The Wedding Jam Blog
Memorable Stories from Unforgettable Weddings.
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Eight Old Skool Crossover Dance Classics
The late 80s and early 90s was an absolutely glorious time for dance music, with techno and house invading the charts, infiltrating indie and lifting roofs off venues all over the world.
So much of it still sounds fresh today, and still sets dancefloors alight - so we've picked eight of our favourite certified floor-filling crossover bangers from those heady days to ensure your wedding reception absolutely goes off!
It's worth remembering that your 50 year old relatives were around 18-20 when these tunes first hit the clubs and gatecrashed the charts. These are tunes for the ages, tunes for generations, tunes to get your wedding party started! Enjoy!
Robin S - Show Me Love
Not to be confused with Robyn's song of the same name that followed a few years later, this worldie house banger was originally released in 1990, but didn't become a hit until '93 after it had been remixed. It's still hugely popular on dance-floors, particularly across the North West, after enjoying something of a renaissance recently. A banker hit at any party.
Inner City - Good Life
Blending house and Detroit techno, this is the sound of Detroit, New York, Chicago and beyond in the late 80s and early 90s. Written by electronic producer Kevin Saunderson, 'Good Life' dropped in November 1988 and soundtracked countless raves and acid house parties across the globe, becoming a huge crossover hit over here in the process. Saunderson later claimed the track was his attempt at reinterpreting the likes of Chaka Khan and Evelyn 'Champagne' King - never a bad idea.
The Source & Candi Staton - You've Got the Love
Like so many tunes from this era, this is another vintage house track that took its time in becoming a smash hit. It first surfaced in 1986, barely denting the top 100 in the UK. After its re-release in 1991, however, crowds went absolutely berserk for it, and it has endured as an all-time classic dance track and floorfiller ever since.
Mantronix - Got to Have Your Love
This complete and utter bop straddled a few divides back in the day, with its blend of electro-pop and r&b sending raveheads doolally for a few years after its release in 1989. Instantly recognisable from the very first second, and with a beat as phat as you like, Got to Have Your Love is simply irresistible. One of its co-writers, Kurtis Mantronik, said he wrote it because "I wanted to get a song on the radio". He makes it sound so easy.
Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)
Breaking out from the New York club scene in 1991, this deep house cut with the famously hypnotic hook and Italo house piano chords became a gargantuan dance hit worldwide. Slant magazine ranked the song 10th in its 100 Greatest Dance Songs list back in 2006 - and it's easy to see why.
Kym Sims - Too Blind to See It
Kind of forgotten in some quarters, but still a big, big tune. Written and produced by the great, pioneering house producer Steve 'Silk' Hurley, this r&b flecked house track emerged in 1991 - twenty nine years ago! - and still sounds as fresh as the morning dew that formed while clubbers wearily made their way home.
808 State - Pacific State
Manchester and Hacienda acid house legends 808 State wrote this with Gerald Stephenson - better known as A Guy Called Gerald - before it dropped in 1989. A long-time last track at the Hacienda, its kind of gentle but nagging beat, coupled with *that sax*, guarantees the dancefloor will be up to sardine capacity.
Adamski & Seal - Killer
In March of this year, just as lockdown got into full swing, 'Killer' turned 30 years old. All of these tracks sound so fresh because they were miles ahead of their time, and 'Killer' is no different - it simply hasn't aged a day. This track took both Adamski and Seal from illegal raves to a no.1 hit and enormous stardom. Just try and resist this one - the dancefloor THROBS!