Vengaboys

Vengaboys are a Dutch Euro-dance group from Rotterdam, Netherlands, active since 1997. The project begins with Dutch DJs Danski, whose real name is Dennis van den Driesschen, and Delmundo, whose real name is Wessel van Diepen, who first tour Spanish beach parties by bus and later build the act around a dance-pop format with performers and dancers.

Formation and name

The group forms in 1992 and adds four dancers during 1995 and 1996 before coming to prominence in 1997. The name comes from the Spanish exclamation “¡Venga!”, meaning “come on”, which a Spanish guest singer on the producers’ earlier Nakatomi project repeats in recordings. In Spanish pronunciation, the “V” in Vengaboys is heard with a soft B sound.

Style and line-up

The group is associated with bubblegum dance, EDM, electro, electronic music, euro house and eurodance. Their listed members are Robin Pors, Roy den Burger, Donny Latupeirissa, Denise Post-Van Rijswijk, Cor Sangers and Kim Sasabone. Earlier line-ups also include Robin Pors, Kim Sasabone, Roy den Burger, Denise van Rijswijk, Yorick Bakker, Mark, Lilly and Travis McQueen.

Success and recordings

Vengaboys follow in the Dutch dance-pop tradition of acts such as 2 Unlimited. Their best-known singles include “Uncle John from Jamaica”, “We’re Going to Ibiza”, “Boom Boom Boom Boom” and “We Like to Party”. By the start of the 2000s, they have four top 10 singles, including two number ones: “Boom Boom Boom Boom” and “We’re Going to Ibiza”.

Their third album, Platinum Album, reaches the top 10 and produces “Kiss”, “Shala Lala” and “Uncle John From Jamaica”, along with “Cheekah Bow-Bow”, which features their fifth cyber-member Cheekah, and the ballad “Forever As One”. The video for “Forever As One” is later banned after the group uses unlicensed images of meeting the pop group Westlife. By mid-2001, after nearly 10 top 10 hits, the group partly disbands and returns to the club scene.