Durron Butler (b. Maurice Durron Butler, 30 April 1967, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA) was initially a drummer with a heavy metal band in his hometown. Later he joined the army and was posted to Germany where he became a bomb disposal expert. While there he teamed up with Rico Sparx and Moses P. for several musical projects. After his discharge he returned to the USA but went back to Germany to tour with the Fat Boys. Germany-based producers Benito Benites (b. Michael Munzing) and John Garrett Virgo III (b. Luca Anzilotti), operating under pseudonyms, had put together a project they would call Snap!, after a function on a sequencing programme. Previously the producers had recorded widely in their Frankfurt studio, for their own label, Logic Records (whose former A&R man, Mark Spoon, is now half of Jam And Spoon). They also ran their own club, Omen. Notable successes prior to Snap! included the 16-Bit Project (‘Where Are You’ and ‘High Score’) and Off’s ‘Electric Salsa’, which featured Sven Väth as singer. They then recorded a song called ‘The Power’ which was built from samples of New York rapper Chill Rob G’s ‘Let The Rhythm Flow’. They added the powerful female backing vocals of Penny Ford, who had previously worked with George Clinton, Chaka Khan and Mica Paris, among others. Jackie Harris (b. Jaqueline Arlissa Harris, Pittsburgh, USA) was also credited for providing ‘guide’ vocals, and appeared in press interviews. The record was first released on the Wild Pitch Records label in America with the credit ‘Snap featuring Chill Rob G’. However, after the first 30, 000 sales problems with Chill began to manifest themselves and they sought a replacement. They chose Butler, who was now renamed Turbo B. He had already recorded for Logic as back-up rapper for Moses P. Chill was allowed to release his own version of ‘The Power’ in America. Around the rest of the world a new version, featuring Turbo B, topped the charts. To promote the record he and Ford toured widely, before the latter embarked on a solo career. She was replaced by Thea Austin.
Throughout Benites and Garrett utilised Turbo B as the public face of Snap!, remaining shadowy figures back in their Frankfurt studio, which was now a hugely impressive complex. Though they continued to score colossal hits with ‘Oops Up’, ‘Cult Of Snap’ and ‘Mary Had A Little Boy’, dissent had set in. Turbo wanted more artistic input, and hated ‘Rhythm Is A Dancer’ the projected lead-off single for the band’s second album. When a substitute, ‘The Colour Of Love’, crashed, the duo went ahead without his agreement. Their judgement was proved correct when ‘Rhythm Is A Dancer’ became another international smash (the biggest selling UK single of 1992). But by now the rift between the parties was irreconcilable. Turbo had signed up for a solo career (debuting with ‘I’m Not Dead’ on Polydor Records) while the Snap! single was still climbing in several territories. Austin too found herself a solo contract. The producers proved that they could survive without a frontman when ‘Exterminate!’, the first record not to feature Turbo, became another million-seller. Austin was replaced by Niki Harris, formerly backing singer to Madonna, on ‘Exterminate!’ and ‘Do You See The Light (Looking For)’, but by the advent of 1994’s Welcome To Tomorrow Snap!’s new singer was ‘Summer’. A former dancer on the Fame television series, she had also worked as an actor in Spike Lee’s School Daze and the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle The Running Man. Her singing background included sessions with Janet Jackson, Patti LaBelle and Snoop Doggy Dogg. Her vocals presided over further Snap! hits with ‘Welcome To Tomorrow’ (their ninth successive UK Top 10 hit) and ‘The First, The Last Eternity’. Subsequent singles in 1996, featuring Rukmani and Einstein, failed to break into the UK Top 40.
