Fun Fun
Fun Fun were an Italian Italo disco musical group which was active from 1983 to 1994. Their hits included "Colour My Love" and "Baila Bolero".[2]
Fun Fun | |
---|---|
Origin | Italy |
Genres | Italo disco, Hi-NRG |
Years active | 1983–1994 |
Labels | X-Energy, Polydor |
Associated acts | Spagna, Advance[1] |
Members | Francesca Merola (model) Natalia Rolla (model) Roberta Servelli (model) Elena Trastulli (model) Antonella Pepe (vocals) Angela Parisi (vocals) Ivana Spagna (vocals) |
Career
Producers Dario Raimondi and Alvaro Ugolini teamed up with studio vocalists Antonella Pepe, Angela Parisi and Ivana Spagna to create a bouncy, high-energy, dancefloor-friendly sound. Their first release, 1983's "Happy Station", found success in Italy and other parts of Europe, thanks to several extended versions, including the most well known "Scratch" version.[3] It also reached number 1 in South Africa.[4] "Happy Station" was also popular in Chicago and was played by DJs on WBMX.[5]
Upon receiving invitations for live performances, Raimondi and Ugolini decided to use models for Fun Fun's public image rather than the vocalists themselves, a common tactic used in the European dance music scene by artists like Baltimora and Den Harrow. Have Fun!, the band's first full album from 1984, featured Francesca Merola and Roberta Servelli as the on-stage faces for the group. Have Fun! featured other popular dance singles, including "Give Me Your Love," "Living In Japan" and the band's oft-covered signature hit "Colour My Love", which became popular in American nightclubs because of its insistent synth bassline and easily mixable percussion intro.
After Have Fun!, Spagna left Fun Fun and started a solo career, returning for occasional lyrical contributions. Fun Fun continued on with Merola and Elena Trastulli (who replaced Servelli) as models and a new musician/producer Larry Pignagnoli, releasing a second album, 1987's Double Fun. Double Fun had several singles, including "Could This Be Love" and a cover of Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'." However, the biggest hit from Double Fun was "Baila Bolero", a Spanish-flavored dance ballad. A megamix featuring most of the group's major hits, the "Mega Hit Mix", was released on a 12" single soon afterward.
Fun Fun tried a new direction in 1989 with the single "Give Me Love", which had only minimal success. Several years later, the band released its last original song, "I'm Needin' You", in a 90's Eurodance style, to equally minimal success. Since then, the only Fun Fun releases have been best-of compilations or DJ remixes/reconstructions of their previous hits.
Discography
Studio albums
- 1984 - Have Fun!
- 1987 - Double Fun
Compilation albums
- 1991 - The Best of Fun Fun (ZYX Records)
- 1994 - The Best of Fun Fun (Snake's Music)
- 1994 - Greatest Fun - The Best of
- 1996 - The Best of Fun Fun - Color My Love
- 2003 - The Best of Fun Fun (Discos CNR Chile)
- 2006 - The Greatest Fun
- 2017 - Greatest Hits & Remixes
Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUT [6] |
BEL (FLA) [7] |
GER [8] |
NLD [9] |
SWE [10] |
SWI [11] |
US Dance [12] | |||||||||||
"Happy Station" | 1983 | 15 | 1 | 11 | 8 | — | — | — | Have Fun! | ||||||||
"Colour My Love" | 1984 | — | 8 | 17 | 15 | 6 | — | 9 | |||||||||
"Give Me Your Love" | — | 28 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 23 | ||||||||||
"Living in Japan" | 1985 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
"Sing Another Song" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
"Tell Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
"Baila Bolero" | 1986 | — | 31 | — | 17 | — | 16 | — | Double Fun | ||||||||
"Gimme Some Lovin'" | 1987 | — | 37 | — | 71 | — | — | — | |||||||||
"Could This Be Love" | — | — | — | 85 | — | — | — | ||||||||||
"Mega Hit Mix" | — | 7 | — | 4 | — | — | — | Single only | |||||||||
"Give Me Love" | 1989 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 29 | |||||||||
"I'm Needin' You" | 1994 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Greatest Fun - The Best Of | ||||||||
"—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. |
References
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/45450-Advance
- https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p201653/charts-awards
- http://www.discogs.com/artist/Fun+Fun
- http://rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(F).html Retrieved 13 March 2014
- https://thebeatchicago.com/color-my-love/ Retrieved 29 May 2020
- "Austriancharts.at: Fun Fun". austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
- "Ultratop Vlaanderen: Fun Fun". Ultratop. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
- "Offizielle Deutsche Charts (Fun Fun)". Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- "Media Markt Top 40: Fun Fun". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
- "Swedishcharts.com: Fun Fun". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
- "Hitparade.ch: Fun Fun (Singles)". Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
- Fun Fun Chart History | Billboard Billboard.com