Artist · chart history
Soul II Soul
Band London United Kingdom Formed 1988
Soul II Soul formed in 1988 in London, United Kingdom. Soul II Soul has 7 chart appearances on 5 radio countdowns from 5 stations on RockLists, spanning 1990–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Keep On Moving”, which appears on 3 lists with a best position of #211. The station that charted Soul II Soul most often is 90.9 The Bridge (Kansas City, MO), with 2 appearances.
Soul II Soul were less a band than a London movement, a collective that came together in 1988 with a roll call that ran through Jazzie B, Nellee Hooper, Caron Wheeler, Simon Law, Doreen Waddell and more. What they built on Virgin sounded like nothing else on the radio: a slow, rolling hip-hop beat with the heavy bottom end of a reggae sound system, lush soul vocals floating on top and a groove so relaxed it almost swaggers.
"Keep On Movin'" was the first big hit, and its follow-up, "Back to Life", went all the way to number one at home and did serious business in America too. Both have the same magic trick: they sound laid-back and urgent at once, club records you can sway to rather than sweat to. America's R&B world noticed. The collective took home two Grammy Awards, one of them for Best R&B Instrumental Performance, along with a handful of Soul Train Music Awards, and they were up for Best New Artist too. At home they were nominated for five Brit Awards, twice as Best British Group.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Soul II Soul on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keep On Moving | 3 | #211 | – | – | |
| 2 | Back to Life | 2 | #40 | – | – | |
| 3 | Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) | 1 | #503 | – | – | |
| 4 | Back 2 Life | 1 | #313 | – | – |
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