Undercover (dance group)

Undercover is an English dance music group which was formed in 1991 and had three UK top-30 hits, two of them top-five, in 1992. The group's vocalist, John Matthews, continues to perform solo as Undercover across the UK, Europe and South America. The keyboard player, Steve Mac, went on to become a songwriter and music producer for other artists. Bass guitarist Jon Jules worked in the UK soul music scene as a DJ, radio presenter and event organiser.

Overview
The group's first single, a cover version of Gerry Rafferty's 1978 UK/US chart success "Baker Street", was their biggest hit, reaching No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1992, held off from the top by another dance track, "Rhythm Is a Dancer" by Snap!. It was the 11th-biggest-selling single of 1992 in the United Kingdom and had chart success across Europe, selling over a quarter of a million units in Germany alone.

Undercover released five more chart singles. The group's second single, a cover of Andrew Gold's "Never Let Her Slip Away", also originally a 1978 track, reached No. 5 and stayed in the charts in the United Kingdom for 11 weeks. After the success of these two singles, an album, Check Out the Groove, was released, reaching No. 26 in the UK Albums Chart. "I Wanna Stay with You" (a cover of the Gallagher and Lyle song) and "Lovesick", both from 1993, managed No. 28 and No. 62 respectively.

In 1994, Undercover released a new single, "Best Friend", and their second album, Ain't No Stopping Us. The musical style of Undercover's interpretations is cheerful and upbeat, incorporating electronic drums and short piano or organ harmonies with repetitive and layered vocal phrases, typical for club songs of the 1990s.

Members

 * John Matthews – vocals
 * Jon Jules – bass guitar
 * Steve Mac – keyboards