How '90s Supergroup 2 Unlimited Were Torn Apart

Legendary techno-pop band 2 Unlimited was the sound of the 1990s, achieving sixteen major international hits and selling more than 18 million records. 

Rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth were the charismatic faces of the band, which was plastered on teenage bedroom walls all around the world thanks to mega-selling tracks like Get Ready For This and No Limit. 

But the band was torn apart by a string of dramas over love, sex and money. 

Now, the true story of the band’s rise and fall has been fully revealed for the first time, with rapper Ray speaking exclusively to the A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman podcast.

For the first time, Ray describes how the band was forced into faking playing instruments on TV despite having no formal musical training, his relationship with Anita, the band’s implosion, and his falling out with Anita.

Their story began when Dutch cook Ray was asked to write some raps by then-obscure Belgian producers/songwriters Jean Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991. He roped in his friend, traffic warden Anita, to sing some lines on the track that became Get Ready For This.

Before they knew it, the song was picked up by UK record industry heavyweight Pete Waterman to be marketed to the world. There was just one problem: Pete hated Ray’s raps and initially deleted them from the band’s UK releases. 

Miming confession

As the song flew up the charts, Ray and Anita suddenly had to appear on the legendary British TV show Top Of The Pops to promote it. There was only one problem: with their vocals hastily removed from the UK version of the song, the duo was forced to fake playing instruments to justify their presence on stage despite having no formal musical training. 

“We couldn’t play,” rapper Ray frankly admitted to the A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman podcast. “So, the whole weekend, we were practising on keyboards in a hotel room with our road manager, who was a musician, because on Top Of The Pops, they are going to record your fingers, and we couldn’t make a mistake. 

“You’ve got Rolling Stone magazine looking at our fingers, saying, ‘Are they really playing it?’ 

“Afterwards, I felt like Milli Vanilli. So, it was a little scam in the beginning, but I went on to write 90% of the 2 Unlimited repertoire.”

Ironically, Ray says he’s now collaborating with the surviving member of notorious mimers Milli Vanilli on a new song.  

“It’s funny because I’m going to release a track with Fab from Milli Vanilli,” he told the podcast. 

Record industry legend Pete Waterman recalled the drama over Ray’s rapping: “Ray did send me a clog once with, ‘Now, you'll let me rap on the next record, yes?' written on it, but I just sent him a bottle of champagne back with 'No, I won't' on it.’” (Ray’s raps were eventually included on later UK releases, and were always included in most other markets, including Europe and Australia). 

Love drama rips Ray & Anita apart

 The band didn’t just start off hot on the charts. Ray and Anita also got together romantically, which helped lay the groundwork for the band’s eventual implosion. 

“We fell in love the first weekend and were in a relationship for a while,” Ray told A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman. “But that finished because, at the time, you had so many fans; I wanted to live the life and enjoy the stardom with the girls. 

“We decided to stop the relationship because it was hurting her and hurting me too. So afterwards, it became more of a brother-sister relationship. 

“But it was hard for her because she always thought I would come back to her. She thought, ‘Let Ray have fun with the groupies, [and] he will come back afterwards.’ But then I had my first child, and things went the other way.”

Money troubles explode

Despite co-writing, performing on hit after hit, and selling vast numbers of records, rapper Ray wasn’t happy. He and Anita felt they weren’t earning their fair share from their success and demanded a renegotiation of their deal with Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde. That also led to struggles over who had the right to use the band’s name. 

“We had a court case with Jean Paul, it took almost all my money, but we made a deal with him and got the name back,” Ray told A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman. “Philip also had a court case with Jean Paul, and they were best friends!”

While Ray still tours the world as 2 Unlimited, performing over 100 lucrative gigs a year, Anita remains out of the band and out in the cold amid personal and professional animosity. 

“Anita is out because she didn’t figure it out with Jean Paul,” Ray told the podcast. “She can only perform as ‘Anita, formerly of 2 Unlimited’, which must hurt. 

“We are also not on speaking terms, which is a shame, but shit happens. I started 2 Unlimited, and I’ll be the one who finishes it.”

For the whole story and the full interview with Ray, listen to the A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman podcast, available on all podcast platforms. 

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