Thomas Kukula (born 1965 in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

) is a German DJ,

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

musician and music producer, that released music under monikers such as General Base, Candy Beat, T.H.K. and Red 5.

Life and career

Kukula started working as a DJ in 1986 in his hometown Düsseldorf. Two years later he became resident DJ in the Tarm Center in

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

. Soon he started to produce his own music. His first project was General Base. The first General Base single ''Mein Gott, es ist voller Sterne'' was released in 1991. In 1992 he released his debut album ''First'' and the singles ''Back Again'', ''Apache'' (a cover version of ''

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

'' by

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

from 1960), ''In Trance'', ''Bidi, Bidi - Do You Wanna Dance'', ''Marilyn Monroe'' and ''Poison''. The album ''First'' entered the German

Media Control Charts Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

in 1993 and reached number 82. The single ''Poison'' also became a hit, mainly due to the vocals of

Claudja Barry Claudja Barry (born in 1952) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and actress. Her successful songs were " Down and Counting", "Boogie Woogie Dancin' Shoes" (which peaked at #56 on Billboard Hot 100 on June 9, 1979), "Dancing Fever", and others. As ...

. Besides he also released as ''Candy Beat'' and ''T.H.K.'' Other projects were not that successful. In 1998 Kukula started his new project ''Red 5'' and entered the German charts with the hit ''Da Beat Goes''. He later changed the name to ''DJ Red 5''. The follow-up singles ''I Love You Stop...!'', ''For This World'' and ''Lift Me Up'' also entered the German charts. Kukula also remixed tracks by

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

Bass Bumpers Bass Bumpers are a German DJ and record production team, known for their Eurodance/techno music. They are originally from Germany, with members Henning Reith, Caba Kroll, CJ Stone, George Dee, Akira Yamamoto, and Reinhard "DJ Voodoo" Raith. They p ...

, Maxx, The Good Men,

Sequential One André Tanneberger (; born 26 February 1973), better known by his stage name ATB, is a German DJ, musician, and producer of trance music. According to the official world DJ rankings governed by ''DJ Magazine'', ATB was ranked No. 11 in 2009 and ...

, Sheeva and United DJs. He is living and working in

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

Discography

Albums

* 1992: General Base - ''First'' * 1994: General Base - ''First'' (inkl. ''Poison'' mit

, ''Apache'' & ''Base of Love'') * 1998: Red 5 - ''Forces''

Singles

External links

Official website djred5.de

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kukula, Thomas 1965 births Club DJs Eurodance musicians German dance musicians German DJs German techno musicians German trance musicians Living people Musicians from Düsseldorf Electronic dance music DJs