Black Box

Black Box, later stylised Blackbox, is an Italian house group formed in the late 1980s by studio musicians Daniele Davoli (DJ), Valerio Semplici (clarinet teacher) and Mirko Limoni (keyboards and electronic music specialist), collectively known as Groove Groove Melody. They previously produced dance music under aliases such as Starlight and Wood Allen.

In 1989 they teamed up with singer and model Katrin Quinol to form Black Box. Their debut single, Ride on Time, became a worldwide hit and reached number one in the United Kingdom, where it was the best-selling single of 1989; it sampled the 1978 disco track Love Sensation performed by Loleatta Holloway and written by Dan Hartman. Hartman, initially unaware of the sampling, later received a substantial share of royalties after a dispute.

For live performances and videos, Katrin Quinol lip-synced the vocals. The original vocals on Ride on Time were sung by Loleatta Holloway; on the release of the album Dreamland (1990) the track was re-recorded with Heather Small to imitate Holloway.

On other tracks of Dreamland, vocals were performed by Martha Wash, yet Katrin Quinol continued to be presented as the lead singer and mimed Wash’s recordings on stage and in videos; Martha Wash sued and ultimately obtained recognition for her contributions.

The group is best known for the international hits Ride on Time, Everybody, Everybody and Strike It Up; the latter two became major successes in North America, receiving regular radio and club play. The album Dreamland (1990) was a commercial success, certified gold in the UK and the US, making Black Box one of the few piano-house groups to achieve such album success.

In 1993 Katrin Quinol left the group and was replaced by Charvoni, then by Celestine Walcott-Gordon. Other contributors to the project include Lee Bennett.