Debbie Gibson and how Europe & the United States danced a bit differently in the late eighties

The Twelve Inch 106 : "Electric Youth" (Debbie Gibson)

Up until the late 80’s the taste in dance music was similar in the US and Europe. But at the end of the decade there were more difference than similarities. Hip-hop and rap music were rapidly gaining popularity in the US in the late 1980s, becoming mainstream and influencing various aspects of American culture. Freestyle was big in the urban areas like New York and Miami. There was a fusion of Hip-Hop, R&B (Funk) & Dance-pop we call “New Jack Swing” and most pop artists were still releasing Club versions of their hits. Not so in Europe. We were listening to Italo, the emerging Eurodance and off course “New Beat”, made in Belgium 😁 (We’ll surely return to that one in one of the coming episodes). The only genre that was popular both sides of the Atlantic was “House”. With the only difference that we, on the European side, had an extra variation with “Acid House”.

Each genre/market needed its own mixes. So this is the period that 12 inches had usually more than 1 mix + dub. Especially t…