

Safri Duo - Played A Live (2000/2001)
DK#1, CH#1, DE#2, NL#2, BE#2, ES#3, CAN#4, NOR#4, FIN#5, UK#6, US#7, AT#7, SWE#8, IRL#8, FR#80
Certifications: 6x Platinum: DK; Platinum: BE, DE, NL, NOR, CH; Gold: SWE

Toto Cotugno - L'Italiano/Lasciatemi Cantare (1983)

And there's another song that I kept singing last week...

Toto Cutugno was born 1937 to a Sicilian father and a Tuscan mother near La Spezia, Italy. He began his musical career as a drummer, but later formed a band that performed his own songs. Toto co-wrote for French-American Joe Dassin, contributing some of his most famous songs, including 'L'été indien', 'Et si tu n'existais pas' and 'Le Jardin du Luxembourg' as well as Dalida's 'Laissez moi danser', which became a Platinum record shortly after its release.
In 1976 Toto participated in the San Remo Music Festival, which paved his way to become a star in Italy. He won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1990 with his own composition 'Insieme: 1992', a ballad which celebrated European integration.
But he may be best known for his song, 'L'Italiano (Lasciatemi Cantare)' the song that went round and round in my head on holiday :-)

Toto Cotugno - L'Italiano/Lasciatemi Cantare (1983)



Lyrics:

Lasciatemi cantare
con la chitarra in mano
lasciatemi cantare
sono un italiano

Buongiorno Italia gli spaghetti al dente
e un partigiano come Presidente
con l'autoradio sempre nella mano destra
e un canarino sopra la finestra

Buongiorno Italia con i tuoi artisti
con troppa America sui manifesti
con le canzoni con amore
con il cuore
con piu' donne sempre meno suore

Buongiorno Italia
buongiorno Maria
con gli occhi pieni di malinconia
buongiorno Dio
lo sai che ci sono anch'io

Lasciatemi cantare
con la chitarra in mano
lasciatemi cantare
una canzone piano piano
Lasciatemi cantare
perche' ne sono fiero
sono un italiano
un italiano vero

Buongiorno Italia che non si spaventa
e con la crema da barba alla menta
con un vestito gessato sul blu
e la moviola la domenica in TV
Buongiorno Italia col caffe' ristretto
le calze nuove nel primo cassetto
con la bandiera in tintoria
e una 600 giu' di carrozzeria

Buongiorno Italia
buongiorno Maria
con gli occhi pieni di malinconia
buongiorno Dio
lo sai che ci sono anch'io

Lasciatemi cantare
con la chitarra in mano
lasciatemi cantare
una canzone piano piano
Lasciatemi cantare
perche' ne sono fiero
sono un italiano
un italiano vero.

La la la la la la la la...

Lasciatemi cantare
con la chitarra in mano
lasciatemi cantare
una canzone piano piano
Lasciatemi cantare
perche' ne sono fiero
sono un italiano
un italiano vero

...and an attempt to translate into English:

Let me sing
with a guitar in my hand
Let me sing
I am Italian.

Good Morning Italy with your spaghetti
and your partisan for President
with my hand on the radio
and a canary on the window

Good Morning Italy with your artists
with your many American posters
with your songs of love
with kind hearts
with more women not becoming nuns

Good Morning Italy
Good Morning Mother Mary
with eyes full of sadness
Good Morning God
I know you know I am here.

Let me sing
with a guitar in hand
Let me sing
a song, slowly, slowly
Let me sing
because I am proud
I am an Italian
A genuine Italian.

Good Morning Italy who doesn't scare
with peppermint flavoured toothpaste
with a pinstripe blue suit
with slow moving Sundays on TV
Good Morning Italy with extra-strong espresso coffee
the new sock from the drawer
with the clean flag
a 600

Good Morning Italy
Good Morning Mother Mary
with eyes full of sadness
Good Morning God
I know you know I'm here.

Let me sing
with a guitar in my hand
Let me sing
a song, slowly, slowly
Let me sing
because I am proud
I am Italian
A geniuine Italian

Azzurro - Adriano Celentano (1968) & Die Toten Hosen (1990)

Couldn't stop humming this song on holiday... :-)

Adriano Celentano, born 1983, singer and actor most popular in the 1960s in his native Italy and many countries across continental Europe, was, in 1968, presenting a song that would go on to become one of the nation's signature songs. Azzurro, composed by Paolo Conte and Michele Virano, is about love and summer in the city. It was covered by numerous Italian singers and even the 'Azzurri', the Italian national Football team has sung the song. The song is typical for Paolo Conte's way of writing, combining simple melodies with catchy but unusual compositions: here he combines military march music with an everyday story, told in a poetic language full of images. Although typical, it is far from his early work with pop songs and not resembling his style later on. He recorded the song himself in 1985, not until having had a 10-year solo career as a singer.

Among the many foreign covers of the song is a version from 1990 by Die Toten Hosen, a German punk band, who interpreted it in honour of the Football World Cup that year and released it as part of their album Auf dem Kreuzzug ins Glück, which is where the the background comes full circle: Adriano Celentano was born in 14 Via Gluck, Milan, to parents originating from Foggia, Apulia (southern Italy) but moved north in serach for work.

Adriano Celentano - Azzurro (1968)



Die Toten Hosen - Azzurro (1990)
CH#17, DE#23



live version



Lyrics:

Azzurro,
il pomeriggio è troppo azzurro
e lungo per me.
Mi accorgo
di non avere più risorse,
senza di te,
e allora
io quasi quasi prendo il treno
e vengo, vengo da te,
ma il treno dei desideri
nei miei pensieri all'incontrario va.

Sembra quand'ero all'oratorio,
con tanto sole, tanti anni fa.
Quelle domeniche da solo
in un cortile, a passeggiar...
ora mi annoio più di allora,
neanche un prete per chiacchierar...

Azzurro,
il pomeriggio è troppo azzurro
e lungo per me.
Mi accorgo
di non avere più risorse,
senza di te,
e allora
io quasi quasi prendo il treno
e vengo, vengo da te,
ma il treno dei desideri
nei miei pensieri all'incontrario va.

Cerco un po' d'Africa in giardino,
tra l'oleandro e il baobab,
come facevo da bambino,
ma qui c'è gente, non si può più,
stanno innaffiando le tue rose,
non c'è il leone, chissà dov'è...

Azzurro,
il pomeriggio è troppo azzurro
e lungo per me.
Mi accorgo
di non avere più risorse,
senza di te,
e allora
io quasi quasi prendo il treno
e vengo, vengo da te,
ma il treno dei desideri
nei miei pensieri all'incontrario va

Attempt of a translation into English:

Blue
the afternoon is too blue
and too long for me
I remember
not having enough resources anymore
without you,
and so
i'm about to take the train
and I'm coming where you
but the train of desires
in my mind goes the opposite way.

It seems like being at the oratory
with so much sun, so many years ago.
Those lonely Sundays
in a courtyard, taking a walk...
now is more annoying than back then
not even a priest to chat with...

Blue
the afternoon is too blue
and too long for me
I remember
not having enough risources anymore
without you,
and so
i'm about to take the train
and I'm coming where you
but the train of desires
in my mind goes the opposite way.

I'm looking for a piece of Africa in the garden
between the oleander and the monkey bread
like I used to do as a child
but there are a lot of people, it's not possible anymore
the are watering your roses
the lion is not here anymore, who knows where he is...

Blue
the afternoon is too blue
and too long for me
I remember
not having enough risources anymore
without you,
and so
i'm about to take the train
and I'm coming where you
but the train of desires
in my mind goes the opposite way.

RuPaul - Supermodel (1992) & Cover Girl (2009)

RuPaul Andre Charles was born 1960 in San Diego, California. His name was given to him by his mother, a Louisiana native. The Ru came from roux, an ingredient used in gumbo, a stew or soup originating said US state.

Now unthinkable, but RuPaul struggled as a performer in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1980s and participated in underground cinema, helping create the low-budget film 'Starrbooty', and an album by the same name. In Atlanta, RuPaul often performed at the Celebrity Club with his band, Wee Wee Pole.
In the very early 1990s, RuPaul worked the Georgia club scene and was known by his full birth name, taking on jobs that were borderline legal, namely cross-gender near-porn movies. Later, RuPaul performed solo and in collaboration with other bands at several New York nightclubs, most notably the infamous Pyramid (...top tip, by the way, if you're ever in NYC... ;-)
In 1993, RuPaul recorded dance/house albums which included Supermodel of the World. They were released through the rap label Tommy Boy, spawning the dance track Supermodel (You Better Work). The music video was an unexpected success on MTV channels, as Grunge-Rock (Nirvana) and Gangsta Rap were popular at the time.
Different from many other Drag-Queens, which usually perform with a bitchy attitude, RuPaul adopted a 'love each other' approach. Although he is mostly known as an extravagant Drag-Queen, he has also been taking on roles in movies as a man, usually under his birth name.

RuPaul - Supermodel (1992)
CAN#4, AT#16, NL#38, UK#39, US#45


RuPaul - Supermodel by StudioZero

Lyrics:

There was a little black girl
In the Brewster Projects of Detroit, Michigan
At fifteen,
She was spotted by an Ebony Fashion Fair talent scout
And her modeling career took off)

You better work

You better work (Cover girl)
Work it, girl (Give a twirl)
Do your thing
On the runway
Work (Supermodel)
You better work it, girl (Of the world)
Wet your lips
And make love to the camera

Work (Turn to the left)
Work (Now turn to the right)
Work (Sashay, shanté)
Work (Turn to the left)
Work (Now turn to the right)
Work (Sashay, shanté)

It don't matter what you wear
(It doesn't matter what you wear)
They're checking out your savoir faire (Yeah)
And it don't matter what you do
'Cause everything looks good on you
(Supermodel)

Work (Cover girl)
Work it, girl (Give a twirl)
Do your thing
On the runway
Work
(Supermodel)
You better work it, girl (Of the world)
Wet your lips
And make love to the camera

Work (Turn to the left)
Work (Now turn to the right)
Work (Sashay, shanté)
Work (Turn to the left)
Work (Now turn to the right)
Work (Sashay, shanté)

I see your picture everywhere
(I see your picture everywhere)
A million-dollar derrière (Yeah)
And when you walked into the room
You had everybody's eyes on you
(Supermodel)

Linda (Work mama)
Naomi (She is fierce)
Christy (Foxy lady - Out of sight)
Cindy (I can feel it)
Claudia (Sell the garment)
Nikki (Work the runway, sweetie)

I have one thing to say
Sashay, shanté, Shanté, shanté, Shanté, shanté, shanté
I have one thing to say
Sashay, shanté, Shanté, shanté, Shanté, shanté, shanté

It don't matter what you wear
(It doesn't matter what you wear)
They're checking out your savoir faire (Yeah)
And it don't matter what you do
'Cause everything looks good on you
(Supermodel)

Work (Cover girl)
Work it, girl (Give a twirl)
Do your thing
On the runway
Work
(Supermodel)
You better work it, girl (Of the world)
Wet your lips
And make love to the camera

Work (Turn to the left)
Work (Now turn to the right)
Work (Sashay, shanté)
Work (Turn to the left)
Work (Now turn to the right)
Work (Sashay, shanté)

You better work
Work
Work
(Supermodel)
You better work
Work
Work

I have one thing to say
You better work.

RuPaul - Cover Girl (2009)

Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One (2002)

Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One (2002)
UK#1, DK#1, NZ#2, IRL#2, NOR#4, SWE#4, CAN#6, Euro Hot100 #8, NL#11, AUS#14, US#15, FR#18, DE#38



Lyrics:

If you're not the one then why does my soul feel glad today?
If you're not the one then why does my hand fit yours this way?
If you are not mine then why does your heart return my call?
If you are not mine would I have the strength to stand at all?

I never know what the future brings
But I know you're here with me now
We'll make it through
And I hope you are the one I share my life with

I don't wanna run away but I can't take it, I don't understand
If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am?
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

If I don't need you then why am I crying on my bed?
If I don't need you then why does your name resound in my head?
If you're not for me then why does this distance maim my life?
If you're not for me then why do I dream of you as my wife?

I don't know life so far away
But I know that its just a trip
We'll make it through
And I hope you are the one I share my life with
And I wish that you could be the one I die with
And I'm praying you're the one I'Ve build my home with
I hope I love you all my life

I don't wanna run away but I can't take it, I don't understand
If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

'Cause I miss you, body and soul so strong that it takes my breath away
And I breathe you into my heart and pray for the strength to stand today
'Cause I love you, whether it's wrong or right
And though I can't be with you tonight
You know my heart is by your side

I don’t wanna run away but I can’t take it, I don’t understand
If I’m not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

Daft Punk - Burnin' (1997)

Frenchmen Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter are Daft Punk, whom reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synth-pop.

Both met in 1987 while attending the Lycée Carnot, a secondary school in Paris. The two became good friends and later recorded demo tracks with others from the school. This eventually led them to form their first (guitar-based) group Darlin' in 1992. But the band failed to impress critics, resulting in Melody Maker (now NME), a UK music must-have at the time, calling them 'a bunch of daft punk'. Guy and Thomas were actually delighted by the review, famously stating that it took them forever to come up with the name Darlin', but Daft Punk just happened. Sure enough, Darlin' soon split and the duo re-formed as said, experimenting with synthesizers.
In 1997 they released their critically acclaimed album Homework, which includes my favourite single Burnin', an instrumental house music track.
The music video for Burnin' pays tribute to Chicago house producers that Daft Punk found inspiration in. The party scene in the video features DJ Sneak, Roger Sanchez, Derrick Carter, Roy Davis Jr., Paul Johnson, Robert Armani and DJ Hyperactive. Thomas and Guy also make brief appearances people at the party.

Daft Punk - Burnin' (1997)
FIN#20, FR#29, UK#30


Daft Punk - Burnin by shinobi2

An example why I love Remixes...

In the order of preference... :-)

Keep This Fire Burning is a song by Swedish songstress Robyn, released in Nov 2002 from her album 'Don't Stop the Music'. Unfortunate circumstances - the raging bush fires in Australia that year - made the label go public under the name 'By Your Side'. Robyn - stupidly for her, but luckily for us listeners - did not release the track in the UK, leaving soul singer Beverley Knight to cover it. Beverley's version inspired British Remix Duo Wawa to rework it to one of my favourite versions of the tune. Shortly after, the Outsiders hired Amanda Wilson to take a crack at making it even better: the result is a stunning Freemasons Remix that leaves you gaps for air. Class!

Outsiders feat. Amanda Wilson - Keep This Fire Burning (Freemasons Remix)



Beverley Knight - Keep This Fire Burning (Wawa Remix)



Beverley Knight - Keep This Fire Burning



Robyn - Keep This Fire Burning



Lyrics:

Even when you don't know
I'll be by your side
Even when you think your all alone
I'll be by your side

I'll be right behind you, keep on going
in which ever way the wind is blowing
I will be there till the world stops turning
baby I will keep this fire burning

(burning .... uh uh)
Burnin' ..

When nobody else is, I am on your side
baby when your not even yourself
I am on your side

I'll be right behind you, keep on going
in which ever way the wind is blowing
I will be there till the world stops turning
baby I will keep this fire burning

(burning .... uh uh)
Burnin' ..
(burning .... uh uh)

Even when you've lost your faith in love
Even when there is no light above
Even when you wanna run and hide
I'll be on your side ooouuuh yeaaah

I don't even think u no
how far I'm about to go
if you put your trust in me
I'll keep it comin
Ain't nobody stoppin me
when it comes to you and me
when nothings like it used to be
I'll keep it comin

I'll be right behind you, keep on going
in which ever way the wind is blowing
I will be there till the world stops turning
baby I will keep this fire burning

I don't even think you no
how far I'm about to go
if you put your trust in me
I'll keep it comin

Aint nobody stoppin me
When it comes to you and me
When nothings like it used to be
I'll keep it comin

I'll be right behind you, keep on going
in which ever way the wind is blowing
I will be there till the world stops turning
baby I will keep this fire burning

I'll be right behind you keep on going
in which ever way the wind is blowing
I will be there till the world stops turning
baby I will keep this fire burning

I will be your sister
I will be your brother
I will be your friend
I will be your love
I will be your everything
yes I will

Baby I will keep this fire burning
Burning Burning.....
Burning ....

TV Theme Tunes

Will keep adding...

Magnum



Dynasty / Denver Clan



Dallas


1985-1986 v 2 by FreddyRis

The Love Boat



CHiPS



Tatort



Married with Children / Eine schrecklich nette Familie



Die Schwarzwald-Klinik / The Black Forest Clinic



The Golden Girls



Sex And The City



Eastenders



Der Alte

Digitally Remastered - The Economist 9th June 2011

for 'Music Industry, Problems, Charts & Record Sales' - click here

Article From: The Economist, 9th June 2011

One of the great alchemical feats of the past ten years has been the transformation of media-company profits into technology-company profits. There is no greater alchemist than Steve Jobs, Apple’s boss, who was back on stage on June 6th. The creator of the iPod and the iPhone unveiled a new service that will make it easier to store music on remote servers, “in the cloud”. Apple will surely benefit. But music executives are oddly optimistic, too. In several ways, not all of them having to do with Mr Jobs, technology is starting to work in their favour.

Theirs is still a deeply troubled business. Since 2000, when online file-sharing took off, global recorded-music sales have fallen from $26.9 billion a year to $15.9 billion, according to the IFPI, a trade group. Apple has helped to smash profitable albums into less profitable singles. High-street music shops are closing.

Digital outlets such as iTunes are not growing nearly fast enough to offset the decline in CD sales. Indeed, in many countries they are stuck in a niche. In Japan, 73% of spending on recorded music in 2010 was on CDs, DVDs and vinyl. Fewer than one-fifth of Britons bought digital music last year. Streaming services such as Spotify, which make money from advertising and subscriptions, are not yet helping much. They brought in just 3% of total recorded-music revenues last year, according to the BPI, which represents British record labels.

The new products unveiled by the Great Turtlenecked One this week should push the digital market out of its niche. Apple’s iCloud is not just a storage locker for music. It will search devices for tracks purchased from the iTunes store, and automatically give customers the rights to download the music to any Apple device. That puts Apple’s service ahead of recent offerings by Amazon and Google, which require users to upload music to the cloud. By making digital music purchases more accessible, it should raise their perceived value, leading to more sales.

Apple also announced a service, not available even in America until later this year, which will scan computers for all music tracks and offer cloud-based access to them for $24.99 a year. Apple will take a cut of sales and give the rest to the record companies. Whereas the iCloud is simply better than the competition, this is a breakthrough. In effect, it will allow music companies to levy an annual fee for the use of their music, whether ripped from CDs or downloaded illegally.

Yet music companies do not expect Apple or any other technological behemoth to save them. Few believe recorded music is about to rebound, despite healthy digital sales for two singers, Adele and Lady Gaga, in the past few weeks. To stay afloat, they need to drive down costs without crippling their core business. Quietly, technology is allowing them to do this, too.

The new data farmers

Online music outfits such as iTunes, Spotify and YouTube bring in much less money than CD sales. But they produce far more precise, timely data. Every time a track is uploaded to or played on YouTube, every time it is sold by iTunes, streamed on Spotify, shared on a pirate network, liked on Facebook or tweeted about, it gives off a digital signal. A cottage industry has sprung up to process these signals and feed the results to the record companies.

This is already shaping strategies. Universal, the world’s biggest music company, is developing its own data-crunching tool, known as the Artist Portal. Data from the portal have proved what many had suspected: that the decades-old practice of releasing music to radio weeks before putting it on sale feeds piracy and saps sales. So, earlier this year, it stopped the practice for many releases.

Atlantic Records’ British arm, which is owned by Warner Music Group, increasingly uses data to hone marketing campaigns. Last year it faced the tricky task of touting an artist, Plan B, who had made an abrupt transition from hard-core rapper to besuited soul singer. That meant finding an entirely new audience of young women, while holding on to the rap crowd. Atlantic ran two parallel campaigns, using Buzzdeck, a data-crunching service, to evaluate how each group was responding. It worked: Plan B’s album was the sixth-best-selling in Britain last year.

Data aggregators such as the Artist Portal, Buzzdeck and the California-based BigChampagne have so far proved unable to replace human talent scouts. But they are helping record companies get more bang for their ever-shrinking artist-development and marketing bucks. Music companies use data much more shrewdly than, say, Hollywood studios, which still fling huge sums of money at broadcast television in the hope of driving people to cinemas. And they will find new uses.

“We’re no longer just a wholesaler of music,” says Paul Smernicki of Universal. As their traditional business declines, the music companies are moving into live music and merchandise. To succeed in those markets, they will need to become experts in fan behaviour, understanding not just how and why people buy music but how they weave it into their lives. In that, data will be crucial.

If they could, music executives would uninvent the internet, and perhaps Apple as well. But technology, which has done so much damage to the recorded-music business, increasingly props it up. Media firms can do a little alchemy, too.

Jon of the Pleased Wimmin - Passion (1994)

Why is it that there are no decent music videos for dance tracks of the early 90s???

Jonathan Richard Cooper, a.k.a. Jon of the Pleased Wimmin, was born in the Belgian Congo in Africa, while both his parents serving as missionaries in the Salvation Army. As a child he developed a love of music and fashion. At school Jon would spend his dinner money on buying records. True to his non conforming nature, Jon became a goth in his teens. He turned to the Croydon goth clubs to hear music from The Virgin Prunes, Soft Cell and Cocteau Twins. Then Jon discovered London's West End clubs and became inspired by the New Romantic era thanks to bands such as Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and Human League. Studying fashion at the London College of Fashion, Jon went on first to run his own clothes shop in Kensington market and then to work for designer-turned-DJ Rachel Auburn in her clothes shop. In the early 90s, Jon formed a dancing drag cabaret act known as 'The Pleased Wimmin' with two friends from college, dancing outrageously in pre-house clubs such as Kinky Gerlinky and The Pleased Wimmin became infamous in London. More importantly, they encouraged people to lose their inhibitions and this soon caught the attention of Danny Rampling.
Danny was so impressed by their style, that he invited The Pleased Wimmin to become a regular feature at his infamous Glam night at London's Milk bar. It was here that Jon was offered his first DJ break, filling in a warm up spot one night. He learnt to DJ on the job and with his instinctive knowledge of how to work a crowd, he was a complete natural and destined to become one of the UK's leading new DJs. In 1993, Jon started his own night, 'Pleased' at the Velvet Underground in London. What started as a low key, intimate gathering every Wednesday, grew into the best mid-weeker in London. Boy George, Blur, The Manics and Pete Burns were regular attendees.
In 1994 Jon turned to music production and made his first record, 'Passion' – a cover of the Bobby O production by The Flirts.

The record was produced with Norman Cook, a.k.a. Pizzaman, who released it on his label, Southern Fried. The track was soon picked up by East West and later by Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto. Jon followed his pop success with 'Give Me Strength' a year later, which was released with Sister Bliss, and by delivering remixes for the likes of Divine, Erasure and even Chris Rea.
In 1997, Jon decided he’d had enough. He became disheartened by DJing at so many clubs that he wasn’t passionate about and decided instead to concentrate on playing at smaller clubs. One night whilst DJing at 93 Feet East a few years later, Jon handed Wall of Sound’s head honcho, Mark Jones, a demo from behind the decks. Mark had been a regular at Pleased in the mid 90’s and knew Jon’s music well.
In 2001 Jon signed up for Wall of Sound DJ and artist under his new stage name The Visitor. He moved to Edinburgh and now juggles his DJ schedule with running his own record label, Lovelife!, recording as the Velvet Mafia, as well as running his own fashion label, Pleased.

Jon of the Pleased Wimmin - Passion (1994)



Jon of the Pleased Wimmin - Give Me Strength (1995)

Jan Hammer - Crockett's Theme (1984/1987)

Jan Hammer, born 17 April 1948, in Prague, Czech Republic, as son to well-known Czech singer Vlasta Průchová. He started learning piano at the age of four. He firstr wanted to follow his father into medicine until a family friend convinced him to develop his musical talents instead. Jan formed a jazz trio in high school, performing and recording throughout Eastern Europe at the age of fourteen. His studies at the Prague Academy of Musical Arts was disrupted with the 'Prague Spring' in 1968, when many Eastern Bloc governments invaded Czechoslovakia to assist their communist regime to violently end the protest and liberty movement. He moved to the US, continuing his studies at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In the late 70s, Jan moved to New York and became involved in several Jazz projects, which would get him noticed and led to collaborations with a wide variety of famous artists: Jimmy Page, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, to only name a few. He beagan to write film music and, in 1985, won a Grammy for 'Best Rock Instrumental Performance' for contributing 'Escape', a track included in Jeff Beck's album 'Flash'.

Don Johnson (left)
Jan Hammer (middle)
Philip Michael Thomas

In 1984 he was contracted to write the soundtrack to the then enormously popular TV series Miami Vice. The most famous piece, which propelled him to worldwide fame was 'Crockett's Theme'. The name Crockett refers to Don Johnson's character, Sonny Crockett. It appeared for the very first time in Episode 4 (Calderone's Return: Part 1 - The Hit List) of the first Series of Miami Vice, first aired on 19 October 1984. The full version was released and successfully charted two years later. Although the TV series ran on until 1989, Jan moved on from Miami Vice a year ealier.

Miami Vice, Series 1, Episode 4 'Calderone's Return: Part 1 - The Hit List' (19 Oct 1984)



Jan Hammer - Crockett's Theme (1987)
NL#1, UK#2, DE#4, CH#9, AT#29



Jan Hammer - Miami Vice Theme

Fundraising for Terrence Higgins Trust

Mark Petereit is fundraising for Terrence Higgins Trust

Jamiroquai - Space Cowboy - David Morales Mix (2002)

Jamiroquai - Space Cowboy - David Morales Remix (2002)
US#1, UK#17, FR#22, CH#28


Lyrics:

Everything is good
And brown
Oh I'm here again
With a sunshine smile upon my face
My friends
Are close at hand
And all my inhibitions
Have disappeared without a trace
I'm glad
I found
Somebody who I can rely on.

This is the return
Of the space cowboy
Inter-planetary
Good vibe zone
At the speed of Cheeba
We'll go deeper
Maybe I'll have to get high
Just to get by.

Everything is good
And green
Oh, I'm red again
And I don't suppose I'm coming down
I can see clearly now,
High in the sky
A man with psychedelic picture frames
Of happiness to shade
His eyes
He's glad
That the found
Somebody who
He can rely on

Yves LaRock - Rise Up (2007)

Yves 'Larock' Cheminade, born 1977, is one of world’s most recognised producers from Switzerland. Over the past few years Yves has been behind a string of international cross-over hits such as 'Rise Up'. Taking influence from a wide musical spectrum, Yves' production style brings together elements of House, Hip-Hop, R&B, Ragga, Reggae and Electro, with particular fable for Africanism.
In the summer of 2007 'Rise Up' began rocking dance floors and its potential was quickly recognised picking up major support from Kiss FM and BBC Radio One in the UK. The commercial response was phenomenal and demand soared. The track went on to be licensed to 28 labels throughout the world and released in 48 countries, charting in as many. I love the video to it. Vocals come courtesy of Jaba.

Yves LaRock - Rise Up (2007)
GRE#1, ROM#1, FIN#3, RUS#4, IT#4, NL#5, POR#5, LEB#6, CAN#7, FR#8, BE#10, UK#13, CH#16, NOR#18, ES#24, IRL#31, SWE#32, DK#47, AT#58, MEX#58, DE#72



Lyrics:

My dream is to fly
Over the rainbow, so high!
My dream is to fly
Over the rainbow, so high!
Eh... eh...

Rise up,
Don't falling down again
Rise up,
Love like I broke the chains

I tried to fly a while so high
Direction: sky!
I tried to fly a while so high
Direction: sky!

My dream is to fly
Over the rainbow, so high!
My dream is to fly
Over the rainbow, so high!
My dream is to fly
Over the rainbow, so high!
My dream is to fly
Over the rainbow, so high!

2 Eivissa - Oh La La La (1997)

2 Eivissa was a Eurodance project created by Spanish-German based production crew Team 33 from Hamburg. Most tracks were written and produced by Ambrogio Crotti, Luis Rodriguez, a.k.a. Luigi Ricco, David Granados Lacera and David Lacera.

Originally fronted by singers Terri Bjerre along with Melannie Molinnus, they released the Ibiza track of 1996, Oh La La La. The live act was fronted by Jane & Francine (a.k.a. 2 Blond Bandits. One would be forgiven for immediately being reminded of Chrystal Waters' 'Gypsy Woman'. But hey, it was a one-hit wonder anyway, and a summer holiday one at that.
The production quartet suspended the project in 2005, but it was resurrected in 2007, producing 'Hot Summer Night' for David Tavare using a vocal sample from the original track.
The video was shot with revellers from the then legendary Man-U-Mission club on Ibiza. Understandable then that the tune's crusade started on the Balearic island, taking the Spanish charts, then soaring on the UK charts and finally conquering the rest of mainland Europe. Uncharacteristically for a Eurodance track, even the dance music scene in the US took note!

2 Eivissa - Oh La La La (1997)
ES#2, UK#13, NL#30, DE#43



'Lyrics':

Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la

There is a melody bumpin' in my head
Into my life and into my dream
I see the people jumpin' in the street
And everybody just dance and sing
And everybody just dance and sing
And everybody just dance and sing

Oh oh la oh oh la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la

Oh oh la oh oh la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la

Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la

I said my DJ turn it up
There is a melody bumpin' in my head
Into my life and into my dream
I see the people jumpin' in the street
And everybody just dance and sing

I see the people in the streets
They're jumpin' yeah they're pumpin'
Oh there's a melody all the peppy melody

Everybody come with me
Everybody dance with me
Everybody come with me
Everybody dance with me

Oh oh la
Everybody come with me
Oh oh la
Everybody dance with me

Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la
Oh la la la la la la oh la la la

Billie Ray Martin

Electribe 101 - Talking With Myself (1990)
UK#23



Billie Ray Martin - Your Loving Arms - Junior's Soundfactory Mix (1994)
(US Dance #1), UK#6, AT#23, NL#36, US#46

7" Version - 04:15 mins



12" Version - 10:29 mins



Billie Ray Martin - Undisco Me - Edison Dub (2007)
(US Dance #20)

Lenny Kravitz - I Belong To You (1998)

Lenny Kravitz - I Belong To You (1998)
FR#24, NL#42, US#71, UK#75, DE#81



Lyrics:

You are the flame in my heart
You light my way in the dark
You are the ultimate star

You pick me up from above
Your unconditional love
Takes me to paradise

I belong to you
And you
You belong to me too

You make my life complete
You make me feel so sweet

You make me feel so divine
Your soul and mine are entwined
Before you I was blind

But since I've opened my eyes
And with you there's no disguise
So I could open up my mind

I always loved you from the start
But I could not figure out
That I had to do it everyday

So I put away the fright
Now I'm gonna live my life
Giving you the most in every way

I belong to you
And you
You belong to me too

You make my life complete
You make me feel so sweet

Oh I belong to you
I belong to you
And you, you
You belong to me too

You make my life complete
You make me feel so sweet

Oh I belong to you
I belong to you
And you, you
You belong to me too

You make my life complete
You make my life complete
You make me feel so sweet

Oh I belong to you
I belong to you
And you, and you
You belong to me too

You make my life complete
You make my life complete
You make me feel so sweet

Technotronic - Pump Up The Jam (1989)

Technotronic - Pump Up The Jam (1989)
NL#2, UK#2, US#2, DE#2, AT#2, CH#2, CAN#4, SWE#4, AUS#4, NOR#5, FR#7



Lyrics:

Pump up the jam
pump it up
while your feet are stomping
And the jam is pumping
look ahead the crowd is jumpin'

pump it up a little more
get the party goin' on the dance floor
see 'cause that's where the party's at
and you'll find out if you do that

I want a place to say:
"get your booty on the floor tonight"
make my day
I want a place to say:
"get your booty on the floor tonight"
make my day

make my day

Yo! Pump up the jam
pump it up
while your feet are stomping
And the jam is pumping
look ahead the crowd is jumpin'

pump it up a little more
get the party goin' on the dance floor
see 'cause that's where the party's at
and you'll find out if you do that

I want a place to say:
"get your booty on the floor tonight"
make my day
I want a place to say:
"get your booty on the floor tonight"
make my day

make my day

Yo! Pump up the jam
pump it up
pump it up
Yo! Pump it!
pump up the jam
pump it up
pump it up
Yo! Pump it
pump up the jam
pump it up
pump it up
Yo! Pump it
pump up the jam
pump it (echo)

Pump up the jam,
Pump up the jam,
Pump up the jam
pump it up
pump it,
pump it,
pump it,

Pump up the jam,
Pump up the jam,
Pump up the jam,
pump it

Pump up the jam
pump it up
while your feet are stomping
And the jam is pumping
look ahead the crowd is jumpin'

pump it up a little more
get the party goin' on the dance floor
see 'cause that's where the party's at
and you'll find out if you do that

I want a place to say:
"get your booty on the floor tonight"
make my day
I want a place to say:
"get your booty on the floor tonight"
make my day

Pump up the jam
pump it up
pump it up
Yo! Pump it!
pump up the jam
pump it up
pump it up
Yo! Pump up the jam
pump it up
pump it up
Yo! Pump it!
pump up the jam
pump it

George Michael - Jesus to a Child - 30 Years AIDS

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), caused by the
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) - was first reported 5 June 1981.

BE SAFE - STAY SAFE!

Donate for the Terrence Higgins Trust here

George Michael - Jesus to A Child


George Michael - Jesus To A Child by zocomoro

Lyrics:

Kindness In your eyes
I guess You heard me cry
You smiled at me
Like Jesus to a child

I'm blessed I know
Heaven sent And Heaven stole
You smiled at me
Like Jesus to a child

And what have I learned
From all this pain
I thought I'd never feel the same
About anyone
Or anything again

But now I know
When you find love
When you know that it exists
Then the lover that you miss
Will come to you on those cold, cold nights

When you've been loved
When you know it holds such bliss
Then the lover that you kissed
Will comfort you when there's no hope in sight

So the words you could not say
I'll sing them for you
And the love we would have made
I'll make it for two

For every single memory
Has become a part of me

You will always be...
My love

Well I've been loved
So I know just what love is
And the lover that I kissed
Is always by my side

Oh the lover I still miss
Was Jesus to a child

Scatman John - Scatman (1994)

Good-Bye King's Speech and Hello Scatman John revival :-)

Born 1942 in El Monte, California, John Paul Larkin suffered from a severe stutter since he started talking, which led to an emotionally traumatic childhood. Even at the peak of his success in 1995, journalists reported that during interviews he hardly finished a sentence without repeating the phrase at least six or seven times. He invented a unique fusion of scat singing and disco, turning his biggest problem into his biggest asset. Scatman John was certified 14x Gold and 18x Platinum and also received the Annie Glenn Award for his outstanding service to the stuttering community. At the age of 12 he began to learn piano, and was introduced to the art of scat singing at the age of fourteen through records by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. John became a professional jazz pianist in the 1970s and '80s, playing many gigs in jazz clubs around Los Angeles. In 1986, he released the self-titled album John Larkin on the Transition label, copies of which are now extremely rare. Around this time, alcoholism and drug addiction were also beginning to take a hold of his life. When fellow musician and friend Joe Farrell, who also had a drug problem, died of bone cancer in 1986, John decided to beat his habits. He eventually did so, largely with the help of his new wife Judy, also a recovering alcoholic. To advance his career in 1990 he moved to Berlin, Germany. His agent Manfred Zähringer from Iceberg Records in Denmark thought of combining scat singing with modern dance music and hip hop sounds. John was resistant at first but BMG in Hamburg was patient. He was mainly scared that listeners would realize he stuttered, so Judy suggested that he talk about it directly in his music. Working with dance producers Ingo Kays and Tony Catania in 1994, he recorded the first single, Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop), a song intended to inspire children who stuttered to overcome adversity. I really like the Arena Di Verona remix, sampling a huge audience applauding stadium-like. Goosebumps guaranteed in the beginning and the end of the Mix (unfortunately no dedicated video, but listen to it at the bottom of this post). So John adopted the new name and persona of Scatman John. A year later he was a star worldwide.
In 1998 he was diagnosed with lung cancer and went into intensive treatment. He died in his Los Angeles home on December 3, 1999, at the age of 57. His widow Judy keeps working tirelessly for the stutter community, even running a Facebook profile named Scatman. Respect!

Quote:
'I hope that the kids, while they sing along to my songs or dance to it, feel that life is not that bad at all. Even for just a minute'. - John 'Scatman' Larkin

Scatman John - Scatman (1994)
AT#1, FR#1, IRL#1, BE#1, CH#1, IT#1, NOR#1, EuroHot100 #1, DE#2, SWE#2, NL#2, UK#3, AUS#8, JPN#36, NZ#39, US#60



Scatman John - Scatman (Arena Di Verona Mix)

Sash!

Sascha Lappessen (pictured) is the front man and the face of Sash!, a German production team also consisting of Ralf Kappmeier and Thomas Lüdke, whom have caused an unexpected stir in the music world when they became one of only a handful of dance acts that managed to sell millions of albums & singles, thus becoming a huge commercial success in the late 1990’s. The trio got together in 1995 and worked on a couple other tracks and projects until, yes, until, in 1997 with Sabine Ohmes on vocals, Sash! released 'Encore Une Fois' they got their the big break. A string of very successful single releases followed - who would ever forget the famous Spanish lyrics to 'Ecuador' (?) but oddly enough, the only charted in Spain years after their debut, with English and Japanese vocals: 'Mysterious Times' and 'Ganbareh', respectively . The odd thing also, for a commercial German act, they tended to do better in the UK than in their native Germany, which is perhaps why the sales racked up.
Some might describe Sash!'s niche as Progressive House or even Trance, but I think those claims are far over-reached. EuroDance as a genre description would perhaps be much better if you are looking for a 'drawer' to put them in, they tick all the boxes for it after all.

Sash! - Megamix



Sash! feat. Sabine Ohmes - Encore Une Fois (1997)
IRL#1, UK#2, BE#5, NOR#4, FIN#5, SWE#6, FR#7, NZ#9, AT#13, CH#13, NL#14, DE#16, EuroHot100 #31, AUS#35



Sash! feat. Adrian Rodriguez - Ecuador (1997)
BE#1, UK#2, SIN#3, FIN#3, IRL#4, SWE#4, NOR#4, DE#7, CH#8, NL#8, FR#12, AT#16, NZ#40



Sash! feat. La Trec - Stay (1997)
UK#2, BE#3, NOR#3, IRL#6, NL#6, FIN#6, DE#12, NZ#12, SWE#12, CH#19, FR#23, AUS#24, AT#39



Sash! feat. Patrizia Salvadore - La Primavera (1998)
FIN#2, NOR#2, UK#3, IRL#5, BE#6, SWE#10, DE#13, NL#13, FR#15, CH#15, AT#24, NZ#29, AUS#36



Sash! feat. Tina Cousins - Mysterious Times (1998)
ES#1, UK#2, NOR#5, FIN#8, IRL#11, BE#13, FR#16, DE#17, SWE#17, NL#17, NZ#27, AUS#52



Sash! feat. Peter Faulhammer & Adrian Rodriguez - Adelante (2000)
UK#2, BE#3, DK#3, AUS#4, SWE#7, NOR#7, NZ#11, IRL#11, CH#18, FR#37, NL#49



Sash! feat. Mikio - Ganbareh (2001)
ES#3, DK#7, SWE#8, IRL#17, DE#43, AUS#43, CH#94

Robert Miles

Born 3 Nov 1969 in Fleurier (canton Neuchâtel, Switzerland), Roberto Concina, a.k.a. Robert Miles grew up in Fragagna (provice of Friuli-Venezia, Northeastern Italy). He has been in the music scene since 1984, working as DJ in some Italian clubs and private radio networks. In 1990 he used his savings to establish his own recording studio and a pirate radio station. He became a household name around the world in 1995 with the release of his album Dreamland, pioneering a new type of dance music, a kind of danceable Trance, laced with subliminal melancholy.

Robert struck gold with 'Children', the first single release, although he is adamant that the track was written as a result of the war-torn former Yugoslavia, not with a hit in mind. He composed 'Children' based on acoustic guitar chords and soft synthesizer effects and only later developed it into a trance track featuring a piano theme on top. He followed up with 'Fable', a similarly built track, also included on the album. Still acclaimed, but nowhere near as commercially successful than his debut. Both were instrumental tracks. Later in 1996 and coinciding with the release of the album Dreamland across the pond, Robert teamed up with Maria Nayler for 'One & One'. Having missed the boat on the previous two songs, this one was was first released in the US and later in Europe.
After Dreamland it went quiet. Robert remained under the radar until June 2001, when, after splitting from BMG/Deconstruction, he set up his own independent record label S:alt Records (with S:alt being short for suitably:alternative). His brand new album with name Th1rt3en was released in February 2011.
Robert Miles is the only Italian artist to have won a Brit Award (Best International Male Newcomer 1997). To date he has sold more than 14 million records worldwide.


Robert Miles - Children (1995)
CH#1, IT#1, DE#1, AT#1, FR#1, BE#1, DK#1, SWE#1, NOR#1, FIN#1, Euro Hot100 #1, UK#2, IRL#2, NL#3, NZ#4, AUS#5, US#21



Robert Miles - Fable (1996)
FIN#2, CH#3, DE#3, BE#3, AT#6, IRL#6, UK#7, FR#10, SWE#11, NOR#15, NL#16, NZ#20, AUS#21



Robert Miles feat. Maria Nayler - One & One (1996)
BE#1, CAN#2, UK#3, NOR#3, SWE#3, DE#5, CH#6, AT#8, FIN#8, FR#16, NL#24, US#54



Lyrics:

The sky isn't always blue
The sun doesn't always shine
It's alright to fall apart
Sometimes... mmm

I am not always you
And you are not always mine
It's alright to fall apart
Sometimes...

After all is said and done
One and one still is one
When we cry, when we laugh
I am half, you are half

The heart isn't always true
And I am not always fine
We all have an angry heart
Sometimes...

After all is said and done
One and one still is one
When we cry, when we laugh
I am half, you are half

Look how far we have come
One and one still is...
One moon (one moon)
One star (one star)
I love the one we are
One thread (one thread)
One line (one line)
Let's stand still in time

One moon (one moon)
One star (one star)
I love the one we are
One thread (one thread)
One line (one line)
That runs through our lives

After all is said and done
One and one still is one
When we cry, when we laugh
I am half, you are half

Look how far we have come
One and one still is one
ah...

R.I.O. - Shine On (2008)

Manuel Reuter, a.k.a. Manian (left), and Yann Peifer, a.k.a. Yanou (right), a German DJ & Production duo, came together in 2008 to release Shine On under the project name R.I.O. The name is concept: hands-in-the-air commercial summer dance tracks. And it seems to work. Manuel also chart-successfully works on his other projects Cascada and, mainly in a remix capacity, Spencer & Hill. Vocals for Shine On come courtesy Tony T.

R.I.O. - Shine On (2008)
FR#8, IT#8, SWE#10, CH#17, AT#21, ES#22, DE#25, NL#43


R.I.O -Shine On by HAPPY_MUSIC

Lyrics

Open up ya eyes and watch the sun rise
One part of me I've been made clear
Love that goes spread all the world
My love, ya, comes out of devotion
To rule, ya, spread to the world
In Jamestown I'm on my mission
Where we praise the day straight our way
All the nation

Let me be the love that comes form the sun
Let me be your rainbow rising up
Every single race out of space
We'll shine on - shine on!

Let me be the love that comes from the sun
I wanna be your love light from above
Shine on, shine on, shine on!

My love, ya, comes out of devotion
To rule, ya, spread to the world
In Jamestown I'm on my mission
Where we praise the day straight our way
All the nation

Let me be the love that comes from the sun
Let me be your rainbow rising up
Every single race out of space
We'll shine on - shine on!

Let me be the love that comes from the sun
I wanna be your love light from above
Shine on, shine on, shine on!

Tikaro, J.Louis & Ferran feat. Clarence - Shine On Me (2007)

Shine On Me is the collective work of three of Spain's biggest DJs and producers: Jordi Robles, a.k.a. Taito Tikaro, J. Louis & Ferran, who have a wealth of club hits under their belts. Shine On Me was released in 2007 and has a two video versions, perhaps to appeal to different audiences. Which one do you prefer? Vocals come courtesy Clarence. Enjoy :-)





The trio are also the residents DJs at the renowned Matinée parties, which, after their huge success on Ibiza (www.fiestas.matineegroup.com) have also arrived in Paris (www.zone25.com) and in London (www.loganpresents.com/matinee)

Tikaro, J.Louis & Ferran feat. Clarence - Shine On Me (2007)

Version 1



Version 2



Lyrics:

Yesterday's gone, lost in the past
try to hang on but it's fading fast
covered in love, covered in you
can't say no to the things you do

I love the feeling that you're giving me
It's making me better, I can't disagree
No where to run, no where to hide,
When you shine on me

When you shine on me

Shine on me,
shine on me,
shine on me, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeahhh
shine on me, every day and every night

Leo Sayer - Thunder In My Heart (1977 & 2006)

Leo Sayer. Leo Sayer????? Just because it popped up on my iPod on shuffle this morning, alright?! Leo Sayer! I mean... OH - MY - GOD! Leo Saaaayyyerr!

Gerard Hugh Sayer, a.k.a. Leo Sayer, born 1948, Shoreham, Sussex, UK.

Craig Dimech, a.k.a. Meck

Leo Sayer - Thunder In My Heart (1977)
UK#22, CAN#23, US#38



Meck feat. Leo Sayer - Thunder In My Heart Again (2006)
UK#1, NL#4, AUS#14



Lyrics:

Standing here alone with you
Wondering what it is that I’m supposed to do
And there you are with the love light in your eye
The bridges are burnt down
Your arms are open wide
Am I in too deep or should I swim to the shore
Is this the real thing?
I don’t know but I’ve never been here before

And I feel a thunder in my heart that I can’t control
I feel a thunder in my heart
Should I walk away or follow my soul?
I feel a thunder in my heart
Where it comes from I just don’t know
Oh no, oh no

There’s a storm ragin’ deep in my soul
There’s a howlin’ wind that I just can’t control
There’sa fire inside me I can’t explain
Every time you touch me my love falls like rain
I’ve only known you for an hour or more
The time is standin’ still
Your love has opened up the door

I feel a thunder in my heart
It takes my breath away
I feel a thunder in my heart
Will I ever be the same?
I feel a thunder in my heart
It’s telling me you’re here to stay
Oh no, oh no

There’s a thunder in my heart

Take me baby I’m all yours
Do just what you wanna do with my love
Let’s not let the night overtake us
’cos what’s happening right now may make or break us
Do you feel the way I do?
Open up your heart now baby
I’m comin’ through

I feel a thunder in my heart
Takin’ my breath away
I feel a thunder in my heart
Since I met you I’ll never be the same
I feel a thunder in my heart
I know you’re here to stay

I feel a thunder in my heart
Takin’ my breath away
I feel a thunder in my heart
Since I met you I’ll never be the same
I feel a thunder in my heart
I know you’re here to stay

Snap!

Michael Münzing (a.k.a. Benito Benites) and Luca Anzilotti (a.k.a. John 'Virgo' Garrett III), two producers from Frankfurt, Germany, hired Durron Butler (a.k.a. Turbo B.), a Germany-based squaddie from Pittsburgh and Jackie Harris, as well as Penny Ford. Their first single from their debut album 'World Power' named 'The Power' was originally released in the US and relied heavily on unauthorised samples: such as the the drum loop (from 'King of the Beats' by Mantronix), the the now classic hook 'I've got the power' (from 'Love's Gonna Get You' by Jocelyn Brown) and the rap (from 'Let the Words Flow' by Chill Rob G). While Jackie Harris appears in the video, the vocals were actually sung by Penny Ford. The track has seen many changes, because Chill Rob G threatened to sue for plagiarism and the production duo quickly recorded the rap bit with Turbo B. The Power eventually did fly and made it into the Top5 and Top10 in several countries worldwide.

Jackie left the group shortly afterwards and Penny became its vocalist, recording the follow ups 'Ooops Up', 'Cult of Snap' and 'Mary Had a Little Boy', famous for it's nursery rhyme line.
The album was certified platinum, both in the UK and the US. It sold more than 7 million copies worldwide, and to this day remains one of the best-selling dance albums of all time.
In 1991, 'Rhythm Is a Dancer' was planned to be the lead single from the second album 'The Madman's Return', but Turbo B. hated the track, particularly the famous line '...I'm as serious as cancer when I say rhythm is a dancer...'.
The album was another multi-million seller but Turbo B., who continued arguing with the producers, decided to leave the group shortly after its release. Both Penny Ford and Thea Austin followed suit, but Snap! was far from over. 'Exterminate!' was released with vocals by Niki Haris, formerly a backing singer for Madonna, as well as 'Do You See the Light'.

Now that all former members of the group had moved on, Münzing and Anzilotti moved towards a progressive house sound, but Snap! was disbanded in 1996. A few attempts to release Best Of albums failed.
In June 2010 Snap! performed at Glastonbury Festival. Original lead vocalist Penny Ford was joined by rapper Benjamin Lowe to do a 30 mins Live show. Festival-goers flocked to see them and numbers far outstretched the Wow! tent's capacity. Some were left disappointed when the famous rap 'I'm serious as cancer when I say rhythm is a dancer' was omitted from the track.
Despite their slow and visible decline, Snap! are remembered as one the the essential formations of the early 1990s.

Snap! - The Power (1990)
1990: UK#1, CH#1, NL#1, Euro Hot100 #1, DE#2, US#2, AT#3, FIN#2, NOR#3, SWE#3, IT#4, IRL#5, NZ#6, AUS#13, FR#15 1996: FIN#12, SWE#40
Certifications: Platinum: US, Gold: Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Silver: UK



Snap! - Ooups up (1990)
DE#2, AT#2, CH#2, NL#2, SWE#2, AUS#4, UK#5, FR#34, US#35



Snap! - The Cult of Snap (1990)
AT#2, DE#3, CH#5, NL#6, UK#8, SWE#12, AUS#27



Snap! - Mary Had a Little Boy (1990)
NL#3, DE#4, CH#4, SWE#7, UK#8, AT#9, AUS#18



Snap! - Rhythm is a Dancer (1992)
DE#1, AT#1, CH#1, UK#1, IRL#1, IT#1, FR#1, NL#1, SWE#2, AUS#3, FIN#3, NOR#4, US#5, NZ#11, DK#11



Snap! - Exterminate (1993)
CH#2, UK#2, IRL#2, DE#3, NL#4, SWE#7, AT#9, NOR#9, FR#18, NZ#25, US#29, AUS#50



Snap! - Do You See The Light (1993)
AT#8, NL#9, DE#13, CH#10, UK#10, SWE#20, FR#40



Snap! - The First The Last Enternity (1995)
NL#2, AT#3, DE#7, UK#15