After a successful 2016 edition, Divas of Dance returns! In the 90’s soul diva Sonia, Lonnie Gordon and Black Box all produced massive hits worldwide and were prominent throughout South Africa’s club scene.
Now they will heat up our shores taking us on a nostalgia-filled journey of big booming beats, rhythmic guitars and memorable melodies. Hear their chart toppers across 4 cities.
WIN TICKETS!
Win a double ticket to Divas of Dance! To win, answer this silly question: What is the name of the show? Email your answer with ‘Divas of Dance’ in the subject line to jane@weekendspecial.co.za by 31 October – include your name and phone number. Winning tickets can be collected from Computicket box offices in respective regions.
Sonia
Sonia has achieved so much throughout a career spanning over 20 years. She released 15 singles, 11 of which were in the UK top 30, with her debut single You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You which reached No.1 on the UK charts in 1989 being her highest selling single.
Sonia also released 5 albums, with 3 albums reaching UK top 40. Her debut album Everybody Knows sold over 500,000 copies in 1990. In 1993, Sonia represented the UK in Eurovision with her song Better the Devil you know which came in second place, narrowly missing the top spot by one point.
Lonnie Gordon
Lonnie Gordon moved to the Bronx at an early age. In the 1980s, she performed around the Harlem area in clubs as lead singer of Nythjar. She relocated to England and retired from the music scene to take care of her daughter Rikki.
Gordon resumed her career in 1988 singing lead vocals for club-oriented acts such as Offshore, Deja Vu and most notably, House ensemble Quartzlock, releasing singles No Regrets, Love Eviction and You Make Loving Fun.
For her next single, Happenin’ All Over Again, she collaborated with British hit making team Stock Aitken & Waterman. Other hits: How Could He Do This To Me, Beyond Your Wildest Dreams, Gonna Catch You, written and produced by Italo house group Black Box.
Black Box
The first single Ride On Time was a hit, making Top 10 in many countries and No.1 in the UK, soon becoming the UK’s best dance selling record of all time. The song heavily sampled Love Sensation by the late Loleatta Holloway, a 1980 disco hit. Charvoni Woodson has been the lead vocalist since 1995. The album Dreamland was released in May 1990, which broke in the US as well as UK and the rest of the world, and featured six songs sung by Wash, including singles Everybody Everybody, I Don’t Know Anybody Else and Strike It Up. Dreamland earned a gold disc in both the UK and the US and achieved double-platinum status in Canada. In Australia it spent three weeks at #1. Along the way, it also spawned six hit singles, both on the mainstream charts and in the clubs.
The group recorded their second album Positive Vibration, with Woodson. The album spawned four singles: Fall into my Love, Not Anyone, I’ve got the vibration including a cover of Odyssey’s disco hit Native New Yorker which became minor hits in Europe. In America, they are best remembered for Everybody Everybody, I Don’t Know Anybody Else and Strike It Up. Black Box remains one of the few piano-house groups to achieve mainstream success in the USA.
What: Divas of Dance 2017 tour – Marmalade Productions
Where, when:
Sat 4 November 2017 – Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town
Sun 5 November 2017 – Emperors Palace, Johannesburg
Fri 10 November 2017 – Boardwalk, Port Elizabeth
Sat 11 November 2017 – Sibaya Casino, Durban
Ticket prices:
Cape Town R295 – R495 fully seated
Joburg R250 – R495 fully seated
Port Elizabeth: R250 – R495 standing and reserved seated
Durban: R295 – R495 fully seated
Book tickets: www.computicket.com, Shoprite, Checkers, House & Home Stores
WS
