Month: July 1986

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

I am the guy that got thrown out of Paradise Garage, for having the temerity to suggest that after all the publicity I have given to both the New York club (which doesn’t close until next year now) and its DJ Larry Levan they might like to let me in for free – so there goes any further mention of “garage” music! … ‘House’ is in any case the correct term for what we’ve been calling ‘garage’, a real producers’ music form to the extent that it’s the producers rather than the artistes who get the main label credit: thus Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk & Jessie Saunders have taken precedence over the actual singer of ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’, the incredible six and a half octave ranged Darryl Pandy, who sounds like Little Richard, looks like Fats Domino, with a satchel mouth like Louis Armstrong, a true star waiting to be discovered! … I had the pleasure at Arthur Baker’s Shakedown Studio of watching Farley Keith re-record (rather than remix) Darryl’s ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’ vocals for a future alternative release (photos next week if they come out) … Arthur’s own 122½bpm ‘I Want To Go To Chicago’ by RT & The Rockmen Unlimited has reached acetate stage, but the big news is that together with DJ International Records owner Rocky Jones he has produced a Chicago/New York All Stars session featuring such as Chip E, Farley Keith, Darryl Pandy, Afrika Bambaataa, Melle Mel, Will (Wally Jump Junior) Downing, Hubert (‘D’ Train) Eaves, André Booth, Bruce Forest and more, the results being split between his own Criminal Records and DJ International for release … Frankie Knuckles was the DJ at Chicago’s Warehouse, which actually closed three years ago, playing such obscure New York records only ever heard there that they came to be called “House” – he cites among many Master Jay ‘TSOB’, Liquid Liquid ‘Cavern’, MFSB ‘Love Is The Message’, and various Gino Soccio titles … Chip E’s singer Jack In House explains that “jack” is another word for dancing, “when the music is loud and pumping like a jackhammer”! … Chicago’s broadminded black mayor Harold Washington is so clued up on the impact of house music that he seems likely to be promoting it himself internationally! … New York’s New Music Seminar as usual had a scratching and rapping contest, but the results were discredited by political manoeuvrings which will be detailed in full next week: suffice to say that UK champ Chad Jackson did magnificently in the initial heats, beating the Get Fresh Crew’s Barry B on applause after cutting up the words “Get Fresh Crew” in real blood-letting battle, but then these initial heats were run again to accommodate someone whose dad owns a radio station, the finals eventually (and deservedly, despite unfair scoring by his manager on the judging panel) won by Jazzy Jeff, while Grandmaster Kaz won the rapping … New York’s urban contemporary radio now isn’t even as upfront as Tony Blackburn on Radio London – make of that what you will! … Timex Social Club now tops US Black 45s, Club Play, and 12 Inch Sales in Billboard! … Livewire, the people who encourage the unwary to ring up huge ‘phone bills, from this week start a new funky service hosted by Radio London DJ Dave Pearce which includes the RM Dance Line, spotlighting several fast new risers on our Disco chart – the service is in London only at the moment, on 0066-66012 costing a maximum 35p for one and a half minutes at peak times, 12p off-peak … Steve Walsh has dubbed his own singalong lyrics over the top of Fatback ‘I Found Lovin’’ for imminent release, and picked up Hanson & Davis for his Total Control label … Club have Wally Jump Junior, and Janet Jackson’s ‘When I Think Of You’ album “sleeper” is finally due next week … Dancin’ Danny Poku has concocted a promo-only re-edited 0-98½-92-101-98½-0bpm ‘Real Roxanne Meets Pee Wee Herman And Howie’s Teed Off’, with scratching by Hardrock Soul Movement, while commercially The Real Roxanne ‘Bang Zoom’ is also out in an instrumentally started 98⅚-99-0bpm The Fresh New Beat Remix (incidentally, on watching ‘Back To The Future’ again in mid-Atlantic, it suddenly became obvious that “bang zoom” was a catchphrase from the vintage Jackie Gleason TV show) … Princess ‘Tell Me Tomorrow’ has reverted to 10-inch size for yet another different 104⅔bpm Saturday DJ Edit mix, while O’chi Brown ‘100% Pure Pain’ is on a Special DJ Copy “white label” as a much altered tighter 113¾bpm US Extended Remix, and finished commercial copies of Phil Fearon have as flip the self-penned accomplished 140-147½-150-151-0bpm jazz instrumental ‘Il Gurnata’ … Epic have released the rock-guitared (0-)101-0bpm ‘House Rocker’ (TA 6952) as Lovebug Starski’s follow-up … Billy Crystal’s smarmy 0-112½-0bpm ‘You Look Marvellous’ (US A&M) is taking off again thanks to its video, as before mainly in the Thames Estuary area so far … London group Zuice, whose 110¼bpm ‘Everyone A Winner’ (a juddery title line looking for a song) isn’t out on Club for a fortnight, are being launched like Total Contrast last year at special DJ parties, in Manchester at Richfields next Monday (28), Glasgow at The Cotton Club Tuesday (29) – see you there? … Nick Graham revives three decades of Pressure Cookin’ black dance music this Thursday (24) at Bromley South’s Dr Crippens … New York saw Chad Jackson diving mouth first into all the exotic frozen cocktails, Damon Rochefort give a taxi driver $100 instead of $1 (notes are the same size!), Steve Walsh chatting to a girl who turned out to be a fellah, being pickpocketed, and escaping from a head-on taxi crash, while Simon Bates seemed not to want people to know he’d been to the New Music Seminar (it might ruin the credibility of Radio One DJs!) … SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

Roger Troutman, during Zapp’s London visit, finally revealed how he creates his distinctive “vocoder” vocal sound. Through a plastic tube he breathes into his mouth helium, a gas that makes his voice go squeaky, the sound of which is taken by microphone into an amplifier and then fed through a synthesizer, the keyboard of which Roger plays to coincide with the words that by being fed through it have now become the sound signal he’s manipulating into “music”, bending and stretching them. This takes practice!

HOT VINYL

Stock Aitken Waterman present MONDO KANÉ featuring Dee Lewis & Coral Gordon, guest star GEORGIE FAME ‘New York Afternoon’ (Lisson Records DOLEQ 2, via PRT)
With the overall concept’s name now phonetically respelt to prevent confusion with a Dutch group called Mondo Cane, production team Stock Aitken Waterman’s debut as “artistes” stars the inimitable nasal tones of the ‘Yeh Yeh’ man crooning Richie Cole’s gloriously breezy 102⅔bpm samba as if it had been written for him. Edited 103⅚-103⅔bpm Little Samba and Fame-less 0-104bpm Nip On mixes join the flip’s oddly wowing (0-)106⅔bpm similarly samba instrumental ‘Manhattan Morning’. Not many know it, but DJ Chris Hill was behind this whole idea.

DEBBY BLACKWELL ‘Once You Got Me Going’ (10 Records TENT 151)
Squalling shrill Debby virtually duets with a mellow soulful backing fellah on this Leroy Burgess co-penned fast frantic 117½bpm jittery flier, sort Aurra and Skipworth & Turner gone Hi-NRG (in four versions).

JAK TO JAK ‘Take It Easy’ (Boiling Point POSPX 806)
The S and M of DSM, Birmingham DJs scratching Shaun Williams and Mambo now join huskily talking rapper Gilly (a guy) who rides the rhythm of a not surprisingly DSM-like mellow ticking 110⅓bpm shuffle groove (jazzier and harder more ‘Twilight’-ish dub flip).

CA$HFLOW ‘Can’t Let Love Pass Us By’ (Club JABX 33)
An unlikely A-side, this intensely chugging tight 115⅓bpm whipper does become quite nagging on a monotonous level, as do the flip’s already charted rambling jiggly 94⅔bpm ‘Spending Money’ and pent-up wriggly 112⅔bpm ‘I Need Your Love’, all having a cumulative soulfulness rather than being strong songs. Continue reading “July 26, 1986: “I am the guy that got thrown out of Paradise Garage””

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

UK FRESH ’86, for which Hashim has cut a theme tune on Streetwave, actually lacks the leading US rap acts, Run-DMC, LL Cool J and Whodini – who, with the Beastie Boys, will be at Hammersmith Odeon on September 12/13, and in Nottingham and Manchester as well! … New York this week at the New Music Seminar was due to see various parties, Profile’s on Tuesday starring Run-DMC, who’ve now sold 1,350,000 LPs in just eight weeks (‘Walk This Way’ is their follow-up single with a great video featuring its originators Aerosmith), while the same night Jellybean was presenting such of his acts as Jocelyn Brown at Anthony And The Camp at Area, and Luther Vandross and Ashford & Simpson were hosting a benefit night at the Felt Forum … Wednesday was due to be “garage” night at Better Days with Bruce Forest and guest DJ Frankie Knuckles presenting Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk, Chip E, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, Farmboy, Fingers Inc – I hope I was there! … Damon Rochefort, making his first trip Stateside to report for rm, got his passport only the evening before he was due to fly out, and then had to queue at dawn for a visa the day he went! … Ian Dewhirst is quitting EMI to run Serious Records’ singles label, and Orin Cozier has already departed from RCA … Froggy and mixing partner Simon Harris have teamed up with Streetwave to launch their own label, now called Music Of Life – and it is this label that has signed LaToya Jackson, and will debut next month with a remixed Cerrone ‘Supernature’ … Disco Mix Club’s new album of ‘International’ mixes (the monthly DJs-only subscription service provides 3 LPs now; details on 06386-67276) is pulling in such Continental star remixers as Ben Liebrand and Rutger ‘Rutti’ Kroese … Tony Prince in addition is launching an actual commercial label, DMC Records through Arista, committed as an outlet for disco DJs to become producers – the first release will be a total remix by Sanny X of Tina Charles’ old ‘I Love To Love’ (just what the world needed, right?), each release being on standard 12 inch plus a multi-track “remix pack” 12 inch with all the bits that jocks need to create their own versions … Timex Social Club topped US 12 inch Sales, Peter Gabriel Club Play, El DeBarge Black 45s in Billboard … Pillar Promotions are compiling an exhaustive listing of all the country’s top clubs and DJs, to be called DJU and sold to pluggers and suchlike for £200, so they want to hear from anyone who thinks they should be included: call Philip Williams on 01-735 8171 … Steve Walsh stoutly insists that although his Rolls Royce is indeed second hand, it’s a late Seventies, one-owner-only model, a snip at £15,500 … Sinitta ‘So Macho’, still selling strongly up North, is turning into a holiday hit in Spain, so may yet smash nationally … SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

HOT VINYL

JEFFREY OSBORNE ‘Soweto’ (A&M AMY 334)
Really rushed out here hard on the heels of the 115½bpm topical protest song cheekily pinches a riff from Miami Sound Machine’s ‘Dr Beat’, especially on the dub version, and here is coupled also with Larry Levan’s 0-112bpm “special US remix” of the seminal ‘Plane Love’. The best thing on his album, now even better, and destined to be huge.

PHIL FEARON ‘I Can Prove It’ (Ensign 604, via Chrysalis)
I suggested following the Real Thing revival that Tony Etoria’s 1977 hit could be worth digging up, and here comes Phil, sticking almost too close to the (108bpm) original for comfort, in a breezily swinging bubbly 110bpm remake which adds some scat and breaks but otherwise even copies the Welshman’s distinctive enunciation (inst flip), with of course a more spacious modern recording quality. Tony peaked nationally at 21, can this top it?

TIMEX SOCIAL CLUB ‘Rumors’ (US Jay Records JAY 001)
Imagine a male Nu Shooz doing ‘Louie Louie’ with the punks (in the original Sixties garage band meaning) chanting wicked, sometimes scabrous, lyrics to a mind numbing 107½bpm hypnotic beat – ‘Vicious Rumors’ is the longer B-side version – and you’ve got the hottest 12 inch seller in the States right now! Continue reading “July 19, 1986: Jeffrey Osborne, Phil Fearon, Timex Social Club, Jeffree, Lionel Richie”

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

COMMUNITY RADIO plans, rather as suspected after so long a delay, have been shelved for the moment while the government evaluates the recommendations of the Peacock Committee’s report on broadcasting m general; however Tory party chairman Norman Tebbit (once head of the Department of Trade and Industry and keen for radio deregulation himself) insists that the delay will be only temporary (whatever length that means) … London Records have snapped up Chicago’s DJ International Records and associated labels House Records and Underground for the UK, with their own logo here, meaning that Cooltempo no longer have Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk & Jessie Saunders here – incidentally the label’s founder Rocky Jones confirms and clarifies: “Garage Music is stuff like Dhar Braxton and Gwen Guthrie from New York, Chicago music is called House Music after the Warehouse Club in Chicago – know the difference!” … New York based Arthur Baker, originally from Boston himself, has produced an anthem for the music actually called ‘Chicago‘ and plans a massive promotion that should boost the sound even further and pull the rug out from under the Chicagoans? … EMI’s disco plugger Ian Dewhirst reports from New York that Cultural Vibe ‘Ma-Foom-Bey‘ is the garage crazed city’s hottest hit, which doubtless all the Brits about to descend on the Big Apple for the New Music Seminar will discover for themselves … ‘Krush Groove’ is showing at London Kings Cross Scala cinema this Thursday-Sunday (10-13) … Midnight Star ‘Headlines’ has been remixed by the Wrecking Crew … Stock Aitken Waterman present Mondo Cane featuring Dee Lewis & Coral Gordon with guest star Georgie Fame is the cumbersome label billing on their 103⅔bpm bossa nova cover version of Richie Cole’s ‘New York Afternoon’, due on Lisson Records soon and already burning up the airwaves … Roger Troutman, who really Zapp-ed London with a tightly disciplined all happening stage show which owed much to past soul heroes, went straight on up to Scotland to produce eccentric P’funker Jesse Rae — I myself was at the far north-western tip of Sutherland two Mondays ago with Spud Murphy watching the sun set at 10.34pm, and the sky stay red all night long! … BBC Radio London’s live link with New York’s WBLS on July the Fourth was, for its Hammersmith Palais section, to all intents and purposes the Steve Walsh show, as the large one shouted “I Am Steve Walsh!” no less than 18 times in an hour … Masquerade’s presentation of ‘The Solution (To The Problem)’, with its “we can work it out” chant of optimism, was ironic considering it coincided with a guy brandishing a knife at the bouncers … Brian D Mason (Cricklewood Ashton), driving a Porsche 911SC Sport Tarca with personalised plate 557 BDM, reckons he’s one up on Steve Walsh’s very second hand personalised Rolls Royce! … Morgan Khan, still unable to discover a British Michael Jackson, enthuses that Streetwave have at least signed LaToya Jackson, doing a duet with Cerrone … Lulu’s original may yet be remarketed, but in the meantime she’s re-recorded a faithful (though lukewarm when compared with her energy 22 years ago) 0-138¼-126½-138-0bpm version of the party classic ‘Shout’ (Jive LULU T1), which surprisingly has competition from the deliberately (and not so incisively) rearranged brand new 148½-0-148½-0-126-147-152-0bpm treatment by Buddy Curtess And The Grasshoppers (Mercury BUD 112) … . . Tania Maria at Euston’s Shaw Theatre on Sunday July 27 coincides with Anita Baker at Hammersmith Odeon – where this Saturday (12) David Sanborn is in concert, while Willie Colon burns up Hammersmith Palais Monday (14) … Thomas & Taylor have left Cooltempo … Technics have already launched a vari-speed compact disc player, giving plus minus eight per cent just like their record decks! … Man Parrish appears at Bolts sometime during Bournemouth’s Gay Pride Festival fortnight 11-27 July … Russell Harries, having moved to Scotland from Bournemouth, boasts he plays real club music at Stirling’s Le Clique where he welcomes funky PAs and coach parties (call 0786-814714 evenings) … Johnny S, looking for other mixing gigs on 01-521 1871, cuts up Stoke Newington’s Nine-Eleven club Saturdays with Elvis and Val Haywood … Steve Aspey, at Kensington’s The Park Fridays now, is joined at Oxford’s Parkers next Tuesday (15) by Bob Masters … Paul M and Fleck start funking specialist Wednesdays at Oldham’s Royton Scandalls next week (16) … Teena Marie on her ‘Emerald City’ LP sleeve says she’s trying to sound “green” – rather than black or white — to break away from our confining preconceptions … SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

LONDON RECORDS now release here the kings of rap ‘n scratch, RUN-DMC, whose 95bpm ‘My Adidas’ (LONX 101) is so concerned with footwear it’s the B Boys’ Blue Suede Shoes’, while (with their instrumentals too) the 105⅙bpm ‘Peter Piper’ coupling is fast catching up in popularity, having harder cutting and nursery rhyme chants. Also on UK release is their massively selling US LP ‘Raising Hell’ (LONLP 21), hottest tracks on the floor so far being the percussive 96⅔bpm ‘Is It Live‘, violently scratching 0- 97bpm ‘Hit It Run‘ and jaunty (0-)127⅔-0bpm ‘You Be Illin’‘. It’s all much more stark and demanding than the Full Force type of productions, so may not take every dancehall by storm … but it’s certainly def.

HOT VINYL

GWEN GUTHRIE ‘Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent’ (Boiling Point POSPX 807)
Beware, creative marketing at work! Initial UK pressings of this grittily nagging subdued 107¼bpm jiggly roller only feature Larry Levan’s two mixes (plus the 74bpm ‘Passion Eyes’), and cost around £3, whereas the far better value £5 import also includes the widely considered superior two Mark Berry remixes to make a five tracker. Obviously Berry’s mixes will be made available here too eventually, by which time you’ll have spent £6 if buying domestic vinyl to get them all. Anyway, the song’s turning out to be quite sneaky and huge at soul venues, but I remain doubtful about its crossover appeal.

THE MAIN INGREDIENT ‘Do Me Right’ (Cooltempo COOLX 126)
The veterans return on an excellent Kenny Beck-penned very wriggly 108½bpm imploring soul nagger with its distinctive near hysterical semi-falsetto vocal choppily stabbing the bubbly beat (inst flip). Continue reading “July 12, 1986: Run-DMC, Gwen Guthrie, The Main Ingredient, Lou Rawls, Shirley Jones”

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

THEO LOYLA and John Saunderson seem to have arrived at a workable way of holding a national Disco-Aid night: they suggest that on Saturday, November 1, all clubs add a small extra admission charge while DJs play requests for cash and hold raffle-type money raisers, with recording artistes donating a brief free PA at the club of their choice . . . Radio London’s Soul Night Out this Thursday, broadcast live at midnight this time to coincide with the Fourth of July here if not in the USA, once again has Tony Blackburn and Dave Pearce live in New York on WBLS while Steve Walsh presents the guest stars at Hammersmith Palais, followed at 2am Friday by Alexander O’Neal & Cherrelle direct from Harlem’s Apollo! . . . Chrissie Jackson spins hot soul newies 7-9pm, Mike Stewart oldies 9-10pm, every Friday now on Norfolk’s Radio Broadland 97.6FM . . . Daryl Stafford’s Eurobeat Top 25 at Bournemouth’s Cabaret Club is broadcast fortnightly on 2CR’s Monday evening Tim Butcher/John Dash show . . . Cooltempo snapped up the sizzling Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk & Jessie Saunders for release in a fortnight . . . Luther Vandross ‘Give Me The Reason‘ (Epic A7288), received so far only on seven inch, is a not particularly danceable ambiguously jiggling 138½/69¼bpm weaver from the film ‘Ruthless People’ . . . WEA have reactivated Shirley Murdock ‘Truth Or Dare‘ and Zapp ‘It Doesn’t Really Matter‘ to coincide with their UK visit . . . CADJ (Central Assn for DJs) meet the first Sunday every month at East Birmingham Hospital Social Club, details from John Baksh on 021-384 6959 . . . Thursday (3) Graeme Park mixes live while models walk at a fashion show in Nottingham’s The Garage . . . Chris Hill is Kev Hill’s next guest at Basildon Sweeneys Monday Guvnor’s Clinic (7), followed by Sean French & Chris Brown, Robbie Vincent, Gilles Peterson & Nicky Holloway, etcetera . . . Mike Shaft, Colin Curtis & Patrick play nothing but garage jack trax at Manchester’s revamped Legend Wednesdays . . . Paul Oakenfold & DJ Wicked Pulse funk The Go-Go Thursdays in Richmond’s The World at Zeeta’s . . . Steve Glover’s gone goggle-eyed now that Bournemouth’s Zig Zag has installed a huge screen video! . . . Cosmic sez “ta” to all who supported him at Basildon’s now defunkt New Yorker . . . Andy Vaughan (Old Kent Road Dun Cow) tips that WQBC synchs superbly out of ‘Borrowed Love’, while my own hot mix at a mobile gig was the guitar intro of Chuck Berry ‘No Particular Place To Go‘ chopped in place of the same guitar figure during James Brown ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag‘! . . . Harmonic Keys Dance Music Service, the Florida based BPM and key directory (BPMs not that accurate, actually), suggests amongst other musically perfect “on key” mixes Sheila E ‘A Love Bizarre’ and Janet Jackson ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’, both in E flat minor . . . Sheila E, forget it — I’ve just seen Sheila Gish, nonchalantly driving a left hand drive American saloon through Hampstead! Howie Tee’s cousin Chris Rumney from Highgate corrects that its Mixmaster Ice who cuts it up with UTFO . . . SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

PEE-WEE HERMAN is the wimpish American comedian fast building a cult following, especially for his debut feature film ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’, to such an extent among B Boys that he, his dance, and ‘Tequila’ theme tune are the — here still unseen so perhaps mystifying — subject matter of the now UK-released JOESKI LOVE: ‘Pee-Wee’s Dance’ (Cooltempo COOLX 125). A starkly insistent catchy (0-)90½bpm minimalist rap, it’s been hanging on for months as an import even without any national exposure for Herman himself, so what’ll happen once we’ve seen him?

UK FRESH ’86 host, hip hopping MIKE ALLEN raps on the mic while GRANDMASTER RICHIE RICH looks happy — probably because his ‘Check It Out’ is the debut release on Hammersmith disco store owner Greg James’s own label, Spin-Off’s Record Company Limited (120FF 1). A jerkily leaping (0-)121¾bpm scratcher with cod “upper class” intro and actually rather foreign sounding rap, its ‘Scratch It Out’ dub may be preferable.

HOT VINYL

One of the first new wave of “garage” records to make its presence felt here (before the description was being applied), this year old incredibly influential minimalist remake of Strafe’s tune has been the backing track to a million DJ mixes, adapted by other artistes, and covered several times in its own right — all without ever getting a UK release, until now. Driven remorselessly by a schlurping “pshta pshta” hi-hat beat which eventually embraces subduedly chanting chicks and further colourations, it’s never a song as such but just a floor jamming 110¾-110½-111bpm groove (I hadn’t realised its electronics fluctuate fractionally). Because so many must already have the import, here the original is flipped by a brand new 110-109¾bpm remix by Herbie Mastermind, making more of an actual song out of previously unheard elements from the master tape, plus a useful if short 110¾bpm Bonus Beats instrumental (hinting also at Maze’s ‘Twilight’). For mixers, and the aware, essential! Continue reading “July 5, 1986: Joeski Love, Grandmaster Richie Rich, Harleqiun Four’s, Princess, Michael Jonzun”