Magic Affair
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Magic Affair is a German
eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
project formed in Frankfurt, Germany in 1993 by music producer Mike Staab. German singer Franca Morgano and American rapper Burnell Keith Herring (A.K. Swift) fronted the project in the early stages. Magic Affair is best known in Europe for the hit singles " Omen III", "
Give Me All Your Love "Give Me All Your Love" is a song by the English rock band Whitesnake. The song is taken from the group's 1987 multi-platinum self-titled album. Being the fourth single released from the album, the track reached number 48 on the US Top 100 c ...
" and " In the Middle of the Night" and the album '' Omen (The Story Continues...)''. To date, the project has sold 2.5 million records in Germany and over 8 million records worldwide.


Band history


1993–94: Formation and ''Omen (The Story Continues...)''

Magic Affair was created by producer Mike Staab as a spin-off act from the group Mysterious Art, a band in which Staab himself was a member and a producer. German singer Franca Morgano and American rapper Burnell Keith Herring (A.K. Swift) fronted the act. The first single "Omen III" was first released in 1993 under the shortened group name M.A. The single achieved success in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and worldwide, reaching No.1 in Germany. "Omen III" later achieved Platinum status in Germany and Gold in Austria. The single peaked #17 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 ...
. "Omen III" was followed in 1994 by the debut studio album '' Omen (The Story Continues...)'' and the three singles "Give Me All Your Love", "In the Middle of the Night", and "Fire", which peaked #6, #16 and #20 in the German single chart respectively. At the end of 1994, Herring was briefly replaced with Alfonso Daniel Morgan due to some internal issues between Morgano and Herring. However, Herring returned to the group shortly, and nothing was recorded with Morgan.


1995–97: Departure of Morgano and Herring and ''Phenomenia''

In February 1995 both, Morgano and Herring were controversially fired and replaced with two female singers, Anita Davis and Jannet De Lara (Jannet Schüttler). Along with the new line-up and a new musical direction to a more pop sound including female verses and excluding male raps, Magic Affair subsequently released their first single "The Rhythm Makes You Wanna Dance" in 1995 of their upcoming second studio album. "The Rhythm Makes You Wanna Dance" was followed in 1996 by the second studio album "Phenomenia" and the two singles "Energy of Light", co-written by Daisy Dee, and "World of Freedom", which became moderate hits and peaked #37 and #15 in the Swizz and Finnish Single Chart respectively. Singer Lori Glori provides guest vocals on the album track "Magical Love Affair". In September 1996, Schüttler was fired and replaced by the rapper Ras-Ma-Taz (Richard Smith), previously of
E-Rotic E-Rotic are a Eurodance duo act formed in 1994 by German record producer David Brandes. The act is best known in Europe for the hits " Max Don't Have Sex With Your Ex" and "Fred Come to Bed". E-Rotic originally consisted of German born singer L ...
. With the third line-up, the group also appeared on the
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
tribute compilation album Queen Dance Traxx, with the song "
Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack ...
", which also saw a single release. The tribute album also featured another Queen song "
We Are The Champions "We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released from the band's sixth album ''News of the World'' (1977). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems.
", recorded with all artists, who participated on Queen Dance Traxx as a supergroup labeled as "Acts United". Meanwhile, Morgano and Herring formed their own band called Blaxone and released one single "Good times" in 1996, which has been later in 2008 credited as a Magic Affair song and been included on Magic Affair's remix album series "Remixcollection I-III". In 1997, two more singles have been released, the fourth and final single of "Phenomenia", called "Break These Chains", in a different single edition with additional raps by Smith, and the new song "Night Of The Raven", being the first single released on the new Dutch label CNR and the first single for the planned but yet never materialized third studio album. "Night Of The Raven" became a minor hit, peaking #54 in the Swedish Single Chart respectively. After this release, Davis and Smith both left the band. In 1997, Herring launched his solo career.


1998–99: Single releases and hiatus

In 1998 and 1999, the promotional singles "Sacrifice", an instrumental trance track without any vocalists, and "Miracles" have been released, both without any charting success. After these single releases, Magic Affair went on hiatus. Meanwhile, Davis went on to launch her solo career, released some solo singles, and to form her girlgroup The Clarkettes, alongside singers Brenda Hale and Brooke Russell.


2004–07: Return of Morgano and brief comeback

After a short absence, Magic Affair briefly returned in 2004 with the single release "Fly Away (La Serenissima)" alongside a music video. This single also marks the return to Magic Affair of original lead singer Morgano. "Fly Away (La Serenissima)" reached #13 in German DJ Playlist and peaked #70 in the Swiss Single Chart. In 2007, former member Schüttler has been featured on guest vocals on Raul Rincon & Coronabros's single "La Verdad".


2008–12: Return of Herring and comeback

In 2008, a remix album series entitled "Remixcollection I - 1993-1994", "Remixcollection II - 1995-1996", "Remixcollection III - 1996-1998" has been digitally released, containing most remixes of the mentioned periods of that eras. Also in 2008, the single "Stigmata (Of Love)", originally an unreleased song recorded back in 2003, has been released. "Stigmata (Of Love)" marks the return to Magic Affair of original rapper Herring, but who has been only credited as a featured artist on the single as the narrator. Alongside the single, a promotional single of Magic Affair's very first hit "Omen III" has been released in 2008 with new mixes by The Nightshifterz, Pussylickerz, Dirty Boyz and Blackzone. Next to these Magic Affair releases, Morgano released her first solo album titled "Bleeding Love Songs (Italian American Songbook)". In 2009, Morgano and Herring performed "Omen III" live at RTL Ultimative Chart Show for the first time in ages. Magic Affair was working on a third studio album, produced by Mike Staab, Rainer Kempf and Bernd Waldstadt, however the project has appeared to have been cancelled due to Mike Staab's death in May 2009. In 2010, Morgano released her second studio album "You Want It" and the compilation album "Remember Me". In 2012, Morgano released her first holiday album "Christmas Part I".


2013–present: Second departure of Herring

In 2013, Herring again left Magic Affair and was replaced by German rapper Nitro, previously of hip hop collective Brothers Keepers. Meanwhile, Morgano released her third, fourth overall, and first German-language studio album ''...Nach dem sturm'' ("''...After the Storm''"). In 2014, Morgano and Nitro introduced the single "Hear the Voices" along with another new song, the B-side "We're Insane". In 2022, Magic Affair released a cover of Rebel Yell by
Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...
.


Members

Other members: *Alfonso Daniel Morgan (brief replacement for Herring in 1994, but no material had been released)


Discography


Studio albums


Remix albums

* 2008: ''Remixcollection I - 1993-1994'' * 2008: ''Remixcollection II - 1995-1996'' * 2008: ''Remixcollection III - 1996-1998''


Singles

Other songs: "Rebel Yell" (Billy Idol cover) - 2022


Promotional singles


Other appearances

*1996: "
We Are the Champions "We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released from the band's sixth album ''News of the World'' (1977). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems.
" (as part of the supergroup Acts United on the album ''Queen Dance Traxx'')


Notes


References


External links

*
Magic Affair @ EuroKDJ
Booking
www.urbano.cz
{{Authority control German electronic music groups German Eurodance groups Musical groups established in 1994 1994 establishments in Germany Musical groups from Frankfurt