| "Ride on Time" | ||||
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Single cover featuring model Katrin Quinol. |
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| Single by Black Box | ||||
| from the album Dreamland | ||||
| B-side | Remix | |||
| Released | July 19, 1989 | |||
| Format | CD maxi, 12" single, 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Genre | Italo house[1] | |||
| Length | 4:35 (album version) 6:27 (original version) |
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| Label | Groove Groove Melody | |||
| Writer(s) | Dan Hartman Mirko Limoni Daniele Davoli Valerio Semplici |
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| Producer | Groove Groove Melody | |||
| Certification | Platinum (UK) | |||
| Black Box singles chronology | ||||
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"Ride on Time" is a 1989 song recorded by band Black Box. It was later released on their debut LP Dreamland. The song was a chart success in many countries and a number-one hit in the UK[2] and Ireland.
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The song was written and produced by the Italian production team Groove Groove Melody, consisting of DJ Daniele Davoli, programmer Mirko Limoni and musician Valerio Semplici. The team worked with French model Katrin Quinol, who was the face and image for the group Black Box.[3] In the video and in live performances Quinol lip-synced to the original vocals.[4]
The song sampled Loleatta Holloway's 1980 disco hit "Love Sensation" and attracted some controversy for the uncredited use of Holloway's vocals from that song.[5] Holloway's counsel engaged in a press attack on Black Box, successfully securing a settlement that paid the singer an undisclosed sum; the group had legally cleared the samples with Salsoul Records, who had released the original track, but Holloway was in arrears for advances from the label and thus was not recompensed by Salsoul. The song would be sampled 22 years later in the 2011 song Still Speedin' by Sway.
For the re-release of the song, Heather Small re-recorded the vocals.
The song's title derives from a sample of Holloway singing the lyrics "thank you baby, 'cause you're right on time". Daniele Davoli explained in Channel 4 documentary Pump Up The Volume that because of his limited knowledge of English at the time, he thought that Loleatta Holloway sang "ride on time" instead of "right on time"
"Ride on Time" became a massive hit in Italy and then worldwide, after legal rights were obtained in all territories. The song spent six weeks at No.1 in the United Kingdom, ultimately becoming the biggest selling single of the year.[2] It fared less well in the United States, where it failed to chart as a pop record, although it did reach No.39 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. It was the first high-profile example of an Italo-House record. The genre is noteworthy for extreme amounts of "borrowing", usually in single phrases, sometimes in couplets, the lyrical "hooks" from other compositions.
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| France[6] | Silver | 1989 | 200,000 |
| Sweden[7] | Gold | November 27, 1990 | 10,000 |
| UK[8] | Platinum | October 1, 1989 | 600,000 |
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| Preceded by "Swing the Mood" by Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers |
UK number-one single September 9, 1989 - October 14, 1989 (6 weeks) |
Succeeded by "That's What I Like" by Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers |
| Preceded by "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx |
Irish IRMA number-one single September 28, 1989 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "Sweet Surrender" by Wet Wet Wet |
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