DJ Mag's The Making Of A Dance Anthem series has been running on YouTube since 2020, with over 60 episodes. I watched my very first one on Wednesday!
What a one to start with, though. The fabulous Kirsty Hawkshaw taking about her journey with Opus III and their cover of It's A Fine Day, born out of the rave scene and which became a global smash in 1992.
Kirsty's storytelling is superb, describing her journey from 4AD-leaning indie kid to ball-spinning, shaven-headed frontperson, guesting on Jonathan Ross' chat show, to her unflinchingly polite challenge to big artists for not clearing use of her vocals. It's only 12 minutes but honestly I could listen to more of Kirsty's stories all day long.
I've included all of the versions, off shoots and variants mentioned in the interview below. Whilst some of the songs have featured here previously, I think I've picked unique versions for today's post. I've also added the original version, sung a cappella by Jane Lancaster and written by the legendary Edward Barton.
1) It's A Fine Day: Opus III (Kirsty's debut performance on Top Of The Pops, 20th Feb 1992)
2) Halcyon: Orbital (the official 1992 video recut to the original 11-minute single version and released in April 2025)
4) Fine Day XXIV: Opus III (production by Shadow Child and Adam F (Kirsty's husband); new vocals and video by Kirsty) (2024)
5) It's A Fine Day: Jane (1983)
They have never yet improved on the original in my opinion. When can we except an in depth feature on "There Goes Concorde Again"?
ReplyDeleteThat's a weird coincidence- I wrote about There Goes Concorde Again for a forthcoming guest post at Ban Ban Ton Ton just last night- the new No One's Listening Anyway Vol 2 compilation
DeleteI will keep an eye out for it. No surprise what with you being a native hipster yourself.
DeleteErnie requests, Adam delivers. Great work!
DeleteI find the minutiae of music creation fascinating, regardless of genre. If I ever knew that she was Alan Hawkshaw's daughter, I'd long since forgotten it. A really interesting post Khayem.
ReplyDeleteThanks, TS. I'm with you, I'll frequently find features on 'the making of...' fascinating, even when the end result (the song) leaves me cold. No such worry in this case.
DeleteI love this tune, the Opus III version is a massive favourite of mine. Love Edward and Jane's too. Looking forward to watching the clip.
ReplyDeleteOpus III just captured that moment in time brilliantly, though I also have a soft spot for A Guy Called Gerald's remix of the original by Jane, also from 1992. I dust off the 12" single for a play every now and then.
Deletehttps://youtu.be/M6rDj1IYiUM?si=yFt9JCm6OppMKmYw
Ah, excellent interview, really enjoyed that, thank you K.
ReplyDeleteThanks, C. Now that I've discovered the DJ Mag 'well', I'm sure it's one that I'll be returning to from time to time.
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