Another Level (band)

Last updated

Another Level
Origin London, United Kingdom
Genres R&B, pop
Years active 1997–2000
Labels Northwestside
Associated acts 5th Story
Past members Mark Baron
Dane Bowers
Bobak Kianoush
Wayne Williams

Another Level was a British soul and R&B influenced boy band that formed in 1997 and broke up in 2000, consisting of Mark Baron, Dane Bowers, Bobak Kianoush and Wayne Williams. They achieved seven top ten singles, including the 1998 number-one "Freak Me".

Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community in the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. It combines elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues and jazz. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States, where record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa.

Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of rhythm and blues, pop, soul, funk, hip hop and electronic music.

A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation, singing love songs marketed towards young women. Being vocal groups, most boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on stage, making the term something of a misnomer. However, exceptions do exist. Many boy bands dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances.

Contents

In 2013, the band were about to reunite for the ITV2 documentary, The Big Reunion however, Williams and Baron chose not to take part in the show. [1] [2] Bowers is the only member to take part in the show as he joined supergroup, 5th Story along with Kenzie from Blazin' Squad and former soloists Adam Rickitt, Kavana and Gareth Gates.

ITV2 television channel in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands

ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998 and is available digitally via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial (Freeview) platforms. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a claim now held by its sister service ITV3 both of which are freely available to a majority of households.

<i>The Big Reunion</i> television series

The Big Reunion was a British reality-documentary series that began airing on ITV2 on 31 January 2013. The show featured chart-topping bands who were big in the UK pop music scene between the 1990s and early 2000s, and the programme followed them as they reunited for the first time in a decade and went through their two weeks of intensive rehearsals before finally stepping back on stage for a comeback performance.

5th Story were an English supergroup consisting of 1990s-early 2000s pop stars Dane Bowers, Gareth Gates, Kavana, Kenzie and Adam Rickitt. They were formed in 2013 exclusively for the second series of the ITV2 reality-documentary series The Big Reunion.

On 30 November 2014, it was reported that Another Level could make a comeback, but nothing happened. [3]

Career

Formation and early career (1994–2000)

Dane Bowers and Wayne Williams were both students of the BRIT School of Performing Arts & Technology in the London Borough of Croydon when they were discovered. Williams enrolled at the school in 1995, while Bowers was in the year below, but started in 1994.

Dane Leon Bowers is an English singer, songwriter, DJ and record producer. He was a part of R&B boyband Another Level between 1997 and 2000 when he performed on seven Top 10 singles, before taking up solo projects with True Steppers and Victoria Beckham. He has made TV appearances on Celebrity Big Brother 7 and the celebrity version of Come Dine With Me. and is now part of the pop supergroup 5th Story, set up for The Big Reunion.

BRIT School school

The BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology is a British performing arts and technology school located in the London Borough of Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, media, art and design and the technologies that make performance possible. Selective in its intake, the school is notable for its numerous famous alumni, such as singers Amy Winehouse, Adele and Jessie J, and actor Tom Holland.

London Borough of Croydon London borough in United Kingdom

The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in south London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of 87 km2 (33.6 sq mi) and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name. Croydon is mentioned in Domesday Book, and from a small market town has expanded into one of the most populous areas on the fringe of London. Croydon is the civic centre of the borough. The borough is now one of London's leading business, financial and cultural centres, and its influence in entertainment and the arts contribute to its status as a major metropolitan centre.

Another Level were originally conceived by Nick Raphael and Christian Tattersfield for their new record label project Northwestside Records, a BMG sub-label in the United Kingdom that had also signed Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records unit in 1998. Due to Northwestside's position as an urban marketed record label, a number of R&B and hip hop stars guested on Another Level's songs. These included Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah and TQ amongst others.

Nick Raphael is a music industry executive and was born in London, England. He is currently President of Capitol Records in the UK. He got his first taste of the music industry in 1987, when he with school friends promoted a night at Dingwalls in Camden Lock, London. His most recent successes include 5 Seconds of Summer who became the first band to have their first three albums enter at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Paloma Faith who won the 2015 Brit Award for Best Female Solo Artist, Liam Payne who currently has the biggest selling single from a member of One Directionand Sam Smith who won four 2015 Grammy Awards plus an Oscar and Golden Globe in 2016.In October 2018, Sam Smith surpassed 20 million global album sales.

Bertelsmann Music Group record label company

Bertelsmann Music Group was a division of German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music company was formed as RCA/Ariola International in 1984 as a joint venture to combine the music label activities of RCA Corporation's RCA Records division and Bertelsmann's Ariola Records and its associated labels which include Arista Records. It consisted of the BMG Music Publishing company, the world's third largest music publisher and the world's largest independent music publisher, and the 50% share of the joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment, which established the German American Sony BMG Music Entertainment from 2004 to 2008.

Jay-Z American rapper, businessman, entrepreneur, record executive, songwriter, record producer and investor

Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and record executive. Considered one of the best rappers of all time, he is regarded as one of the world's most significant cultural icons and has been a global figure in popular culture for over two decades.

Another Level had seven Top 40 singles in two years, including 1998's UK Singles Chart number one "Freak Me" (a cover of the 1993 hit by US group Silk), and a platinum-selling, eponymous debut album.

In the music industry, the top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "contemporary hit radio" is also a radio format. Frequent variants of the Top 40 are the Top 10, Top 20, Top 30, Top 50, Top 75, Top 100 and Top 200.

UK Singles Chart British singles sales chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and streaming. The Official Chart, broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV, is the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity because it is the most comprehensive research panel of its kind, today surveying over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week, and over 98% of albums. To be eligible for the chart, a single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than 15 minutes with a minimum sale price of 40 pence. The rules have changed many times as technology has developed, the most notable being the inclusion of digital downloads in 2005 and streaming in July 2014.

<i>Another Level</i> (Another Level album) 1998 studio album by Another Level

Another Level is the self-titled debut album by English boy band Another Level, released on 9 November 1998 in the United Kingdom by Northwestside Records. It includes the number one single "Freak Me", originally sung by Silk, as well as the singles "Be Alone No More", "Guess I Was a Fool", "I Want You for Myself" and the double A-side release "Be Alone No More '99" and "Holding Back the Years". The album peaked at number thirteen in the United Kingdom, where it was certified Platinum on 9 April 1999.

1999's gold-selling Nexus followed, along with BRIT Awards nominations, and the opening slot on Janet Jackson's European tour. In early 2000 the group split after Kianoush and Williams left the group in 1999. [4]

The Big Reunion (2013)

On 27 August 2013, Another Level were on the verge of signing up for the ITV2 documentary, The Big Reunion , [5] but Williams has since announced that he will not take part. In an interview with MTV UK, he said: "I decided not to participate in The Big Reunion because it wouldn't feel right to me...I'm in a totally different space in my life and I don't feel any need to look back." [1] Also, Baron, who now works for Alan Sugar's company Amsprop, had been forced to pull out due to Sugar not allowing him time off work. Bowers told the Daily Star , "Another Level were supposed to do it but then Mark said he couldn't because of work. He's married to Alan Sugar's daughter and works for him. You don't say no to Alan Sugar. I was a bit annoyed because he pulled out right at the end. Surely he would have known earlier. But his loss is my gain." [2] Bowers is the only member to take part in the show as he joined supergroup 5th Story along with Kenzie from Blazin' Squad and former soloists Adam Rickitt, Kavana and Gareth Gates.

Discography

Albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions Certifications
UK
[6] 		BEL
[7] 		NED
[8] 		SCO
[9]
Another Level
  • Released: 9 November 1998
  • Label: Northwestside
13202656
Another Level Remixed
  • Released: 10 April 1999
  • Label: Northwestside
76———
Nexus
  • Released: 13 September 1999
  • Label: Northwestside
7——32
From the Heart
  • Released: 1 June 2002
  • Label: Northwestside
————
Love Songs
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: Northwestside
————
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[6] 		AUS
[11] 		BEL
[7] 		FRA
[12] 		GER
[13] 		IRE
[14] 		NED
[8] 		NZ
[15] 		SCO
[16] 		SWE
[17]
1998"Be Alone No More"6———————31—Another Level
"Freak Me"143159175102121311
"Guess I was a Fool"5————2019391731
1999"I Want You for Myself"
(featuring Ghostface Killah)		2————1944—950
"Be Alone No More" (remix)
(featuring Jay-Z)		11——————2728—Another Level Remixed
"From the Heart"6—28—291432391625Nexus
"Summertime" (featuring TQ)7————24——24—
"Bomb Diggy"6———————26—
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Another Level's Wayne Turns Down 'The Big Reunion'". MTV UK. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 Ingham, James (26 January 2014). "Lord Alan Sugar an obstruction to The Big Reunion". Daily Star . Northern & Shell . Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  3. ↑ https://metro.co.uk/2014/11/30/another-level-are-reportedly-making-an-s-club-7-inspired-comeback-4968186/
  4. ↑ http://www.mtv.co.uk/the-big-reunion/news/another-level-set-for-the-big-reunion
  5. ↑ Armstrong, Laura (28 August 2013). "Another Level set to appear on The Big Reunion". The Sun . News UK . Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  6. 1 2 "UK chart peaks". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Belgian (Flanders) chart peaks". ultratop.be. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Dutch chart peaks". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  9. ↑ Scottish albums:
    • "Another Level". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 24 October 2016.
    • "Nexus". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 "BPI Certification". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Australian charts peaks". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "French chart peaks". lescharts.com. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  13. ↑ German singles:
    • "Freak Me" (in German). Gfk . Retrieved 24 October 2016.
    • "From the Heart" (in German). Gfk. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "Irish chart peaks". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  15. ↑ "New Zealand chart peaks". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  16. ↑ Scottish singles:
    • "Be Alone No More". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 24 October 2016.
    • "Freak Me". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
    • "Guess I Was a Fool". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
    • "I Want You For Myself". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
    • "Be Alone No More (remix)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
    • "From the Heart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
    • "Summertime". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
    • "Bomb Diggy". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  17. ↑ "Swedish chart peaks". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "New Zealand Certification - Freak Me". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved 24 October 2016.
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