(This article contains allegations that have not been brought forth in a court of law. The accused is presumed innocent until proven otherwise in court. This article contains credible allegations from a reliable source. The accused has not responded to an invitation to exercise his right of reply. There has been no request to take this article down.)
I’m angrier than a parakeet without a mirror over this story, because in 1995 through 1996, I unknowingly played in a role in not exposing serious allegations. In fact, I promoted and respected the guy who is the subject of those disgusting allegations. These allegations are twenty-eight years ago, but the nature of the allegations, I feel, are just as serious if made today or thirty years ago.
While in junior high school, and almost throughout senior high school, I formed and ran
one of the first internet-based fan clubs for a eurodance group on the
internet. The group? One 2 Unlimited of the Beneluxian region.
You might not recognize the name, especially if you’re in the United States, but you sure do know their songs. You know:
1.) Get Ready (f/k/a Get Ready for This)
2.) Twilight Zone
3.) No Limit (#1 in 35 countries, probably their most successful single from a sales standpoint)
4.) The Real Thing
5.) Do What’s Good for Me
Feel
free to YouTube or Spotify them. I refuse to link to any of their work.
Although successful throughout other parts of the world, it took a few years for 2 Unlimited
to catch on in the United States outside of the nightclubs. It wasn’t
until 1995 when the group entered Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. After an unexpected re-entry to the charts (Get Ready
was released as a CD and cassette single in 1992, following 12″
releases for the nightclubs), the song peaked at #38, which means the
group can forever boast that they are top 40 material in the United
States.
The fan club ran from 1993 to 1996, and during that
time, I amassed, at its peak, over 600 members from all over the
English-speaking world. I was mentioned in Rolling Stone as well as my local newspaper and on numerous radio stations around the world, as far away as Austria.
I
chose to dissolve the fan club in 1996 when the original performers,
Ray and Anita, opted not to renew their five-year contract, ostensibly
because they and the producers each wanted to go in their own musical
direction. That, and, according to an anonymous source, there were
disputes between the producers and songwriters. It was a mess.
But
it wasn’t as simple as moving in separate directions, apparently. You
see, every week I would call their US labels, Radikal Records (still
alive and well) and Critique Records (long since out of business) and I
would get updates that I would then turn around and put in my weekly
email newsletter. I got advance copies of singles and albums as well as
official music videos.
It was during one of those updates
that a frightening allegation was made against Ray, who was the rapper
and a songwriter. He wrote the lyrics to Get Ready, which is
arguably the group’s best song ever, a song that lives on today in
sporting venues nationwide. But according to an update from Popular
Records, a label that came into the picture towards the end of the
original performers’ run, things were extremely serious.
During
that fateful update, my source alleged that Ray and Anita had,
according to the information he’d received, gotten into a physical
altercation and Ray had either hit Anita or tried to hit her. At the
time, I didn’t believe them and I did not put it into the newsletter.
Looking back on it, I should have done so and I should have dissolved
the fan club immediately.
It was in late 2023 that I engaged in a
Facebook conversation with Anita, who along with Ray made a comeback as
Ray & Anita and then as a part of the newly-reformed 2 Unlimited.
At the time of our chat, Anita had long since parted ways with the new
incarnation of 2 Unlimited.
Anyway, somehow or another, the topic
of the alleged assault came up. It was at that point that Anita
confirmed the allegations and I was shocked. I’d only met Ray once in
New York City, but he didn’t strike me (for lack of a better word) as
someone who would hit a woman. I respected him and I thought he was a
decent guy.
Anita went on to allege that Ray was, at least
back then, an alcoholic and it was allegedly during a drunken
confrontation that Ray either hit or attempted to hit Anita in a bar.
Fortunately, there were several people around who stopped him from
beating the crap out of her.
She went on to say that there were
points in their career that she was afraid of him, something she said
was evident in the way that she tried to avoid being near him during
performances. Looking back at those performances, I agree that she
seemed keen to avoid him.
It was at that point that I hit my limit. So it turns out that despite their worldwide successful song, there really is
a limit. And that limit is when Ray, if Anita is telling the truth and
I have no reason to doubt that she is, hit her. If true, then I spent
several years extolling a man who betrayed Anita, their fans and me, as a
fan club president who put his life, heart and soul into the fan club.
There
are some questions here. And I have been unable to contact Anita for her right of reply, but she has not responded, which is her call.
Now, for the questions that I have as their former US fan club president. If it is true that he did hit her, then why
did she stay? Surely there was some clause in their contract that would
allow her to leave if there was any sort of abuse.
If she had
to serve out her contract, then why did she come back to work with him
on the Ray & Anita project 14 years ago? Why did she stay for the
reformation of 2 Unlimited? She’s been through a lot in her life.
She’s a cancer survivor, so she’s clearly strong. Why did she come
back? Why did she stay? Why didn’t she press charges against Ray?
There are just so many questions.
2 Unlimited lives on today with a new singer and it now has a status of a retro band. Rather than release new material, they simply tour Europe cashing in on past success rather than promoting current projects. Allegedly, this is why Anita left the most recent incarnation of 2 Unlimited. She reportedly wanted to record new music whereas everyone else did not.
It’s important to note that
criminal charges were never brought against Ray. He has not had his day
in court and has therefore not been found guilty…in a court of law.
In my court, he’s tried, convicted and sentenced to a lifetime of my
disdain and disrespect.
I have no reason to believe that Anita
lied to me in our Facebook conversation. She wanted me to keep secret
the fact that Ray is (or was) an alcoholic, according to her. Why?
It’s somewhat ironic, given the fact that in the single Workaholic,
he says that his subject is “drinking, drinking like an alcoholic.” If
he did the things she says he did, then why would she not tell the
world?
Anyway, I still have my 2 Unlimited collection and I am
trying to find a buyer. I have destroyed any and all digital files from
my iPhone and computers. I used to have Get Ready as my ringtone, but now I have a song performed by the competition, Stay-C, formerly of the group Twenty 4 Seven.
Believe
what you want about Ray. I believe Anita, and I realize that making a
private conversation public is low-brow, but I felt that it needed to be
done. Is it legal? Yes, in New York State, it’s a one-party system,
meaning that I do not need Anita’s permission to discuss our
conversation. Right of reply does not apply here, but I have still extended an opportunity for that to Ray and to Anita. Neither has yet to reply, so that’s on them.
Before you support 2 Unlimited with your hard-earned
money, just remember the serious allegations against Ray and go listen
to a group that doesn’t have an alleged woman-beater on its roster.
Burn in hell, Ray. You betrayed me as a fan and your US fan club president and I will never forgive you.