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2 Unlimited

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

2 Unlimited was a Eurodance act with Dutch faces and Belgian creators. The producers Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde started the project in Antwerp in 1991 and released the records on the Belgian label Byte Records. For the vocals, the stage and the videos they chose two Dutch performers: rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth. The public saw Ray and Anita, but the music was made in the studio of Wilde and De Coster.

Music and breakthrough

The first single, Get Ready for This (1991), reached number two in England and Australia. In 1993 came No Limit, which went to number 1 in ten countries, including the Netherlands and England. The formula was simple and effective: a hard beat, a short synthesizer riff, rap in the verses and a chorus that consists almost entirely of the title. The albums Get Ready! (1992), No Limits! (1993) and Real Things (1994) followed. In England the records came out through PWL Continental, a label from the circle around Stock Aitken Waterman.

Influence

In April 1996 Ray and Anita left, after disagreements over the musical direction and over money. A new line-up with Romy van Ooijen and Marjon van Iwaarden made the album II in 1998, but gave up in 1999. Since 2009 Slijngaard and Doth have performed together again. According to AllMusic, 2 Unlimited sold eighteen million records worldwide. The project shows how Eurodance worked: producers built the songs and only then looked for faces to go with them, just like the hit factories of London.

Listening

Listening tip. In No Limit, listen for the short synthesizer riff that keeps coming back, and for the break halfway through, where everything drops away except the beat. Then compare the British version: there, Ray's rap is largely cut out, and the track still works.

No Limit · 2 Unlimited, 1993
Apple Music ↗

Discography

Studio albums

1992Get Ready
1993No Limits!
1994Real Things
1998II

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Mixtape 13: From Cassette to Cloud^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

Eurodance Genre2 Unlimited had Dutch faces and Belgian producers; No Limit was number 1 in a large part of Europe in 1993.
No Limit SongIn the spring of 1993, No Limit by 2 Unlimited was at number one in more than 35 countries.

Sources

Categories: Artists Eurodance

Formed	1991
Origin	Antwerp
Genre	Eurodance
Studio albums	4 (1992–1998)
Notable works	No Limit, Get Ready, No Limits!, Real Things
In School of Rock	Mixtape 13^NL