2 Unlimited are a Belgian-Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the act. During these five years, 2 Unlimited enjoyed worldwide mainstream success. They scored a total of sixteen international chart hits, including "Get Ready for This", "Twilight Zone", "No Limit", and "Tribal Dance". The act has sold eighteen million records worldwide. Although they enjoyed less mainstream recognition in the United States than in Europe, several of their tracks became popular themes in American sporting series, mainly in the NBA and NHL.
"Vienna" is a song by British new wave band Ultravox, released on 9 January 1981 by Chrysalis Records as the third single and the title track from their fourth studio album of the same name. Featuring Midge Ure on lead vocals, the new wave ballad is regarded as a staple of the synth-pop genre that was popularised in the early 1980s and remains both the band's signature song and their most commercially successful release.
"Blue Jean" is a song written and recorded by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie for his sixteenth studio album Tonight (1984). One of only two tracks on the album to be written entirely by Bowie, it was released as a single ahead of the album and charted in the United States, peaking at No. 8, becoming his 5th and last top 10 hit with no features. The song is loosely inspired by Eddie Cochran.
Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is a compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released on 29 October 1979 to coincide with their tour of North America and Europe. It was ABBA's second chart-topping album of the year, the first being Voulez-Vous, and contained the brand new single "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", recorded in August 1979.
7 is the third studio album by the English ska and pop band Madness. Released in October 1981, it peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. All but one track was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas in the summer of 1981, the exception being "Grey Day" which was recorded in London earlier in the year. Although in 2011 co-producer Alan Winstanley stated in the Guided Tour of Madness boxed-set that much of the album was re-recorded in London when they returned from Nassau.
"Crucify" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos. It was released as the fifth single from her debut studio album Little Earthquakes, on May 12, 1992, by Atlantic Records in North America and on June 8 by EastWest Records in the UK. In Australia, it was released on July 20, 1992.
"Call Me" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie and the theme to the 1980 film American Gigolo. Produced and composed by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder, with lyrics by Blondie singer Debbie Harry, the song appeared in the film and was released in the United States in early 1980 as a single. "Call Me" was No. 1 for six consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, where it became the band's biggest single and second No. 1. It also hit No. 1 in the UK and Canada, where it became their fourth and second chart-topper, respectively. In the year-end chart of 1980, it was Billboard's No. 1 single and RPM magazine's No. 3 in Canada.
Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995) is the first greatest hits album and the second compilation album by English hard rock band Def Leppard. The album was originally released in the band's home country on 23 October 1995 by Mercury Records. It was released in North America a week later on 31 October by the same label. Vault went on to be certified gold in four countries, platinum in three and multi-platinum in two. In the US, the album is currently certified 5× platinum by the RIAA, and in June 2011 it topped the five million mark in sales there. It won Metal Edge magazine's 1995 Readers' Choice Award for "Best Hits or Compilation Album."
"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 rocksteady song written by John Holt, originally produced by Duke Reid and performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover version by the American band Blondie became a US and UK number one hit. The song topped the UK Singles Chart again in 2002 with a version by the British girl group Atomic Kitten, while Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall had a minor hit with his interpretation in 2008.
"Rapture" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their fifth studio album Autoamerican (1980). Written by band members Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, and produced by Mike Chapman, the song was released as the second and final single from Autoamerican on January 12, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Musically, "Rapture" is a combination of new wave, disco and hip hop with a rap section forming an extended coda.
"The Name of the Game" is a 1977 song by Swedish pop group ABBA, released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album, ABBA: The Album (1977). It became a UK number one, topping the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in November 1977.
Bananarama is the second studio album by British group Bananarama. Released in 1984, the album peaked at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart, reached the US top 40 albums chart, and was certified Silver by the BPI.
Sladest is a compilation album by the British rock band Slade. It was released by Polydor on 28 September 1973 and was certified UK Silver by BPI that month. It remained in the charts for 24 weeks. The album was certified UK Gold by BPI in November 1973. In America, Sladest was released by Reprise and featured a significantly different track listing. It reached No. 129 on the Billboard 200.
"House of Fun" is a song by English ska/pop group Madness, credited to Mike Barson and Lee Thompson. It was released as a one-off single on 14 May 1982 and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, spending nine weeks in the charts. The song was re-released in 1992, reaching number 40. It is the band's only number one single in the UK and in 2015 the British public voted it as the nation's 8th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.
"It Must Be Love" is a song written and originally recorded and released in 1971 by English singer Labi Siffre on his 1972 album Crying Laughing Loving Lying. It was also recorded by ska/pop band Madness in 1981.
"Living on Video" is a song by Canadian synth-pop band Trans-X written and published in 1982, but not released as a single until May 1983 by Polydor Records, and then remixed in 1985. It became a massive hit worldwide, with the remixed version peaking at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. Trans-X also originally recorded a French-language version under the title "Vivre sur Vidéo". The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years.
Brotherhood is a compilation album by English electronic dance music duo The Chemical Brothers, released on 1 September 2008. It is the second compilation spanning the band's greatest hits, after 2003's Singles 93–03. The first disc features thirteen hit singles and two new tracks, "Midnight Madness" and "Keep My Composure" —while the second CD contains all ten parts of The Chemical Brothers' "Electronic Battle Weapon" series of special mixes, which the duo have been recording since 1996.
Life Is a Dance: The Remix Project is a remix album of recordings by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, released by the Warner Bros. Records label in 1989. The compilation takes its title from a track included on Khan's 1978 solo debut album Chaka.
One Step Beyond. .. is the debut studio album by the British ska-pop group Madness, released by Stiff Records. Recorded and mixed in about three weeks, the album peaked at number two and remained on the UK Albums Chart for more than a year. The album has received much critical praise. It was ranked 90th in a 2005 survey held by British television station Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time.
"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" is a song recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye from his fifth studio album of the same name (1965). It was written in 1964 by the Motown songwriting team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, and produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. The song title was inspired by one of the actor and comedian Jackie Gleason's signature phrases, "How Sweet It Is!"
