Newcastle DJs Kev Cannon and Tony Hutchinson turn Diana Ross’ timeless disco classic “Upside Down” into a pumping peak-time house roller, rebuilding the low end while keeping plenty of the original magic intact.
Taking on a record like “Upside Down” takes some nerve.
Written and produced by Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards for Diana Ross in 1980, the original became a worldwide number one and remains one of the most instantly recognisable disco records ever made. More than four decades later, that unmistakable groove has been sampled, covered and reworked countless times.
So rather than simply putting a heavier kick underneath it, Newcastle-based DJs Kev Cannon and Tony Hutchinson have gone considerably further with their new edit.
Cannon rebuilds the bassline from scratch, giving the track a much heavier foundation and immediately shifting “Upside Down” from disco territory into a pumping, peak-time house record.
It’s a clever move. That famous Bernard Edwards bassline is such an integral part of the original that trying to replicate it would almost be missing the point. Instead, the new low end rolls underneath the track with considerably more club weight while leaving enough room for those familiar elements to shine through.
Ross’ unmistakable vocal hook remains front and centre, but around it Cannon and Hutchinson pile on fiery percussion, shimmering synth lines and cut-up piano stabs taken from the original, creating something considerably tougher without losing the joyous character of the source material.
And that’s where the edit works.
You still immediately know you’re listening to “Upside Down”, but its surroundings have changed completely. The elegant disco swing of 1980 has been rebuilt into something faster, punchier and aimed squarely at a packed house dancefloor.
There will always be an argument about whether records this iconic need touching at all. But a good edit isn’t really about improving the original. It’s about finding a different way of making an old record work in a new environment.
Kev Cannon and Tony Hutchinson have done exactly that.
Familiar enough to have a dancefloor singing from the opening vocal, but with enough additional fire underneath it to send the same dancefloor into overdrive when the groove kicks in.
Better still, the pair aren’t asking you to hunt down an expensive white label to get hold of it. “Upside Down” is being given away as a free download via Kev Cannon’s SoundCloud.
Diana turned upside down for 2026. And yours for absolutely nothing.
Format: Free Download, get it here.