No Mercy is a trio of American singers who were originally brought together in Germany by producer
Frank Farian
Frank Farian (born Franz Reuther; 18 July 1941) is a German record producer, musician, singer and songwriter, who founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the Latin pop band No Mercy and the pop band Milli Vanilli. He frequently created vo ...
.
The group consists of
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
-born Marty Cintron and twin brothers Ariel and Gabriel Hernández, who hailed from
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
.
Career
1995–1997: ''My Promise''
In 1995 the group released their single "Missing" which was a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl (occasionally referred to as EBTG) are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, producer and singer Ben Watt ...
's 1994 hit. No Mercy released their debut album ''
My Promise
''My Promise'' is the debut album by the German-based trio No Mercy, released in 1996. It is the group's most successful album and contains all of their international hits: "Missing", " Where Do You Go", " When I Die", " Please Don't Go" and "Ki ...
'' on October 21, 1996.
''My Promise'' was the original title chosen by the trio's German record company,
Hansa
Hansa may refer to:
Places
*Hanseatic League, a 13th–17th century alliance of European trading cities
*Hansa (shopping centre), in Turku, Finland
*Hansa-Park, a German attraction park
*480 Hansa, a main-belt asteroid, a minor planet orbiting th ...
, BMG.
The album was released in the U.S. only a week later under the self title ''No Mercy'' on October 29, 1996.
The album, however, was released in most areas of the world with its original title ''My Promise'', including Australia where it received two times platinum sales accreditation. ''My Promise'' which became a top-5 album in countries like Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland, produced two internationally popular singles, including "
Where Do You Go" and "When I Die", the first being a
cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of
La Bouche
La Bouche (French for "The Mouth", ) is a Germany, German-America, American Eurodance, Euro-Dance duo best known for the hits "Be My Lover (La Bouche song), Be My Lover", "Sweet Dreams (La Bouche song), Sweet Dreams", "You Won't Forget Me (song), ...
's "Where Do You Go" from 1995. This was followed by the single "Please Don't Go", which entered the top 5 in Austria and the U.K.
The trio released a re-worked version of the band
Exile
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
's number one song from 1978, "
Kiss You All Over
"Kiss You All Over" is a 1978 song performed by American group Exile, written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. It was included on the band's third album, ''Mixed Emotions'' (1978), and featured lead vocalist Jimmy Stokley and guitarist J.P. Penni ...
", which was a moderate success on the charts but still managed to enter the top 20 in Austria, the Netherlands and the UK.
1998–1999: ''More''
No Mercy's second album, ''More'', which was released in Germany on October 12, 1998,
included singles such as "Hello How Are You", "
More than a Feeling
"More Than a Feeling" is a song by the American rock band Boston, released as the lead single from the band's 1976 debut album by Epic Records in September 1976, with " Smokin' as the B-side. Tom Scholz wrote the whole song. The single pea ...
" (originally recorded by
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
) and "
Tu Amor" (originally by
Jon B.
Jonathan David Buck (born November 11, 1974) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut album, '' Bonafide'' (1995), went platinum.
Early life
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, United States and raised in Altadena, ...
, and later covered also by
RBD
RBD is a Mexican Latin pop group that gained popularity from Televisa's telenovela ''Rebelde''. The group achieved international success from 2004 until their separation in 2009 and sold over 15 million records worldwide, making them one of ...
). Although ''More'' was not as successful as its predecessor, it still managed to achieve success in the GSA region (Germany, Switzerland, Austria), peaking at No.7, No.9, No.9 respectively.
2000–present: Singles and current status
In 2002, a single, "
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus for the American singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone, who recorded the first version in 1964. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" has been cover ...
" featuring guitarist
Al Di Meola
Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his works in jazz fusion and world music, he began his career as a guitarist of the group Return to Forever in 1974. Between the 1970s and 1980s, albums such as ' ...
, was released to gauge support for No Mercy's third album. The record producer decided instead to rework the songs for solo artist
Daniel Lopes
Daniel Lopes (born 12 November 1976) is a German-Brazilian singer and songwriter. He came to fame as a contestant on the debut season of the television series '' Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German ''Idol'' series adaptation.
Early ...
' debut album, ''Shine On'', in 2003. The band would guest feature in that album, on the track "Summer Angel".
In October 2007, No Mercy released their third album, ''Day By Day'', under a new Australian-based independent record label, Show No Mercy Entertainment Pty Ltd, and via
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
.
On December 16, 2011 No Mercy released the single "Shed My Skin" featuring Stan Kolev via
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
.
Guitarist and lead vocalist Marty Cintron performs in Europe under the No Mercy name.
In popular culture
No Mercy's version of the
La Bouche
La Bouche (French for "The Mouth", ) is a Germany, German-America, American Eurodance, Euro-Dance duo best known for the hits "Be My Lover (La Bouche song), Be My Lover", "Sweet Dreams (La Bouche song), Sweet Dreams", "You Won't Forget Me (song), ...
song "
Where Do You Go" (Ocean Drive Mix) was featured in the 1998 American comedy film ''
A Night at the Roxbury
''A Night at the Roxbury'' is a 1998 American comedy film based on a recurring sketch on television's long-running ''Saturday Night Live'' called "The Roxbury Guys". ''Saturday Night Live'' regulars Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, Mark ...
''.
A No Mercy song was also used on the ABC-TV series ''
Lois and Clark
''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' is an American superhero television series based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. It stars Dean Cain as Clark Kent / Superman and Teri Hatcher as ...
''.
Discography
Studio albums
North American releases
Compilation albums
Singles
See also
*
List of number-one dance hits (United States)
This is a list of number-one dance hits as recorded by ''Billboard'' magazine's Dance Club Songs chart – a weekly national survey of popular songs in U.S. dance clubs. It began on October 26, 1974, under the title ''Disco Action'' chart. It is c ...
*
List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on ''Billboard magazine's'' Dance Club Songs chart. ''Billboard'' began ranking dance music on the week ending October 26, 1974, and this is the standard music popularity chart in t ...
References
External links
nomercymusic.comOfficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:No Mercy
American dance music groups
American pop music groups
American boy bands
Arista Records artists
American Eurodance groups
Musical groups from Miami
Musical groups established in 1996
Hispanic and Latino American musicians