It was always a great indie disco moment if the DJ made the schoolboy error of putting Live Forever on. An excited rush to the floor would, inevitably, be followed by the pulling of awkward shapes, and a wholesale realisation: “hey, this is a lot slower than I thought. I don’t know how… I can’t quite…”

For some it wouldn’t be their first time in the jaws of Live Forever’s awkward 90bpm. For many it wouldn’t be the last.

Alarm bells, quieter, but alarm bells all the same, go off at the start of Superstition. Stevie Wonder’s spacious drum beat might have you wondering if the song has enough gravitational pull to attract a room full of dancing satellites, but its 100bpm (I’ve done my research, see…) turn out to be more than enough, especially coupled with Wonder’s typically formidable vocal delivery, the funkiest of bass lines, and the sharpest of brass attacks.

Only a fool doesn’t like Superstition, and there are not many who don’t want to dance to it, making it a perfect choice. If you’re looking for something a little surprising, though, you might want to throw in something slightly different…

Beck Bogart & Appice - Superstition

Stevie Wonder originally offered Superstition to Jeff Beck, but Berry Gordy was having none of this generosity, and insisted that Wonder record it first. When Beck did record his version, it was with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice. It’s the same song, but at the same time it’s really not the same song at all, as you can hear as the the trio power through this live version:

Definitely one to consider next time you’re thinking of cueing up Superstition…