Roxette, Part Three: “Listen to Your Heart”

We were playing cards the other day and had this Internet music channel playing in the background. Suddenly, this song came on that sort of sounded familiar, but different.

It was a cover song. A new artist was singing “Listen to Your Heart” by Roxette.

Hearing that song, even if it wasn’t Roxette, reminded me of slow songs during one of the cornerstones of the Lister Hall social calendar in 1988 and 1989 – Ship night.

Ahoy!
Lister Hall, the student residence complex, at the time, was made up of Kelsey, Henday, and Mackenzie Halls. It was so big the actual Lister complex was a full conference centre with a massive dining hall, meeting room, banquet room and more.

It also had a student bar.

In 1988 and 1989, it was the place to be on Thursday nights.

Ship night
It was such an odd phenomenon. Only on Thursday nights would the Ship be bustling with activity. The other nights it was open were sparsely attended, if not completely dead.

Yet on Thursday, the Ship was hopping.

The best way to explain it, was that Ship nights felt like a Lister dance, only in a more intimate space.

I did not dance much. Instead I wandered around talking to people and enjoying the cheap beer. I also enjoyed the music because the deejays played current music you could dance to, but slowed it down at the end of the night.

Usually in my drunken stupor, when they announced the last dance, I would find a girl I liked and dance with her. They never really liked me back other than, you know, “Let’s just be friends”, but they always danced.

It was a lot of fun.

In 1989, the song that wrapped up Ship nights was “Listen to Your Heart” by Roxette.

Even as I write this, I can see in mind’s eye the lights on the dance floor dimming, couples slowly making their way on to the dance floor, the strobes lights swirling, and the music, pounding way too loud the words, “Listen to your heart…”

The song
“Listen to Your Heart” became one of the most successful singles of 1989, going all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Parting thoughts
For a period in time, Ship nights were the event of the week. The Ship was called a community centre by some, and it really did bring the community together. Some of the most fun I had in university was at those Ship nights.

Hearing “Listen to Yout Heart” takes me right back there.