In my last post, I argued for garage as the sound of the new millennium. And it’s a compelling argument. But it wilts in the face of competition from the true, the one, the only sound of the year 2000… Random dance.
Toca’s Miracle, by Fragma (their 1st and only #1)
2 weeks, from 16th – 30th April 2000
Why is it so hard for dance acts to have longevity? Is it because their tracks are often based on samples, and have often been through multiple remixes, before they eventually make it big, making it hard to recapture whatever made it a hit in the first place when recording the follow-up? Or is it because it’s difficult for some faceless bloke behind a mixing desk to build up much of a fanbase?
Another question: who, or what, is a Toca? While my queries about dance music might need a more expert opinion, I can answer this second one. In Spanish, ‘Tocar’ means to touch. (It can also mean ‘a hole dug by a mouse’ in Portuguese, but I’m assuming that wasn’t the inspiration for this hit.) A British DJ by the name of DJ Vimto (juicy!) mashed 1998 hit ‘Toca Me’ (#11 in the UK) by German trance trio Fragma, with British singer Coco Star’s 1997 #39 hit ‘I Need a Miracle’. The illegally recorded results were picked up by DJs, and played in clubs to an enthusiastic reception. Luckily for Mr Vimto, Fragma and Coco Star liked what they heard, and were on board for a more legitimate recording.
I can pinpoint the exact moment that made ‘Toca’s Miracle’ such a big hit. The line in the chorus – It’s more than physical what I need to feel from you… They’re the usual semi-nonsense dance lyrics, but something in Star’s floaty melisma grabs the ear. It’s a hook that’s remained with us for the past twenty-five years, instantly identifiable even if I have very little love for the actual song. The rest of the record is fairly predictable, though admittedly I’m no connoisseur of ambient trance. It is a very well regarded track, however, and is seen as a game changer for Eurodance, setting the tone for the rest of the 2000s, through acts like Cascada, and Ultrabeat, and Basshunter.
The other thing I remember about this is the video, in which Coco Star plays in a game of women’s futsal. The scenes set in the changing rooms were very popular with the boys at school, though looking back it’s all quite PG, proof more of the untamed horniness of fourteen-year-old boys than of the video’s raunchiness. Interestingly, the only video now available on YouTube is of a 2008 remix, which might have something to do with Coco Star taking Fragma to court claiming that she had never received any royalties. The track was removed from streaming services too, until 2022 when the court case was thrown out.
Fragma managed a couple more Top 10 hits before disappearing from the charts. Coco Star has managed no hits other than this, and the song it samples. My question about dance acts not having longevity remains hanging… Perhaps the most interesting thing about this entire saga however is the fact that Coco’s ‘I Need a Miracle’ was written by Rob Davis, lead guitarist of glam rock legends Mud. Not a chart-topping connection many would have predicted, right? Amazingly, Davis will be go on to be involved in two further ginormous chart-toppers during the early years of the 21st century…
As mentioned, the video is not on YouTube due to copyright reasons. Even the video below may not be the actual chart-topping 2000 mix.
This is the original video, with a 2008 remix playing over it… (can only be watched on YouTube).
The UK Number Ones Blog 
It’s a good mash-up, I still enjoy it, and by the time this hit the charts I had already forgotten the original versions. I often have mash-up ideas in my head – if only I had the equipment and skills to make them real 🙂 Rob Davis, yes it seems like an incongruous move from Glam to 21st century dance – as everyone but me has forgotten their 1976 disco hit Shake It Down, which is cool and builds to a low-key la la la la etc and guitar riff climax which I always found euphoric played loud. I like to think this track was Rob starting to play around with dance music, and it was very much a cut above their other self-written ballad and pop tracks of late 75-77 (Rob co-wrote with fellow bandmate Ray)
I’ve just listened to Shake It Down. It’s cool, and very not-Mud – you’d think it was by KC and the Sunshine Band. It’s still a very leftfield career renaissance for Davis to become a huge dance music success 20+ years on from Mud’s heyday, with what seems like quite a few years in the wilderness in between. Fair play to him!
Now you mention KC, yes it does have that vibe, and I was very pleased that Rob had that move into dancepop in the 90’s, Mud were a teen fave band of mine, Glam Fun.
I didn’t know this one – I stopped listening to the radio much in the late 1990s – but it’s one of the best number ones from the era I think.