Culture Beat

Culture Beat is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau. The group achieved the most success while fronted by singer Tania Evans and rapper Jay Supreme. Their 1993 single "Mr. Vain" was a number-one hit in 11 European countries.

Fenslau's first single,"Der Erdbeermund", peaked at number 11 on the German singles chart. Versions in English and French were also released. An instrumental version was also a club hit in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 55.

Shortly afterwards, Torsten recruited New Jersey-born rapper Jay Supreme and singer Lana Earl to front the act, Culture Beat. While the second single "I Like You" reached number 22 in the Netherlands, their fourth single "No Deeper Meaning" managed to reach as high as number 5 in the Netherlands and number 3 on the Canadian RPM Dance Chart. They released their first album, Horizon, in 1991 which went with only minor success.

Lana was replaced by British singer Tania Evans in 1993, and the act took a harder Eurodance sound. "Mr. Vain" became their biggest hit to date, reaching number-one in 13 countries. It was also their first mainstream hit in the United States, peaking at No.17 on the Hot 100. The single was certified three times Gold in Germany for selling over 750,000 units, it also managed to reach a Gold status in several other countries including US.

Subsequent singles "Got to Get It" and "Anything" were also pan-European hits, and their second album Serenity was awarded at the ECHO award for being the Best-selling German Act Abroad, with more than two million copies sold. This also got Torsten Fenslau nominated and winning. in the same year. at the Echo for being the Best Producer of the Yearr.

In November 1993, Torsten Fenslau was killed in a car accident in Messel and his brother Frank took over the act as a manager.

The group returned the act in 1995 with a third album called Inside Out, preceded by a single of the same title "Inside Out" which reached number 5 in Germany and number 32 in the UK.

In 1997, Frank decided to replace Tania with Kim Sanders, who had previously scored a hit with "Impossible" by Captain Hollywood Project. Jay Supreme remained with the act for a short time after Tania's departure, but during recording of the next album he decided to leave the group and the rap vocals were produced by rapper Next Up. The album Metamorphosis managed to reach No.12 at home, it was a minor chart success as it remained in the top-20 of the album chart for only four weeks, and spent overall 10 weeks appearing on the chart.

Three years later, Jacky Sangster replaced Kim as the fourth female lead singer for Culture Beat. The single called "Insanity" was released in 2001. In 2003, to commemorate ten years since the release of the group's biggest hit, a new version of "Mr. Vain" was issued in Germany and reached No.7 in the singles chart. In 2004, a Greatest Hits package was released ahead of a planned new album with Jacky as vocalist, but was canceled before "Can't Go on Like This (No No)" was released.

In May 2008, a new single, "Your Love" was finally released in Germany, a special remix by D&K only available digitally.