Dance is dead--long live dance. (comment).

If dance is dead, then what is Room 5 doing at number one?

Yes, the track has been rocket-powered to the top of the singles chart by the Lynx ad (ad agency BBH does it again), but its success shows that there is life in the old dog yet. In classic style, the record was picked up by Positiva for a modest five-figure sum and is now set to clean up across Europe. More notably, it is the first house-style track (excluding the likes of So Solid and DJ Sammy) to top the chart since Roger Sanchez's Another Chance in July 2001.

Of course dance isn't dead. What has come crashing to earth with a bump is an over-extended dance industry that had lost touch with its roots. There are some excellent records around (even if few have Top 10 potential) and some healthy boutique labels, not to mention thousands of heaving bars and small clubs all around the country. A reality check can work wonders.

It's not every day you getting talking to the girl on the supermarket checkout, but the one who was swiping my groceries last week happened to be singing along to Sheryl Crow's Anything But Down piped over the tannoy.

She didn't take long to mention that she now had her own copy after finding it on KaZaA. And no, she had no plans to buy a (legal) copy since she could burn it onto a CD at the college she attends part-time.

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