Deuce (band)
Encyclopedia
Deuce were a British
pop
group that found success in the mid 1990s. A two male, two female quartet
, they released four Top 30 singles
in the UK charts
during 1995 and 1996, before splitting up in 1997.
the Pet Shop Boys
, 2wo Third3
, Bros
and East 17
; and Kelly O'Keefe who was doing work experience in his office. He admired her distinctive vocals
, style and kitsch sensibility, and they decided to put together a boy/girl band with O'Keefe as lead vocalist
. O'Keefe was a student of The BRIT School
, studying music
, and recruited her school friend Lisa Armstrong
, a dancer. Watkins then discovered Craig Robert Young
and Paul Holmes and the group were formed.
Their debut single, "Call It Love", entered the UK Singles Chart at number 21 on 21 January 1995 and climbed to a peak of number 11. The follow-up "I Need You" was entered into the UK's
pre-selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest
but came third (the selected entry was by Love City Groove
). The single went straight to number 10 on release in April 1995. One further single, "On the Bible", reached number 13 in August, and the album
On the Loose charted at number 18 in the UK Albums Chart
. A fourth single, "Let's Call it a Day", was scheduled for release in November, but was cancelled after O'Keefe decided to leave the group, although a live performance of the song was screened as part of CITV
's 50 years of TV celebration in December 1995, with the band dressed in black evening wear.
The band also featured on the charity single "A Gift of Christmas" as part of The Childliners, which also featured Peter Andre
, MN8
, Ultimate Kaos
, East 17
, Dannii Minogue
, C.J. Lewis
, Boyzone
, and Michelle Gayle
. The single reached number 9 and profits went to the British charity
Childline
. Deuce also sang on the Coronation Street
anniversary album, performing a track called "Life On the Street", featuring actress Sherrie Hewson
.
Following O'Keefe's departure in November 1995, the band was dropped by London Records
. A single called "Rock the Disco" had been planned for release in 1996, and it was finally leaked on the internet
in January 2007. The group wanted to continue and signed to Mike Stock's Love This label
. O'Keefe was replaced by dancer Amanda Perkins and a new single called "No Surrender" was released in July 1996. It was not as successful as previous releases, charting at only number 29. The group was then launched, minus Young, in Australia
, where "On the Bible" was a moderate hit in late 1996, and was followed by a dance
remix
of "No Surrender" in June 1997, which missed the chart. TV performances saw of this track saw a blonde male replace Craig Young. Shortly after this, Deuce disbanded, although not before an Australian double CD
version of their British album On the Loose was released, including "No Surrender" and a remix disc featuring a half hour megamix.
Young went on to pursue his acting career, appearing in Much Ado About Nothing
at the Queen's Theatre
. He also appeared regularly on MTV
UK including stints as a presenter of Select, the UK Top Ten Countdown and Watch Out For GMTV. He then secured a role as Alex Wilkinson in the long-running football soap Dream Team
. Other appearances include Lost
, MTV's Spyder Games
, Charmed
, Sabrina The Teenage Witch and The District
. His latest project is another soccer drama called Just for Kicks on Nickelodeon
. Armstrong is now a make-up artist and wife of Ant McPartlin, whom she married on 22 July 2006. Holmes went on to write
songs for many international pop artists
, including Robin Gibb
.
In August 2009 Armand Deluxe sampled
Deuce's 1995 hit "Call It Love".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group that found success in the mid 1990s. A two male, two female quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
, they released four Top 30 singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in the UK charts
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
during 1995 and 1996, before splitting up in 1997.
Career
The band was formed in 1994 by Tom Watkins, who had managedManagement
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
the Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
, 2wo Third3
2wo Third3
2wo Third3 were a gay four piece 1990s electropop group, with three performing members and one non-performing songwriting member. They were called 2wo Third3 because out of the performing members, the two backing members dressed in identical clothing usually with rubber gloves and the frontman,...
, Bros
Bros
Bros were a British band active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, consisting of twin brothers Matt Goss and Luke Goss along with Craig Logan...
and East 17
East 17
East 17 are a pop boy band comprising Tony Mortimer, John Hendy and Terry Coldwell. Tony Mortimer is the group's frontman and primary songwriter. Formed in Walthamstow, London in 1991, the group have achieved eighteen Top 20 singles and four Top 10 albums, and were one of the UK's most popular boy...
; and Kelly O'Keefe who was doing work experience in his office. He admired her distinctive vocals
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
, style and kitsch sensibility, and they decided to put together a boy/girl band with O'Keefe as lead vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
. O'Keefe was a student of The BRIT School
BRIT School
The London School for Performing Arts & Technology is a British school located in Selhurst, Croydon, in London, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, media, art and design and the technologies that make performance possible...
, studying music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, and recruited her school friend Lisa Armstrong
Lisa Armstrong
Lisa Marie Armstrong is a former member of pop band Deuce and now make-up expert for ITV1's programme This Morning.-Personal life:...
, a dancer. Watkins then discovered Craig Robert Young
Craig Robert Young
Craig Robert Young is a British actor who began his acting career at age ten, starring in the stage production of The Price of Coal. By the time he was 17, he moved to London to attend the Central School of Speech and Drama, whereupon he was chosen to become a member of the pop band Deuce, scoring...
and Paul Holmes and the group were formed.
Their debut single, "Call It Love", entered the UK Singles Chart at number 21 on 21 January 1995 and climbed to a peak of number 11. The follow-up "I Need You" was entered into the UK's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pre-selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
but came third (the selected entry was by Love City Groove
Love City Groove
Love City Groove represented the United Kingdom in the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest, with a self-titled song after being the runaway winner in a public vote. The pop/rap song finished tenth with 76 points; and peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart. Love City Groove were formed by a collective...
). The single went straight to number 10 on release in April 1995. One further single, "On the Bible", reached number 13 in August, and the album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
On the Loose charted at number 18 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. A fourth single, "Let's Call it a Day", was scheduled for release in November, but was cancelled after O'Keefe decided to leave the group, although a live performance of the song was screened as part of CITV
CITV
CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
's 50 years of TV celebration in December 1995, with the band dressed in black evening wear.
The band also featured on the charity single "A Gift of Christmas" as part of The Childliners, which also featured Peter Andre
Peter André
Peter James Andrea , better known by the stage name as Peter Andre, is an English-born Australian musician, singer-songwriter, television personality and businessman. As a recording artist, he has achieving four top 10 UK albums and ten top 10 singles.-Early life:Andre was born at Northwick Park...
, MN8
MN8
MN8 were an R&B group from the United Kingdom. They consisted of KG , G-Man , Kule T and Dee Tails .-Career:...
, Ultimate Kaos
Ultimate Kaos
Ultimate KAOS was a British boyband from the 1990s, who were formed by Simon Cowell. Its original members comprised the then 9 years old Haydon Eshun, Jomo Baxter, Jayde Delpratt, Ryan Elliott and Nick Grant.-Career:...
, East 17
East 17
East 17 are a pop boy band comprising Tony Mortimer, John Hendy and Terry Coldwell. Tony Mortimer is the group's frontman and primary songwriter. Formed in Walthamstow, London in 1991, the group have achieved eighteen Top 20 singles and four Top 10 albums, and were one of the UK's most popular boy...
, Dannii Minogue
Dannii Minogue
Danielle Jane "Dannii" Minogue is an Australian singer-songwriter, actress, television personality, radio personality, fashion designer and model...
, C.J. Lewis
C.J. Lewis
C.J. Lewis is a British reggae singer. His biggest hit single was the 1994 cover version of "Sweets for My Sweet". The track was produced by Phillip Pottinger , as was his debut album, Dollars...
, Boyzone
Boyzone
Boyzone are an Irish boy band comprising Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating,Shane Lynch, and formerly Stephen Gately. Boyzone have 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Ire charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12...
, and Michelle Gayle
Michelle Gayle
Michelle Patricia Gayle is a British recording artist, actress and author. Gayle had success as a Soul and R&B singer in the 1990s. She achieved seven Top 40 singles in the UK Singles Chart, her two biggest hits to date being "Sweetness" and "Do You Know"...
. The single reached number 9 and profits went to the British charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
Childline
ChildLine
ChildLine is a free 24 hour counselling service for children and young people up to 18 in the UK provided by the NSPCC. ChildLine deals with any issue which causes distress or concern, common issues dealt with include child abuse, bullying, parental separation or divorce, pregnancy and substance...
. Deuce also sang on the Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
anniversary album, performing a track called "Life On the Street", featuring actress Sherrie Hewson
Sherrie Hewson
Sherrie Lynn Hutchinson is an English actor, broadcaster and novelist.-Early life:Born in Nottinghamshire, Hewson was brought up in a showbusiness family; her father was a singer and her mother a model. She began performing at the age of six, touring the UK's theatres in revues with her own...
.
Following O'Keefe's departure in November 1995, the band was dropped by London Records
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....
. A single called "Rock the Disco" had been planned for release in 1996, and it was finally leaked on the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
in January 2007. The group wanted to continue and signed to Mike Stock's Love This label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. O'Keefe was replaced by dancer Amanda Perkins and a new single called "No Surrender" was released in July 1996. It was not as successful as previous releases, charting at only number 29. The group was then launched, minus Young, in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where "On the Bible" was a moderate hit in late 1996, and was followed by a dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of "No Surrender" in June 1997, which missed the chart. TV performances saw of this track saw a blonde male replace Craig Young. Shortly after this, Deuce disbanded, although not before an Australian double CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
version of their British album On the Loose was released, including "No Surrender" and a remix disc featuring a half hour megamix.
Young went on to pursue his acting career, appearing in Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
at the Queen's Theatre
Queen's Theatre
The Queen's Theatre is a West End theatre located in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. It opened on 8 October 1907 as a twin to the neighbouring Gielgud Theatre which opened ten months earlier. Both theatres were designed by W.G.R...
. He also appeared regularly on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
UK including stints as a presenter of Select, the UK Top Ten Countdown and Watch Out For GMTV. He then secured a role as Alex Wilkinson in the long-running football soap Dream Team
Dream Team (TV series)
Dream Team is a British television series produced by Hewland International which aired on Sky1 and Sky3 from 1997 to 2007; it chronicled the on-field and off-field affairs of the fictional Harchester United Football Club....
. Other appearances include Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, MTV's Spyder Games
Spyder Games
Spyder Games is a television series that was broadcast on MTV from June 18, 2001 through September 20, 2001. MTV's second foray into the soap opera format following the run of the anthology series Undressed, the series was originally called Spyder Web in development.Originally intended for a 3 pm...
, Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
, Sabrina The Teenage Witch and The District
The District
The District is a television police drama which aired on CBS from October 7, 2000 to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s Police Department .-Premise:...
. His latest project is another soccer drama called Just for Kicks on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
. Armstrong is now a make-up artist and wife of Ant McPartlin, whom she married on 22 July 2006. Holmes went on to write
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
songs for many international pop artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, including Robin Gibb
Robin Gibb
Robin Hugh Gibb, CBE is a British singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the Bee Gees, co-founded with his twin brother Maurice , and elder brother Barry....
.
In August 2009 Armand Deluxe sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
Deuce's 1995 hit "Call It Love".
Singles
- "Call It Love" UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#11 (January 1995) - "I Need You" UK #10 (April 1995)
- "On The Bible" UK #13 (August 1995), AUS #27
- "No Surrender" UK #29 (June 1996)