Passion Fruit (band)

Passion Fruit
Origin	Madrid, Spain Amsterdam, Netherlands Berlin, Germany
Genres	Pop Europop Eurodance Bubblegum Dance
Years active	1999–2001
Past members
Manye "Blade" Thompson Viola "Dawn" Schubbe Carla "Pearl" Sinclair Mario "MC Steve" Tub Maria Serrano Serrano (deceased) Nathaly(ie) van het Ende (deceased) Deborah "Debby" St. Maarten

Passion Fruit was a Eurodance/bubblegum dance group consisting of three girls of German, Spanish and Dutch descent:

• Maria Serrano Serrano (November 26, 1973 - November 24, 2001)
• Nathaly(ie) van het Ende (January 2, 1975 - November 24, 2001)
• Debby (Deborah St. Maarten) (born 1973 in Delft)

Named after the tropical fruit, Passion Fruit got their start in June 1999 with the top ten dance-pop “The Rigga-Ding-Dong-Song”. “Wonderland”, “Sun Fun Baby” and “Bongo Man” followed in 2000 and 2001, all making the top 40 on the German singles chart.^[1]

Original Formation

Established in 1999, Passion Fruit originally consisted of three females and a male who performed the rapping parts. It was this group that performed "The Rigga Ding Dong Song", which was the group’s most successful single, reaching the top 10 in 14 countries, including number 9 in Germany and number 1 in Mexico. The original line-up can be seen in the single’s cover sleeve and video.

The four original members were:

• Blade (Manye Thompson)
• Dawn (Viola Schubbe)
• Pearl (Carla Sinclair)
• MC Steve (Mario Tub)

Following MC Steve leaving in October 1999 and tensions within the group, record company X-Cell Records decided not to continue with the project. Subsequently, the management team that created the group found a new line-up and a new record company and kept the name Passion Fruit to leverage the success of the first single.

Second line-up

• Nathaly(ie) van het Ende – a background singer, dancer and much sought-after model, who was the second runner up in the 1995 Miss Holland pageant and appeared in many music videos
• Debby (Deborah) St. Maarten – a dancer and model who appeared in many music videos for Dutch and Belgian artists
• Maria Serrano Serrano – a trained nurse who was also a dancer, model and background singer for various artists

While Marie, Debby and Nathaly sang some vocals, the lead vocals for the songs, including "The Rigga Ding Dong Song", were performed by Cuban-German singer Leticia Pareja-Padron.^[2]

Plane crash

On November 24, 2001, the group was on board Crossair Flight 3597 from Berlin to Zurich when it crashed into a wooded range of hills four kilometres (2.5 miles) short of the runway on approach towards Zurich International Airport, near the town of Bassersdorf. Maria Serrano-Serrano and Nathaly van het Ende died along with former La Bouche vocalist Melanie Thornton, who was also on the plane, while Debby St. Maarten survived with serious injuries along with eight other people.

In December 2001, Passion Fruit’s management decided to donate all the proceeds from their single “I’m Dreaming of...a Winter Wonderland” to the victims and survivors of the crash.

No new formation of the band has been planned.

Debby, post-crash

In 2006, Debby was continuing to have treatment for her injuries. She occasionally posts messages on the official Passion Fruit website, usually each November around the anniversary of the plane crash to remember Maria and Nathaly. She currently lives in Zoetermeer in the Netherlands. On December 5, 2006, to mark the fifth anniversary, she appeared in an interview on the ZDF television show Hello Germany which showed her visiting the site of the crash.

Debby St. Maarten Solo Career & Comeback

Before Passion Fruit, Debby St. Maarten worked as a model, appeared in numerous music videos throughout the 90s, and had even sung as a lead vocalist. All of the songs sung by Debby herself were released within Passion Fruit itself. In 2006, Debby St. Maarten planned a comeback as mentioned in the 2006 Passion Fruit special on ZDF in Germany, which aired on November 6. She had recorded some songs for her comeback, one of those being called "Girls" which can be heard at the beginning and end of the ZDF special. However, due to her injuries and other personal reasons Debby wasn't ready for her big comeback. Her management postponed the project that they decided to postpone until late 2007, however time went on and Debby never picked back up where she left off. It is uncertain when and if she will in the future. She currently lives in Zoetermeer in the Netherlands, and she still has to take weekly treatments for the injuries.^{[citation needed]}

Discography

Albums

• Spanglish Love Affairs (10 April 2000)
  • 1. Wonderland (Radio Mix)
  • 2. Rigga Ding Dong Song (Radio Edit)
  • 3. Sun Fun Baby
  • 4. Do You Remember
  • 5. Xl Holiday
  • 6. Tangomania
  • 7. Hot Tongue Twister (Vamonos)
  • 8. Let’s Go Crazy
  • 9. Passion Gang (Ladadi)
  • 10. Space Attack
  • 11. I Feel So Blue
  • 12. Shine On
  • 13. Wonderland (Bonus)

• Bongo Man (Unreleased 2nd Album)
  • 1.Bongo Man (Radio Edit)
  • 2.I'm Dreaming Of...A White Christmas (Video Edit)

The album was never finished due to the planecrash on 24 November 2001.

• Debby St.Maarten - Girls (Unreleased)
  • 1.Girls (Radio Edit)
  • 2.Girls (Extended Edit)

The comeback CD was never finished due to Debby's treatments and personal issues around that time.

Singles

Release Date	Title	Highest Chart Position
		DE	CH	NL
24 June 1999	The Rigga-Ding-Dong-Song	9	7	9	15
6 March 2000	Wonderland	22	69	11	—
5 June 2000	Sun Fun Baby (Looky Looky)	34	81	33	—
25 June 2001	Bongo Man	35	81	44	—
3 December 2001	I’m Dreaming of…A Winter Wonderland	72	56	63	—

Music videos

Below is a list of music videos of Passion Fruit.

1. Rigga Ding Dong Song
2. Sun Fun Baby
3. Wonderland
4. Bongo Man
5. I'm Dreaming Of...A White Christmas
6. I'm Dreaming Of...A Winter Wonderland

Second album release and unreleased single

Passion Fruit was working on their second studio album in 2001 shortly before the crash. Only two singles were recorded during the period: "Bongo Man" and "I'm Dreaming Of...A White Christmas". The new album was supposed to be a start for a new career under the label name Edel. Both singles were released on separate singles albums in December 2001. The single "Bongo Man" was released on the singles CD with the same name with mixes and featuring the song "Passion Gang" as a bonus track. The other single, "I'm Dreaming Of...A White Christmas", was released on a singles CD called "I'm Dreaming Of...A Winter Wonderland" featuring the song and a different version of it called "I'm Dreaming Of...A Winter Wonderland" with the same lyrics but different chorus lines, and featured two mixes of the Winter Wonderland version.

The single "P.A.S.S.I.O.N." was recorded by the first line-up in 1999 for the album Spanglish Love Affairs, but was later cut. It was later released on the singles CD Sun Fun Baby (Looky Looky) as a bonus track.

References

	Germany portal
	Biography portal
	Music portal

1. ^ (German) http://www.elephant-music.de/profil.html
2. ^ (German) http://www.leticia.info

External links