Thirty years since Jamiroquai released their epochal global hit ‘Virtual Insanity’, the band celebrate this landmark milestone with the release of ‘Virtual Insanity: 30th Anniversary Edition’ on June 19th. Available to pre-order NOW, it is pressed for the first time on striking transparent yellow 12” vinyl, complementing the iconic sleeve.
A #3 platinum smash in the UK, ‘Virtual Insanity’ conquered charts across Europe and beyond, propelling parent album ‘Travelling Without Moving’ into the stratosphere as the best-selling funk album of all time. The song also saw Jamiroquai garlanded with a prestigious Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance, as well as a BRIT nomination and an MTV Video of the Year award for itsJonathan Glazer-directed video, heralded as one of the ’25 Music Videos That Changed The World’ by Music Week.
Released long before the streaming era, ‘Virtual Insanity’ has amassed more than half a billion streams, a testament to its enduring appeal. Its rediscovery by a new audience was turbo-charged when Jay Kay joined Dua Lipa to perform the song during her Wembley Stadium show last summer, a moment when The Standard noted “the energy levels went stratospheric.” It was also the crowd-pleasing finale throughout his sold-out arena tour last autumn, culminating in two nights at London’s The O2.
Vocalist and songwriter Jay Kay hit upon the idea for the song while in Sendai, Japan. Intrigued by the eerie silence of the city’s snowy streets, he discovered the bustling population living underground in an expansive subterranean city, inspiring a prescient commentary on a world teetering on the edge of overpopulation and ecological collapse. He recounts more of his memories behind the song and the video. Fittingly, following a run of European festival dates in June and July, Jamiroquai will return to Japan this summer, headlining both legs of Summer Sonic in Tokyo and Osaka this August.
Currently in the studio putting the finishing touches to their hotly-anticipated ninth album, this anniversary release is a timely celebration of a masterpiece and a bridge to Jamiroquai’s next chapter.
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