This week we sat down and spoke with ex-Another Level vocalist and producer Dane Bowers.
During an exclusive chat with Zingo Bingo, we discussed the R&B bands comeback, what it was like working with Victoria Beckham on her first post-Spice Girls single.
Hi Dane, tell us what you’re up to at the moment?
I’m currently touring with Another Level in the UK this summer. We’re doing a load of revival festivals and gigs – they’re big shows. We’re one of the main acts at 90’s Fest this weekend at the Don Valley Bowl in Sheffield.
This version of Another Level is built around you and Mark Baron – did the other original members Bobak Kianoush and Wayne Williams not want to be involved?
Mark and I, we get on really well. We sort of said, ‘let's do some shows.’ We do want to make it more of Another Level vibe. Luckily, I've got a couple of friends who are just great in terms of what we wanted to do as a show.
So, there's four of us and we're just enjoying it. Like before, there was some stuff being in Another Level that you don't really like. You know, we get to choose whoever we want now. We're doing shows, and we're having good fun.
How does it feel to be able to perform with Another Level again on your own terms?
Do you know what, I had this exact conversation last night with the guys, and we were talking about how great it is to be back performing as a group on our own terms.
We don't need to do all the stuff we don't want to do. It's just fun. And we've got quite a lot of gigs this summer, which is why I'm here in England for six weeks so we can do them all at once.
It’s great to perform and it works. When we have a booking, I fly in from Dubai, we do the gig, have a nice meal and a bit of a catch-up and then I fly back home.
It’s nice to see the love for Another Level is still there. We put on a good show if I'm honest. The feedback's been good so there'll be lots more shows coming up.
Looking back at Another Level, do you have any regrets about the way things ended?
I’m still kind of gutted that we broke up when we did because we had literally just signed with Clive Davis, the massive American music mogul, who recently just passed.
We had a good chance of breaking America at that point. And you have to remember this was back in the day when R&B wasn’t very big in the UK charts. Another Level were a massive breakthrough really – we were on the top of the trend. I think our success then opened the doors for the likes of Blue, who did amazingly well straight after.
I felt that was a shame (that we broke up when we did). I think we could have gone a lot further with Another Level. I was lucky enough to then carry on doing my own thing. I was still involved with music and presented a few TV shows, which I really enjoyed doing. It was all fun and games while it lasted.
What is your best memory from those Another Level 90s days?
I feel we were lucky because we were able to do SMTV and CD UK and Top of The Pops and all these TV shows that people can't do now.
We would go and tour and do all those shows. From the road shows to Smash Hit tours, and our own gigs. They were great times. They were absolutely amazing times.
We were lucky as well tour with Janet Jackson. That was huge for us. I'm happy with what we did. They're great memories.
What are the chances of a new Another Level album?
I think it's definitely not a never say never thing. New music isn’t at the forefront of what we want to do now. It’s difficult because we’re all based in different parts of the world and have got busy lives outside of Another Level, but like I said, never say never.
What are Another Level’s plans for the future?
One thing we would love to do is get out into the wider world and put on shows internationally. We've been asked to do some stuff in the Philippines because Another Level were quite popular over there, which is great.
We were big in Norway and other parts of Scandinavia; we were big in the Netherlands. So, we're going to look into maybe trying to do some stuff there. It a nice excuse to do some touring, some travelling, have some good food and drink and put on good shows.
Tell us about your single with Vicotria Beckham, ‘Out of Your Mind’. That was Victoria’s first single after the Spice Girls split.
That was a great time as well. Victoria's brilliant, very professional. We were very serious about what we wanted to do with the song, but we had loads of fun as well.
David and the kids would come to the set when we were filming the music video, my family were in and around the scene as well. It was good fun and I was really proud of the song as well.
