Before The Core magazine, there was Club Escape, a dance music radio program on Triple J which went to air on Saturday nights in Adelaide during 1990 and 1991.

I had the very great pleasure of presenting this program during its first year, along with promoter Scott Thompson — who also ran the coolest nightclub in the history of the universe, Metro on Rundle Street.

Club Escape was created by John Thompson-Mills (”JB”) who, through anally-retentive production, made Scott and me sound like stars.

I know I only wrote about The Core the other day. But on Facebook today someone’s brother saw that I was a “friend” and asked him to ask me if I had the Perfect List from 1991.

I don’t.

Well, I might have the audio somewhere, but not the list of tunes. Actually, I do have it, see this post.

However I do have the Perfect List from 1990 — our choice for the best 50 best dance music tracks released that year. And here it is.

How many of these tracks do you remember? And which ones would you prefer to forget?

[Update 6 September 2007: I've linked to as many of these songs as I can find on YouTube. Some of them may not be the exact mix played on air, but you get that. Enjoy. And if you find any others, please let me know.]

Top 10:

1. BBG: Snappiness

2. Orchestra JB: Free Spirit (Slow Burn mix)

3. The KLF: What Time is Love

4. Blue Pearl: Naked in the Rain (Blue Pearl Dub mix)

5. Ambience: The Adored

6. De La Soul: Tread Water (Italian Tour special remix)

7. A Tribe Called Quest: Bonita Applebum (Hootie mix)

8. Blackbox: Fantasy

9. LFO: LFO

10. 808 State: Cubik (Kings Country Perspective mix)

Part 1, 29 December 1990:

We broadcast the full list of 50 tracks over two weeks, in no particular order apart from the Top 10 at the end.

Major Problems: The Rush (Freak Out Mix)
A Homeboy, A Hippie & A Funkidred: Total Confusion (Confusion mix)
Barrie K Sharpe & Diana Brown: The Masterplan (remix)
Family Stand: Ghetto Heaven
Jungle Brothers: Doin’ Our Own Dang (Do It To the JBs mix)
Adamski: Killer
Bassomatic: Fascinating Rhythm (Lisa Loud mix)
She Rockers: Jam It Jam
Silver Bullet: 20 Seconds To Comply
Moodswings featuring Chrissie Hynde: Spiritual High
The Grid: Flotation (YouTubei has a bootleg live version)
Space Opera: Space 3001 (Part One mix)
GTO: Pure (remix)
Queen Latifah & De La Soul: Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children
Monie Love: Down to Earth
Deee-lite: Groove is in The Heart
Together: Hardcore Uproar (Boomtown remix)
Earth People: Reach Up to Mars (Martian mix)
BBG: Some Kind of Heaven (Heavenly mix)
Soul II Soul: A Dreams a Dream
Snap: The Power
Westbam: The Roof is On Fire
The Orb: A Huge Evergrowing Pulsating Brain that Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld (YouTube has a bootleg live version)
Guru Josh: Infinity

Part 2, 5 January 1991

Ce Ce Rogers: All Join Hands
Touch of Soul: We Got the Love
CPO: Homicide
Above the Law: Untouchable
Magic Concept: Unstoppable
49ers: Touch Me
Blackbox: Everybody Everybody (Le Freak mix)
2 in a Room: Do What You Want
Tony Scott: Gangster Boogie
Tribal House: Motherland
Blue Pearl: Little Brother (Little Sister mix)
Capella: Get Out of My Case (Philly Style remix)
Technotronic: Get Up (Dave Morales remix)
The Adventures of Stevie V: Dirty Cash (Dime & Dollar mix)
MC Wildski: Warrior
… and the Top 10

Wow, what a list! Looking back, I can see that we were consciously trying to cover all the genres, rather than choosing our personal favourites. I’d have had a lot more English electronica and Detroit techno, for instance. Scott would have picked more hands-in-the-air stuff — I reckon he had surprisingly girly music tastes for a straight man.

And this is such an Adelaide list! So, so different from anything playing in Sydney of Melbourne at the time.

5 Random Semi-Related Posts

• Roll on Easter! (1 comments)
• Perfect Lists, imperfectly linked (1 comments)
• The Core: “The KLF: Genius or Gibberish?” (8 comments)
• Club Escape’s “Perfect List” 1991 (10 comments)
• LFO: “Freak” (0 comments)