Passions: The life-affirming glee from a new dance track

Such thrilling experiences may not come along that often. But when they do, they can exhilarate, even enthral, and then, back in the old days, make you rush out and buy the record. Nowadays, it’s a case of play on repeat.

For me, it’s most likely to be dance music, old or new, and all the sweeter if it’s a classic that I’ve somehow previously failed to discover.

Songs like Where Love Lives by Alison Limerick, released in 1990, but, unbelievably, reaching my ears for the first time two years ago as part of a ‘90s house party theme on Radio Scotland’s Get It On request show.

In my fan boy enthusiasm, I promptly posted a link to the tune on social media, and to my amazement, the singer herself liked my tweet.

Affirmation for my musical judgment came a few months later when Davina McCall recalled on Radio 2 that seeing that song performed live at famed London nightclub Subterania back in the day had been “one of the greatest moments”.

That took me back to the distant past when I fancied myself as a DJ, repainting my parents’ garage with my brothers and rigging up a makeshift sound system and lights to create a very basic disco - for what turned out to be one night only.

For the music, we’d trawl through the bargain bins of ex-chart seven-inch singles sold in newsagents in those days. I think I’ve still got them under a bed somewhere. Fame by Irene Cara - the big hit of that summer - got the most plays on the night.

Fast forward to university days in Edinburgh and I hired a nightclub for my 22nd birthday, and while wisely leaving the playing of the records to a professional this time, took a box of vinyl for him to spin.

Other memorable discos since have included a Bad Taste clothing ‘70s party, which generated some hilarious costumes, but unreproducible photographs, and a Hats themed one when I left Edinburgh in 2000, chiefly memorable for an attempt at restaging YMCA by The Village People.

Predictable family complaints about so-called dad dancing have long ended my disco career (what happened to diversity?), but I’ll still try a few sly moves around the room when no one’s around. Cavin Harris, anyone?