Maxx (eurodance act)

Maxx
Origin Berlin, Germany
Genres Eurodance
Years active 1993-1995; 2014-present
Labels
  • Intercord
  • Blow Up
  • Remixed Records
  • Pulse-8 Records
Associated acts Real McCoy
Website Official Maxx Website
Members Linda Meek ("Elyse")
George Torpey
The Hitman
Past members Gary Bokoe
Alice Montana
Samira Besic
Dakota O'niel
Dawhite

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]

Group Origins (1993)

The Maxx project was result of the successful but short-lived collaboration between music executive David Brunner and music producer Juergen Wind (J. Wind) under the German Dance-pop label Blow Up (Intercord). Before forming the project in mid-1993, Brunner had already teamed with Wind to release the single, "Another Night," by M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy under Hansa Records (BMG Berlin).[4] Wind had produced the single with his co-producer Frank Hassas (Quickmix) under the team name Freshline. Following the single's release in Summer 1993, Brunner and Wind quickly began developing the debut Maxx single, "Get-A-Way" under Blow Up/Intercord. Wind handled the music production with Hassas while Brunner mapped out the marketing, promotion, distribution and sales strategies for the music. To avoid conflicts with Hansa/BMG and remain anonymous in the Maxx song credits, the team used producer aliases and a pseudonym in place of the name Freshline. Wind and Hassas were credited as George Torpey and Dakota O'niel under the team name The Movement. Brunner was credited as the Executive Producer under the name The Hitman. Olaf Jeglitza, the rapper of M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy, received false credits under the name "Dawhite" due to his strong affiliation with Wind and Hassas and their production company Freshline Records.[4] In reality, Jeglitza had no involvement in the production or songwriting for Maxx. The raggamuffin (ragga) style rap lyrics of Maxx were composed by songwriter Bruce Hammond Earlam (from Bruce & Bongo).[4] Due to contractual restraints and other label conflicts, Earlam could not officially receive credit for his songwriting role in the project and therefore went uncredited. Maxx rapper Boris Köhler (Gary Bokoe) received Earlam's songwriting credits instead.[4]

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

"Get-A-Way" featured vocals from Köhler and session-singer Samira Besic. Due to unknown circumstances, Besic was forced to depart 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 initial press photos for Maxx. Yavuz was also falsely advertised as the voice of the single.[4]

"Get-A-Way" was officially released in Germany by Blow Up via Intercord on October 27, 1993. The single became an overnight success in the country reaching No.11 on the charts and remained 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 Switzerland 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 successful in Scotland reaching No. 6 and Ireland 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] "Get-A-Way" was also a success in Belgium, The Netherlands, Israel and France while also appearing in the Eurochart Hot 100.

After an intense search in Germany for a replacement singer for Besic, British singer-songwriter Linda Meek was discovered early in 1994. After joining the project as the new lead singer, she immediately began performing live shows with Köhler as Maxx in Europe. She later recorded vocals for the second Maxx single "No More (I Can't Stand It)" with Köhler in Germany. The new single was officially released on March 1st, 1994 and was a massive success like it's predecessor reaching the Top 5 in over 18 countries. The success of both singles lead to recurring appearances on Top of the Pops in the UK 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 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 Englander Linda Meek).

At the height of Maxx's success in mid-1994, Wind and Brunner were also starting to have notable success with M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy as well. Wind and Hassas had produced the singles "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" and "Run Away" under Hansa/BMG in Europe. The single "Another Night" had also reached No.1 Canada. At this phase, Brunner had taken over the music publishing duties for both projects through his publishing company Maxximum Songs/Maxximum Music.

Following the success of "Get-A-Way" and "No More (I Can't Stand It)," Wind, Hassas and Earlam immediately begun work on the debut Maxx album To The Maxximum. A total of 13 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 massive commercial sales of the first two singles. The album had also failed in key territories like the United Kingdom where it had 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, 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, the Maxx song "Power of Love", was released exclusively on a Bravo Hits compilation music CD called "Bravo Dance X-Mas".

Group Decline & Hiatus (1995)

By mid-1995, Maxx was struggling to create new hits on the charts across Europe. The track "I Can Make You Feel Like" from the album To the Maxximum, had been selected to be the fourth single released in May 1995. The single only managed to chart in the UK peaking at No. 56.

While Wind and Brunner were now struggling commercially with Maxx, 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,[8] silver status in the UK with its singles,[9] and new success in the European and Australian markets.

The fifth and final Maxx's single "Move Your Body" was released in October 1995. The single heavily sampled the hit "I Like to Move It" by Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman and only charted in Austria peaking 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 program called 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.[10] Two years later, he appeared again as Maxx at a '90s festival at the Velodrom in Berlin Germany.[11]

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. [12] On August 8th, 2017, Köhler did his final live performance in Katowice, Poland under the name "Gary B. from Maxx" with an unknown singer.[13]

On August 25th, 2017, Meek made her highly anticipated comeback performance as Maxx at the "We Love The 90's Estonia" festival in Tallinn.[14] Today, she continues to tour across Europe as Maxx while periodically using different rappers in her live show to perform the raggamuffin style rap verses on stage.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
GER
[15]		 AUT
[16]		 FIN
[17] [18]		 NETH
[19]		 SWE
[20]		 SWI
[21]		 UK
[6]
To The Maxximum
  • Released: June 22, 1994
  • Label: Blow Up
  • Formats: CD, Cassette, Vinyl
 2232625102966

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
GER
[15]		 AUT
[16]		 FIN
[17][18]		 FRA
[22]		 IRE
[23]		 NETH
[24]		 NOR
[25]		 SWE
[20]		 SWI
[21]		 UK
[6]
"Get-A-Way" 1993 113515838384 To The Maxximum
"No More (I Can't Stand It)" 1994 10921611684128
"You Can Get It" —251328—32—37—21
"I Can Make You Feel Like" 1995 —————————56
"Move Your Body" —1816——————— Non-album single

Compilation features

  • 1994: "Power of Love" - Bravo Dance X-Mas [26]

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