Culture Beat

Culture Beat Biography by Jason Birchmeier Though Culture Beat remained active throughout the '90s and into the early 2000s, you could distill the group's success down to one song: the 1993 club smash "Mr. Vain." Along with other Euro-dance hits from the early '90s -- Snap's "Rhythm Is a Dancer," 2 Unlimited's "Get Ready for This," Black Box's "Strike It Up" -- it took some time before "Mr. Vain" broke in the U.S. However, when it did, it broke big. "Mr. Vain" was suddenly everywhere: pop radio, sports arenas, commercial danceclubs, dance compilations, and so on. However, Culture Beat wasn't able to capitalize on the success of "Mr. Vain," and the group became somewhat of a one-hit wonder, even though they continued releasing music. In the end, the group falls into the same category as forgotten popular dance acts like Technotronic and C+C Music Factory -- ultimately disposable acts with a fleeting 15 minutes in the popular club/dance spotlight.