Today, on the anniversary of its original release date, London Records has announced new 20th Anniversary editions of Dannii Minogue’s top ten album ‘Neon Nights’, set for release on 16th June.
Available to pre-order from Friday March 31st, these #Danniiversary editions celebrate ‘Neon Nights’ with new artwork and liner notes, bonus tracks and b-sides, unarchived mixes and a swathe of newly commissioned remixes.
First released in 2003, ‘Neon Nights’ perfectly captured the dance-pop zeitgeist of its time. Propelled by a veritable pick and mix of the European dance production scene, the album spawned four UK Top 10 smashes with “Who Do You Love Now?” (No.3), “Put A Needle On It” (No.7), “I Begin To Wonder” (No.2) and “Don’t Wanna Lose This Feeling” (No.5). The album debuted at No.8 on the UK Official Albums Chart and was certified Gold, and in Dannii’s native Australia it was nominated for Best Pop Release at the 2003 ARIA Music Awards.
After Dannii’s previous album ‘Girl’ had paved a blueprint for pop dance crossovers of the noughties, Dannii had parted ways with her label, and had not released music for almost half a decade. Dannii was philosophical then and now.
“I knew the crazy world of music was not always fair, but I also knew I’d had amazing experiences and done a lot of awesome stuff. I didn’t think my music career was going to come back, and that was fine. I just thought: ‘Well, that was it.’”
Out of the blue, an invite from Pete Tong would provide an unexpected catalyst. As A&R at London Records, Tong asked Dannii to collaborate with Dutch duo Riva on a rework of their club hit “Stringer”. The resultant single “Who Do You Love Now?” would be a worldwide smash.
The single’s success was infused with the dance energy of Ibiza, with many live gigs at iconic venues that were the start of great friendships with the mega Summer Residence DJs, Carl Cox and Roger Sanchez. Dannii was once again upfront and centre in both pop and club culture.
Dannii was signed up by London Records for an album deal and work on ‘Neon Nights’ commenced. “With ‘Girl’, I was given wings,” Dannii says now of the recording process. “With ‘Neon Nights’, I was allowed to fly.”
Writing and recording sessions saw her flying in and out of Sweden, Paris and London, working with fresh teams like Murlyn and Neïmo, along with longstanding collaborators like Terry Ronald and Ian Masterson and co-writer Karen Poole.
In one interview at the time Dannii mentioned that along with the influence of current sounds, artists informing the album included pivotal acts in Dannii’s own musical upbringing, such as Madonna, Scritti Politti and Kraftwerk.
“When I first released ‘Neon Nights’ I was overwhelmed,” Dannii recalls, some twenty years on. “I was running around promoting and it was hard to catch a moment to enjoy it all — but even then, I knew that one day I’d be able to look back on it all, and I’d be able to think: ‘Wow. What a time…’”
‘Neon Nights’ planted its feet firmly on the dancefloor, its various singles and remix packages achieving no less than thirteen Number Ones on the UK dance charts. “I Begin to Wonder” and “Don’t Wanna Lose This Feeling” also enjoyed substantial success on the US dance charts, with “Put The Needle On It” dominating French airwaves and topping four UK club charts simultaneously. The nominations Dannii received during this period reflected the album’s electronic lineage, including Best Worldwide Single at Dancestar Awards for “I Begin to Wonder”, and two nominations at the WMC International Dance Music Awards.
To this day, ‘Neon Nights’ stands up as a compelling set of bonafide dancefloor bangers.
DANNII MINOGUE – 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITIONS OF ‘NEON NIGHTS’ IS OUT 16 JUNE 2023 AND CAN BE PRE-ORDERED HERE.
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