Planet Funk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Planet Funk
Planet Funk performing for "The Great Shake Tour 2012" in Cassino, Italy
Planet Funk performing for "The Great Shake Tour 2012" in Cassino, Italy
Background information
OriginItaly
GenresElectronica, house, electronic rock, alternative dance
Years active1999–present
LabelsUniversal Music
Bustin' Loose Recordings
MembersAlex Neri

Marco Baroni
Alessandro Sommella
Alex Uhlmann
Past members

Planet Funk is an Italian electronic band. The group is composed of , Domenico "GG" Calipari, Alex Neri, Dan Black and formerly Sergio Della Monica who died in February 2018. In addition a number of guest vocalists joined the group, including: Auli Kokko, Sally Doherty, Raiz, John Graham, Giuliano Sangiorgi and Alex Uhlmann.

History[]

Their first single, "Chase the Sun", reached number five on the UK Singles Chart in 2001.[1] The melody is borrowed from Ennio Morricone's tune "Alla Luce Del Giorno", off the score of the 1969 film Metti, una sera a cena. The song has enjoyed a rise in popularity ever since Sky Sports began using it during its coverage of the Professional Darts Corporation's major tournaments. The crowds in the venues are encouraged to chant and rave to the song during the advert breaks of matches, and the song has a cult following amongst darts fans. The song is also known to be chanted by supporters at the games of Australian football clubs Newcastle Jets and Adelaide United, as well as being the second half opening theme for the English Football League Championship team, Sheffield Wednesday. English Championship Football team Reading also use the song for a goal song after they score a goal. Conference side Gateshead play this song at the end of a game, which results in a "Heed Heed Heed" chant along to the beat. English Super League team Wigan Warriors are known to use the song following a successful drop-kick. The Melbourne spring racing carnival used the song during promotional TV advertisements during the mid- to late 2000s. AFC Bournemouth also use the chant for the infamous striker Brett Pitman.

Their second single, "Inside All the People", reached no. 9 in the Italian singles charts, but did even better on the European dance charts. Their third single was "Who Said (Stuck In The UK)" which also gained significant commercial success. Their 2007 single release, "Static", appeared on FIFA 08.

They are also remixers, with their highest-profile work to date being New Order's "Waiting for the Sirens' Call".

In May 2006 they became the first musical group to release a single exclusively as a mobile phone download, with the release of "Stop Me" on the mobile network 3.[2]

In 2009 they released the single "Lemonade", which is featured on their album Planet Funk. The single "Weightless" was released in 2010, a collaboration between Planet Funk and Swedish artist Emilia de Poret.

Their album The Great Shake, featuring the vocalist & guitarist Alex Uhlmann, was released in September 2011; in the same month they opened the F1 Rocks concert at Monza during the Italian Grand Prix. The first single, "Another Sunrise" was released in Italy in May 2011.

In October 2015, they released the single "We-People", a song that supported the global campaign of Save the Children, to fight infant mortality.

"Chase the Sun" was chosen as the goal song of the Colorado Avalanche for the 2017–18 NHL season.[citation needed]

In February 2020, the band released the compilation album 20:20, followed by the remix album 20:20 Remixes in April 2020. The latter was published by Just Entertainment on YouTube and contains a list of remixes made by the band including remixes of unreleased songs "Any Given Day", "Catch the Break" and "I Can Change".

Planet Funk live in Naples, 2012
Marco Baroni, Alex Neri and Alex Uhlmann

Discography[]

Albums[]

Singles[]

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds) 		Album
ITA
[3] 		AUS
[4] 		FIN
[5] 		FRA
[6] 		GER IRE NLD
[7] 		SWI
[8] 		UK
[1]
"Chase the Sun" 2001 25 32 20 100 61 22 75 93 5 Non Zero Sumness
"Inside All the People" 9 — — — — — — — —
"Who Said (Stuck in the UK)" 2002 — 17 — — — — — — 36
"The Switch" 2003 19 59 — 74 — — — — 52
"One Step Closer" (featuring Simple Minds) 24 — — — — — — — — Non Zero Sumness Plus One
"Everyday" 2005 — — — — — — — — — The Illogical Consequence
"Stop Me" 16 — — — — — — — —
"It's Your Time" 2006 — — — — — — — — — Static
"Static" 2007 — — — — — — — — —
"Lemonade" 2009 17 — — — — — — — — Planet Funk
"Another Sunrise" 2011 — — — — — — — — — The Great Shake
"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" 10 — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 428. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ^ Gibson, Owen. Planet Funk - the first band to release a single by phone. (10 April 2006). Guardian Unlimited. Accessed 10 April 2006.
  3. ^ Italian peaks
  4. ^ Peaks in Australia:
    • All except noted: Australian peaks
    • "The Switch": Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 220.
  5. ^ Finnish peaks
  6. ^ French peaks
  7. ^ Dutch peaks
  8. ^ Swiss peaks
  9. ^ "British Single certifications – Planet Funk". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 September 2020. Select Singles in the Format field. Type Planet Funk in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
Retrieved from ""