| Dario G | |
| Years Active: | 1997–2024 |
| Origin: | Crewe, Cheshire, England |
| Label: | Warner Bros, Mercury Records, Front of House |
| Past Members: |
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Dario G were an English dance music trio formed in Cheshire, England, and consisted of three DJs and producers – Scott Rosser, Paul Spencer, and Stephen Spencer (no relation). The trio rose to prominence in the late 1990s following the release of their debut single "Sunchyme", which reached number two in the United Kingdom, Scotland, Denmark and Switzerland. It reached number one on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Charts,[1] as well as reaching number one in Hungary and the US Dance Club Songs Charts.[2] [3]
The trio released their debut album Sunmachine in 1998, and released a further two singles from the album – "Carnaval de Paris" and "Sunmachine". Following the release of the album, members Scott Rosser and Stephen Spencer left to pursue other projects, leaving Paul Spencer to carry the Dario G name as a solo act.[4] In 2000, Dario G recorded the song "Voices" which featured on the soundtrack to the 2000 movie The Beach.[5]
In 2001, "Dream to Me" was released as the lead single from their second studio album In Full Colour. "Dream to Me" reached number one in Romania, [6] and reached number four in Scotland,[7] and nine in the United Kingdom and Germany. [8] [9] Following a period of moderate success in various charts, Paul Spencer died in June 2024 following a diagnosis with stage four rectal cancer in 2023.[10]
The group changed their name from Dario to Dario G after being threatened with legal action from an artist of the same name. Dario G was named after the then manager of Crewe Alexandra F.C., Dario Gradi, and the similarity to Gradi was not a complete coincidence.[11] Paul Spencer also said they added the G in tribute to the American smooth jazz saxophonist Kenny G.[12] Rosser and Stephen Spencer later left to pursue other projects, leaving Paul Spencer to perform in a solo capacity under the Dario G name. In 1997, they reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart with "Sunchyme", a song built around a sample of "Life in a Northern Town", a number 15 hit for the Dream Academy in 1985. "Sunchyme" also hit number 1 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Party chart. The single sold over 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom alone,[13] earning it a Platinum certification from the BPI, [14] and was only kept from the top spot in the United Kingdom by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind", his 1997 tribute to Princess Diana.[15] Internationally, "Sunchyme" sold over 1.5 million copies and was described as a "surprise" after the trio had initially hoped for "modest UK and Mediterranean success".[16] It was also nominated for the Brit Award for British Video of the Year at the 18th Brit Awards ceremony, eventually losing to "Never Ever" by All Saints.[17]
After signing with Warner Bros Records, the trio were under pressure from the record label in order to record and release a debut album. Initially, the working title for their debut album was Super Dario Land. Band member Scott said that ""they got together a plan for one, to be called Super Dario Land, and for three or four weeks, we thought we'd go for it as well – we actually started work on it on the day after the commercial release of 'Sunchyme' went into the charts, in mid‑September."[18] In 1998, they released their debut album, Sunmachine, with their second single peaking at number five in the United Kingdom, the football inspired "Carnaval de Paris" which was released to coincide with the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. The song has since become frequently used during football events worldwide and at international football tournaments.[19] The trio were keen to record an album which was different from "Sunchyme". Their record label at that time, Warner Bros, were said to have also expected their debut album to be based around the sound which lead to their breakthrough with the single. However, Paul Spencer recalled that "record companies like to cash in on a big hit. They think 'OK, these guys can probably get another sample together quickly and churn out another record that sounds like the first one'". He also recalled that "Warners did that with us too, at first, but we didn't want to do lots of little soundalike follow‑ups, we have got more depth than that".[20]
Following the release of Sunmachine, Scott Roser and Stephen Spencer left in order to pursue other projects, leaving Paul Spencer to continue as a solo artist under the Dario G name.[21] In March 2000, their third single, "Voices", featuring vocals from Vanessa Quiñones and produced by Peter Oxendale, was used for the film The Beach.
In January 2001, Dario G released "Dream to Me", with vocals by Ingfrid Straumstøyl, which is based on the song "Dreams" by the Cranberries. "Dream to Me" reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart and number 9 in Germany. The release of "Dream to Me" is said to have "solidified his reputation as a master of euphoric dance music".[22] November 2001 saw their next release, "Say What's on Your Mind". The song had club mixes from Almighty Records and Stonebridge. In early 2003, Dario G released "Heaven Is Closer (Feels Like Heaven)", with vocals also by Ingfrid Straumstøyl, which is a remake of the 1980s hit "(Feels Like) Heaven" by Fiction Factory. It reached number 39 on the UK Singles Chart. Dario G released their second album, In Full Colour, in 2001. A song from the album with vocals by Ingfrid Straumstøyl is "Strobe".
A new version of "Carnaval de Paris" was released in 2002, for the World Cup in South Korea and Japan.[23] A new single, "Ring of Fire", was promoted throughout Europe in 2006. It borrowed the main trumpet melody from the Johnny Cash recording of the same name. The single itself was released in September 2006.
In 2010, Dario G recorded a new song, "Game On", along with rapper Pitbull, for the Official FIFA 2010 World Cup soundtrack.[24] On 23 February 2014, Dario G's single "We Got Music" was released.[25] The song featured Shirley Bassey and got its first play on BBC Radio 2 on The Paul O'Grady Show.
In June 2023, Paul Spencer announced that he had been diagnosed with stage IV rectal cancer.[26] He died on 17 June 2024, at the age of 53.[27]
| Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | GER [28] | SWI [29] | AUT [30] | UK Dance [31] | SCO [32] | |||||||||||||||
| Sunmachine | ||||||||||||||||||||
| In Full Colour |
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Hola |
| |||||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released in that country or territory. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [33] | AUT [34] | BEL (Fl) | FRA [35] | GER [36] | IRE [37] | NLD [38] | SWE [39] | SWI [40] | UK [41] | ||||||||||||||||
| "Sunchyme" | 1997 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 41 | 2 | 2 |
Gold[42] Platinum[43] Platinum[44] | Sunmachine | ||||||||||||
| "Carnaval de Paris" | 1998 | 90 | 24 | 10 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 36 | 7 | 5 |
| |||||||||||||
| "Sunmachine" | — | — | — | — | 98 | — | — | — | — | 17 | |||||||||||||||
| "Voices" | 2000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 37 | The Beach (soundtrack) | |||||||||||||
| "Dream to Me" | 2001 | 96 | 8 | 38 | — | 9 | 16 | 50 | — | 15 | 9 | In Full Colour | |||||||||||||
| "Say What's on Your Mind" | — | — | — | — | 68 | — | — | — | 100 | — | |||||||||||||||
| "Carnaval 2002" | 2002 | — | — | — | — | — | 36 | — | — | 96 | 34 | Non-album singles | |||||||||||||
| "Heaven Is Closer (Feels Like Heaven)" | 2003 | — | 42 | — | — | 57 | 46 | — | — | 87 | 39 | ||||||||||||||
| "Ring of Fire" | 2006 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 100 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "Game On" (with TKZee and Pitbull) | 2010 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2010 FIFA World Cup Album | |||||||||||||
| "We Got Music" (with Shirley Bassey) | 2014 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||||||||||||
| "Cry" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Hola | |||||||||||||
| "Hola" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "Real Love x Sunchyme" (with Clean Bandit and Jess Glynne) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||||||||||||
| "Keep On Lovin" (with Sonique)[46] | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||