«I HAVE SOCIAL DISEASE. I HAVE TO GO OUT EVERY NIGHT»

Fast-forward three decades to a hot, dark nightclub in Ibiza, where girls in gold bikinis and musclemen in tight trunks twirl around podiums and a glitterball spins overhead. An excited audience have waited until 3am to see Sister Sledge, who arrive on stage to wild applause, long-legged and glamorous as ever. They belt out Lost in Music, He’s the Greatest Dancer and We Are Family. It’s July 2009 and disco is back, baby, back. But why are people going all Saturday Night Fever now?
Lead singer Joni Sledge says that people turn to disco when the world is full of bad news, and that right now we want to hear real voices and real tunes again. When the world is burning, the glitterball starts turning. The show tonight has been organised by Carwash, the disco night that has been running in London for more than 15 years. Its promoter, Nigel Atkin, says that clubbers are sick of boring minimal techno and faceless house music; they want dirty basslines and a funky groove.

Times
July 17 2009