U96

With their name inspired by a submarine in the 1981 film Das Boot, U96 is a techno and Eurodance group formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1991. Founded by DJ/producer Alex Christensen alongside producers Ingo Hauss, Helmut Hoinkis, and Hayo Lewerentz, U96 came to prominence with their debut single, “Das Boot,” which featured a sample of the film’s main theme. The single was an international hit, reaching the Number 1 position on the singles charts in Germany, Austria, Norway, and Sweden. Their debut album, also called Das Boot, was released in 1992 and featured the title track as well as the follow-up hit “I Wanna Be a Kennedy.” U96 continued to have chart hits throughout the 1990s and early 2000s – including “Love Sees No Colour” (1992), “Night in Motion” (1993), “Love Religion” (1994), “Heaven” (1996), and “Energie” (1998). The group’s first four albums charted as did their Best of 1991-2001 compilation. However, although the band embraced many different styles of dance and electronic music, their subsequent albums failed to chart. In 2007, U96 went on a long hiatus but returned in 2015 with albums such as The Dark Matter (2015), Reboot (2018), and Transhuman (2020). Original U96 member Helmut Hoinkis died on February 19, 2021.