A Touch of Class (band)
| A Touch of Class | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | ATC |
| Origin | Germany |
| Genres | Europop, Eurodance |
| Years active | 1998–2003 |
| Associated acts | DJ Jurgen |
| Past members |
Joseph "Joey" Murray Sarah Egglestone Tracey Elizabeth Packham Livio Salvi |
A Touch of Class (also known as ATC) was an international pop group based in Germany, although the four members each came from different countries — Joseph "Joey" Murray from New Zealand, Livio Salvi from Italy, Sarah Egglestone from Australia and Tracey Elizabeth Packham from the United Kingdom. The pop group was active from 1998 to 2003 and peaked its popularity after release of "Around The World (La La La La La)" in 2000.
Musical career
Their first single, "Around the World (La La La La La)" (which was an English cover of the song "Pesenka" by the Russian group Ruki Vverh!) was first released on May 9, 2000 and went number one in Germany for six weeks in summer 2000. It was later a Top 40 hit in the United Kingdom and United States. The song was in a television commercial for General Electric in the United States in early 2002. The song was also covered in 2007 by the band BeFour under the name "Magic Melody". In end of 2007, the song was sampled by local producer Beat Ink and it spanned many versions by various artists from many parts of the world. In 2009, that version was used in La La La by rapper Chris Webby. In 2010, the song was sampled in the singles "La La La" by Auburn (featuring Iyaz), which peaked at no. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100, and in "2 in the Morning" by Girlicious, which peaked at no. 35 on the Canadian Hot 100.
Their debut album Planet Pop, featuring songs from Alex Christensen and Clyde Ward, was released on February 6, 2001 by Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Republic Records, for which they were awarded an ECHO for Best Dance Act. Similar-sounding follow-up singles were successful in parts of Europe, but A Touch of Class were mainly remembered for their first hit.
The DJ and producer ATB successfully took the band's record label to court, and they were forced to change their name to A Touch of Class. Three singles were released from their second album Touch the Sky in 2003, but they did not match the success of their previous album, and the group members decided to go their separate ways.
After commercial failure of Touch The Sky, ATC declined and lost in global popularity and was disbanded in mid-2003, rendering all their songs, including "Around The World", independent from the public forever.
Discography
Albums
- 2001: Planet Pop (US #73)
- 2003: Touch the Sky
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | AUT | BEL | FIN | FRA | GER | NED | SWE | SUI | UK | US | |||||
| 2000 | "Around the World (La La La La La)" | 11 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 28 |
|
Planet Pop | |
| "My Heart Beats Like a Drum (Dum Dum Dum)" | 76 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 39 | 3 | 37 | 38 | 21 | — | — |
| |||
| "Why Oh Why" | — | 16 | 39 | — | — | 16 | — | — | 64 | — | — | ||||
| "Thinking of You" | — | — | — | — | — | 46 | — | — | 51 | — | — | ||||
| 2001 | "I'm In Heaven (When You Kiss Me)" | — | 27 | — | — | — | 22 | — | — | 31 | — | — | Touch the Sky | ||
| "Call on Me"[1] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Set Me Free"[2] | — | — | — | — | — | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "New York City" | — | — | — | — | — | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that failed to chart or not released in that country. | |||||||||||||||
References
- ↑ "ATC - Call On Me - CDsp @ FaN Sklep z Muzyką". Fan.pl. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
- ↑ "ATC - Set Me Free - CDsp (P)2002 @ FaN Sklep z Muzyką". Fan.pl. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
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