Everyone else seems to be giving out mock awards for the past year’s disco achievements, so who am I not to do so too? Herewith, then, are my own personal Hammy Awards for 1978.
LABEL OF THE YEAR: Atlantic (look at the number of hits)
RUNNERS UP: Mercury (for taking the 12in plunge successfully), Island (for creating consistent excitement with a few releases), Fantasy (or at least the US parent label, for so many hot 12in import hits)
ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY: CBS (for putting on 12in only what they want us to have, not what we want)
IMPORT OF THE YEAR: Samuel Jonathan Johnson ‘You’ (CBS LP/12” remix)
12IN OF THE YEAR: Crown Heights Affair ‘Galaxy Of Love’ (Mercury)
Bank Holiday All-Dayers are back with us on January 1st, but as well as the usual Purley and Blackpool bashes there’s one also at Rayleigh Croc’s with Owen Washington, Graham Canter & Gold, Tony Valence & Monson, Rudi Gilpin, and – bit of a scoot – Froggy’s Roadshow, which will not be at Purley that day! . . . Disco Dancin’ winner Tadaaki Dan from Japan was interestingly the only DJ among the finalists, which must prove something: will Chris Hill enter next year?! . . . Damon Harris, David Simmons and Fat Larry’s Band are due in the New Year from Fantasy, while Chrysalis will soon be issuing Butterfly product . . . Roger Squire’s Disco Centres in London, Bristol, Manchester & Glasgow are having three open days with free Xmas drinks on December 28/29/30 . . . Marc Damon has opened a disco record shop called the Funk Factory at the Great Gear Market, 85 Kings Road, Chelsea in London . . . Paul Anthony now spins funk-jazz every Mon/Tuesday at Birmingham’s Sloopys in Corporation Street . . . Terry Jones & Rus Phillips are now resident late nights at the plush new Jovi’s club (£30 membership men) at 1-5 Long Lane, The Barbican, in London’s City area. Chris Browne (with an “e”) shares Wednesdays at Muswell Hill Pebbles with Stuart Genslan . . . South Essex now has a DJ Assn, details from Tony Petersen, PO Box 43, Southend-On-Sea, Essex . . . Thames Valley DJ Assn’s administrative address is now The Secretariat, TVDJA, Titlarks Farm, Sunningdale, Berks . . . Ian Jason from Leicester, resident though in Hamburg at the Big Apple, Club Elvis and El Greco, is currently charting (amongst other better known hits) Supermax ‘Love Machine’ (Atlantic), City ‘Am Fenster’ (Telefunken), Alan Parsons Project ‘Hyper Gamma Spaces’ (Arista) and Ritchie Family ‘American Generation’ (Metronome).
New Spins
GREGG DIAMOND BIONIC BOOGIE: ‘Hot Butterfly’ LP (Polydor 2391373) (BNDA debut 11/11/78)
Professionally crafted disco fodder, none are particularly exciting but they work well enough. ‘When The Shit Hits The Fan’ has a sorta Sylvester lick while the rest – best cuts are ‘Chains’, ‘Cream’ – are mid-tempo.
CERRONE: ‘Je Suis Music’ (from LP ‘IV’, CBS 83282) (BNDA debut 11/4/78)
The bionic Dave Clark with yet more mechanical thudding, this 7:48 variation on a well-worn pattern being the hottest so far.
Real Thing ‘Can You Feel The Force’, already big for funk jocks as an LP track, will be out late January on lengthened 7:40 12in remix with dynamite space effects intro and added applause atmosphere . . . WEA are using their LV prefix for an unlimited (within reason) pressing run of long version 12in issues selling at £1.49, but goofed with the 3000-only Funkadelic 12in which turned out to he just pts 1 & 2 of the 7in blown up . . . Chaka Khan and Luisa Fernandez are rumoured to be on remixed 12in though, while out next month will be Willie Hutch ‘Easy Does It’ / ‘Come On And Dance With Me’ and – on Lightning 12in – Dennis Brown ‘Money In My Pocket’! . . . Afro Cuban Band ‘Black Widow Woman’ is due on Arista 12in in February . . . Herbie Mann is rushing out a disco version of the ‘Superman’ soundtrack music for Atlantic . . . Strathclyde DJ Assn acting secretary is now Neil Mullin, 29 Birgidale Road, Glasgow G45 (041-634 2082), while all enquiries about the DJ Federation should now go to the DJF (GB), 255 Hyde End Road, Spencers Wood, Berkshire (0734-882794) . . . Hastings Emma’s welcomes artist PA’s/promotion nights, so interested pluggers contact Johnny Mason on Hastings (0424) 420339, or Paul Casson at 01-637 9401 . . . Kevin Gover of Bath’s Roadhog mobile infos that the local Bath Boots is surprisingly good for picking up cheap 12in hits . . . Steve Boley (Weston-Super-Mare Blades) is delighted that his outstanding jingles LP ordered from East Anglian Productions last October has finally arrived, only fourteen months late! . . . Dennis Brynner (Southampton Centre Discotheque in Western Esplanade) is a satisfied chart contributor – he writes: “thanks for two mentions in three weeks: it’s packed at the Centre on a Friday now, and I’m on two more mailing lists this week making thirteen altogether. Power to the press!” . . . you know it makes sense, so let me know what’s happening for you!
New Spins
DAN HARTMAN: ‘Countdown / This Is It’ (from LP ‘Instant Replay’, Blue Sky SKY 83265)
Apart from the title track only being 5:18 and still not the full 12in version, this dynamite 14:12 medley is indeed an instant replay: restructured section for section, the exciting stormer is just like the hit but has even more in it, including a great rhythm break before the ‘This Is It’ bit lifts it even higher.
EARTH, WIND & FIRE: ‘September’ (CBS 6922)
Terrific slow-starting freak-tempo strutter (try mixing minus the intro out of Funkadelic), already a smash.
‘British Hustle’, the disco documentary starring Chris Hill & Greg Edwards filmed respectively at Canvey Goldmine and Brixton Clouds, will go on release next month with the space adventure ‘Capricorn One’ – but actually opens as the A-film at Southend’s Westercliff Classic on January 11th! . . . WEA proved their point about the national pop chart: you spotted of course that the limited 1500-only 12in issues mentioned last week were Goody Goody, Curtis Mayfield and Joe Farrell . . . Bettye LaVette on remixed 12in is their next project, to be promoted as a newie in January . . . RCA are importing 15,000 pink vinyl 12in remixes of Dolly Parton ‘Baby I’m Burning’ (really disco in this form!), while about now is a dynamite US promo 12in coupling of ‘Instant Replay’ / ‘Countdown / This Is It’ (full-length!) . . . Eddie Horan is due next month on Decca . . . Foxy ‘Get Off’ is now on 5:44 remix 12in (TK 12-6040), while Chanson ‘Don’t Hold Back’ is on red vinyl 12 (Ariola AROD 140/12) . . . Capuchino has moved bases to Bristol, where he’s resident at Reeves in Bath Road . . . Graham F. Wood’s gig at the Chesford Grange Hotel near Kenilworth has changed names from the 1812 Club to Stables . . . Ian Hay has guest funk jocks every Monday at Cleethorpes Clouds, while Steve Orpin is running a DJ contest every Thursday until Xmas at Brighton’s Night Fever in Ship Street . . . Mister Tee Promotions of 66 Stoney Lane, Kidderminster, Worcs (0562-68457/64198) make button badges and offer discounts to DJ Associations or similar making bulk purchases . . . Stevie Quinn (Farnborough 43401) has had a Danish gig through fall and now needs a residency . . . Alfie Jarvis (Medway 63712), experienced sound electrician responsible for the installation at Hastings Toffs, has started a 24-hours-a-day DJ emergency service and will zoom off anywhere in Kent to help jocks in distress . . . “Carole”, resident with Jerry at Birmingham’s Outrigger, would like to hear from other girl DJ’s to be pen-pals, so write her at 78 Birmingham Road, Water Orton, B46 1TH – she’s been jocking over six years and says there aren’t many other female DJ’s – prove her wrong!
Village People ‘YMCA’ has been remixed with great freaky sound effects and long instrumental breaks on dynamite 6:47 US Casablanca promo 12in – beg, steal or borrow a copy, as it’s so much better than the commercial version! . . . Funkadelic is due out unexpectedly this week in – wait for it – the US remix 12in form, so get it! . . . I’m not meant to tell you this, but the US 12in versions from one particular label group have been quietly test marketed in London only, so see if you can spot which they are by checking the Disco Top 90 for three previously import-only 12in titles now minus the “US” before their label info . . . Miracle Records will be doing a 9:08 12in of John Davis ‘Ain’t That Enough For You’ . . . London’s LODJ Assn meets this Sunday (3) at 4pm in the Bluecoat Boy pub, City Road, near Angel tube, while down in Kent that night at 8pm the annual SEDA members’ quiz is at Wrotham’s Moat Hotel . . . North East Essex DJ Assn’s Christmas party on Monday (14) at 8pm in Colchester’s Woods Social Centre will feature a Lasertronics light show . . . Tom Wilson (Edinburgh Rutland) plans to start an Edinburgh area association, so interested jocks contact him at 34 Burdiehouse Avenue, Edinburgh – via Telstar?! . . . Alex Anders (Jersey Mermaid), sitting behind me at Sunday’s Disco Forum, was really knocked out when he won the fortnight in Bermuda lucky number draw – he’ll be used to island life, for sure! . . . Olympic Runners are touring the country in a “Mutha Coach” doing selected PA’s, but the actual venues seem mostly unconfirmed . . . Graham Gold’s run into trouble at his Sunday night Greenford Chambers gig in the Railway Hotel, so please if you don’t look obviously over 18 bring someone to prove your age . . . Gene Farrow ‘Dance With Me’ (Magnet 12MAG 133) and Gonzalez ‘Just Let It Lay’ (EMI 12EMI 2868) are now on 12in.
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