D:Ream are a Northern Irish pop and dance group. They achieved a UK No. 1 hit with "" in 1994. Eight further top 40 hits followed, including "U R the Best Thing", "" and "Shoot Me with Your Love". Their two 1990s studio albums both reached the UK top five.
The group had a line-up that varied in number but was centred on lead singer and instrumentalist Peter Cunnah. Live and session keyboard player Brian Cox became an academic and science broadcaster on television.
In 1992, D:Ream released the single "U R the Best Thing", a piano-house track that did not chart, but due to a Sasha remix, it was Pete Tong's Essential Tune of 1992. "Things Can Only Get Better", released in the spring of 1993, gave the group their first chart success. "U R the Best Thing" was eventually re-released in April 1993 and became the group's second chart hit. In 1994, they were nominated for Best Dance Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and then for Best Single at the 1995 BRIT Awards.
The band's first album, D:Ream on Volume 1, which was promoted for almost two years, produced seven singles ("Star" and "I Like It" were issued together as a double A-side). It was the track "" that brought them UK success and international recognition. After supporting Take That on their tour, "Things Can Only Get Better" topped the UK Singles Chart in early 1994. Originally released in early 1993, when the track reached No. 24 in the UK, it was later adopted by the Labour Party as their theme for the 1997 UK general election, and consequently released for a third time, this time reaching No. 19 on the UK chart. In May 2024, the same song was played during Rishi Sunak's announcement of a general election in July 2024 by Steve Bray.
The band released two studio albums, D:Ream on Volume 1 (1992) and World (1995), ten different singles, two of which were released three times, and an official greatest hits album, '. In 1997, the group's record label issued their first compilation, The Best of D:Ream. In 2006, a second collection appeared as part of ' series.
When D:Ream broke through into the charts, the band's main touring line-up consisted of core members Peter Cunnah (vocalist, songwriter) and Al Mackenzie (musician). Brian Cox was a live and session keyboardist for several years while working towards his physics PhD, before being replaced by Simon Ellis. Other players included Derek Chai on bass, Alex Leam on triangle, and drummer Mark Roberts. The group also used a number of guest vocalists, such as T.J. Davis, who is featured as co-lead vocalist on "The Power (Of All the Love in the World)", one of the singles from their second album.
In 2008, D:Ream reformed after a chance meeting between Cunnah and Mackenzie. Their single "All Things to All Men" was released on 7 September 2009 on their own label, User Records. They released the album In Memory Of... in 2011 and also planned concert dates to follow. Meanwhile, Cox became a physics professor and science broadcaster who has worked on the Large Hadron Collider project. In late 2010 he announced that he would provide some keyboard work for the new album, but would not be joining the band full-time. As part of their 2012 commitments, the band played main support to Wheatus at the LeeStock Music Festival in Sudbury, Suffolk.
On 23 July 2021, Cunnah and Mackenzie released a new studio album, Open Hearts Open Minds.
The band stated in June 2024 that they regretted the use of the song "Things Can Only Get Better" in political campaigns and would not grant permission for it to be used in future campaigns.