The Pop Corporation

For some, UK Garage never went away and, of course, in the underground, there’s been people holding it down for 2 Step, speed garage, or whatever you call it. However, it’s fair to say that we haven’t seen the charts troubled by garage, which is a crying shame – until now!

Zayn Malik – the best one from One Direction – is making a comeback, and the track ‘In The Zone’ is a skippy, UKG shuffler which is very pleasing to hear. Imagine having a dance to this outdoors or in some sweat-filled windowless club – magic!

But it’s not just Zayn – Little Mix alumni Leigh-Anne released her first solo single ‘Don’t Say Love’ which is a bona-fide UKG banger, and of course, for the kids, it’s be that gloriously retro sound that their mums and dads may even vibe along with.

To us old heads, UKG still sounds like the freshest, most forward thinking dance music on the planet, so to have two genuine popstars going for the sound of pirate radio while everyone else has had their heads turned by ’90s house, it’s thrilling stuff.

There’s been classic spins on UKG doing a tour with Spoony, and various package gigs celebrating the bangers that came out a couple of decades ago, but now, with two serious chart champions taking the torch, you could well see a spate of other artists turning their hand at love-letters to UK garage, and no-one with at least one working ear is going to begrudge that.

Even The 1975 have said their music has been influenced by UKG, notably their track ‘Frail State of Mind’. It’s not garage garage, but there’s something of a nod in there that backs up a resurgence of one of the most brilliant genres to come from British shores.

More on the button, Mabel and AJ Tracey gave a midtempo 2 Stepper with ‘West Ten’ a couple of years ago, so the groundswell is there. Basically, if there’s enough new music to mix in with the classics for a DJ to do a UKG run in a set, then all systems are go!

Jorja Smith x Preditah was another big hitter going down the garage route, and there’s enough of an appetite from the taste-makers to influence the mainstream acts, plus interpolations of Sweet Female Attitude’s ‘Flowers’ and Craig David’s presence to see the levee break.

Add to this, Future Garage artists who have been making experimental, forward thinking glitch takes of UKG, and it’s all there.

Now two cool young popstars are it, we’re hoping for a full comeback which honestly, is long overdue. Everyone has a mate who proudly knows all the words to ’21 Seconds’, so it’s time to dust off the velour tracksuit and give into it.

We’re ready.