Undercover (dance group)

Last updated

Undercover
OriginLondon, United Kingdom
Genres Electronic, dance
Years active1991–2004
Labels PWL International
Past members

Undercover is a British dance music group which was formed in 1991 and had three UK top-30 hits, two of them top-five, in 1992. The group's vocalist, John Matthews, continues to perform solo as Undercover across the UK, Europe and South America. The keyboard player, Steve Mac, went on to become a songwriter and music producer for other artists. [1] Bass guitarist Jon Jules worked in the UK soul music scene as a DJ, radio presenter and event organiser.

Contents

Overview

The group's first single, a cover version of Gerry Rafferty's 1978 UK/US chart success "Baker Street", was their biggest hit, reaching No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1992, [2] held off from the top by another dance track, "Rhythm Is a Dancer" by Snap!. It was the 11th-biggest-selling single of 1992 in the United Kingdom and had chart success across Europe, selling over a quarter of a million units in Germany alone.

Undercover released five more chart singles. The group's second single, a cover of Andrew Gold's "Never Let Her Slip Away", also originally a 1978 track, reached No. 5 and stayed in the charts in the United Kingdom for 11 weeks. [2] After the success of these two singles, an album, Check Out the Groove , was released, reaching No. 26 in the UK Albums Chart. [2] "I Wanna Stay with You" (a cover of the Gallagher and Lyle song) and "Lovesick", both from 1993, managed No. 28 and No. 62 respectively.

In 1994, Undercover released a new single, "Best Friend", and their second album, Ain't No Stopping Us. [2]

Discography

Studio albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
UK
[3]
AUT
[4]
EUR
[5]
GER
[6]
NED
[7]
Check Out the Groove 2629735634
Ain't No Stopping Us
  • Released: 1994
  • Label: PWL International
  • Formats: LP, CS, CD
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[3]
AUT
[4]
BEL
[8]
DEN
[9]
EUR
[10]
GER
[11]
IRE
[12]
NED
[7]
SWE
[13]
SWI
[14]
1992"Baker Street"2324432372Check Out the Groove
"Never Let Her Slip Away"5233811162823
1993"I Wanna Stay with You"281466843
"The Way It Is"32
"Lovesick" (featuring John Matthews)62Ain't No Stoppin' Us
1994"Best Friend"7967
1995"Every Breath You Take"Non-album singles
1996"Bring Back Your Love"
2000"If You Leave Me Now"
2004"Viva England!"49
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Members

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Real McCoy (band)</span> German Eurodance band

Real McCoy is a German Eurodance and pop music project best known for their hit singles throughout the mid 1990s: "Another Night", "Automatic Lover ", "Run Away", "Love & Devotion", "Come and Get Your Love", and "One More Time". Their first U.S. album Another Night went multi-platinum and charted in countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Boo</span> English musician (born 1970)

Alison Moira Clarkson, better known as Betty Boo, is a British singer, songwriter and rapper. She first came to mainstream prominence in the late 1980s following a collaboration with the Beatmasters on the song "Hey DJ/I Can't Dance ". Between 1990 and 1992 she had a successful solo career, which spawned a number of chart-placing singles, most notably "Doin' the Do", "Where Are You Baby?", and "Let Me Take You There".

Adeva is an American singer. She had a string of successful house and R&B hits in the late 1980s to early 1990s, including "Warning!", "I Thank You" and "Respect".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rolling Stones discography</span> Catalogue of published recordings by the Rolling Stones

The English rock group the Rolling Stones have released 31 studio albums, 13 live albums, 28 compilation albums, 3 extended plays, 122 singles, 31 box sets, 51 video albums, 2 video box sets and 77 music videos. Throughout their career, they have sold over 250 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Billboard ranked them as the 2nd Greatest artist of all time. The Rolling Stones have scored 38 top-10 albums on the Billboard 200 and 8 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, they have sold 66.5 million albums in the US, making them the 16th best-selling group in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groove Coverage</span> German dance band

Groove Coverage is a German dance music group which consists of Axel Konrad, DJ Novus, Melanie Munch, better known as Mell, and Verena Rehm. Producers of the band are Ole Wierk and Axel Konrad. The project was founded in the summer of 2001 by DJ Novus, in co-operation with Suprime Music (Konrad). With eleven singles in the German Top 50 and over 13 million records sold worldwide, Groove Coverage is one of the most successful German dance artists.

Oxide & Neutrino are an English DJ and MC garage duo from London, consisting of Alex Rivers (Oxide), and Mark Osei-tutu (Neutrino).

D:Ream are an English pop and dance group. They had a UK No. 1 hit with "Things Can Only Get Better" in 1994. Eight more top 40 hits followed, including "U R the Best Thing" and "Shoot Me with Your Love". Their two 1990s studio albums reached the UK top five.

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

English singer Samantha Fox has released six studio albums, five compilation albums, five remix albums, two box sets, 36 singles, six video albums, and 21 music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Mac</span> British musician and producer (born 1972)

Steve McCutcheon, known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern British music, with contributions to 30 number one singles in the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baker Street (song)</span> 1978 single by Gerry Rafferty

"Baker Street" is a single by the British singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, released in February 1978. It won the 1979 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically and reached the top three in the UK, US and elsewhere. The song is known for its saxophone riff, written by Rafferty and performed by Raphael Ravenscroft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Life (Inner City song)</span> 1988 single by Inner City

"Good Life" is a song by American electronic music group Inner City, featuring vocals by Paris Grey, and was released in November 1988 by Virgin and 10 Records as the second single from their debut album, Paradise (1989). It is written and produced by Kevin Saunderson, and became a hit all over the world, reaching number one in Finland and number four on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Its music video is directed by Neil Thompson and filmed in London. "Good Life", along with "Big Fun", have been considered prototypes for Belgian act Technotronic's 1989 hit "Pump Up The Jam", and is today widely considered a classic of its genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Wanna Lose This Feeling</span> 2003 single by Dannii Minogue

"Don't Wanna Lose This Feeling" is a song by Australian singer Dannii Minogue from her fourth studio album, Neon Nights (2003). It was written by the singer with Bruno Alexandre, Matthieu Joly, James Theochari and Camille Troillard of Neimo; and with Minogue's long-time collaborator Terry Ronald.

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

The Corrs are an Irish folk rock/pop band consisting of siblings Andrea, Sharon, Caroline and Jim Corr. Formed in their hometown of Dundalk, Ireland, in 1990, the band's discography includes seven studio albums, three live albums and three compilation albums, as well as six video albums and twenty-six singles. This list does not include material recorded by The Corrs as solo artists.

<i>Swept Away</i> (Diana Ross album) 1984 studio album by Diana Ross

Swept Away is the fifteenth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross, released on September 13, 1984, by RCA Records in North America and by Capitol Records in Europe. It was Ross' fourth of six albums released by the label during the decade.

The discography of Eternal, a British female R&B and pop group, consists of four studio albums, five compilation albums, one remix album, two video albums and twenty-two singles on EMI Records. Eternal has sold over 10 million albums, with Always & Forever (15), Power of a Woman (25) and Before the Rain (35) ranked in the UK Official Charts Company's Top 40 biggest girl band studio albums of the last 25 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">(I Wanna Give You) Devotion</span> 1990 single by Nomad featuring MC Mikee Freedom

"(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" is a song by English electronic group Nomad, released in 1990 (UK/Europe) and 1991 (US) by Rumour/EMI and Capitol. It was the second single from their only album, Changing Cabins, released later in 1991. It was written by the producer, Damon Rochefort, with Steve Mac and MC Mikee Freedom. The song was a number-one hit in Greece and a top 5 hit in the UK, where it reached number two. In the US, it peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in June 1991 and stayed there for one week. Its music video was directed by Jerome Redfarn. MTV Dance ranked the song number 32 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90s Dance Anthems of All Time" in November 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boney M. discography</span>

The discography of German disco group Boney M. includes 8 studio albums, 50 singles, and numerous compilation albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Never Let Her Slip Away</span> 1978 single by Andrew Gold

"Never Let Her Slip Away" is a song written by American musician Andrew Gold, who recorded it for his third album, All This and Heaven Too (1978). The single reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. Queen frontman Freddie Mercury contributed harmony vocals to the song, as an uncredited background singer. A 1992 cover version by British dance outfit Undercover was also an international hit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Wanna Stay with You</span>

"I Wanna Stay with You" is a song written and originally recorded by Scottish duo Gallagher & Lyle in 1976. It reached number six in the UK and number five in Ireland. The song was a modest hit in the United States and Canada.

<i>Check Out the Groove</i> 1992 studio album by Undercover

Check Out the Groove is the debut album by British dance group Undercover. It was released in 1992 on PWL International.

References

  1. "Steve Mac: 'There are no rules to pop music now. It just has to be of great quality.'". Music Business Worldwide. 20 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 575. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  3. 1 2 UK chart peaks:
  4. 1 2 "Austrian chart peaks". Austrian Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  5. European albums chart peaks:
  6. German albums chart peaks:
  7. 1 2 "Dutch chart peaks". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  8. "Belgian (Flanders) chart peaks". Ultratop. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  9. Danish singles chart peaks:
  10. European singles chart peaks:
  11. German singles chart peaks:
  12. Note: User needs to click on the "Search Charts" tab. Then enter Undercover into the "Search Artists" field and press "Search". "Irish chart peaks". Irish Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  13. "Swedish chart peaks". Swedish Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  14. "Swiss chart peaks". Hit Parade. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  15. Note: User needs to enter "Undercover" in the "Interpret" field and press Enter "German Certification (Baker Street)". Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 18 October 2020.