This 80s Inspired Suggestive Music Video Starring Juan Pablo Di Pace Still Makes You Sweat 20 Years Later

It’s rare that a song becomes so successful that the artist decides to never perform it live. But that’s exactly what Swedish DJ and producer Eric Prydz did with his biggest dance single.

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Prydz’s monster hit “Call On Me,” which sampled Steve Winwood’s 1982 single “Valerie.”

Winwood was apparently so impressed when he heard Prydz’s version that he re-recorded the sampled lyrics, which consist only of the lines “call on me” and “I’m the same boy I used to be,” repeated on loop throughout.

You’ve probably danced to it at a bar, at a night out on the town, or at your cousin’s wedding.

Listen and refresh your memory:

Released in September 2004, “Call On Me” reached the top of the singles charts in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Ireland, among other countries. In the United States, it was a club staple, but only reached the top 30 of the Billboard Dance Charts.

However, the song’s visually exciting music video was a sensation in its own right.

Set in a gym class, the clip features a group of dancers dressed in ’80s-inspired aerobics outfits performing a series of suggestive and exaggerated moves.

There is a man alone in the class, played by a handsome Argentinian The house full star Juan Pablo Di Pace in one of his earliest roles, who seems to be turned on by all the women’s deep thrusts and booty-raising poses surrounding him, despite himself being fully dressed in a crop top, short shorts and leggings.

Watch and work!

The clip ends on a romantic note as the dude and the instructor (Deanne Berry) share a kiss at the end of the fitness class. However, there’s a twist in the plot as Di Pace came out in 2019. Short shorts don’t lie!

The entire clip, with its awkward movements and retro fashion sense, was inspired by the 1985 Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta film So Bad It’s Good. Perfect. Which is anything but that!

The music video for “Call On Me” was bold, daring and polarizing. It was hugely popular, becoming one of the most downloaded music videos of the time and spawning numerous sequels.

First, the main cast got together to record a full workout video titled Pump It Up – The Ultimate Dance Workout.

Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons are in shock!

Then in 2006, Di Pace and Berry joined forces again in the music video for The Hughes Corporation’s home remix of Irene Cara’s 1983 hit “Flashdance…What a Feeling.”

In the clip, the duo picks up right from the end of the workout class, “Call on Me,” and transforms its cheesy Euro pop energy into a Dancing with the Stars-as a remake of the classic Jennifer Beals film.

What a feeling, indeed!

Despite its viral fame and fallout, “Call On Me” also has its haters.

In 2011, NME awarded it the dubious honour of being number five on its list of “The 50 Worst Music Videos of All Time”. The music magazine said the video “had a lowest common denominator vibe”.

If it’s any consolation, it did better than Lady Gaga’s “Judas,” which landed at No. 4. So it’s in pretty big company.

But perhaps the biggest flaw with “Call On Me” is that Prydz hasn’t performed it live since 2005. While the Grammy-nominated musician swears he’s not bothered by the song, it doesn’t seem to fit with his current sound.

“It was just a side project that I did. It took me half an hour to do, just a fun thing on the side,” Prydz told Zane Lowe in 2016. “I already had my way with my labels and Pryda (one of his aliases) and the whole underground progressive house and techno thing with CirezD (another alias) that I was doing.”

Prydz may not be nostalgic for the chaotic antics of “Call On Me,” but Di Pace, who recently starred in the queer dramedy The Mattachine Familynever shied away from getting involved in the cheeky video.

In fact, he couldn’t have been happier when his scenes from the video were used for a mash-up with Madonna’s 2005 dance opus, “Hung Up.”

“My fantasy of being in a @madonna music video came true!” he jokingly captioned the clip after sharing it on Instagram in 2020.

“Call On Me” and the Queen of Pop together? Now that’s a real test for the legacy of a song and a video!

What if we took it to the next level?