Double You (b. 1985)
Birthplace:
La Spezia, Liguria, Italy
Born:
January 1, 1985
Double You are an Italian Techno and Eurodance group founded in 1985 by vocalist William Naraine, keyboardist and producer Franco Amato and DJ Andrea de Antoni. By 1992, they had sold more than three million records. "Please Don't Go", a dance version of KC & the Sunshine Band's 1979 ballad, is one of their major hits. Since 2013, they have been fronted by Naraine, Gino Martini, Gustavo Filipovich, Paulo Soveral and Missaka. Double You formed in La Spezia. In 1991, they met with the producer Roberto Zanetti, who agreed on recording the band. In January 1992, "Please Don't Go", a dance version of the KC and the Sunshine Band song, was released, earning many gold and platinum records in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. The record also sold in North America (top ten maxi sales), Israel (#12) and in the UK (#2 on the Cool Cuts Chart) The second single, "We All Need Love" (cover of Canadian artist Domenic Troiano from 1979) was recorded in June 1992 during a European tour and charted around the world. After this second single, their debut album We All Need Love followed, which put together songs such as "Who's Fooling Who" (cover of a One Way song and the third single) and "Why (Let's Make It Christmas)". They performed the latter together with the original composer and singer of "Please Don't Go", Harry Casey, professionally known as "KC". At the end of 1993, the recording of the second album, the Blue Album, started. These singles followed: "Missing You", "Part Time Lover", "Heart of Glass" and "Run to Me" (the song gave the group the possibility of starting their first tour in North America in 1995). They performed in such cities as Miami, Daytona, Orlando and other towns along the east coast. The group performed in theatres and concert halls in Brazil, such as the Metropolitan in Rio de Janeiro and Olympia in São Paulo. In less than three months, the group performed 64 shows, attended by more than 350,000 people. In 1995, a new single, "Dancing with an Angel" was released, featuring singer Sandra Chambers. A long Italian tour began, lasting eight months. The song was also a success in other countries such as Switzerland, Australia, Israel and Latin America. Another single, "Because I'm Loving You", was released in different versions. It was a big hit in Spain, Italy, Israel (where it reached No. 1) and Brazil and one of the most aired on European radios. At the beginning of 1996, Andrea de Antoni left the group to undertake his own artistic career. In this period, Double You was in great demand in Brazil, so the new tour started. There they performed in the most important concert halls of the country. The group dedicated the album Forever to all their Brazilian fans. Half of this new album was produced in Italy and the rest in Brazil. It was released only in that country, selling 150,000 copies. A single was released in the same year in Brazil only, under the label Spotlight, entitled "If You Say Goodbye". ... Source: Article "Double You" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.