Entertainment | Music

It's the 90s all over again

Mixtape Rewind take us back in time with artists including Haddaway, Go West, No Mercy, Snap, Culture Beat, La Bouche and Jenny from Ace of Base

By Kelly Crane, Senior Reporter
Published: 08:30 November 14, 2012

Image Credit: Supplied
Jenny from Ace of Base will perform tunes including Don't Turn Around

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Coordinating shell suits, redefining big hair, Saved by the Bell, Beavis and Butthead, Lara Croft, the Wonderbra and the Fresh Prince. The 90s have a lot to answer for especially when it comes to music.

They may not have been the greatest bands or singers of our time but man did they make catchy tunes.

The 80s and 90s spawned some of the most famous guilty pleasures the music scene has on record and for some reason, managed to get away with it.

The artists responsible for a good selection of the hits which have been swimming around our heads for almost two decades are heading to Dubai to do it all again.

More than 10,000 people are expected to turn out to catch slightly older versions of Haddaway, Go West, No Mercy, Snap, Culture Beat, La Bouche and Jenny from Ace of Base and the tunes which made them famous.

Taking place at Emirates Golf Club on November 16, 90s revival night Mixtape Rewind brings the faces who defined a decade for the city’s biggest old skool 90s concert.

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Meet: Peter Cox of Go West

Remind me: English pop duo formed in 1982 by lead vocalist Peter Cox (56) and rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist Richard Drummie (53).

The song: King of Wishful Thinking from movie Pretty Woman and Faithful.

Q. Did you have a beeper?

A. You were nobody if you didn’t have a beeper and I didn’t have one so I guess I was nobody!

Q. Can you recall life without the internet?

A. I’m all for embracing modern technology but you have to admit it was better without it. It was incredible. My mother’s a crossword fanatic. It’s just so simple.

Q. What size brick would best describe your first mobile telephone?

A. I never had a phone but once a promoter from a gig we did in Japan gave us a portable CD player. It weighed about 12lbs (5.4kg) and with CDs you had to be a professional weightlifter to carry it around. On an aeroplane it was your entire hand luggage.

Q. What are you doing now?

A. I’ve just finished recording a solo album called Riding the Blinds. It’s about hobos jumping the train for a free ride. I guess it’s about relationships.

Q. How did you deal with the fame back then?

A. I was always a public transport kinda guy. For a brief moment I was on TV and people starred but all of a sudden you realise it’s gone. I can’t imagine living the way Lady Gaga does.

Meet: Marty of No Mercy

Remind me: American dance music group formed in 1995 consisting of Marty Cintron (41) and twin brothers, Ariel and Gabriel Hernández (41) from Miami, Florida.

The song: Where Do You Go (and if you can say it without saying “my lovely” on the end then you have issues)

Q. What was your favourite song of the 90s — and it can’t be your own?!

A. I Believe I can Fly by R Kelly. I’d like it played when I die.

Q. If you were offered the chance would you appear on Celebrity Big Brother?

A. Yeah, I guess I would. I actually appeared on a reality show in Russia as a guest which was lots of fun. Everyone in the house was pretty mellow though. I’d cause a stir.

Q. Has your fashion sense changed?

A. Haha! I’d definitely say it’s a bit more conservative than it was in the videos. But I think I had a pretty cool fashion style. It was never over the top.

Q. What’s the best thing since sliced bread?

A. The guitar. I learnt to play and I’ve never looked back. It’s such a great instrument.

Q. What do you miss about the 90s?

A. The music. And the scene maybe. It takes me back to my childhood. Music has the power to do that as well as bringing people back together. I’m looking forward to seeing the other artists in the line-up because we know each other.

Meet: Jenny of Ace of Base

Remind me: Pop band from Gothenburg, Sweden made up of Ulf “Buddha” Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas “Joker”, Malin “Linn” and Jenny Berggren. They released four studio albums between 1993 and 2002, which sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

The song: Toss up between All That She Wants, The Sign and Don’t Turn Around

Q. What’s your biggest 90s regret?

A. The fact we never toured with album Happy Nation. We were so busy writing and recording music which did so well that we didn’t have time to get on the road. I love being with my sister, we have the same sick sense of humour and it would have been so much fun.

Q. Can you recall life without the internet?

A. We were one of the first bands to appear on the World Wide Web which was a strange feeling. But everything was strange back then as we were thrown into this weird world of fame so we didn’t realise just how immense that was. It opened another world for everyone.

Q. What’s your favourite song of the 90s — and it can’t be your own?!

A. Come Undone by Duran Duran. They were our heroes and we had a magical experience with them in Italy when we played the same concert. We shared the same dressing room and we were just so star struck. They were wonderful.

Q. What size brick would best describe your first mobile phone?

A. I never had a really big one because I didn’t have one early enough. They were relatively small by the time I got one but I do remember I was more concerned with the cover than the phone. I had leopard print. Very classy.

Q. If given the opportunity would you do Celebrity Big Brother?

A. Never in my life. I don’t have the time to spend 100 days in a house with strangers. I’m not a sucker for celebrity status.

Q. What are you doing now?

A. Still making music and having lots of fun doing shows like this one in Dubai.

Meet: Jacky Fangster of Culture Beat

Remind me: German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau fronted by singer Tania Evans and rapper Jay Supreme.

The song: The 1993 single Mr Vain went to No1 in 11 countries and has sold more than ten million copies worldwide.

Q. What was your favourite song of the 90s — and you can’t say your own?!

A. Anything by Annie Lennox, she had so many great songs. But I love the songs of Snap too. So catchy.

Q. What’s changed between then and now?

A. As 90s acts we see more of each other now which is great. I perform with Haddaway all the time and so we get to know each other pretty well.

Q. Do you get nostalgic when you perform?

A. Sometimes but mostly I have to keep my wits about me until we sing Mr Vain. If that song isn’t played the crowd get jumpy. If I did a gig without that I’d be beaten to a pulp.

Q. What are you working on now?

A. We are planning a revived version of Mr Vain very soon but just need to get the group together in the same place at the same time.

Meet: Haddaway

Remind me: Nestor Alexander Haddaway (47), better known by his stage name Haddaway, an over-enthusiastic 90s Trinidadian-German singer.

The song: The 1993 hit What is Love?

Meet: La Bouche

Remind me: Eurodance/dance-pop duo formed by Frank Farian in Frankfurt, Germany in 1994, originally consisting of Melanie Thornton and Lane McCray. In 2000, Thornton left the group to pursue a solo career and was replaced by singer Natacha Wright. Thornton died in a plane crash in 2001 in Zurich.

The song: Be My Lover and Sweet Dreams

Meet: Snap

Remind me: German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Frankfurt-based producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, but was most successful when fronted by rapper Turbo B.

Song: Rhythm is a Dancer and The Power

Event details

What: Mixtape Rewind Live

When: Friday November 16. Doors open at 5pm and show starts at 8pm.

Where: Emirates Golf Club, Dubai.

How: Tickets, priced Dh275, are available at platinumlist.ae all Virgin Megastores and select Enoc and Eppco stations. For more information call 055 8810881 or email mixtape@sundance-hq.com