Strike (band)

Strike
Origin London, England
Genres Eurodance, disco house
Years active 1994–2006
Labels Fresh Records
Members Matt Cantor
Andy Gardner
Victoria Newton

Strike were a British electronic dance music band formed in 1994 consisting of Matt Cantor (later of Freestylers), Andy Gardner (later of Plump DJs) and the vocalist Victoria Newton.[1]

Career

Strike formed towards the end of 1994. A chance vocal session for Victoria Newton at the studios of Fresh Records in Ladbroke Grove, landed her the role as the lead singer.[2]

Strike's first non-charting single was "Formula One". They did not break through until "U Sure Do" was released in December 1994, originally charting at number 31 in the UK Singles Chart, only to re-enter the chart and climb to number 4 in April 1995.[3] due to the track becoming a major club hit.[4] They then began to tour extensively, appearing on television programs such as Top of the Pops and MTV and playing to audiences as large as 70,000. "U Sure Do" achieved chart success in many territories and this took the band to Spain, Italy, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany and Japan.[1][2]

Strike went on to produce another four UK Top 40 hits and an album I Saw the Future released in 1997 on Fresh Records.[5] They toured with and supported many international artists including the Backstreet Boys, Jocelyn Brown and the Spice Girls.[2]

A Sol Bros remix, in 1998, of Strike's track "I Saw The Future" appeared on a compilation album; a clip of which appeared online too.

Victoria Newton

Newton was offered a solo recording contract with Strike's label, Fresh. In September 1999, she made her debut release with "Martha's Harbour", a cover of the All About Eve hit, including mixes by Mike Koglin and Blu. Although it failed to reach the UK Singles Chart, it was a #8 UK club hit and a favourite of DJ, Paul Van Dyk.

A solo album was recorded and planned for release for late 1999, entitled Live for Today but was cancelled. In the 2000s, Newton turned her attention to jazz and Latin music, and in 2003 released a solo album of jazz and Brazilian music entitled The Song is You.

In 2006, remixes of "U Sure Do" were released.[4]

Discography

Strike discography

Cover of debut album I Saw the Future
Studio albums 1
EPs 1
Singles 8

Studio albums

Title Album details
I Saw the Future

EPs

Title EP details Tracks
The Biteback EP
  • Released: 1996
  • Label: Fresh Sounds Records
  • "The Genie (Come with Me)"
  • "Ambient Drop"
  • "Forget It?"
  • "Formula Uno"

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[6]
AUS
[7]
GER
[8]
IRE
[9]
NED
[10]
SCO
[11]
SWI
[12]
UK
Dance

[13]
1994 "Formula One" 89 Non-album single
"U Sure Do" 4 9 20 20 15 58 1 I Saw the Future
1995 "The Morning After (Free At Last)" 38 53
1996 "Inspiration" 27 46 31 2
"My Love Is for Real" 35 45 3
1997 "I Have Peace" 17 55 26 34 11
1999 "U Sure Do '99" 53 71 40 Non-album single
2006 "U Sure Do 2006"
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Sources

References

  1. 1 2 Strike Biography on Eurodance
  2. 1 2 3 Biography of Victoria Newton
  3. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 536. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. 1 2 Strike - U Sure Do 2006
  5. Strike - I Saw The Future
  6. "UK Singles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  7. "Australian Singles". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  8. "German Singles". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  9. "Irish Singles". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  10. "Netherlands Singles". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  11. "Scottish Singles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  12. "Swiss Singles". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  13. "UK Dance Singles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  14. "BPI Certification". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.