No Limit

Album: No Limits (1993)
Charted: 1
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • No Limits is the second album from the Belgian-produced, Dutch-fronted techno-dance duo 2 Unlimited, who had international success with the jock jam "Get Ready For This" in 1991. The lead single, "No Limit," is another energetic club banger that topped charts around the world, including Austria, France, Spain, Sweden, and the UK, among others. While it failed to make a showing on the Hot 100, it did appear on the US Dance Club Songs chart at #21.
  • Rapper Ray Slijngaard and vocalist Anita (Dels) Doth form 2 Unlimited, but you wouldn't know it by the UK versions of their songs, which omit most of Ray's rapping. On this tune, only the word "techno" was retained from his rap interlude - where he claims, "I'm making techno and I am proud" – and was looped to create the hook, "Techno! Techno! Techno! Techno!"
  • Ray blames the UK release of "Get Ready For This," which was mostly instrumental save for a vocal sample from a different rapper. "Because it was a hit, they think we should bring out the versions of all the songs without the raps on them," Ray lamented to New Musical Express in 1993. "Everywhere else in the world gets the raps!"

    According to the group's producer Jean-Paul de Coster, the problem was with the quality of the raps, which he said were "too clumsy for the UK market." Their label, PWL, concurred, with founder Pete Waterman dismissing "No Limit" as "the worst rap I've ever heard" (source: 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh).
  • The lyrics are all about self-confidence, with the duo boasting that there are no limits for 2 Unlimited. The edited UK version earned the nickname "No Lyrics" thanks to a parody on the British satire program Spitting Image.
  • The music video, helmed by British director Nick Burgess-Jones, features Ray and Anita performing inside of a pinball machine.
  • In 1995, a Dutch version by Irene Moors & de Smurfen (The Smurfs) stayed at #1 on the Dutch charts for six weeks. It was also covered by the German band beFour, whose single peaked at #13 in Austria and #21 in Germany in 2009.

Comments: 1

  • Gw from Spain2 Unlimited was not really Dutch. It was a Belgian project (producers/songwriters/music-mixers/publishers/distribution), launched in Belgium, and was fronted by Dutch performers (vocals/faces/dance). The Belgians already started the project and took the Dutch on board a couple of months later.
    Technically it's not a duo but a quartet : 1 Dutch duo on stage (giving the public something to look at) and 1 Belgian duo behind the scenes (actually writing and mixing the songs). Because the general public saw only the Dutch performers, they soon assumed that the band was Dutch and that quickly became widespread misinformation. If you write about facts, you should make sure the facts are correct.
    Calling 2 Unlimited a Belgian/Dutch dance act would be correct.
    Reference : https://bit.ly/3EA7rVR
see more comments

Editor's Picks

AC/DC

AC/DCFact or Fiction

Does Angus really drink himself silly? Did their name come from a sewing machine? See if you can spot the real stories about AC/DC.

Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Queen

QueenFact or Fiction

Scaramouch, a hoople and a superhero soundtrack - see if you can spot the real Queen stories.

Chris Isaak

Chris IsaakSongwriter Interviews

Chris tells the story of "Wicked Game," talks milkshakes and moonpies at Sun Records, and explains why women always get their way.

Gary Numan

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"