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Undercover is a British dance music group which was formed in 1991 and had three UK top-30 hits, two of them top-five, in 1992. The group's vocalist, John Matthews, continues to perform solo as Undercover across the UK, Europe and South America. The keyboard player, Steve Mac, went on to become a songwriter and music producer for other artists.[1] Bass guitarist Jon Jules worked in the UK soul music scene as a DJ, radio presenter and event organiser.
Undercover | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Electronic, dance |
| Years active | 1991–2004 |
| Labels | PWL International |
| Past members |
|
Overview
editThe group's first single, a cover version of Gerry Rafferty's 1978 UK/US chart success "Baker Street", was their biggest hit, reaching No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1992,[2] held off from the top by another dance track, "Rhythm Is a Dancer" by Snap!. It was the 11th-biggest-selling single of 1992 in the United Kingdom and had chart success across Europe, selling over a quarter of a million units in Germany alone.
Undercover released five more chart singles. The group's second single, a cover of Andrew Gold's "Never Let Her Slip Away", also originally a 1978 track, reached No. 5 and stayed in the charts in the United Kingdom for 11 weeks.[2] After the success of these two singles, an album, Check Out the Groove, was released, reaching No. 26 in the UK Albums Chart.[2] "I Wanna Stay with You" (a cover of the Gallagher and Lyle song) and "Lovesick", both from 1993, managed No. 28 and No. 62 respectively.
In 1994, Undercover released a new single, "Best Friend", and their second album, Ain't No Stopping Us.[2]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [3] |
AUT [4] |
EUR [5] |
GER [6] |
NED [7] | ||||||||||
| Check Out the Groove |
|
26 | 29 | 73 | 56 | 34 | ||||||||
| Ain't No Stopping Us |
|
— | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [3] |
AUT [4] |
BEL [8] |
DEN [9] |
EUR [10] |
GER [11] |
IRE [12] |
NED [7] |
SWE [13] |
SWI [14] | |||||
| 1992 | "Baker Street" | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 2 | Check Out the Groove | ||
| "Never Let Her Slip Away" | 5 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 23 | — | ||||
| 1993 | "I Wanna Stay with You" | 28 | — | 14 | — | 66 | — | 8 | 43 | — | — | |||
| "The Way It Is" | — | — | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Lovesick" (featuring John Matthews) | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Ain't No Stoppin' Us | |||
| 1994 | "Best Friend" | 79 | — | — | — | — | 67 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1995 | "Every Breath You Take" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| 1996 | "Bring Back Your Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2000 | "If You Leave Me Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2004 | "Viva England!" | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Members
edit- John Matthews – vocals
- Jon Jules – bass guitar
- Steve Mac – keyboards
References
edit- ^ "Steve Mac: 'There are no rules to pop music now. It just has to be of great quality.'". Music Business Worldwide. 20 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 575. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b UK chart peaks:
- "UK chart peaks". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
- Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 9781904994107.
- "Chart Log UK 1994–2010". zobbel - Dipl.-Bibl.(FH) Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Austrian chart peaks". Austrian Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ European albums chart peaks:
- "Check Out the Groove" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ German albums chart peaks:
- "Check Out the Groove". Offizielle Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Dutch chart peaks". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Belgian (Flanders) chart peaks". Ultratop. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ Danish singles chart peaks:
- "Baker Street" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- "Never Let Her Slip Away" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ European singles chart peaks:
- "Baker Street" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- "Never Let Her Slip Away" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- "I Wanna Stay with You" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ German singles chart peaks:
- "Baker Street". Offizielle Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- "Never Let Her Slip Away". Offizielle Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- "Best Friend". Offizielle Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ Note: User needs to click on the "Search Charts" tab. Then enter Undercover into the "Search Artists" field and press "Search". "Irish chart peaks". Irish Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Swedish chart peaks". Swedish Charts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Swiss chart peaks". Hit Parade. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ Note: User needs to enter "Undercover" in the "Interpret" field and press Enter "German Certification (Baker Street)". Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 18 October 2020.