Pop Music: Duos

Duos are good for quizzes because it's easier to list the names and/or contributions of their members than it is for larger groups.

While researching this page, it also seemed to me that many of them are one–hit wonders, or are mainly associated with one particular hit. This also makes them more easily identifiable when it comes to setting (or answering) questions.

See also Collaborations (for one–off collaborations between established artists and/or groups).

Jean–Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin – composed and performed the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's 1999 film The Virgin Suicides			Air
Identical twin brothers Billy and Bobby – took their surname as the name of the duo – UK No. 8 with Oh, Lori (1977)			Alessi
Sisters Shellie and Karen Poole – daughters of Brian Poole (of Tremeloes fame) – debut hit I Am I Feel, 1996			Alisha's Attic
Bob Day and John Alford – sang Britain's 1961 Eurovision entry, Are You Sure – came 2nd (marketed as brothers, but weren't)			The Allisons
One–hit wonders – No. 1 with Uptown Top Ranking, 1977 – surnames Forrest and Reid			Althea & Donna
Spanish female duo – Maria Mendiola and Mayte Mateos – No. 1 in 1977 with Yes Sir, I Can Boogie			Baccara
South London 'punk garage' production duo – Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe			Basement Jaxx
Brothers Howard and David – UK No. 7 with  Let Your Love Flow, 1976			Bellamy Brothers
Alan Barton and Colin Routh – biggest hit Agadoo (No. 2, 1984)			Black Lace
The Harlem Shuffle (No. 7, 1969) – surnames Relf and Nelson			Bob & Earl
Young, Gifted and Black (No. 5, 1970) – surnames Andy and Griffiths			Bob & Marcia
Kevin Parrott and Michael Coleman – No. 1 (1978) with Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs			Brian & Michael
Twins Luke and Matt Goss (plus Craig Logan for the first half of their career)			Bros
Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes – Video Killed the Radio Star (No. 1, 1979)			The Buggles
Richard and Karen – the best selling brother and sister duo ever			The Carpenters
Husband–and–wife duo, finished 2nd in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 with the UK entry Sing, Little Birdie			Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Jim Morrison (Jim Bob) and Les Carter (Fruit Bat); the latter rugby–tackled Phillip Schofield on stage at the Smash Hits Poll–Winners Party, 1991			Carter USM
Would I Lie to You? – UK No. 1, 1992 – surnames Pettigrew and Chacon			Charles & Eddie
Creators of the 'Rockney' genre – surnames Hodges and Peacock – featured on four FA Cup Final singles with Tottenham Hotspur FC			Chas & Dave
Monica and Gabriela Irimia (twin sisters, born in Romania in 1982)			Cheeky Girls
UK electronic duo, Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands: five UK No. 1 albums (1997–2007), and a sixth in 2015, and 13 top 20 singles, including two No. 1s: Setting Sun (1991, featuring Noel Gallagher) and Block Rockin' Beats (1997)			Chemical Brothers
Jamaican duo – UK No. 1 with Double Barrel, 1971 (Dave's surname was Crooks)			Dave & Ansell Collins
Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles, 1985–8; reached No. 1 and No. 4 respectively with covers of Don't Leave Me This Way (originally by Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes, later by Thelma Houston) and Never Can Say Goodbye (originally by the Jackson 5, later by Gloria Gaynor)			The Communards
Scottish folk act: Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne – originally a trio – Flower of Scotland (1974 – written by Williamson) became an unofficial anthem for Scotland (first used by boxer Ken Buchanan)			The Corries
French electronic duo – Guy–Manuel de Homem–Christo and Thomas Bangalter – collaborated with Pharell Williams on Get Lucky (2013); the album from which it came (Random Access Memories) was also a worldwide No. 1			Daft Punk
Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook – UK No. 7 with Lovers of the World Unite (1966) – also wrote a string of hits for various other artists			David & Jonathan
Reggae duo – real names John Taylor and Everton Bonner – UK No. 1 with a cover of Twist and Shout (1993)			Chaka Demus & Pliers
DJ Jeff Townes and rapper Will Smith (1985–94): UK No. 1 with Boom! Shake the Room, 1993			DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
Nick Batt and Neal Slateford – UK No. 2 with a remix of Suzanne Vega's Tom's Diner, 1990			DNA
David Van Day and Theresa Bazar – 5 UK Top 10 hits, 1979–87, including a cover of I Wanna (sic) Hold Your Hand			Dollar
Paul Oakenfold and Andy Gray – wrote and recorded the Big Brother theme (which reached No. 4 in 2000) as			Elementfour
Vince Clarke and Andy Bell: 15 Top 10 hits, 1986–94, including a No. 1 in 1992 with the EP Abba–Esque			Erasure
Dave Stewart, Annie Lennox; evolved from The Tourists; named after a method of teaching music and dance devised by Emile Jacques–Delcroze (possibly two separate methods – Eurythmy and Eurhythmics)			Eurythmics
Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt (1982–2000): took their name from the slogan of a Hull furniture shop – originally "For your bedroom needs, we sell ...			Everything but the Girl
Evergreen Irish folk duo – formed 1975 – signature tunes A Bunch of Thyme and Maggie			Foster & Allen
Scottish duo – originally members of McGuinness Flint – I Wanna Stay With You and Heart on my Sleeve, both UK No. 6 in 1976			Gallagher & Lyle
Danger Mouse and CeeLo Green – Crazy (2006) was the first single to top the UK charts on downloads alone			Gnarls Barkley
Former members of 10cc: UK Top 10 hits in 1981 with Under Your Thumb and Wedding Bells			Godley & Creme
Peter Cox (lead vocals) and Richard Drummie (guitar, backing vocals): biggest hit was their 1985 debut single, We Close Our Eyes, but their best remembered is probably King of Wishful Thinking (1989), which featured on the soundtrack of the 1990 film Pretty Woman			Go West
Andy Cato and Tom Findlay: I See You Baby was a Top 20 hit in 1999 and 2004			Groove Armada
Comedy duo, reached No. 1 in 1991 with the Comic Relief charity single The Stonk			Hale & Pace
US duo: 5 US No. 1s, but their biggest UK hits were I Can't Go For That and Maneater (No. 8 and No. 6 respectively, in 1982); first names Daryl and John			Hall & Oates
Former members of The Shadows: had three Top 4 hits in 1963, including a No. 1 with Diamonds			Jet Harris & Tony Meehan
Wigan–based duo (Jeremy Healy and Kate Garner), accused Boy George of stealing their look (George's response: "It wasn't their look to steal")			Haysi Fantayzee
Two former members of The Strawbs (first names John and Richard); UK Top 10 hit with Pick Up the Pieces (1973); also had a No. 19 in 1979, as The Monks, with Nice Legs Shame About the Face			Hudson Ford
Scottish brothers Pat and Greg Kane: UK Top 10 hit with Labour of Love, 1987			Hue & Cry
Scottish 'psychedelic folk' group – core members were multi–instrumentalists Robin Williamson and Mike Heron. Originally Williamson and Clive Palmer; Palmer left after the first album; one–time Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams was a fan			Incredible String Band
LA–based vocal duo, US No. 1 with the influential Surf City (co–written with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys); surnames Berry and Torrence			Jan & Dean
Liverpool duo (Jemma Abbey and Chris Crosby), scored "nul points" in Eurovision 2003 with Cry Baby			Jemini
DJ/production duo Andy Pickles and Les Hemstock – three UK No. 1s in 1989			Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers
Trinidadian–born brother and sister, had a few bubblegum hits in the mid–1970s			Mac & Katie Kissoon
Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cautey – also known as The Timelords (Doctorin' the Tardis, No. 1 in 1988) and the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (It's Grim Up North, No. 10 following re–release in 1991); five UK Top 5 hits 1990–2, including the 1991 No. 1 3.A.M. Eternal; they later formed the K Foundation, which burnt £1 million in the name of art			The KLF
US rap duo, Chris Kelly and Chris Smith: US No. 1, UK No. 2, 1992 with Jump			Kris Kross
Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid (she sings and plays keyboards; both write and produce) – UK No. 1 in 2009 with Bulletproof			La Roux
Tunde Baiyewu (vocals) and Paul Tucker (keyboards): 1995 album Ocean Drive sold over 1.75 million copies in the UK			Lighthouse Family
Radio 1 DJs Dave Lee Travis and Paul Burnett had a No. 4 hit in 1976 with Convoy GB, as			Laurie Lingo & the Dipsticks
Edem Ephraim and Dennis Fuller: German–based English dance–pop duo, UK No. 4 with Requiem 1988, No. 2 with London Nights 1989; both died when their car was hit by a drunk driver in the Austrian Alps in 1996			London Boys
Blues–rock duo – John Fiddler and Peter Hope–Evans – reached No. 3 in 1973 with One and One is One			Medicine Head
The Appleby sisters – gave Stock, Aitken & Waterman their second No. 1 (Respectable, 1987); the elder (first–named) sister died of cancer in 1990, aged 23			Mel & Kim
Tony Crane and Billy Kinsley – former members of the Merseybeats – reached No. 4 with their 1966 debut single Sorrow			The Merseys
Barbara Macdonald and Emyr Griffith: Scottish–Welsh country & western duo, discovered by Lonnie Donegan: had four minor hits 1959–63, including A Little Bitty Tear (1962) – but Burl Ives's version was a bigger hit			Miki and Griff
Former Northumberland miners, Opportunity Knocks winners; had two minor hit singles, including a No. 20 in 1973 with the 50s standard Vaya Con Dios (May God Be With You) – previously No. 1 in 1953 for Les Paul and Mary Ford) and a No. 3 album in 1974			Millican & Nesbitt
Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus: French/German vocal duo; three US No. 1s, 1988–9, but only a No. 2 and a No. 3 in the UK (including Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, 1989); they won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990, but this was withdrawn after it was revealed that Morvan and Pilatus hadn't sung on the records and were lip–synching in live performances			Milli Vanilli
Mark Brydon and Róisín Murphy: Sheffield–based dance–pop duo, 1995–2004; name taken from A Clockwork Orange, originally Russian for “milk”; biggest hit The Time is Now (UK No. 2, 2000)			Moloko
Semi–aristocratic Danish/Dutch husband and wife: five hit singles, 1959–61, including Little Donkey (No. 3, Christmas 1960 – also a hit for the Beverley Sisters and Gracie Fields in 1959)			Nina and Frederik
Irish musician Patrick Campbell–Lyons and Greek composer Alex Spyropoulos: reached No. 34 in 1968 with Rainbow Chaser; later reached an agreement with the rather more successful American band of the same name – also claiming that the cover of the latter's debut album was copied from their own 1967 debut The Story of Simon Simopath			Nirvana
Israeli husband and wife: No. 1 in several countries, 1968, with Cinderella Rockefella; she had previously (1963) come second in Eurovision; divorced 1970			Esther & Abi Ofarim
Brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll: duo named after the M25 motorway. Reached No. 3 in 1997 with the theme tune from the film The Saint; also reached No. 3 with their previous single, Satan Live (1996)			Orbital
Founded by French record producers Daniel Vangarde and Jean Kluger: Jean Patrick Baptiste and 'Annette' – both Caribbean–born – No. 2 (1980 with debut single D.I.S.C.O. and No. 3 (1981) with Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)			Ottawan
London–based garage duo: Alex Rivers and Mark Osei–Tutu – UK No. 1 (2000) with Bound 4 da Reload (Casualty) – sampling the theme from the BBC TV series Casualty, also dialogue from the 1998 film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels			Oxide & Neutrino
US hip–hop duo James Alpern (a.k.a. DJ Keymaster Snow) and Richard Usher (a.k.a. MC Golden Voice): UK No. 1 (1990) with Turtle Power, which featured on the soundtrack of the 1990 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles			Partners in Kryme
US duo Ray Hildebrand and Jill Jackson: US No. 1, UK No. 8 (1963) with Hey Paula			Paul & Paula
US vocal duo Herbert Feemster and Linda Greene: US No. 1, UK No. 4 (1979) with Reunited (Greene had replaced Francine Barker, whose real childhood nickname was used in the name of the duo, some time between 1971 and 1977)			Peaches & Herb
Helen DeMaque and Shirley Holliman: UK Top 10 hits in 1987 with Heartache and Goodbye Stranger; previously backing singers for Wham! (Demaque's previous singing partner, Dee C. Lee, joined Style Council and was married to Paul Weller 1987–98)			Pepsi & Shirlie
UK & US No. 1s with A World Without Love (1964 – written by Paul McCartney) – also had UK top 10 singles with McCartney's Nobody I Know, Buddy Holly's True Love Ways, and Phil Spector's To Know You Is To Love You (originally To Know Him Is To Love Him); surnames Asher and Waller – the first–named is the elder brother of Jane Asher			Peter & Gordon
Opportunity Knocks winners, UK No. 1 (1973) with Welcome Home; first names Lennie and Dianne; he was the uncle of Rolling Stone Charlie Watts and was blinded by two separate accidents aged 5 and 16			Peters & Lee
The UK's most successful duo (Guinness Book of Records): Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe – they met in 1981 in a hi–fi shop on King’s Road, Chelsea; 22 UK Top Ten hits, 1985–2006, including four No. 1s: West End Girls (1985), It's a Sin (1987), Always On My Mind (1987 – voted the best–ever cover version, by BBC Radio 2 listeners 2014) and Heart (1988)			Pet Shop Boys
Roger Greenaway (see David & Jonathan) and Tony Burrows: UK No. 6 with Gimme Dat Ding (1970)			The Pipkins
Names of the characters played by Ant and Dec in the BBC teen drama Byker Grove: also the names under which they recorded their first ten UK hits (1993–6) – including Let's Get Ready to Rhumble (No. 9, 1994)			PJ and Duncan
US hip–hop duo, brothers Attrell and Jarrett Cordes (a.k.a. Prince Be and DJ Minutemix): US No. 1, UK No. 3 (1991) with Set Adrift on Memory Bliss			P.M. Dawn
Twins Craig and Charlie Reid			The Proclaimers
Simon Toulson–Clarke and Julian Close: UK Top Ten hits with Lean on Me (ah–li–ayo) (1985) and For America (1986)			Red Box
Italian–born, West Midlands–resident New Faces winner and Aston Villa fan Renato Pagliari, and Hilary Lester: UK Christmas No. 1 1982 with Save Your Love			Renée and Renato
Bill Medley, Bobby Hatfield			Righteous Brothers
Two actors from the ITV series Soldier Soldier: surnames Green and Flynn; three UK No. 1 singles and two No. 1 albums, 1995–6; all cover versions, inc. Unchained Melody,  I Believe, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted			Robson & Jerome
Sweden's second most successful chart act: Marie Fredriksson (vocals and keyboards, died in 2019 aged 61) and Per Gessle (vocals and guitar)			Roxette
Twin sons of an English pop singer dubbed "the Marilyn Monroe of popular song" (Marion Ryan), had limited success as a duo but the latter–named had a UK No. 2 with the melodramatic Eloise (1968), written by the other twin			Paul & Barry Ryan
Cheryl James (US) and Sandra Denton (born Kingston, Jamaica) – backed up by DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper): "the most commercially successful female rap troupe of all time" (GBoHS&A, 2005); Top Ten hits Push It, Twist and Shout (both 1988), Do You Want Me, Let's Talk About Sex (both 1991), Whatta Man (1994)			Salt–N–Pepa
US soul/r&b duo – surnames Moore (born Hicks) and Prater; best known for Soul Man (1967), backed by Booker T. & the MG's – US No. 2, but only No. 24 in UK			Sam & Dave
Australian duo Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones: four UK Top Ten hits, 1998–2000, two of which (Truly Madly Deeply and I Knew I Loved You) reached No. 1 in the USA			Savage Garden
Siobhan Fahey, post–Bananarama – later joined by Marcella Detroit; named after a single by The Smiths, which was inspired by the writing of Virginia Woolf; UK No. 1 in 1992 with Stay			Shakespear's Sister
London–based house duo, Simon Marlin and Max Reich: debut single Lola's Theme (with a much–featured sample from Johnny Taylor's What About My Love (1982)) went straight to No. 1 in the UK, 2004			The Shapeshifters
The most successful recording duo ever: childhood friends, started performing as Tom & Jerry; five UK Top 10 hits, 1966–70; their final studio album (Bridge Over Troubled Water, 1970) went straight to No. 1 and spent over 300 weeks on the chart; the title track was their only UK No. 1 single; first names Paul and Art (Arthur)			Simon & Garfunkel
Prolific and legendary Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, estimated to have played on or produced 200,000 recordings; two UK Top 20 hits in their own right (Boops (Here to Go) 1987, and a cover of Gregory Isaacs's Night Nurse 1997); surnames Dunbar and Shakespeare			Sly & Robbie
English synthpop duo Marc Almond and David Ball: five UK Top Ten singles, 1981–2, including their debut hit Tainted Love (1981) which made No. 1			Soft Cell
US husband–and–wife duo, started out as Caesar and Cleo; surname Bono; previously backing singers for Phil Spector; debut single I Got You Babe reached No. 1 in UK and USA; divorced 1975, split professionally 1977. He became an actor and politician (mayor of Palm Springs 1988–92, California congressman from 1994 until his death in a skiing accident); she became one of the world's top–earning solo singers			Sonny and Cher
British production duo Paul Glancy and Duncan Glasson: UK No. 1 in 1998 with Gym & Tonic			Spacedust
Glasgow–based pop–rock/new wave duo, Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall; best known for their UK No. 5 hit Since Yesterday (1985)			Strawberry Switchblade
Paul Weller and Mick Talbot, 1983–9: seven Top 10 hits			The Style Council
Russia's most successful recording act – Julia Volkova and Lena Katina – UK No. 1 (2003) with All the Things She Said; represented Russia at Eurovision, 2003, with Ne Ver', Ne Boisia (Don't Believe, Don't Fear)			t.A.T.u.
Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith: US No. 1s (UK nos. 4 and 2) with Shout (1984) and Everybody Wants to Rule the World (1985); first hit was Mad World (UK No. 3, 1982)			Tears for Fears
Comedy rock duo formed in 1994 by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass			Tenacious D
Hip–hop duo Ricardo Brown and Delmar Arnaud – have appeared with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg – 1st album Dogg Food (1995) reached No. 1 in the USA but only No. 66 in the UK			Tha Dogg Pound
John Flansburgh and John Linnell: name was taken from a 1971 film starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward, and is a reference to Don Quixote; UK No. 6 (1990) with Birdhouse In Your Soul			They Might Be Giants
US husband and wife Pat and Barbara MacDonald: name is a reference to a famously remote city in Africa; best known for The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades (US & UK No. 21, 1987)			Timbuk 3
Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian: Mercury nominated 2001 for their first album, The Optimist LP; UK No. 5 (2003) with Pain Killer (Summer Rain)			Turin Brakes
US hip–hop duo Rafael Vargas and Roger Pauletta: best known for Wiggle It (UK No. 3, 1991)			2 in a Room
Dutch Eurodance duo Ray Slijngaard and Anita Dels: eight UK Top 10 hits, 1991–4, including a No. 1 with No Limit (1993) with 12 repeats of the word "No"			2 Unlimited
Jeff Calvert and Max West: known for their 1975 UK No. 1 hit Barbados			Typically Tropical
Formed 1967 by Marc Bolan, originally with Steve Peregrine Took (real name Stephen Porter) who was replaced in 1970 by Mickey Finn			Tyrannosaurus Rex
Leeds–based electronic duo Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt – 3 UK Top 10 hits: What Can You Do For Me (No. 10, 1991), Something Good (No. 4, 1992) and Believe In Me (No. 8, 1993)			Utah Saints
US pop duo David Weiss and Don Fagenson, posing as brothers; 10 hits, 1984–92, but only Walk the Dinosaur (UK No. 10, 1987) and Shake Your Head (No. 4, 1992) made the Top 10			Was (Not Was)
Izora Armstead and Martha Wash: best known for It's Raining Men (UK No. 2, 1983), which was a UK No. 1 for Geri Halliwell in 2001			The Weather Girls
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley: 10 consecutive UK Top 10 hits, 1982–6, including four No. 1s (and 2 No. 1s in the USA); debut album Fantastic (1983) spent 116 weeks in the charts. First Western pop group to tour China (1985)			Wham!
Minimalist rock duo, husband and wife Jack White (born John Gillis) and Megan White; fourth album Elephant (2003) went straight to No. 1 and gave them their most successful single: 7 Nation Army (No. 7, 2003)			The White Stripes
US husband and wife duo (Cecil and Linda): most successful single was Teardrops (UK No. 3, 1988); Cecil's brother Bobby wrote and originally recorded It's All Over Now, which was the Rolling Stones' first No. 1 hit			Womack & Womack
Vince Clarke (formerly of Depeche Mode) and Alison Moyet; first two albums, Upstairs at Eric's (1982) and You and Me Both (1983) went to No. 2 and No. 1 respectively; Top 3 singles with Only You (1982), Don't Go (1982) and Nobody's Diary (1983) – but no No. 1			Yazoo
Swiss electronic duo, Dieter Meier and Boris Blank: 1985 single Oh Yeah featured in the films Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Secret of My Success, but failed to chart in the UK and reached only No. 51 in the USA; most successful single was The Race (UK No. 7, 1988)			Yello
Tony Cox and Douglas MacCrae–Brown: had the original hit with Lennon & McCartney's With a Little Help From My Friends (No. 10, 1967)			The Young Idea
US duo, reached No. 1 in the US and UK in 1969 with In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus); first names Denny and Rick			Zager & Evans

© Haydn Thompson 2017–20