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Twenty 4 SevenIs it loveSlave To The MusicTake Me Away
One of the earliest popular Eurodance projects, the project originated as a hip
hop group, and transitioned to the mainstream Eurodance sound in
the early 90s with Slave to the Music, the band's most successful
single to date. The group originally featured rapper Tony Dawson-Harrison,
who created the Captain Hollywood Project in 1992. Twenty 4 Seven was founded in 1989, when Dutch producer Ruud van Rijen hired rappers Tony Dawson-Harrison, Hanks & Jacks, and MC Fixxit to front a new dance project. To set Twenty 4 Seven apart from other similar groups, van Rijen decided to hire female singer Nancy Coolen. The combination of traditional rapping with female choruses proved to be a success, with their first single, "I Can't Stand It!" reaching #7 in the UK Singles Chart in 1990.[1] The next single, "Are You Dreaming", did similarly well, reaching #17 in the United Kingdom.[1] In mid-1990, Street Moves, the project's debut album, was released. By 1990, rappers MC Fixx it and Hanks & Janks
had stopped contributing to the group altogether, and by 1991,
Dawson-Harrison left the group after a dispute with van Rijen to
front Captain Hollywood Project, his already successful solo project.
After Dawson-Harrison's departure, Twenty 4 Seven remained dormant
for several years. In 1993, Twenty 4 Seven returned with "Slave to the Music", which charted impressively throughout Europe. The band quickly followed with "Is It Love", "Leave Them Alone", and "Take Me Away", the latter charting at #5 in Israel. In late 1993, Is It Love, a full length studio album, was released worldwide, and was accompanied by a worldwide tour with stops in Europe, Australia, and Africa. After the success of Is It Love, the band quickly
capitalized on their success by readying material for another new
album. In 1994, "Oh Baby!" and "Keep on Tryin'" were released. Although the singles did not chart in the United Kingdom, where
they had experienced large success before, the band continued its
success throughout the rest of Europe. After both singles were
released, the band released I Wanna Show You, their third studio
album, in mid-1994. After several live performances across Europe,
the band once again went silent, releasing no new material for
the next two years. In 1996, the band returned featuring a new female vocalist, Stella, to replace veteran member Nancy Coolen, who had walked out on the group in favor of a solo career.[2] The first single featuring Stella's vocals, "We Are The World", managed to break charts in the Czech Republic and Netherlands, but was unable to continue the band's large success. In 1997, "If You Want My Love" and "Friday Night" were released, with both songs charting poorly in countries where they had once experienced success. Although the Netherlands remained a constant area of success for the band, interest throughout the rest of Europe had waned considerably. Following a few live performances and the release of the band's fourth studio album, 24 Hours 7 Days A Week, Stella left the group, leaving Paton the lone collaborator with van Rijen. In 1999, the band released "Ne
Ne", a brand new single, which failed to enter even the Dutch charts. After three
years on the decline, van Rijen finally decided to put the group
to rest in late 1999. After nearly a decade of silence, Twenty 4 Seven
was revived in 2007 by van Rijen, who had collaborated with vocalist
Elle to create a jumpstyle cover of the Berlin song "Like Flames". The song entered the Dutch charts in November at #45, and peaked at #20 in
late 2007. Although the group announced they would soon be performing
live again,[3] nothing materialized. Following the single's success,
Elle left the group. In 2010, van Rijen announced that Stacey Paton
had returned to the group, along with two new vocalists, Li Ann
and Miss Cherry. In July 2010, van Rijen announced a brand new
version of "Slave to the Music", titled "Slave to the Music 2010", would be released in late 2010. Following the recording of the single, Miss
Cherry ended her involvement with the group, which was promptly
re-recorded with only Li Ann and Stacey's voices. Although a teaser
video was released in December 2010 with a "coming soon" teaser banner, no information about the exact release of the single has been
released.
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