Boy + Girl + Girl + Boy = Europop!

For the past few days I have had a song stuck in my head!
Completely wedged in and going no where, well until the next chunk of europop comes along!
Here it is....

How ridiculously catchy is that song! I know I am a proud supporter of credible pop, music with substance... but you can't tell me Rigga Ding Dong Song doesn't make you smile and want to be in the sun! Avid europoppers will recognise the song as a Passion Fruit cover! Cherona are a new German Pop group formed through a TV show on German channel Super RTL!

This got me thinking about the many europop foursomes that Germany have had in this formate! Here are my favourites*... prepare for serious cheese! If any of the Spotify links don't work internationally let me know please.

First up we have ATC (A Touch of Class)
Formed in 2000 after meeting while performing in the musical Cats, the members hail from New Zealand, Italy, Australia and England. An eclectic mix of nationalities, the majority having English speaking as their 1st language. Yet their music sounded typically europop a if English was their 2nd language. Their main hit was their debut single, a cover of the Russian song Pesenka...

I't catchy, It's mega European! Simple yet with a touch of class! The video is nonsense perfection, and shows that the kids in Germany were singing in cars long before Girls Aloud!
Other tracks on ATC to check out are: The very Steps-esc Thinking of You and the Alcazar style New York City

Next up we have Se-Side.
This two hit wonder band appeared to be in the ATC mindset with their debut single...

Though the Scalextric is now a Playstation Portable, the concept is the same and the real cars do appear at the end! The blonde guy reminds me of a cheap version of Danny Saucedo, even my favourite line of the song "A dedication, Of my affection" sounds Danny style! Their only other single was Kamboleo, which was created to promote a new roller-coaster at Phantasialand. This video shows some spectacular survival advice that Bear Grylls could only dream of! What do you do if swallowed by a giant snake??? Have a Dance Break! Genius!

3rd act is Banaroo!
They are not my favourites, but have some good points!
Formed in 2005 by the same Super RTL that has just created previously mentioned Cherona! They were formed as the German answer to the band Ch!pz, which I will speak about later.

Aimed at kids their videos and songs were just as playful, but not the best pop around. Their Christmas album Christmas World is worth a listen as it is surprisingly good and is the sheer essence of the festive period!

The 4th foursome is Ch!pz!
Yes they are Dutch and were bigger in the Netherlands than Germany, but they still had German hits and are not good enough in my opinion to have their own post! Watch out for the my favourite section around the 3minute mark.

Their style is typical europop, but with a budget all previously mentioned could only dream of! They could be seen as the Dutch S Club 7, if S Club's TV show was about superheroes not just a band going around the USA and Spain for no apparent reason seeing as they didn't really release music over there!
Ch!pz have a great style and expensive video set up, but I still feel a little empty after listening to the majority of their music!

Final act is Buttons.
One flop wonders in Germany which I discovered when in Spain watching Viva in 2005.
Their song is along the similar lines of Rigga Ding Dong Song with its Spanish vibe and Latin europop beats. This is on Las Ketchup style dance crazy that never caught on!


Hope you enjoyed this trip! If you know of any that I've missed out make sure you add a comment and ill look into it!

*yes A*teens, Abba, Alcazar, Bucks Fizz, Deuce and Vengaboys all fit in this band formation equation.. but they are not made in German, and of a far higher caliber to be classed in here!

M.I.A. Legend: Call It Love, If You Want.. I Call Them Deuce!

Ok guys here is the first legend I want to discuss on this blog!

Deuce were (well should I say are because they live on in many hearts?) a boy/girl band from the 90's! As you can see from the photo, their style was subtle :P!
There music is sheer pop, they took on pop in fantastic form, producing song with substance, style and class!

There single 'I Need You' shown above was the first single I ever bought, and there album was my first too! (Lets just hope I get famous so I can answer that if anyone asks!)

As you will soon be aware, I'm a Eurovision addict.. so when they tried to take part to represent UK this would have been a fantastic moment in Eurovision history, but they were bet by worst UK act ever! Wikipedia it because I cant even mention there names!!
Though there videos were classics, their performances were the bomb!

So what happened to them? Truthfully I don't really have a clue! Firstly the lady whos voice sounded like she had balls of steal, Kelly (Looking hot in neon over there) left and was replaced by a clone of her, who mimed to her voice for a bit!
Then they released the snoozefest of 'No Surrender' (Which I've posted in the only bearable version I know!). Being a kid at the time, this failed to be caught on my radar, and it was not until my sisters came home from the Smash Hits Tour and told me Kelly had clone girl instead of her that I knew the end was near!
There album is a must have, don't know where to buy it now, but its worth the hunt! Hit after hit on it, well part from some misses i.e. 'Kiss It', pop masterpieces and ballads, must have album!
I will be first in line for their reunion, that better happen soon! Or maybe I'll just wait and form a tribute band!

Thats Deuce in a nutshell! I'll probably break them down a little more in different posts.. just depends where my head wonders!