The Party Songs Of The Noughties As Voted For By LMM DJs
Happy New Year to all LMM clients and acts.
Feeling a little nostalgic today and looking back to New Years Eve 1999.
Back then I was about to become a father for the first time and I had just become part of the LMM team.The next few years were a blur as LMM sourced acts throughout the UK for the massive expansion of the Walkabout and Bar Risa/Jongluers chain throughout the UK.We spent the early part ofthe decade searching every major town in the UK for the very best party DJs and covers bands so that we were able to satisfy the demand for top quality entertainment in the Walkabout and Bar Risa bars.
Looking back I can recall the excitement of finding acts like Platform Six,Plan B,Storm,Union Jack,Freak Out and many others and also the massive disapointment when promising demos or reputations resulted in lacklustre auditions from live bands who were not up to the challenge of performing in city centre venues.Particularly vivid in my memory was a weekend spent in the Gower Peninsula at a showcase put together by a contact down in South Wales.Myself and a colleague saw over sixty acts during the course of that weekend and we were only able to find one band worth booking.The good news is that members of that band are still with us as part of the brilliant Swansea based act Radar-an exceptional act who are perfect for any events or weddings in the South Wales area.
Besides our large roster of hand picked bands we have also managed to retain,in our opinion,the very best DJs in the UK.Guys and girls who are the very top of their profession and able to entertain a huge crowd or a small party with well judged tunes,great mic work and an intuition and skill about what is required to make the party.
To commerate the end of the 2000′s I asked a small team of DJs to hand pick the most memorable party tunes of the decade.Some of the tunes below have dissapeared into the ether now-long forgotten maybe to be revived by use in an advert or movie in the future (in much the same way that Journeys “Don’t Stop Believing” has been rediscovered by a new generation from it’s use in shows such as The Sopranos,Glee Club and X Factor.) There are other songs in the list below which will still attract a crowd to the dance floor.Some of the songs are naff or have become naff by their over familiarity but I asked the DJ team to think back to the initial impact that the songs had….to look at the excitement which the songs fostered when fresh.
A good example would be Tony Christies “Is This The Way To Amarillo.”Long before it was propelled to number one by Peter Kays Comic Relief performance it had been rediscovered by a generation of students who had heard it as the intro to Peter Kay’s stand up.I remember standing in Nottingham Walkabout as DJ Rick Bennett played the song a long time before it was a noughties hit.The response was amazing with the whole venue singing and jumping around.
So the list below is not meant to be the best songs of the noughties and,remember,some of the songs below are well past their sell by date awaiting a future generation to rediscover them.Interestingly the list also contains a number of re issues reflecting our obsessive recycling of the past…..one generations naff track is the next generations classic anthem.
The list is in no particular order but I have put a little observation at the side of many to explain why the song is included.
1.Tony Christie-Is This The Way To Amerillo ……before it became inescapable it was an ironic discovery for a generation of students.
2.Beyonce-Crazy In Love…..still a dancefloor classic and a real contender for song of the decade.
3.Christina Aquilera-Dirty….inspired a generation of girls to get down and dirty!
4.DJ Casper-The Cha Cha Slide….like swine flu and herpes this tune was brought to the UK by returning holiday makers who duplicated the dance moves.The first time I saw a full dance doing the Cha Cha slide up in Middlesborough Walkabout still remains a memorable noughties party moment.
5.The Killers-Mr Brightside-there were some great guitar anthems in the noughties before the formula turned into “indie landfill”
6.Fatman Scoop-Be Faithfull….this track was filling dancefloors for at least eighteen months before it gained a proper release and then,inevitable,overkill…I am remembering the times at Machester Surfers Paradise when the dance floor was jumping!
7.The Arctic Monkeys-Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor…..before Nat King Bings jazz version and when the track was fresh and exciting it was great to hear this in the venues.
8.Jimi Jameson-The Baywatch Theme Tune…another revival song rediscovered by the students who looked back with nostalgia to the 1990s.
9.Girls Aloud-Love Machine……just one of many classic girly anthems from this surprisingly enduring reality TV (Pop Stars-The Rivals) discovery.
10.Pussycat Dolls-Don’t Cha……RNB anthems dominated the dancefloors in the noughties in the same way that Dance music shaped the 90s.Our DJs chose this RNB light song because it continues to fill a floor in the way that some more credible RNB fails.
So thats it the top ten party tunes of the 2000′s,or the noughties if you’d preffer,as voted for by a team of talented party DJs who continue to fill dancefloors throughout the UK with the top tunes of the moment and the anthems of the past.You can be sure that LMM DJs will be discovering the songs which fill the city centre dancefloors in the next decade.
Myself I can’t wait!!! Happy New Year 2010.
If you want to book a cover band or quality DJ for your special event please call 08454 900515 or email info@lmmuk.com