A Touch of Class (group)

A Touch of Class (ATC)

Company type	Musical group
Industry	Music
Founded	1997 in Hamburg, Germany
Defunct	2003
Headquarters	Hamburg , Germany
Products	Eurodance music
Parent	Sony BMG, Republic Records

A Touch of Class (ATC) was an international Eurodance ensemble based in Germany, active between 1997 and 2003. Their most notable hit was the 2000 track "Around the World (La La La La La)".

Career

The founding lineup consisted of members from various nations: Joseph "Joey" Murray from New Zealand, Sarah Egglestone from Australia, Livio Salvi representing Italy, and Tracey Elizabeth Packham from England. They crossed paths in Hamburg while involved in the German staging of the musical Cats during 1997–1998 and subsequently formed a dance music group.

In 1999, the group began collaborating with producers Alex Christensen and Thomas M. Stein under the moniker ATC. Their sound was characterized by a blend of male and female vocals, creating a unique musical identity. Their debut single, "Around the World (La La La La La)", was an English adaptation of Russian band Ruki Vverh!'s song "Pesenka". This single dominated the German charts for six consecutive weeks in 2000 and achieved Top 40 status in both the UK and US markets. Their first album, Planet Pop, released in February 2001 via Sony BMG and Republic Records, featured production input from Christensen and Clyde Ward, earning them an ECHO Award for Best Dance Act.

Following releases included "I'm In Heaven (When You Kiss Me)" in 2001, which attained moderate success across Europe, and "Set Me Free" in 2002, which did not meet commercial expectations. In 2003, due to legal disputes involving their producer ATB and record label complications, the group ceased using the ATC abbreviation. They issued their final single "New York City" alongside their second album Touch the Sky, but were unable to replicate prior achievements and disbanded within the same year.

Post-disbandment

After disbanding, members embarked on varied professional paths: Egglestone established a Pilates studio in Australia; Packham became employed as a carer; while Murray and Salvi formed a cover band named Démodé Trio with Yvette Robinson in 2016.

In 2019, Dutch-Moroccan DJ R3hab produced a remix of "All Around the World (La La La)" featuring collaboration with ATC. Subsequently, in 2021, American singer-songwriter Ava Max incorporated elements of this track into her single My Head & My Heart.

The original four members reunited for a photograph in 2020 and suggested potential performances at 1990s-themed music festivals. However, plans for a reunion tour were postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under German choreographer Gabriela Gottschalk’s direction, ATC was reassembled with new artists and made their debut performance in 2022.

Albums

Title	Album details
Planet Pop	International release: 6 November 2000; US release: 6 February 2001 Labels: Republic/Universal (former US), King Size/BMG (current worldwide) Available formats: CD, Audio Cassette
Touch the Sky	Release date: 23 March 2003 Label: King Size/BMG Formats: CD, digital download

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions													Certifications (sales thresholds)	Album
		AUS	AUT	BEL	FIN	FRA	GER	IT	NED	POL	SWE	SWI	UK	US
2000	"Around the World (La La La La La)"	1 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 1 |16 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 28	GER: Platinum AUT: Gold SWI: Gold FRA: Silver	Planet Pop
	"My Heart Beats Like a Drum (Dum Dum Dum)"	6 | 11 | 12 | 39 | 3 |46 |37 |18 |38 |21 | — | —	GER: Gold
	"Why Oh Why"	16 |39 | — | — |16 |— | — |29 | — |64 | — | —
	"Thinking of You"	— | — | — | — |46 |— | — | — | — |51 | — | —
2001	"I'm In Heaven (When You Kiss Me)"	27 | — | — | — |22 |— | — | — | — |31 | — | —		Touch the Sky
	"Call on Me"	— | — | — | — | — |— | — | — | — |— | — |
2002	"Set Me Free"	— | — | — | — |44 |— | — |— |— |— |— |
2003	"New York City"	— |— |— |— |81 |— |— |— |— |— |— |
2019	"All Around the World (La La La)" (with R3hab)	35 |11 |10 |63 |29 |— |18 |— |62 |39 |— |	SWI: Platinum

|- colspan="17" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"|"—" indicates releases that did not chart or were unavailable in that region. }

External links

• ATC profile on Bubblegum Dancer
• Official A Touch of Class channel on YouTube