3 hours ago
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In the new John Lewis Christmas ad, a young son gifts his dad a vinyl copy of the track Where Love Lives by Alison Limerick, which transports the father to the dancefloor of his youth. Powerful stuff.
Of course, that record wouldn’t be everyone’s choice, so we asked readers to tell us which 90s club tracks they would pass on to the next generation. Here are some of them.
Breathe - The Prodigy
Breathe by The Prodigy is like a shot of adrenaline to an ailing, middle aged body. This was proven to mytwentysomething son a few years ago, when he saw what happens to a room full of us when the bass kicks in. We saw them at the Brighton Centre, sadly without Keith. The Fat of the Land came out the month after my son was born, so he’s been listening to The Prodigy all his life. He used to fall asleep to that album and he still loves 90s dance, Fat of the Land being one of his favourites. He was intrigued with the crab on the album cover too, and for many years referred to the CD as “Crab” whenever we played it. Miranda Diboll, 50, Seaford, East Sussex
The Real Thing – Tony Di Bart
The song is about a genuine connection, rather than artificial stuff. What I love about this track is the melody, taking me back straight to mid-90s, when as a teenager I’d been going to raves and techno parties, getting lost in the music and living my, then,best life with no real responsibilities. Now, whenever I hear it, I focus more on the lyrics and their meaning. “I’ve been looking for the real thing”, and “If I can’t have you, I don’t want nobody”. As a 43-year-old and a father to three kids, I do appreciate the true, real connection we are building rather than the artificial world of social media we so often find ourselves in. Michael, 43, Hampshire
Hi-Tech Jazz – Galaxy 2 Galaxy
Outsider’s choice: Hi-Tech Jazz by Galaxy 2 Galaxy. It’s one of the best Detroit techno tracks ever written – actually, one of the best, full stop. The next generation need to know the legacy of Underground Resistance and what is possible to achieve when making electronic music. I think there are several producers who encompass this, but for me none more important than Mad Mike and Underground Resistance. Their music couldn’t be pigeonholed, and showed that machine music could have as much soul as anything produced by a singer or a band. Dan Gilbert, 54, London
Back in the UK (full length version) – Scooter
Not only is this track stupidly fun, with the spoken intro – “Welcome to the past, the present and the future … it’s 6am and we find ourselves somewhere in England …” – but also it samples the US Miss Marple theme, which was penned by Ron Goodwin – who composed classics like 633 Squadron and Where Eagles Dare. Mad to think Back in the UK is 30 years old. Em Jackson, Newcastle
Born Slippy – Underworld
Born Slippy by Underworld is utterly symbolic of what a night out with friends used to be, before all the responsibilities of being an adult. Up to and including standing, arms around your friends – either long term or recently met – shouting: “Lager, lager, lager”, there was nothing like it. I recently played it for my nine and 10-year-old and they both said “yeah, this is pretty good”. Which, for my two, is a glowing review. Jay, 50, The Wirral, Merseyside
Lamborghini – Shut Up and Dance (feat Ragga Twins)
I remember in 1992, at the Soas student union (I was at LSE, but spent a lot of time at their union bar), the Ragga Twins were let down by a really poor sound system, but they cracked on, and kept it real! Even with the limitations, when they threw down Shut Up and Dance. It made us all complicit in something real, raw and special. Hence to my kids: be yourself and keep it authentic. You will prevail. Richard, 53, Hertford
LFO – LFO
LFO by LFO isn’t the best dance track ever, but I played this when I bought my daughter her first decent Bluetooth speaker. I’m not sure if it was the rattling windows around the house or that she enjoyed the music, but she is now a house head and wants me to take her to Ibiza again next year. It’s a superb example of bleep techno. Simple melody, quite repetitive with amazing bass and it’s great to dance to. Ideal to remix or edit. David Bradbury, Bury St Edmunds
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