Culture Beat is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau. The band has gone through a number of lineup changes over the years, achieving the most success whilst fronted by British singer Tania Evans and American rapper Jay Supreme. Their 1993 single "Mr. Vain" was a no. 1 hit in eleven European countries, and the group claims to have sold more than 10 million records worldwide.

History

Origins and formation

Torsten Fenslau, who initially wanted to become an architect, had been working as a DJ at the Frankfurt nightclub Dorian Gray since 1982 (and remained for 11 years), when in 1989 he decided to form Culture Beat with his friends Jens Zimmermann and Peter Zweier. Versions in English and French were also released (titled "Cherry Lips" and "Les lèvres cerises", respectively). An instrumental version was also played in clubs in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 55.

Shortly afterwards, Culture Beat recruited New Jersey-born rapper Jay Supreme and singer Lana Earl to front the act. While the second single "I Like You" reached number 22 in the Netherlands, their fourth single "No Deeper Meaning" managed to reach as high as number 4 in the Netherlands and number 3 on the Canadian RPM Dance Chart. They released their first album, Horizon, in 1991 which went with only minor success.

1993–1994: Serenity and international success

Lana was replaced by British singer Tania Evans in 1993, and the act took a harder Eurodance sound. "Mr. Vain" became their biggest hit to date, reaching number one in 13 countries including Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom. It was also their first mainstream hit in the United States, peaking at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was certified three times Gold in Germany for selling over 750,000 units, it also managed to reach a Gold status in several other countries including US. This also got Torsten Fenslau nominated in the same year at the Echo for being the Best Producer of the Year, who also walked away as a winner.

2001–present: Singles and present status

Three years later, Jacky Sangster replaced Kim as the fourth female lead singer for Culture Beat. The single called "Insanity" was released in 2001 which flopped in Germany; however, reached number 1 in Israel.

Band members

  • Torsten Fenslau – keyboards and programming (1989–1993, died 1993)
  • Lana Earl – vocals (1989–1993)
  • Juergen Katzmann – guitars, keyboards and programming (1989–1995)
  • Jay Supreme – rapper and vocalist (1989–1998)
  • Jens Zimmermann – keyboards and programming (1989–1991)
  • Peter Zweier – keyboards and programming (1989–1994)
  • Tania Evans – vocals (1993–1997)
  • Frank Fenslau – keyboards and programming (1994–)
  • Kim Sanders – vocals (1998–1999)
  • Next Up – rapper (1998) <small>(rapper on two songs on Metamorphosis : "Pray for Redemption" and "Language of Love".)</small>
  • Jacky Sangster – vocals (2001–)
  • MC 4T – rapper (2003–)

Discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

!scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"|Title

!scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"|Album details

!scope="col" colspan="9"|Peak chart positions

!scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"|Certifications

|-

!scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"|GER<br/>

!scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"|AUS<br/>

!scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"|AUT<br/>

!scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"|FIN<br/>

!scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"|NLD<br/>

!scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"|NOR<br/>

!scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"|SWE<br/>

!scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"|SWI<br/>

!scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"|UK<br/>

  • ARIA: Gold
  • GLF: Gold
  • IFPI AUT: Gold
  • IFPI FIN: Gold
  • IFPI SWI: Gold
  • SNEP: Gold

|-

!scope="row"|Inside Out

|

  • Released: 3 November 1995
  • Label: Dance Pool
  • Formats: CD, cassette, vinyl

|22 || 142 || 34 || 33 || 91 || — || — || 27 || —

|

|-

!scope="row"|Metamorphosis

|

  • Released: 19 June 1998
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: CD, cassette, vinyl

|12 || — || — || — || — || — || — || 37 || —

|

|-

|align="center" colspan="15" style="font-size:8pt"|"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

|}

Compilation albums

  • The Remix Album (1994)
  • Best of Culture Beat (2001)

Singles

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

!scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"|Title

!scope="col" rowspan="2"|Year

!scope="col" colspan="10"|Peak chart positions

!scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"|Certifications

!scope="col" rowspan="2"|Album

|-

!style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%"|GER<br/>

!style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%"|FRA<br/>

!style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%"|NLD<br/>

!style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%"|SWE<br/>

!style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%"|US<br/>

|-

!scope="row"|"Der Erdbeermund"

|1989

| 11 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || 55 || —

|

|rowspan="4"|Horizon

|-

!scope="row"|"I Like You"

|1990

| 30 || 164 || — || 40 || — || 22 || — || — || 96 || (56)

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Airplay

|

|-

!scope="row"|"Tell Me That You Wait"

|rowspan="2"|1991

| — || 180 || — || — || — || — || — || — || 109 || —

|

|-

!scope="row"|"No Deeper Meaning"

| — || 126 || — || 30 || — || 5 || — || — || — || —

|

|-

!scope="row"|"Mr. Vain"

|rowspan="3"|1993

| 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 1 || 2 || 1|| 1 || 17

|

  • BVMI: 2× Platinum
  • BPI: Gold

|rowspan="5"|Serenity

|-

!scope="row"|"Got to Get It"

| 4 || 7 || 7 || 1 || 10 || 2 || 5 || 7 || 4 || 107

|

  • BVMI: Gold