Vengaboys logo, “We’re Going To Ibiza!” single and The Party Album!

Vengaboys is a Eurodance music group from the Netherlands. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, they scored a number of chart hits that made them the most commercially successful Dutch group after 2 Unlimited. With lyrics like “We like, we like to party” or “Boom boom boom boom / I want you in my room”, Vengaboys are associated with the hedonistic audience of riotous beach parties.

Unexpected to most, their 1999 hit “We’re going to Ibiza” is now back at the top of the charts in Austria. Shortly after the Ibizagate scandal unfolded, the party song transmogrified into a political protest anthem, fueled by comedian Jan Böhmermann who posted a link to the music video on 17 May. The following day, up to 20,000 people chanted the 20-year old Ibiza lyrics outside the chancellor’s office in Vienna after Heinz-Christian Strache, Vice-Chancellor of Austria, former neo-Nazi and leader of the right-wing populist Freedom Party (FPÖ), resigned. Less than two weeks later, the coalition had broken up, Chancellor Kurz had lost a no-confidence vote and the office – and Vengaboys came to Vienna. Together with the weekly Thursday protesters against the government and the racist, xenophobic and anti-democratic positions of its members, they celebrated a giant party at the Ballhausplatz.

The Vengaboys logo first appeared on the cover of their debut single “To Brazil!” (1997), with artwork credited to The Fresh Connection (Thom Bouman). The multi-outlined letterforms are from a quintessential 1990s typeface, designed by Miles Newlyn and released by Emigre. It’s name? Democratica!