Love City Groove
Encyclopedia
Love City Groove represented the United Kingdom
in the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest
, with a self-titled song
after being the runaway winner in a public vote. The pop
/rap
song finished tenth with 76 points; and peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart
. Love City Groove were formed by a collective including music/performing arts students from the BRIT School For Performing Arts & Technology
. The band consisted of Stephen Rudden, Jay Williams, Yinka Charles (aka 'Reason') and Paul Hardy.
Despite the success of their Eurovision entry which went onto sell over 200,000 copies in the UK they had trouble repeating the trick. The follow-up "Soft Spot" missed out on the UK chart
. This was followed by "J.U.M.P" which likewise did not enter the official UK listing. Their debut album
Hard Times received a limited release, and sold in small quantities. The group then split from their record label
, Planet 3. The band returned a year later with a cover
of the track "I Found Lovin'". With several line up changes, but not much success, the group finally split for good.
Stephen Rudden then submitted a song originally written
for Love City Groove but sung by a new group called The Collective for an appearance in the 1998 A Song For Europe contest, to try for a second stab at Eurovision glory but ended up coming last of four performers with the song "When We're Alone (We Dream)". The track was released but missed out on a UK chart position. Rudden continued to write and mix music for other artists
, television
and film
.
Paul Hardy continues to sing, performing tribute shows throughout the country and abroad. Jay Williams retired from the music industry, and now works in property.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1995
The Eurovision Song Contest 1995 was the 40th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 13 May 1995 in the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. The presenter was Mary Kennedy. This contest broke the chain of victories that Ireland enjoyed in 1992, 1993, and 1994...
, with a self-titled song
Love City Groove (song)
"Love City Groove" is a song by British rap group Love City Groove that represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 1995.On the night of the contest the song was performed 15th in the running order, following Belgium's Frédéric Etherlinck with "La voix est libre" and preceding...
after being the runaway winner in a public vote. The pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
song finished tenth with 76 points; and peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Love City Groove were formed by a collective including music/performing arts students from the BRIT School For Performing Arts & Technology
BRIT School
The London School for Performing Arts & Technology is a British school located in Selhurst, Croydon, in London, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, media, art and design and the technologies that make performance possible...
. The band consisted of Stephen Rudden, Jay Williams, Yinka Charles (aka 'Reason') and Paul Hardy.
Despite the success of their Eurovision entry which went onto sell over 200,000 copies in the UK they had trouble repeating the trick. The follow-up "Soft Spot" missed out on the UK chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. This was followed by "J.U.M.P" which likewise did not enter the official UK listing. Their debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Hard Times received a limited release, and sold in small quantities. The group then split from their record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Planet 3. The band returned a year later with a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the track "I Found Lovin'". With several line up changes, but not much success, the group finally split for good.
Stephen Rudden then submitted a song originally written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
for Love City Groove but sung by a new group called The Collective for an appearance in the 1998 A Song For Europe contest, to try for a second stab at Eurovision glory but ended up coming last of four performers with the song "When We're Alone (We Dream)". The track was released but missed out on a UK chart position. Rudden continued to write and mix music for other artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
.
Paul Hardy continues to sing, performing tribute shows throughout the country and abroad. Jay Williams retired from the music industry, and now works in property.