Toca’s Miracle — Fragma
A 1996 vocal, a 1999 instrumental and one mash-up: how Fragma and Coco Star’s “Toca’s Miracle” went straight to No. 1 in the UK in April 2000.
- A mash-up of Coco Star’s “I Need a Miracle” (1996) and Fragma’s “Toca Me” (1999).
- Released by Positiva on 10 April 2000; straight in at No. 1 in the UK.
- Re-released in 2008 as “Toca’s Miracle 2008”, which reached No. 16 in the UK.
Some hits are written. “Toca’s Miracle” was assembled. Take the vocal from a 1996 club record, lay it over a German trance instrumental from 1999, and the result was a UK No. 1 in the spring of 2000.
Two records, three years apart
Fragma started in Cologne in 1998, founded by brothers Dirk and Marco Duderstadt, with Ramon Zenker as producer. Their first single, “Toca Me”, came out in 1999 with vocals by Eva Martinez and reached No. 11 in the UK. Coco Star’s “I Need a Miracle” was older. Written by Rob Davis and Victor Imbres, it was first released by Greenlight Recordings in 1996 and re-recorded for EMI/Positiva in 1997.
The mash-up
The idea came from a mash-up by DJ Vimto that put Coco Star’s vocal over the “Toca Me” instrumental. The official version credits the Duderstadts and Zenker for the music, with Zenker producing, and Davis and Imbres for the lyrics. Positiva licensed it for the UK, and it became the second single from Fragma’s debut album, Toca.
Straight to No. 1
Positiva released “Toca’s Miracle” on 10 April 2000, and it went straight to No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. It reached No. 2 in Norway, No. 4 in Ireland, No. 5 in Denmark and No. 8 in Australia, and No. 9 on the US Dance Club Play chart. Iain Titterington’s video shows Coco Star in a futsal match. The BPI certified it Platinum in 2013, and reported worldwide sales, including the 2008 re-release, passed three million copies.
Toca followed in January 2001 and went gold in the UK. Fragma changed singers for the next hits: Maria Rubia on “Everytime You Need Me” (UK No. 3) and Damae on “You Are Alive” (UK No. 4).
The 2008 remake and a dispute
Tiger Records reissued the track as “Toca’s Miracle 2008”, with new remixes by InPetto, Wideboys, Richard Durand and Wes Clarke. It reached No. 2 in Spain and No. 16 in the UK; Coco Star does not appear in the new video. In 2012 she said Positiva had used her 1996 recording rather than the 1997 re-recording, and that she had never been paid for her vocal.
Fragma themselves split in 2012 and returned in 2017 with a new singer, Tess. Their single “I Want More”, released in July 2021, was their first new music in nine years.
For more German trance from the same years, read about ATB and Da Hool’s “Meet Her at the Love Parade”.
FAQ
Who sings Toca’s Miracle?
Coco Star. Her vocal comes from her 1996 song “I Need a Miracle”, laid over the instrumental of Fragma’s “Toca Me”.
When was Toca’s Miracle released?
Positiva released it in the UK on 10 April 2000, and it went straight in at No. 1.
Who is Fragma?
A German trance project from Cologne, founded in 1998 by brothers Dirk and Marco Duderstadt, with producer Ramon Zenker.
