Ultrabeat

For other uses, see Ultrabeat (disambiguation).
Ultrabeat
Also known asHi-Flyerz, WTF!, Steampunk
OriginLiverpool, England
GenresElectronic, trance, house, dance, happy hardcore
Years active2002 (2002)–present
LabelsAll Around the World
MembersChris Henry
Ian Redman
Micky D
Frankie Fairbairn
TeknoKat
Rebecca Rudd
Past membersDanny Penquet, Mike Di Scala

Ultrabeat are a British electronic dance music group from Liverpool, England, formed in 2002. Originally consisting of vocalist and producer Mike 'Re-Con' Di Scala and producers Ian Redman and Chris Henry, Ultrabeat emerged with their cover of the Force & Styles song "Pretty Green Eyes", which peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart 2003. With the addition of vocalist Rebecca Rudd in 2005, they released further singles, including top forty hits such as "Feelin' Fine", "Better than Life" and "Elysium (I Go Crazy)", followed by their début album Ultrabeat: The Album in 2007, which peaked at number eight on the UK Albums Chart

In 2008, Ultrabeat released "Discolights" with collaborators Darren Styles and Danny P, which peaked at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart. Their second album, released in 2009, The Weekend Has Landed, peaked at number 29 on the UK Albums Chart.

Di Scala left the group in 2013 to focus on his new band CamelPhat with Dave Whelan, and Rudd took over as the lead vocalist.

History

[edit]

2002–2003: Formation and early recordings

[edit]

Prior to forming Ultrabeat, Mike Di Scala, Chris Henry and Ian Redman were DJ’s (Disc Jockey’s) in Liverpool and mixed in the same circle of friends. With a common interest in late-1990s happy hardcore music, the group decided to enter studio for recording sessions. Initially, their productions were bootleg versions of old happy hardcore tracks recorded in order to improve their DJ sets.[1] In 2002 Ultrabeat produced their first remixes and the first record by the group was a double A-side 12-inch single "Sonic Burnin'"/"Boomcore" released on label BCD Records in January 2003. The Ultrabeat name originated from Scottish DJ group Ultrasonic and Boomcore’s let the beat go boom line. Di Scala was previously a member of Rezonance Q, who had chart success with their cover of "Someday" by Mariah Carey. Di Scala played his record label Ultrabeat's demo of "Pretty Green Eyes", a cover of Force & Styles, and following this they were also signed by the label.[2]

2003–2007: Ultrabeat: The Album era

[edit]

"Pretty Green Eyes" went on to peak at Number #2 on the UK Singles Chart in August 2003, behind "Breathe" by Blu Cantrell featuring Sean Paul. It was playlisted on most radio stations including BBC Radio 1, and was performed live on Top of the Pops.[3] The following single was "Feelin' Fine" which peaked at number twelve on the UK Singles Chart in December 2003. Their next release was "Better Than Life", which was issued the following year and peaked at number twenty three on the UK Singles Chart.[4]

Their next single, "Feel It with Me", was released ten months after "Better than Life", and peaked at number fifty five on the UK Singles Chart in 2005. An album (originally titled Better than Life: The Album) was expected to be released around this time, although this never materialised.[5]

In 2005, vocalist Rebecca Rudd joined the group. Her first track with Ultrabeat titled "Elysium (I Go Crazy) which sampled Scott Brown's "Elysium", reached #38 in the UK charts. "Elysium (I Go Crazy)" was played on TV music channels more frequently than "Feel It with Me" and was voted number one on MTV's 'Galaxy Chart'.[6][7]

Their sixth single was a collaboration with Darren Styles, "Sure Feels Good", and was released in August 2007. It peaked at number fifty one on the UK Singles Chart. It was the second single featuring Rudd and along with "Elysium (I Go Crazy)" was the second collaboration with another hardcore artist. In September 2007 the band released their album, Ultrabeat: The Album, which peaked at number eight on the UK Albums Chart. At that time band undertook a national tour in support of Cascada (who are also on the AATW label). Their seventh single, "I Wanna Touch You", was released on 4 February 2008.[8] [9]

2008–present: The Weekend Has Landed era

[edit]

A new single "Discolights" was released in June 2008. An original release date of 12 January 2009 was set for the album, but despite this, it has been leaked onto the internet on various file sharing platforms.[10][11][12]

The first single from the album was Discolights. It peaked at number twenty three on the UK Singles Chart. The second single from the album was Never Ever, which did not achieve a peak on the UK Singles Charts. The third single was Starry Eyed Girl, which, like the majority of the album, did not achieve a peak on the UK Singles Chart, and the fourth is Use Somebody, a cover of Kings of Leon's track from their multi-platinum album Only by the Night. The album was released on 26 October 2009 and includes 18 tracks plus a chronology DVD of all of their music videos, including Pretty Green Eyes, Feelin' Fine, The Stalker, Discolights and more.

Following The Weekend Has Landed album, Ultrabeat released three singles, "Bring It Back", "You Will See" and "Rising". A new song "Rain Stops" appeared on Clubland X-Treme Hardcore 9 in 2013.

Other projects

[edit]

The group produced a track called "Pumpanola" using the alias Hi-Flyerz which appeared on Clubland X-Treme in 2003. In 2012, they had a hit single with "Da Bop" using the alias WTF!, which samples the 1967 song "Our Neighbour" (Russian: "Наш сосед" nash sosed) by Russian singer Edita Piekha. Two songs recorded by the group using the name Steampunk, "Loki's Theme" and "Forever Loved", appeared on Clubland X-Treme Hardcore 9 in 2013[citation needed].

Di Scala, Henry and Lee Butler recorded using several aliases such as 3 Amigos, King of Clubs and The Tranceriffs on BCD Records. Di Scala left the group in 2013, to focus on his new band CamelPhat with Dave Whelan, for which he formed in 2006. Chris Henry and Mike Di Scala have also recorded using the name M&C Project, releasing songs "Coming Back" (2005), a cover of Siedah Garrett's "Do You Want It Right Now" (2006) and "Magic Touch" (2007). Chris Henry is also a member of N-Force, with Jorg Schmid.[citation needed]

Members

[edit]
  • Chris Henry – disc jockey, producer (2002–present)
  • Ian Redman – disc jockey, producer (2002–present)
  • Mike "Re-Con" Di Scala – vocals, disc jockey, producer (2002–2013)
  • Rebecca Rudd - vocals (2005−present)

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[13] 		IRE
[14]
Ultrabeat: The Album 8 51
The Weekend Has Landed
  • Released: 26 October 2009
  • Label: All Around the World, Universal Music TV
  • Formats: CD+DVD, digital download
 29 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

Singles

[edit]
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[13] 		UK Dance AUS
[16] 		AUT
[17] 		BEL
[18] 		IRE
[14] 		NL
[17] 		SCO
"Sonic Burnin'" / "Boomcore"[19] 2003 — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Pretty Green Eyes"[20] 2 1 102 — 56 7 37 1 Ultrabeat: The Album
"Feelin' Fine"[21] 12 1 — — — 26 35 8
"Better than Life"[22] 2004 23 2 — — 65 34 51 15
"Feel It with Me"[23] 2005 57 3 — — — — — 37
"Elysium (I Go Crazy)"[24]
(vs. Scott Brown) 		2006 35 4 153 — — 40 — 13
"Sure Feels Good"[25]
(vs. Darren Styles) 		2007 52 5 — — — — — 24
"I Wanna Touch You"[26] 2008 — — — — — — — —
"Discolights"[27]
(vs. Darren Styles) 		23 2 — — — 28 — 4 The Weekend Has Landed
"Never Ever"[28] 2009 — — — — — — — —
"Starry Eyed Girl"[29] — — — — — — — —
"Use Somebody"[30] 100 40 — — — — — —
"Bring It Back"[31] 2011 — — — — — — — — Non-album singles
"You Will See"[32]
(vs. Hypasonic) 		2012 — — — — — — — —
"Da Bop"[33]
(as WTF!) 		— — — 63 — — 4 —
"The Sway"[34]
(as WTF!) 		— — — — — — — —
"Rising"[35] — — — — — — — —
"Pretty Green Eyes 2013"[36] 2013 — — — — — — — —
"Hallelujah"[37] 2020 — — — — — — — —
"Livin On A Prayer" [featuring Flip & Fill] 2023 Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Remixes

[edit]
Title Year Artist(s)
"Loud and Proud" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] 2002 Brooklyn Bounce
"I Believe in Love" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Cooper
"See Me Here" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Orion
"When I Call Your Name" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] 2003 Haifa
"If You Leave Me Now" (Ultrabeat remix)[38] The System presents Kerri B
"Crazy Sexy Marvellous" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Paffendorf
"(I Just) Died in Your Arms" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Resource
"I'll Be Your Angel" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Kira
"Magic Fly" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Minimalistix
"Overload" (Ultrabeat remix)[39] VooDoo & Serano
"Passion" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Amen! UK
"Maria (I Like It Loud)" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Scooter vs. Marc Acardipane & Dick Rules
"Come & Fly with Me" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Element
"Paradise & Dreams" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] The Force
"Welcome to Tomorrow" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Miss Peppermint
"Irish Blue" (Ultrabeat remix)[40] 2004 Flip & Fill featuring Junior
"Look at Us" (Ultrabeat remix)[41] Northern Heightz
"Come into My Dream" (Ultrabeat remix)[42] Foggy
"It's Over Now" (Ultrabeat remix)[43] 2005 Big Ang featuring Siobhan
"Easy" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] 2006 Sugababes
"I Will Love Again" (Ultrabeat remix)[44] 2007 Kelly Llorenna
"Rise Again" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Breeze vs. Lost Witness
"About You Now" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Sugababes
"Show Me Heaven" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Micky Modelle vs. Jessy
"What Hurts the Most" (Ultrabeat remix)[45] Cascada
"Headbone Connected" (Ultrabeat remix)[46] Maximum Spell
"Piece of Heaven" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] 2008 Beatplayers featuring Lara McAllen
"Right by Your Side" (Ultrabeat remix)[47] N-Force vs. Darren Styles
"Gotta Tell You" (Ultrabeat remix)[48] Micky Modelle vs. Samantha Mumba
"What Is Happening" (Alphabeat vs. Ultrabeat)[19] Alphabeat
"True Faith" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Liz Kay
"Burning Love" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Katie Jewels
"Hold Me Tonight" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Manian
"Apologize" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Dee Grees vs. The Real Booty Babes
"Everywhere" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] 2009 Master Blaster
"Blade (Phatt Bass)" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Ali Payami vs. Aquagen featuring Warp Brothers
"Strong Again" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] N-Dubz
"I'll Be There" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Stunt
"Evacuate the Dancefloor" (Ultrabeat remix)[49] Cascada
"Fight for this Love" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Cheryl Cole
"Boys and Girls" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Pixie Lott
"Do You Know" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] eSQUIRE & Di Scala featuring Ruth Cullen
"If You Were Mine" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Alex K
"Sound without a Name" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] 2010 Darren Styles
"Broken Arrow" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] Pixie Lott
"Together" (Ultrabeat remix)[50] Pet Shop Boys
"Girls" (Ultrabeat remix)[51] 2011 N-Dubz
"30 Days" (Ultrabeat remix)[19] 2012 The Saturdays

Music videos

[edit]
Title Year Director(s)
"Pretty Green Eyes" 2003 Jamie Balliu[52]
"Feelin' Fine"
"Better than Life" 2004 Tom King[53][54]
"Feel It with Me" 2005
"Elysium (I Go Crazy)"
(vs. Scott Brown) 		2006 Mike Cockayne[55]
"Sure Feels Good"
(vs. Darren Styles) 		2007 Kevin Hewitt[56]
"Megamix" Various
"I Wanna Touch You" Kevin Hewitt[57]
"Discolights"
(vs. Darren Styles) 		2008 Paul Boyd[58]
"Never Ever" Andy Soup[59]
"The Stalker" 2009 Iain Titterington[60]
"Starry Eyed Girl"
"Don't Wanna Let Go"
(vs. Darren Styles) 		Michael Holdaway[61]
"Use Somebody" Graham Hector[62]
"Megamix Part 2" 2010 Various
"Bring It Back"
"Waiting for a Girl Like You" 2011
"Da Bop"
(as WTF!) 		2012
"The Sway"
(as WTF!) 		Lina Schütze[63]
"Rising" Ben Peters[64]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Clubland Podcast April 2007". UMTV/AATW. Retrieved 20 April 2007. [dead link]
  2. ^ "AATW Ultrabeat Artist Page". AATW. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  3. ^ BBC.co.uk
  4. ^ "AATW Ultrabeat Artist Page". AATW. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  5. ^ "Clubland Ultrabeat Artist Page". UMTV/AATW. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  6. ^ "Ultrabeat". All Around the World. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  7. ^ "Ultrabeat Top the Galaxy Chart". MTV. Archived from the original on 20 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  8. ^ "Ultrabeat v Darren Styles - Sure Feels Good". All Around the World. Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
  9. ^ "Clubland AATW Ultrabeat Artist Page". AATW. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  10. ^ Amazon.co.uk. "Disco Lights: Ultrabeat". Amazon UK. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
  11. ^ "Clubland Podcast October 2007". UMTV/AATW. Retrieved 29 October 2007.[dead link]
  12. ^ "Re-Con & Squad-E Interview". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
  13. ^ a b "Ultrabeat". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Ultrabeat - Music Charts". achart.us. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  15. ^ a b c d "British certifications – Ultrabeat". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 October 2024. Type Ultrabeat in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  16. ^ "Ultrabeat chart history, received from ARIA in May 2024". ARIA. Retrieved 16 June 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  17. ^ a b dutchcharts.nl
  18. ^ "Discografie Ultrabeat". Ultratop. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai "Ultrabeat Discography & Songs". Discogs. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  20. ^ "Pretty Green Eyes by Ultrabeat". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  21. ^ "Feelin' Fine by Ultrabeat". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  22. ^ "Better than Life by Ultrabeat". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  23. ^ "Feel It with Me by Ultrabeat". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  24. ^ "Elysium (I Go Crazy) by Scott Brown & Ultrabeat". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  25. ^ "Sure Feels Good by Ultrabeat vs. Darren Styles". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  26. ^ "I Wanna Touch You by Ultrabeat". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  27. ^ "Discolights by Ultrabeat vs. Darren Styles". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  28. ^ "Never Ever - EP von Ultrabeat". iTunes Store (DE). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  29. ^ "Starry Eyed Girl von Ultrabeat". iTunes Store (DE). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  30. ^ "Use Somebody (Remixes) von Ultrabeat". iTunes Store (DE). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  31. ^ "Ultrabeat Downloads at Trackitdown". trackitdown.net. Archived from the original on 29 December 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  32. ^ "You Will See (Ultrabeat vs. Hypasonic) - Single by Ultrabeat & Hypasonic". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  33. ^ "Da Bop (Remixes) - EP von by WTF!". iTunes Store (DE). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  34. ^ "The Sway (Remixes) - EP von WTF!". iTunes Store (DE). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  35. ^ "Rising by Ultrabeat". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  36. ^ "Pretty Green Eyes 2013 by Ultrabeat". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  37. ^ "Hallelujah by Ultrabeat". Apple Music (Australia). 17 December 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  38. ^ "If You Leave Me Now (The System Presents Kerri B) - Single by Kerri B". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  39. ^ "Overload by Voodoo & Serano". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  40. ^ "Irish Blue (feat. Junior) - EP by Flip & Fill". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  41. ^ "Look At Us (Ultrabeat Remix) by Northern Heightz". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  42. ^ "Look At Us by Northern Heightz". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  43. ^ "It's Over Now (Bonus Track Version)[Remixes][feat. Siobhan] - Single by Big Ang". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  44. ^ "I Will Love Again by Kelly Llorenna". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  45. ^ "What Hurts the Most by Cascada". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  46. ^ "Headbone Connected by Maximum Spell". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  47. ^ "Right By Your Side by N-Force vs. Darren Styles". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  48. ^ "Gotta Tell You by Micky Modelle vs. Smantha Mumba". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  49. ^ "Evacuate the Dancefloor - EP by Cascada". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  50. ^ "Together - Single by Pet Shop Boys". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  51. ^ "Girls by N-Dubz". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  52. ^ "Jennifer Chapman Choreographer Credits". Archived from the original on 4 August 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  53. ^ "Joe Dyer - Director of Photography". Archived from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  54. ^ "Marcus Domleo Director of Photography" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  55. ^ "Ultrabeat artist videography". Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  56. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  57. ^ "Untitled Document". Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  58. ^ "Music Videos Poya Pictures". Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  59. ^ "Leanne Stott" (PDF). Chapter People. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  60. ^ "CV". Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  61. ^ http://www.channels.com/episodes/8251573[permanent dead link]
  62. ^ "Sarah Lamber, Dancer, London". Mandy. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  63. ^ "Lina Schütze - WTF! - The Sway". Menigma. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  64. ^ "Ultrabeat - Rising". n22films. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
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