A Small Town Northern Tale is a Y2K-drenched coming-of-age comedy-drama, where Nathan Jonathan explores how being the only Black kid in a small town means fitting in isn’t an option. Here, the writer and performer provides a 2000s-soaked mixtape to accompany his show.
Cascada – Everytime We Touch
Starting off strong here. God, I have such a love-hate relationship with this one! Everyone in our small northern town had this song locked and loaded onto their old Sony Ericsson and would blast it unceremoniously at the back of the bus. It was the unofficial anthem of every school disco, house party, and underage drinking session in the park… For better or worse, this song is the 2000s.
The Specials – Ghost Town
Small towns can really feel like this sometimes. Nothing’s going on, everyone’s miserable – but for some reason no one wants to leave or change anything. It’s a feeling I had constantly growing up as one of the only people who looked like me for miles
around.
DJ Otzi – Hey Baby (Uhh, Ahh)
Oh God I hated this one too. But let’s be honest: the second it comes on you cannot sit still or stop singing along… You know what. This might actually be peak 2000s Brit culture. HEEEEEEY – HEEEEEEY BABY. OOH. AAAH.
The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry
I got into The Cure in my late teens, but when I found this song it felt like the soundtrack to my entire youth. The title says it all. For young lads in small towns, there’s always this unspoken pressure to just crack on. Years later this melancholic feeling forms the backbone of my play.
The Kinks – Dead End Street
Not exactly a Y2K anthem, but timeless for what it says about class and limited opportunity. When you’re growing up somewhere with unemployment rates through the roof and no opportunities coming, you feel this one in your bones.
The Kooks – Naïve
A perfect song for looking back at your younger self, and wincing slightly. Running around like an idiot with your mates… That mix of idealism, immaturity and carefree nonsense.
Alton Ellis – Blackman’s Word (Black Man’s Pride)
A nod to my Jamaican roots and to the generational conversations happening in the play. The quiet pride of knowing where you come from, even when you feel out of place.
Chaka Demus & Pliers – Tease Me
The soundtrack of my Jamaican family parties! There was always someone blasting this at a family gathering. A little slice of my upbringing.
DJ Sammy – Heaven
If you didn’t badly slow-dance to this at a school disco, were you even there? Unbeatable.
Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate
UK Garage at its best. This one was everywhere: from park benches to Nokia ringtones… To be honest I never really stopped listening to this banger!
Crazy Frog – Axel F
I mean… it happened. Like it or not, this weird little frog basically took over every playground, ringtone, and CD rack for a whole year. Pure Y2K.
The Cheeky Girls – The Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)
The early 2000s in one song. These two appeared from an early season of Popstars: The Rivals and completely took over the country. You couldn’t escape it. Utterly ridiculous, completely daft, and an absolute earworm. The kind of song everyone secretly knows every word to.
The Enemy – We’ll Live And Die In These Towns
This one feels really special to me, especially in the context of the play. I remember being 16 years old and just finishing high school when I first heard it and immediately downloaded it to my iPod shuffle. Walking through town like it was the end credits of my own movie – feeling optimistic for the first time that I might be the one to escape. But in a weird way, still feeling proud of having come from that little town. “We’ll live and die in these towns / Don’t let it drag you down.” For better or worse, that small-town feeling never really leaves you.
A Small Town Northern Tale, Underbelly, Cowgate, 31 Jul-24 Aug (not 11), 12.40pm