Alcatraz - Give Me Luv (1996)

Jean-Phillippe Aviance & Victor Imbres, a US house production team from Washington, DC, under the synonym Alcatraz released a track that would become the must-have item in any DJ box at the turn of 1995/1996 and the subsequent spring. It should remain their one and only single but lead to several remixes for big names at the time, including Apollo 440, Lil Mo' Yin Yang and BT. Following Alcatraz, Victor then teamed up with Ruth Rothwell in the UK and formed Greenlight Records in 1997. The label soon churned

out some very classic tunes. He continued making dance house records until 1999. During that year Victor lost interest in music and decided to go back to college to pursue computer programming. But he soon returned to music in 2006. Over the past few years his love of music has developed back into the same creative passion he once had in the 90’s. Victor is behind epic tracks, such as Fragma's 'I Need A Miracle', De Lacy's 'Hide Away', Sandy B.'s 'You Make The World Go Round' and - ahem - Alcatraz's 'Give Me Luv':

Alcatraz - Give Me Luv (1996)
UK#12, FIN#15, SWE#31, NL#41

Pete Burns - Jack & Jill Party (2004)

Peter Jozzepi Burns, a.k.a. Pete Burns, born in 1959 near Wirral, England, to an English father and a German mother, who escaped the Jewish progroms of the Nazi 1930s, is probably the - shall we say - most flamboyant of UK's celebrities since Adam Ant. Most famous to the oldskool people amongst us as the lead singer of Dead or Alive in the 1980s, the younger generation may still recognise him for Dead or Alive's track 'You Spin Me Round' or, rather more unglamorous, for his 2006 appearance in the UK Version of Celebrity Big Brother on Channel 4 or a the £1 million payout over a blotched facelift job. Originally labelled as gay, perhaps owed due to his gender atypical appearance and sexual relations with men, Pete is actually bisexual and was married to Lynne Corlett. Thanks to my friend Franck, I did dig out this treasure from 2004, one of two of his solo career tracks, produced by the very majesties of synth pop: the Pet Shop Boys.

Pete Burns - Jack & Jill Party (2004)
UK#75

D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better (1994)

Peter Cunnah, a.k.a. D:Ream, born 1966 in Derry, Northern Ireland, is the prime example why not to get involved in politics as an artist... UK clubbers may remember him as THE high flyer in 1994. Everything he touched turned into a hit at the time. He was so popular, that Tony Blair chose this track (with his agreement) for his 1997 election campaign, which resulted in a MAJOR Labour landslide in 1997. Given, Tony achieved a peace agreement in Northern Ireland, but - in hindsight - failed miserably elsewhere. First victim: D:Ream's success. Final victim: Labour's landslide loss at the last election, with plenty of casulties inbetween...

D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better (1994)
1993 - UK#24, 1997 - UK#19



Lyrics:

You can walk my path, you can wear my shoes
Learn to talk like me and be an angel too
But maybe you ain't never gonna feel this way
You ain't never gonna know me, but i know you
I'm singing it now-
Things can only get better
They can only get better if we see it through-
that means me and I mean you too
So teach me now that things can only get better,
They can only get, they only get, take it on from here
You know i know that things can only get better
I sometimes lose myself in me, I lose track of time
And I can't see the wood for the trees
You set them alight
burning bridges as you've gone
I'm too weak to fight ya
I've got my personal hell to deal with, then you say
Walk my path, wear my shoes, talk like that-
I'll be an angel then
Things can only get better
they can only get better, now i found you
Things can only get better, they can only get better,
now I found you
and you and you
You have shown me prejudice and greed
And you've shown me how I must learn to deal with this disease
I look at things now in a different light than I did before
And I've found the cause
and I think you can be my cure
So teach me to...
Walk your path, wear your shoes, talk like that, I'll be an angel and
Things can only get better...

Tony di Bart - The Real Thing (1994)

Antonio Carmine Di Bartolomeo, a.k.a. Tony di Bart, despite his Italian/Portuguse name, was actually born in Maidenhead, UK. Before hitting it big time on the UK club scene, he owned a bathroom-fitting business. What possessed him to cross-over to music is a mystery, but alas, he managed to score. Talking of cross-over, his club anthem 'The Real Thing' did make it mainstream, hitting UK#1(!) and US#35(!). Tony subsequently had a follow up with 'Do It' but nothing has been heard of him since. Nevertheless, clubbing in 1994 was largely shaped by this track.

Tony di Bart - The Real Thing (1994)



Lyrics:

(If I can't have you)
(Got to be you)
(Real thing)
(If I can't have you)
(Got to be you)
(Real thing)

Come on stay tonight
Come on soothe my mind
Oh honey (got to be you, real thing)

I've been holdin' on
I've been lookin' for the real thing
Waitin' patiently but I never stopped believin'
Say I'm chasin' rainbows livin' in a dream
Girl I kept my fantasy I'm never givin' in
I'll tell you why, oh why

If I can't have you
I don't want nobody baby
Girl it's got be you
Oh I need the real thing
If I can't have you
I don't want nobody baby
Girl it's got be you
I don't need no substitute
I need the real thing

Had a part-time love
But I never fell complete
But when you touch me there
Ooh you get me reelin' yes you do
Can I dare to wonder
If it could be you
Girl you set my heart on fire
When I dream of you
I wanna fly, oh so very high

If I can't have you
I don't want nobody baby
Girl it's got be you
Oh I need the real thing
If I can't have you
I don't want nobody baby
Girl it's got be you
I don't need no substitute
I need the real thing

(If I can't have you)
(Got to be you)
(Real thing)
Come on stay tonight
Come on soothe my mind oh honey
(got to be you, real thing)
Come on stay tonight
Come on soothe my mind oh honey
(got to be you, real thing)

Keane - Everybody's Changing (2004)

Battle of Hastings? Well, almost - Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley, Richard Hughes and Jesse Quin hail from the 1066 field of glory. Though formed in 1997, their major breakthrough came in with 'Everybody's Changing' seven years later.



Keane - Everybody's Changing (2004)
IT#2, UK#4, DK#7, FR#10, NOR#18, NL#18, CH#24, IRL#27, DE#60



Keane - Everybody's Changing (live)



Lyrics:

You say you wander your own land
But when I think about it
I don't see how you can
You're aching, you're breaking
And I can see the pain in your eyes
Says everybody's changing
And I don't know why

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same

You're gone from here
And soon you will disappear
Fading into beautiful light
Cause everybody's changing
And I don't feel right

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same