Are you a 90’s child? I am. So Fresh: Hits of the Summer were a staple of my childhood, and after finding out that some of the most iconic 90’s bands were coming to Melbourne for 90’s Mania I knew I had to be there.
To be blunt, my plus one and I didn’t even remember the majority of the bands headlining, but when we looked at their one-hit wonder songs we all knew who they were. Five of the most iconic 90’s bands were playing – if you don’t recognise the names, make sure you look at the song lists. It’s almost impossible to not know these tunes.
First up was Euro dance favorite Amber (‘If You Could Read My Mind’, ‘This is Your Night’). She still has it and got the crowd up and jumping which is a pretty mean feat being the fist act on stage. Up next was solo act Black Box (‘Ride on Time’). As one of the groups I didn’t recognise until they started playing, the very first track brought back memories of this song on ABC’s RAGE. Hailing from Italy, this is textbook Euro Disco and we loved every moment of the show.
Haddaway (‘What is Love’) was incredible. While we went in only knowing one song, we loved everything about this act and will be adding some of his songs to our Spotify party playlists. Haddaway was joined on stage by another singer who had a equally powerful voice.
Swedish pop group Ace of Base (‘All That She Wants’, ‘The Sign’), are still a staple of house party music in Australia. The four-piece band is long gone but lead singer Jenny Berggren made the trip Down Under to perform the hits that made her band a household name. Our night was completed with Germany’s La Bouche (‘Sweet Dreams’, ‘Be My Lover’, ‘Where Do You Go’).
The best thing about this event was that all these bands know what the audience came for. There is no filler – just dance floor anthems. We had such a brilliant time and will spend the next week trying to get these catchy songs out of our heads.
– Tomas
Tomas Zagoda is a filmmaker, writer, coffee addict and tall person who does not play basketball. You can follow him @TomasZagoda.
90’s Mania played select shows across Australia.
