The Greatest Dancer

On the 7th of March, Filthy Underneath, the fourth album by Nadine Shah from South Tyneside reached number 25 in charts. The third single off the album, The Greatest Dancer was released in January 2024. I heard her interviewed on the radio a few weeks ago and she talked about the inspiration for this particular whimsical, yet anthemic indie hit.

Like many artists over the last few years the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown had a dramatic effect on their careers, moods, and approaches to their chosen art form. It was a time for reflection, introspection and looking at life through a different lens. With outdoor activities limited the television became a source of desperation, salvation, and inspiration.

The Greatest Dancer was inspired by the long running Winter warmer ‘Strictly come Dancing’ which has been on our screens for an incredible twenty years with 366 episodes to date and the appetite for the charm, glamour, and glitz, that this infectious programme provides does not show any sign of diminishing.

Nadine Shah

For such an acclaimed and relevant singer such as Nadine Shah to imply the show features in her work is a glowing testament to its wide appeal. The programme has had to say goodbye to a number of family favourites, none less than Bruce Forsyth and Len Goodman. To add to the poignancy of this song it is also a tribute to the memory of the singer’s mother, whom she had watched the show with over many years, but sadly passed away in August 2020.

Nadine herself went into a spiral of depression during lockdown suffering from PTSD and addiction, eventually she tried to commit suicide in Easter 2022. Recovering for two months in rehab she is once again sharing her life through her music. Living naked through her music.

I hadn’t realised when I started writing this, about a very specific song and singer that so many directions of travel would open up. There is a whole history of lyrics penned by artists after personal tragedy, music about dancing and words exploring the trauma of living through a pandemic.

In the end I decide to stay true to the title, who is the greatest dancer? Now, I’m not going to tell you, each reader will have a different view on this, I am however gong to tease you with a few variations in the extreme. Perhaps you are a purist, ballet, the true and beautiful form of art, the world of Rudolf Nureyev and Anna Pavlova. Or the golden age of cinema starlit by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

If disco fever is more your thang, then the garish delights of Saturdays nights blazing the trails for wannabees John Travolta’s disgracing dancefloors everywhere. The outrageous Madonna pushing the boundaries of decency, unforgettable. The green shades of Irish dreams led us through the river with Michael Flatley, nothing lost in translation.

Or the slick moonwalking excess of Michael Jackson, spawning look-a-likes the world over. Iconic movies Footloose, Fame but most of all Johnny Castle (below) and ‘nobody puts baby in the corner’ copied from then until eternity.

Dirty Dancing

Whichever floats you boat or makes you cringe they all bring memories flooding back. I don’t really know what Nadine Shah was imagining when she wrote this song, but perhaps the looseness and ethereal nature of the music and lines allows anyone of us to interpret it the way we choose, as any good piece of art should, and remember what was special for us about our greatest dancer.

To hold you in my arms is to hide the world away.
All my dreams and desires combined in one special place.
Through starlight and magic realms, we sway effortlessly,
A spectacle to which even the planets take a bow,
Gliding and swooning, hypnotic rhythms beat,
Entwined as one for the briefest moment until,
I too step back in awe, of ‘The Greatest Dancer.’

Thanks for reading, Ian.