You Should Be Dancing - Living for the Weekend
Stuart looks at our desire to welcome in the weekend.
You Should Be Dancing is the simple, self-explanatory call to action that sums up generation after generation of British kids post-World War II. Although the Bee Gees' song is from the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, a movie that's set in Brooklyn, the theme is universal; the desire, the need to escape from a demeaning and demoralising job through hedonism and pleasure come the weekend. In fact the film's original title was Tribal Rites On A Saturday Night, which was more unwieldy but nails the essence of the film. Napoleon might have thought we were a nation of shopkeepers, but for many Brits we're a nation of weekend warriors: hearty hedonists who work hard but party harder come five o'clock on a Friday night. Whether it's Bognor or Bradford, Belfast or Brechin, at the weekend there are thousands of venues and millions of people ecstatically enjoying their 48 hours of freedom.
Saturday Night Fever is one of the best-selling albums of all time, an unstoppable juggernaut which has sold something like 25 million copies, and which epitomised the urban nightlife of the late 1970s; all flowing locks and flared suits, medallions and mirror balls. Friday night and the weekend had also been portrayed in other films like Human Traffic, which brilliantly evokes the British rave scene of the late Nineties.
Last on
Clips
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Steve & Paul - You have to have the vinyl!
Duration: 00:16
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Jacki - The Village Disco
Duration: 00:27
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Justin - Frank's floor-emptier!
Duration: 00:31
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Ian - Abba & '70s disco
Duration: 00:32
Music Played
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Bee Gees
You Should Be Dancing
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Glenn Miller
In The Mood
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Sam Cooke
Twistin' The Night Away
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The Impressions
You've Been Cheatin'
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Frank Wilson
Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)
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Just Brothers
Sliced Tomatoes
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George McCrae
Rock Your Baby
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Bee Gees
You Should Be Dancing
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Bee Gees
Night Fever
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Donna Summer
I Feel Love
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Chic
Le Freak
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The Drifters
Save The Last Dance For Me
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Siouxsie and the Banshees
Peek-A-Boo
Share your comments and stories
Your contributions will play a key part in this episode, take a look at the questions below and :
- Do you remember waiting all week for a big weekend... and what did you do?
- Have you ever worked at a job you hated just to pay for your fun at the weekend?
- What was your favourite club to go dancing and why?
- What was the most important ritual you went through before heading out for a night out?
Read about
Broadcasts
- Wed 23 Oct 2013 22:00成人快手 Radio 2
- Wed 8 Feb 2017 23:00成人快手 Radio 2
Song Profiles
Read the stories behind featured songs, listen to & watch related clips & cover versions!