Tony T.
| Tony T. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Neal Antone Dyer |
| Born |
1971 (age 46) London, England, UK |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, rapper, DJ |
| Years active | 1996 – present |
| Associated acts |
Beat System (1996), R.I.O. (2008–2011) Mike Candys Sash! |
Neal Antone Dyer better known by the stage name Tony T. (born in London in 1971) is a British singer, rapper and DJ of Jamaican origin,[1] best known as the frontman of German dance music projects Beat System and R.I.O..[2] His best known hit with R.I.O. was "Turn This Club Around" that reached number 3 in German Singles Chart and topped the Swiss Schweizer Hitparade chart, and was certified gold in both charts.[2]
Beginnings
Born to Jamaican parents, he resided early on in Brooklyn where he started DJing. After two years, he moved to Germany in 1985 where he worked as a resident DJ at the club Gaslight.[3]
1986–1998: Beat System
Starting 1986, he appeared in various projects under the name Beat System starting with "Noise Dance", a limited release in Germany. In the early 1990s came the singles "Dance Romance" and "Dance Romance Chapter Two" on Insania Records written by C. Kowatsch und Wormit and "Stay with Me" produced by Axel Breitung. Changing labels and signing with Blow Up and release of "Fresh" a cover of Kool & The Gang song that charted in Germany, followed by "Reggae Night", a cover of Jimmy Cliff. Intercord label released Beat System's debut and only album Refreshiator after which the project was dropped.[4]
Neal Antone aka Tony T. continued to lend his voice to various recordings notably in 20-7 with single with Micha Moors Club in "Space". He also worked as a DJ in various clubs all over Europe
2008–2012: R.I.O.
In 2008 he was a founding member of the German dance project R.I.O with Yann Pfeifer (Yanou) and Manuel Reuter (DJ Manian). After the debut single "De Janeiro / R.I.O.", the trio with Tony T. as frontman of the band had a string of hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, like "Shine On" from the Shine On (The Album), followed by "When the Sun Comes Down", "Hot Girl", "Like I Love You" and "Miss Sunshine". But R.I.O.'s hit "Turn This Club Around" featuring the vocals of U-Jean proved to be an international success reaching No. 5 in Austria, No. 3 in Germany, No. 1 in Switzerland also charting in the UK, Scotland, Netherlands, as well as Belgium, Canada. The band released same titled album Turn This Club Around with the further hit "Animal" from the album.
2012–: Solo career / DNGRS Crew
Tony T. left the R.I.O. project in 2012 to launch a solo career. His first solo releaser was "Way to Rio". He was featured in "Everybody" from Mike Candys also featuring Evelyn. He also had collaborations such as with Darius & Finlay in "Phenomenon" and with Soulwash featured in "No Games". In 2013, he was featured in the hit "Want U Now" by Ardian Bujupi, a finalist in the German music competition Deutschland sucht den Superstar and in "Beautiful Life" by Sasha Lopez also featuring Big Ali.
In May 2013, he co-founded DNGRS Crew with rappers Carlprit and Marlon B.. Their first single together is "Dangerous" credited to DJ Mase vs DNGRS Crew and is released on Kontor Records.
Discography
Albums
- with Beat System
- 1996: Refreshiator
- with R.I.O.
- 2008: Shine On (The Album)
- 2011: Sunshine
- 2011: Turn This Club Around
Singles
- with Beat System
| Single | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT | BELFL | BELWA | FRA | GER | |||
| "Fresh" | 1996 | 29 | 37 | 18 | 15 | 32 | Refreshinator |
| "Reggaenight" | – | 36 | – | – | 93 | ||
| "—" denotes singles that did not chart | |||||||
- with R.I.O.
| Single | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT | CAN | ESP | FRA | GER | ITA | NLD | SWE | SWI | UK | |||
| "De Janeiro" | 2007 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9 | – | – | — | Shine On (The Album) |
| "Shine On" | 2008 | 21 | – | 22 | 8 | 25 | 8 | 20 | 10 | 17 | — | |
| "When the Sun Comes Down" | 54 | – | 9 | – | 63 | – | 9 | – | 62 | — | ||
| "After the Love" | 2009 | 41 | – | – | – | 65 | – | 66 | – | – | — | |
| "Serenade" | – | – | – | – | 97 | – | – | – | – | — | ||
| "One Heart" | 2010 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 24 | – | – | — | |
| "Hot Girl" | – | – | – | – | – | – | 90 | – | – | — | Sunshine | |
| "Like I Love You" | 2011 | 35 | – | – | – | 31 | – | 24 | – | 28 | — | |
| "Miss Sunshine" | 44 | – | – | – | 50 | – | 17 | – | 43 | — | ||
| "Turn This Club Around" (feat. U-Jean) |
5 | 95 | – | 96 | 3 | – | 34 | – | 1 | 36 | Turn This Club Around | |
| "Animal" (feat. U-Jean) |
33 | – | – | 111 | 48 | – | 26 | – | 51 | — | ||
| "—" denotes singles that did not chart | ||||||||||||
Featured in
| Single | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT | CZE | GER | SVK | SWI | |||
| "Phenomenon" (Darius & Finlay feat. Tony T.) |
2012 | 26 | – | – | – | — | |
| "Everybody" (Mike Candys feat. Evelyn & Tony T.) |
2013 | 14 | 57 | 40 | 69 | 14 | |
| "Beautiful Life" (Sasha Lopez feat. Tony T. and Big Ali) |
– | 49 | – | – | — | ||
| "Break My Stride" (Bodybangers feat. Tony T.) |
62 | – | 90 | – | — | ||
| "Heart It Tonight" (ONdray feat. Tony T.) |
2014 | – | 47 | – | – | — | |
| "—" denotes singles that did not chart | |||||||
- 2012: "No Games" (Soulwash feat. Tony T.)
- 2013: "Want U Now" (Ardian Bujupi feat. Tony T.)
- 2013: "Breaking the Ice" (Bodybangers feat. Tony T.)
- 2013: "Summer's Gone" (Sash! feat. Tony T.)
References
- ↑ InternationalDJs.at: Tony T.
- 1 2 R.I.O.: Doppel-Gold für "Turn This Club Around" (in German)
- ↑ Spidermix: Tony T. (in Italian)
- ↑ "Beat System". webdjs.ch. Retrieved 2 November 2015.