As a kid born in the mid/late 80’s who experienced the 90’s, I listened to a lot of music. From oldies before I was born, to fun energetic pop music of the 80’s, and the crazy new things throughout the 90’s such as grunge and alternative rock, I listened to just about everything.
Except country. Sorry country fans, it just… drives me mad. That’s all. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But anyways, out of all the music I listened to, the genre that stands out the most is the one I quickly became obsessed with and still love to this day. It’s a genre that took the world by storm and brought a new unique sound that, to me, screams, “Just dance like crazy and have a good time!”
That genre, of course, is Eurodance.
Although it grew throughout the 90’s, it actually started in the German rave party scene during the late 80’s. Black Box made their debut with the above song “Ride on Time” and Technotronic entered with their now-classic song “Pump up the Jam.” After that, the Berlin Wall fell and the rave clubs grew more, bringing more people together. Among these people were producers and artists who formed the group Snap! They began to experiment with new electronic sounds and added other elements, laying the foundation for Eurodance. From there, other artists started to get in on the fun. Popularity spread throughout Europe, East Asia, and even Canada.
By this time, in the early to mid 90’s, radio stations in the USA started playing some of the songs and this is how I became aware of it. The following hits from Real McCoy are the first ones I ever heard and to say they changed my life would be a bit of an understatement.
The second I heard that cool synth keyboard kick in, I was hooked. I drove my family crazy as I’d listen to “Another Night” repeatedly every night. They probably regret having shown me how to record music from the radio onto a cassette tape, but then I bought the CD and listened to all the songs so… it might’ve driven ’em a little more mad. Oh well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Every time I’d hear a new track from their album, and in the entire genre, I’d tell myself, “This is the greatest song ever!” Before I knew it, I found myself being totally addicted and I’d always have these songs and artists in my head. Real McCoy, Snap!, La Bouche, 2 Unlimited, Amber, and many more. And with each year, I’d often hear something new from another artist and it’d enter my list of all-time favourite songs.
Outside of the radio hits, dance clubs and sporting events, it seemed like there wasn’t much use of Eurodance. But then these little comedy sketches from SNL took off.
This became one of the most popular sketches in Saturday Night Live and would feature many celebrities joining in on the head bopping. As it grew, Haddaway’s song “What is Love?” got more attention and has become one of the most famous songs in the genre. Eventually, the skits were turned into the movie Night at the Roxbury. I could go into the movie in a whole other entry, but the main reason I watched it is definitely because of the music.
After those things came and went, it felt like some people might’ve gotten tired of the genre. I’m a black sheep though, so I never got tired of it. The electronic synth nature always felt like something futuristic, and with many of these songs having insanely catchy melodies and fun hype-filled lyrics, I couldn’t stop listening.
And just when people thought the Eurodance thing started to fade out towards the late 90’s, this little song came in and blasted its way onto the charts.
Oh yeah! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. Eiffel 65 practically looked at the other artists, said, “Hold my beer,” and then released this. The song proved to be insanely popular and became one of those things people could not stop thinking about, singing, and discussing with their friends. People definitely started to get tired of it after a while (I remember hearing kids audibly cringe when it appeared in a video yearbook during middle school), even mocking it because it was always on the radio, but I sure liked it and nothing changed that.
Their debut album has a lot of other great songs, including “Move Your Body” and my personal favourites, “Another Race,” and “My Console” where they sing about video games. I feel that their other work should have gotten as much attention as Blue. But with the internet and things like iTunes & Spotify, now people can check out the other songs and very likely find something they’ll enjoy.
Come to think of it, it feels like I’m a bit spoiled by the fact that music is widely available to us on the internet. In a way though, I was already spoiled since I made little mix tapes and managed to get this CD when I was in high school.
CD compilations that featured a lot of the best Eurostyle artists definitely contributed to the genre’s growth, and I always wanted to get more. Pretty sure I did get a 3-disc set, but it may be packed away somewhere. Listening to these into the late evenings was always fun, and I even put the songs on a mini-disc player so I could listen to ’em while on the bus.
And then there’s another little thing that happened from all this. There was this one time when a friend got me into making videos, and even though I always wanted to perform and create videos as an entertainer, I had a hard time bringing out that energy and getting into it. That is, until my friend loaded the Pulse CD into my CD player and played this track.
I’m not entirely sure what it was, but it must’ve been my passion for the music, plus a couple other experiences, and the shear awesomeness of this song. Whatever it was, all these things came together and I started to dance on camera. I found myself not just getting more animated and lively, but feeling confident enough to have fun and express myself the way I always wanted to.
It was a very short moment when I think about it, but because of that moment, I found that I can be confident at being myself and having fun.
I was probably dancing like this.
Anyway, it definitely feels like there’s a lot of influence and a nice legacy from Eurodance music. Some of my favourite video game soundtracks definitely have a similar quality in their melodies & instrumentation. Another perfect example is Konami’s popular Dance Dance Revolution series, which features a lot of music in this style as well as offshoots of techno inspired by it.
And then there’s a lot of other variants that have taken the synth stuff further in many raves and dance clubs. Even stuff like Mortal Kombat took a cue from it and started to include instrumental techno music, pushing it and other sub-genres into popularity.
It’s more techno-ish, but you can really hear the influence in the opening synth.
These days, I’m still enjoying the genre and having a great time with it. There’s a lot of nostalgia for sure, and with all the music out there, I’m still discovering more Eurodance hits that somehow slipped by me. As it turns out, many radio stations were a little hesitant to play some and potentially alienate listeners. I’d say that wasn’t very nice, wouldn’t you? So there’s still a lot more out there for me to look for.
I do sometimes wonder if someone out there will create another instant-hit song that’ll be up there with Real McCoy and Eiffel 65’s work, but I’m happy enjoying what’s here. The always upbeat nature, catchy melodies, and positive lyrics have helped make it a big part of my love for music, dancing, and life.
To all the artists who have contributed to the genre, thank you for being a big part of my childhood! And to everyone reading, thank you for being here as I share these memories. Check out the music and be sure to support the artists on iTunes and Spotify!
And as always… dance on.
Kasey Lewis - Actor, Writer, Creator 