Neon tutus, leg warmers, sequin outfits and streaks of face paint lit up the arena of absolutely bonkers dance fans that turned up to re-live the night of their lives with Clubland.
It’s been just over 20 years since the dawn of Clubland (and yes, I had the first CD), but going by the electric buzz of the crowds flowing through the doors to the celebratory night at P&J live, you’d think it was yesterday.
Before even entering the venue, chants of Pretty Green Eyes made their way through the queues of eager clubbers, hungry to relive the musical moments that formed so many memories that stayed with us for years to follow.
Fans were desperate to hear those nostalgic chorus lines we all know
I’ll share mine with you. I was 16, it was a holiday to Tenerife with my best friend and we created some truly ridiculous, and probably embarrassing moments that will stick with me forever, all of which were sound-tracked by Clubland 2002.
Ultrabeat, Cascada and Kelly Llorenna were everything that mattered to our teenage selves, and to this day there’s not a single time that one of those songs comes on the radio that I’m not instantly transported back to some of the best years of my life, when all you needed was a good tune and a night of dancing to make everything alright.
It was clear that the droves of hyped-up revellers were dying to get stuck in, but, there was quite the hold-up when it came to getting to the main event.
Making our way through the highly charged bouncing crowds, we decided to grab a drink before making our way in, to make sure we were hydrated for the three-hour dance fest ahead of us. Big mistake. An hour and a quarter wait for a pint of warm cider puts a dampener on your night.
Did I feel ancient surrounded by festival-ready zestful teenagers that almost definitely weren’t born when half of these songs were released? Absolutely.
Did I feel out of place? Absolutely not.
Making pals under roof-raising arms with friendly party-loving strangers around us, it was clear that the majority of folk there also experienced these tunes the first time around, and the mutual nods of ‘mind that time?’ resonated deeply and spread smiles from ear to ear.
As we made our way into the arena, Ultrabeat were in full flow blasting out their unmistakable chart-topper (the aforementioned Pretty Green Eyes) along with a couple of other tunes that only die-hard fans would recall, before giving way to electronic dance master Darren Styles.
The 90s dance icon had every self-respecting raver reaching for the roof and losing it to his hardcore bangers that were set off immaculately by the mesmerizing light show blinding the audience from behind him.
Iconic dance hit producer Basshunter had the crowd in a frenzy
How do we boost an already euphoric crowd after a quite frankly mental reaction to a cult DJ? By bringing on Basshunter of course.
I defy any late 2000s party person to hear Now You’re Gone without singing along, but thankfully, the Clubland crowd didn’t hold back, loving every minute.
Only one person could top Basshunter when it came to driving the P&J Live massive wild to see out a night of pure madness – the undisputed queen of the noughties club scene, Cascada.
Before the show, singer Natalie expressed her excitement for taking to the stage as part of the Clubland tour in Aberdeen in an Instagram reel shared by P&J Live, but I’m still not sure she was quite prepared for what the Granite City mob had in store for her.
After thrilling the vibrating crowd with smash hits like What Hurts the Most, and having her own lyrics repeated back to her from thousands in the elated crowd, it was a phenomenal way to wrap up the night, but in the immoral words of almost every Aberdonian ever, there’s always time for “one mair tune!”
Blasting out Every Time We Touch with her ever-impressively powerful vocals, the electrifying crowd-pleaser ended the night on the ultimate high, sending the fans on their way with a shower of glittering ticker tape.
It may not have been the concert that I’d typically find myself at on a Friday night, but there’s no denying the feel-good factor that cheesy pop classics from your formative years bring.
Here’s to staying young through the magic of music.
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