Month: June 1978

Disco News

Thames Valley DJ Assn members meet Phonogram’s John Weller and learn about disco administration on Sunday (25) at noon in Abingdon’s Railway Inn, Old Station Yard . . . CBS Disco Department’s new contact lady for DJ’s is lovely Loraine Trent, at 73 Newman Street, London W1 (01-580 8667), which will soon be Greg Lynn’s office too . . . Chrysalis northern area’s Ken Grunbaum needs more North-West DJ’s as they plan much more sustainable product: catch Ken at 74 Moss Lane, Bramhall, Cheshire (061-439 2134) . . . RCA’s Sally Ormsby has started a serious search for the best looking DJ – the winner will find out what the prize is! – so send photos and measurements to Sal at RCA House, 50 Curzon Street, London W1X 8EU . . . Colin Wheeler of 7 Robert Street, North Woolwich, London E16 2LZ (01-476 2794), compiles a weekly DJ Top 40 chart based on requests sent in from a panel of 37 other DJ’s, who then receive the completed chart to display at gigs: if you’d like to join in, let him know . . . Donald Murray, Glasgow winner of the last Tea Council DJ Search heat, had such strong competition from runners-up Forbes Robertson and Jay Jay Sawers that BBC Radio Scotland has awarded not only them, but all six competitors studio time to make audition tapes, useable anywhere . . . Hull University’s Phil Mitchell runs a thoroughly good University Soul Club with a newsletter, record offers, reviews and trips to soul shows in far-flung places like Manchester, so if you’ve passed your exams you could do worse than get a place at Hull!

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New Spins

SUGAR: ‘Manhattan Fever’ (Power Exchange PX 275)
Deceptively simple purpose-built fast polyrhythmic funky pounder with lots of potential, should be big.

UBIQUITY: ‘Midnight After Dark’ / ‘Starbooty’ (Elektra K 12305)
Rose Royce-type choppy funky burbler on remixed 6:08 12in or 3:40 7in, already bigger than the trickier official 3:09 A-side.

LIMMIE: ‘Saturday Night’s The Night’ (Psycho P 2004)
Terrific unexpectedly sophisticated smooth bouncy rhythm ticker with an almost Friends Of Distinction vocal finesse – truly a surprise worth finding.  Continue reading “June 24, 1978: Sugar, Ubiquity, Limmie, Michael Zager, Boney M”

Disco News

EMI Records’ Licensed Repertoire Division, representing Salsoul/Stax/Fantasy/EMI Int’l, have launched a big “Disco Dancin’” promotion campaign via radio, press, dealers and discos to push a clutch of their recent soul-type LP releases, and a few current hot hits. Sadly most of the material already looks rather dated tor disco freaks, but of course the actual music remains good . . . John Gibbs ‘Trinidad’ is due on EMI Int’l 12in, while Kellee Patterson’s full-length ‘If It Don’t Fit’ is the flip to her 7:45 ‘Turn On The Lights’ on another EMI Int’l 12in . . . USA-European Connection is now not on 12in, but Rokotto and Al Matthews are, while Motown have issued a promo 12in of Rare Earth ‘Warm Ride’ featuring their “Disco Eye-Cued” banding system which shows virtually where to cut in at rhythm breaks, etc . . . Niels Birk (Langaa) infos that the ‘Thank God It’s Friday’ LP set costs £11.50 in Denmark, where the chart-topping ‘Saturday Night Fever’ is £9.50 . . . that’s a lot of bacon!

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New Spins

SATURDAY NIGHT BAND: ‘Come On Dance Dance’ (CBS 0341) (BNDA debut 4/15/78)
Crazy, but the smash side-long LP version won’t be out until July, when everyone will already have this edited 5:48 12in (or the 3:59 7in) as the fast changes-filled rhythm rattling flier is just too hot to stop! Similarly zingy flip.

USA-EUROPEAN CONNECTION: ‘Come Into My Heart’ LP (TK TKR 82532) (BNDA debut 2/11/78)
Instead of a shorter 12in, this side-long 14:28 zingy thumper stays on LP and comes out in time to sell! For some reason bigger gay and pop than funk, unlike Saturday Night Band, it however goes through similar changes.

LOVE COMMITTEE: ‘Law And Order’ (Salsoul SSOL 109) (BNDA debut 6/24/78)
Creamily churning old Temptations-type smooth stamper, hitting funk now and bound to be big pop . . . and with Tories? Pity it’s only 2:59 though.  Continue reading “June 17, 1978: Saturday Night Band, USA-European Connection, Love Committee, Black Ivory, Trade Mark”

New Spins

A TASTE OF HONEY: ‘Boogie Oogie Oogie’ (from LP ‘A Taste Of Honey’, Tower ES 11754) (BNDA 5/27/78)
Forget the 45, here’s the funky DJ-favoured full length, 5:37 disco mix of the ridiculously catchy hit-bound girlie group hot flier!

LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY: ‘Hit And Run’ (Salsoul SSOL 108) (BNDA debut 5/7/77)
Finally out here on dynamite full 11:00 12in, last year’s US disco hit develops into a powerhouse hypnotically chugging gospel-type wailer with an exciting intensity that’s totally lacking on 7in.

MELODIANS: ‘Rivers Of Babylon’ (Island WIP 6447)
Hurrah, it’s the far more subtle reggae original . . . and about time, too!  Continue reading “June 10, 1978: A Taste Of Honey, Loleatta Holloway, Melodians, Commodores, Linda Clifford”

Disco News

London’s LODJ Assn invites all local DJ’s to an inaugural meeting next Wednesday (7) at 7pm in the Baronial Hall at River Plate House, 1-6 Finsbury Circus, near Moorgate Tube, where there’s lots of room and a bar – so do go! . . . Manchester’s DJ Assn, acting mainly as a record pool for club jocks, meets weekly every Monday at 6:15pm in Kilties Disco, below the Swinging Sporran pub in Sackville Street, where all jocks in kilts are welcome! . . . Yvonne Marvill, ex-Phonogram, has surfaced at Shaboodle Promotions doing some independent pushing as a one off on Love Machine’s ‘Desperately’.

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New Spins

DONNA SUMMER: ‘Last Dance’ / ‘With Your Love’ (Casablanca TGIFS 2) (BNDA debut 4/29/78)
Zingy cymbal schlurpers, topside slow starting, from ‘Thank God It’s Friday’.

BIONIC BOOGIE: ‘Risky Changes’ (Polydor 2066895) (BNDA debut 12/17/77)
Fast funky jumper huge on import for ages.

JAMES BROWN: ‘Eyesight’ (Polydor 2066915)
Buoyant sparse funky bounder, big on import.  Continue reading “June 3, 1978: Donna Summer, Bionic Boogie, James Brown, Platters, Robert Gordon”