Camouflage is a German synth pop and dance music trio consisting of Marcus Meyn, Heiko Maile and Oliver Kreyssig. Their only Hot 100 entry was "The Great Commandment" which climbed to #59 in 1989. The song did spend three weeks at #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. They also had two additonal minor hits in the dance chart in 1989.
In 1983, Heiko Maile, Marcus Meyn, Martin Kahling and Oliver Kreyssig, four friends from Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany, founded the band "Lizenenced Technology." In 1984, Martin Kahling left the band. Soon after, the group renames itself "Camouflage," inspired by a "Yello Magic Orchestra" song of the same name. The three young musicians set up their first studio in the basement of Heiko's parents' house, calling it "Boy's Factory." Their first live gigs at local music clubs soon followed. That next year, Camouflage recorded two demo tapes at their studio, and in 1986, the group won a local radio music contest - after a friend of theirs handed one of the demos in. A small Frankfurt music label, "Westside," showed interest in taking Camouflage on. There, the song "The Great Commandment" is recorded to be presented to bigger music companies. After considering offers from several record companies, Camouflage decides to sign a contract with Metronome.
Working with Axel Henninger, Camouflage re-records "The Great Commandment" in Axel's studio in 1987. The single was released in September of that year and rose to number 14 in the German charts. Their follow-up single "Stranger Thoughts" was released in February 1988, rising to number 20. In March, "Voices & Images," Camouflage's debut album, is released. The album topped the US Billboard Dance Charts twice having been played often by small independent radio stations. In New York, Heiko, Oli and Marcus signed a contract with the US label Atlantic that same year, releasing "Voices & Images" and the single "That Smiling Face" for the US market in the fall of 1988. In an old factory loft near their hometown, Heiko, Oli and Marcus set up "Boy's Factory 2," their new studio.
