"No Limit" is a song by Belgian-DutchEurodance group2 Unlimited, released in January 1993, byByte Records. It was their fifth single in total and the first to be released from their second album,No Limits! (1993). Co-written by the group'sRay Slijngaard andAnita Doth, the song became one of their most commercially successful singles, topping both theDutch Top 40 andSingle Top 100 charts. Internationally, "No Limit" topped the charts in 35 countries,[5] including Austria, Denmark, France and the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in several others, including Australia, Germany and Italy.
Like previous releases, the UK version of the single removed all of the raps from Slijngaard, leaving just Dels' vocals. One word from the rap was kept, the word 'Techno' (from the line "I'm making techno and I am proud") which was looped and repeated during the middle of the song, turning the line into "Techno! Techno! Techno! Techno!" and giving the song an extra vocal hook. Its accompanying music video was directed by Nick Burgess-Jones, depicting the group inside of a giantpinball machine. It receivedheavy rotation onMTV Europe.[6]
"No Limit" started as an idea to do a high-speedtechno track and was written in one evening by Dels and Slijngaard. Dels told in an interview, "When we made 'No Limit', we were working on theLP. We'd done everything but one bit, and we didn't know what to do — Ray and I made up the title quickly and then wrote the song in one evening. We didn't expect anything, and we were surprised when the producer wanted to release it as the first single."[7]
Producer Phil Wilde explained toMelody Maker in 1994, "Like most techno, 2 Unlimited's material floats somewhere between 125 and 148bpm; 'No Limit' came in at 144." Wilde programmed the rhythm with hand claps every four beat. He had the groove and went searching in his sound library, starting jamming with sounds. He explained in the same interview, "For 'No Limits' we started jamming with sounds. Then I got the sound which we used for the main melody in that song...it's mostly a combination of sounds. It's so important to have a good sound, and not so easy to fine one. On 'No Limits', the sound came, then the melody. We already had the bass and the drums, and the sample for the lead sound in the end was just a sample. But I'm not going to tell you what it was."[8]
Larry Flick fromBillboard magazine wrote, "After several weeks at the top of Britain's pop charts, European rave duo is ready tackle the U.S. radio market with a bright ditty that meldstechno,hi-NRG, andrap elements. Thehook is irresistible, and the pace is heart-racing. Will please fans of last year's hit, 'Twilight Zone', while reeling in newcomers."[4]Tony Parsons fromThe Daily Telegraph named it a "high-speed anthem".[9] Per Reinholdt from DanishGaffa called it a "dance-powerhit", noting its "inciting up-tempo" and a rhythm and theme "with the same temper as a dressed beeswarm". He also named the song a "piece of pop art".[10] In aGuinness World Records review, the sound of 'No Limit' was compared to "the sound giant dinosaurs might make stomping on cities".[11] A reviewer fromIrish Independent described it as "a humungous global hit".[12]
In his weekly UK chart commentary,James Masterton wrote, "Of all the techno-rave dance acts, 2 Unlimited are the most successful, notching up 5 hits in a row with all making the 20. 'No Limit' being the latest and most frantic".[13] The Stud Brothers ofMelody Maker praised it as "magnificently kitsch".[14] Alan Jones fromMusic Week viewed it as "obvious pop fare".[15]James Hamilton from theRecord Mirror Dance Update named it "madly catchy" and a "tuneful techno pop galloper" in his weekly dance column.[16] Johnny Lee fromSmash Hits called it a "stormtrooper", adding that it has "a keyboard that sounds like it's being played by a robot with boxing gloves."[17] Australian student newspaperWoroni complimented the song as "tremendously exciting and highly recommended",[18] naming it an "obvious highlight" of theNo Limits! album.[19]
"No Limit" peaked at number one in 35 countries.[5] In Europe, it reached number one in Austria,[20] Belgium,[21] Denmark,[22] Finland,[23] France,[24] Ireland,[25] the Netherlands,[26] Norway,[27] Portugal,[28] Spain,[29] Sweden,[30] Switzerland,[31] and the United Kingdom, as well as on theEurochart Hot 100. In the UK, the single reached number one during its third week on theUK Singles Chart, on 7 February 1993,[32] after entering at number four and then climbing to number two. It stayed at the top of the chart for five consecutive weeks. Additionally, it entered the top 10 in Germany,[33] Greece,[34] Iceland,[35] and Italy.[36] "No Limit" debuted on the Eurochart Hot 100 at number 13 on 6 February after charting in Ireland, Sweden and the UK.[37] It peaked at number one six weeks later, on 13 March, and stayed at the top for nine consecutive weeks.[38] During the same period, it topped theEuropean Dance Radio Chart.[39]
In Canada, the song peaked at numbers one and two onThe Record Retail Singles chart and theRPM Dance chart, respectively. It also reached number 21 on the USBillboardDance Club Play chart.[40][41] In Oceania, it reached numbers seven and 50 in Australia and New Zealand, respectively,[42][43] while in Zimbabwe, it peaked at number 16.[44] The song was awarded with agold record in Australia, Austria, France and Germany, a silver record in the UK, and a platinum record in the Netherlands and Switzerland. In 2003, "No Limit 2.3" peaked at number 41 on theGerman Top 100 singles chart.[45]
NME ranked "No Limit" number one in their list of "Top Five Euro-Hits of All Time" in December 1993.[46]NME editor Paul Moody wrote, "The ultimate piece of pop existentialism as Anita and Ray suggest the whole world is one huge playground of hedonistic excess. All to a video set within a hugepinball machine. Sublime."[46] The song was ranked number 65 inBuzzFeed's list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s" in 2017.Stopera and Galindo said that "this is possibly the most aggressive beat from the '90s. It's like they're strumming a GIANT rubber band."[47] Tom Ewing ofFreaky Trigger felt the track's "echoeyhi-hat hits and the union of steam-hammer bass and rubber-ball synths" carry theindustrial, "piston-powered aggression" ofBelgianrave music. He also noted the presence of acowbell in the back of the track.[48] In 2015, Graham Clark fromThe Yorkshire Times stated that "the track at the time sounded unlike anything else but you can hear how it has influenced so many of today'selectronic dance music tracks".[49]
The accompanying music video for "No Limit" was directed by Nick Burgess-Jones[50][51] and filmed inLondon.[52] It features group members Anita Dels and Ray Slijngaard performing inside what appears to be a giantpinball machine,[46] wearing leather apparel.[53] "No Limit" receivedheavy rotation onMTV Europe in March 1993.[6] Burgess-Jones also directed the videos for 2 Unlimited's next two singles, "Tribal Dance" and "Faces".
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
"No Limit" was covered by German bandbeFour on their fourth studio albumFriends 4 Ever, and as a single in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The song entered theGerman Singles Chart in 2009.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006).Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi.ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
