| Captain Jack | |
|---|---|
Franky Gee and Maloy (1999-2000 alignment) |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Darmstadt, Germany |
| Genres | Eurodance (original), dance-pop, hip hop (current) |
| Years active | 1995–2005, 2008–present |
| Website | http://captain-jack.de |
| Members | |
| Bruce Lacy Laura Martin |
|
| Past members | |
| Liza da Costa (1995-1998) Maria Lucia 'Maloy' Lozanes (1999-2000) Ilka-Anna-Antonia Traue (2000-2005) Franky Gee (1995-2005) Sunny (2005-2008) |
|
Captain Jack is a German Eurodance group that formed in Germany in 1995. The group is best known for the single, "Captain Jack", which reached the top 10 in many countries in Europe.
Contents |
Captain Jack's music (and Franky Gee's persona) was stylized as a form of military training. Franky's costume consisted of a stylized military officer's uniform, with a red hat based on that of the US Marines. His other clothing was styled similarly to a US Army officers dress uniform. Franky chose this style because of his service in the United States Army. After ending his time in the US Army, Franky remained in Germany, where he was last stationed, and began a recording career under the name "Westside." While recording music under that name, he proposed the idea of a dance track based on a drill routine. That idea became his style: songs about peace and love in the style of a military regime. The hat—a US Marines "barracks cover" hat, in the color scheme evoking the Soviet Red Army—further protests the idea of the military, while symbolizing the idea of national unity.
The group has earned 19 gold and platinum records throughout Europe. Fans of the Konami arcade game Dance Dance Revolution know them from the numerous songs that, through the Dancemania series of albums, have been used in the game series. The group's music was also featured in other Konami music games such as beatmania and Dance Maniax.[1]
Franky suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while walking with his son in Spain on October 17, 2005. Doctors predicted that the damage was fatal, and Franky Gee died on Saturday October 22, 2005, after spending five days in a coma.
The Captain Jack name was recently revived, with a new lineup. The single, Turkish Bazar, was of the dance-pop and hip hop genres, dropping the original lineup's eurodance roots.[2]
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [3] |
AUT [4] |
BEL (FLA) [5] |
FIN [6] |
NDL [7] |
NOR [8] |
SWI [9] |
|||
| 1996 | The Mission
|
11 | 27 | 48 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 22 | |
| 1997 | Operation Dance
|
47 | 37 | — | 10 | 21 | 21 | — | |
| 1999 | The Captain's Revenge | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2001 | Top Secret | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2003 | Party Warrior | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Cafe Cubar | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004 | Music Instructor | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2008 | Captain Jack is Back | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2011 | Back to the Dancefloor
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [14] |
AUT [15] |
BEL (FLA) [16] |
FIN [17] |
NDL [18] |
NOR [19] |
SWE [20] |
SWI [21] |
||||
| 1995 | "Captain Jack" | 3 | 6 | 2 | — | 1 | 5 | 50 | 6 | The Mission | |
| 1996 | "Drill Instructor" | 4 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 1 | — | 59 | 13 | ||
| "Soldier, Soldier" | 11 | 13 | 21 | 6 | 4 | — | — | 12 | |||
| "Little Boy" | 27 | 31 | 46 | 16 | 8 | — | — | 50 | |||
| "Another One Bites the Dust" | 61 | 33 | 41 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | Queen Dance Traxx 1 (Various) |
||
| 1997 | "Together and Forever" | 56 | 30 | 48 | 9 | 20 | — | — | — | Operation Dance | |
| "Holiday" | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1999 | "Get Up!" (with Gipsy Kings) | 23 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Captain's Revenge | |
| 2001 | "Iko Iko" | - | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | 62 | Top Secret | |
| 2002 | "Give It Up" | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003 | "Viva La Vida" | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Cafe Cubar | |
| "Volare" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2004 | "Samba Brazil" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Music Instructor | |
| 2010 | "People Like to Party" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Back to the Dancefloor | |