Ian Campbell (rapper)
| Ian Campbell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ian Campbell |
| Born |
22 March 1965 Hyson Green, Nottingham, England |
| Origin | Italy[1] |
| Genres | Eurodance, electronica, hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter, painter |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels |
DWA Records Polydor Records |
| Website | http://www.icemc.co.uk/ |
Ian Campbell aka ICE MC (born 22 March 1965) is an English euro-electronica rapper who started his professional music career in Italy when he got signed to Robyx.[1]
Early life
Campbell's parents were from Jamaica, and he grew up in the Hyson Green area of Nottingham. When he was in high school his initials IC quickly got him a nickname ICE (lately he interpreted it as Ian Campbell Esquire). In 1983, he joined a group of breakdancers and started touring Europe with them.[1]
Career
The first albums
In 1989 in Italy, he met singer and artist Roberto Zanetti (also as composer known as Savage and producer as Robyx). Their first single called "Easy", made in a hip-house style, came out in 1989. It became successful all over Europe, reaching the top 5 in Italy and the top 3 in Germany. The two next singles, "Cinema" and "Scream", and the subsequent debut album, Cinema (released later in 1990), were also successful. In 1992 his second LP, My World, came out but failed to achieve the success of its predecessor.
The most successful hits
His third album, Ice'n'Green, was released in 1994 and featured Alexia on vocals. Three of his most successful songs, "Think about the Way", "It's a Rainy Day" and "Take Away the Colour", made the charts all over the world. Campbell got a new look and new style, known as raggamuffin. The album was also released in the US, where the two biggest singles saw substantial club play and moderate dance music radio airplay. In 1995, Ice'n'Green – The Remix Album was released. This contained various remixes of previous hit singles.
Collaboration with Masterboy
In 1996, ICE MC decided to leave Zanetti and Alexia due to some disagreement between them. Shortly after that a new album, Dreadatour, (produced by Masterboy) was released. The hit from the album was "Give Me the Light", but the album itself was not very successful. During that period, ICE MC worked on an unreleased song with Masterboy titled "Busy Body". Later on in 1997, the same team followed with the promotional track "Energy".
At the end of 2002, he decided to return to Italy and to contact Zanetti again. Together they started writing some new material and, at the beginning of 2004, they began recording a new album, Cold Skool. Campbell is also a painter, and sells his paintings via his website.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT [2] |
FIN [3] |
FRA [4] |
GER [5] |
SWE [6] |
SWI [7] | |||||||||
| Cinema |
|
– | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| My World |
|
– | – | – | – | – | — | |||||||
| Ice'n'Green |
|
34 | 4 | 5 | 41 | 31 | 31 | |||||||
| Dreadatour |
|
– | – | – | 89 | – | — | |||||||
| Cold Skool |
|
– | – | – | – | – | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITA [9] |
AUT [2] |
BEL (FLA) [10] |
FIN [11] |
FRA [12] |
GER [5] |
NLD [13] |
SWE [6] |
SWI [14] |
UK [15] | |||||
| "Easy" | 1989 | – | 7 | – | – | 17 | 3 | – | – | 4 | — | Cinema | ||
| "Scream" | 1990 | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | – | – | – | — | |||
| "Cinema" | – | – | – | – | – | 36 | 21 | – | – | — | ||||
| "OK Corral!" | – | – | 43 | – | – | – | – | – | – | — | ||||
| "People" | 1991 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | — | My World | ||
| "Happy Weekend" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | — | ||||
| "Rainy Days" | 1992 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | — | |||
| "Take Away the Colour" | 1993 | 19 | 11 | 15 | – | 31 | – | – | 18 | – | — | Ice'n'Green | ||
| "Think About the Way" | 1994 | 3 | 22 | 3 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 38 | |||
| "It's a Rainy Day" | 1 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 25 | 15 | 73 | ||||
| "Take Away the Colour ('95 Reconstruction)" | 1995 | – | – | – | 16 | 31 | – | 25 | – | – | — | Ice'n'Green – The Remix Album | ||
| "Give Me the Light" | 1996 | 23 | 30 | 44 | 19 | 23 | 48 | – | 56 | 42 | — | Dreadatour | ||
| "Music for Money" | – | – | – | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | — | ||||
| "Let's Take It Easy" | 1997 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | — | |||
| "It's a Miracle" | 2004 | 39 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | — | Cold Skool | ||
| "My World" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | — | ||||
| "Out Tonight" | 2012 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | — | Non-Album Single | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
References
- 1 2 3 "Ice MC – Booking Agency – International Artists Holland". international-artists.com. Retrieved 2013. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - 1 2 "Discographie Ice MC" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ↑ Peak positions for Finland:
- For Ice 'N Green: Billboard: Hits of the World (Nov. 5 1994). Billboard magazine. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ↑ Peak positions for France:
- For Ice 'N Green: Billboard: Hits of the World (Feb. 4 1995). Billboard magazine. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- 1 2 "Charts.de: Charterfolge von Ice MC". Media Control (in German). Charts.de. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- 1 2 "Swedishcharts.com: Ice MC". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ↑ "Hitparade.ch: Ice MC (albums)" (in German). swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ↑ "SNEP: Les certifications (Ice MC)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ↑ "Hit Parade Italia: Indice per Interprete: I". FIMI (in Italian). Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ↑ "Ultratop: Ice MC". Ultratop. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ↑ Peak positions for Finland:
- For Give Me the Night and Music for Money: "Finnishcharts.com: Ice MC". Finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com: Ice MC". Lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ↑ "Media Marks Top 40: Ice MC". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ↑ "Hitparade.ch: Ice MC (singles)" (in German). swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ↑ "Official Charts Company: Ice MC". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ↑ "Infodisc: Les Certifications depuis 1973". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (in French). Retrieved 16 March 2014.