Ain’t no party like a parking lot party…

Reach for the stars. Climb every mountain higher. This was the guiding philosophy of chart poets, S Club 7. Sage words first uttered in the year 2000, and ones that have stayed with me ever since, despite what my Apple Fitness tracker will tell you.

The unabridged collective works of S Club 7 will be familiar to many of those who came of age in the 90s and 00s, so too will its seven members. A gang of crop-topped pop evangelists that included Bradley McIntosh.

After a successful stint in the original S Club 7 collective, Bradley spearheaded S-plinter group S Club Allstars, as well as creating and producing his own solo material.

Skool ties

And now, in 2023 almost a quarter of a century later (ouch) we have confirmation that he will be headlining a MySpace-flavoured, pedal pusher-sprinkled, can I borrow your Motorola Razr, I need to text my mum? Nostalgia fest that is – Back 2 Skool, taking place at the P7Arena on Friday, August 25.

Here you’ll be able to listen to Bradley, alongside Brit R&B icon and era-contemporary Dane ‘wanna get freaky with you’ Bowers (Another Level); superstar DJ, Danny T and locally based selecta-in-chiefs Joe Lang, Andy Swift and Darryl Rees, who’ll be heading to the party with a virtual record bag filled to the brim with the most fragrant musical fromage.

All of this, and next to zero chance of you accidentally downloading a virus from LimeWire that wrecks your family computer, like the first time you listened to these bubblegum bangers.

Old skool

Tickets for Back 2 Skool are just Dhs100 and it’s being brought to you by BeMoreThan Events, local entertainment legends that are also responsible for the Dubai renaissance of Garage Nation and some monster raving party brunches.

The P7Arena is located in the Media One hotel parking complex, a description that undersells the venue somewhat to be perfectly honest, and who doesn’t fancy the idea of a retro rave in an urban cave?

Three other things worth noting are that teachers get 20 per cent off, themed beverages are available from Dhs30 and there’s a free drink for anyone that comes dressed in a school uniform. We fully endorse this support of teachers, and can only hope that in some small way, it goes to repaying the debt caused by the teachers we tormented in the 90s and 00s.

P7Arena, Media One, Media City, Fri Aug 25, Dhs100. @bemorethanevents

Images: Instagram