Catalogue Number:CSRT010
Since this is an unofficial fansite and I don’t have access to sales figures for these releases, I can’t provide accurate numbers regarding how many units these tracks were shifting. But I think it’s safe to say this was a pretty monster hit at least throughout Scotland and the north of England. Had this come out on a major label, been marketed heavily and had widespread distribution (eg on the shelves of every Woolworths and Menzies), a bit of help from radio and with the majority of the sales concentrated in the week of release, I think you’d have been looking at a screamer of a Top 10 smash.
As it turned out, this didn’t enjoy quite the crossover success it should have. But it’s an absolute anthem that was played heavily for many months at all sorts of clubs, catering to many different audiences, all over the place. It just never failed to light up a dance floor and make people feel good.
There’s no denying it’s at the commercial end of what Clubscene was putting out at the time. A 1995 edition of the Clubscene fanzine referred to Dymension as ‘Scotland’s happy anthems band’ which is a nice strapline but doesn’t quite do justice to the full scale of what founding member Dave Livingston was capable of. Some of their tracks are considerably harder and darker and the ‘Trance Mix’ included on the original Clubscene 12″ has some really interesting rave sounds of the time.
This is euphoric, with outstanding world class vocals, some wonderful housey piano chords and brilliantly put together lifts and breaks. The full 7 minute version takes the listener on an incredible journey, as good as anything out at the time. There’s no reason why mainstream radio couldn’t have been playing the 7″ version through day-time.
I have to mention the lyrics. ‘Are there any real men in the house?’, and ‘I’ll love you, I’ll sex you, I’ll do anything that you want me to do’. Talk about cutting through and making an impact. And the refrain ‘Are you man enough, are you brave enough, to take me on?’. Absolutely irresistible, highly memorable and for me, among the best lyrics from any dance track I’ve heard.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict the story isn’t over yet for this track. Sure, it’s had reissues and remixes but I think that huge, crossover will still happen. We’ve seen Sonz Of A Loop Da Loop Era ‘Far Out’ used in a TV commercial for Suzuki – I think ‘Don’t Stop’ by Dymension will eventually enjoy similar treatment and deservedly so.