I say, chaps! It’s that jolly old time of the year when we open the golden envelope to see who did really well in 1987. Whizzo, what? All statistics are derived from the year-end dance charts, which means that certain record company employees should start worrying now…
BLACK DANCE ARTISTES OF THE YEAR: Eric B & Rakim
RUNNERS UP: Sybil, Alexander O’Neal, Joyce Sims, Lillo Thomas, Jellybean, Cameo, Wally Jump Jr & The Criminal Element, Sherrick, Curtis Hairston, Rick Astley
BLACK DANCE HIT OF 1987: M|A|R|R|S ‘Pump Up The Volume’ (4AD), number one in the year-end chart if both mixes are combined
RUNNER UP: Nitro DeLuxe ‘This Brutal House’/’Let’s Get Brutal’ (Cooltempo), number two likewise if all mixes are combined
Jeff Young on his Radio 1 show appeared to think that the originator of ‘Jingo’ was Candido, when in fact, long before even Santana (who popularised it), the tune’s writer Michael Olatunji recorded it on a US Columbia LP around 25 years ago… Jellybean’s album version of ‘Jingo’, it would seem as a result of my prompting, is being 12-inched by Chrysalis this week as the Space Bass Mix, flipped by a new House Mix 2… London have just signed up Hurby ‘Luv Bug’ Azor, representing most of his productions including, of course, the Hurby’s Machine-featured acts, and Salt-n-Pepa (for the world excluding North America), to appear on the new ffrr label – that stands for full frequency range recordings, and old trademark of Decca… ffrr has also just promoed the slower, 118bpm, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley-mixed re-recordings of ‘Baby Wants To Ride’ by Jamie Principle (that, incidentally, is the spelling of Principle used by the guy’s lawyers, who presumably know!)… Magnetic Dance picked up the Microphone Prince here, but only seem to be coupling ‘Rock House’ with ‘Memory Lane’, leaving off the brilliant ‘Hound Dog’ (the track that’ll break him on radio)… Ex-Sample’s basic backing to ‘And So It Goes’ was originally touted to record companies here featuring a full vocal over it by Viola Wills… Robert Clivilles and David Cole, of 2 Puerto Ricans A Blackman And A Dominican, have remixed Mel & Kim’s US-released ‘I’m The One Who Loves You’… Dancin’ Danny D apparently has remixed Total Contrast’s ‘Kiss’ in a belated attempt to turn the tune’s undoubted dancefloor acceptance into actual sales… Ian Levine has remixed Tiffany’s recent US chart-topping revival of Tommy James And The Shondells’ ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ for UK release in the new year, while the Hi-NRG import hit by Havana that Ian’s putting out here has a rival, as former Clash bassist Paul Simonon’s brand new group is also confusingly called Havana… Bluebird Records, already with stores in London’s Edgware Road and in Luton, have a branch opening early January in Streatham’s High Parade… LPs now out here, following full review on import, include the Various Artists ‘Christmas Rap’ (London/Profile LONLP 52), Tony Terry ‘Forever Yours’ (Epic 460504 1), Angela Winbush ‘Sharp’ (Club JABH 27), The Controllers ‘For The Love Of My Woman’ (MCA Records MCF 3404), Doc Powell ‘Love Is Where It’s At’ (Club JABH 28)… Zuzan’s ‘Girls Can Jak Too’ singles have been temporarily deleted until January by Supreme Records – of which label the managing director, is should be clarified, is Nick East, while, of course, Theo Loyla was the Disco Aid night’s co-ordinator… Steve Walsh was spotted getting heavily into rubber at Skin II, seemingly rather concerned that nobody should take a photo of him!… London’s trendier soul crowd, it needs clarifying, are the ones who sport not only flared trousers but also full afro hairstyles and po’ boy floppy caps – the full awful early Seventies Jackson 5 look! – and they’ll be out in force this Saturday (19) at the Astoria for Simon Goffe’s Cortina Party, starring Sharon Redd and Cash Money … Capital Radio’s king of rap Tim Westwood expects Cash Money to join him with Faze One and the London Posse at Mile End Road’s Queen Mary College the night before, Friday (18)… Radio London’s king of jazz, Gilles Peterson joins Dave Malone and Turbo at Great Shelford’s Defreville Arms near Cambridge on Saturday (19)… Tuesday (22) should see a real roadblock, if not a clash, on London Charing Cross Road at neighbouring venues, Just-Ice appearing with Radio London’s Dave Pearce, Roger Johnson and Gilles Peterson at the Astoria while, right next door (actually, underneath!), Busby’s has a Soul Splash with Jeff Young, Tim Westwood, Tony Dortie, Paul French, Disco Gary VanDenBussche, Segue Steve Goddard and more… Chris Kaye is joined by the Cookie Crew on Wednesday (23) at Tonbridge’s Angel Centre… Bank Holiday Monday (28), Chiltern Radio’s king of soul Martin Collins joins Chris ‘Charlie’ Brown, Bob Jones, Dave Malone and Dougie Osborne at Great Bentley’s Tartan House near Colchester… KISS-fm has a special party with Jules of Family Funktion, Norman Jay, Steve Jackson, Colin Faver, Madhatter Trevor, Matt Black + Jonathon More plus others at Soho’s Wag Club on Wednesday, December 30, when Steve Aspey, Paul Morrissey and busy Gilles Peterson groove it at Oxford’s Boodles… Hugh B claims to play the hardest, most upfront music possible in Liverpool at Thursdays Bop in the Mardi Gras Club… Mark Franklyn is getting into soulful gear, and black videos too, at Bermondsey Old Kent Road’s reopened Dun Cow on Fri/Saturdays, while Adrian John is delighted to be able to play nothing but soul, funk, house and hip hop at Telford’s Cascades… I’m afraid that’s it for this column until the beginning of January, but don’t miss next week’s issue of rm as instead there will be the usual Hammy Awards for the disco biz, the year end 1987 dance charts and all the year’s number ones, plus a full track listing of the four hour continuous party music tape, sequenced by myself and Les Adams, which will be broadcast by Capital Radio on New Year’s Eve from 10pm… Cool Yule, y’all, Hot Hogmanay, many thanks for all your cards and presents, and DON’T STOP JAMMIN’!
Nicky Holloway and his Starship Enterprises (01-439 2628) have two beezer Doos coming up in London after Christmas, and All Day Doo at Hammersmith’s Le Palais on Bank Holiday Monday, December 28 (3pm-midnight) with guest DJs Pete Tong, Gilles Peterson, Derek B, Norman Jay, Dave Dorrell, Jay Strongman and Ben + Andy, while on New Year’s Eve at the Astoria (10pm-3.30am) Messrs Tong, Peterson and Holloway are joined by Chris Brown, Bob Jones, Chris Bangs, Bob Masters, Rob Day and Johnny Walker. Party people only!
Chris Dinnis, one of the few people ever to find a copy of the legendary rare groove LP by Japanese jazzer Kanu Sukalagwun, has his Saturday 11am-2pm Brunchtime soul show on Plymouth Sound (97fm/1152mw) relayed also from noon by Radio In Tavistock (96.6fm, mono only), but next Saturday there’s a special five hour 9am-2pm Boxing Day With Dinnis show in which he’ll recap the year’s outstanding soul sounds. Early Seventies is the favoured vintage at his Friday nights at Ellacombe’s Monroes, Torquay, while he’s also just embarking on a series of moveable gigs around the area under the name of The Humdinger, playing late Sixties and Seventies soul with an emphasis on mid-tempo material and pure class.
HOT VINYL
BOMB THE BASS ‘Beat Dis (Extended Dis)’ (US Mister-Ron Records DOOD X 12001)
This excellent, if derivative, exciting (0-)113¾-0bpm volume pumping mix-up adapts the M|A|R|R|S bassline, the ‘Shaft’ wukka-wukka guitar, plus beats and bits from all sorts of stuff (even Coldcut’s “this is a journey into sound”), ending up fiercer and more jam packed than ‘Pump Up The Volume’ (edit/bonus beats flip).
**SUPER STAR** A-MAR FEATURING JAY BEE ROCK ‘Grasshopper Meets The Master’ (US Zakia Records PAL-7161)
Inspired by TV’s old ‘Kung Fu’ series, this fascinating concept finds the Master teaching his pupil Grasshopper the art of mixing, illustrating his lessons by scratching rare grooves through a jiggly ‘Bra’ beat before ending with early Sixties Motown classics, the brilliant idea being explored fully in the (0-)110-118-0bpm Club Mix (and Radio Edit) or just to JB beats in the (0-)110-0bpm ‘Grasshopper’s (Hip Hop Style)’. Listen closely!
TWO GUYS A DRUM MACHINE AND A TRUMPET ‘I’m Getting Tired Of Being Pushed Around’ (London LONX 141)
After months of being on promo primarily as the Untouchables (a name in fact unavailable to them), Andy Cox and David Steele from the Fine Young Cannibals now call themselves by their subtle name for the long awaited full release (on December 28) of this self descriptive scratching and leaping 121¾bpm jack track, flipped by the sounds-washed less punchily drifting 115bpm ‘Make It Funky’ and its seasonally-tinged ‘What Are You Waiting For?’ alternative version, featuring fashionable Arabic effects. Continue reading “December 19, 1987: Bomb The Bass, Super Star A-Mar, Two Guys A Drum Machine And A Trumpet, Hurby’s Machine, Joyce Sims”
Cooltempo, rather than the anticipated London, have snapped up the sizzling Sweet Tee ‘I Got Da Feelin’’ for UK release … Kool Moe Dee’s ‘How Ya Like Me Now’, despite having shot up our Black Dance chart, is in fact currently unavailable for a few weeks “while royalty arrangements are worked out with other artistes whose material is used” (ie: James Brown?) … Urban’s next James Brown EP will feature ‘She’s The One’, ‘Funky President’, ‘Funky Drummer’ and ‘Funky Drummer Bonus Beats’, all the basis of many recent rap ‘n’ scratch releases … 1988’s Technics UK DJ Mixing Championships area heats will be (this is an up to date, revised list, superceding others you may have seen elsewhere) at Edinburgh Zenatec (January 4), Stockton-On-Tees The Mall (5), Manchester Hacienda (6), South London’s Norbury Sussex Tavern (11), Uxbridge Regals (12), Southampton New York New York (13), Bristol Papillon (18), Leeds Mr Craigs (20), Nottingham Ritzy (26), Northern Ireland’s Portrush Traks (28) – contact the Disco Mix Club on 06286 67276 for an application form, and bear in mind that runner-up DJs may now enter as many subsequent heats as they wish, in the chance of winning at one where the competition could be less fierce (this new move is to ensure that all the really best mixers have a chance to get through, thus strengthening the finals) … CJ Mackintosh will automatically be defending his 1987 title at the London Hippodrome-held UK final on February 16, while Chad Jackson (his predecessor as UK champ and current holder of the world title) has yet to announce if he’ll be entering any of the heats in order to try and win back his crown – it would be diplomatic if he didn’t … Channel 4 is screening on Christmas Day the Paul Simon-hosted gospel show ‘Everybody Say Yeah!’, featuring none other than Luther Vandross, Jennifer Holliday and the Edwin Hawkins Singers, and on New Year’s Eve the Paul Gambaccini-presented ‘The Motown Story’ … Freakie Dee on his Radio West Midlands Sound System Show this Sunday (13) features a special Kool Kat interview segment … Steve Randall has already speculated on his Metro Radio show, to listeners’ agreement, that the backing vocals on Alexander O’Neal’s ‘Criticize’ remix could be by Madonna – whereas, sorry Steve, they’re in fact by Siedah Garrett … Chrysalis sent out mystery white label promos of Living In A Box’s upcoming ‘Love Is The Art’ (LIBX 4), a house flavoured jerkily frenetic 121¾bpm bounder … Mirage’s album will include all their ‘Jack Mix’ medleys edited together with new additions into a marathon jack track – the two guys who (with a girl) front the group on personal appearances are, incidentally, the sons of now Germany based Carl Griffiths, original saxist in the Sixties with Jimmy James & The Vagabonds … Syncopate had planned a luminous pressing of the House Engineers’ ‘Ghost House’, but scrapped it as it wouldn’t play! … Colin Line is updating his DJ mailing list at Impulse Promotions, 10-16 Chaplin Road, London NW2 5PN … Jeff Young is being tipped to follow in Mike Sefton’s footsteps from Phonogram to A&M in the new year … Tom Astor’s Bermondsey situated oriNoco recording studio complex celebrated its first six months with a well organised party (drink and food still going strong eight hours later!), which featured grooves spun by Gilles Peterson on Jerry Green’s sound system while all the music biz’s whizziest kids grooved on down alongside the daddy (if not uncle) of them all, the fast becoming legendary Sparrow Harrison! … Capital Radio’s newly “processed” Chris Forbes did a little bit behind the decks at Gullivers’ farewell party, but things got so frantic and tight what with a full fashion show and lots of PAs that in fact Fatman Graham Canter and myself will be making more leisurely guest appearances at the Mayfair premises, as only seems right, on the actual closing night this Saturday (December 12) – the legendary black music club re-opens to the public (after a few industry parties) next Saturday (19) at its brand new Ganton Street site in Soho … Dave Pearce, Roger Johnson, Ian ‘Muppet’ Stewart, Flip, Colin Levett, Russ B and more get def at Chelmsford’s Chancellor Hall this Friday (11) … Jon Jules has taken over Fridays and (alongside Chris Forbes and the Doo Rags) Sundays at South Harrow Bogarts … Ron Brown has declared Friday a “Wham!-free” zone at Walthamstow Charlie Chan’s, playing just current Black Dance hits plus classic oldies – does that mean “Madonna-free” and “Rick Astley-free”, too? … Mark Langdon and Antonio (The Beast) spin house imports, funk and soul Fridays at Port Talbot’s Raffles … DJ JD and various guests, in a follow-on from successful Tuff nights, have started a Tuesday d>cipher night at Brighton’s Escape Club, needing rap/hip hop PAs (contact Mark Reed on 0424-446376 after 6.30pm) … Tony Blackburn may seem an unlikely but welcomely tasteful champion of Nat ‘King’ Cole in the face of the Rick Astley version of ‘When I Fall In Love’ that many might have supposed he’d prefer … Les Adams and I, in the middle of creating our four hour continuous Capital Radio New Year’s Eve party music tape, found as suspected that the LP version of Jellybean’s ‘Jingo’ has far more balls than the remixes … Giorge Pettus’s self-titled album is now out here (MCA Records MCF 3406) … Salt-n-Pepa’s lively fast sparse 129½bpm ‘Push It’, B-side of their old ‘Tramp’ (Champion CHAMP 12-51), is turning into a pop smash in the States even though they have a new harder hip hop single out too … Flavor Flav, when acting as a mouthpiece for Public Enemy in interviews, presumably thinks it’s def to punctuate every single sentence with “You know what I’m sayin’” – or is that stoopid def? … DON’T STOP JAMMIN’!
HOT VINYL
MELI’SA MORGAN ‘If You Can Do It: I Can Too!!’ (Capitol 12CL 475)
Getting far more reaction now it’s out here than it ever did on import, this Jocelyn Brown-ish beefily thudding 0-109¼bpm strutter is here flipped by last year’s more soulful lurchingly driving 100⅙-100⅓bpm ‘Fool’s Paradise (Paradise Mix)’ and 1982’s (or earlier?) jerkily rolling c.117-115⅓-116¾bpm ‘Feelin’ Lucky Lately’. The latter is by the Jacques Fred Petrus co-produced Chic/Sister Sledge-inspired group High Fashion, of which she was then lead singer.
FLEETWOOD MAC ‘Family Man (Extended Vocal Remix)’ (Warner Bros W8114T)
Arthur Baker has really excelled himself creating a 12 inch-only 123-0bpm remix of this tuneful bounder that’s now excitingly superior “house”, grabbing instant disco attention. Full of delightful touches, it’s a must – and, what’s more, the flip’s ‘Family Party‘ bonus beats put the needle to the record and tighten up!
WIZZARDS OF ROCK ‘Good Thang/Stone To The Bone’ (US Rank 6202)
The most outrageous steal yet from James Brown, his ‘Stone To The Bone’ being used (with a superimposed new 0-95½-0bpm drum rhythm) as what amounts to the duetting accompaniment for bursts of rap which actually cue him in with “James, tell ’em” (dub flip, and some stoopid human beat-box). The exact same US pressing, incidentally, has been white labelled here by Champion (CHAMP 12-60). Naturally, the sound of now, in London at least. Continue reading “December 12, 1987: Dance Aid (“in short, the record has been a total cock-up”), Meli’sa Morgan, Fleetwood Mac, Wizzards Of Rock, MG”
Stock Aitken Waterman’s disappointing ‘Pack Jammed (With The Party Posse)’ is also due on December 13 in a far better (0-)99¼-0bpm Writ Mix (Breakout USAF 620, flipped by the (0-)99¼bpm original), with lots of snips from the team’s other hit productions and John Sachs laying off on the “skiddendaddy” to play instead a high court judge who, by the use of amusing cut ups, seems to be trying M|A|R|R|S for sampling the scream from ‘Roadblock’ – this could indeed make the record sub judice as the “guilty” verdict might be seen to influence the real court case that’s pending! … Les Adams’ 115(intro)-114⅓-114¼-114½-114¾-114⅔-115bpm Montana Sextet ‘Heavy Vibes (Remix)’ (10 Records TEN 204-12), without the benefit of the original master tape, nevertheless incorporates a sax solo and other instrumentation from a previously unheard seven inch version (plus a sneaky ‘Don’t Stop’ reference to his own LA Mix hit!), but don’t expect anything radically different … Third World’s percussion from ‘Now That We Found Love’ and lots more besides is sampled throughout the much wilder 119⅔-120bpm Krush ‘House Arrest (Burn Down The House Mix)’ (Club JABXR 63), flipped by the more acid house-like Rhythim Is Rhythim and other sample-filled 120bpm ‘Jack’s Back (To Frontline Mix)’ … M|A|R|R|S’ 113bpm US remix of ‘Pump Up The Volume’ (US 4th + B’way BWAY 452) has had its samples carefully vetted, and includes a new “Mars needs women” overlaid 113¼-0bpm Bonus Beat … Derek B’s Urban Respray of Eric B & Rakim, on finished pressings rather than the acetate I reviewed, is a steady 98bpm … Ofra Haza’s ‘Im Nin’alu’, the wailing Yemenite folk song featured in the Coldcut mix of ‘Paid In Full’, has now been given a jittery tugging 0-89½bpm disco beat by its original Israeli producer for two back-to-back remixes on limited white label (GlobeStyle OFRA 1, via Ace Records) … Keith Sweat’s excellent import LP has been rushed out here (Vintertainment/Elektra 960 763-1), along with Modernique (Sire 925 633-1) … WEA have usefully circulated on promo-only 12 inch the (unsegued) Dub Versions that are otherwise only available on the CD and cassette of Madonna’s ‘You Can Dance’ LP, the 118-0bpm ‘Spotlight’, 116bpm ‘Holiday’, 0-116⅓-0bpm ‘Into The Groove’, and 149¼-0bpm ‘Over And Over’ – meanwhile, her new commercial single is the swirling dreary slow 46/92bpm ‘The Look Of Love’ (Sire W8115T), no doubt another pop smash regardless … Fred Dove points out that WEA’s computerised reaction profiles of mailing list DJs’ reports dictate the company’s dance music marketing strategy, rather than any activity in rm’s dance charts that may occur as an incidental spinoff – nothing else was inferred last week, when it merely needed explaining why so many Atlantic imports keep hitting the Black Dance chart long after they were originally released, purely because they’ve been mailed out for free to DJs who never previously considered buying them when new … MCA Records, under almost totally new management here following many staff changes, are planning a proper black music department to start in the new year … Disco Mix Club – now short of office space at Tony Prince’s house and moving soon to premises on the nearby A4 between Slough and Maidenhead – managed to get all the record companies’ disco pluggers to dress up for a funny photo as choir boys (and guess who they got as Father Christmas?!) … Supreme Records’ crazy scheduling of the Dance Aid remix for release actually after the Disco Aid charity night had resulted in absolutely zilch chart reaction from DJs, and not much from sales, as of last week, by which time any reaction from November 14 should surely have been felt (the situation may now hopefully have changed) … Graeme Park reckons it’s a shame the critics only got to see the UK Jackmaster Tour at less than enthusiastic London venues, as on the tour’s opening night at Derby’s 20th Century the house went wild as Darryl Pandy, Out Of Control, Full House, Paris Grey, Joe Smooth and JM Silk featuring Keith Nunnally all jacked amongst the crowd out on the floor and sang along in the DJ booth to all the other records that Graeme was playing – altogether fierce, crucial, well wicked (and really rather good, what?) … Darryl Pandy has lost six stones since last he was here, which means he now weighs in at a mere 18 stones! … Jamie Principal’s hyped-up saga continues, Steve Silk Hurley now having done four remixes of the slower Manhattan-recorded remake version of ‘Baby Wants To Ride’, the one that’s due here on London – no doubt Pete Tong will be giving them plenty of plugs beforehand on Capital Radio! … Man To Man survivor Paul Zone is teaming up with brother Armand Zone to form the Zone Brothers, still working with Man Parrish, and debuting with a remake of Sylvester’s ‘Do You Wanna Funk’ … Jack Trax picked up the UK rights to Rhythim Is Rhythim ‘Strings’ from Neil Rushton, while Serious Records are releasing Bam-Bam ‘Give It To Me’ … The Tams’ ‘There Ain’t Nothing Like Shaggin’’, it apparently needs re-emphasising, was recorded only in 1983 and is a lot less old than many people sporting flared trousers, but also a few black guys with full afro hairstyles, po’ boy floppy caps, and flares – the full awful early Seventies Jackson 5 look! … Jay Strongman, Nicky Holloway and Simon Dunmore are tonight (Tuesday December 1) at an “I Spy” doo at Uxbridge Regals … Kashif is due as star PA at Radio London’s Soul Night Out this Thursday (3), for the first time at Reading’s Majestic … Greg Edwards confirms that reports of his jocking on an Irish radio station are unfounded, he is back in London until the building work is completed on his condo development in Grenada – and to prove it, he joins Tim Westwood, Jazzy M and various of the label’s artists this Thursday (3) when Westside Records revive the Streetwave-originated Havoc night at London’s Limelight … Robbie Vincent joins Jeff Thomas at Swansea’s Martha’s Vineyard this Friday (4), when Chris Brown guests with Les Fisher and Simon Dunmore at the monthly Rhythm Zone in Northolt’s C&L Country Club … Derek B and Oliver Cheatham join Simon Goffe at this Saturday’s weekly Fever in London’s Astoria … Quila, Greenie and Kev Miller plus guest DJs this Sunday (6) have the second of their fortnightly “cult soul and jazz” nights at Ipswich’s smart La Dolce Vita in Old Foundry Road … Jeff Thomas’ Port Talbot Pharoah’s hip hop gig apparently has foundered, too … Swansea DJ James Lewis may be a bit late with his record company reaction reports for a while, as he and his wife Kim have just discovered their three year old son Christian has virtually incurable cancer – a ghastly prospect, about which I’m sure we all give them our sympathy … World mixing champ Chad Jackson spends Christmas in Australia and New Year’s Eve in Japan, scratching in Sydney, Melbourne and Tokyo, before threatening to make his vocal recording debut in 1988! … Hemel Hempstead DJ Joe Fields’ sister Sally is marrying his colleague Bob Masters next year … Capital Radio, following a disastrous lapse last year, will again have its continuous four hour party tape this New Year’s Eve created by not only myself but Les Adams too, in a co-production this time! … Les, who looks like giving David Grant renewed dancefloor credibility on future productions, points out that when both ‘Roadblock’ and ‘Pack Jammed’ are synched together, the bass drum and snare actually phase, proving they’re common to both, and that Stock Aitken Waterman merely reused the same backing track! … Paul Waller, not Weller, co-produced Black Britain’s ‘Heroin’ – that’ll teach me to read label copy while it’s going round at 45rpm! … Dance Music’s ‘Street Sounds ’87-3’ LP (DM/StreetSounds STSND 873) sneakily includes the original Candido ‘Jingo’, available again no doubt to counter and complement the Jellybean remake … I’m afraid some reviews may seem a bit late, but there just isn’t room for everything and a backlog often builds up that still deserves to be printed … DON’T STOP JAMMIN’!
Graham Gold tonight (Tuesday December 1) hosts the farewell party at Mayfair’s legendary Gullivers, where he will be joined in the DJ booth by Fatman Graham Canter, the jock whose original residency at the club began the legend and made it London’s premier black music nightspot. Having shared the booth with both Grahams every weekend for about seven years, until 1984, I too will be spinning a few for old time’s sake, and there are sure to be many, many guest stars looking in as friends. Gullivers is due to move, if all goes well, to brand new premises in Soho next week – but don’t stop going to it in Mayfair yet, until I tell you when!
JON JULES (left) and NIC WAKEFIELD continue the partnership started at Uxbridge Regals when, along with John Mathews, they rock the house every Tuesday at The Bass Bin in South Harrow’s The Avenue, on Shaftesbury Avenue (no, not the one in London’s West End!), spinning rare groove, soul, house and all the funk that fits.
STEVE WALSH (seen here with Gloucester’s plucky disabled DJ, Metal Mickey) actually kicks off his new Stock Aitken Waterman-created catchily jogging 105⅔bpm ‘Let’s Get Together Tonite (The All Together Tonite Mix)’ (A1 Records 12A1303, via PRT) with his rabble rousing “say ho, ho, whoah-oh whoah-oh, you wot you wot” chants — and why not? Promo pressings also feature a separate, music-less, “Listen, this is Steve Walsh”-started short seasonal greeting for DJs to drop where they want. Genial 25 stone Steve sounds ever more like the late Eighties answer to Judge Dread.
HOT VINYL
SWEET TEE ‘I Got Da Feelin’’ (US Profile PRO-7169)
No sooner had last week’s column gone to press than this impatiently awaited import arrived and exploded in London! Brilliantly produced by Hurby Luv Bug and Steevee-O (The Boy Wonder), the female rapper does it to a dynamite 111bpm beat that’s shot through with the brass from James Brown’s ‘Cold Sweat’, while JB’s “yeah yeah yeah” punctuates the flip’s equally good 100½-0bpm ‘It’s Like That Y’All’, which uses the choppy guitar riff from Betty Wright’s ‘Clean Up Woman’ (both in instrumental and acappella mixes, too). Hot, or what?!
D.J. TODD 1 ‘That’s The Way I Cut’ (US Cut Up! TBO Sound CIR-156089)
Todd (One) Brown whips up timely simple party fun with James Brown-started marathon (0-)109⅔bpm scratch mix of KC & The Sunshine Band’s ‘That’s The Way I Like It’ (“uh-huh, uh-huh” – remember?), very deftly done but also in his choice of such a catchy well known singalong song an uncomplicated hip hopper that should have far wider appeal than usual at this festive time of year (edit and tough Dope Beats flip).
RICK ASTLEY ‘My Arms Keep Missing You’ (RCA PT 41684)
Promo-ed separately with a dub too, this brand new (not on LP) Stock Aitken Waterman-created typically vigorous 118bpm canterer could be the B-side factor that boosts his reverential but stodgy 0-38-0bpm A-side recreation of the strings swamped old Gordon Jenkins arrangements of the dead slow ‘When I Fall In Love’ higher in the chart than the now rush-released original, and far more subtle, 0-37⅔-0bpm NAT KING COLE ‘When I Fall In Love’ (Capitol CL 15975), from 1957 and really more deserving of hit status. Continue reading “December 5, 1987: Sweet Tee, D.J. Todd, Rick Astley, Jellybean, Flightt”
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