I'll Be Ready - easily one of my favourites of the looped house age. As I think I've written here before, the original Baywatch theme had undergone a major revival in clubs by the mid-noughties and by 2005 a ton of different DJs were making cash-in remixes of it - Sunblock's was the most chart-friendly and managed to get the most airplay and promotion out of them all. I was slightly amazed when they had a couple of follow-up "hits" as by their name I assumed they were just gonna be a random one-hit wonder act - tons of unsold cut-price copies of their album were a regular sight on HMV shelves by the end of the noughties!

 

Chart dance does seem to go into a retro phase every so often, we see that in the late 90s with the rise of more disco influenced house, the mid 00s with the 80s remixes and the retro/disco influenced house tracks like 'Love On My Mind' and 'Make A Move On Me' and we also see that in 2013-2015 with the 90s influences coming back to dance. It would be great to see another retro revival of some sort soon in chart dance.

 

I prefer 'First Time' to 'I'll Be Ready', having a slow buildup and having more of the song in it, it really stands out from the rest of the 80s remixes.

Edited June 5, 20178 yr by Dusty Muffin

We're still going through a 'retro revival' they're just not hitting up the chance. See these, all out since the turn of 2016:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Etc, etc.

No Diggity is such a tune :wub:

Two dance entries to the top 40 during the time of Say Say Say at dance number 1.

 

 

#30

 

Liked this at the time, I liked the original anyway and thought was a good version of the track with the atmospheric production and Rachel's great vocal and I still really like this. Should have definitely done better in the charts.

 

 

#40 - Don't remember this from the time, and I have never heard it before, decent house track, not really trance unlike most of Ferry's tracks. It doesn't come anywhere close imo to Ferry's best song, 'Cry 'under the name System F in 2000 (which I recently discovered).

Edited June 5, 20178 yr by Dusty Muffin

The next one definitely represents the height of the disco/retro influenced house revival in the charts. There are some great tunes too continuing that revival making the top 40 during its mammoth run at dance number 1, including a few of my many favourite dance tracks of the 00s.

Edited June 5, 20178 yr by Dusty Muffin

It put dance music back at number 1, at last!

Sadly the next dance song after it at official UK number 1 near the end of the year wouldn't be nearly as good imo....

Sadly the next dance song after it at official UK number 1 near the end of the year wouldn't be nearly as good imo....

I beg to differ! That was my first clubbing song :D

I really like that Ferry Corston track, would be great to see music like that return!

 

I seem to recall that LMC track being around for ages as a bootleg due to them being unable to get the sample cleared by the New Radicals hence it eventually being re-recorded with Rachel's vocals.

 

Here's the version they had planned to release

 

As much as I love The Beatles, I much prefer 'Say Say Say (Waiting For You)' that samples the MJ vocals to the original Michael and Paul version. Gives the original so much more oomph and excitement! Fellow 00s Michael Jackson dance reworking 'Somebody's Watching Me' was also fantastic.

I beg to differ! That was my first clubbing song :D

 

Its not a bad tune, but it just seems a bit of a dull and emotionless comedown for me from the likes of some of the very vibrant dance tracks earlier in 2006 making the charts, such as some of those during our next dance number 1 (as well as the next dance number 1 itself).

Edited June 6, 20178 yr by Dusty Muffin

I seem to recall that LMC track being around for ages as a bootleg due to them being unable to get the sample cleared by the New Radicals hence it eventually being re-recorded with Rachel's vocals.

 

You Get What You Give was definitely one of my favourite of the looped house songs of the mid 00s at the time. Glad they re-recorded it with Rachel, I do like the original vocal by New Radicals, but Rachel's vocal is great on the version they did release.

I'll Be Ready and Say Say Say (Waiting 4 U) were both great during the winter of 2006.

Still sound good now.

Meck ft Leo Sayer - Thunder In My Heart Again

 

 

Date: 12th December 2006

Weeks at UK Dance #1: 8 weeks

Official Chart Run: 1-1-3-6-8-10-12-25-23-22-23-31-37-50-53-60-82-100 (18 weeks)

 

 

Thunder In My Heart was a disco song originally recorded by Leo Sayer and which reached number 22 in the UK chart in 1977. The UK house producer Meck (Craig Dimech) remixed the track in 2005 and it was released as a single in February 2006, reaching number 1 in the UK singles chart.

 

The song is not really changed a huge amount from the original apart from a heavier beat and a fade out and some of the lyrics. Perhaps it is a bit lazy then, but the remix gives more energy to the song though and I definitely prefer it to the original. At the time, of course I thought it was the original and was tying into the trend started by Lola's Theme with the violins and retro sound.

 

Rather like the JXL remix of Elvis' A Little Less Conversation in 2002 this song obviously had great crossover appeal leading to its great success, and I remember my mum really liked it at the time. I liked it too, not as much as she did though. I thought it was an uplifting song with a lively beat to do keep fit exercises to, rather than a dance song, as I still equated dance with harder dance music like trance and hardstyle back then for some reason. Anyway I thought it was a very good song and I liked the violins in it and retroness of it. I still think it sounds great today, definitely one of the funky house classics of the 00s.

 

Meck only had one follow up to this making the top 40 in the UK, Feels Like Home ft Dino in early 2007, which samples one of the first progressive house tracks to become a UK hit, the 1992 track 'Don't You Want Me' by Felix. Feels Like Home undeservedly imo only peaked at #39.

Edited June 22, 20178 yr by Spinfanny

Leo was originally asked not to promote the remix or even have anything to do with it, as the label wanted to hide the fact that the song was old and the singer was now in his 50s. But once a huge chart position was guaranteed they changed their mind, and 'Leo gets another #1!' headlines were everywhere - think he even may have done a TOTP/CD:UK performance!

 

It was a huge surprise #1, the first since Call On Me I genuinely considered a dance #1 (didn't count the Crazy Frog or Madonna!) - fun to listen to at the time but I haven't revisited it much since. Takes me back though!

Other tracks during the time of Thunder In My Heart Again at dance number 1: some great tracks here imo, what a great time it was for dance music!

 

 

#7 - I remember this 2006 New Voyager remix of the track from the time and liked it (I think this was the first time I heard this track!), when Florence and The Machine's version came out I knew it wasn't the original and thought - wasn't that out a few years ago? Didn't really consider this dance at the time but more indie pop.

 

 

#19 - Sadly remember seeing the video for this rather than this track at the time, the video was on music channels loads at the time with the group of women chasing the man down the stairs at the end (the only good bit of the video as the rest conforms to the mid 00s dance video theme of being over sexualised, although in my childhood innocence, I thought it just depicted a normal party). As for the song itself I liked it (must have done to sit through the video a few times!) especially Amanda Wilson's voice in it and the use of voilins which was a big trend in the mid 00s. Rediscovered it first a few years ago when I heard it on the radio being played in a dance classics show, liked the instrumental but thought the vocal didn't go with the track but now I definitely appreciate the whole track, hearing it now it is one of my favourite dance tracks of the 00s, love the whole orchestral style of the track and how vibrant it is.

 

 

#12 - May remember this a bit but not much. Really reminds me of Clean Bandit's Extraordinary for some reason, must be the similar themed title, the uplifting feel of the track and the violins of course. Great track.

 

 

#11 - Just missing on dance number 1 (Thunder In My Heart was at 10 on its week at #11) is this old school sounding tune. Thought it was a rather crazy workout music video and song at the time, although I did like it and its retro sound, it was certainly 'different'! I don't think my mum liked it as she flicked past it on the music channels, I think that was maybe because of the crazy video for it. I like it even more now, such a great tune and I like how it is fun and doesn't take itself too seriously, definitely one of the best house tunes of the 00s for me!

Make A Move On Me missing top ten astonishes me, that got huge airplay for months! Watchin felt a lot bigger too.

Make A Move On Me missing top ten astonishes me, that got huge airplay for months! Watchin felt a lot bigger too.

 

Maybe they were held back too long? Yes Watchin' particularly was on music channels a lot at the time I remember.

 

Both tracks should have done better I agree, really like the retro influence of those songs and a lot of the dance songs entering the top 40 in early 2006 (like the next dance number 1), its sad our passage through the mid 00s retro influenced phase will soon be coming to an end on our thread being largely replaced with electro (although the first electro dance number 1 of mid 2006 I can't complain about as it is great!)

Thunder In My Heart Again is quite decent, not one I really make an effort to back to often but I liked it a fair bit at the time. That video really looks cheap in retrospect though. :lol:

 

Make A Move On Me is excellent. Never heard it at the time as it didn't get an Australian push (was still in Australia at this point) but it's a great funky house tune, shame it missed the top ten.

 

Watchin' is quite good too but overshadowed in my view by the Big Ang Ft Siobhan version of the song which I prefer.

 

Incredible is... well not what the song title suggests. Okay song but far from the greatness of Lola's Theme and I'm surprised they actually had a third top 20 hit.

 

Not too keen on that remix of You Got The Love, not dancey enough and doesn't help that I was very familiar with the Florence cover before hearing this version.

Love "Thunder In My Heart Again", it felt huge at the time.

 

Also really like "Make A Move On Me" and "Watchin'", also think that's the best version of "You Got The Love" personally, and I love "Incredible" nearly as much as "Lola's Theme". Was disappointed it wasn't top 3 let alone top 10.