"Dreamer" is a song written and recorded by
Janice Robinson and was produced by brothers Paolo and Gianni Visnadi for the Italian house group
Livin' Joy
Livin' Joy are an Italian Eurodance group who released various successful hits during the mid-1990s, including " Dreamer", " Don't Stop Movin'" and "Follow the Rules". The group consists of singer Tameko Star, and Italian brothers Paolo and Gia ...
. Originally released in August 1994, it was re-released in 1995 and topped the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
at the number one spot that May, ending 1995 as the UK's 40th-biggest-selling single of 1995. In the United States, it went to number-one on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot Dance Club Play chart. It was a sleeper hit on pop radio, but finally managed to peak at number 72 on the ''Billboard''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
and number 75 on the
''Cash Box'' Top 100.
MTV Dance
Club MTV, formerly MTV Dance, is a European pay television music channel from Paramount Networks EMEAA that was separated from the UK channel on 27 May 2014. It broadcasts electronica, dance and r'n'b music programming. The channel is widely ava ...
ranked "Dreamer" number 15 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems of All Time" in November 2011.
MTV Dance
Club MTV, formerly MTV Dance, is a European pay television music channel from Paramount Networks EMEAA that was separated from the UK channel on 27 May 2014. It broadcasts electronica, dance and r'n'b music programming. The channel is widely ava ...
. 27 December 2011.
When the group was unable to reach a deal with Robinson for a follow-up single she was replaced by American singer Tameko Star. Star recorded a version of "Dreamer" for the Livin' Joy album entitled ''
Don't Stop Movin''', but the original by Janice Robinson was a hidden track on the album. In 2005, Robinson released her own version of "Dreamer" as a solo artist, reaching number five in the US Dance chart. In 2018, Robinson auditioned for the
fifteenth series of ''
The X Factor'', singing "Dreamer" as her performance song 24 years after its original release in 1994.
Style
An example of
Italo house and
Eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
, the song is said to blend elements from different electronic genres. Tom Ewing of
Freaky Trigger
''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2000 ...
explained, "The bumping, cut-up rhythms and vocals that begin the remixed 'Dreamer'
hat was a hitfeel like
garage, for example, but as Janice Robinson takes the song into its urgently blissful chorus I want to call it
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
– or even go more specific and say
handbag house
Diva house or handbag house is an anthemic subgenre of house music that became most popular in gay clubs during the second half of the 1990s. ''The Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture'' defines handbag house as having "prominent female ...
, that showy, uplifting offshoot that strutted across superclub dancefloors in the mid-90s."
Chart performance
The song was first released in the United Kingdom on 22 August 1994, going straight in at number 18 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
It had a slow and steady decline down the charts shortly after, slipping from its number 18 debut down to 67, exiting the top 100 the following week. On 22 October 1994, it returned to the UK chart after a few weeks out of the top 100, coming straight back in at number 85 before sliding to number 97 and then exiting the top 100 once more. The record again re-entered the UK top 100 in November 1994, at number 99. The following week, it climbed to number 85 before descending one final time to number 97 before it bowed out. However, on 7 May 1995, "Dreamer" returned to the chart, going all the way to number-one on the UK Singles Chart.
It also reached the top position on the ''RM''
Club Chart by British magazine ''
Music Week
''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.
History
Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
''.
In Europe, the single was a top-10 hit in Finland (10) and Ireland (7) as well as on the
Eurochart Hot 100
The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...
, where it reached number six in May 1995. It entered the top 30 in the Netherlands (23) and the top 90 in Germany (87). Outside Europe, the single peaked at number one on the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot Dance Club Play chart, number three on the ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
''
Dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
chart in Canada, number 28 in Israel, and number 90 in Australia. In the US, "Dreamer" peaked at number 72 on the ''Billboard''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
, number 75 on the
''Cash Box'' Top 100, number 38 on the ''Billboard''
Rhythmic Top 40, and number 10 on the ''Billboard''
Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart. In mid-1996, "Dreamer" re-entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching number 95.
Critical reception
Scottish ''
Aberdeen Press and Journal'' complimented "Dreamer" as a "unforgettable summer stunner".
Larry Flick
Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...
from ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' remarked that here, Livin' Joy "weaves an irresistible fabric of vibrant
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
rhythms, blippy electro synth sounds, and fluttering diva vocal loops. Single's stateside run is aided by fresh remixes from
Junior Vasquez, who is also on quite a roll these days." He added, "The real beauty of this record is
Janice Robinson's divine, lung-bursting vocal." In 1996, Dave Sholin from the ''
Gavin Report
The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...
'' said that though they enjoyed plenty of exposure on the Euro club scene, this track didn't quite get the support needed from American radio. "That was then, this is now. Early indications are that the second run for this high-energy entry will be a lot healthier." Howard Cohen from ''
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper bran ...
'' complimented its "strong melody with punchy keyboards."
Andy Beevers from ''
Music Week
''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.
History
Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
'' gave "Dreamer" four out of five, stating that "this happy house tune from Italy is bound to be a big club hit and its catchy female vocal should help it to cross over." Also on the 1995 re-release, the magazine rated it four out of five, praising it as "the club anthem that gets everyone dancing round their handbags."
James Hamilton from the ''
RM'' Dance Update declared it as an "maddeningly jaunty Italo pop bounder". Stephen Meade from ''The Network Forty'' noted that interest in the project had taken off quicker than the availability of the record. "True dance music for crossover radio is no easy trick; Livin' Joy has a story being told in the clubs. It's time for radio to embrace another hit record." Toni Birghental from ''
Sun-Sentinel
The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...
'' felt "Dreamer" "has great lyrics, but there's almost a sadness to them: "''I never learned how to hold love and stay strong to me/Now I close my eyes now and I'm dreaming right where I belong''"."
Retrospective response
In an 2013 retrospective review, Tom Ewing of ''
Freaky Trigger
''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2000 ...
'' rated the song nine out of ten, saying it is "not just about joy – the song’s
chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
is a concentrated blurt of fierce hope, a fantasy of togetherness so intense but so impossible that Robinson takes it in double-time, like she’s trying to grab a moment – or a dream – before it vanishes. The song slinks and builds up to that point, its loping bass and keyboard figures giving Robinson space to stretch out a bit and approach lines like ''Love, life and laughter is all I believe'' with the lived-in relish they deserve."
He explained that it "captures the thing house, and
handbag house
Diva house or handbag house is an anthemic subgenre of house music that became most popular in gay clubs during the second half of the 1990s. ''The Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture'' defines handbag house as having "prominent female ...
, do better than almost anything: condense all the hopes, fears, desperation, and fantasies that a dancefloor magics into being, leaving an intense hit of pop that stays in your mind long after the night ends."
In 2015, John Hamilton from ''
Idolator'' called it the "giddy little sister" of
Robin S
Robin Stone (born April 27, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, who scored success in the 1990s with such house music singles as "Show Me Love (Robin S. song), Show Me Love" (which was her debut single) and "Luv 4 Luv". She has had th ...
' 1993 floor filler “
Show Me Love", describing it as "ebullient". He added that "the jumbo-sized synth bloops and hyper, screeching organ" and "the rip-roaring chorus of “Dreamer” was guaranteed to stick in heads and make fools of amateur lip-syncers."
Music video
There are three versions of the
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "Dreamer". The first video, for the 1994 version, was directed by Tom Laurie and had split-screen footage of sped up urban cityscapes with a silhouetted female dancer (unclear if this is
Janice Robinson). For its 1995 re-release, a new video was made, in which Robinson is performing the song with some scenes on a carousel horse and other scenes on a brass bed and silver foiled background. She also has various changes of wigs and costumes throughout the video. Several shots go from colour to black and white, also intercut separately are dancers/models acting out seductive poses with one model taking a shower fully clothed and other shots with a model holding and stroking a Chihuahua dog. The third version is from the same 1995 re-release video shoot with the 7-inch edit version with alternative edited scenes.
Impact and legacy
In 1995, American DJ
George Morel
George Morel (born 20 September 1967 in New York) is a DJ and record producer. He is considered "one of the central figures in the early-'90s New York garage/house scene". named "Dreamer" one of his "classic cuts", saying, "This is like
Robin S
Robin Stone (born April 27, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, who scored success in the 1990s with such house music singles as "Show Me Love (Robin S. song), Show Me Love" (which was her debut single) and "Luv 4 Luv". She has had th ...
but even more pumped up. It's better produced and the vocalist
Janice Robinson is amazing." In 2011,
MTV Dance
Club MTV, formerly MTV Dance, is a European pay television music channel from Paramount Networks EMEAA that was separated from the UK channel on 27 May 2014. It broadcasts electronica, dance and r'n'b music programming. The channel is widely ava ...
ranked the song number 15 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems of All Time".
In 2015, ''
Idolator'' ranked it number 17 in their list of "The 50 Best Pop Singles of 1995". In 2017, ''
BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
'' ranked it number 74 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s", writing, "Female vocals set to a house beat = everything you could want from an early-'90s dance song."
Track listings
* 1994 UK CD single
# "Dreamer" (Radio Mix) 3:40
# "Dreamer" (2" Deep Pan Mix) 5:36
# "Dreamer" (Original Mix) 5:39
# "Dreamer" (Slo Moshun Mix) 10:48
# "Dreamer" (Luvdup Mix) 5:08
# "Dreamer" (Swing 52 Dub) 7:51
* 1994 US CD single
# "Dreamer" (Original Club Mix) 5:39
# "Dreamer" (Slo Moshun Mix) 10:37
# "Dreamer" (Junior's Sound Factory Mix) 9:47
# "Dreamer" (Factory Dub) 7:05
# "Dreamer" (Junior Vasquez Sound Factory Instrumental) 9:44
# "Dreamer" (Radio Mix) 3:38
* 1995 UK re-release CD
# "Dreamer" (7-inch Mix) 3:44
# "Dreamer" (Original Club Mix) 5:39
# "Dreamer" (Rollo Armstrong Big Mix) 8:36
# "Dreamer" (Loveland's Viva Tenerife Mix) 6:53
# "Dreamer" (Junior Vasquez Sound Factory Mix) 8:56
# "Dreamer" (Jupiter 12-inch Collision Mix) 6:01
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Alex Party vs. Livin' Joy
Gianni Visnadi (one of the two producers behind Livin' Joy) was no stranger to the UK chart at this point. He and his brother Paolo had already released a previous dance track under the Alex Party banner. "
Read My Lips/Saturday Night Party" was released on 18 December 1993 where it entered at number 49. It remained in the top 100 for 6 weeks before it was re-released yet again on 28 May 1994. This time he had a little more success as "
Read My Lips
Read My Lips may refer to:
Film and television
* "Read My Lips" (''Batman: The Animated Series''), a television episode, 1993
* ''Read My Lips'' (film) or ''Sur mes lèvres'', a 2001 French film by Jacques Audiard
Music Albums
* ''Read My Lips'' ...
" peaked at number 29. It spent 5 weeks in the top 100.
After seeing the moderate success of "Dreamer" and "Read My Lips", both Paolo and Gianni then decided to focus on
Alex Party
Alex Party was an Italian electronic dance group. The band consisted of the Italian brothers Paolo and Gianni Visnadi (also of Livin' Joy), DJ Alex Natale, and vocalist, singer and songwriter Shanie' Campbell.
Their most famous single to date i ...
once again to record "
Don't Give Me Your Life
"Don't Give Me Your Life" is a song by Italian dance music group Alex Party. It is produced by Italian producer brothers Paolo and Gianni Visnadi with DJ Alex Natale, and was released in February 1995 by UMM and Systematic as the first single f ...
" which peaked at number 2 in the United Kingdom where it spent 8 weeks in the top 10 and a total of 14 weeks in the top 100. After the major success of "Don't Give Me Your Life", the signature Visnadi sounds of thumping beats, commanding vocals and the organ sounds and synths had cemented themselves as the popular sound in dance music. Visnadi decided to revive "Dreamer" under the Livin' Joy banner. It received an updated remix but stayed true to its original form. This was the single that finally took the Visnadi brothers to number one,
beating the out-going number one by
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
by a narrow margin of just 500 sales.
"
Wrap Me Up" entered the chart on 18 November 1995 and peaked at number 17, spending just six weeks in the top 100. As a last stab at success under the Alex Party banner, Visnadi remixed and re-released "Read My Lips". This did not match the success of "Don't Give Me Your Life", crashing into the top 40 at number 28 where it dropped out of the UK top 100 in just two weeks. Alex Party was then scrapped and their focus was back on Livin' Joy with
Tameko Star taking over as lead singer from
Janice Robinson.
Janice Robinson solo version
Track listings
* 2005 CD, maxi-single
# "Dreamer" (ReMixed) (Jack D. Elliot Rebirth club mix) – 6:27
# "Dreamer" (ReMixed) (Xenon's mix) – 7:00
# "Dreamer" (ReMixed) (Jamie J Sanchez club mix) – 7:37
# "Dreamer" (ReMixed) (Livewater Futuristic club vocal) – 8:56
# "Dreamer" (ReMixed) (Twisted Dee club mix) – 8:21
* 2006 5× File, MP3
# "Dreamer" (ReMixed) (Joe Bermudez & Klubjumpers Nocternal Emissions club mix) – 8:46
# "Dreamer" (ReMixed) (Nic Mercy's Epic Anthem) – 9:30
# "Dreamer" (ReMixed) (John Farruggio's club mix) – 9:27
# "Dreamer" (ReMixed) (Radboy's Rockin' mix) – 7:44
# "Dreamer" (ReMixed) (Dancin' Divaz club mix) – 7:34
*2022 1x file, MP3
# "Dreamer" - LODATO and Janice Robinson - Dreamer (New Version)
Matt Helders version
A
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of the song by
Arctic Monkeys drummer
Matt Helders
Matthew Helders (born 7 May 1986) is an English drummer, vocalist and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member of the indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums.
In 2015, Helders collaborated with Ig ...
was released on his
Late Night Tales compilation in 2008. This version features vocals from Nesreen Shah. It was also released as a 7-inch vinyl single limited to 1000 copies. Arctic Monkeys lead singer
Alex Turner's spoken word story "''A Choice Of Three''" appears as a b-side.
See also
*
List of number-one dance singles of 1994 (U.S.)
These are the '' Billboard'' Hot Dance/Disco Club Play and Maxi-Singles Sales number-one hits of 1994.
See also
*1994 in music
*List of number-one dance hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
Ref ...
References
{{Authority control
1994 songs
1994 debut singles
1995 singles
Livin' Joy songs
MCA Records singles
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Music Week number-one dance singles
Songs written by Janice Robinson