b. Nester Alexander Haddaway, Tobago, West Indies. A lightweight dance music artist licensed to Arista Records from his German home at Coconut/Logic Records, Haddaway scored a huge crossover hit throughout Europe with the anthemic ‘What Is Love’ in 1993, followed by the equally strident ‘Life’. The artist grew up in Washington, DC, USA, before relocating to Cologne, Germany, to find employment as a singer and dancer. There he formed a band, Elegato, with keyboard player Alex Trime, before embarking on solo work with the production duo of Dee Dee Halligan and Junior Turello in 1992. Halligan and Turello, also known as Tony Hendrik and Karin Hartmann respectively, jointly headed the Coconut record label. They had previously produced Bad Boys Blue, Chypnotic and the Hollies. Backed by the songwriting and production expertise of Trime, Halligan and Turello, ‘What Is Love’, originally written as a ballad, eventually reached number 2 in the UK charts in April 1993. ‘Life’ reached number 6 a few months later, ensuring Haddaway’s status as Europe’s most successful solo artist of 1993. His debut album, however, was little more than a roster of fillers sandwiching the hits, even if ‘What Is Love’ and ‘Life’ remain as good as commercial dance comes. The album achieved gold status and reached the UK Top 10. Haddaway himself, though often compared to the Euro dance fare of 2 Unlimited and Cappella, is a far more sophisticated proposition. He has a college degree in marketing, his own business career, his own fashion company (Energy) and until 1994 was completely self-managed. Prior to his chart residencies he was also a professional American footballer for the Cologne Crocodiles. In 1994, he enjoyed two further European hit singles, ‘I Miss You’ and ‘Rock My Heart’, but subsequently faded from the scene.
