Undercover | |
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Origin | London, United Kingdom |
Genres | Electronic, dance |
Years active | 1991–present |
Labels | PWL International |
Past members | John Matthews Jon Jules Steve Mac Tim Laws |
Undercover are a dance music group from the United Kingdom, who had two Top 5 hits in 1992. The vocals on all the group's songs were sung by John Matthews, The band were formed in 1991, and are still active today.
The first single they released was a cover version of Gerry Rafferty's 1978 United Kingdom/United States hit "Baker Street". It became their biggest hit, when it reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1992, held off from the top only by another dance track, "Rhythm Is a Dancer" by Snap!. It was the eleventh biggest selling single of 1992 in the United Kingdom, and also attained major chart success across Europe, selling over a quarter of a million units alone in Germany.
Undercover released five more chart singles. The second single was a cover of Andrew Gold's "Never Let Her Slip Away", coincidentally also originally from 1978. It reached #5, and stayed in the charts in the United Kingdom for a total of eleven weeks. After the success of these two singles, an album, Check Out the Groove, was released, reaching #26 in the UK Albums Chart. "I Wanna Stay With You" (a cover of the Gallagher and Lyle song) and "Lovesick", both from 1993, managed #28 and #62, respectively.
In 1994, Undercover released a new single, "Best Friend", and their second album, Ain't No Stopping Us. The musical style of Undercover´s interpretations is best described as cheerful and upbeat, incorporating into the song electronic drums and short piano or organ harmonies, along with repetitive and layered vocal phrases, typical for club songs of the 1990s.