Wonderland Burlesque: Wonderland Burlesque's Down The Rabbit Hole: E-Rotic

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Wonderland Burlesque's Down The Rabbit Hole: E-Rotic

Wonderland Burlesque's

Down The Rabbit Hole:

E-Rotic

Down The Rabbit Hole merely places a spotlight on something slightly unusual that's caught my interest. With the help of Wikipedia, YouTube, and other sites, I gather information and learn something new.

Today, we take a look at the music and history of E-Rotic.

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From Wikipedia:

E-Rotic are a Eurodance duo act formed in 1994 by German record producer David Brandes. The band originally consisted of German-born singer Lyane Leigh and American rapper Richard Allen Smith (AKA: Ras-Ma-Taz). The act is known for its extensive use of sexual themes in their songs and music videos.

Brandes knew Leigh from their Xanadu days (a German pop group, 1989 to 1992), where they were both members and one half of the group. In 1994, Brandes released a solo song, Helpless Dancer, with Leigh on guest vocals, before American-born Ras-Ma-Taz joined them to create E-Rotic. Together they scored on the charts with their first three chart topping singles: Max Don't Have Sex With Your Ex, which peaked #45 in the UK Singles Chart and #4 in the Dutch Single Chart, Fred Come to Bed, #3 in the German Single Chart, and Sex on the Phone, #2 in Austria, followed by their debut studio album Sex Affairs.

A fourth single, to be included on the group's second album was released. Willy Use a Billy... Boy peaked at #5 in Austria in 1995. But very suddenly... the magic fizzled.

November of that year found both members leaving the band, due to a disagreement between Leigh and producer Brandes. For appearances, they were quickly replaced by artists Jeane and Ché Jouaner. It was then revealed that Marcus Thomas (aka Deon Blue) had provided the raps for the group's breakthrough single, Max Don't Have Sex With Your Ex, not Ras-Ma-Taz. And it turned out that Brandes was the rapper on all the other singles, sharing duties with Ras-Ma-Taz only on select cuts of the group's debut album.

In regards to her issues with Brandes, Leigh said, "He promised me a lot of things during my E-Rotic time, but never was willing to keep his promises. One of these promises was to produce a mixed video, with both cartoon and real people. We were never shown in the videos and so we had problems with our concerts, 'cause no-one really knew us as persons,"

For the next four albums, Brandes continued to provide the raps while Leigh, who was still under contract, provided the vocals. From the second album, The Power of Sex, three more singles were released, Help Me Dr. Dick, Fritz Love My Tits and Gimme Good Sex, all becoming moderate chart hits, peaking at #18, #16 and #3 in Austria, respectively.

In 1997, the studio albums Sexual Madness and the ABBA cover CD Thank You for the Music was released. Sexual Madness contained the single releases Turn Me On, which peaked at #7 in Finland. A greatest hits compilation followed in 1998. By 1999, Leigh's contract with Brandes was completed and she left the group for good. Lydia Madajewski was drafted to provide studio vocals for all future E-rotic releases.

More music followed and the group even attempted to enter the Eurovision song competition in 2000. It was the only time that Jeane, who normally stood in for and lip-synced Leighs vocals, had to sing live. The group finished in sixth place in the pre-selection process. Following the Eurovision contest, in 2002, both Jeane and and Ché Jouaner left the group.

At that time, Madajewski and stage performer Robert Spehar became the new faces of E-rotic.

Following a third compilation album, a remix album and a ninth album, E-rotic Cocktail (which featured Heartbreaker - a #1 single in Japan), Madajewski and Spehar both quit, effectively putting the band on a hiatus from 2004 to 2013.

In 2014, Leigh announced the return of E-rotic, with a new rapper, Stephen Appleton. She said they would be releasing a greatest hits album featuring re-recorded versions of their most popular songs, as well as new music.

In 2016, a new single was released, Video Starlet, with another song, Murder Me.

In 2024, the group released their first new album in over 20 years, Level Up, along with the promised compilation album The Hits.

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