United Dance @ Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre, Stevenage 07/04/1995

 

Seduction

Hardcore Heaven wasn't the only rave that Seduction ran in the 90s. He also ran United Dance with Eruption.

United Dance began in March 1994 and this was event number 7. All the events to this point had been held at Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre which is the venue United Dance is best remembered for being at. 

We have a mixture of happy hardcore and drum & bass but there was no doubt United Dance was leaning more towards happy hardcore. It was ran by 2 happy hardcore DJs and in 1995 they started putting out happy hardcore compilations.

The 6th and last of these compilations came out in 1997. By the end of that year Eruption started doing house music as part of Ruff Driverz and we had a United Dance event which included house DJs like Brandon Block and Alex P in the line up. By the end of the 90s with both Eruption and Seduction gone from the scene, United Dance was sold to Slammin Vinyl.

In the year 2000 under the ownership of Slammin Vinyl, United Dance released a UK garage compilation and happy hardcore had been pushed to the back room. 

Eruption was a big name in the 90s but I don't ever recall seeing him on a DJ line up. The fact he promoted an event himself and still wasn't on the line up suggests he was probably content with just being a producer and wasn't interested in being a DJ.

Seduction is on the line up though and I've included his set as it has more material we're hearing for the first time on this night. These are the happy hardcore new for 1995 tunes, the first seven appear in the Seduction set:

Vibes & Wishdokta - No More Tears

Rise & Shine - Give It To Me Baby

Rise & Shine - Loosing Control

Rise & Shine - Fire

Pooch & Wivvy - Think

DJs Unknown Vol.5

Eruption - There Goes The Boom!

Hixxy - TailorMade

DJ Red Alert & Mike Slammer - The Ride

Happy Tunes - I Want You Baby

Rave Nation - Going Crazy

Lockjaw - Deep In The Underground

Vibes & Wishdokta - Rave Is A Mystery

JDS - Stomp It Up

Stu J & U.F.O. - 2001 - Space Anthem

Ikon - Love Somebody Else

The Timespan & Bertie - Don't Mess

Scott Brown - Slipstream

Jimmy J & Cru-L-T - DJ's In Full Effect

DJ Slam - Misunderstanding

D-Zyne & DJ Fury - Timez 'R' Changin'

Bush Brothers - Nutta Trax Pt 2

DJ Storm vs Rebel Alliance - Come Together

There is a bit of a UK vs Europe going in in that list. "Going Crazy" by Rave Nation is the Dutch recreating "Six Days" by English DJs Jimmy J & Cru-L-T and "Rave Is A Mystery by Vibes & Wishdokta is the English recreating "Life Is A Mystery" by German DJ Eraserhead. Both of the tunes being cloned also appear in sets that night.

Most of the happy hardcore played was English, with Brisk being the DJ leaning the most towards the Scottish and Dutch tunes.

The most played happy hardcore tune of the night was "Higher Love" by JDS. This was played in 4 of the 7 recorded happy hardcore sets and first made an outing at Slammin Vinyl a month earlier.

Notable DJs on the line up who aren't on the tapes include Force without the Evolution or Styles who we'll no doubt hear on a tape at some point in 1995. We also have Unknown and this isn't the first time we've seen him on the line up but not on the tapes.

It's a short list for the new for 1995 drum & bass records:

Armagedon - Nina's Rinse

J.Pac - Do It

Dillinger - Tear Down

Danny Breaks - Easy Part 1

Ray Keith - Rinse

Source Direct - Different Groove

The Dream Team - Jump Around

Both "Rollidge" by DJ SS and "Hearing Is Believing" by MA2 appear in 4 of the 5 drum & bass sets. It's the latter though which appears the most because Ellis Dee plays it twice in his set. He also plays "The Lighter" by Sound of the Future twice. 

This event more or less represents my tastes back in the day i.e. I love both happy hardcore and drum & bass but had more of a leaning towards happy hardcore. No doubt another United Dance will feature before the end of the year.

UK Number 40s: Dannii Minogue - I Don't Wanna Take This Pain (1992)

 

Neighbours was one of the biggest shows on the TV in the late 80s. It was/is also one of the cheesiest shows ever made, showing the idealistic lives of people living on a street of house with swimming pools in the garden even though they work in the coffee shop for a living. When Kylie Minogue made the transition from Neighbours to pop singer her music inevitably reflected the cheesiness of Neighbours.

Then at the end of the 80s came another Aussie soap, Home & Away. This was a bit rougher round the edges, focusing on kids from broken homes being fostered one of whom was played by Dannii Minogue. At the same time it was still a cheesy Aussie soap that gave the impression you spend more time surfing than going to work. This more or less reflects Dannii Minogue's transition into a pop singer, a bit more street but still being cheesy pop.

When Dannii Minogue made her Top 40 debut in 1991 with "Love & Kisses" she reached number 8. At this point in time Kylie Minogue had clocked up 12 Top 40 hits and was yet to chart that low.

For the rest of 1991 she wouldn't chart any higher, but even Kylie Minogue failed to reach the Top 10 for the first time before the year was out. For Dannii Minogue it looked like she wouldn't be making the Top 40 with this record.

Then in the first week of 1992 it hit it's peak of 40 with the post Christmas slump seemingly working in its favour. 

It looked like this marked the beginning of the end of her Top 40 career. She continued to have hits up to 1994 with only "This Is It" making the Top 10. She became a TV presenter afterwards and few would have expected to see her in the Top 40 again.

Then in 1997 she returned as simply Dannii and made the Top 5 for the first time. Pretty much all her hits that people remember came from this point onwards.

Top 30 in 1992 Reviewed: Week 14

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 30 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.

Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.

So this is the top 30 from this week in 1992 with my verdict on each record:

30. KLF - America - What Time Is Love?

The famous KLF Brit Awards performance had just happened where they announced their retirement from the music industry, but they had one final Top 40 hit to come which was a remix of their first. It meant that as the KLF they had 5 Top 40 hits which all made the Top 5. Only S Club 7 and Busted have had more hits and made the Top 5 every time.

Verdict - Good

29. Inner City - Hallelujah '92 (New)

Inner City first hit the Top 40 in 1988 and when it came to rave music in the charts few if any were as big as Inner City at the time. The rave scene changed so fast though that by 1992 the music was completely different. Fortunately Inner City moved with the times and have a record that very much sounds like a 90s record rather than an 80s one. The downside to this tune is that it's not as good as the excellent "Pennies From Heaven" which will be appearing in the not too distant future.

Verdict - Good

28. Curtis Stigers - You're All That Matters To Me (New)

For some reason I associate Curtis Stigers with late 1992 instead of early 1992 which he had his two big hits, this being the second. It's not that it took me a while to discover him as I remember him appearing on Top of the Pops. The nostalgia factor means that I do quite like this record.

Verdict - Good

27. Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch

I was trying to remember how this song went but couldn't get "Human Touch" by Rick Springfield out of my head. After giving it a listen I do remember it and given it's Bruce Springsteen I've probably heard it in the last 30 years too. It had been 4 years since Bruce Springsteen had been in the Top 40.It basically sounds like a Bruce Springsteen record and could have easily been from the 80s. 

Verdict - OK

26. The Pasadenas - Make It With You (New)

I loved "I'm Doing Fine Now" when it came out, but have no recollection of The Pasadenas having any other hits after that. This was the next one which is a cover of the Bread song. It's definitely not as good as it's predecessor but I did quite enjoy listening to it just now. 

Verdict - Good

25. Praga Khan ft Jade 4 U - Free Your Body/Injected With A Poison (New)

The Top 40 debut for Praga Khan and his best known hit. It's certainly one of the anthems but it's not quite been played to death like other tunes so it's still good to listen to now. Like with a lot of the Belgian rave tunes that hit the Top 40 it has a harder edge to it than your average rave hit.

Verdict - Good

24. Manic Street Preachers - Slash 'N' Burn

The band have described this record as "the Stones playing metal". It doesn't sound anything like the Rolling Stones to me and it doesn't sound particularly metal either. It's like they're trying too hard to make it sound like metal and not really succeeding. 

Verdict - Rubbish

23. Salt-N-Pepa - Expression

This made number 40 when it first charted in 1990 but fared better when re-released in 1992. This was their first Top 40 hit that wasn't written by other people, it was written by Cheryl James aka Salt. It's been sampled in loads of dance records and I find it irritating. 

Verdict - Rubbish

22. Kym Sims - Take My Advice

This was her follow up to her big hit "Too Blind To See It". Like with many second hits in the 90s this sounds very similar to the first. They were also both written by Steve "Silk" Hurley. Normally the second hit sounds like an inferior version of the first, but I don't think that's the case here. I like both records and it's hard to say which one I prefer.

Verdict - Good

21. Roxette - Church Of Your Heart

This was the final Top 40 hit from their "Joyride" album. Whilst it undeniably sounds like a Roxette record there's a bit of Bob Dylan influence in there too with the presence of a harmonica. I'd say it's the harmonica that gives the record character instead of sounding like just another Roxette song.

Verdict - Good

20. Liquid - Sweet Harmony (EP)

I remember hearing this for the first time in Our Price. Given the amount of time I used to spend in Our Price back in the 90s and the amount of music I heard, the fact this stands out shows what an impact it had on me. 

Verdict - Good

19. Prince And The New Power Generation - Money Don't Matter 2 Night (New)

I've not heard this one for a long time, possibly not since 1992. My memory of this record was that it was alright but it never had a huge impact on me. However listening to it now I'm thinking what a tune. A very smooth record that flows nicely.

Verdict - Good

18. The Cure - High

This record gets off to quite a promising start with the intro. Once you get into it though it doesn't really deliver. It's not a bad record, but it's just not as good as the intro implies it should be.

Verdict - OK

17. WASP - Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue) (New)

I remember WASP in the late 80s but don't remember them having any hits in the 90s. I can't say I'm a big fan, they always struck me as a band who are more about their "shock rock" image than the music. I'm also not liking the fact this record is nearly 8 minutes long. It has it's moments, basically when the drums speed up but the length of the tune and most of it just sounds like noise I don't think I'll be listening to it again.

Verdict - Rubbish

16. Lisa Stansfield - Time To Make You Mine

I remember this song and could clearly hear it in my head before playing it. But actually hearing it for the first time in 30 years it sounds a lot better than I remember it. It really couldn't sound any more early 90s which is probably why I find myself liking it.

Verdict - Good

15. The Temptations - My Girl

When this was first released in 1965 it failed to reach the Top 40. It finally made it in 1992 thanks to its inclusion in the film of the same name. I had no idea this was an old record at the time, I just assumed it was made for the film. I love a bit of 60s soul music and this was probably the record that got my into it in the first place.

Verdict - Good

14. Hammer - Do Not Pass Me By

This is the final Top 40 hit to date from Hammer/MC Hammer. It was after this when he went down the gangsta rap route but no Top 40 hits came from it. This record is a gospel rap record which on paper sounds awful but it actually isn't bad.

Verdict - OK

13. Crowded House - Weather With You

Crowded House had several Top 40 hits but this was the only one to make the Top 10. It's quite a simple record, not trying to be anything out of the ordinary but catchy at the same time. It makes for a good record to have a singalong to round the camp fire to.

Verdict - Good 

12. Mr Bean And The Smear Campaign - (I Want To Be) Elected (New)

This was a comic relief single that was around the time of the 1992 election. It's basically Bruce Dickinson doing a cover of "Elected" by Alice Cooper with Mr Bean doing a bit of comedy over the top of it. A dreadful record, but then that's the point.

Verdict - Rubbish

11. Vanessa Williams - Save The Best For Last (New)

I always imagined this record to be sung by someone who was old, but it was recorded in 1990 when Vanessa Williams would have been 26 or 27. Maybe I just thought it was music for old people, and it's inclusion on the Bisto adverts more or less confirmed that for me.

Verdict - Rubbish

10. Shanice - I Love Your Smile

When it comes to 90s nostalgia you can't go wrong with this record. The wordless chorus gets you hooked but then you realise there's much more to it than that. Normally once I've listened to a tune I want to wait a while until I listen to it again, but with this one I'd happily give it another listen. In fact I might just do that.

Verdict - Good

9. Soul II Soul - Joy (New)

Although they still had several more Top 40 hits, this is the last Top 10 hit to date for Soul ii Soul. When they'd last been in the Top 40 in 1990 there seemed to be a lot of acts who adopted their sound. Things had since moved on and so had Soul ii Soul with this comeback record, though at the same time it still sounds like a Soul ii Soul record.

Verdict - Good

8. Erasure - Breath Of Life

This was the final Top 40 hit from their "Chorus" album and their last before they did the Abba covers. At the time I would have probably put Erasure in my Top 5 music acts which would have been thanks in part to this record.

Verdict - Good

7. Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven

I remember hearing this for the first time on the Top of the Pops breakers. I wasn't impressed, it sounded a bit slow and boring. However it did grow on me as I heard it more. I remember getting told off by someone when this was on the radio and I didn't listen to a word they said because I was listening to the song.

Verdict - Good

6. Annie Lennox - Why

In 1992 I was liking pretty much everything that got into the charts which explains why we've had decent scores week after week. I do however remember not liking this song. 30 years later I still haven't changed my mind.

Verdict - Rubbish

5. Ce Ce Peniston - Finally

When Club@Vision had their Ibiza special in 1999, they played an anthem from each year from 1989 onwards. Out of all the great tunes they could have picked for 1991, they picked this. I've always found this tune annoying, it's probably the over the top vocals that does it. This was the Top 40 debut for Ce Ce Peniston and she had more hits that you'd think. 

Verdict - Rubbish

4. Right Said Fred - Deeply Dippy

I remember getting really annoyed that this record made number one and Mr Big hadn't. I absolutely hated this record as a result of that. However I've not really cared how the records I like do in the charts for the bulk of the last 30 years and I still think this record is crap and would have still thought that if Mr Big got to number one instead.

Verdict - Rubbish

3. Mr Big - To Be With You

This reminds me of a time when I really cared about how the records I liked were doing in the charts. I loved this record at the time and it was probably my favourite song at that point in time. After it had spent 3 weeks at number 3 and hearing that Shakespear's Sister were no longer at number one I thought surely this was the record that had replaced it. I was therefore rather annoyed that it was Right Said Fred who topped the charts instead whilst this had fallen to number 4.

Verdict - Good

2. Def Leppard - Let's Get Rocked

I've never been much of a Def Leppard fan. Even as a rocker in the early 90s they always seemed a bit wet. I did however think this record was a bit more interesting with the verses being a bit different. In fact I do remember randomly singing the verse but never the chorus. Despite the chorus being a bit crap though, the nostalgia factor makes me still quite like it.

Verdict - Good

1. Shakespear's Sister - Stay

When Siobhan left Bananarama and formed Shakespear's Sister they had a Top 10 hit with "You're History" in 1989. By the end of 1991 it looked like they were history have failed to reach the Top 40 with any of their other singles. Then came this, which topped the charts and stayed there for what seemed like an eternity. I do think that the contrast between the vocals of Marcella and Siobhan is a good concept, but I've never been able to bring myself to like this record.

Verdict - Rubbish

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 19.5/30, or 65%. Standards are slipping, but still a good score.

World Dance @ Lydd Airport, Ashford 01/04/1995

One place I would have definitely gone raving in 1995 given the opportunity would have been World Dance @ Lydd Airport. World Dance were one of the biggest promotors of the 90s and this is the venue they are best known for being held at.

Unfortunately they had stopped doing tape packs by this point so I'm not able to listen to any of the sets. I have seen the line up though.

World Dance were very much leaning more towards drum & bass evident in the compilations they put out and the fact that by the end of the 90s they had done away with happy hardcore completely.

In 1995 they still had happy hardcore at their events. In the main arena there were 10 DJs, 6 were drum & bass and 4 were happy hardcore.

Drum & bass wise there was Hype and Ellis Dee who were the DJs mixing the World Dance compilation I bought the following year. Ellis Dee's partner in crime Swanee was also on the line up. The other DJs were Grooverider, Kenny Ken and Randall.

Happy hardcore wise there was Slipmatt who may have included drum & bass in his set. There was also Vibes and Vinylgroover and I would imagine both of the would have been playing full on happy hardcore. Finally there was resident DJ Pooch. 

There were a few Pooch records being played out around this time but DJ wise he seemed to rarely play anywhere but World Dance. The following year he would stop making happy hardcore and move onto speed garage.

Arena 2 was house music.

The Top 40 Leaderboard: March 2022

I still think a table is a bit pointless at this stage. At the top by some distance is Central Cee who has 5 Top 40 hits to his name so far this year.

Aside from that we have 7 acts on 2 hits. There's Aitch, Arrdee and Tion Wayne who like Central Cee are relatively new rappers quickly clocking up hits. There's Ed Sheeran surprise surprise. Also no surprise is Weeknd who's clocked up 30 hits in less than a decade. There's Galantis which are both collaborations with pop singers. Finally there's Stephanie Beatriz who's some actress singing in some kids movie.

The rap count is 20 out of 50 or 40% meaning it continues to be the leading genre.

25 Years Since....March 1997

By March 1997 I had around 100 tapes and CDs to my name, mostly underground rave. There were a few chart singles I was enjoying though:

Eels - Novocaine For The Soul

When I first came across this record I thought wow Will from TFI Friday has made a record. Of course it wasn't really Will from TFI Friday, just a lookalike.

It was one of those tunes I quietly enjoyed. I don't remember anyone talking about it, or Eels at the time. When I got to university they seemed to be everyone's favourite band.

Daft Punk - Da Funk

This was the first UK Top 40 hit for Daft Punk. As they were newcomers in that respect I originally thought they were called Da Funk and the tune was called "Daft Punk" and furthermore I thought that was in reference to the man with the dogs head in the video.

It wasn't long before I realised it was the other way round and thought why would you call yourselves Daft Punk. I like the tune but I also like the video to the point I almost forget the tune is playing.

The Source - You Got The Love {1997}

There have been seemingly an endless number of versions of this record over the years, but this one is the best in my opinion. It's the beats that do it for me in this version.

A memory of this tune at the time was getting into a friend of a friends Ford Orion with all the modifications you can think of including big speakers. This tune was blasting out when I got in the car and I thought good taste. As the journey went on it became apparent he was playing Now 36.

The Divine Comedy - Everybody Knows (Except You)

I liked this tune at the time because I thought it was funny. I still find it funny but it also makes me cringe somewhat at my teenage self. The jist of the song is that he fancies a girl and has told everybody except the girl in question.

I think it's true to say many of us found ourselves in that situation as a teenager. Except in hindsight the girl in question probably did know too.

Pet Shop Boys - A Red Letter Day

25 years later I'm still waiting for that red letter day. To be honest I paid no attention to the lyrics at all at the time, I thought like with most Pet Shop Boys records it was a good tune.

Now I've paid more attention to them I find I can really relate. I think I'll leave it at that though because we'll all have our interpretation of them.

UK Number 40s: Frank Ifield featuring The Backroom Boys - The Yodelling Song (1991)

 

There were 6 acts in the 60s who had 4 or more number ones that decade. They were The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, The Shadows, The Rolling Stones and Frank Ifield. Ask that question at a pub quiz and I'm sure people wouldn't have too much trouble guessing the first 5, but you'd really have to know to guess Frank Ifield.

It's one of those 60s number ones where the story of this record originates. The number one in question was "Lovesick Blues" in 1962. The b-side to this record was "She Taught Me How To Yodel". This was his 3rd Top 40 hit and 2nd number one. His 4th Top 40 hit "Wayward Wind" also topped the charts. 

By this point The Beatles were getting established. He managed to break the run of mersey beat number ones with "Confessin" which knocked Gerry & the Pacemakers off the top. He would only manage one more Top 10 hit though in early 1964 but managed to keep his Top 40 career going with a string of hits in the lower reaches of the Top 40 until 1966.

Then 25 years later came this, a dance remix of "She Taught Me How To Yodel". This is one of several examples of an act who's managed to lengthen their Top 40 career without really doing anything. On that basis this making number 40 would be considered a success.

That said, the song was originally recorded by Elton Britt so it's possible he never saw a penny from this record. It certainly didn't revive his career either as a look at his discography shows that his recording career was already finished by this point.