2 Unlimited

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Biography

2 Unlimited was a Dutch eurodance group formed in 1991. The project was the brainchild of Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde, and was fronted by a Dutch duo, Hip hop music|rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth . During five years of enormous worldwide popularity, the act scored 16 chart hits, including " Get Ready for This ", " Twilight Zone (2 Unlimited song)|Twilight Zone ", " No Limit (song)|No Limit " and " Tribal Dance ". During their career, they have sold more than 18 million records worldwide.

On 11 April 2009, Slijngaard and Doth performed together for the first time in 13 years at the "I Love The 90s" concert in Hasselt , Belgium. In January 2010, they released a new single together called " In Da Name Of Love ", under the name of Ray & Anita . It has become a top 5 hit in the Netherlands.

Formation

Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde met in their hometown of Antwerp , Belgium, and their first collaboration under the name of Bizz Nizz , the single "Don't Miss The Party Line", was a substantial hit across Europe, including in the United Kingdom where it reached no. 7 in the UK Singles Chart|national singles chart in April 1990. http://www.polyhex.com - search for Bizz Nizz on this page Its success came as a great surprise to the duo and encouraged them to continue working together.

In early 1991, a 19-year-old Ray Slijngaard was working as a chef at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam . Slijngaard was a friend of Quadrophonia rapper Marvin D, and whilst attending one of their gigs he took a microphone and started to rap in order to hype up the unenthusiastic crowd. Marvin was impressed and introduced him to DeCoster and Wilde, who got him to record a rap for "Money Money", a track that was being planned as a future Bizz Nizz single. Meanwhile, Anita Doth (Dels is her stage name), also 19, was an administration (business)|administrator in the parking ticket division of an Amsterdam police station. In her spare time she performed in a female rap group called Trouble Sisters and she was spotted by Marvin, who asked her to be a backing singer for him. Slijngaard and Doth became good friends, and some people believe they had a relationship.
DeCoster and Wilde created an instrumental track called " Get Ready For This " and they decided that it needed some vocals. They asked Slijngaard for his input and he duly recorded a rap for it. The band was initially meant to be a solo project with Slijngaard fronting the act but then he added female vocals from Doth. They were so pleased with the result that they agreed to work with them as a duo, and thus 2 Unlimited was born.

Get Ready& #33; (1991–1992)

They were signed to Byte Records (Belgium) and were licensed to many other record labels, including PWL|PWL Continental in the UK, run by Pete Waterman of Stock Aitken Waterman|Stock, Aitken & Waterman fame, who had produced dozens of hits for the likes of Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley . However Waterman, deciding that the rap was unsuitable for the UK market, where instrumental rave music had become extremely popular, removed most of the vocals from the track except for the line "y'all ready for this? ", which was sampled from The D.O.C. 's "It's Funky Enough". "Get Ready For This" was an instant hit, peaking at no. 2 in the chart and was the twelfth best-selling single of 1991, earning a silver sales certificate. Music Week It went on to reach no. 4 in Belgium, no. 10 in the Netherlands and no. 2 in Australia. It also worked its way up to no. 7 on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

A follow-up single, " Twilight Zone (2 Unlimited song)|Twilight Zone ", followed in January 1992 also reached no. 2 in the UK, selling 234,000 copies. It topped the chart in the duo's homeland and was certified gold, and it was also a hit in the United States where it charted at #49 on the Hot 100 (and #5 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart). To capitalise on this success, the album Get Ready! , featuring the two singles and seven other brand new tracks including two ballads, was released on 24 February. Two further singles were released, " Workaholic (song)|Workaholic " and " The Magic Friend ", which helped the album go on to sell 2.6 million copies worldwide.

No Limits (1993–1994)

Although Slijngaard and Doth were sceptical about the track DeCoster and Wilde wanted to push as the lead single from the act's second album, " No Limit (song)|No Limit " was released in January 1993 and the repetitive nature of the song helped it become their most successful single ever, and by far the best remembered by the general public even now. The single topped the charts in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic , Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia , Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and in the United Kingdom where it sold 532,000 copies and ended up the fourth best-seller of 1993.

" Tribal Dance " was released as a single shortly before the album No Limits (2 Unlimited album)|No Limits hit stores in May. Three further singles were issued: " Faces (2 Unlimited song)|Faces ", which was considerably different in pace to previous releases, " Maximum Overdrive (song)|Maximum Overdrive " and a re-recorded version of " Let The Beat Control Your Body ". In France, the title was changed to "Let The Bass Control Your Body" to avoid any confusion with the slang word (meaning "penis"). "Throw The Groove Down" was released after this, but not as a full single release. Alternatively, the American label Radikal Records issued a limited edition titled " The U.S. Remixes ".

But despite the phenomenal success that the duo were enjoying, they were criticised heavily by the music industry and the British press dubbed them "2 Untalented". Slijngaard and Doth were dismissed as "puppets" and the lyrical depth of their songs was questioned. However, it should be noted that both performers took an active part in writing their material and Slijngaard's raps were cut from the UK album release, being once again deemed, in Jean-Paul DeCoster's words, "too clumsy for the British market". Whilst some dance music fans also expressed dislike for the commerciality of their sound and the banality of their lyrics, others, such as one music critic in Melody Maker wrote that whilst they were "juvenile" and "puerile", on the other hand "2 Unlimited stand for energy and excitement. And if you're not thrilled by the lobotomising insistence of 'Workaholic', 'Contrast' and the rest you're either dead from the toes up, or too grown-up for your own good."

It was also noted by the band's manager Michel Maartens that 2 Unlimited were launched at a time when "many parents feared that house and techno would damage their children. It was associated with pills and nightly escapades. But Ray and Anita proved to be the acceptable faces of techno. When Mum and Dad saw they were harmless pop stars, all mistrust was over." The band's image and sound were at the same time responsible for both their popularity with the public and their unpopularity with critics, with Melody Maker describing them as "a crude, bastardized assault on tasteful dance standards."

The No Limits album was even more successful than the first, selling in excess of 3 million copies. At the MIDEM convention, 2 Unlimited were presented with 80 platinum and gold awards from 26 different countries, as well as winning "World's Best-Selling Benelux Act" at the World Music Awards|World Music Awards 1993 .

Beyond Limits (1994)

The popularity of the group saw an unusual hybrid release of a CDi / CD in 1994 called "Beyond Limits" (Phillips 819 1021), which preceded the Real Things album. The CDi part of the disc was an early attempt to capture live concert clips of Tribal Dance and No One, promotional videos of No Limit, Tribal Dance, Faces, Maximum Overdrive and Let The Beat Control Your Body as well as features on Doth and Slijngaard. The CD portion of the disc was a mini Greatest Hits containing:

Get Ready For This,
Twilight Zone,
Workaholic,
The Magic Friend,
No Limit,
Tribal Dance,
Let The Beat Control Your Body,
The Real Thing

Real Things (1994–1995)

In May 1994, the duo's tenth single " The Real Thing (2 Unlimited song)|The Real Thing " was released and it proved that their fans were still interested as they sent the single to no. 1 in the Netherlands and no. 6 in the UK. The title was aimed as a dig at the several other similar sounding eurodance acts who had appeared to copy the 2 Unlimited sound. Their third album, called Real Things (2 Unlimited album)|Real Things , was instantly certified gold in the UK and 2 Unlimited became the first dance act to achieve two number one albums. Only two continental European acts have had more UK number one albums - Pavarotti and ABBA . Real Things was their first album that PWL made no changes to, perhaps because by then rap in dance records had become more common and accepted. " No-One|No One " surprised many fans by being a straightforward pop record and was picked as the second single.

By the end of 1994 they had sold another 322,000 singles in the UK alone and they were still winning more awards than they had room for on their fireplace mantel|mantelpiece , as they were presented with Smash Hits' "Best Dance Act" award for the second year running, and the Popprijs award for their services to Dutch music. They were also still performing to huge crowds at Wembley Arena in London and to 450,000 people at the Parkpop Festival in the Netherlands. At the height of their career, Slijngaard and Doth were thought to be performing around 200 shows a year.
In March 1995, " Here I Go (2 Unlimited song)|Here I Go " was another top 5 hit in their homeland but by charting at no. 22 it broke the duo's run of eleven consecutive UK top 20 hits. The fourth and final single was the ballad " Nothing Like the Rain " which was not quite as successful and did not even receive a UK release.

Whilst they were very popular all around the world, major success continued to elude 2 Unlimited in the United States. Three years after it was originally released, "Get Ready For This" started getting major radio support and charted at no. 83 on the Hot 100 in October 1994, eventually peaking at number 38. This helped first album Get Ready! make its way to the 500,000 mark, earning it a gold certificate despite never climbing higher than no. 197 on the chart. The track has become a firm favourite at arena-based sporting events and has featured on several Hollywood movie soundtrack s such as Space Jam , Flubber (film)|Flubber and Bring It On (film)|Bring It On . It also featured famously in the Friends TV series episode where the group played an acrimonious game of Thanksgiving American Football.

Hits Unlimited (1995–1996)

In October 1995, 2 Unlimited released their first compilation album Hits Unlimited , prompting rumours that they were about to split up. The single " Do What's Good For Me " was another top 20 hit and their 27th appearance on Top Of The Pops . The song was also re-recorded as "Kids Like You And Me" to promote awareness about homeless youth in the Netherlands. Following the surprise belated success of "Get Ready For This" in the USA, the "best of" was heavily promoted there but only managed no. 107 on the Billboard 200 , with the single reaching no. 33 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. The rumours continued when Pete Waterman announced that Slijngaard and Doth had split up when in fact they hadn't, and Ray expressed his aspirations to be a record producer. In February 1996, the band performed at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival (Spanish: Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar) in Chile , topping the bill alongside Ace of Base . Despite their insistence that they were planning a world tour, in April 1996, shortly after the release of the single " Jump For Joy (2 Unlimited song)|Jump for Joy ", both Slijngaard and Doth announced that 2 Unlimited was over.

It later emerged that after having spent so much time together they were no longer getting on as well as they once had, and there was disagreement about the future sound of 2 Unlimited. They had asked for more creative input and they also felt that they were not getting a fair share of the huge amount of money being earned by the project. As no agreement was reached, they each went their separate ways before a final single (" Spread Your Love (2 Unlimited song)|Spread Your Love ") was released in June 1996. Jean-Paul DeCoster went on to sue Doth for breaking her contract, but he lost the case as it was considered that he had not paid Doth enough and was ordered to give her the same amount of money he had demanded of her.

Doth went on to DJ for Dutch radio station Radio 538 , recorded a single with reggae artist Mad Cobra and in 2000 released a solo album called Reality . Slijngaard created his own label called X-Ray Records, which scored a Top 10 hit in the Netherlands with T.O.F.'s "Funk It Up". He also released two solo singles in 1997 which failed to chart but found more success in 1999 with the group V.I.P. Allstars. Slijngaard now lives in Monte Carlo with his wife and his son Rayvano, and Doth continues to tour clubs as part of the group Divas of Dance . An Internet petition to reunite Slijngaard, Doth, DeCoster and Wilde in 2005 was unsuccessful.

II (1998–1999)

As they still owned the rights to the name "2 Unlimited", DeCoster and Wilde recruited two new (again Dutch) singers, Romy van Ooijen (b. 18 November 1971) and Marjon van Iwaarden (b. 18 June 1974), in order to capitalise on previous success. " Wanna Get Up " did well in the Netherlands, reaching no. 10 and the single, which was remixed by Sash! for UK release, reached number 38.

The album II (2 Unlimited album)|II , was released in April 1998. It was not as successful as previous studio albums, nor were the subsequent singles "Edge Of Heaven" and "Never Surrender". In 1999, both van Ooijen and van Iwaarden left 2 Unlimited.

Remixes (2000–2006)

In 2000, Byte Records released the remix singles " No Limit (Millennium Remixes) " and " Twilight Zone (Millennium Remixes) ". A remix album was to be released that year but some master tapes were stolen from Byte, and taken to Russia where they were released as a bootleg compilation. Also in this year, 2 Unlimited made their first appearance on the eurodance compilation Dancemania series, specifically its Dancemania Speed|Speed sub-series, with their song "Twilight Zone"'s "B4 Za Beat Mix". Discogs ,

In 2001, Byte finally released it " Greatest Hits Remixes " featuring many new remixes. Some of the remixes from the stolen master tapes released in Russia were not included. The album was released solely in Japan.

In 2002, Trance Remixes (Special Edition)|Trance Remixes: Special Edition was released in Japan featuring many more new remixes not included in the previous compilation.

In recent years, many "best of" compilations have been released in various territories, often with new remixes. Most notably, ZYX Records in 2003 released " No Limit 2.3 ", and it was a moderate hit, reaching no. 41 in the German singles chart. It was promoted by a new duo, Débora Remagen and James Giscombe they were being lined up as a 2 Unlimited "version 3". They still perform, mainly in Eastern Europe, although are not allowed to use their own voices. This due to copyright issues.

A new CD and DVD set containing all the duo's video-clips called The Complete History (2 Unlimited album)|The Complete History was released in 2004 along with a single, " Tribal Dance 2.4 " (originally released on 12" vinyl in November 2003 as Tribal Dance 2.3). 2005 saw the release of "The Refreshed Album" in Mexico featuring stunning artwork, but the same remixes found on previous remix albums. In 2006, the DVD was re-packaged with a different CD Greatest Remix Hits , which was released in Australia. The following years would see this package re-released in Argentina , Denmark, Sweden, Asia and South Africa.

Reunions (2009–present)

Having both continued to perform their old hits separately in nightclubs and university student unions around the world, the original performers Slijngaard and Doth reunited on 11 April 2009, to perform together for the first time in 13 years at the "I Love The 90s" concert in Hasselt , Belgium. According to a radio interview with Slijngaard, Jean-Paul DeCoster did not give permission for the duo to perform under the name 2 Unlimited; however Phil Wilde attended the gig and provided help with preparing backing tracks.

On 30 April, Slijngaard and Doth performed five songs at the Radio 538 Queen's Day concert at Museumplein in Amsterdam. On 8 June, they were awarded "Most Popular Act of the 1990s", based on number of weeks in the Dutch Top 40, and on 25 September, they performed as a support act for Milk Inc at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp.

During an interview on Dutch television in 2009, both Slijngaard and Doth admitted they had a relationship with each other during the era of 2 Unlimited.

On 29 December 2009, it was announced that the duo would release a new single in 2010 called "In Da Name Of Love", as Ray & Anita . It was released as a CD single in the Netherlands through Spinnin' Records on 22 January 2010. It reached number 4 on the official singles sales chart.

In addition, van Ooijen and van Iwaarden, the singers of the second incarnation of the band, said they would release a new single at around the same time called "" Wonder why" under the name of "2".

On 11 January 2010, it was announced that Doth had breast cancer . She was undergoing treatment but decided to continue working as much as possible.

On 13 March 2010 2 Unlimited was featured on MTV Russia 's Superdiscoteka 90s ( ?????????????? 90-?) nostalgia open-air live show. All former members appeared. They performed No Limit and Tribal Dance .

On 30 April 2010, a new single was presented during the Dutch Queensday called "Still Unlimited" (still under Ray & Anita )

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications
Title	Album details	NDL cite web	AUS cite web	AUT cite web	GER cite web	NZ cite web	NOR cite web	SWE cite web	SWI cite web	UK cite web	US cite web	Certifications
Get Ready! Released: February 24, 1992 Label: Byte Records , ZYX Music\|ZYX Formats: Compact disc\|CD , Compact Cassette\|Cassette , Gramophone record\|Vinyl Recording Industry Association of America\|US : Gold
No Limits Released: May 10, 1993 Label: Byte Records, ZYX Formats: CD, Cassette, Vinyl International Federation of the Phonographic Industry\|AUT : Gold International Federation of the Phonographic Industry\|NOR : Platinum International Federation of the Phonographic Industry\|SWE : Platinum International Federation of the Phonographic Industry\|SWI : Platinum
Real Things Released: June 6, 1994 Label: Byte Records, ZYX Formats: CD, Cassette, Vinyl SWI: Gold
II Released: May 25, 1998 Label: Byte Records Formats: CD, Cassette, Vinyl
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

Compilation albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications
Title	Album details	NDL	AUS	AUT	GER	NZ	NOR	SWE	SWI	UK	US	Certifications
Hits Unlimited Released: October 30, 1995 Label: Byte Records , ZYX Music\|ZYX Formats: Compact disc\|CD , Compact Cassette\|Cassette , Gramophone record\|Vinyl
The Complete History Released: February 9, 2004 Label: ZYX Formats: CD, Cassette
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions											Certifications	Album
Title	Year	NDL cite web	AUS	AUT	FRA cite web	GER cite web	NZ	NOR	SWE	SWI cite web	UK	US cite web	Certifications	Album
" Get Ready For This "
Twilight Zone "
Workaholic "
" The Magic Friend "
No Limit " International Federation of the Phonographic Industry\|AUT : Gold Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique\|FRA : Gold Bundesverband Musikindustrie\|GER : Platinum International Federation of the Phonographic Industry\|SWI : Platinum
" Tribal Dance " GER: Gold
Faces "
Maximum Overdrive "
" Let the Beat Control Your Body "
The Real Thing " British Phonographic Industry\|UK : Gold
No One "
Here I Go "
" Nothing Like the Rain "
" Do What's Good For Me "
Jump for Joy "
Spread Your Love "
" Wanna Get Up "
" Edge Of Heaven "
"Never Surrender"
" No Limit 2.3 "
" Tribal Dance 2.4 "
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Remix Albums

\| Year	\| Title
1993	Power Tracks
2001	Greatest Hits Remixes
2003	Trance Remixes (Special Edition)
2006	Greatest Remix Hits

Copyright Citations

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