Vengaboys

“We like to party, we like, we like to party, we like to party, we like, we like to party,” the modulating radio sounding voice is repeated as this euro pop outfit take to the stage, urging the audience to clap to the beat that is building in a large crescendo to this up tempo chart topping hit. As the beat drops, the whole room is jumping, glow sticks around every wrist, ultra violet paint upon every face as everybody sings along.
These Dutch, Eurodance giants, The Vengaboys deliver their entire top ten singles catalogue throughout this half an hour set, with every single person dancing throughout, singing their favourite childhood songs from around the year 2000 mark. The nostalgic four-piece had a huge amount of success selling an estimated 25 million records worldwide and were even the best selling dance group of the year in 2001.
“Boom Boom Boom Boom” is definitely a highlight of this set as every single audience member raises his or her fist to the sky for each “Boom”. Without a doubt, every one was partying like it was 1999. The loudest applause award goes to their hit single “We’re Going to Ibiza”, which is a reworking of Typically Tropical’s 1975 number one hit, “Barbados” which closed the set in spectacular fashion, of course by this point, there was a silly amount of ultra violet paint on the face of the entire audience. It was definitely a nostalgic experience for anyone who witnessed the year 2000.

Few acts can lay claim to the title of novelty hit kings with quite as much conviction as Vengaboys can, certainly in terms of the nineties and early noughties; it was during that period that they troubled the business end of the charts on a consistent basis, with the likes of ‘Boom Boom Boom Boom’, ‘We’re Going to Ibiza’ and ‘We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)’ making a serious impression on the British public, leading to the former two hitting the top of the UK charts and that third track making it to a respectable number three. As infectious as the Dutch group’s sense of fun was, though, and as successful as it made them, bringing them a slew of worldwide platinum certifications, it also clearly had a shelf life, which perhaps suggests why it was that they’ve never recaptured that level of success since. After reforming in 2007, though, they continue to record and tour, collaborating with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton in 2010 and routing jaunts through some of their most successful territories, including Australia and New Zealand. They’ll support David Hasselhoff at a huge arena date in Sweden later this year, and further UK dates are likely to be scheduled sooner than later; as a blast of pop nostalgia goes, you could do far worse.

Rotterdam Eurodance outfit the Vengaboys may not be able to boast lyrical ingenious or masterful production values yet they do have a smattering of hits that everybody in the western world will know. You also have to appreciate that with the number of artists and Eurovision contestants who create one infectious summer hit and then fade into obscurity, the Vengaboys have managed to sustain a career that is almost two decades old.

The live show is camp, kitsch and above all incredibly fun. The band never takes themselves too seriously and this vibe is passed on to their crowd as they are urged to lose all inhibitions and dance along to the likes of 'Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom' and 'We're Going to Ibiza'. It does all get a little silly at times and they seem perpetually trapped in the 90s but for an evening you are transported back to the free spirited decade of colour and it is a pretty nice trip with an equally nostalgic soundtrack.