Fun Factory
Encyclopedia
History
The group was founded in 1993 with four members: Balja, Steve, Rod D., and Smooth T. They released their first CD, NonStop! The Album in 1994. Their second CD Close To You was released in 1995. Before its release, lead singer Balja was replaced with Marie-Anett MeyMarie-Anett Mey
Marie-Anett Mey is a French musician born in Paris, France .Born in Paris Marie-Annet, as she styles herself, started her career in 1994 with Darkness, a group consisting of her and rapper True . Their single In My Dreams was a huge hit...
. Balja can still be seen in the video to Groove Me, and her vocals are heard on the entire album. This album includes most of the songs from their first release, including several hits such as "Close To You", "Take Your Chance", "I Wanna B With U", and "Pain".
In 1996, Fun Factory released their second album, Fun-Tastic, which contained several hits such as "Celebration", "Do Wah Diddy", "I Love You", and a rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
remake of "I Wanna B With U" from their first and second albums. By this time they began to become more popular throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and even saw some of their songs chart in the USA and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In 1997 they released a greatest hits album. Soon after the release Smooth T and Rod D left and the original group was disbanded.
The two remaining members started a follow-up project Fun Affairs with the singer Ray Horton but the success of the new band was comparatively modest.
In 1998, a new Fun Factory formed with an all-new lineup. Their first release, Next Generation, came out in 1999 and sold over 100,000 copies. The music on this new release differed from the style of the first Fun Factory, and were mostly rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, or 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...
. Singles from this album include "Sha-la-la-la-la", "Party With Fun Factory", and "Fun Factory's Millennium Theme". In 2002 the ABC of Music the second and last album of the new lineup came up with the moderate success and the group was soon dissolved.
Their second and final album, ABC of Music was released in 2002 with moderate success. The second Fun Factory disbanded in 2005.
In 2007 a comeback was announced and new Fun Factory website was launched. In summer the group has started again with four new members. They are the rapper Douglas, the singer Jasmine, the singer Joel and the dancer Lea. In was announced on the website that a new single (Fiesta De Samba) will be released in July following a new album (Storm In My Brain) in August.
Members
Original Fun Factory:- Balja: The real lead singer in the first two albums
- Marie-Anett MeyMarie-Anett MeyMarie-Anett Mey is a French musician born in Paris, France .Born in Paris Marie-Annet, as she styles herself, started her career in 1994 with Darkness, a group consisting of her and rapper True . Their single In My Dreams was a huge hit...
: Front lady but not singer. Born in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. - Smooth T.: Real name is Toni CotturaToni CotturaToni Cottura is a eurodance and hip-hop producer and rapper from Germany. He started his career in 1988 as a hip-hop producer with David Fascher and later worked with DJ Shahin....
. Born in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. - Steve: Real name is Stephan Browarczyk. Backing vocalist.
- Rod D.: Real name is Rodney Hardison. Born in AmericaUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Fun Factory #2:
- Annett: Lead singer. Real name is Annett Möller.
- T-Roc: Rapper. Also called Tiger One or Tiger Style.
Fun Factory #3:
- Douglas: Rapper.
- Jenna: Lead singer.
Singles
- 1992 Fun Factory's Theme
- 1993 Groove Me
- 1994 Take Your ChanceTake Your Chance"Take Your Chance", is a written by Bülent Aris, Rainer Kesselbauer, Toni Cottura, and Rodney Hardison and performed by Fun Factory and released on their 1994 album Non-Stop!.-Chart performance:...
(#35 SWE, #37 SWI, #88 USA) - 1994 Pain (#25 SWE, #25 SWI)
- 1995 Close To You (#46 USA)
- 1995 I Wanna B With U (#18 AUT, #45 USA)
- 1995 Celebration (#19 FRA, #88 USA)
- 1996 Doh Wah Diddy (#11 AUT, #49 FRA)
- 1996 Don't Go Away (#31 AUT, #93 USA)
- 1996 I Love You (#40 AUT)
- 1997 Oh Yeah Yeah (I Like It)
- 1998 Party With Fun Factory
- 1999 Sha-la-la-la-la
- 2005 Ilarie
- 2008 Fiesta De Samba
- 2008 Be Good To Me
- 2009 Shut Up!
chart positions
Albums
- 1994 NonStopNonStop (Fun Factory album)NonStop! The Album is the first album by German Eurodance group Fun Factory.-Track listing:# Intro Jam 1:15# Groove Me 4:16# Take Your Chance 4:32# Love of My Life 5:03# Close to You 4:39# We are the World 4:19# Fun Factory's Groove 3:35...
- 1995 Fun-TasticFun-TasticFun-Tastic is the second album by German Eurodance group Fun Factory.-Track listing:# Dreaming# Celebration# Do Wah Diddy# Oh Yeah Yeah # I Love You# Don't Fight# I Wanna B With U# Together Forever# Don't Go Away...
- 1996 All Their BestAll Their Best (Fun Factory album)All Their Best is a compilation album and the third album overall by German Eurodance group Fun Factory and was released in 1996.-Track listing:# Celebration # Don't Go Away # Doh Wah Diddy...
- 1997 The Party - Non-Stop
- 1999 Next Generation
- 2002 ABC of Music
- 2008 Storm In My Brain (TBA)