25 Years Since....August 1997

In August 1997 it was all about the dance music. Here's some of the tunes I was enjoying:

Da Mighty Dub Katz - Magic Carpet Ride

This record was actually from 1995 and the man behind Da Mighty Dub Katz was Norman Cook before he became better known as Fatboy Slim. By 1997 Fatboy Slim had been established, but was yet to be a household name.

In the summer of 1997 came the TV show Ibiza Uncovered and this was the theme music. I watched every episode and recorded them onto video. As a result I can't listen to this tune without thinking about the TV show.

Shena - Let The Beat Hit 'Em

Shena has sang on many dance records over the years, but this was her only Top 40 hit that was simply credited to Shena. Prior to this she had sang on JX hits but as uncredited vocalist.

For me though it's all about the main riff. I could listen to it all day.

Airscape - Pacific Melody

In the 21st century there was some pretty dreadful trance music coming out of Belgium from the likes of Lasgo. It wasn't always like that though.

This was one of the first Top 40 trance records from Belgium. I love the way it breaks down and then the piano comes in.

N-Trance - The Mind Of The Machine

Back when N-Trance did "Set You Free" it was a turning point in my life. It played a massive part in me converting from a grunger to a raver. Unfortunately the N-Trance records the followed immediately afterwards were a bit crap.

With this record though they were back doing decent music again. Or so I thought, their next Top 40 hit would be a cover of "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" featuring Rod Stewart himself. Needless to say that record won't be featuring in this series when the time comes.

The Source - Clouds

The Source are known for recycling their tune "You Got The Love" every so often. They did have one other Top 40 hit though which was this.

To be fair it doesn't sound all that different to the 97 mix of "You Got The Love" which came out earlier on in the year. It's a good beat though.