Some of the crowd are on the dancefloor..

Colourbox: 'The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme' 21st April 1986 [4AD]

Formed in 1982 by brothers Martyn and Steven Young, Colourbox drew on influences as varied as blues, soul, rock, reggae/dub and funk, they combined elements from each with movie dialogues and weird and wonderful samples. Colourbox's idiosyncratic approach to music left journalists struggling to pin down their identity; they deliberately stayed out of the spotlight, shunning interviews and focused on refining their sound.

The track "The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme" was originally intended as a football theme, and almost lived up to its name when it was up for consideration as the theme for BBC's World Cup Grandstand during the broadcast of the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. That honour, however, went to the song "Aztec Lightning" by Heads. It would later be used as highlight segment music for Italia 90, and rightly so!

It was in 1987 that the Young brothers broke out of the indie charts as M|A|R|R|S, with the genre-defining track, 'Pump Up The Volume'. A collaboration with A.R. Kane, Chris CJ Mackintosh and Dave Dorrell, the single went from underground club anthem to UK National No.1. However, the success of the track and subsequent litigation surrounding the samples led to the end of the band.

KOTS:

I group this one into a rare segment of music, stuff that I hear and just get jolted by how good it sounds, never get tired of hearing it and even right now I've replayed it like six times whilst typing.

This was a nailed-on song of my youth and especially trying to get past Bernard and crew on the door at the Warehouse.

I started working in Next on Lands Lane, as a Sat 'dee lad, from '86 and this meant I tended to hang with a slightly older crowd, 30-year-old shop girls, then Pudsey's finest, Macca (RIP). Add in the Dawn Stretton crew. Always some random lass called Chloe with a severe French bob haircut, apprenticing at Vidal Sassoon. Really called Sharon and from Rotherham. Nick from Stretton's used to call them the Vidal Baboons, which always made me laugh when we'd skive off in the Miss Selfridge cafe, pretending I was picking up suit alterations. Which Strettons would do for us.

Around the same time, I met Placid, another shop lad around town. He was mooching around the defunct fountain on Lands Lane, pretending to read a book in his leather bomber jacket that the Pasadenas would have been proud of. Perhaps looking to snag his own Chloe on her way to Pasta Romagne for lunch. We'd later share a year at college in the following year.

Anyway, going to the Warehouse with this older retail crowd really helped me immensely. Especially going with older shop lasses, as soon I'd be getting into the Warehouse with no trouble at all as a 16-year, soon to be 17-year-old. Hanging ten whilst surfing in the wake of a gaggle of confident and flirty lasses. Bouncers didn't stand a chance with that kind of set up, if they knocked me back they'd look a tit!

Friday at the Warehouse, colloquially known as "student night," and this track would be one of the staple songs. Along with Uncertain Smile, Blue Monday, Road to Nowhere and Whole of the Moon, Gil Scott Heron - Bottle and Lonnie Liston - Expansion. This was my Friday night for a couple of years. Same tunes, same joy of being grown up.

It's the soundtrack for me getting out of a beige LS twenty bollocks satellite village, closer to Cas than Leeds, for a venture into the adult world of serious (not Jimmy's, never Jimmy's) night-clubbing and being a Townie.

Yeah, right, who am I kidding? I'm not even shaving properly at this point and drinking cocktails with hairdressers, come on mate!

I am sure we all know this track, so I won't look to dissect it, beyond the fact that I can safely say, I love this bloody tune and still do.

Memories of windmilling on the dancefloor, giddy as fuck on 4 cans of Red Stripe after drinking Harvey Wall Bangers in The Conservatory with lasses old enough to be my Mum. Far too much Cacharel pour Homme dabbed on my neck. Wearing something I could barely afford from Strand or similar.

I have a bottle of Cacharel with me here in Tokyo, so I'm off to give it a sniff for old time's sake..

Pump up the volume!!