| U.S.U.R.A. | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Brescia, Italy |
| Genres | Eurodance |
| Years active | 1991–1998 |
| Labels | Deconstruction |
| Past members | Claudio Varola Michele Comis Elisa Spreafichi |
U.S.U.R.A. was an Italian electronic dance music group active from 1991-1998, best known for their crossover hit "Open Your Mind".
History
U.S.U.R.A. was started by Time Records owner Giacomo Maiolini, producers Walter Cremonini and Alessandro Gilardi. The name is derived from that of Maiolini's mother, Ursula. The group is best known for the 1992-93 hit single (and later album) "Open Your Mind", featuring a dialog sample from the film Total Recall, as well as a vocal sound from "Solid" by Ashford & Simpson, and incorporating sampled elements from the Simple Minds song "New Gold Dream" from 1982. Its video morphs the faces of Ronald Reagan, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Ian Paisley, Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon, Mary Whitehouse, and Joe McCarthy.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS | ||
| Open Your Mind |
|
218 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITA |
AUS |
AUT |
BEL |
FIN |
GER |
IRE |
NED |
SWE |
SWI |
UK | ||||
| 1993 | "Open Your Mind" | 4 | 29 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 3 | 7 | Open Your Mind | |
| "Sweat" | 2 | 48 | 9 | 20 | 4 | — | 10 | — | — | 22 | 29 | |||
| "Tear It Up" | 6 | 99 | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1994 | "Drive Me Crazy" | 10 | — | — | — | 11 | — | — | — | — | 30 | — | ||
| 1995 | "Infinity" | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single releases only | |
| "The Spaceman" | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1996 | "Flying High" | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "In the Bush" | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1997 | "Open Your Mind '97" | 11 | — | 34 | — | — | 64 | — | — | — | — | 21 | ||
| 1998 | "Trance Emotions" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
References
- See New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)
- "Open Your Mind by U.S.U.R.A. On WhoSampled". WhoSampled.
- ^ Australian chart peaks:
- Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com > Discography Usura". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- Top 100 peaks: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 291.
- "Tear It Up": "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 23 Jan 1994". Retrieved 2017-05-14 – via Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
- Open Your Mind (album): "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 13 September 2016". Retrieved 2017-05-14 – via Imgur.com.
- "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 28, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "U.S.U.R.A.". To find "Open Your Mind '97", search "Usura".
- "Austrian Singles". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- "Belgian (Flanders) Singles". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961" (in Finnish). Sisältää Hitin - Suomen listalevyt (Timo Pennanen). Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- German Singles:
- "Open Your Mind": "U.S.U.R.A. - Open Your Mind" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- "Open Your Mind '97": "U.S.U.R.A. - Open Your Mind '97" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- "Irish Singles". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- "Netherlands Singles". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- "Swedish Albums". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- "Swiss Singles". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
- "UK Singles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
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