Showroom Cinema and funk and soul legends Highway Child are coming together to celebrate the enduring magic of Dirty Dancing and its award-winning soundtrack, in a one-off screening and live gig inspired by the film’s music.

The first sound in Dirty Dancing - a drum beat in The Ronette’s ‘Be My Baby’ - was an accident. Drummer Hal Blaine claimed that he dropped the drumstick and missed a beat. Riding the mistake out, he created one of most recognisable drum phrases of all time, later used by everyone from The Clash to Lady Gaga. The song became one of the most iconic of the 60s. Unwittingly, Blaine had also foreshadowed the talent, timing and luck that would propel Dirty Dancing to the level of cultural phenomenon two decades later. Dirty Dancing went from a $4.5 million budget to grossing $214 million at box office; a massive success for a project that almost didn’t happen. Producing challenges included tension between its relatively unknown co-stars (Jennifer Grey begged for anyone but Patrick Swayze), and 42 script rejections, finally being picked up by Vestron, a video distributor with no experience creating feature films. Despite all odds, the movie won an Oscar and a Golden Globe and was the first to sell a million video copies.

Set in the ’60s, the story follows privileged “Baby” (Grey) as she falls for rebellious dance instructor Johnny (Swayze). Inspired by writer Eleanor Bergstein’s formative experiences, this uniquely female perspective deals with class and abortion in-between unforgettable dance scenes.

Dirty Dancing’s soundtrack was the biggest selling album of 1987, beating Guns N’ Roses and George Michael, second only to Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’. It was the eighth bestseller of the 80s and still remains Germany’s best-selling album of all time.

It might seem inevitable when you consider how central music is to the film. Bergstein wrote her script around a mixtape of 50s and 60s bops. The quirky, upbeat playlist included Mickey and Sylvia’s ‘Love Is Strange’, mimed by Baby and Johnny, and The Contour’s ‘Do You Love Me?’

Iconic today, new audiences might not realise 80s hits ‘(I've Had) The Time of My Life’ and ‘Hungry Eyes’ were written for Dirty Dancing. Swayze contributed his original one-hit wonder ‘She’s Like the Wind’.

Highway Child return to Showroom following their incredible Blues Brothers-inspired performance. We can’t wait to hear their take on this legendary album.

Book your tickets now for Saturday 30 November: /dirtydancingandhighwaychild