18. 2 Unlimited – The Twilight Zone
The last couple of tracks on Rave ’92 have been grounded in everyday settings – mild frustration over misplacing small items, feeling a bit dizzy, epic clubbing fail, slumping in front of kids’ telly when you get home at 5am. Songs that paint a daft picture of the things frazzled clubbers must deal with on a day to day basis. It’s all very British: muddling through life and attempting to make the best of it with good humour.
Then suddenly AWOOGA AWOOGA the warning sirens blare out and we’re blasted off into space! It’s a violent, juddering journey with nothing familiar to cling on to for safety. It’s like coming back to work a little worse for wear from a hedonistic weekend, and being told you have ten minutes to organise a presentation for your boss’s boss and it’s REALLY important that you don’t fuck it up or your boss will get it in the neck so no pressure innit. Cue stifled groaning and rooting clumsily around in your desk for some painkillers, wishing you were still lying down in a field somewhere.
‘Twilight Zone’ is so energetic and bullish that you start to wonder if it has been taking MaxiMuscle diet supplements. It must at least have auditioned to be a Gladiator once*. It’s a relief that Ray’s drill instructor rap has been cut out for the UK version (as per usual) – I doubt I could stick his stern motivational coaching without rupturing something:
Enter the clock and turn the body upside down
Grab the microphone it’s upon the sound
You want more? More you get
We’re 2 Unlimited in effect!
Check up the sound and stop this distortion
When we get the fitness, here’s another portion!
Please Ray, I can’t do any more press-ups! Aieee. Anita’s ‘good cop’ chorus is more encouraging: “You’re not on your own!” I can picture her waving her hands around in front of her face to create an Authentic Mystical Aura. She almost convinces us that we’re all on a leisure day-trip through the stars rather than cattletrucked conscripts being shipped out for the impending war with Jupiter. I’m all for escapism but does it have to be so noisy?
As you may have guessed I like this song MUCH better when I’m not hungover. If you are suffering a little this morning, best avoid watching the TOTP performance of ‘Twilight Zone’ below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dc5tLj_qW8
*WHY OH WHY was there never a Gladiator called ‘Techno’?
ISTR a MUCH worse performance of this song on TOTP. anita was just all over the place, flat and wobbling – this being the era of enforced live vocal performances. she’s almost ok here.
also – related articles: poptimism lesson 30 has the nice mashup with sexyback :-D
Yep – this was their second week on TOTP, the other one is on Youtube as well and Anita is DREADFUL (and is wearing a wacky gold outfit instead of the Robocop getup above), she sounds like she’s got a sore throat and is gasping for air. I imagine they made them do it again properly the next week!
Somewhat belated TOTPWatch! 2 Unlimited performed Twilight Zone twice; On January 23rd 19992 and February 6th 1992.
Also in the studio on January 23rd were; Shakespears Sister, Curtis Stigers, Kylie Minogue, Public Enemy and Wet Wet Wet, plus a live satellite apperance from New York by Mariah Carey. The hosts were Steve Anderson and Mark Franklin.
Also in the studio on February 6th were; Primal Scream, Curtis Stigers and Shakespears Sister, plus a live satellite appearance from Milan by Wet Wet Wet. The anonymous hosts were Mark Franklin and Adrian Rose.
Would’ve been a better #1 than Goodnight Girl by the Wets.