Twenty 4 Seven

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
This article has been tagged since June 2006.

Twenty 4 Seven were one of the pioneering Eurodance and Hip House acts, created by Dutch producer Ruud Van Reijen in 1989. Other members of the group were rapper Tony Dawson-Harrison (left in 1991), later replaced by Stacey Paton (Stay-C), and female vocalist Nance Coolen, later replaced by Stella.

The combination of male rap and female choruses was the main recipe for their success. The first single, I Can't Stand It, a collaboration with Hanks & Jacks and MC Fixx it, reached #7 on UK charts in 1990. It was followed by another single, Are You Dreaming, and the debut album, Street Moves.

After a dispute with Ruud Van Rijen, Dawson-Harrison left the group and created Captain Hollywood Project, another successful Eurodance act. The project remained dormant until 1993, when Stacey Paton joined the group as co-producer and rapper. In the late summer of 1993, a new single, Slave to the Music, was launched. It charted well in most European countries, being the first dance record to go platinum in the newly independent Czech Republic.

The following singles, Is It Love and Take Me Away, peaked at #5 in Israel. By now, the group were famous worldwide, with the exception of America and the UK. They even played live in South Africa. The single Leave Them Alone included a Greatest Hits Megamix.

Although they were contracted until 1996, the group remained largely silent throughout the next two years. Nance then declared that the group had practically split due to personal issues. Stella, an experienced singer, who already toured with Captain Hollywood Project, replaced Nance, who focused on her solo career. During the 1996 summer, both Nance's Big Brother Is Watching You and the Twenty 4 Seven's We Are The World were very popular in the Netherlands.

During 1997, Twenty 4 Seven released two singles, You Want My Love and Friday Night, followed by a new album 24 Hours, 7 Days A Week.

In September 1997 Stella left the group on order to focus on modelling, and for the remaining two years Twenty 4 Seven were the male duo of Van Rijen and Paton. They released two singles, If You Want My Love in 1998 and Ne Ne in 1999.

In 2000, plans to release a new album in the classical formula, with Stacey and Nance, were rumoured in the press, but eventually never materialized.