Boogie Friday

Oh what bliss it was to be alive in the summer of 1991. Golden youth flocked to the sun-dappled paradise of Ibiza where they imbibed euphoric drugs and waved their hands in the air to the hypnotic rhythms of sounds spun by Godlike DJs and were transported to a state of nirvana by pulsating waves of pleasure. Well it was something like that anyway. Actually I was 29 in 1991 and too old and jaded to dive headlong into Rave culture, so I never made it to Ibiza (though I did go to a Rave in Alicante once). Besides, I preferred beer to Ecstasy.

With it's thumping beat, whistles, anthemic lyrics, and trippy synth washes, this record sums up that era very well. Brothers in Rhythm were producer Steve Anderson and DJ Dave Seaman (not the England goalkeeper with the dodgy hair) and this was a dancefloor smash that got them jobs with Pet Shop Boys and Kylie Minogue amongst others. This is barely a song at all, just an upbeat refrain repeated over and over a turbo-powered House beat, but if you're off your head on E (or even Heineken) in a sweaty room with several thousand other people (also off their heads) it was just the ticket. I got off the club music bus during the 90s as it turned into so-called Progressive House and became more trancey and even less song-oriented, but that's because I was an old(er) fart. But before the tipping point there were records like this, you really would have to be dead for this not to take over your whole body and start you waving your hands in the air and grinning like an idiot.

For a flavour of the halcyon days of early 90s dance music, Kisstory: Dance Classics looks a pretty good bet.

[Download]
Such A Good Feeling - Brothers In Rhythm