Graham Clark, Music Correspondent
In Conversation - D:Ream
D:Ream’s Things Can Only Get Better was one of the biggest hits of the ‘90s, the dance anthem becoming a cultural phenomenon after spending four weeks at #1 and then earning a BRIT Award nomination for best single.Their success continued, with two further Top 10 hits and multiple others reaching the Top 40 as their first two albums both peaked at #5. But that wasn’t the end of the story after their 2025 album, Do It Anyway proved that the duo’s songcraft and inspiration are as strong as ever.
Now the duo – Peter Cunnah and Al Mackenzie – continue to relish being back in the spotlight and delivering euphoric moments for fans as they announce details of a Leeds headline show.
The duo have enjoyed some big live moments in recent years, such as reuniting with their old bandmate Professor Brian Cox at Glastonbury and playing the Hardwick and Deva Festivals this summer.
Ahead of the tour, Peter chatted about the band’s career to date and their future plans.
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We have a new album, Do It Anyway, out at the moment. We're having a relaxing December, then gearing up to promote it with a few live shows and festival appearances next year.
What does the band sound like in 2025?
We've always felt we have our own sound. Never something that can be slotted into a particular genre. We're still like that. Maybe a bit more grown up, though! Bits of soul, disco, electronic, pop, indie or whatever takes our fancy. A smorgasbord of delightful musical sounds, if you will.
Everyone associates D:Ream with Things Can Only Get Better, but you have also had many other hits.
We did, but that is the way of things. We had eight top-40 singles. UR The Best Thing was a much bigger club hit than things, and Unforgiven is a big favourite with us and the fans. Shoot Me With Your Love was top 10 too and was 'appropriated', let us say, by a certain ex-TT star for one of his big hits.
The song is also associated with the 1997 general election. Whose idea was it to include it as a theme song?
That was a managerial thing between the Labour Party and our manager at the time. He had links. Ultimately, it was a good thing at the time; it doesn't seem so good now!!
Not many people know this, but Professor Brian Cox was in the group at one point.
He was our driver initially but was useless. We decided he was better suited to playing the keys, as he'd been doing that in a previous band, Dare. Turned out he was even better at talking about the cosmos.
D:Ream seemed to appear at the right time in the nineties when dance music was in fashion. Pete Tong was an early supporter too. Who do you think your audience is now?
Dance music is always in fashion, just in different forms. We were just part of that particular scene. We have a load of fans from back then. We also ended up touring with Take That and have quite a few from that time. We are finding new people who are vibing with our last few albums too. However, it tends to be a 30+ crowd. We'd love to get some of the younger folks into us, but we might be pushing it there. You never know, though.
Do you prefer the festival shows, the Butlins Weekenders— or the standalone shows the most? I suspect all are quite different.
You are correct. Every show is different, and all have their plusses. We've done some amazing Butlins' shows; they depend on the time of year and what night you do. Festivals rely on the weather, generally, although we've done some belters in the rain! A standalone show allows us to play for longer, though, and really connect with our own audience/fans, so it really has to be the best.
The music industry is completely different from thirty years ago. Would you like to be a new band starting out now?
It is much trickier for new bands, as there just isn't (seemingly) the money in the industry anymore. I do think that kids who understand social media, etc., will be able to use that for their benefit, however. We find it all a bit daunting, but that seems to be the way it is going. There are, definitely, fewer venues to play at now too, so it's harder to get out and be seen also. Our old heads say we'd struggle, but with the knowledge the kids have now, we'd be fine. Who knows?
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