Code 5 (band)

Code 5 was a Swiss boysband. They enjoyed moderate success in Switzerland with a Top 10 hit "Love Is Your Game" and in Canada with their rendition of Carol Medina's song "And The Song Goes (Doo Dit)".

Code 5
OriginZürich, Switzerland
GenresDance, Pop
Years active1997–1998
Labels Artist Records
Maxmusic
Past membersDamian Meier
Jason Meloche
Michel Bognar
Erkan Yaggi ("EJ")
Igor Marasco
Bernhard Attinger ("Beny")

History

1997: Formation and first single

Code 5 was formed by Artist Records manager Stephan Brunner. The members were chosen from a group of 300 people that attended the casting advertised in the Blick newspaper.[1][2] The band was officially introduced on a press conference in late March 1997, and their first single "Love Is Your Game" debuted on the Swiss singles chart two months later at #9, and maintained the spot for two weeks, becoming their most successful release. The follow-up single, "Hold Me Now", was not as popular and after four weeks on the chart it peaked at #42.

On August 27th 1997 Code 5 performed as an opening act for the Backstreet Boys on their Live in Concert Tour stop in Winterthur.[3]

Damian Meier, who acted both as the lead singer and vocal coach for the band, left the band in November to pursue a solo career, and had been replaced with Canadian Jason Meloche.[4] He debuted with Code 5 on their "I'll Be There For You" single and appeared in the music video.[5] The third single reached No. 27 on Swiss Hitparade.[6]

1998: Album release and breakup

In March 1998 the band left for Canada to record songs for their debut album "Premium".[7] Their fourth single, "And The Song Goes (Doo Dit)", debuted on Canadian RPM Weekly Chart in early May at #97, and reached #24 in mid-August. It turned out to be their last single - despite massive support from the tabloid press, sponsors backed out from the project due to poor sales and negative comments from other media outlets, leaving both the record company (Stephan Brunner allegedly invested 500.000 Swiss francs in the band[8][9]) and group members with financial problems. Amidst growing tensions, Meloche and Marasco left Code 5 in October. By the time "Premium" album was released, the group was disbanded. While Damian Meier is still a performing artist, other group members pursued other interests.

Members
  • Damian Meier (March 1997-November 1997)
  • Jason Meloche (November 1997-October 1998)
  • Erkan "EJ" Yaggi (1997-1998)
  • Michel Bognar (1997-1998)
  • Igor Marasco (1997-1998)
  • Bernhard "Beny" Attinger (1997-1998)

Discography

Singles
Year Single Peak positions
SWI[6] CAN[10]
1997 "Love Is Your Game" 9 —
"Hold Me Now" 42 —
"I'll Be There For You" 27 —
1998 "And The Song Goes (Doo Dit)" — 24
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Albums
Year Title Chart Position
SWI
1998 Premium —

References
  1. "Retortenversuche in der Musikszene". biwidus.ch. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  2. Masserey, Michel (17 April 1997). "Treize heures par jour à suer, dur, dur, la vie du premier boys band suisse". Le Nouveau Quotidien.
  3. "Winterthur im "Backstreet Boys"-Fieber". Bündner Tagblatt: 11. 29 August 1997.
  4. "Code 5: Neuer Boy und 500 Kinder". Blick. 10 November 1997.
  5. ""Er passt perfekt zu uns"". Schweizer Illustrierte. 10 November 1997.
  6. "Code 5 - Swiss chart". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  7. ""Code 5": Ab nach Kanada für erste CD". Blick. 5 March 1998.
  8. "Zoff um den Zaster statt grosse Geschäfte". SonntagsZeitung. 19 April 1998.
  9. "Da müssen wir durch!". Sonntagsblick. 10 June 2001.
  10. "RPM Weekly Charts". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
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