All Dayer Mania
Last Monday’s funky all-dayers did their best to show that not everyone in Britain suffers from media-induced Saturday Night Fever, although Radio London’s Dave Simmons let the side down by playing the Bee Gees at Camberley’s Frenchies. He won’t be asked back again!
Purley Tiffanys was packed even fuller than before, with an incredible atmosphere which reached a crescendo of whistles and whoop-whoops before Hi-Tension finally appeared, delayed by a hitch in the revolving stage. They had to do ‘Hi-Tension’ three times to keep the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd happy. Mooning human pyramids kept collapsing until a twisted ankle – the first casualty – caused them to be stopped. And an example of boobing by a black beauty caused Chris Hill to be reprimanded by the management!
Tom Holland and Sean French consolidated their growing reputations as prime funk spinners, alongside Chris Brown, Robbie Vincent and Froggy – while Froggy’s massive array of roadshow gear sounded superb and won more praise than practically anything.
The Dimloes crowd from Wellpond Green, complete with banners and a chartered bus, rivaled the Candles crowd and definitely won with their display of the new dance sensation, the Dimloe Shuffle. Best done to Gary Criss’s ‘Rio de Janeiro’, the line dance consists of a waddle forward like a pixelated penguin, four hops back and a waddling turn. Teach that, Arthur Murray! For the oldies finale and traditional O’Jays ‘I Love Music’ climax, the audience was divided by Chris Hill and Robbie Vincent into sections one, two and three, each then instructed to out-whoop the others . . . so that the eventual catch-phrase to emerge from the whole festival had to be “Section 3” (spot that on badges soon!).
At Frenchies, the Olympic Runners appeared in full force for the first time to mime zanily and create havoc, while the music was piped at softer volume into the luxurious bars away from the crush – making it a very nice place to be. The crowd was a bit commercially-orientated though, according to some mutterers. At Crackers in London’s Soho the crowd was much blacker than at the other gigs, with 1,200 funksters turning up during the day to hear Paul Gratue, George Power and Bob Jones.
Next bank holiday Monday now looms close, May 29th, with repeat events and similar line-ups at all three venues. In addition, the day will start with a fancy dress all-nighter between midnight and 5am at Harlow Tiffanys, starring Tom Holland, Les Knott and Chris St. John. Heatwave headline at Purley – but beware as ticket numbers 1-500 for Purley, printed on blue, have been stolen and are invalid (new ones will now not be on blue). At Frenchies the car park next to the Cambridge Hotel will be covered in a marquee to make more space, and ticket sales have started (£2) from 11 Roslyn Court, Woking, Surrey (04862-66555). Finally, there’s also the possibility of two separate funky all-dayers at North London’s Alexandra Palace in early June.
New Spins
MASTERMIND: ‘Hustle Bus Stop’ (CBS 6329)
Long-awaited 4:08 import smash has whoop-whoops, Hi-Tension beat, Fatback feel and everything else it takes!
SUN: ‘Sun Is Here’ / ‘Dance’ (Capitol CL 15979)
Usefully edited hit funky LP track with confusingly real-sounding whoop-whoops, slicker flip.
HEATWAVE: ‘Mind Blowing Decisions’ (GTO GT 226)
Breathtaking tender slow swayer. Continue reading “May 13, 1978: All Dayer Mania”
James Hamilton's Disco Page 