U.S.U.R.A.

Last updated
U.S.U.R.A.
Origin Brescia, Italy
Genres Eurodance
Years active1991–1998
Labels Deconstruction
Past membersClaudio Varola
Michele Comis
Elisa Spreafichi

U.S.U.R.A. was an Italian electronic dance music group active from 1991-1998, best known for their crossover hit "Open Your Mind". [1]

Contents

History

U.S.U.R.A. was started by Time Records owner Giacomo Maiolini, producers Walter Cremonini and Alessandro Gilardi. The name is derived from that of Maiolini's mother, Ursula. The group is best known for the 1992-93 hit single (and later album) "Open Your Mind", featuring a dialog sample from the film Total Recall , as well as a vocal sound from "Solid" by Ashford & Simpson, and incorporating sampled elements from the Simple Minds song "New Gold Dream" from 1982. [2] Its video morphs the faces of Ronald Reagan, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Ian Paisley, Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon, Mary Whitehouse, and Joe McCarthy.

Discography

Studio albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
AUS
[3]
Open Your Mind218

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart positionsAlbum
ITA
[4]
AUS
[3]
AUT
[5]
BEL
[6]
FIN
[7]
GER
[8]
IRE
[9]
NED
[10]
SWE
[11]
SWI
[12]
UK
[13]
1993"Open Your Mind"4293468651937Open Your Mind
"Sweat"2489204102229
"Tear It Up"6993
1994"Drive Me Crazy"101130
1995"Infinity"3single releases only
"The Spaceman"4
1996"Flying High"24
"In the Bush"20
1997"Open Your Mind '97"11346421
1998"Trance Emotions"
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah Saints</span> English electronic music group

Utah Saints are an English electronic music duo consisting of members Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt. The band had three top-ten and another five top-40 singles on the UK Singles Chart in the 1990s, as well as number-one dance tracks in the UK and US. They were notable for pioneering use of sampling technology, in particular, their practice of manipulating samples from mainstream pop, rock, R&B and soul songs and combining them with contrasting dance beats, using the samples in a new context. The band wrote, produced and mixed all of their own music. The duo were joined on stage by additional musicians when they played live from 1991 to 2001. They were one of the first electronic groups to play as a live collective and supported both the Shamen and U2 live at 10 stadium shows. Since then the duo have performed live sets themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corona (band)</span> Italian Eurodance band

Corona is an Italian Eurodance project. Initially as a group formed by Brazilian-born singer and model Olga Maria de Souza and producer Francesco "Checco" Bontempi, they found commercial success with the worldwide hits "The Rhythm of the Night" (1993) and "Baby Baby" (1995). After the second album, Bontempi left the group and was replaced by Francesco Conte and Paolo Dughero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duran Duran discography</span>

English new wave band Duran Duran have released 16 studio albums, four live albums, four compilation albums, two remix albums, two box sets, seven extended plays, 46 singles and 14 video albums. Duran Duran have sold over 100 million records. The band have achieved UK top-five albums in five consecutive decades, and US top-10 albums in three decades.

Livin' Joy are an Italian and American Eurodance group who released various successful hits during the mid-1990s, including "Dreamer", "Don't Stop Movin'", "Follow the Rules" and “Where Can I Find Love”. The group consists of American singer Tameko Star, and Italian brothers Paolo and Gianni Visnadi. Janice Robinson was previously a member.

Jam & Spoon were a German electronic music duo formed in 1991 in Frankfurt. The group consisted of composers and producers Rolf Ellmer and Markus Löffel. They also worked under the pseudonyms Tokyo Ghetto Pussy, Storm and Big Room. Under these pseudonyms, the credits on the albums are listed as Trancy Spacer and Spacy Trancer.

Material released by the Shamen.

KWS was a British dance act from Nottingham, England consisting of instrumentalists/record producers Chris King and Winston "Winnie" Williams, and vocalist Delroy St. Joseph. The band's name is an initialism of the members' surnames, King/Williams/St. Joseph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinderella discography</span>

The following is a comprehensive discography of Cinderella, an American hard rock/glam metal band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep Purple discography</span> Cataloguing of published recordings by English rock band Deep Purple

English hard rock band Deep Purple have released 23 studio albums, 43 live albums, 26 compilation albums and 58 singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Branigan discography</span>

The discography of American singer Laura Branigan consists of seven studio albums, six compilation albums, 32 singles, four promotional singles, three video albums, and 14 music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mötley Crüe discography</span>

The discography of Mötley Crüe, an American heavy metal band, consists of nine studio albums, three live albums, three EPs, eight compilation albums, three box sets, nine DVD, 30 singles, and 32 music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Can't Get Enough (Of Your Love)</span> 1990 single by Kim Wilde

"Can't Get Enough (Of Your Love)" is a song by English singer Kim Wilde, released as the third single from her seventh album, Love Moves (1990). It was also the first single from this album to be released in France (in its full-length album form), and the second in continental Europe and Australia (where it was edited). It was not released in the UK. The track was extended for the 12" and CD-single formats.

Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, generating several hit ballads. The group had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Second only to The Beach Boys in Billboard singles and albums chart success among American bands, Chicago is one of the longest-running and most successful rock groups, and one of the world's best-selling groups of all time, having sold more than 100 million records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Wilde discography</span>

English singer Kim Wilde has released 14 studio albums, one live album, five compilation albums, one remix album, 66 singles, six video albums and 60 music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Police discography</span>

The English rock band the Police has released five studio albums, three live albums, seven compilation albums, fourteen video albums, four soundtrack albums and twenty-six singles. The Police sold over 75 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East 17 discography</span>

The discography of East 17, a British boy band, consists of six studio albums, four compilation albums, and twenty-four singles.

The discography of M People, a British house music band, consists of four studio albums, one remix album, five compilation albums, one extended play and twenty-one singles.

Reel 2 Real was an American hip house musical project that had seven top 10 hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the 1990s.

This is the discography of English new wave/synth-pop band Heaven 17.

This is the discography of Canadian singer-songwriter Alannah Myles.

References

  1. See New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)
  2. "Open Your Mind by U.S.U.R.A. On WhoSampled". WhoSampled .
  3. 1 2 Australian chart peaks:
  4. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 28, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "U.S.U.R.A.". To find "Open Your Mind '97", search "Usura".
  5. "Austrian Singles". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  6. "Belgian (Flanders) Singles". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  7. "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961" (in Finnish). Sisältää Hitin - Suomen listalevyt (Timo Pennanen). Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  8. German Singles:
  9. "Irish Singles". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  10. "Netherlands Singles". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  11. "Swedish Albums". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  12. "Swiss Singles". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  13. "UK Singles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-07-17.