The Netherlands techno/dance-pop phenomenon 2 Unlimited was one of the most popular groups in Europe during the early '90s, selling 18 million records and charting number one singles in every European country. (In England, 11 consecutive singles topped the charts.) America, however, remained unaffected, bringing only "Get Ready for This" to... [+] Read More

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C+C Music Factory wasn't really a group -- it was the product of Robert Clivillés and David Cole, two pop-savvy dance producers. In 1989, Clivillés and Cole hired all the singers and created all the tracks for Gonna Make You Sweat, C+C Music Factory's first album. While it was prepackaged, it wasn't necessarily faceless; in Freedom Williams, the... [+] Read More

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An Italo-house production team employing up to ten different studios, at least a trio of producers for every production and scores of session workers, Cappella is mostly the creation of producer Gianfranco Bortolotti. Undoubtedly influenced by Motown's assembly-line aesthetic (as well as the '80s British dance team of Stock, Aitken & Waterman),... [+] Read More

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Imagination was a trio from the U.K. that put a synthesized and often clubby spin on soul groups from the ‘70s. In fact, a couple of ‘70s groups have direct ties to Imagination; Leee John and Ashley Ingram spent time during that decade playing supportive roles in the Delfonics and Chairmen of the Board, prior to Imagination's formation. Along... [+] Read More

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One of the top British dance and urban contemporary trios in the early '80s, Loose Ends formed in London. They were originally called Loose End, and included Carl McIntosh, Jane Eugene, and Steve Nichol. Virgin signed them in 1981, and their debut was written by Chris and Eddie Amoo of the Real Thing. The group changed its name to Loose Ends in... [+] Read More

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M/A/R/R/S' lone single "Pump Up the Volume" remains a watershed in the history of sampling, heralding its gradual absorption from hip hop into dance music and ultimately the pop mainstream. The 1987 record was the brainchild of 4AD chief Ivo Watts-Russell, who assembled M/A/R/R/S' line-up from the ranks of label acts Colourbox and AR Kane; the... [+] Read More

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Besides her gospel background, Penny Ford's musical roots run deep down into her family tree. Daughter of veteran record executive and producer Gene Redd Sr. (King Records) and singer Carolyn Ford and sister to singer Sharon Redd (the dance classic "Beat the Streets"), Ford was exposed to a lot of music early on as a result of her father's work... [+] Read More

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Performing under the name S'Express, young British DJ Mark Moore scored a number one hit in his homeland in 1988 with "Theme From S'Express," a record that helped pave the way for the subsequent hegemony of the sampladelic acid house sound on the pop charts. Moore released an album, Original Soundtrack, in 1989, strongly influenced by 1970s... [+] Read More

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Of the many studio-based dance music projects which dominated the charts during the early '90s, few were so popular, or such an improbable success story, as Technotronic. Emerging from Belgium -- never a musical hotbed in the first place -- the multicultural group helped push the deep bass grooves and insistent beats of house music out of the... [+] Read More

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More than any pop band in history, the KLF ripped off the music industry for a bucketful of loot and got away with it -- as illustrated in their own guidebook to creating number one singles, The Manual. Bill Drummond and Jimi Cauty applied the tactics of punk shock-terrorism to late-'80s acid house and became one of Britain's best-selling... [+] Read More

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