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Let the Beat Control Your Body

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"Let the Beat Control Your Body" is a song by Belgian/Dutch Eurodance band 2 Unlimited. It was released in January 1994 by Byte, ZYX and PWL as the fifth and final single from the band's second album, No Limits (1993).[1] The album version is largely instrumental and contains just a few spoken words from bandmembers Ray Slijngaard and Anita Doth. The single version contains full verses rapped by Slijngaard and a new chorus sung by Doth, which were co-written by them both. The song enjoyed chart success in many European countries, peaking at number two in the Netherlands and within the top 10 in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom. It was nominated in the category for Best Song on MTV Awards.[2] Nigel Simpkiss directed the music video for "Let the Beat Control Your Body", which received heavy rotation on both MTV Europe and VIVA.

"Let the Beat Control Your Body"
cover art
Artwork for continental European releases
Single by 2 Unlimited
from the album No Limits
Released21 January 1994 (1994-01-21)
Length
  • 4:02
  • 3:38 (single remix)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Phil Wilde
  • Jean-Paul De Coster
2 Unlimited singles chronology
"Maximum Overdrive"
(1993) 		"Let the Beat Control Your Body"
(1994) 		"The Real Thing"
(1994)
Music video
"Let the Beat Control Your Body" on YouTube

Reception and airplay

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Miranda Sawyer from The Guardian wrote, "The result is a hectic fusion of marching techno beat, catchy tune, and marvellously bossy lyrics: 'Speed up the pace./ Take it to the maximum./ Let the beat control your body.'"[3] Simon Price from Melody Maker commented, "Try listening to the intros to "No Limit" and "Let the Beat Control Your Body" without going at it like a woodpecker on poppers."[4] James Hamilton from Music Week's RM Dance Update described the song as a "techno-pop galloper".[5] Stephen Dalton from NME wrote that songs like this "are about clean, controlled fun and strict discipline booted along by stormtrooper hardcore beats designed to encourage Eurokids to work hard and use leisure time constructively."[6] Scottish Perthshire Advertiser stated, "You know what to expect and, yes, they deliver it!"[7] Mark Frith from Smash Hits described it as "buzzy" in his review of the No Limits album, complimenting it as a song "that stands out individually."[8] Another Smash Hits editor, Tony Cross, gave it two out of five, saying, "It's still techno, techno, techno with a dash of techno for good measure."[9]

"Let The Beat Control Your Body" entered the European airplay chart Border Breakers at number 16 on 4 February due to crossover airplay in Central-, North West- and North-Europe and peaked at number four on 19 March.[10]

Chart performance

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"Let the Beat Control Your Body" was a sizeable hit all over Europe, entering the top 10 in Belgian Flanders (4), Finland (3), Germany (8), Ireland (6), the Netherlands (2), Scotland (7), Spain (10) and the United Kingdom. In the Netherlands, the single was held off reaching the number-one position for two weeks by "Ik wil niet dat je liegt/Waarheen waarvoor" by Paul de Leeuw/Annie de Rooy in February and March 1994. In the UK, it peaked at number six on 27 February 1994,[11] its third week on the UK Singles Chart. It also charted on the UK Dance Singles Chart, peaking at number 14. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Let the Beat Control Your Body" made it to number five,[12] entering the chart on 12 February at 87 and soaring up to peak at five within three weeks. It also reached number-one on the European Dance Radio Chart[13] and number three on MTV's European Top 20. Additionally, the song was a top-20 hit in Austria (11), Denmark (16), Sweden (11) and Switzerland (11).

Outside Europe, "Let The Beat Control Your Body" peaked at number six in Israel, number 29 in New Zealand and number 39 in Australia.

Music video

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The accompanying music video for "Let The Beat Control Your Body" was directed by Nigel Simpkiss, produced by Swivel Films[14] and released in the UK in January 1994. It received heavy rotation on MTV Europe[15] and was A-listed on Germany's VIVA.[16] In the video, Anita Doth and Ray Slijngaard performs in front of a wall consisting of vibrating speakers. In between, several gymnasts and dancers are performing, mixed with computer generated images. In the rap part, Slijngaard trains bare-chested with weights. Tom Sheehan from Melody Maker felt the 2 Unlimited look in the video was very provocative: "Head-to-toe PVC suffocation gear. It was very S&M. Stephen Milligan would have loved it."[17]

"Let the Beat Control Your Body" was later made available on 2 Unlimited's official YouTube channel in 2013, and as of September 2023, it had generated almost five million views. Simpkiss would also be directing the video for the duo's next single, "The Real Thing".

Appearances

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Dance music artist Chaah (aka Susanne Jark) uses the melody from "Let the Beat Control Your Body" in her 1999 release titled "The Funkiness of You".[18]

It also became famous again because of Britain's Got Talent when act DJ John performed the song in the auditions.

Track listings

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Charts

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Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Germany 21 January 1994
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 ZYX [23]
United Kingdom 7 February 1994
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 PWL [38]

References

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  1. ^ "AllMusic: 2 Unlimited (Biography)". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  2. ^ "The Talents Behind The Dance Hits Of 94: 2 Unlimited" (PDF). Music Week. 17 December 1994. p. 30. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  3. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (1 May 1994). "No limit to what 2 can do". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Price, Simon (4 June 1994). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 36. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  5. ^ Hamilton, James (26 February 1994). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 5. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  6. ^ Dalton, Stephen (4 November 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 49. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  7. ^ "2 Unlimited - Let the Beat Control Your Body". Perthshire Advertiser. 22 February 1994. page 16.
  8. ^ Frith, Mark (12 May 1993). "New Albums". Smash Hits. p. 50. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  9. ^ Cross, Tony (2 February 1994). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 50. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  10. ^ Holt, Karen (19 November 1994). "Border Breakers: Monitoring The Impact Of Euro Talent" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 47. p. 20. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 10. 5 March 1994. p. 11. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  13. ^ a b "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 7. 12 February 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  14. ^ "2 Unlimited - Let The Beat Control Your Body music video". Eurokdj.com. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Station Reports > MTV Europe/London" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 11. 12 March 1994. p. 21. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Station Reports > VIVA TV/Cologne" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 9. 26 February 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  17. ^ Sheehan, Tom (14 May 1994). "Double Dutch". Melody Maker. p. 26. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  18. ^ Mp3skyline.com
  19. ^ a b c d "Let the Beat Control Your Body", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 15 February 2008)
  20. ^ "2 Unlimited – Let The Beat Control Your Body" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  21. ^ Musik-Charts durchsuchen
  22. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  23. ^ a b "2 Unlimited – Let the Beat Control Your Body" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  24. ^ Irish Single Chart, database Irishcharts.ie Archived 2 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 15 February 2008)
  25. ^ a b "Single top 100 over 1994" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  26. ^ "2 Unlimited – Let the Beat Control Your Body" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 (27 February 1994-05 March 1994)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  28. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  29. ^ a b "Maximum Overdrive", in various Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved 15 February 2008)
  30. ^ "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 19 February 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  31. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1994" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  32. ^ "1994 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 52. 24 December 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  33. ^ "1994 in Review: European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 52. 24 December 1994. p. 8. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  34. ^ "Top 100 Singles – Jahrescharts 1994" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  35. ^ "Jaaroverzichten - Single 1994" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  36. ^ "Årslista Singlar, 1994" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  37. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1994". Music Week. 14 January 1995. p. 9.
  38. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 5 February 1994. p. 29.
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