2 Unlimited
| 2 Unlimited | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 2 Unlimited (1994) |
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| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Eurodance |
| founding | 1991, 1998, 2009 (reunion with Ray and Anita as "Two Unlimited") 2010 (reunion with Marion and Romy as "2") |
| resolution | 1996, 1999 |
| Website | 2 Unlimited fansite |
| Founding members | |
rap |
Ray Slijngaard (1991-1996) |
singing |
Anita Doth (1991–1996; 2009–2016) |
producer |
Jean-Paul DeCoster |
producer |
Phil Wilde |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Kim Vergouwen (from 2016) |
rap |
Ray Slijngaard |
producer |
Jean-Paul DeCoster |
| former members | |
singing |
Romy van Oojen (1998–1999) |
singing |
Marjon van Iwaarden (1998–1999) |
2 Unlimited is a Eurodance duo that was successful in the European charts from autumn 1991 to mid-1996 and sold over 20 million records. It consists of the rapper Ray Slijngaard and the singer Anita Doth (Anita Daniëlle Dels), both from the Netherlands . Belgian producers Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde worked in the background .
history
2 Unlimited was the first formation to successfully combine elements from underground techno with pop . Her first hit was "Get Ready For This" in October 1991, the single reached number 2 in the UK , number 6 in the Netherlands and later number 38 in the US .
All 16 singles with the original line-up reached the top 20 in the Netherlands, and the first eleven singles also made it to the top 20 in Great Britain. The last single "Spread Your Love" came in at number 13 in the Netherlands. Her biggest hits were No Limit (1993), Tribal Dance (1993) and The Real Thing (1994). After three albums and a greatest hits collection, the formation split up, mainly due to the musical differences between Ray Slijngaard and Anita Doth with the producers.
In 1998, the producers sent the two singers Romy van Oojen and Marjon van Iwaarden with trendy disco songs as 2 Unlimited into the race, success, however, was short-lived. The first two singles became hits in the Netherlands, "Wanna Get Up" even reached the top 10. In Germany, the singles "Wanna Get Up" and "The Edge Of Heaven" were released. Both the album "II" and the last single from this album, "Never Surrender" (5th place in Spain 1998), were not released in Germany.
In 2003 and 2004 ZYX Music released new remixes of "No Limit" and "Tribal Dance". The vocal parts came from the original versions. In March 2007, the original interpreter Anita Doth appeared as “2 Unlimited” on the RTL chart show. In 2009 the casting band beFour released a cover version of "No Limit".
Since 2008 Ray and Anita have been in regular contact with each other again. Old disputes were finally settled. They told the Dutch press that there could be a reunion for live gigs if they managed to secure the rights to the name "2 Unlimited". In 2009 these rights were still with the producers, but in 2009 Ray and Anita stood together on the same stage for the first time since 1996. On February 27th, 2009 Anita appeared on RTL alone in “The Ultimate Chart Show - Dancefloor Hits” with Oliver Geissen and sang the title “No Limit” live. On April 11th and 12th, 2009 Ray & Anita performed together again for the first time in 13 years at the “I Love The 90's Party” in Hasselt / Belgium and played almost all of the 2 unlimited hits in front of 44,000 people. On April 30, 2009, the second big appearance at Queen's Day in Amsterdam followed. On the largest open-air stage in town, Ray & Anita celebrated their comeback as the main act in the Netherlands in front of around 100,000 visitors.
In 2009 a comeback of the original artists was announced together with Phil Wilde, one of their two original producers. Accordingly, a new single and later a new album should appear in January 2010. Since Jean-Paul De Coster still held the rights to the name 2 Unlimited, both now appeared under the name Ray & Anita . A single produced without Phil Wilde with the title "In Da Name of Love" reached the top 5 in the Netherlands; the announced album was not released.
On July 11, 2012, Ray & Anita announced that they would be working with producer De Coster again under the name "2 Unlimited". On March 30th 2013 they gave their first concert as 2 Unlimited in Antwerp . In October 2013 a new edition of Get Ready was released , which was remixed by Steve Aoki . In May 2014, the greatest hits album Unlimited Hits & Remixes was released .
On April 20, 2016, Anita Doth announced that she was leaving the band at the end of the year in order to pursue her solo career. She was replaced by singer Kim Vergouwen, who was introduced by Ray Slijngaard on his Facebook page in August 2016.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
 NL
|
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| 1992 | Get ready! | - | - | - |
UK37 (3 weeks) UK |
US197  (1 week)US |
NL12 (29 weeks) NL |
First published: February 18, 1992
Sales: + 535,000 |
| 1993 | No limits |
DE4 (51 weeks) DE |
AT3 (16 weeks)AT |
CH3  (23 weeks)CH |
UK1 (25 weeks) UK |
- |
NL1 (83 weeks)NL |
First published: May 10, 1993
Sales: + 619,400 |
| 1994 | Real things |
DE3 (18 weeks) DE |
AT4 (15 weeks) AT |
CH3 (15 weeks)CH |
UK1 (10 weeks)UK |
- |
NL1 (64 weeks)NL |
First published: June 6, 1994
Sales: +461,700 |
| 1998 | II | - | - | - | - | - |
NL55 (4 weeks) NL |
First published: May 25, 1998
|
Web links
- Official 2 Unlimited website
- 2 Unlimited at Discogs (English)
- Official Anita Doth website
- Official Diva's of Dance website
- 2 unlimited - The Dutch Phenomenon
- Chew -Fu helps Ray & Anita
swell
- ↑ 2 Unlimited. janvis.com, 2016, accessed August 12, 2020 .