"I'm Alive" is the debut single by London-based DJ/producers Stretch Silvester (Stuart Collins) and Jules Vern (Julian Peake) under the name Stretch & Vern. Containing a looped sample from "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire, it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart and number-one on the UK Dance Chart. It was also featured on Coca-Cola advert campaigns. In other European countries, it peaked at number 21 in Ireland, number 23 in the Netherlands and number 29 in Sweden, where it also topped the Swedsh Dance chart. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number 16 in September 1996. Outside Europe, the single peaked at number 2 on the BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart in the US and at number 65 in Australia. British electronic dance and clubbing magazine Mixmag ranked it at number 28 in its list of the best singles of 1996.
Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as a "quirky dance twirler" and explained further that "this track is rife with the kitschy allure of a novelty hit", and "fashion a jittery disco beat beneath a tongue-twisting female rap."[1] Tim Jeffery from Music Week's RM Dance Update rated it four out of five, adding, "This is so certain to be a huge hit that you probably wouldn't even get odds at Ladbrokes on it. It's a similar idea to The Bucketheads in that it's basically a disco pastiche made up of other people's records, particularly the large chunks of 'Boogie Wonderland', but it's the way this has been put together that's so special. Just try not dancing to this. Already snapped up by a major, copies on this label will be hard to find until it gets a proper release but you're certain to hear this everywhere you go."[2]
Music video[]
A black-and-white music video was made to accompany the song, directed by Katya Nelhams-Wright.[3]
