Haddaway is the one who has given a credible face to Euro-pop and he faces a career that is more than simply a flash in the pan. Born in Tobago he moved to Washington DC at the age of nine. He grew up to the sounds of Louis Armstrong, which encouraged him to take up the trumpet and form his first group, Chances, at the age of 14. After a stint at college he moved to Cologne in 1987 and embarked upon a successful marketing career where he worked mainly in bars! Subsequently he decided to use his creative skills more directly and formed his own company, Energy, which organised fashion shows and photo-shoots. Energy has been apportioned to his pals now, but Haddaway is still in business, indulging his interest in Ultra sports.
Haddaway’s initial success in Britain came in March 1993 with the single What Is Love?. Simultaneously it topped charts in Germany, America and just about everywhere else. Since then his success as a solo artist has gone from strength to strength, gathering momentum. The follow up singles had equal success. Life reached No.6, next came I Miss You a gentle but electrifying ballad and the final release from his debut, Haddaway - The Album, Rock My Heart which also reached number nine.
Haddaway’s career has lasted three healthy years due mainly to a rich mix of dance tunes and sophisticated ballads and a vocal and musical dexterity not often seen in such abundance. It’s a far cry from the little boy who was scared to sing in front of people at school. Now Haddaway is not only striding along the charts at frequent intervals, he’s also received much acclaim as a live performer - or more specifically as an entertainer.
Haddaway’s last album The Drive was a hotpot of ballads and hi-energy workouts. Not wanting to abandon the infallible magic of his collaborations with Dee Dee Halligan, Junior Torelllo and Alex Trime, he has continued the formula but produced a large portion of the album both by himself and with Alex and Desmond Child. Lover Be Thy Name, co-written and co-produced by the man himself is one of the best ballads to have come out of Europe in a long time.
Haddaway avoids the usual rock and roll downfalls, booze and drugs, and is fast gaining a reputation for being one of the hardest working artists in Europe.
