Real McCoy (band)

Real McCoy is a German Eurodance music project that was internationally successful throughout the 1990s with the hit songs "Another Night",^[1] "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)", "Run Away,"^[2] "Love & Devotion," "Come and Get Your Love", "One More Time" and the multi-platinum album Another Night.^[3]

Before 1995, Real McCoy was known in Europe as M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy.^[4] The music production team responsible for the group's success, Juergen Wind (J. Wind) ^[5] and Frank Hassas (Quickmix), wrote and produced the project's main hits between 1993 and 1994 under the team name "Freshline" in Berlin, Germany. During the early stages of the project's European success in 1994, German rapper Olaf Jeglitza (O-Jay) and American singer Patricia Petersen (Patsy) fronted the act as a rapper-singer duo. By mid-1994, singer Vanessa Mason had joined the group as the third member of the live act. At the height of the group's worldwide crossover success in 1995, Jeglitza, Petersen and Mason were officially branded as a trio act under the shortened project name Real McCoy.^[6] Many years after the break up of the project, Petersen and Mason were revealed to have not been the real singers of the act. Both women had in fact been miming the vocals of studio singer Karin Kasar for all the group's music videos and live performances between 1993 and 1995.^[7]

The final Real McCoy album One More Time was released in 1997. Wind produced the album without Hassas involvement. He instead worked with a producer duo team known as The Berman Brothers and the team that had produced additional songs for the Another Night album. After Petersen's unexpected departure from the project, singer Lisa Cork was quickly recruited into the act by American songwriter/producer Brent Argovitz. Since Kasar was no longer involved in recording vocals for the album, Cork and Mason had to sing vocals instead. Jeglitza and Argovitz also worked together as songwriters for the production. The lead single (also titled "One More Time") achieved major commercial success in Canada and Australia,^[8] but the commercial sales of the album and the follow-up singles failed in comparison to Another Night. The commercial failure ultimately caused the quick demise of the project's lineup in 1997.

Between 1999 and 2000 two new Real McCoy singles were released. An updated version of "It's On You," and a cover single "Hey Now" was released with an all new artist lineup. Both singles became commercial failures resulting in the permanent breakup of the production team. In the years after the breakup, Jeglitza continued to release new Real McCoy singles independently without Wind or Hassas' involvement. He failed to achieve success further with these releases.

In 2016, Jeglitza officially returned to live-performing as Real McCoy after a long multi-year hiatus. He now performs live with original studio singer Karin Kasar at '90s music festivals worldwide.

1989-1990: Early success in Germany

"It's On You" single (1990)

Real McCoy was originally known in Europe as M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy. The early music releases from the project were strictly hip house style records. German producers Juergen Wind (J. Wind) and Frank Hassas (Quickmix) wrote and produced the music for the project while German rapper Olaf Jeglitza (O-Jay) provided only rap vocals. The debut single "Pump Up The Jam - Rap" (a cover version of the debut Technotronic hit) was released in 1989. Wind produced and mixed the single with Hassas under their music production company Freshline Records while working with ZYX Records to distribute the single in Germany. "Pump Up The Jam - Rap" quickly became a surprise hit upon release in Germany reaching No.16 on the singles charts.^[9] The second single "It's On You," also became a top hit in Germany and other European territories in 1990. Singer Patricia Petersen (Patsy) sang the chorus on the single. The growing success of the act motivated ZYX Records to request a music video for "It's On You" as well as a live act. A Frenchman of African descent named George Shampro Mario was hired to be the frontman and rapper for both the live act and the music video. In reality, Mario was a lip-synch artist that had been miming Jeglitza's rap vocals for the live performances and the music video while being advertised and credited as M.C. Sar. Four more singles ("Don't Stop," "Make A Move," "Let's Talk About Love," and "No Showbo") and an album (On The Move!) were later released. Each of these follow-up releases failed commercially in comparison to the first two singles. As a result, Freshline discontinued their relationship with ZYX records in 1992.

1993-1995: Mainstream success with "Another Night"

"Another Night" single (1993)

In late-1992, Freshline had formed a new partnership deal with Hansa Records (BMG Berlin) to release new music for M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy. After a deal was finalized, Freshline and Hansa / BMG decided to drastically alter the sound and look of the act. The musical style of the project was changed from hip house to Eurodance and Pop. Petersen was replaced by studio singer Karin Kasar for the vocals, but remained in the project as a frontwoman. Mario was also permanently removed from project and Jeglitza was later promoted to the role of frontman. While producing the project's new single "Another Night," with Hassas, Wind worked closely with Hansa A&R executive David Brunner and BMG Berlin president Andy Selleneit to carefully map out a success strategy for the single in Europe. During the final stages of the production for "Another Night," a producer duo known as the Berman Brothers collaborated with Wind when developing remixes for the single. A mix created by the Brothers was later chosen to be the official single version of the song.

When released in the Summer of 1993, "Another Night" was only a minor hit in Europe reaching No.18 in Germany and barely making the Top 100 in several other countries. Shortly after the release of the single, Wind worked with Brunner to release the Maxx hit "Get-A-Way" through Blow Up, the Stuttgart-based Dance Pop sub-label of Intercord. When released in October 1993, the single became a major commercial success in Europe alongside the growing success of "Another Night."

By mid-1994, M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy had finally begun to achieve notable success on the charts alongside the success of the Maxx hits "Get-A-Way" and No More (I Can't Stand It)." Thanks to the promotional efforts of BMG Canada, "Another Night" had suddenly hit No.1 in that Country in the Spring of 1994 and had stayed there for several weeks. The follow-up singles "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" and "Run Away" and the album Space Invaders were released in Europe in 1994. The singles became Top 20 hits on the charts. For live performances and music videos, Petersen mimed Kasar's singing vocals while Jeglitza performed over enhanced playbacks of his own voice.^[10] Singer Vanessa Mason was later added to the live act.

Another Night album (1995)

After noticing how quickly "Another Night" had reached No.1 in Canada in 1994, Arista Records CEO Clive Davis became interested in bringing M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy to the U.S. market. This wasn't the first time Davis sought to bring a European dance project to prominence in the U.S. market. He had previously brought the Swedish Pop group Ace of Base to massive success in America in 1994. Once a new deal was finalized between Arista and BMG, the project name was shortened to Real McCoy and "Another Night" was released in the U.S. in the Summer of 1994. The single had peaked at No.3 in the U.S. by November 1994 and had quickly reached Platinum status. The follow-up single release of "Run Away" was also a successful hit reaching Gold status. Thanks to the success of the two hits, an all new U.S. release of the Space Invaders album was quickly planned for 1995. The project was officially re-branded as a trio act featuring Jeglitza, Petersen and Mason. The Space Invaders album was re-titled Another Night.^[11] The cover art, imagery and marketing for the album was completely changed to present a lighter romantic tone. Several album tracks were removed and a new team of producers were brought in by Arista to write and produce three new cover songs ("Come and Get Your Love," "Ooh Boy," "If You Should Ever Be Lonely (Deep in the Night)") and a new original track ("Sleeping with an Angel") for the new release.

Thanks to the combined promotional efforts of Arista and BMG along with the popularity of "Another Night" and "Run Away," the album reached double Platinum status and became a mainstream commercial success in 1995. "Come and Get Your Love" was released as the third Real McCoy single and reached No.1 on the U.S. dance charts. "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" was also released late in 1995 as a fourth single and saw lesser success peaking at No.52 on the charts; While Real McCoy's success was at its peak in 1995, the Maxx project had quickly begun to decline in Europe due to the project's inability to produce new hits on the European charts. By the end of 1995, Maxx had permanently disbanded.

1997-1998: Group decline after One More Time album

In 1997, a new Real McCoy album One More Time was released. Wind produced the album without Hassas' involvement. American songwriter/producer Brent Argovitz became involved in the production while also working together with Jeglitza as a songwriter on the project. The producer team previously hired by Arista for the Another Night album returned to co-produce new songs. The Berman Brothers also become involved and produced a Shania Twain cover for the album. They also produced new remixes for the singles from the album. Early in the planning phases, Petersen had unexpectedly departed the project. Argovitz quickly recruited singer Lisa Cork as Petersen's official replacement. As a result, Kasar did not record vocals for the album. Mason and Cork recorded vocals for the album instead.

Jeglitza, Mason and Cork toured worldwide as Real McCoy and starred together in the music video for the lead single from the album (also called "One More Time"). The single peaked at No. 27^[12] on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached Platinum status in Australia. It also became a Top 20 hit on both Rhythmic/Dance format radio and on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Despite the chart success of the single, the album itself did not repeat the same success of the previous album Another Night. Two more singles ("I Wanna Come" and "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!") were released in 1997 from the album and became commercial failures. The disappointing commercial sales of the album and the final singles lead to the quick demise of the lineup in 1997. In 1998, BMG re-released the original Space Invaders album, under the title Real McCoy - Love & Devotion in Germany.

1999-2009: Real McCoy continuation and hiatus

In 1999 and 2000, two new Real McCoy singles were released with an all new lineup. Rapper Jason Ammon and singers Gabriele Koopmans and Ginger Maria Kamphuis were marketed as the 'new' Real McCoy. The first single released with the new lineup was a re-recorded version of "It's On You." Koopmans and Kamphuis recorded new vocals for the song while Jeglitza re-recorded his original rap verses. A music video was filmed for the single in Miami, Florida starring Ammon, Koopmans and Kamphuis with a cameo from Jeglitza. Ammon mimed Jeglitza's rap vocals in the music video. A second single titled "Hey Now" was released in 2000 featuring rap from Ammon and singing from Koopmans and Kamphuis. Both singles became commercial failures resulting in the demise of the new lineup.

After a long hiatus, Jeglitza (under the name Real McCoy) collaborated with the Polish band Ich Troje in 2006 to create the song "Follow My Heart." Jeglitza and the band represented Poland at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest.^[13] The song, however, failed to qualify for the grand final. In early 2007, a new Real McCoy song titled "People are still Having Sex" was released in Germany. The single was a cover of the famous La Tour single of the same name.

In August 2009, Jeglitza performed as Real McCoy with singers Debbie Butts and Gemma Louise Sampson for DJ BoBo's "DJ BoBo and Friends" concert in Engelberg, Switzerland.^[14][15] Jeglitza also recorded the track "Two Hearts" with Butts and Sampson, but the track was never released officially.

2016-present: Real McCoy revival

In 2016, Jeglitza returned again as Real McCoy with the original studio singer Karin Kasar. As a live duo act, Jeglitza and Kasar perform as Real McCoy at '90's festivals worldwide.

Members

• Olaf Jeglitza (O-Jay) - Rapper (1989 -Present)
• Georges "Shampro" Mario (M.C. Sar) - Frontman only, Lip-Synch (1990-1992)
• Patricia Petersen (Patsy) - Singer, Lip-Synch (1990-1995)
• Yvonne Parker (Sunday) - Session-Singer (1990)
• Karin Kasar - Session Singer, Live Performer - (1993 -1995, 2016-Present)
• Vanessa Mason - Singer, Lip-Synch - (1994 -1997)
• Lisa Cork - Singer (1996-1997)
• Jason Ammon - Rapper (1999)
• Gabriele Koopmans - Singer (1999)
• Ginger Maria Kamphuis - Singer (1999)
• Debbie Butts - Singer (2009)
• Gemma Louise Sampson - Singer (2009)

Discography

References

External links

• Real McCoy official Facebook page
• List of releases from the online music database Discogs