Someone asked me last week what my favourite dance classic is, and about a dozen songs tripped off my tongue without me even having to think about it. Once I deployed my brain, and then looked down the "Dance Classix" playlist on my iPod to see if I'd missed any, I realised that I don't have a hope in hell of answering that question because there are so many to choose from.
So following my other Musical Gems Specials, I thought I'd start off a mini series for the dance nuts among us, accompanied some facts about each song. I've done my usual thing of setting my iPod off on shuffle within the list, so without further ado, and in no particular order, I present the first ten....
1) Insomnia - Faithless
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Originally released in the year that Faithless formed, 1995, this was Faithless' second single. It was re-released in 2005, having hit the top spot in the UK chart in 1996. With its most famous lyric, "Tearing off tights with ma teeth", this track is an absolute anthem, although in my opinion there are quite a few Faithless songs that would fall into that category. Faithless called it a day in 2011, after six albums and their final gig at the Brixton Academy for the "Pass The Baton" tour. The song was sampled in Tiësto's track, "Dance 4 Life" on which Maxi Jazz from the band provided vocals. I've included the album version of the song for the Amazon link as it's the long version from the "Reverence" album from 1995. Absolutely superb!
2) Greece 2000 - Three Drives
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A trance classic, this was released in 1998 by the Dutch duo who are Three Drives. Originally called "3 Drives on A Vinyl", due to track listing errors the artist was variously labelled as "Three Drives", "Three Drives On A Vinyl", and "Greece 2000", so the band changed their name to Three Drives to be less confusing. This track has since been remixed and re-released in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008. The track contains samples from China Town's "Cruisin' Gang" and has been both covered and remixed by other bands.
3) Voodoo Ray - A Guy Called Gerald
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This acid house classic was released in 1988, and contains samples from Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's "Derek And Clive (Live)". It has been used in films such as 24 Hour Party People, and in the Grand Theft Auto video game series. The vocals were sung by Nicola Collier.
4) Original Nuttah - UK Apache with Shy FX
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This oldschool jungle hit is credited for pushing the jungle genre into the mainstream in the UK and is one of the best known tracks of the genre. It was released in 1994 and contains the famous "Amen break" that is the mainstay of a lot of drum n bass tracks, from "Amen, Brother" by The Winstons. It also contains the horn sample from Cypress Hill's "I Wanna Get High". It has since been sampled itself in various tracks including "Watch This!!" by Superior and Shy FX's own "Raver".
5) I'm Alive - Stretch n Vern
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Containing the unmissable sample from Earth, Wind and Fire's "Boogie Wonderland" this track was released in 1996. The original video featured model and actress Jaime Murray, daughter of Bill Murray, miming the lyrics in her acting debut.
6) Valley of the Shadows - Origin Unknown
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Another very influential jungle/drum n bass track from 1993. The "long dark tunnel" vocal is sampled from a BBC Q.E.D. programme about out-of-body experiences. It also samples part of the countdown to Apollo 11 landing on the moon ("thirty-one seconds").
7) Setting Sun - Chemical Brothers
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From their 1997 album, "Dig Your Own Hole" this big beat track features some mental bass drops and some vocals from fellow Mancunian, Noel Gallagher. The Chemical Brothers have won four Grammys and a Brit Award for their music and have released 7 studio albums, a live album, three compilations and a film soundtrack for "Hanna". They are now in their 18th year!
8) Yeke Yeke - Mory Kante (Hardfloor Remix)
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I absolutely loved this remix when it came out! From 1994, it was remixed by Hardfloor, a German techno and trance duo. I loved how unusual it was - it features Mory Kante's vocals and kora harp. The original song came out in 1987.
9) Silence - Delerium
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Canadian trance duo, Delerium, co-wrote this song with Grammy winner and singer/songwriter Sarah McLaughlan, who also lent her vocals to the track. It was released in 1999, and the video was shot in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It still regularly pulls a full crowd to the dancefloor today.
10) Meet Her At The Love Parade - Da Hool
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Released by German artist, Da Hool, in 1997 this track makes reference to the Love Parade, the massively famous dance festival held in Berlin which was cancelled permanently in 2010 following the tragic deaths of 21 people, with nearly 500 injured, due to a crowd rush. The track has since been sampled in songs by the Vengaboys (oh dear) and 50 Cent.
That's it for this Special, but stay tuned for the next instalment - No.2 is coming soon!
What are your favourite dance classics? Comments? Speak now below...or forever hold your peace! :-)
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