Cover of CB Milton

If you’re into the Internet radio scene and dance music, you might want to check Club97 radio, transmitting from New Jersey. It’s run by Mike Delaney, the former president of the 2 Unlimited fan club in the US, and who has been following the dance, Eurodance, techno and House scene for more years than we’d both care to mention.

He interviewed me recently about what it was like writing lyrics for 2 Unlimited, CB Milton and others. As usual, I talked way too much. So maybe you’ll find something of interest amongst the anecdotes and ramblings. Check here for Club97 Radio. The show goes out Friday March 25 at 8pm CET or 3pm SET.

Something I didn’t think to do is ask people what they would like to know about writing for these groups (just remember, I didn’t write all the hits – far from it!). So feel free to post a question. I’ll link to the interview afterwards.

For Club97 Radio listeners, here are the tracks I mostly talked about: Nothing Like the Rain and It’s a Loving Thing (which has just been re-released in a mix by Phil Wilde).

The e-mail has been heating up with a rumour that 2 Unlimited are about to reform. The group was one of the 90s most successful pop acts, racking up millions of sales on the back of hits such as “No Limits and “Jump for Joy” and popularising the boy-girl duo as a format. The group ended in considerable acrimony, however, so what are the chances of them actually reforming?

I played a minor role in 2U, providing lyrics to tracks such as “Desire”, “Where are you Now” and one of the last singles, “Nothing Like the Rain”. Coincidentally, I ran into one of the original producer/writers last week, Phil Wilde. I also came across singer Anita Doth’s site that lists her upcoming appearances until December 2009 (busy girl!). And there are indeed at least two confirmed dates billed as “A&R with 2 Unlimited Hits”.

What does this mean? First, it means Anita & Ray are on speaking terms, contrary to many rumours. But as far as I know, they can’t perform as 2 Unlimited as the name actually belongs to the producers who had started recording as such before the pair were brought in. And as far as I know, the name is part of the disagreement. These situations are always unfortunate, but not infrequent in the music biz.

So no, 2 Unlimited are not reforming. But you can still see them if you want. Check out Unlimited Ways for the show dates in Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, Russia and Belgium.

What would be your dream set-list for a 2 Unlimited show?

Here’s a blast from the past, courtesy of YouTube. After a string of hit albums (if I remember correctly, “Real Things” entered the UK album chart at n° 1 on the day of its release), 2 Unlimited were beginning to feel the pressure. There were rumours about the singers Anita and Ray not talking, about the producers arguing with the label and the label arguing with Anita and Ray. Most of it was white noise. When it came to doing a track for the upcoming album, I couldn’t resist making a comment about all this in the lyrics – and you can hear it in the very first line of “Nothing Like the Rain“.

So the song opens, “Let me ask a question: where do we go from here?” The answer comes in the chorus, “And we won’t give up, and we won’t give in when there is so much left to do.” The glorious melody by Phil Wilde and Peter Bauwens gave it all a very uplifting feel. I remember at one stage that they vaguely considered adding a Gospel choir to beef up the chorus. I don’t think it really needs it, in retrospect.
As it turned out, 2 Unlimited had a fifth hit album and then split up anyway. Oh well. It was a long career while it lasted. Click the image to see the vid.

2 Unlimited are not available on online shops, unfortunately. If you’re looking for CDs or vinyl, try Gemm.com.