Peter Slaghuis (; 21 August 1961 – 5 September 1991)
was a Dutch
DJ,
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
and
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
er, whose work was mostly released under the name Hithouse (a literal translation of his last name — ''slag'', a hit, a beat; and ''huis'', house).
Biography
Slaghuis was born in
Rijswijk
Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was in , and it has an area of , of which is water.
The municipality also includes th ...
, Netherlands. Not much is known about his personal life, but he was a figure in the European
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. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...
scene in the 1980s, producing popular remixes of various
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
(most notably the "Long Vocal Dutch Mix" of "
I Can't Wait" by
Nu Shooz
Nu Shooz is an American R&B group fronted by husband-and-wife team of John Smith and Valerie Day, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Nu Shooz released four albums in the U.S. during the 1980s. Their third album, '' Poolside'', brought th ...
). Slaghuis stated "I hated that song so much... I just had to put a hook over it." With the arrival of
house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
in Europe, Slaghuis took up the pseudonym Hithouse and began using his
sampling techniques in this field.
His best known work, "Jack to the Sound of the Underground", reached No. 14 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in 1988
and number 57 in Australia.
His next few works did not attain the same level of success, though "Jack to the Sound of the Underground" remained in public consciousness in the UK when used as the theme for both the radio and television versions of the BBC comedy show ''
The Mary Whitehouse Experience
The ''Mary Whitehouse Experience'' was a British topical sketch comedy show produced by the BBC in association with Spitting Image Productions. It starred two comedy double acts, one being David Baddiel and Rob Newman, the other Steve Punt an ...
''.
He was also known for being part of the
Euro disco
Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is the variety of European forms of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the late 1970s, incorporating elements of pop and rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...
music project
VideoKids
VideoKids were a 1980s Euro disco/Italo disco duo from the Netherlands, formed in 1984 and consisting of Peter Slaghuis (1961-1991) and Bianca Bonelli (1963-1995). The band's members also had solo careers on their own, such as Peter being a famous ...
, which released several hit songs such as "
Woodpeckers from Space
"Woodpeckers from Space" is a song by the The Netherlands, Dutch Eurodisco/Italo disco duo VideoKids. A synth-pop cover of "Woody Woodpecker#The Woody Woodpecker Song, The Woody Woodpecker Song", it was released in 1984 by Boni Records through th ...
" and "Do the Rap", in 1985, featuring Slaghuis in the
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
alongside Bianca and Tico, the other member and the goofy cartoon mascot. The band only lasted up until his death. By the time 1988 came, the whole project was virtually gone, and there has not been any sales on their music since that period.
Slaghuis also delivered remixes to the
Disco Mix Club
Disco Mix Club is primarily a remix label under (British Phonographic Industry) licence, which is not intended for the mass market but rather exclusively for professional DJs and enthusiasts. The Disco Mix Club sells megamixes and remixes every mo ...
which published them on their monthly CDs and compilation CDs. One of his most famous mixes was
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
's "
La Isla Bonita
"La Isla Bonita" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album '' True Blue'' (1986). Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, with additional lyrics by Bruce Gaitsch, the song was originally presented by Leonard ...
". He also remixed
Petula Clark
Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades.
Clark's professional career began during the ...
's "Downtown" as "
Downtown '88
"Downtown" is a song written and produced by Tony Hatch. The 1964 version recorded by Petula Clark became an international hit, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart. Hatch received the 1981 Ivo ...
" which hit the British top 10 in December 1988.
He died in 1991 in a
head-on car accident involving a tractor trailer truck while he was driving home from a concert.
References
External links
Memorial website operated by his mother''(Dutch / English). This seems no longer active.''
Memorial website operated by his mother''(Dutch / English). The last sep 11 2019 archived version of the above site on archive.org.''
Biography at DISCOGS.com''(English)''
1961 births
1991 deaths
Dutch dance musicians
Dutch DJs
Dutch record producers
People from Rijswijk
Remixers
Road incident deaths in the Netherlands
{{Netherlands-bio-stub