So Gezza's TOTP thread has us at Roobarb and Custard, so here's a reminder/discussion about the curious techno/rave foray into children's TV show themes, games and BBC infomercials from the early 90s:

 

The Prodigy - Charly 1991

 

 

Shaft - Roobarb and Custard 1991

 

 

Urban Hype - A Trip To Trumpton 1992

 

 

Smart E's - Sesame's Treet 1992

 

 

Doctor Spin - Tetris 1992

 

 

 

Not rave but still VERY 90s:

 

Ambassadors of Funk - Super Mario Land 1992

You've missed off Hedgehogs with Attitude. : (

 

From Christmas 92~

Inlay card reads 'All proceeds that Sega receive from sales of this record will be donated to the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre. The charity helps children with severe learning difficulties communicate through the medium of music'

 

 

I know this is awful but I kinda love it at the same time, bits of it remind me of KLF! There's a definite rip off from Last Train to Transcentral in there in the bridge with the female vox

You've missed off Hedgehogs with Attitude. : (

 

From Christmas 92~

Inlay card reads 'All proceeds that Sega receive from sales of this record will be donated to the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre. The charity helps children with severe learning difficulties communicate through the medium of music'

 

That passed me by! :o

Wtf at the Lemmings song :lol:

What about Thunderbirds are go by FAB from 1990?

Not sure I count the Thunderbirds one as dancey enough!

Wtf at the Lemmings song :lol:

It's so catchy though :D

 

Oh no! Let's go! Weeeeeeeeee, geronimo! I've actually listened 3 times since posting that video :kink:

 

I know for a fact that there was one done in 1991 but I can't find it anywhere online. The one I posted is dated 1993 on Discogs.

I love how this is one of those chart trends that is so specific to a certain frame of time. Charly was the one that set the ball rolling on the whole thing and then there were a ton of high charting rave remixes based around the children's TV concept in 1992 but within another year it had burnt itself out.

I love how this is one of those chart trends that is so specific to a certain frame of time. Charly was the one that set the ball rolling on the whole thing and then there were a ton of high charting rave remixes based around the children's TV concept in 1992 but within another year it had burnt itself out.

The trend for medleys in the early 80s was similar. In the wake of the success of Starsound in 1981 there were a loads of medley records in the charts that year but by 1982 they were nowhere.

Of course Jive Bunny revived the craze in 1989 but it wasn't anywhere near as big.

 

We also had the trend of the 'megamix' in the early 90s which thankfully died a death.

From how I interpreted what was said on the 90s dance number ones thread, I thought that the Toytown Techno ones were deemed uncool at the time by most ravers and they mostly only appeared really as rave was dying out as a genre?

 

I wonder why the rave sound in the charts slowly dissapated in the second half of 1992 and only the Prodigy really had rave sounding hits after that (apart from a brief revival at the end of 1994 with Baby D Let Me Be Your Fantasy and N-Trance Set You Free)

 

 

I think it was just the whole "sound has become fully mainstream and now cheap knock offs seem to be making the Top 10 every other week" thing that usually occurs with trends in genres but I agree the drop off did seem quite sharp with the rave hits.

The first one was Mark Summers “Summers Magic” in Feb 1991 - that was a remix of the Magic Roundabout theme! It only got to 27 though, so the Prodigy got the first Top 10 hit with this style.

 

I think it was just the whole "sound has become fully mainstream and now cheap knock offs seem to be making the Top 10 every other week" thing that usually occurs with trends in genres but I agree the drop off did seem quite sharp with the rave hits.

 

Its really personified by one track from late 1992 I think, Bizarre Inc - I'm Gonna Get You, a normal piano house track from a former rave band.

Like with many genres the rave tunes in the charts were a mixture of underground records that got big and records that were made for the charts.

 

"A Trip To Trumpton" was a credible record called "Feel the Heat" but they replaced the vocals in it with the Trumpton sample for the single release.

 

"Sesame's Treet" was very much a novelty record, but Smart E's member Luna C started Kniteforce Records afterwards which is quite an iconic label in the rave scene.

 

The rave tunes stopped charting in 1993 but there were plenty of big records coming out and lots of big raves still happening. By 1994 the rave sound split into jungle and happy hardcore with jungle then evolving into drum & bass.

 

"Set You Free" and "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" were both recorded in 1992 but didn't chart until 1994.