 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2020) |
VANILLA | |
|---|---|
 Girl group VANILLA | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Barnet, London, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 1996–1998 |
| Labels | EMI |
| Past members | Frances Potter Alison Potter Alida Swart Sharon Selby |
Vanilla were a British pop girl group from Barnet, London, England, formed in 1996. [1]
The band members were sisters Frances and Alison Potter, Alida Swart and Sharon Selby. They released two singles for EMI in the late 1990s.
The band's first single was "No Way, No Way", released in December 1997 and based on Piero Umiliani's "Mah Nà Mah Nà". The song peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and number 24 in New Zealand. It was later featured on several compilations, including Now That's What I Call Music! volume 39 and Dancemania 8 , both released in 1998. The accompanying music video was filmed at Brockwell Lido in Brixton, South London. The clip won the title of "Worst Music Video Ever" on the 1997 ITV Chart Show end-of-year special and was voted number 26 on Channel 4's "100 Worst Pop Records". The follow-up was "True to Us", released in April 1998, which rose to number 36 in the UK. Although mocked on Channel 4's morning programme The Big Breakfast , the group regularly took part in the show's "Vanilla's Thrillers" feature, including making a return for Johnny Vaughan and Denise van Outen's final week hosting the show.
While promoting their two singles with EMI, Vanilla made media appearances, including a performance of "No Way, No Way" on Top of the Pops , and performing a spoof version of "True to Us" on Blue Peter . They also obtained a feature on Men & Motors . They embarked on a tour of schools around the UK and were a minor act on the 1998 Disney Channel UK tour. After their contract with EMI ended, Vanilla continued to perform. They made various appearances at London's PopShow Party events where they played a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" as well as promotional single "Realise", with temporary member Ashley.
In 2011, Frances appeared on the identity parade segment in Episode No. 25.8 of Never Mind the Buzzcocks , hosted by James Blunt. In 2014, Swart was interviewed for an article in The Guardian about the pitfalls of having a hit novelty record. [2]
In 2021, an EP titled Vanilla containing promotional single "Realise" and two other tracks was briefly released to digital music outlets. [3]
| Single title | UK | NZ | SC |
|---|---|---|---|
| "No Way No Way" | 14 [4] | 24 [5] | 12 [6] |
| "True to Us" | 36 [4] | 32 [7] | |
| Vanilla EP |
To the Extreme is the major label debut studio album of American rapper Vanilla Ice released on September 10, 1990, by SBK and EMI. Recorded between 1989–90, it contains Vanilla Ice's most successful single, "Ice Ice Baby". It primarily contains hip hop and pop rap tracks produced by Earthquake, Kim Sharp, Khayree, and Darryl Williams.
"Cognoscenti vs. Intelligentsia", also known as "C vs. I", is a song by English electronic music group the Cuban Boys. The song consists almost in its entirety of an unofficial soundalike sampled loop from "Whistle Stop" by Roger Miller which was featured in the Disney movie Robin Hood, played at high speed in a manner similar to the classic "Chipmunks" records. The original sample, also sped up, was first featured on the Internet as part of "The Hampster Dance" song on the website of the same name.
"Mah Nà Mah Nà" is a popular song by Italian composer Piero Umiliani. It originally appeared in the Italian film Sweden: Heaven and Hell. It was a minor radio hit in the United States and in Britain, but became better known internationally for its use by The Muppets and on The Benny Hill Show.
Vanilla Ninja is an Estonian all-female rock band which enjoyed chart success in a number of countries across Europe, especially in Estonia, Germany and Austria.
"Ice Ice Baby" is the debut single by American rapper Vanilla Ice, K. Kennedy and DJ Earthquake. It samples the bassline of the song "Under Pressure" by British rock band Queen and British singer David Bowie, who did not receive songwriting credit or royalties until after it had become a hit. Released on Vanilla Ice's debut album, To the Extreme (1990), it is his best-known song. It has appeared in remixed form on Platinum Underground and Vanilla Ice Is Back! A live version appears on the album Extremely Live, while a nu metal version appears on the album Hard to Swallow, under the title "Too Cold".
"Is This Love" is a song by British rock band Whitesnake. It was released in 1987 as the second single from their self-titled album.
"Pop Muzik" is a 1979 song by M, a project by English musician Robin Scott, from the debut album New York • London • Paris • Munich. The single, first released in the UK in early 1979, was bolstered by a music video that was well received by critics. The clip showed Scott as a DJ singing into a microphone from behind an exaggerated turntable setup, at times flanked by two female models who sang and danced in a robotic manner. The video also featured Brigit Novik, Scott's wife at the time, who provided the backup vocals for the track.
"Agadoo" is a novelty song recorded by the British band Black Lace in 1984. "Agadoo" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and spent 30 weeks in the top 75. It went on to become the eighth best-selling single of 1984 in the UK, despite not being included on the playlist for BBC Radio 1 because it "was not credible".
"Unbelievable" is a song written and recorded by British band EMF, originally appearing on their debut album, Schubert Dip (1991). It was released as a single in the UK in October 1990 by Parlophone, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart on 1 December 1990. It was the 30th-best-selling single of 1990 in the UK, and a top 10 hit also in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden. In the United States, "Unbelievable" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 in 1991. The song was produced by Ralph Jezzard, and contains samples of US comedian Andrew Dice Clay and a Black Panther Party member shouting "What the fuck?" Its music video was directed by Josh Taft.
"Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on the recording included lead singer Parissi, electric guitarist Bryan Bassett, bassist Allen Wentz, and drummer Ron Beitle, with session players Chuck Berginc, Jack Brndiar (trumpets), and Joe Eckert and Rick Singer (saxes) on the horn riff that runs throughout the song's verses. The single hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 18, 1976; it was also No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over 2 million records and eventually sold 2.5 million in the United States alone.
"Hey! Baby" is a song written by Margaret Cobb and Bruce Channel, first recorded at Clifford Herring Studios in Ft. Worth Tx, and recorded by Channel in 1961, first released on LeCam Records, a local Fort Worth, Texas label. After it hit, it was released on Smash Records for national distribution. Channel co-produced the song with Major Bill Smith and released it on Mercury Records' Smash label. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, starting the week ending March 10, 1962.
"I Wanna Be the Only One" is a song by British R&B girl group Eternal and American R&B/gospel singer BeBe Winans, released in May 1997 by EMI and 1st Avenue as the third single from the group's third album, Before the Rain (1997). Topping the UK Singles Chart, the release also became the group's third collaboration with Winans, who had written and produced their 1994 single "Crazy" and the song "It Will Never End". The single became the group's 11th non-consecutive top-10 entry on the UK Singles Chart.
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", sometimes written as "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day", is a Christmas song recorded by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was written and produced by the band's frontman Roy Wood—formerly of The Move and a founding member of Electric Light Orchestra. Despite the song's strong, long-lasting popularity, it has reached no higher than number four on the UK Singles Chart, a position it occupied for four consecutive weeks from December 1973 to January 1974. The song was beaten to the 1973 Christmas Number 1 spot by Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody", which remained at the top of the charts for five weeks, from December 1973 to January 1974.
"Winchester Cathedral" is a song by the New Vaudeville Band, a British novelty group established by the song's composer, Geoff Stephens, and was released in late 1966 by Fontana Records.
"Spaceman" is a song by British rock band Babylon Zoo, released on 15 January 1996 as the lead single from their debut album, The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes (1996). Featuring heavily distorted guitars and metallic, robotic sounding vocals, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number one on 21 January 1996 following its use in a Levi's jeans television advertisement the previous year; "Spaceman" was the sixth song to reach number one in the UK after being featured in a Levi's advert.
"The Millennium Prayer" is a song recorded by English singer Cliff Richard, in which the words of the Lord's Prayer are set to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne". It was released in November 1999 as a charity single in the lead-up to the new millennium, hence the name. The single became a surprise hit reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart, number two in Australia and New Zealand, number three in Ireland, and the top 20 in a number of European countries.
"Mr Blobby" is a novelty song performed by character Mr Blobby, famous for appearing in the British Saturday night variety show Noel's House Party. It was written by Philip Raxster, produced by Paul Shaw and David Rogers, and was released on 22 November 1993. The song originally peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 11 December 1993 for one week but reclaimed the top spot to become the Christmas number one single, and spent a total of three weeks at No. 1. Despite its chart success, it has been panned by critics, some of whom have called it one of the worst songs ever recorded.
The singles discography of Australian singer Kylie Minogue consists of eighty-two singles as lead artist, eight singles as a featured artist, nine charity singles and twenty-four promotional recordings. Referred as the "Princess of Pop" by various media outlets, she has sold more than 80 million records worldwide. In Australia, she has a total of ten number-one singles, twenty-three top-ten hits and forty-seven top-forty entries. In the United Kingdom, with seven number-one singles, eleven singles that peaked at number two, thirty-five top-ten hits and fifty-two top-forty entries, she is the twelfth-best-selling singles artist and the third-best-selling female artist of all time to date, selling over 10.1 million singles.
"Lego House" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 11 November 2011 as the third single lifted from his debut studio album + of 2011. It was released as the second single in the US on 11 February 2013. It was written by Sheeran, Jake Gosling and Chris Leonard, and produced by Jake Gosling.
"Better Man" is a song by Irish pop vocal band Westlife. It was released by Virgin EMI Records on 29 March 2019 as the second single from the band's eleventh studio album, Spectrum. It is their second single released under Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI Records. The song was written by Ed Sheeran, Fred Gibson, Steve Mac and Wayne Hector. This is the most successful and highest-charting song and single co-written by Gibson for a pop and male band. As of 30 November 2021, this is their twentieth biggest single of all time in the United Kingdom.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
