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Posted by: Danvember 5th November 2015, 07:28 PM

so it seems that the John Lewis song will be done by Aurora. Obviously not the same artist as the British dance group that had a #5 hit with the lush trance 'Ordinary World', a cover of Duran Duran.



Another example is Naughty Boy, currently in the charts with 'Runnin (Lose It All)' but another Naughty Boy went to #36 in 2006 with 'Phat Beach (I'll Be Ready)' which sampled the Baywatch theme. The following week Sunblock debuted at #4 with a very similar sounding song more simply titled 'I'll Be Ready'. Not that I was there at the time but I presume the Naughty Boy version acted as a 'fake'.

Posted by: 🌚🌚🌚 5th November 2015, 07:34 PM

always wondered about this actually.. like there must be a lot of people who have released material as 'Adele' by now but there has t been some legal case against THE adele using just her first name.. like fka twigs having to change her name because there was already a twigs. hm

Posted by: Luciano 5th November 2015, 07:46 PM

Or Adele Sandé having to go with her second name Emeli to start a career.

Posted by: scratchy23 5th November 2015, 07:50 PM

I know this isn't what you're looking for but I always find it funny that...

Rihanna is called Robyn
Duffy is called Amy
Emeli Sande is called Adele

Posted by: 🌚🌚🌚 5th November 2015, 07:52 PM

! never new about sande! aha poor thing

Posted by: Bré 5th November 2015, 07:55 PM

A DJ called Fergie had 4 top 100 hits between 2000 and 2003, prior to the Black Eyed Pea of the same name's solo hits. (The OCC website doesn't separate these from each other incidentally )

A band called Nirvana had a hit in 1968 with 'Rainbow Chaser', a few decades before the more well-known band of the same name.

2 I can think of immediately, I'm sure there are a ton more.

Posted by: Dobweb 5th November 2015, 08:12 PM

There was a band called Blue who had a #18 hit with Gonna Capture Your Heart in 1977, long time before the boyband came along.

Posted by: Suedehead2 5th November 2015, 08:27 PM

A band called Oasis (featuring Mary Hopkin, the first singer to release a single on Apple records and Peter Skellern, who also had hits of his own) had a hit album in 1984.

For his earliest hits, Cliff Richard's backing band was called The Drifters. They changed their name to The Shadows because of the American group called The Drifters.

Posted by: N-S 5th November 2015, 09:06 PM

Three different artists have had chart hits under the moniker Nicole

- Nicole Hochloch who had a #1 with her 1982 Eurovision winning song A Little Peace and #75 follow-up Give More Time

- Nicole Ray's 1998 #22 hit Make It Hot (featuring Missy Elliott and Mocca). Her follow-up I Can't See (#55) was released as Nicole Ray.

- Another artist named Nicole had a # 69 hit in 1996 Runnin' Away.

Not the same thing but remember that singer named RHIANNA who had the 2002 top 20 hit Oh Baby and barely missed the top 40 with follow-up Word Love?

Posted by: SLlewellyn 5th November 2015, 09:13 PM

That 'Naughty Boy' track has been on his Wikipedia singles discography for a few years now (certainly since "La La La" was released) - are we 100% sure that it's not the same artist?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naughty_Boy#Singles

Posted by: The Hit Parade 5th November 2015, 09:14 PM

I do remember Rhianna. Last time I looked her top 10 tracks on Last.FM were all spelling mistakes from Rihanna listeners.

Skid Row is another well-known example. I believe the American Skid Row actually bought the name from the previous Irish act.

Posted by: Suedehead2 5th November 2015, 11:29 PM

Two bands called Catch have had hit singles (just). One had number 70 hit in 1990. Another band of that name reached number 23 with Bingo. The follow-up reached number 44.

Posted by: The Hit Parade 6th November 2015, 12:11 AM

There's also The Klaxons who went Top 50 with a novelty song called 'The Clap-Clap Sound' in 1983 and Klaxons who had a few hits circa 2006-7 but are at best an albums act now. Is that close enough to count?

Posted by: Bré 6th November 2015, 12:57 AM

Yes, it's definitely not the same artist. The 2006 Naughty Boy is a German trio.

Posted by: The Hit Parade 6th November 2015, 12:17 PM

A post on another forum has reminded me of Gun (band featuring Adrian Gurvitz, had one hit with 'Race With the Devil' in 1968) and Gun (Scottish rock act had several hits from 1989-97 and are still releasing albums today, briefly changed their name to G.U.N.).

Posted by: M4NGO 6th November 2015, 12:27 PM

Indie band Space had a few hits in the 90s (including my favourite, Neighbourhood ) but there was also a French (I think) band called Space who had a #2 hit in 1977.

Posted by: The Hit Parade 6th November 2015, 12:33 PM

Yep, the 'Magic Fly' Space were French. It was in the Top 5 at the same time as Jean-Michel Jarre, probably the only time two French instrumental acts have been in the UK Top 5 at the same time.

Posted by: Suedehead2 6th November 2015, 01:11 PM

I should have remembered them Magic Fly was fun, and Neighbourhood was indeed a good song. Female Of The Species was good too.

Posted by: M4NGO 6th November 2015, 03:10 PM

I'd rank FOTS 4th behind 'Neighbourhood', 'Me & You Vs The World' and 'The Ballad Of Tom Jones'


'Bingo' was a great little song!!

Posted by: richie 6th November 2015, 03:30 PM

LFO - the original bleep-techno act and the "Lyte Funkie Ones" who were some awful American boy band around the turn of the century.

Posted by: Suedehead2 6th November 2015, 03:36 PM

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about Tom Jones.

It seemed unfashionable to love Bingo at the time, but I always thought it was a really good song.

For anyone who doesn't know it, here it is...



I wonder what the members are doing now

Posted by: M4NGO 6th November 2015, 03:38 PM

I don't think Lyte Funkie Ones were ever credited as LFO though, it was more of an abbreviation similar to 1D for One Direction.

Posted by: N-S 6th November 2015, 03:44 PM

The OCC archive denotes what can be three different artists under the moniker Michelle

- Michel'le (No More Lies, #78 in 1990 and featuring in The Dogg Pound's Let Play House, #82 in 1996)

- Michelle (Standing Here Alone, #69 in 1996)

- Pop Idol Season 2 winner Michelle McManus, whose two singles All This Time and The Meaning Of Love were released under just her first name.

Posted by: N-S 6th November 2015, 03:45 PM

I've read once this story that in the USA, people were buying British band Suede's records, mistakenly thinking they were by an American jazz singer named Suede. She sued the band who thus released their material in the US as The London Suede.

Posted by: M4NGO 6th November 2015, 03:53 PM

According to wikipedia:

"More recently, Slater has written, recorded and released music with a band, initially under the name Kunta Kinte and subsequently as Tough Love. He is also involved in the White Mischief series of Steampunk entertainment events based predominantly in London.[5]

Wayne Murray is currently the touring guitarist for the Manic Street Preachers and fronts a music project named Boy Cried Wolf.[6] Ben Etchells is a sound engineer at Live Sound Training."

Posted by: Suedehead2 6th November 2015, 03:59 PM

It was a ridiculous claim, but, yes, they did have to call themselves The London Suede. Similarly, the Charlatans had to call themselves Charlatans UK, a bit of an irony given their name.

Posted by: Grandwicky 6th November 2015, 05:48 PM

Another band called Nirvana had a #34 hit with Rainbow Chaser in 1968



Ever so slightly different to the much more famous one

Posted by: The Hit Parade 6th November 2015, 06:23 PM

I think Lyte Funkie Ones were credited as LFO on some of their releases in the US, but couldn't do so in the UK because of the existing techno act.

Posted by: paulgilb 6th November 2015, 10:52 PM

Kenny (Irish singer who had 2 hits in 1973; UK group signed to the same label who had 4 hits in 1974-75).

Stargazers (first UK act to top the chart in 1953; group who had 1 minor hit in 1982).

Clint Eastwood (actor/film director whose I Talk To The Trees was initially a double A-side with Lee Marvin's Wand'rin' Star but was de-listed before the track reached #1; Jamaican musician who teamed up with General Saint for 1 hit in 1984).

The Jets (UK act who had several hits in the early 1980s; US family group who charted with Crush On You in 1987).

Divine (US drag queen who had a few hits in the mid 1980s; US girl group who topped the US chart in 1998).

Posted by: Chig66 6th November 2015, 11:15 PM

I inadvertently bought a single by the US Divine group, thinking I'd found a rarity by the Hi-NRG Divine (who I loved).
Imagine my disappointment when I played it...

Posted by: N-S 7th November 2015, 06:23 PM

Everyone remembers that Aurora for that cover, which was good but for me their debut top 20 hit was even better.

Posted by: paulgilb 7th November 2015, 11:12 PM

Sylvia (US singer who charted with Pillow Talk in 1973; Swedish singer who charted with Y Viva Espana in 1974).

Mr Big (UK group who reached #4 in 1977 with Romeo; US group who reached #3 in 1992 with To Be With You).

Shaft (dance act who reached #7 in 1991 with Roobarb And Custard; dance act who reached #2 in 1999 with (Mucho Mambo) Sway).

Free (UK group of the 1970s fronted by Paul Rodgers who would later team up with Queen; US rap group who featured on Wyclef Jean's re-mix of Queen's Another One Bites The Dust).

Bad Company (UK group of the 1970s fronted by the aforementioned Paul Rodgers; UK drum-and-bass group that included DJ Fresh who had 2 minor hits in 2002 before changing their name to Bad Company UK and reaching #24 in 2003).

Posted by: N-S 4th December 2015, 03:54 PM

Singer Grace of "Not Over Yet" fame will no longer be the only singer under the mononym Grace to have a UK top 10 hit.

Posted by: paulgilb 4th December 2015, 11:44 PM

A few more:

Stardust (act who reached #42 in 1977 with Ariana; act who reached #2 with Music Sounds Better With You in 1998)

Lobo (US singer who had 2 top 5 hits in the early 1970s; Dutch singer who reached #8 with The Caribbean Disco Show in 1981)

Karen Young (UK singer who charted with Nobody's Child in 1969; US disco singer who charted with Hot Shot in 1978)

Jagged Edge (UK act who had a minor hit in 1990 with You Don't Love Me; US rap act who twice hit the top 25 before featuring on Notorious BIG's #1 Nasty Girl)

Posted by: zenon 5th December 2015, 12:43 AM

The Detroit Spinners had to go under that name in the UK because there was already a folk band from Liverpool called The Spinners.

Posted by: BillyH 5th December 2015, 01:16 AM

I've always wondered about this! It made no sense that he'd apparently randomly had a top 40 hit several years previous which bore no relation to anything else he'd released. I've removed it from the Wikipedia page.



It might have been the other way around. Several remixes of the theme from 'Baywatch' began circulating around clubs back in 2005, the Naughty Boy mix (basically just the vocals over Leftfield's 'Phat Planet' hence the name 'Phat Beach') got a lot of early airplay, then Sunblock appeared with a much more commercially friendly mix - and video - and hit the top 3. I don't think either of them actually originated the idea though and the vocals sound re-recorded on both, it was basically that year's equivalent of the multiple "Waiting for a Star To Fall" remixes back in 2004-5.

There were a ton of remixes around though, this is back when your average uni crowd were born in the early-mid 1980s so Baywatch would mark a key memory of their childhood. I'm surprised no one's done a deep house remix of the theme from 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' yet...

Posted by: Suedehead2 5th December 2015, 11:39 AM

At least The Spinners had some success in the UK. AFAIK, the American singer Suede had no significant success at all.

Posted by: TheSnake 3rd June 2016, 01:43 PM

JLS were originally caleld UFO but had to change their name becuase of the much earlier heavy metal group

There was another singer called Rhianna (similar spelling) who had a hit in 2002



There was also One Direction (US) but they never had any hits (not yet at least)

Also Shapeshifters, the ones behind Lola's Theme and Shapeshifter, a New Zealand drum and bass act who have had a few hits in New Zealand

There was a short lived ambient house band in the late 90s from Australia called Pendulum who has a number 1 dance chart hit in Australia

And of course David Bowie and David Zowie, who could forget. And also Architects the metal group and Architechs the UK Garage group.

Posted by: AcerBen 3rd June 2016, 02:01 PM

Alibi the boyband duo and Alibi the dance act.

Confusingly, they both also released a cover of Sexual Healing - though only one of them charted.

Posted by: TheSnake 3rd June 2016, 02:09 PM

Also Kris Kross and Kris Kross Amsterdam

And Imany from Don't be So Shy and Imani from Say You Do.

There were two other groups called The Eagles too.

There is another DJ Fresh too from America

Blond was a Swedish boy band who represented Sweden in Eurovision in 1997 and Blonde on Blonde was a band in the late 60s and Blonde is the ones who worked with Craig David of course

Posted by: zenon 3rd June 2016, 02:47 PM

There was also Amen a US rock band and Amen! UK the dance act.

Posted by: zenon 3rd June 2016, 09:30 PM

MØ the Danish singer who sang on Major Lazer's Lean On and M.O. the English girl band.

Posted by: Mango 3rd June 2016, 10:11 PM

That's not really the same though is it, just similar

Posted by: TheSnake 5th June 2016, 11:18 AM

A 'Whitney' album has now appeared on iTunes, I wonder how many people will click on it thinking it is a Whitney Houston album of unreleased material

Posted by: TheSnake 5th June 2016, 11:22 AM

Thats another one, Tough Love are a dance group which had hits in 2015 with So freakin Tight and Pony

Posted by: Dobbo 5th June 2016, 11:36 AM

And Imaani who represented UK at Eurovision!