Black Box (band)

The group is currently made up of DJ Daniele Davoli, classically trained clarinet teacher Valerio Semplici, keyboardist and electronic musician Mirko Limoni, and vocalist Celestine Walcott-Gordon.

French fashion model Katrin Quinol joined the act in 1989 and became the official face of Black Box, appearing on the cover of their single and album releases as well as in music videos, including the hit "Ride on Time", which was the highest-selling single of 1989 in the UK.

American singer Martha Wash performed the majority of the songs on the group's debut album, Dreamland, while being uncredited.

The song became another international top-ten hit for the group and earned them their third number-one single on the Dance chart.

In 1995, Black Box released their second album, Positive Vibration, which failed to chart or rise to the same level of success as their previous record.

[14] "Ride on Time" sampled Holloway's 1980 song "Love Sensation", which was written and produced by Hartman.

The group still retained the original version on their re-issued album Dreamland and added Holloway's name as the featured vocalist on "Ride on Time" as well as giving Hartman songwriting credits.

In September 1990, American singer Martha Wash sued Black Box and RCA Records for commercial appropriation after she became aware of the lip-sync scandal perpetrated by the group.

Unbeknownst to her, Black Box retained Wash's vocals on a total of six songs, including "Everybody Everybody", "Open Your Eyes", "Hold On", "I Don't Know Anybody Else", "Strike It Up", and "Fantasy" on the album Dreamland.

RCA settled the case out of court in December 1990, agreeing to pay Wash a "substantial" fee.

[16] Wash's lawsuit also resulted in federal legislation in the United States, making vocal credit mandatory for all albums and music videos.