Their first single, the ambient house track "Der Erdbeermund", with a spoken vocal in German by Jo van Nelsen, peaked at number 11 on the German singles chart. Versions in English and French were also released (titled "Cherry Lips" and "Les lèvres cerises", respectively). An instrumental version was also a club hit in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 55.
Shortly afterwards, Culture Beat recruited New Jersey-born rapper Jay Supreme and singer Lana Earl to front the act. While the second single "I Like You" reached number 22 in the Netherlands, their fourth single "No Deeper Meaning" managed to reach as high as number 5 in the Netherlands and number 3 on the Canadian RPM Dance Chart. They released their first album, Horizon, in 1991 which went with only minor success.
Lana was replaced by British singer Tania Evans in 1993, and the act took a harder Eurodance sound. "Mr. Vain" became their biggest hit to date, reaching number-one in 13 countries including Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom. It was also their first mainstream hit in the United States, peaking at No.17 on the Hot 100. The single was certified three times Gold in Germany for selling over 750,000 units, it also managed to reach a Gold status in several other countries including US.
Subsequent singles "Got to Get It" and "Anything" were also pan-European hits, and their second album Serenity was awarded at the ECHO award for being the Best-selling German Act Abroad, with more than two million copies sold. This also got Torsten Fenslau nominated in the same year at the Echo for being the Best Producer of the Year, who also walked away as a winner.
On November 6, 1993, Culture Beat's founder Torsten Fenslau was killed in a car accident in Messel (district of Darmstadt) at age of 29. His brother Frank Fenslau took over the act as producer and manager.
The group returned the act in 1995 with a third album called Inside Out, preceded by a single of the same title "Inside Out" which reached number 5 in Germany and number 32 in the UK.
In 1997, Frank decided to take Culture Beat in a different musical direction diverging the act from the Eurodance sound into a more commercial pop sound. He also replaced Tania with Kim Sanders, who had previously scored a hit with "Impossible" by Captain Hollywood Project. Jay Supreme remained with the act for a short time after Tania's departure, but during recording of the next album he decided to leave the group and the Rap-vocals on the next album (only a few tracks contained Rap) were produced by rapper Next Up. Although, in 1998, the album Metamorphosis managed to reach No.12 at home, it was a minor chart success as it remained in the top-20 of the album chart for only four weeks, and spent overall 10 weeks appearing on the chart.
Three years later, Jacky Sangster replaced Kim as the fourth female lead singer for Culture Beat. The single called "Insanity" was released in 2001 which flopped in Germany; however, reached No. 1 in Israel. In 2003, to commemorate ten years since the release of the group's biggest hit, a new version of "Mr. Vain" was issued in Germany and reached No.7 in the singles chart. In 2004, a Greatest Hits package was released ahead of a planned new album with Jacky as vocalist, but was canceled before "Can't Go on Like This (No No)" was released. This single had minor success as well.
In January 2013, a compilation album was released, "The Loungin' Side of", which contains acoustic and lounge versions of hits taken from Inside Out and Metamorphosis.
Official website: http://www.culture-beat.com
Serious
Culture Beat Lyrics
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And you realize that your whole life has been a fake
It's funny when the men you wanted were never the men you got
'Cause truth is a word you often mentioned but didn't use a lot
After twenty odd years
You should think about your fire
You should think about your fears
And get serious with your life
Serious with your dreams
And don't fake
Don't fake
Get serious with your lies
Get serious with your world
Don't fake
Don't fake
Get serious
And get serious with your life
Serious with your dreams
And don't fake
Don't fake
Get serious with your lies
Get serious with your world
Don't fake
Don't fake
Get serious
It's funny when everything starts with the losing of hair
It can lead you into thinking or it can drive you to despair
After twenty odd years
You should think about your fire
You should think about your fears
I used to think that the world was mine
But that was only for a short time
Culture Beat's hit song "Serious" is a powerful anthem about finding authenticity, truth, and purpose in one's life. The lyrics begin with the sudden realization that one's entire existence has been inauthentic, "a fake," and that the men desired were never obtained, and that truth was mentioned but not frequently used. It serves as a catalyst for the singer to embark on a journey to find his/her true self.
The lyrics encourage self-reflection and introspection, urging the listener to be "serious" with their life, dreams, lies, and world. The singer suggests that, after 20 odd years on this planet, it's time to contemplate one's "fire" and "fears" and to embrace authenticity. The message is clear: don't put on a façade, don't try to be someone you're not, and don't underestimate the power of living your truth.
Musically, Culture Beat's use of techno music adds an energizing aspect to the song. The music serves as an excellent backdrop for the introspective yet upbeat tone/mood of the song. The piece is symbolic of a period in the mid-’90s when the transmission of the European music has marked the advent of the rave subculture.
Line by Line Meaning
It's funny when the night ends and the day begins to break
It's ironic when the night ends and the day begins because you realize that your life hasn't been genuine
And you realize that your whole life has been a fake
The irony of the morning makes you see that your entire life so far has been counterfeit
It's funny when the men you wanted were never the men you got
It's amusing how the people you longed for are different from the people you ended up with
'Cause truth is a word you often mentioned but didn't use a lot
The reality is that even though truth is a term you frequently uttered, you didn't practice it much
After twenty odd years
After living for quite a while
You should think about your fire
You should meditate on your passion
You should think about your fears
You should consider your apprehensions
And get serious with your life
Become more solemn about how you live your life
Serious with your dreams
Get sincere and committed to achieving your aspirations
And don't fake
Don't pretend or deceive
Get serious with your lies
Become genuine about the falsehoods you tell yourself and others
Get serious with your world
Become sincere and earnest about the world around you
And get serious
Become earnest and committed
It's funny when everything starts with the losing of hair
It's unfortunate when everything starts to decline, like losing hair
It can lead you into thinking or it can drive you to despair
The loss can make you ponder your life or make you feel hopeless
I used to think that the world was mine
I used to feel like I owned the world
But that was only for a short time
But that feeling was temporary
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JENS ZIMMERMANN, NOSIE KATZMANN, TORSTEN FENSLAU
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind