Undercover (dance group)
| Undercover | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Electronic, dance |
| Years active | 1991–2004 |
| Labels | PWL International |
| Past members |
John Matthews Jon Jules Steve Mac Tim Laws |
Undercover are a dance music group from the United Kingdom, who had two Top 5 hits in 1992. The vocals on all the group's songs were sung by John Matthews, The band were formed in 1991, and were active until 2004.
Overview
The first single they released was a cover version of Gerry Rafferty's 1978 United Kingdom/United States hit "Baker Street". It became their biggest hit, when it reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1992,[1] held off from the top only by another dance track, "Rhythm Is a Dancer" by Snap!. It was the eleventh biggest selling single of 1992 in the United Kingdom, and also attained major chart success across Europe, selling over a quarter of a million units alone in Germany.
Undercover released five more chart singles. The second single was a cover of Andrew Gold's "Never Let Her Slip Away", coincidentally also originally from 1978. It reached #5, and stayed in the charts in the United Kingdom for a total of eleven weeks.[1] After the success of these two singles, an album, Check Out the Groove, was released, reaching #26 in the UK Albums Chart.[1] "I Wanna Stay With You" (a cover of the Gallagher and Lyle song) and "Lovesick", both from 1993, managed #28 and #62, respectively.
In 1994, Undercover released a new single, "Best Friend", and their second album, Ain't No Stopping Us.[1] The musical style of Undercover´s interpretations is best described as cheerful and upbeat, incorporating into the song electronic drums and short piano or organ harmonies, along with repetitive and layered vocal phrases, typical for club songs of the 1990s.
Discography
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [2] |
IRE | ITA | NED | BEL (FLA) |
GER [3] |
AUT | SWI | SWE | ||||||
| 1992 | "Baker Street" | 2 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | Check Out The Groove | |||
| "Never Let Her Slip Away" | 5 | 2 | — | 8 | 3 | 16 | 23 | — | 23 | |||||
| 1993 | "I Wanna Stay With You" | 28 | 8 | — | 43 | 14 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "The Way It Is" (Germany Only) | — | — | — | — | 32 | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Lovesick" | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Ain't No Stoppin' Us | ||||
| 1994 | "Best Friend" | 79 | — | — | — | — | 67 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1995 | "Every Breath You Take" (Germany Only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | singles only | |||
| 1996 | "Bring Back Your Love" (Germany Only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2000 | "If You Leave Me Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2004 | "Viva England" (unofficial England anthem for Euro 2004) | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||||
Albums
- Check Out the Groove, United Kingdom #26, December 1992 Altra Moda Music
- Ain't No Stopping Us, 1994
Members
- John Matthews – Vocals - Now mostly retired.
- Jon Jules – Bass Guitar - Now retired.
- Steve Mac – Keyboard - Still very much active and playing, Steve has adopted an on-demand approach.
- Tim Laws – Drums - Tim comes out of his semi retired status to please his fans on occasions.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 575. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ "Official Charts Company: Undercover". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
- ↑ "Undercover - German Chart". charts.de. Retrieved 2014-05-11.