OUR ULTIMATE PARTY STARTERS
From retro bangers to club euphoria to pop heaven, the music at Butlin’s Big Weekenders is always immense. Every weekend is a celebration of legendary tunes, and we always keep the party going whatever the vibe.
Whether you’re straight onto the dancefloor, bouncing at the barrier or singing your heart out with your crew, we have non-stop anthems for you. Here (and in no particular order) are 10 of our very favourites – all of which get a Big Weekender banging from the second we hit play.
RASPUTIN BY BONEY M
You cannot – CANNOT – have any kind of disco without dropping this delight. As great at finishing a set as it is at getting everyone onto the dancefloor, Boney M's Rasputin has kept crowds on our Big Weekenders jumping (almost) since the days of the disco ball.
Rasputin is the anthem that truly has everything. Marvel at the tale of one of Imperial Russia’s most legendary lives! Strut to the funky bassline and the spiralling disco strings! Cossack dance, in silver lamé trousers, with poor-to-mixed results! It’s probably the most contagious classic of the disco era, and that’s why it’s permanently on our party playlist.
IF YA GETTIN DOWN BY FIVE
Wiggy wiggy, we’re gettin jiggy. Like a bolt of lightning striking the dancefloor, If Ya Getting Down by Five is an instant shot of energy and we reckon it’s probably the greatest British boyband anthem of. all. time. No soppy lyrics about giving flowers or holding hands, just loads of laddish machismo and three solid minutes of floor-filling funk.
Borrowing the thumping bassline and soul guitar from Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, and cranking both of them up to eleven, we’d almost go as far as to say If Ya Getting Down blows Indeep’s original out of the water. With clever, cocky rapping and an oh-so-infectious chorus, it really is the perfect noughties party starter. We want it now, baby.
HAPPINESS BY PIZZAMAN
Perhaps one of the most underrated collaborations of all time? Fatboy Slim himself, Norman Cook, and Nightcrawlers’ John Reid, made mid-90s feel-good magic here – and they included pretty much everything but the kitchen sink.
Breakbeats, sixties-style organ, seventies synths, glorious gospel vocals… it all comes together in sweet harmony, and delivers one of the most uplifting party anthems ever. It’s been a Big Weekender staple for years, and we make sure we drop the Club Mix when we really want to see you all with your arms in the air (which is all the time, pretty much). Set, set, free-e-e!
NEEDIN U BY DAVID MORALES
There’s nothing like dropping this one. If you’ve been to a Big Weekender that’s devoted to dance music, you’ll know that the moment Needin U arrives, the room explodes. David Morales's super-infectious piano chords, combined with powerhouse diva vocals, have made it the standout classic from house music’s golden era.
It’s carefree, euphoric, and still brings a shimmer of Ibiza sunshine with every beat. Quarter of a century after its release, it gets our feet – and our hearts – on the dancefloor at Butlin’s like little else. This record is everything clubbing should be, and takes pride of place in our party playlists.
THE SLIGHTEST TOUCH BY FIVE STAR
A bit of a curveball? Possibly, but don’t you dare dismiss it as just an ’80s throwback. We say this is a stone cold, 15-out-of-10 pop masterpiece. The jewel in the crown of Five Star’s smash hit back catalogue, The Slightest Touch showcases Deniece Pearson’s astonishing vocal at its very best, carrying a soaring chorus over a serious synth groove.
Perfect for power-strutting, with shoulder pads definitely not optional, this is one of our very favourite anthems. It’s guaranteed to get all you live wires up on the dancefloor – and that’s why no ‘80s Weekender is complete without it. We just can’t get enough - turn the voltage u-u-up!
RED LIGHT SPELLS DANGER BY BILLY OCEAN
Delirious, urgent, yearning, and yet rapturously upbeat – we’re not ones to exaggerate but Red Light Spells Danger is one of the most extraordinary records ever. This soulful pop paean to the all-consuming power of love and lust never fails to get everyone grooving on a Big Weekender.
Incredibly, Billy Ocean’s beast of a track was never a hit in America, but in the UK it still fills dancefloors from Minehead to Skegness to Bognor Regis and beyond, every single time it’s played. There’s zero chance of coming to a soul or ’70s Weekender without losing your body – and even your mind – to Billy. A classic.
MOVIN' TOO FAST BY ARTFUL DODGER AND ROMINA JOHNSON
Slinky or what? Movin’ Too Fast has got a really special place in the hearts and record collections of every UK Garage lover, and with good reason. With bass-heavy warmth, skittering hi-hats and Romina Johnson’s timelessly smooth and soulful vocal… if you were a keen clubber at the time, it would have been the soundtrack to your best life.
Whether we’re spinning out the classic 2step original or DJ Spoony’s chilled reimagining with megastar Paloma Faith, Movin’ Too Fast delivers pure, hopeful, feelgood turn-of-the-millennium energy – and no list of UKG party starters at Butlin’s could ever be complete without it.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER BY BLACK GRAPE
Time to get a brilliant bit of baggy in the mix, with this insanely fantastic Madchester classic. This raucous singalong belter has something for everyone – wild funk rock energy, swirling sitar, a chorus straight off a football terrace, and indolent swagger in spades. Not to mention Shaun Ryder barking his unmistakably bawdy, rambling poetry over the top.
All that plus legendary freaky dancer Bez, busting moves and breaking tambourines. Whether you’re at Shiiine On, or 90s Reloaded, this riotous masterpiece of grooved up rock disco is one for party monsters everywhere.
ENCORE UNE FOIS BY DJ SASH!
Mesdames et messieurs, would a list of party bangers be complete without some eurodance from DJ SASH!? Mais NON! An unmatched classic of the genre, with its thumping four-to-the-floor beat, melodic trance, stabbing synths and breathless continental refrain, there’s little wonder that it continues to dominate the dancefloor to this day.
For a brief period in early 1997 we could all speak 10 words of perfect French, all thanks to this high-octane megahit. Whether it’s the poppier single version or the harder, trancier album mix, on a dance Weekender you just know we retour to it time and time again.
I AM THE ONE AND ONLY BY CHESNEY HAWKES
A sublimely perfect mix of pop, rock, gouda, camembert… yeah, cheesy it may be, but I Am The One And Only is absolutely committed to ticking all the boxes and becoming an all-encompassing, globe-conquering, timeless anthem. It does it so precisely that it could almost have been created by alchemy, which truly transforms it from naff nugget to a bar of solid gold.
Chesney Hawkes’s towering voice, the screaming guitar solo, colossal drums, and hook after hook. Mix in a bit of bittersweet nostalgia, and it’s probably the most irresistible singalong anthem in the history of popular song. Everyone – and we mean everyone – becomes the one and only when we play out this.