Neal Antone Dyer better known by the stage name Tony T. is a British singer, rapper and DJ of Jamaican origin, best known as the frontman of German dance music projects

Beat System Beat System was a German Eurodance project in the mid-1990s. Beat System was a duo of rapper Neal Antone Dyer (Tony T), born in London in 1971, and various female vocalists (Martina Sres, Patty, Jay Babe and G. Fascina). They released five sing ...

and

R.I.O. R.I.O. is a German DJ-duo (formerly trio). The members are DJ Manian and Yann Peifer, who originally founded the band in 2007. Until 2012, Tony T. was part of the group. Their biggest hit was the song "Turn This Club Around", which charted in t ...

R.I.O.: Doppel-Gold für "Turn This Club Around"
(in German) His best known hit with R.I.O. was "

Turn This Club Around "Turn This Club Around" is a song by German dance band R.I.O., featuring vocals from pop, R&B and hip-hop singers U-Jean and Tony T. The song was written by Yann Peifer, Manuel Reuter, Neal Anthony Dyer and Andres Ballinas. It was released in Ge ...

", which reached number 3 in German Singles Chart and topped the Swiss

Schweizer Hitparade The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top ...

chart, and was certified gold in both charts.

Beginnings

Born to Jamaican parents, he resided early on in Brooklyn where he started DJing. After two years, he moved to Germany in 1985 where he worked as a resident DJ at the club Gaslight.

1986–1998: Beat System

Starting 1986, he appeared in various projects under the name Beat System starting with "Noise Dance", a limited release in Germany. In the early 1990s came the singles "Dance Romance" and "Dance Romance Chapter Two" on Insania Records written by C. Kowatsch und Wormit and "Stay with Me" produced by Axel Breitung. Changing labels and signing with Blow Up and release of "Fresh" a cover of

Kool & The Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/ funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West ...

song that charted in Germany, followed by "Reggae Night", a cover of

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

. Intercord label released Beat System's debut and only album ''Refreshiator'' after which the project was dropped.

2008–2012: R.I.O.

In 2008 he was a founding member of the German dance project R.I.O with Yann Pfeifer (Yanou) and Manuel Reuter (DJ Manian). After the debut single "De Janeiro / R.I.O.", the trio with Tony T. as frontman of the band had a string of hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, like "Shine On" from the ''Shine On (The Album)'', followed by "When the Sun Comes Down", "Hot Girl", "Like I Love You" and "Miss Sunshine". But R.I.O.'s hit "

" featuring the vocals of

U-Jean Alex Hutson, known professionally as U-Jean, is an American pop, R&B and hip-hop artist mostly performing in Europe. He is mostly known for features of the songs " Turn This Club Around" and " Summer Jam" by German dance band R.I.O. His debut ...

proved to be an international success reaching No. 5 in Austria, No. 3 in Germany, No. 1 in Switzerland also charting in the UK, Scotland, Netherlands, as well as Belgium, Canada. The band released same titled album ''

'' with the further hit "Animal" from the album.

2012–: Solo career / DNGRS Crew

Tony T. left the R.I.O. project in 2012 to launch a solo career. His first solo releaser was "Way to Rio". He was featured in "Everybody" from

Mike Candys Michael David Kull (; born 20 August 1981), better known as Mike Candys (), is a Swiss record producer and DJ. He is managed by Mevlan D. Musical career In 2008, Candys became widely known in Switzerland with the song "La Serenissima". In 2009 h ...

also featuring Evelyn. He also had collaborations such as with Darius & Finlay in "Phenomenon" and with Soulwash featured in "No Games". In 2013, he was featured in the hit "Want U Now" by Ardian Bujupi, a finalist in the German music competition ''

Deutschland sucht den Superstar ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (''DSDS''; "Germany is looking for the Superstar") is a German reality talent show. Part of the ''Idol'' franchise, it was created by British media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show '' ...

'' and in "Beautiful Life" by

Sasha Lopez Sacha, Sasha, Sascha, or ''variant'' may refer to: People * Sasha (name), includes list of people with the name and the variants Sascha or Sacha Musicians * Sasha (DJ) (born 1969), born Alexander Coe * Sasha (German singer) (born 1972), born Sa ...

also featuring

Big Ali Ali Fitzgerald Moore (born February 25, 1978), better known by his stage name Big Ali and formerly Breakingz and Grimer, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter and DJ born in New York. He has been based in Paris, France, since 2001. He is sig ...

. In May 2013, he co-founded DNGRS Crew with rappers

Carlprit Rudi Schwamborn, professionally known as Carlprit, is a German- Zimbabwean rapper, actor, songwriter, and music manager. He has performed and written for acts such as Cascada, Alexandra Stan and Laurent Wolf. Schwamborn is best known for his s ...

and

Marlon B. Marlon is a masculine given name. According to the ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', the popularity of Marlon Brando led to general awareness of the name (his father was also named Marlon), though the origin of the name is not known. Speculatio ...

Their first single together is "Dangerous" credited to DJ Mase vs DNGRS Crew and is released on Kontor Records.

Discography

Albums

;with Beat System *1996: ''Refreshiator'' ;with

*2008: ''Shine On (The Album)'' *2011: ''

Sunshine Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when ...

'' *2011: ''

Singles

;with Beat System: ;with

Featured in

*2012: "No Games" (Soulwash feat. Tony T.) *2013: "Want U Now" (Ardian Bujupi feat. Tony T.) *2013: "Breaking the Ice" (Bodybangers feat. Tony T.) *2013: "Summer's Gone" (Sash! feat. Tony T.) *2017: "Color of Love" (Stephan F feat. Tony T.)

References

External links

R.I.O Discogs page

Tony T. Discogs page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tony T Living people English people of Jamaican descent English male singers Black British male rappers Black British DJs German people of Jamaican descent British emigrants to Germany Year of birth missing (living people) Singers from London Rappers from London DJs from London