March 1, 1980: “The gay jocks of America have successfully brought about the death of disco”

As mentioned last week, the gay jocks of America have successfully brought about the death of disco as the media know it, although the jocks themselves of course refute this. At the Billboard Dance Music Forum session which dealt with ‘Programming Today In The Club’, the British contingent were appalled to hear the moderator, supposedly respected New York DJ and famed disco remixer Jim Burgess, say without any note of irony that he was playing to “drugged gays” and if he varied the music it would bring them down, thus restricting him to an inflexible programme of fast tempo music for the whole night. This nugget was greeted with approval and understanding by the majority present, and another panellist – apropos of a discussion about using microphones – shrieked out the admission, “when I get really drugged I open the mike and scream!”

Obviously what’s right for some is not right for others, so these guys know what they’re doing in relation to their own audiences, but their ears seemed to be totally closed to any suggestions from outsiders whose own experience is surely just as valid.

The point that we rather heatedly were making is that their audience, in its drugged state and without any verbal (or even visual) contact with the DJ, was quite obviously not a likely market in which to sell enough records to influence the Hot 100 pop sales chart. A comparison between the US Disco and US Singles charts at the back of Record Mirror will bear this out – yet Billboard in compiling their Disco chart heavily weight their returns from the gay discos. In Atlanta, for instance, Billboard take charts from five clubs, of which four are gay – but fewer than half the clubs in the city are in fact gay.

In our fury with the way in which mechanical gay “disco” music was still being foisted onto the media as the real disco sound, the British contingent (Chris Hill, Froggy, Barmy Steve Haines, Stan Barrett and myself being the main spokesmen) were even being hissed . . . although afterwards a lot of people came up to say how much sense we were speaking, and that the situation was totally different outside the overly-influential gay clubs. Our point that we were playing funk, soul and jazz in Britain even seemed to be missed by many bunkered bigots in the audience, label owning Ray Caviano even saying that obviously what we were into was rock music!

In point of fact there seemed to be a lot of discussion about rock, in the form of the Flying Lizards and the B-52s, who appear to be getting played by some disco DJ’s almost out of a sense of duty as if they knew that a change was in order. But when the expression “DOR” was explained to me as meaning “Dance Orientated Rock” I knew it was pointless trying to talk to these idiots. Live and let live, to each his own . . . but don’t blame us when people say that disco is dead!

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Odds ‘N Bods

After all that, Greg Davies’s disco forum was cancelled at the last minute for a variety of unconvincing excuses – maybe nobody is interested in yet another thrash about DJ mailing lists?! . . . Brothers Johnson ‘Stomp!’ turns out to be on 12in (AMSP 7509) at 120 bpm and chops nicely out of a suitable climax if you start at “everybody take it to the top”, the flip being a bumpy 126 bpm ‘Let s Swing’ instrumental . . . Toots & The Maytals ‘Chatty Chatty’ (12WIP 6544) and Don Armando ‘Deputy Of Love’ (12WIP 6557) are now on 12in, while up-coming are Brass Construction ‘Movin’’ / ‘Changin’’ (UA 12UP 617), Herb Alpert ‘Street Life’ (A&M AMSP 7511), One Way ‘Now That I Found You’ / ‘Rock’ (MCA MCAT 553) and Sharon Paige’s ‘Tonight’s The Night’ (Source) . . . Pye’s Morgan Khan, inspired by my US bootleg ‘Dedley Medley’ DJ cut-ups, has masterminded an official ‘Calibre Cuts’ due soon with white labels of the hit snippets-filled 12in out even earlier . . . Players Association’s US LP sleeve is much less MfP-like than ours, while the hot cut is there titled ‘The Get-Down Mellow Sound’ and all the printed BPM’s are wildly inaccurate! . . . Ensign could be issuing some very interesting oldies culled from other labels soon . . . ‘You Are My Friend’ will be Sylvester’s soulful slow next single . . . DJF Governing Council Meeting is up in the land of the wally jock at Stranraer Buck’s Head Hotel on Tuesday (4) at 10 am . . . Jerry Gilbert & Theo Loyla may find Friday lunchtime a good time of day to meet the “disco leaders”, though I and others still prefer 2am at Gullivers! . . . Eargasm ‘This Is Lovers Rock’, which seems to have ended up at Island, in fact features D. Tyrone, Snoopy & Denis Pinnock . . . Russell “Arbie” Burtonshaw (whose Mum I finally met the other day) has some ex-chart hits (pop not disco) to get rid of, so send an SAE to 53 Galway Crescent, Retford DN22 7XU . . . LA’s Record Depot of 1604 N. Highland Avenue (at Hawthorn) in Hollywood sells ridiculous disco bargains, my own snips being 10 cent 12in versions of Luther Rabb ‘Make A Little Move’, La Pregunta ‘Shangri La’ and – to annoy Robbie Vincent! – ‘Disco Bouzouki’ . . . Pete Tong is currently turning on the Mafia with Leo’s Sunshipp ‘We Need Each Other’ (US Lyons LP) from 1978, featuring some Finished Touch members in an earlier grouping, while Chris Hill’s hotsie is a direct-cut US Columbia re-recording of Herbie Hancock’s ‘I Thought It Was You’ on the ‘Direct Step’ LP . . . Bunny Mack ‘Love You Forever’ mixes on superbly into Stop ‘I Can Feel It’, while Kool ‘Too Hot’ into Jan Akkerman ‘She’s So Divine’ (LP version) into Slave ‘Just A Touch Of Love’ is another goodie . . . Whispers ‘And The Beat Goes On’ obviously can’t be disco – nor can 17 other chart entries – because after all, disco is dead!

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UK Newies

LEON HAYWOOD: ‘Don’t Push It Don’t Force It’ (20th Century TCD 2443) (BNDA debut 2/23/80)
Dynamite chart-leaping 114bpm 12in “rock” smacker that crosses ‘Ladies Night’ with Kellee Patterson to come out Al Hudson flavoured, with brassy bits borrowed from Blood, Sweat & Tears.

RONNIE LAWS: ‘OTBA Law (Outta Be A Law)’ (from LP ‘Every Generation’, UA UAG/TCK 30289)
Bass-snapped steadily pushing 115-113-114-113bpm instrumental jazz jiggler is currently hotter than the Isleys-like decelerating 134-129bpm ‘Young Child’ sax squawker, though the latter is now on slightly faster 12in (12-UP 619), while the title track at 35bpm and the 36bpm ‘Love’s Victory’ are gentle vocal slowies, ‘Tomorrow’ is a spurting 117(intro)-118bpm jiggler with chix, and ‘As One’ a 90bpm ‘Rise’-type jitterer.

SLAVE: ‘Just A Touch Of Love’ (Atlantic K 11442T) (BNDA debut 1/12/80)
Terrific solidly chugging monotonous thudder is finally on 112-110-111-110bpm 12in, so should now break nationally out of the South-East (where it’s been el monstro!). 

TRUSSEL: ‘Love Injection’ (Elektra K 12412T) (BNDA debut 12/8/79)
Another now finally on UK 12in, the ever-developing 112-113bpm “rock” thumper has catchy chanting, echoes of Instant Funk, and a heavy P-funk influence without the beat which that might imply.

ATMOSFEAR: ‘Motivation’ (Elite DAZZ 2)
Another strange though this time more coherent UK instrumental basher, the 131-129(organ)-131-133(bass)-138(rhythm)-133-130bpm 12in is double-“A” coupled with the more straight forwardly jazzy 125bpm ‘Extract’.

GIBSON BROTHERS: ‘Cuba’ (Island 12WIP 6561) (BNDA debut 4/7/79)
Their year-old classic oldie is once again on 122-123bpm 12in, but flipped by the exactly similar 122-123bpm ‘Better Do It Salsa’ which for many was their LP’s best cut.

EARTH WIND & FIRE: ‘In The Stone’ (CBS 13-8252)
Overblown slow noisy intro takes a long time getting to this 112-114-112-57-114-116bpm 12in choppy jogger, which now sounds slightly dated in light of recent rhythm developments. The flip pairs two jazzy oldies, ‘Africano’ and ‘Biyo’.

KANDIDATE: ‘Let Me Rock You’ (Rak RAK 306)
Languidly lurching solid 122-123bpm backbeat-smacking “rock” 7in which is already on radio, but are they big enough to cross over to discos (where this belongs) without the benefit of a 12in?

JOE BATAAN: ‘Rap-O Clap-O’ (Salsoul RAP 12-1) (BNDA debut 12/1/79)
Buoyantly thudding 116bpm 12in “rock” jiggler with half sung/half rapped DJ lyrics and useful fading rhythm outro may be a bit late but RCA hope not!

CHUCK CISSEL: ‘Cisselin’ Hot’ (Arista ARIST 12338) (BNDA debut 1/12/80)
Whereas this really is late, the 132-133-134bpm 12in being very similar to the now long-gone Isley Brothers ‘It’s A Disco Night’.

SUGARHILL GANG: ‘Rapper’s Reprise (Jam-Jam)’ (Sugarhill SHL 103)
Lacklustre follow-up by the one hit wonders is another 118(intro)-115-116-117bpm 12in rapper without the advantage of a well-known backing tune, the double “A” coupling being a pleasant enough straight vocal jogger, the 49½/99-100bpm ‘Bad News’. Really?

CENTRAL LINE: ‘Sticks And Stones’ (Mercury MERX 4)
Muddy sounding UK-recorded 131-130-131bpm 12in bass-snapped skipper originally by Ren Woods, the Johnny Stainze-produced slow jazzy 56-55½bpm ‘Summer Romance’ soul ballad flip being a lot brighter.

JAN AKKERMAN: ‘Stingray (Get Up With That)’ (from LP ‘3’, Atlantic K 50664)
Attractive 117-118-119-118bpm jazz guitar instrumental, the LP version of his rapidly growing ‘She’s So Divine’ being slightly slower than the 7in at 111-112bpm.

BRENDA RUSSELL: ‘In The Thick Of It’ (from LP ‘Brenda Russell’, A&M AMLJ 739)
Out here for many months but now spreading through the mafia, this is a lovely slow-starting 51½/103bpm sweetly sung jazz jogger.

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Imports

RODNEY FRANKLIN: ‘The Groove’ (from LP ‘You’ll Never Know’, US Columbia NJC 36122) (BNDA debut 5/17/80)
Still evidently not out even in the States, though Chris Hill and I managed to find the only two copies in Los Angeles (and hence now the UK!), this is going to be a monster! A maddeningly nagging simple little rift underpins a continually pausing stop-start though solidly grooving 110-112-110bpm piano instrumental jazz chugger which chops nicely out of Slave. The bluesy rhythm and these pauses make it totally compulsive, and Chris has already got his crowd doing a new “freeze” step every time it stops! Keep your eyes peeled for it.

CROWN HEIGHTS AFFAIR: ‘Use Your Body And Soul’ (from LP ‘Sure Shot’, US De-Lite DSR-9517) (‘You Gave Me Love’ BNDA debut 3/22/80)
Losing most of their old brassy trademark sound, the set is usefully “rock” orientated, this 118-117-118bpm backbeat-thumping swayer going into a bass-bumped DJ-type rap in the middle. Other cuts include the more smoothly churning 120-121-122-124bpm ‘I See The Light’ and jittery 115bpm ‘You Gave Me Love’, these three having been serviced to me on acetate although the LP is now in the import shops.

MIDNIGHT STAR: ‘Make It Last’ (US Solar YD-11904)
Brassily braying solid 117bpm 12in “rock” smacker chugs and thuds along right in today’s style with Michael Jackson-ish urgently youthful vocals.

Last minute deadlines have meant that I was unable to check out the Groove for more import reviews, but look for newies from Wilbert Longmire, Grover Washington Jr, Eddie Daniels, David Sanborn, Al Johnson & Jean Carn, Skyy, Mandrill, Joe Bataan, Stone City Band, Teena Marie and a Larry Levan re-mixed set of Salsoul oldies.

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UK Disco Top 90 – March 1, 1980

01 01 Whispers – And The Beat Goes On – Solar 12″
02 03 Michael Jackson – Rock With You – Epic 12″
03 04 Phyllis Hyman – You Know How To Love Me – Arista 12″
04 05 Kool & The Gang – Too Hot / Tonight’s The Night – Mercury 12″
05 02 Positive Force – We Got The Funk – Sugarhill 12″
06 11 Brass Construction – Shakit / Music Makes You Feel Like Dancing – UA 12″
07 07 Prince – I Wanna Be Your Lover – Warner Bros. 12″
08 12 Jocko – Rhythm Talk – Philadelphia Int’l 12″
09 06 Azymuth – Jazz Carnival – Milestone 12″
10 10 Roy Ayers – Don’t Stop The Feeling – Polydor 12″
11 36 Brothers Johnson – Stomp! / Let’s Swing – A&M 12″
12 15 Narada Michael Walden – Tonight I’m Alright – Atlantic 12″
13 14 Tony Rallo & The Midnite Band – Holdin’ On / Burnin’ Alive – Calibre 12″
14 13 Players Association – We Got The Groove – Vanguard 12″
15 09 Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight – Sugarhill 12″
16 08 Michael Jackson – Off The Wall – Epic 7″
17 19 Narada Michael Walden – I Shoulda Loved Ya / You’re Soo Good / Lovin’ You Madly – Atlantic LP
18 20 Patrice Rushen – Haven’t You Heard – Elektra 12″
19 16 Billy Ocean – Are You Ready – GTO 12″
20 28 GQ – Standing Ovation – Arista 12″
21 18 Sheila & B. Devotion – Spacer – Carrere 12″
22 26 Shalamar – Right In The Socket / The Right Time For Us – Solar 12″
23 17 Rose Royce – Is It Love You’re After – Whitfield 12″
24 23 War – The World Is A Ghetto – MCA 12″
25 30 Ronnie Laws – O.T.B.A. Law (Outta Be A Law) / Young Child / Every Generation / Tomorrow / Love’s Victory – UA LP
26 29 Slave – Just A Touch Of Love – Atlantic 12″
27 25 Trussel – Love Injection – Elektra 12″
28 27 Players Association – The Get Down Mellow Mellow Sound / Dance / We’re Almost There – Vanguard LP
29 22 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Prayin’ – Source 12″
30 72 Leon Haywood – Don’t Push It Don’t Force It – 20th Century 12″
31 24 Billy Preston & Syreeta – With You I’m Born Again – Motown 7″
32 38 Gibson Brothers – Que Sera Mi Vida – Island 12″
33 47 Nolans – I’m In The Mood For Dancing – Epic 7″
34 21 Sister Sledge – Got To Love Somebody – Atlantic 12″
35 54 Bobby Thurston – Check Out The Groove / You Got What It Takes – US Prelude LP
36 37 KC & The Sunshine Band – Please Don’t Go – TK 7″
37 33 Chain Reaction – Dance Freak – US Sound Of New York 12″
38 50 Light Of The World – The Boys In Blue / This Is This – Ensign 12″
39 32 George Duke – I Want You For Myself – Epic 7″/LP/US 12″ promo
40 31 Shalamar – The Second Time Around – Solar 12″
41 42 Stop – I Can Feel It – Elite 12″
42 35 Dan Hartman – Vertigo / Relight My Fire – Blue Sky 12″
43 43 Fat Larry’s Band – Here Comes The Sun – Fantasy 12″
44 40 Booker T & The MGs – Green Onions – Atlantic 7″
45 34 Chic – My Feet Keep Dancing – Atlantic 12″
46 51 Donna Summer – On The Radio – Casablanca 7″/LP
47 39 Chuck Cissel – Cisselin’ Hot – US Arista 12″
48 71 Sharon Paige – Tonight’s The Night – US Source 12″
49 56 Bonnie Pointer – I Can’t Help Myself – Motown 7″/LP
50 70 Gibson Brothers – Cuba / Better Do It Salsa – Island 12″
51 69 Gordon’s War – Got To Fan The Flame / The Rock Is Gonna Get You – US Stan-Jay 12″
52 59 Jan Akkerman – She’s So Divine / Stingray – Atlantic 7″/LP
53 41 One Way feat. Al Hudson – Music / Tonight – MCA 12″
54 46 Kool & The Gang – Ladies’ Night – Mercury 12″
55 48 Eddie Cheba – Lookin’ Good – US Tree Line 12″
56 65 Pretenders – Brass In Pocket – Real 7″
57 44 Funkadelic – (Not Just) Knee Deep – Warner Bros. 12″
58 45 Isley Brothers – It’s A Disco Night – Epic 12″
59 84 Spyro Gyra – Catching The Sun / Percolator – MCA 12″/LP
60 75 Merry Clayton – Emotion / When The World Turns Blue – US MCA LP
61 86 Kleeer – Winners (all cuts) – US Atlantic LP
62 61 La Pregunta – Chameleon – US GNP Crescendo 12″
63 67 Specials – Too Much Too Young / Guns Of Navarone – 2-Tone 7″
64 49 Herb Alpert – Rotation – A&M 12″
65 78 Maximum Penetration – Maximum Penetration – Sidewalk 12″
66 55 Diana Ross – It’s My House – Motown 12″
67 52 Rick James – Love Gun – Motown 7″/LP
68 63 Gap Band – I Don’t Believe You Want To Get Up And Dance / Steppin’ Out – Mercury 12″
69 57 Joe Bataan – Rap-O Clap-O – Salsoul 12″
70 74 Whispers – Lady / My Girl / Can You Do The Boogie / Out The Box / A Song For Donny – Solar LP
71 79 Fat Larry’s Band – Center City / Last Chance To Dance – Fantasy 12″ promo/LP
72 60 v/a – Four Hot Imports – Casablanca 12″
73 64 The Beat – Tears Of A Clown / Ranking Full Stop – 2-Tone 7″
74 80 Styx – Babe – A&M 7″
75 77 Invisible Man’s Band – All Night Thing – US Mango 12″
76 87 Wilson Pickett – Groove City – EMI America 12″
77 89 Zkiffz – (I Wanna) Boogie With You – UA 12″
78 RE Madness – My Girl – Stiff 7″
79 NE Brothers Johnson – This Had To Be / Light Up The Night / Celebrations / You Make Me Wanna Wiggle / Smilin’ On Ya – A&M LP
80 NE Wilbert Longmire – Hawkeye – US Tappan Zee LP
81 85 Big Foot – I Apologize / Watch Your Step – US Sue Int’l 12″
82 68 Prince – Sexy Dancer – Warner Bros. LP
83 NE Liquid Gold – Dance Yourself Dizzy – Polo 12″
84 81 Sylvester – Can’t Stop Dancing / In My Fantasy – Fantasy 12″
85 76 Commodores – Wonderland – Motown 7″
86 73 Grey & Hanks – Now I’m Fine / Prime Time – US RCA LP
87 66 Deborah Washington – Rock It – Ariola 12″
88 RE Earth, Wind & Fire – In The Stone – CBS 12″
89 NE Guardian Angel – Self Service Love / Jim Screechie – MR 12″
90 NE Eargasm – This Is Lovers Rock – Venture 12″

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Appeared in Billboard:
#1 (BNDA debut 1/12/80) / #2 (BNDA debut 8/18/79) / #3 (BNDA debut 11/10/79)
#4 (BNDA debut 9/8/79) / #5 (BNDA debut 1/12/80) / #6 (BNDA debut 5/31/80)
#7 (BNDA debut 11/10/79) / #10 (BNDA debut 12/22/79) / #11 (BNDA debut 2/23/80)
#12 (BNDA debut 12/22/79) / #13 (BNDA debut 1/5/80) / #14 (BNDA debut 3/22/80)
#15 (BNDA debut 10/13/79) / #17 (BNDA debut 12/22/79) / #18 (BNDA debut 12/15/79)
#19 (BNDA debut 12/13/80) / #20 (BNDA debut 3/1/80) / #21 (BNDA debut 5/10/80)
#22 (BNDA debut 3/22/80) / #26 (BNDA debut 1/12/80) / #27 (BNDA debut 12/8/79)
#28 (BNDA debut 3/22/80) / #30 (BNDA debut 2/23/80) / #32 (BNDA debut 7/12/80)
#34 (BNDA debut 1/26/80) / #35 (BNDA debut 3/1/80) / #39 (BNDA debut 12/15/79)
#40 (BNDA debut 3/22/80) / #42 (BNDA debut 11/10/79) / #43 (BNDA debut 2/9/80)
#45 (BNDA debut 6/23/79) / #46 (BNDA debut 11/17/79) / #47 (BNDA debut 1/12/80)
#48 (BNDA debut 2/16/80) / #49 (BNDA debut 1/5/80) / #50 (BNDA debut 4/7/79 & 9/8/79)
#53 (BNDA debut 11/3/79) / #54 (BNDA debut 9/8/79) / #56 (BNDA debut 4/5/80)
#57 (BNDA debut 10/13/79) / #58 (BNDA debut 8/25/79) / #61 (BNDA debut 4/5/80)
#64 (BNDA debut 12/22/79) / #67 (BNDA debut 11/24/79) / #68 (BNDA debut 3/8/80)
#69 (BNDA debut 12/1/79) / #70 (BNDA debut 1/12/80) / #72 (BNDA debut 9/8/79)
#75 (BNDA debut 1/26/80) / #82 (BNDA debut 11/10/79) / #83 (BNDA debut 11/17/79)
#84 (BNDA debut 11/17/79) / #86 (BNDA debut 3/8/80)

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Bubbling under the UK Disco Top 90 are:

B.T. EXPRESS: ‘Give Up The Funk (Let’s Dance)’ (US Columbia 7”) (BNDA debut 4/19/80)
CHUCK BROWN: ‘Bustin’ Loose’ / OPUS 7: ‘Bussle’ (Source 12” EP)
OSIBISA: ‘Pata Pata’ (Pye 12”)
L.A. BOPPERS: ‘Watching Life’ / ‘Funk It Out’ / ‘Is This The Best’ (US Mercury LP)
BUNNY MACK: ‘Love You Forever’ (Rokel 12”)
MODERN SOUND CORPORATION: ‘Safari’ (Epic 12”)
GIVENS FAMILY: ‘The Year Of The Child’ (US Venture 12”)
KOCKY: ‘Remone’ (US Windsong 12”) (BNDA debut 2/16/80)
SHOTGUN: ‘I Want You’ / ‘Go Head’ / ‘Come On With It’ / ‘Happy Feelin’’ (US MCA LP)
PAT BENATAR: ‘We Live For Love’ (Chrysalis 12”)
EUGENE RECORD: ‘Fan The Fire’ / ‘Where Are You’ / ‘Your Love’ (US Warner Bros. LP)