I heard the sad news a few weeks ago that singer and DJ Sonique is suffering from breast cancer and recently underwent emergency surgery. Sonique’s real names is Sonia Clarke, she’s most well known for ‘I Put A Spell On You’ and ‘It Feels So Good’ for which she won a Brit and Ivor Novello award-winner. She was resident DJ at the Manumission nightclub in Ibiza from 1997 to 1999.
I first saw Sonique DJ in 1996 at the original Gatecrasher club in an old cinema on the outskirts of Sheffield near the Don Valley. What sticks out is the energy she created, it wasn’t just the difference a woman DJ makes but the way she was had a head mic on and sang vocals over the songs. I had never seen that done before and it was truly incredible.
I just wanted to wish her well and to remind people how good her cover of ‘I Put A Spell On You’ actually was. I say cover because it was originally written in 1957 by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and is in the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It has been covered by numerous others, most notably to me Nina Simone. But, here is my favourite version of the song – get well Sonique.
