Remixed back into the chart

DJ Tom of Swindon writes about epic hit singles. He also loves a remix. In our latest guest blog, Tom finds 5 glorious remixes of chart hits that are almost better than the real thing:

Diana Ross – I’m Still Waiting (Phil Chill remix)

Classy soul number I’m Still Waiting bagged Diana Ross her first solo UK chart topper in 1971. Fresh from working on Neneh Cherry's debut album Raw Like Sushi, British producer Phil Chill (Phil Legg) remixed I’m Still Waiting for a brand new decade in 1990. He added samples and oh-so-smooth hip hop beats, and before she knew it, Miss Ross was swinging back into the chart.

DNA feat. Suzanne Vega – Tom’s Diner

Suzanne Vega used to sit in her favourite diner, Tom’s Restaurant in Manhattan, watching people come and go, and imagining background stories for them all. She sang the resulting song, Tom’s Diner, a cappella at the start of her 1987 album Solitude Standing, closing the album with an instrumental version. Three years later, UK producers DNA (Nick Batt and Neal Slateford) put Suzanne’s vocals on top of beats bootlegged from the Soul II Soul hit Keep On Movin’. It was a match made in heaven. The DNA remix of Tom’s Diner was so successful, Suzanne then released Tom’s Album, a compilation filled with Tom’s Diner mixes.

U2 – Even Better Than the Real Thing (The Perfecto Mix)

It’s the early 90s, and U2 fans are still reeling from the stadium rock band's experiments with industrial electronica on their latest album Achtung Baby. The guys push it further by handing their latest guitar-heavy hit Even Better Than the Real Thing to superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold. His mighty Perfecto club mix grabs the song and leads it straight into the middle of the dancefloor. While the original single made it to number 12 in the UK chart, the Perfecto Mix rose up to number eight. U2 rewarded Oakenfold by giving him the support slot at their PopMart Tour, securing their crossover credentials.

Blondie – Atomic (Diddy’s 12” mix)

Fronted by the iconic Debbie Harry, new wave punk band Blondie racked up an incredible 14 hit singles. They split in 1982, exhausted and broke. UK house DJ Diddy (Richard Dearlove) remixed their chart topper Atomic in 1994, giving us a mix so epic it led to a tsunami of Blondie remixes. By the end of the century, Blondie had reunited and returned to number one with massive comeback hit Maria.

Donna Summer – I Feel Love (Rollo & Sister Bliss Monster Mix)

It seems almost sacrilegious to remix I Feel Love. Written as the synth sound of the future, Donna Summer’s electro anthem jolted disco back to life in 1977, while its hypnotic extended version left us demanding a remix of every dance track that followed. Only the bravest remixer would take on such an iconic track. Enter Rollo and Sister Bliss, whose dance act Faithless was very ready to burst out of clubland in 1995. Their Monster Mix lifted Donna to even greater heights, as I Feel Love once again showed us the way forward: epic festival-filling EDM. The love was indeed felt.

Tom writes about epic singles from the 80s-00s, and what the pop stars did next, at hit-singles.com