Legendary Irish DJ Mark McCabe has opened up about his smash hit Maniac 2000, revealing that he used to be embarrassed by the song despite its success.
You'd be hard pressed to attend an Irish nightclub or wedding where the song isn't played - can I get an oggy oggy oggy?
However, Mark opened up about how he never really liked the song, even though its arguably one of the most popular sings in Ireland.
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The DJ explained that he first started performing the track at gigs that funded the pirate radio station he worked at.
“I was performing Maniac at these gigs, we recorded one of them and we started playing it on the radio and people started ringing asking for it,” he told the Phone Truths with Carl Mullan podcast.
“It’s just this cultural phenomenon that people lose their minds to. All the way along it hasn’t really been available, it’s been on YouTube, it’s not on Spotify. It’s always been kept as this underground thing that people refer to as the unofficial national anthem. Which is just crazy," he added.
“People have had great times with that track. It fits with our psyche as Irish people, not taking ourselves too seriously, having a bit of a laugh."
However, Mark wasn't necessarily proud of the song at first. “I used to be really embarrassed about it,” he admits. However, after performing the song at Electric Picnic back in 2015, he realised how loved Maniac 2000 had become and he "stopped being ashamed of it", adding that he adores performing it now.
He also reveals he received a call from "a label putting down an offer for £150,000" but he never signed a deal, despite the success of the song which also has a massive following in the north of England and in Glasgow.
"The UK got wind of it and there was offers coming in - but I didn’t take any of them, it never went… it all kind of fell apart from there,” Mark tells Carl.
Mark also revealed his plans for a huge St Patrick’s Weekend in Dublin’s 3Arena on 16 March, to mark the 25th anniversary of Maniac 2000. The DJ will be joined by the likes of Alice Deejay and B*Witched for Maniac:25, which will involve dancing, laughs and good tunes all round!
- Listen to Phone Truths with Carl Mullan on Spotify, Apple, YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts every Tuesday
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