Much Agadoo About Nothing

Well it's the ultimate party record, isn't it? Forget the Beastie Boys - any self-respecting house party in the 1980s, just wasn't a house party without this record hitting the decks.

The first time I heard it, I was four, going wild at a debauched fifth birthday party in the heart of the English Midlands. Of course not a lot of it made sense to me then. How could this song be called Superman and not sound anything like the Superman theme from the movie? What was with the black cover on the 12"? And why did combing your hair make you Superman?

Fast forward a quarter of a century, to an '80s-themed house party in South London. Top Gun characters, BA, mulleted rockers - they were all represented. Think of all the great tunes from that decade...erm...the tune that really got people dancing was Superman. (Although there were one or two fans of a certain track called Billie Jean). The record brought everyone to their feet.How we rejoiced in pretending to comb our hair to music and forgetting what any of the other actions were, except for being SUPERMAN! And how I revelled in being able to tell everyone it was recorded by Black Lace, who also did the Birdie Song - another bastion of modern pop music - right before Nigel from accounts was able to utter his encyclopaedic musical knowledge.

Of course it is still nonsensical. What is the black cover all about? A Smell The Glove concept for the cheese-and-pineapple-on-a-stick generation? And combing your hair in time with the music is incredibly naff, particularly as half of us are starting to lose it, and it certainly doesn't make you Superman. But what a tune!