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Maxx (group)

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Maxx
OriginBerlin, Germany
GenresEurodance
Years active1993–1995; 2014–present
Labels
  • Intercord
  • Blow Up
  • Remixed Records
  • Pulse-8 Records
MembersLinda Meek ("Elyse")
George Torpey
The Hitman
Past membersGary Bokoe
Alice Montana
Samira Besic
Dakota O'niel
Dawhite
WebsiteOfficial Maxx website

Maxx is a German Eurodance project that was internationally successful in the mid-90s with the hit singles "Get-A-Way", "No More (I Can't Stand It)"[1] and "You Can Get It".[2] The name 'Maxx' is a special acronym for Maximum Xstasy.[3]

History

Group origins (1993)

Maxx producer Juergen Wind (George Torpey) in studio. (1993)

The Maxx project was the result of the successful but short-lived collaboration between music producer Juergen Wind (J. Wind) and music executive David Brunner. After teaming together to release "Another Night" by M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy under Hansa Records/BMG Berlin, Wind and Brunner began collaborating with songwriter Bruce Hammond Earlam (from Bruce & Bongo) to develop the debut Maxx single "Get-A-Way" under Blow Up/Intercord. Earlam wrote the raggamuffin rap lyrics for the new single while simultaneously teaching Maxx rapper Boris Köhler how to rap in the raggamuffin style. Due to his contractual issues with EMI, he had to write for the project without being publicly credited. For promotional purposes, Köhler received Earlam's songwriting credits. Wind produced the music and wrote the chorus lyrics with his co-producer Frank Hassas. Brunner handled the marketing and promotion of the music and was credited as the Executive Producer. Each team member shared song credits equally. They also used aliases to keep themselves anonymous and to avoid problems with Hansa Records/BMG Berlin. Wind was George Torpey, Brunner was The Hitman, Hassas was Dakota O'niel, Köhler was Gary Bokoe and Real McCoy rapper Olaf Jeglitza was Dawhite. Jeglitza had been falsely tied to the project due to his heavy involvement as a shareholder and as a team member in Wind's production company Freshline Records. In reality, he had no involvement in the production or songwriting of Maxx. The production team name "The Movement" was used in the song credits.[4]

Success with "Get-A-Way" and "No More" (1994)

Linda Meek and Boris Köhler (Gary Bokoe) (1994)

The debut Maxx single "Get-A-Way" featured vocals from Köhler and session singer Samira Besic. Due to unknown circumstances, Besic departed the project before filming could begin on the music video for the single. A dancer and model named Eliz Yavuz (Alice Montana) was quickly hired to take Besic's place and mime her vocals for the video. In the early stages of the promotion for the single, Yavuz and Köhler were featured together in the early press materials for Maxx. Yavuz was also briefly advertised as the voice behind the single.[4]When released on October 27, 1993 in Germany, "Get-A-Way" became an overnight success in the country reaching No. 11 on the charts and remaining there for over 26 weeks. It later earned Gold status in Germany for selling over 250,000 units.[5] The single was also a major success in neighboring countries like Austria where it reached No. 3 and in Switz

File:Gold Award for 'Get-A-Way' by Maxx.jpg
Gold Award to Maxx producer Juergen Wind for his production on "Get-A-Way"

erland where it reached No. 8. In the United Kingdom,[6] "Get-A-Way" had reached No. 4 on the charts and had later earned Silver status in the country for selling over 200,000 units. The single was also Ireland reaching at No. 8. Thanks to the promotional efforts of Remixed Records, the single was an even bigger success in Scandinavia. In Sweden, it charted at No. 3, in Denmark at No. 4, Finland at No. 5, and Norway at No. 8.[7][8] "Get-A-Way" was also a success in Belgium, The Netherlands and France. The single also managed to peak at No.11 on the Eurochart Hot 100.[9]

After an intense search in Germany for a replacement singer for Besic, British singer Linda Meek was discovered early in 1994. After joining the project as the new lead singer, she immediately began performing live shows with Köhler in Europe as Maxx. She then recorded vocals for the follow-up single "No More (I Can't Stand It)" with Köhler in Germany. The new single was officially released on March 1, 1994 and was a big success like its predecessor reaching No. 10 in Germany and the Top 5 in over 18 countries. The success of both singles lead to recurring appearances on Top of the Pops in the United Kingdom and performances on other major music chart shows like Dance Machine in France, Superclassifica Show in Italy and other televised MTV specials in Europe. By mid-1994, "Get-A-Way" had sold over 1.1 million units across Europe.[3] While Meek didn't originally sing vocals on "Get-A-Way" or appear in the music video for that single, she became associated with the single by the media due to her continuously performing the song live in concert with Köhler. Meek was also featured in various German language pop culture/teen magazines alongside Köhler. In the magazine BRAVO, she was referred to as "Die Stimme von Maxx: Garys neue Partnerin ist Die Engländerin Linda Meek" ("The Voice of Maxx: Gary's New Partner Is the British Linda Meek").

Maxx performing live at the MTV Stockholm Water Festival, Summer (1994)

At the height of Maxx's success in mid-1994, Wind and Brunner were also starting to have rapid success with M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy. The new singles "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" and "Run Away" had been released in Europe. "Another Night" peaked at No.1 on the Canadian dance/urban chart.[10] "Get-A-Way" had peaked at No. 3[11] on the same chart and "No More (I Can't Stand It)" at No. 4.[12] At this phase, Brunner had taken over the music publishing duties for both projects through his publishing company Maxximum Songs.

Following the success of the two Maxx hits, Wind, Hassas and Earlam immediately began work on the debut Maxx album To the Maxximum. A total of thirteen new music tracks were produced for the new album. Wind and Hassas were also simultaneously producing the album Space Invaders, the sophomore album of M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy. To the Maxximum was officially released in June 16, 1994 and had reached No. 22 on the German charts. The album was also a major success in Scandinavia, reaching No. 10 in Sweden and No. 6 in Finland. While the album was a commercial success in Europe, it still failed to match the huge commercial sales of the first two singles. The album had also failed in key territories like the United Kingdom where it peaked at No. 66.

The Maxx album track "You Can Get It" was then picked to be the third single and was released in September 1994. The single reached No. 21 in the UK and No. 13 in Finland. While still commercially successful, the single did not reach the same level of success as "Get-A-Way" and "No More (I Can't Stand it)." On October 31, 1994, a new Maxx song titled "Power of Love" was released exclusively on a Bravo Hits compilation music CD called Bravo Dance X-Mas.

Success, decline, and hiatus (1995)

Linda Meek, Boris Köhler (Gary Bokoe) and David Brunner (The Hitman) on the set of "Move Your Body" music video (1995)

By mid-1995, the Maxx project began to struggle to create new hits in the European market. The Maxx album track "I Can Make You Feel Like" had been selected to be the fourth single release in May 1995. The single only managed to chart in the United Kingdom peaking at No. 56.

While Wind and Brunner were beginning to struggle with Maxx commercially, they were having unparalleled success with M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy (marketed as Real McCoy) in the U.S. market. Thanks to the promotional efforts of Arista Records, Real McCoy had achieved multi-platinum and Gold status in the United States with its singles and album,[13] Silver status in the United Kingdom with its lead single,[14] and new success in the European and Australian markets.

The fifth and final Maxx single, "Move Your Body" was released in October 1995. The single heavily sampled the hit song "I Like to Move It" by Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman. The single only charted in Austria at No. 18 and in Finland at No.16. A music video for "Move Your Body" was filmed starring Meek and Köhler. The duo also performed the single live on ZDF Television in Germany for the music programme Power Vision. The ZDF television performance by Meek and Köhler was the last time the duo performed together as Maxx. Due to declining record sales, creative differences and other major conflicts within the production team, the Maxx project officially dissolved late in 1995.

Comeback (2014–present)

After almost two decades, Köhler resurfaced on March 15, 2014 and did a live performance at Club Onniteekki in Seinäjoki, Finland with a different singer.[15] Two years later, he appeared again as Maxx at a '90s festival at the Velodrom in Berlin, Germany.[16]

Late in December 2016, an official Maxx website surfaced online announcing the reunion between Meek (now known by the singer name "Elyse") and the Maxx founders Brunner and Wind. The website revealed their new plans for an official relaunch of Maxx without Köhler's involvement and a new European tour in 2017 with only Meek involved.[17] On August 8, 2017, Köhler did his final live performance in Katowice, Poland under the name 'Gary B. from Maxx' with an unknown singer.[18]

On August 25, 2017, Meek made her comeback performance as Maxx at the We Love the 90's Estonia festival in Tallinn.[19] Today, she continues to tour across Europe as Maxx while periodically using different rappers in her live shows to perform the raggamuffin style rap verses on stage.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
GER
[20] 		AUT
[21] 		FIN
[22] [23] 		NETH
[24] 		SWE
[25] 		SWI
[26] 		UK
[6]
To the Maxximum
  • Released: June 22, 1994
  • Label: Blow Up
  • Formats: CD, cassette, vinyl
 22 32 6 25 10 29 66

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
GER
[20] 		AUT
[21] 		FIN
[22][23] 		FRA
[27] 		IRE
[28] 		NETH
[29] 		NOR
[30] 		SWE
[25] 		SWI
[26] 		UK
[6]
"Get-A-Way" 1993 11 3 5 15 8 3 8 3 8 4 To the Maxximum
"No More (I Can't Stand It)" 1994 10 9 2 16 11 6 8 4 12 8
"You Can Get It" — 25 13 28 — 32 — 37 — 21
"I Can Make You Feel Like" 1995 — — — — — — — — — 56
"Move Your Body" — 18 16 — — — — — — — Non-album single

Compilation features

  • 1994: "Power of Love" - Bravo Dance X-Mas[31]

Remixes

  • 1993: "Get-A-Way (Remixes)"
  • 1993: "Get-A-Way (UK Remixes)"
  • 1994: "No More (I Can't Stand It) (Remixes)"
  • 1994: "No More (I Can't Stand It) (UK Remixes)"
  • 1994: "You Can Get It (Remixes)"
  • 2017: "Get-A-Way (Reloaded)"

References

  1. ^ "Germany: Hitmakers '94". Billboard Magazine. 1994-12-03. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  2. ^ "Hits of the U.K." Billboard Magazine. 1994-10-29. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  3. ^ a b GSA (Germany) Hitmakers '94. December 3, 1994. Retrieved June 19, 2018. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. ^ a b "Maxx Bio - International Artists Holland". Internatioanl artists. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  5. ^ a b "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Maxx)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  6. ^ a b c "Official Charts > Maxx". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  7. ^ "Billboard Magazine: Hits of the World (April 16, 1994)". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  8. ^ "Maxx: Get-A-Away". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  9. ^ "Billboard Magazine: Hits of the World (March 26, 1994)". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  10. ^ "RPM Dance Weekly, Charts, Mar 28, 1994". bac-lac.gc.ca/n. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  11. ^ "RPM Dance Weekly, Charts, Aug 01, 1994". bac-lac.gc.ca/n. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  12. ^ "RPM Dance Weekly, Charts, Oct 24, 1994". bac-lac.gc.ca/n. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  13. ^ "RIAA Gold and Platinum (The Real Mc Coy)". RIAA. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  14. ^ a b "Certified Awards Search". BPI. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  15. ^ "Club Onniteekki: Maxx (GER) la 15.03.2014 22:00". Meteli.net. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  16. ^ "Velodrom 03.12.: 6 Jahre Mega Sause". gaesteliste030.de. 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  17. ^ "Maxx History / Announcement (2016)". maxxmusic90s.com. 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  18. ^ "Katowice 90 Festival 2017 PROGRAM". dziennikzachodni.pl. 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  19. ^ "Retrostaarid Alphaville, Kate Ryan ja MAXX saadavad eestlastele tervitusi: please, tulge meid vaatama!". publik.delfi.ee. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  20. ^ a b "Offizielle Deutsche Charts: Maxx" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  21. ^ a b "austriancharts.at: Maxx". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  22. ^ a b Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 9789511210535.
  23. ^ a b "Tervetuloa Suomen listahistoriaan MAU - MEM, Y – GER". Tammi. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  24. ^ "GfK Dutch Charts: Maxx (Albums)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  25. ^ a b "swedishcharts.com: Maxx". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  26. ^ a b "swisscharts.com: Maxx (Albums)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  27. ^ "lescharts.com: Maxx (Singles)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  28. ^ "Search the Charts". IRMA. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  29. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40: Maxx". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  30. ^ ": Maxx (Singles)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  31. ^ "Bravo Dance X-Mas 1994". discogs.com. 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
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