100 Greatest Songs of the 90’s #54 Xpansions – Move Your Body

Released : 1991

There was something very egalitarian about rave: almost anybody could put a record out, get some flyers going or hold a party. The white van impresarios who made it work all seemed to be called Gary, Kev or Wayne – possibly for tax or law enforcement reasons – whilst provided you could borrow you mum’s Fiesta, the weekends were yours for the price of a few disco biscuits.

Xpansions were Richie Malone, Phil Drummond and Sally Ann Marsh – you’ll remember her alternative career as an actress from an appearance on the BBC children’s show Bodger and Badger – yet more faceless producers at an underground orientated time when luckily image was inessential.

Move Your Body followed a familiar pattern to the hundreds of tunes being turned out for a hungry scene, most of which were never intended to escape their own limited event horizon. Recorded in three days, it incorporated samples from both S’Express and The Incredible Bongo Band, but the pivotal role in it’s success was played by an anonymous studio engineer who suggested using a sampled Oberheim keyboard to hype up the track’s nagging piano lead. The results were chemistry of different kind, a track elementally levels above it’s parts, another triumph for a pseudo cottage industry that bootlegged and blagged 99% of it’s goodwill. It was genuine alright, you just asked Gary – and he sorted you out.