WHAT SEEMED LIKE A MASSIVE COUNTER- CULTURAL MOVEMENT AT THE DAWN OF THE 90S, DANCE MUSIC EMERGED INTO BEING THE DRIVING FORCE FOR POP MUSIC OVER THE NEXT DECADE . WE HAVE A LOOK AT HOW DANCE MUSIC REINVIGORATED POP MUSIC – AND VICE VERSA…

IAN WADE

Adamski and Seal’s Killer was a prelude to the way singers, DJs, bands and remixers would cross old personnel boundaries to create moneyspinning dancefloor product

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PERHAPS THE BIGGEST SOLO ACT TO EMERGE FROM THIS ERA OF ‘FEATS’ WAS SEAL, WHO HELPED ADAMSKI TO NO.1 IN 1990. WITHIN 12 MONTHS THE SINGER WAS THE UK’S BRIGHTEST NEW STAR

At the beginning of the 90s, dance music had ushered a host of new pop stars into the limelight, including several who would eclipse their ‘feat.’ beginnings… the first of whom was Yazz, who would be plucked from The Biz but made her chart debut as part of Coldcut’s Doctorin’ The House single, before they in turn launched her and her so-called Plastic Population to dizzy heights with the 1988 chart topper The Only Way Is Up. Coldcut also rescued Lisa Stansfield from her non-hit birth with Blue Zone, gave her a ‘featuring’ on their 1989 hit People Hold On, and propelled her into the charts with This Is The Right Time. By the end of 1989 Lisa was atop the singles chart with All Around The World and well en route to selling five million copies of her debut album Affection.

Cathy Dennis was already being steered by 19 Management and was merely billed as an ‘introducing’ when she provided vocals for D Mob’s C’mon And Get My Love Top 15-er in 1989, but she left D Mob for dust once her solo pop account finally got going in 1991 with Touch Me (All Night Long). She also went on to be a writer for hire penning, among others, Kylie’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head and Britney’s Toxic.

Another chart topper-turned writer, Betty Boo began life as part of She Rockers, but inspired by the support of Public Enemy decided to go solo and was a guest on Beatmasters’ Hey DJ in 1989. She became the toast of the silver hotpants set with her solo smashes Doin’ The Do, Where Are You Baby and the album Boomania in 1990.

Perhaps the biggest solo act to emerge from this era of ‘feats’ was Seal, who first met Adamski on the club circuit and helped him to No.1 in 1990 with Killer. Within 12 months the London-born singer was the UK’s brightest new star with Crazy and a self-titled debut album that became a multimillion seller. He’s since gone on to sell over 20 million records worldwide.

Indeed, helping out a dance turn with some vocals has often proved a handy route to success. Just ask Dina Carroll (via Quartz) and Billie Ray Martin (S’Express/ Electribe 101) and perhaps, to a lesser degree, Lindy Layton (Beats International), Shara Nelson (Massive Attack) and, um, Maureen (Bomb The Bass).