In_Memory_Of..._(D:Ream_album)

D Ream

D Ream

Northern Irish pop and dance band


D:Ream is a Northern Irish/English pop & dance group. They had a UK No. 1 hit with "Things Can Only Get Better" in 1994. Eight more top 40 hits followed, including "U R the Best Thing" and "Shoot Me with Your Love".[1] Their two 90s studio albums reached the UK top five.[1]

Quick Facts Origin, Genres ...

The group had a line-up which varied in number, but centred on lead singer Peter Cunnah. The live band included keyboard player Brian Cox, who later became a science broadcaster on television, although Cunnah played keyboards on studio recordings.

Early career

In 1992, D:Ream released the single "U R the Best Thing", a piano-house tune which did not chart. However, thanks to a Sasha remix, it was Pete Tong's Essential Tune of 1992. "Things Can Only Get Better", released in the spring of 1993, gave the group their first chart success. "U R The Best Thing" was eventually re-released in April 1993 and was the group's second chart hit. In 1994, they were nominated for Best Dance act in the MTV Europe music awards, and then for Best Single in the 1995 BRIT Awards.

The band's first album, D:Ream on Volume 1, which was promoted for almost two years, produced seven singles ("Star" and "I Like It" came on a joint release as a double A-side). It was the track "Things Can Only Get Better" that gave them UK success and international fame. After they supported Take That on their tour, "Things Can Only Get Better" topped the UK Singles Chart, in early 1994.[1] Originally released in early 1993, when the track reached No. 24 in the UK,[1] it was later adopted by the Labour Party as their theme for the 1997 UK General Election, and consequently released for the third time; this time reaching No. 19 on the UK chart.[1]

The band released two studio albums, D:Ream on Volume 1 (1992) and World (1995), ten different singles, two of which were released three times, and an official greatest hits album, (The Best of D:Ream). In 1997, the group's record label released their first compilation, The Best of D:Ream. In 2006, a second collection was released, for The Platinum Collection series.

When D:Ream broke through into the charts, the band's main touring line-up consisted of core members Peter Cunnah (vocalist, songwriter) and Al Mackenzie (musician). Other main performers included physicist Brian Cox, who played keyboards for several years while working towards his physics PhD before being replaced by Simon Ellis, as well as Derek Chai on bass, and drummer Mark Roberts. The group also used a number of guest vocalists, such as T.J. Davis, who is featured as co-lead vocalist on "The Power (Of All the Love in the World)", one of the singles taken from their second album. He also provided backing vocals on many other songs.

Reunion, and split-up

In 2008 D:Ream reformed after a chance meeting by Cunnah and Mackenzie. Their single, "All Things to All Men" was released on 7 September 2009 on their own label User Records. They released the album In Memory Of... in 2011. They also planned concert dates to follow.[2] Meanwhile, Brian Cox became a physics professor and science broadcaster who has worked on the Large Hadron Collider project.[3] In late 2010 he announced that he was to provide some keyboard work for the new album, but would not be re-joining the band full-time.[4] As part of their 2012 commitments, the band played main support to Wheatus at the LeeStock Music Festival in Sudbury, Suffolk.[5]

On July 23, 2021 Cunnah and Mackenzie released a new studio album, "Open Hearts Open Minds".

Discography

Studio albums

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Compilations

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Extended plays

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Singles

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See also


References

  1. "Official Charts > Dream". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 29 April 2016. N.B. This page also contains peaks for the group 'Dream'
  2. "About D:REAM". Myspace. 25 May 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  3. "Things have only got better for Brian | Oldham Advertiser – menmedia.co.uk". Oldham Advertiser. 11 April 2007. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  4. "Professor Brian Cox to rejoin D:Ream". BBC News. 19 November 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  5. Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
  6. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > D:Ream – D:Ream on Vol. 1 (album)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  7. "Discogs List of Releases". Discogs UK. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  8. UK Club Chart peaks:
  9. "Austrian chart". austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  10. Belgian (Flanders region) peaks:
  11. Eurochart Hot 100 singles peaks:
  12. German singles chart peaks:
  13. "dutchcharts.nl > Zoeken naar: D:Ream" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  14. "New Zealand Chart". charts.nz. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  15. Portuguese singles chart peaks:
  16. "Swiss Chart". Swiss Charts. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  17. "Swedish chart". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  18. "US Dance Club Play Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 18 October 2014.

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