Strike was a British
electronic dance music band formed in 1994 consisting of
Matt Cantor (later of
Freestylers
The Freestylers are a British electronic music group, consisting of producers Matt Cantor and Aston Harvey. They have released five studio albums and a number of mix compilations for, among others, Fabric and BBC Radio.
The group took their ...
), Andy Gardner (later of
Plump DJs
Plump DJs are an English dance music duo consisting of Lee Rous and Andy Gardner, considered to be early pioneers of the breakbeat genre in late 1990s. Throughout the 2000s, they have been very prolific creatively, releasing many celebrated und ...
) and the vocalist Victoria Newton.
Career
Strike formed towards the end of 1994. A chance vocal session for Victoria Newton at the studios of Fresh Records in
Ladbroke Grove
Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue.
It is also a name given ...
, landed her the role as the lead singer.
Strike's first single, "Formula One", entered the lower reaches of the UK top 100 chart.
They did not break through until "
U Sure Do" was released in December 1994, originally charting at number 31 in 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 ...
, only to re-enter the chart and climb to number 4 in April 1995,
due to the track becoming a major
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises ...
hit. They then began to
tour
Tour or Tours may refer to:
Travel
* Tourism, travel for pleasure
* Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service
* Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus
* Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...
extensively, appearing on
MTV and on television programs such as ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...
'' and playing to audiences as large as 70,000. "U Sure Do" achieved chart success in many territories and this took the band to Spain, Italy, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany and Japan.
Strike went on to produce another four UK
top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...
hits, like their cover of Paula Abdul's "
My Love Is for Real", and an album, ''
I Saw the Future'' was released in 1997 on Fresh Records.
They toured with and supported many international artists including the
Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida.
The ...
,
Jocelyn Brown and the
Spice Girls.
Victoria Newton
Newton was offered a solo recording contract with Strike's label, Fresh. In September 1999, she made her debut release with "
Martha's Harbour", 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 the
All About Eve
''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does not receive a screen credit ...
hit, including mixes by Mike Koglin and
Blu. Although it failed to reach the UK Singles Chart, it was a No. 8 UK club hit and a favourite of DJ,
Paul Van Dyk
Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...
.
A solo album was recorded and planned for release for late 1999, entitled ''Live for Today'' but was cancelled; it was eventually released on digital platforms in 2016. In the 2000s, Newton turned her attention to
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
and
Latin music
Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...
, and in 2003 released a solo album of jazz and Brazilian music entitled ''The Song Is You''.
In 2006, a set of remixes of "U Sure Do" were released.
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
Sources
*Jazz CDs
Biography of Victoria Newton Retrieved 8 May 2007.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1994
English dance music groups
British Eurodance groups
British musical trios
Musical groups from London