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REWIND: Apollo 440 - 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Dub'
Today's Friday Banger is one from my days as a young club DJ in the 90s, when my Dad was the manager of Bentley's in Corsham. After the club closed its doors for the final time in 1997, I ended up doing a couple of DJ sets at the Canberra Youth Centre in my home town of Melksham. This involved me turning up to the place with a case of CDs, telling the DJs that had previously been spinning the tunes to "take a break" because a "professional" had now entered the building. They didn't seem to mind. Playing my signature mixture of dance and indie, I can recall only doing two nights at the Canberra. I realised that at youth club discos, people only dance when cheesy chart music or novelty songs are played. Not just that, but most of the people who went there were the same people who I had to go to school with, and I didn't want to spend any more time around them than I had to. So my stint at the Youth Centre didn't last long. Recent cuts to public services have meant that the Canberra has been earmarked for closure for a while now, and last week I was sad to read that the place will be closing for good after over 40 years. Today residents of Melksham will be attending the centre for one last time, as they host a Fun Day to celebrate the Canberra's history. I'll be taking a walk down there this afternoon to sign the guestbook and to have one last wander around, soaking up memories from my rapidly-disappearing youth.
One CD I can vividly remember playing heavily during those few nights at the Canberra was the 'Fused' compilation on the Polygram TV label, featuring "35 new directions in indie and dance". This drum n bass/heavy metal fusion from Apollo 440's 1997 'Electro Glide In Blue' album is based around a sample of the lead guitar line of Van Halen's 1978 song 'Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love'. When released as a single that same year, it reached number 7 in the charts. Here is a specially extended remix of the track, which seems to have been put together by a YouTube user, since I can't find it on any official release. For everyone who used to go the Canberra back in the 1990s (yes, even the wankers who I hated in school), this one is for you. Actually, it's for US. Long live youth.
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