Signed to A&M Records in the US in the late eighties, Denise Lopez is an artist who is better remembered for her spectacular vocal range than her US chart success, despite an impressive discography which includes two solo albums to proudly boast of. In 1990 her infectious single “Don’t You Wanna Be Mine” peaked at #86 on the Billboard Dance Chart, with the awesome remix from talented production duo Robert Clivilles and (the late) David Cole (better known to most as C&C Music Factory) almost going unnoticed.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, an entire nation was in the grip of an epidemic as the acid house explosion continued to sweep its way across the UK. The trip along the M6 to Shelleys Laserdrome in Stoke-on-Trent had become a regular jaunt for an ever-expanding army of overzealous clubbers in the Midlands and the North, hungry for a weekly fix of an atmosphere so potently unique that it still remains largely unparalleled to this day.

The main attraction at the club was a home-grown talent who would later go on to become one of the world’s most respected and best-loved DJs of the superstar era. Though it never received a full commercial release in the UK, “Don’t You Wanna Be Mine” was fast becoming a huge underground dance anthem, explicitly championed by their man of the moment, whose rare imported promo copy of this particular record never left his box. That DJ, whose word-of-mouth reputation as a first-class entertainer was spreading as quickly as the scene itself, was known simply to most as SASHA.

Back to the present and whilst Shelleys nightclub has long since been knocked down (to be replaced, all too ironically, by a low budget supermarket chain) its legacy lives on forever in the minds of those who worshipped it. Thankfully, the advent of the digital era has made reliving the potent highlights of this era possible; youtube features video clips that capture the very essence of the club’s magnetism and old-skool websites allow early Sasha mixtapes to be exchanged and replayed freely, with rumours abound that they may one day yet be fully re-masterered and commercially released. Message board threads feature tracklistings of all his treasured sets from rave events nationwide, in which “Don’t You Wanna Be Mine” is a constant and permanent fixture; frequently referred to as the best vocal house anthem of all time and lest we forget, one of the most sought after, even to this day.

Watch Denise Lopez – “Don’t You Wanna Be Mine” video:

Having delved deep into the vaults of A&M Records in the US to recover the original master tapes, House-Trained is both proud and excited to finally make this very special gem available in the UK for commercial release. With an explosive modern-day electro-style remix that uses the original vocal to devastating effect, coupled with previously unreleased snippets of acapella that never appeared on the original, this long-lost dancefloor nugget of yesteryear is set to be propelled into the 21st Century to finally become a mainstream floorfiller and a (long overdue) future dance anthem.

“…turn around, make your move, wait for love and you might lose…”

“Don’t You Wanna Be Mine” – the nineties underground classic for the noughties generation – set for release 16th June, 2008.

Denise Lopez on amazon.co.uk

House Trained Records

Denise Lopez Myspace