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Haddaway is the one who has given a credible face to Euro-pop and he
faces a career that is more than simply a flash in the pan. Born in
Tobago he moved to Washington DC at the age of nine. He grew up to the
sounds of Louis Armstrong, which encouraged him to take up the trumpet
and form his first group, Chances, at the age of 14. After a stint at
college he moved to Cologne in 1987 and embarked upon a successful
marketing career where he worked mainly in bars! Subsequently he decided
to use his creative skills more directly and formed his own company,
Energy, which organised fashion shows and photo-shoots. Energy has been
apportioned to his pals now, but Haddaway is still in business,
indulging his interest in Ultra sports.
Haddaway’s initial success in Britain came in March 1993 with the
single What Is Love?. Simultaneously it topped charts in Germany,
America and just about everywhere else. Since then his success as a solo
artist has gone from strength to strength, gathering momentum. The
follow up singles had equal success. Life reached No.6, next came I Miss
You a gentle but electrifying ballad and the final release from his
debut, Haddaway - The Album, Rock My Heart which also reached number
nine.
Haddaway’s career has lasted three healthy years due mainly to a rich
mix of dance tunes and sophisticated ballads and a vocal and musical
dexterity not often seen in such abundance. It’s a far cry from the
little boy who was scared to sing in front of people at school. Now
Haddaway is not only striding along the charts at frequent intervals,
he’s also received much acclaim as a live performer - or more
specifically as an entertainer.
Haddaway’s last album The Drive was a hotpot of ballads and hi-energy
workouts. Not wanting to abandon the infallible magic of his
collaborations with Dee Dee Halligan, Junior Torelllo and Alex Trime, he
has continued the formula but produced a large portion of the album both
by himself and with Alex and Desmond Child. Lover Be Thy Name,
co-written and co-produced by the man himself is one of the best ballads
to have come out of Europe in a long time.
Haddaway avoids the usual rock and roll downfalls, booze and drugs, and
is fast gaining a reputation for being one of the hardest working
artists in Europe.
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