Music
'OLD skool never really went away for me, but it made a big comeback this year because of all the remixes and the album 'King Of The Beats', which people like me have been sampling on jungle tracks, and others have used in big beat. It's a landmark album because there's a whole generation of people who know the breaks or whatever, 'cos of our samples, but don't know the originals. "Jason Nevins and Mantronix had a big hand in the revival too, with their remixes of 'It's Like That' and 'King Of The Beats' but, to be honest, I thought the Nevins track was just OK, I never thought it would go monstrous - personally I'd have prefered to have heard a big beat version. "I did think the Beastie Boys updated their sound really successfully though, because I was never a great fan of theirs, but some of the stuff on their new album was really good.

"I didn't expect the Jungle Brothers remix to be so successful. They've even told me I've revived their career, which is flattering. Afrika came up and gave me a big hug when we met in the States, and said, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.' They were getting pretty pissed off, because all hip hop had become really lyrical and downbeat, and the JBs were never about that - so after my remix, they realised there were other things around. Then people looked at some of the other stuff they'd done, and 'I'll House You' came out, which was massive. Unfortunately it went down the Nevins path with that boom, boom, boom rhythm, whereas I'd have preferred the Norman Cook touch. "There's going to be more old skool next year too. Grooverider has done a remix of the Jonzun Crew's electro classic 'Pac Jam', I've done a remix of A Tribe Called Quest's 'Once Again', and there's a remix of Ice Cube's 'We Be Clubbing' coming too. It's great to be able to turn records that you've always loved into new things, but the problem with all this sampling is that you'll get remembered for other people's material. There's more of a sense of achievement writing your own sounds."

Object
Opticians issued health warnings but, hey! - they look great, even if they don't help you see great

News
- Police raid Bonds in Birmingham, home of Miss Moneypenny's, seizing ecstasy, speed and cocaine
- The Barry Legg act becomes law, allowing police to shut clubs with "serious" drug problems
- George Michael is arrested for performing a "lewd sex act" in a public toilet in a Los Angeles park
- Khmer Rouge dictator Pol Pot, held responsible for the deaths of two million Cambodians, dies of a heart attack, aged 73
- Boy George announces plans to re-form Culture Club for a US comeback tour
- Derby's Progress teams up with New Labour to promote the Welfare To Work scheme
- The Government's Panel 2000 committee tries to "rebrand" Britain for the 21st century as 'Cool Britannia'
- Snoop Doggy Dogg, already on parole for illegally possessing a weapon, is busted for marijuana possession at a comedy show in LA
- Drugs Czar Keith Hellawell publishes a white paper on drugs, earmarking money seized from drug traffickers for the education and treatment of drug addicts
- Mixmag becomes the first music magazine to go on air, with the Big Tunes show on Kiss 100FM
- Meanwhile, Kiss goes national with a Friday night dance show broadcast across the independent radio network
- Paul Godfrey of trip hoppers Morcheeba runs into trouble in the States when he jokingly tells a Rolling Stone magazine reporter he's a heroin addict
- Sonique releases her first single, 'Spell On You'

Fight
What's the beef? Deep Dish were unimpressed by Tall Paul's Camisra tune, which borrowed heavily from their remix of Sandy B's 'Make The World Go Round'. "It was a blatant rip-off," said Deep Dish man Sharam. "I know," said Tall Paul, before going off to count the royalties he shared with the band Winner? Tall Paul

Year Review: 5/1998