Month: April 1988

BEATS & PIECES

EMILIO PASQUEZ turns out to be the creator of that ‘Batman’-based ‘Sounds From The Pink Sand Box (Volume 3)‘ mystery “yellow label”, due now for full release on WEA credited to Emilio — but in reality (as ‘Beat Dis’ label copy readers might by now have guessed!) this is the pseudonym of Bomb The Bass producer and S-Express member, studio engineer Pascal Gabriel… Jon Williams is moving from Jive in three weeks to run the Club label at Phonogram — meanwhile, his limited edition white label Wee Papa Girl Rappers ‘Faith 1’ remix, incorporating George Michael, has been changing hands for £50 as if it was a bootleg, demand is so intense, although his latest white label remix will eventually get full release, the 0-112½-0bpm ‘Play It Again Sam‘ (Jive JP 1) being in fact Samantha Fox’s current Full Force produced ‘Naughty Girls Need Love Too’ US hit with her vocals stripped off and volume pumping samples added!… E.U. ‘Da’Butt’ has also been in great demand (catching importers on the hop) following Chris Hill’s success with it at Prestatyn, and isn’t out here until the end of May… MCA have acquired Rose Royce ‘Is It Love You’re After’ (S-Express’s inspiration) from the old Whitfield label to be the flip of ‘Car Wash’, merely re-EQed rather than remixed… Break Boys ‘And The Break Goes On’ is being rushed here next week on Hardcore, while Todd Terry Project ‘Bango (To The Batmobile)’ will finally be on Morgan Khan’s new US-licensed Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records logo — however, this latter may not be without problems, as previously reported, because the flip’s ‘Back To The Beat’ borrowed ‘The Sound’ and now London will be issuing Kevin (Reese) Saunderson’s tit-for-tat ‘The Sound (Power Remix)‘ and ‘Rock The Beat’!… Do It Properly?… Leigh Guest, sole remaining member of the Double Trouble remixing team, has signed exclusively to Serious Records as a megamixer, while ex-partners Damon Rochefort and Mike Morrison are starting their own GRC (General Recording Company) label along the lines of Serious with a ‘House Music Vol 1‘ compilation its first release… Taurus Boyz has apparently been totally revamped by Dancin’ Danny D… Tyree ‘Acid Over’, the only real “acid track” on ffrr’s ‘Acid Tracks’ compilation, is due at last as a remixed white label… Essex mixer Mark Ryder, as tipped months ago, has teamed with Rough Trade’s music expert Dave Lee and partner Mike Chill to create M-D-Emm ‘Get Busy (It’s Partytime)’, due fully on May 9, another volume pumping bass bomber but in three very different versions, the routine 0-118¾bpm Club Mix, cooler 120¼-0bpm Busy House Mix, and rare grooves jammed more ‘S-Express’-style 117¼bpm Body Action Mix (the one that’s biggest in London)… Limelight DJ Hamish MacDonald is masquerading as ZPL on the very S-Express-type bass bombing 0-112¼-0bpm ‘Disco’, promoed now but not due on Jive until June… Pebbles’ follow-up has already been promoed, ‘Mercedes Boy‘, a jittery lurching 114⅔bpm canterer that I still consider is Madonna-pitched pop… Georgio’s as yet unscheduled follow-up is the hi-hat hissed simple striding wriggly 116¾bpm ‘Bedrock‘, with scratchy brass… I got the spelling wrong in my warning, but in case you still don’t realise, the ponderously chugging juddery (0-)103⅚bpm Myk ‘Mr Heartache’ is in reality Kim Wilde with Junior… Annette Taylor ‘It Must Be Right’, new last week on import, is already promoed here on Cooltempo… The JAMs’ newie is now credited instead to The KLF, and called ‘Burn The Beat‘ (club side) with ‘Burn The Bastards‘ the Scottish accented ‘Dance To The Music’ side, both still 0-120½-0bpm… New York’s black radio DJ Hal Jackson (see the Robbie Vincent caption) was already a veteran star of WWRL when in 1964 I went to his testimonial all-dayer at Harlem’s Rockland Palace Ballroom where amongst others I met Dizzy Gillespie, Arthur Prysock, Tony Bennett, Babs Gonales, Eddie Jefferson, the Four Seasons… Brook Benton, the chocolate voiced soulster best remembered for his Fifties and Sixties hits, sadly died earlier this month… James Brown was probably generalising when he said he’d influenced the Beatles amongst other unlikely UK groups, but even so his egocentric appearance on Robbie Vincent’s excellent Radio 1 soul show from New York seems to have hurt his credibility, younger listeners, finding him out of touch… Tony Blackburn is sampled saying ‘OK gang, what do you think, is this a load of garbage?’ on the M|A|R|R|S/Bomb The Bass sending up 0-109⅔bpm Star Turn On 45 Pints ‘Pump Up The Bitter (Brutal Mix)‘ (Pacific DRINK 1)… Mick & Pat’s video features, in the background, Mike Stock on keyboards, Matt Aitken on bass and Pete Waterman – or is that A Linn? – on drums (however, I think another more fully produced alternative video may have replaced this by now)… Portsmouth label Domino Records have stickered last year’s weedy 121¾bpm remake of The Michael Zager Band ‘Let’s All Chant’ (DOM 6T) as the “original hit version” — which it isn’t, so be warned… WEA’s man of the year has sent jocks an import 12 inch of John White ‘Victim‘ (US Geffen Records 0-20798), on Alexander O’Neal-type jolting jogger still in its old 102¾bpm LP Version… Ray Keith, Dave Malone, Guy Palmer and Turbo get def/rare/soulful at Sudbury (Suffolk) Jades this Thursday (April 28)… Friday (29) finds Stu Banks and Max Rees bombing the house at Harston Village Hall in Cambridgeshire, and Gilles Peterson guesting with Steve Wren and Les Knott at Harlow Monroes’ weekly Toejammer… Mike Allin is joined at Milton Keynes’ The Point by Wee Papa Girl Rappers on Saturday (30), when Nicky Holloway’s threatened last “Doo” ever is at Streatham Ice Rink with Pete Tong, Gilles Peterson and the usual crew… Gt Yarmouth Tiffanys’ Sunday (May 1) 6-12pm Beach Ball stars Chris Hill, Pete Tong, Gilles Peterson, Chrissie Jackson, Nicky Holloway, Eddie Gordon, Paul Dakeyne, Bob Jones, Danny Smith, Craig & Marcus… Bank Holiday Monday (2) then finds Chris Hill, Pete Tong, Jeff Young, Chris Brown, Kev Hill and Froggy at Portsmouth Ritzy’s all-dayer, Liverpool Mardi Gras Club having its fifth monthly No Sell Out up-front funk-up, Clinton Cambridge spinning compact disc soul at Uxbridge’s free admission The Villa Venue Bar and Tim Westwood, Graeme Park, Simon Goffe, Tony Dortie, Paul French at Gillingham The Avenue’s Soul Stew (publicity for which was sent me actually stuck around a can of Campbell’s Chicken Stew — delicious, if a bit runny!)… Tony Jenkins still needs a few more PAs (on 0895-73486) to help ram jam another Up West night at London’s Hippodrome next Wednesday (4)… Graeme Park wants to be known as a Nottingham DJ, which is where he lives, but as the only regular gig amidst his globe-trotting seems to be in Derby, a “Derby DJ” he’ll remain until he can prove otherwise!… GET OFF!

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ROBBIE VINCENT, sitting in for Jeff Young this Friday (April 29) on Radio 1’s 7-10pm dance show (with Les Adams creating a special megamix), so impressed the locals during his own recent live broadcast from New York that Hal Jackson, the veteran black radio jock there and current owner of the Apollo, has invited him to do a show live at that world famous Harlem theatre!

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TIMMY REGISFORD —returning to the faces behind the names on the labels — was born in Trinidad but has lived longer now in New York, where he’s had a Saturday night show on WBLS since 1983 while becoming famous internationally as a remixer of countless dance hits, and producer of such as Colonel Abrams (partnered initially by Boyd Jarvis, with whom he shared the short lived Fleetwood label). Having worked also for Atlantic, he currently heads MCA Records’ New York A&R department.

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HOT VINYL

TEN CITY ‘Right Back To You’ (US Atlantic 0-86574)
The fastest selling import in a while (on the heels of the enduring ‘Devotion’, this Marshall Jefferson and Byron Stingily-created surging episodic bounder has Sylvester-style vocals in Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley’s 120bpm Extended Mix or is instrumental in Marshall Jefferson’s trumpet led excellent 119¾bpm NY Mix, while as an even longer and equally good coupling there’s the Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk mixed rollingly pattering jittery 104bpm ‘One Kiss Will Make It Better (House Mix)‘ – not that the latter soul track is “house” at all. With over 27 minutes of music on the import 12 inch, WEA’s problem here will be what to include on the UK pressing, limited by chart rules to just 20 minutes. You’ll get it all if you buy this now!

TRUE MATHEMATICS ‘K.A.O.S.S.’ (Champion CHAMP 12-76)
On UK promo for some time but pipped to the post in sales terms last week by the import pressing on Select (which ought to teach Champion, who always promo things too long!), this Hank Shocklee co-produced obviously Public Enemy-ish KC & The Sunshine Band ‘That’s The Way (I Like It)’-cutting 104bpm busily juddering jittery rap is double AA-sided (instrumentals too) with the electronically compressed “telephone call”-like rapped lethargically jiggling 99bpm ‘For The Money‘, set to a James Brown sampling variation on the old ‘Bo Diddley’ beat.

PRINCE ‘Alphabet St. (Album Version)’ (Paisley Park Records W7900T)
Idiosyncratic as ever though funkier than usual, the purple prancer’s latest is a starkly percussive jerky rambling 104⅔bpm choppy jitterer, with a psychedelically expanded 0-104⅔bpm This Is Not Music, This Is A Trip dub. Continue reading “April 30, 1988: Ten City, True Mathematics, Prince, Soul II Soul, Royal House”

BEATS & PIECES

ANDY PHIPPEN, it can now be revealed, has bought and already moved into the old Summit Records shop, newly renamed Rhythm Inn, at 79 Praed Street by London s Paddington Station, his Rayners Lane assistant (and star DJ in his own right) Jerry Green moving there too… Soho, meanwhile, is fast becoming a battleground between rival dance music record shops, the latest to open there (at 47 Beak Street) being a larger branch of Jim Milton’s Brixton-based Red Records… Tim Simenon is starting his own Bubble Bunch label, primarily for DJ pressings in the manner of Coldcut’s original Ahead Of Our Time concept, although it will also release his Bomb The Bass follow-up, ‘Megablast‘ (based on ‘Bambaataa’s Theme‘)… Pressure as a label name has already been used here, so MCA Dance will now be the self explanatory new name of Adrian Sykes’ operation… London’s GEE st Records, and indeed G Records, are maybe surprisingly named after an actual Gee Street where the labels and their studio are based, only a block away from rm’s typesetters near the Barbican… Serious Records have rush released Trax Records’ Various Artists ‘Acid Tracks‘ LP (DRUG 1), the semi-compilation with Mr Lee, Armando, Townsell and Phuture Pfantasy Club on one side and Jack Frost And The Circle Jerks on the other — reputedly, Jack Frost’s side (four tracks in all) only took one hour to record, which doesn’t sound unreasonable considering that Ca Sa’s ’15 Minutes’ is apparently titled after the time it took to create!… Les Adams has remixed Penthouse 4 with a modern beefier house sound, and Phil Harding’s remix of Brass Construction ‘Movin’’ shouldn’t upset purists, beefing up the beat considerably while maintaining the original groove… Streets Ahead has already remixed Roxanne Shanté’s ‘Go On Girl’, although the original mix isn’t due here on Breakout until May 16 (the similarity to Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock ‘It Takes Two’ is remarkable, but both do use Lyn Collins’ ‘Think (About It)’ as their basis)… Alan Coulthard, amongst the April 88 Mixes on Disco Mix Club, created an excellent megamix of S-Express with — not surprisingly! — Rose Royce ‘Is It Love You’re After’ and ‘RR Express’… ‘Theme From S-Express’ reminds WEA’s man of the year, Fred Dove, also of an old US hit which was promoed here on Atlantic but never released, Spin ‘We Sacrifice‘, but Mark Moore tells me that although he knows somewhere he must have the record, he can’t remember it and is not conscious of any similarities… Pedro ‘Goodfootin’’ is indeed English, will be distributed here in five or so weeks by Rough Trade and does use the Sly & Robbie-created unreleased James Brown backing track that briefly turned up as a Beat Freaks B-side!… PP Arnold sings lead on the Beatmasters’ upcoming ‘Burn It Up‘… Steve Walsh lookalike, DJ Shuggy Jock Master Scratch from Edinburgh’s Zenatec, now has a weekly Saturday 8-9pm Dance Music Chart Show on Radio Forth — you may remember my detailing his earlier megamix use of the Scottish country dance track, ‘Trio’, from an Andrew Rankine & His Band LP on Emerald/Gem, which he now finds fits exactly into the break of Rick Astley’s ‘Together Forever’, after which ‘Marie’s Wedding’ from the some LP then goes over the break of Rick’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ — hoots mon!… Mike Shaft’s official audience figures for his Saturday 8-11pm on BBC Radio Manchester beat commercial rival Piccadilly Radio three to one during the same slot… Glenn Gunner is yet another London club DJ, together with partner Jagz, to create a typically simple — and, in this case, US-style — acid house track, Trance ‘Sound Of The Future’… Glenn Gunner plus Andy Collins and Lee Drummond party hardy at Ealing’s Broadway Boulevard this Thursday when Carl Cox and the Rhino Boys — or could that be rm’s own Rhino Bros? — start funking and scratching Brighton’s Night Fever… James King, here for Up North Promotions’ April 22/23/24 Blackpool Soul Weekend (last minute enquiries on 091-389 0317), is also singing his soul at Birtley’s Liberty’s this Friday (22), Gt Yarmouth’s Macmillans Club Sunday (24)… Saturday (23) the Harlow DJ All Stars – Tony Poole, Terry Munro, Les Knott, Ashley Tyrell, Richard Hookham, Mark Jones – jazz-soul a charity Funk De Mambo night at Harlow’s Kingsmoor Recreation Centre in Paringdon Road… Defhouse Sixteen is a first anniversary bash at Birkenhead’s Atmosphere on Monday (25), with Desa, Kenni James and Dave Ralph introducing T-Cut-F, 52nd Street, Twin-Beat and Wee Papa Girl Rappers – meanwhile, Defhouse Seventeen is already set for Bank Holiday Monday, May 2… Cooltempo’s ‘Fierce Tour’ with Kid’N Play, NT Gang, Taurus Boyz and Julian Jonah collides with Jeff Thomas on Monday (25) at Swansea’s Martha’s Vineyard… Greg Wilson is returning to his 1982-84 haunt, Manchester’s Legend, for a one-off nostalgic electrophonic phunk revival next Wednesday (27), playing Peech Boys, Sinnamon, Soul Sonic Force, and indeed all the stuff that I too enjoyed playing during the same era in London at Gullivers… Charly has gained UK rights to such US salsa labels as Fania, Tico, Vaya and Cotique, so you can expect lots of Latin compilations… Nini ‘Instant Attitude’, the Janet-ish cranker reviewed on import last week, is here 115bpm on Move & Groove Records (12GMT 5)… Jackie Jackson of Smith & Mighty used to sing backing sessions for Peter Gabriel… Manchester DJ George Andrew’s distinctive writing has been missing from our chart returns since last summer, with good reason as he’s now in Canada, jocking on top of Toronto’s CN Tower in Sparkles, the highest nightclub in the world!… Breakout will at last soon be releasing here, back to back, the Stock Aitken Waterman-produced old Hi-NRG hits, EG Daily’s ‘Love In The Shadows’/’Mind Over Matter’… I find it strange, considering rm prints a Hi-NRG Top 50 now, that I am still not sent for review some of the Hi-NRG “hits” that do come out here – don’t the little record companies concerned want proper coverage and the chance to expand their market, especially in the current national Top 20 climate?… GET OFF!

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EMBARRASSING MOMENTS at Prestatyn, Number Two! During the last day’s grand finale it was suddenly thought that a good idea would be, after all this time, to revive McFadden & WhItehead’s ‘Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now’ — but nobody had a copy until Radio 1’s dance music DJ JEFF YOUNG dipped into his record box and pulled out the entire series of DM/StreetSounds’ ‘Anthems’ albums (which of course contain it and all the other great weekender clichés)! I wonder what this photo’s worth to label owner, Morgan Khan?

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SIMON HARRIS gets small y’all, in front of the London scratch mix posse of (l to r) DJ POGO, CUTMASTER SWIFT and STREETS AHEAD, in the house at Prestatyn.

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MARK KAMINS, the legendary New York DJ who really discovered Madonna, is in fact SHEIK FAWAZ, whose ‘Mohamed’s House’ hit contains samples of the now dead female Egyptian singing star Sabba, amongst others, that he used to play for atmospheric effect of Harem.

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DANCE CHARTS

Some explanation of the way in which rm’s dance charts are compiled is possibly in order, to satisfy the enquiries of several readers.

All are based on DJ’s chart returns, which are meant to reflect perceived floor reaction, but, as we realise that it’s obviously impossible to categorise exactly in a ranked order just how big each record is on the floor, we interpret the DJ’s chart positions into general bands of acceptance by way of a points system. We give seven points for number one, six for Top Five, five for Top 10, four for Top 15, and three for anything lower than that — this being because a conventional inverse points rating would be impractical as we get chart returns ranging from a Top 10 to a Top 50 or more, 20 or 30 positions however being the preferred norm.

Once all this is worked out, a very carefully (and secretly!) formulated sales factor is added to The Club Chart, to ensure that the most recent weekend’s big sellers are included, on the reasonable supposition that, if so many DJs have bought them, the records are likely to have been played as well! In practice, though, it really is only the biggest sellers that enter the chart in this way, by far the major contribution to chart movement overall being DJs’ input — however, thanks to the inevitable time lag caused by mail and compilation delays, the DJs’ reactions obviously relate to club plays at the very least a week before The Club Chart is printed, and sales input is needed to “sweeten” the finished result, keeping it up to date.

The formula is consistently shown to work (it’s uncanny the number of times that DJs’ points have matched previous, first, week’s sales points to the exact number!), my only regret that, as the chart is so scrupulously honest in its compilation, it often seems slow moving (especially in comparison with such ‘playlist’-style listings as Tim Jeffery’s Cool Cuts). One reason why the chart is a Top 100 is to give all the records that are happening a chance to show up somewhere, though, frustratingly at the moment, a number of actual sellers are often kept out even of the 100 by non-selling promos that have merely been serviced to chart-returning DJs for free. Still, just because DJs are buying a record it isn’t necessarily going to prove a floor-filler when they play it, so I reckon everything works out fairly.

The Pop Dance, Scottish Dance and Hi-NRG charts are compiled in same way, but without any sales and to an earlier deadline, by just Alan Jones (who does the preliminary work on The Club Chart, which I complete over the weekend). DJs returning to us should note that we need your charts by Wednesday every week, so please post them if possible no later than Monday, to James Hamilton/Alan Jones, RM, Spotlight Publications, Greater London House, Hampstead Road, London NW1 7QZ. We ourselves do not supply printed chart forms, so use your own paper — and, please, be honest in assessing floor reaction.

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HOT VINYL

JAMES BROWN ‘The Payback Mix — Keep On Doing What You’re Doing But Make It Funky’ (Urban URBX 17)
Originally titled on promo as ‘Coldcut Meets The Godfather’ but finally out commercially with all mention of Coldcut totally removed, Matt Black and Jonathan More instead being credited just on the sleeve as its mixers, this brilliant 0-110⅙(most of it)-109(final ‘Sex Machine’)-113-110½-0bpm megamix of Mr Brown and associated acts is already a massive dancefloor smash, coupled now with 1973’s sinuously jiggling 101-100½-99½-98⅓bpm ‘Stone To The Bone’, 1969’s relentlessly thrashing and screaming 117-115⅔-114-115⅔-114⅔-113⅔-116-114bpm ‘Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose’ (in a remix), and 1967’s classic brassily chugging 111⅔-113-111⅔-113-112⅓-113bpm ‘Cold Sweat‘ (which’ll always remind me of driving through the Texas desert with it blaring from the radio, as “the brand new sound of Brown in our town, mama, layin’ it down pound by pound — my, my, my!”). Norman Cook and Streets Ahead’s ‘The Final Mixdown‘ revamp of the A-side is also apparently due this week, though surely seems unlikely quite so soon?

RUN-D.M.C. ‘Run’s House’ (London LONX 177)
Worth the wait as more def and fresh than their latterday pop output, this rebellious 0-99⅙bpm angry shouter is coupled with the much more excitingly scratched 103bpm ‘Beats To The Rhyme‘ (instrumentals too), though both may of course prove too juddery and hard for their pop fans. Tough!

DEREK B ‘Bad Young Brother (Billy Beat Remix)’ (Tuff Audio DRKB 112)
Really fiercely scratched hard and heavy 100⅔bpm rap judderer, bowing in his own Phonogram-distributed label, another that’s concerned more with regaining street credibility among the b boy rebels rather than pop fans (excellent Bad Young Dub, and a 99⅚-0bpm remix by Steve Ett too, all at 33⅓pm). Continue reading “April 23, 1988: The dance charts explained, James Brown, Run-D.M.C., Derek B, Grandmaster Flash, Coco Steel And Lovebomb”

BEATS & PIECES

Streets Ahead and Norman Cook will be following Coldcut’s ‘Payback Mix’ with a James Brown mix of their own… Rose Royce trendily much revived ‘Car Wash’ is being reissued in a new, slightly augmented, re-edit… Germany based Brian Carter’s latest box set is, unbelievably, a five LP/bonus 12 inch, 41 track compilation of the ultra-rude Blowfly ‘X-Rated’ (BCM Records BC 70-20 69-49, also available as a CD three-pack, BC 50-20 69-42), with a T-shirt included too, the point about the “Blowfly” alter ego of soul singer Clarence Reid being that he puts totally obscene new lyrics to well known hits!… Robbie Vincent’s 7.30-10pm soul show on Radio 1 this Saturday (April 16) comes live from New York City, with James Brown, Randy Muller, Timmy Regisford and other superstar guests promised!… BBC2-TV’s music investigating ‘Behind The Beat’ series, starting later this month, filmed some strangely chosen bits of the Prestatyn weekender, just on the opening night… Nitro Deluxe’s name was printed in the Prestatyn programme as ‘Intro Deluxe’, which actually sounds quite good, doesn’t it?… Jimmy Castor’s unexpected appearance at Prestatyn was a big thrill for me — I was able to meet him at last, and tell him that 21 years ago (as a fan of his first ‘Hey Leroy‘ hit) I had actually rung his door bell in the Bronx, but he was out!… Cutmaster Swift and DJ Pogo (both of Technics mixing fame) made sure they were standing dead centre of the stage front to watch the Cold Chillin’ acts at Prestatyn… Steve Walsh, a first time visitor to any LiveWire weekender, was well impressed during his brief Saturday night stay, but evidently couldn’t take the pace and passed out cold in a chair, this year’s prime “zonked on house” victim!… Steve, incidentally, turns out to be the producer of Julian Jonah, and behind the UK release of Cappella… I must admit to not originally being bowled over by LA Mix’s upcoming samples-crammed 117⅓-0bpm ‘Check This Out‘ (despite being sampled myself on the flip!), but it really was one of the few newies that cut through the crowd at Prestatyn, thanks in large part to its Serious Intention ‘You Don’t Know’-derived hookline… Peterborough’s jammin’ Steve Jason has started a Friday 6.35-10pm dance music show on Hereward Radio 102.7fm, reflecting rm’s various club charts… Tim Westwood heads up the weekly Sunday 3-8pm Illin for under-18s at Brixton’s Fridge… Motown’s upcoming new Hits Of Gold seven inch back-to-back reissue series will include the Jackson 5 ‘ABC’/’The love You Save’, and a useful coupling of the vintage Contours ‘Do You Love Me’ (one of the all-time party stormers) with Barrett Strong ‘Money’ (the hit that kicked off Motown)… TV’s ‘Falcon Crest’ last week featured ‘Twist And Shout’ during a party scene, using an ancient LP version by the Miracles!… Mahesh Bajaj, amidst making staff changes at Serious Records (could future remixes be by Single Trouble?), had all his business files stolen from his car while parked outside the Wag Club — so bear with him if there’s a hiccup in communications… Gregg Diamond & Bionic Boogie’s ‘Fess Up To The Boogie’ B-side isn’t quite as fast as printed, only 117bpm!… Capital Radio’s chanting Mick Brown made his UK Top 100 debut as part of the Monty MCs ‘Holiday Rap (With A Capital C)’… Kim Wilde is masquerading on a current clubs-mailed promo as “Mick” (another whistle blown!)… Stock Aitken Waterman won a staggering 11 Ivor Novello Awards at last week’s luncheon… Dance Aid launches its 1988 charity appeal in a businesslike way with a gala luncheon of its own on May 26 (Thursday) at London’s Metropole Hotel, with guest speakers from the disco music industry (£45 ticket info on 01-607 8311)… World Class Wreckin Cru ‘Turn Off The Lights‘, here the B-side to Sargent Tucker, is the first US Hot 100 hit ever to chart in Billboard as only a 12 inch, with no seven inch available… Salt-n-Pepa ‘Push It’ has won a gold disc in the US, the first single to do so this year despite peaking at only number 19 in Billboard’s radio playlist (rather than sales) orientated Hot 100, yet more proof of how false a picture that chart gives — because of the tune’s essentially instrumental nature, easy to talk over, it received far more radio airplay than was reported… GET OFF!

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LIVEWIRE’s Prestatyn team were (L to R) Kev Hill, Johnny Walker, Chrissie Jackson, Chris Brown, Nicky Holloway, Paul Oakenfold, WEA’s Fred Dove, Ian Redding, Froggy, Jeff Young, Chris Hill, Robbie Vincent, LiveWire boss Adrian Webb, Cooltempo’s Steve Wolfe, Maggot, Pete Tong and (front) Chris Forbes, while Gilles Peterson, Eddie Gordon and Tim Westwood somehow missed the photocall!

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PRES JAM, as LiveWire’s Prestatyn soul weekender seems now to be called, went without a hitch over Easter on its third visit to the North Wales Pontins holiday camp. If the DJs’ choice of hip hop, house, Seventies oldies, jazz and (mainly on the closed circuit radio/TV) soul seemed predictably safe and rather low key, this appeared not to disappoint the crowd, who apparently never grew tired of ‘I Want You Back’ whether it was by Jackson 5 or Eric B & Rakim! Sadly, though, this weekender has become a time of musical entrenchment rather than experimentation, maybe because, thanks to current recording techniques, not many unknown newies have the power to cut through on first hearing in a large room.

Amongst the many star PAs, I really felt for Nitro Deluxe, who only has 10 per cent sight and was led on stage for what should have been a three minute slot, which he kept lengthening because — who can blame him — he probably had the greatest audience response he’ll ever have in his life. Terry Billy so enjoyed herself that she spent the entire weekend, up all night with the best of ’em! Wee Papa Girl Rappers were hanging out, too, but Simon Harris was crestfallen at being booed on stage, mainly, he thinks, because his record kept jumping. At least he was working live, whereas everyone else used a cassette — and, anyway, surely his friendship with Public Enemy gives him credibility even if he is in the top 20?

Capital Radio’s Tim Westwood made the journey just to introduce (in impressively full effect) the disappointingly rather ragged Cold Chillin’ crew of scolding shrill Roxanne Shanté, boringly striding and shouting MC Shan and Big Daddy Kane and — easily the standout — Biz Markie. His opening human beatbox demonstration, impersonating Doug E Fresh and the Fat Boys before putting the mic against his neck and even the top of his head to amplify his own style, was terrifically exciting, capped by the appearance of TJ Swan to rap ‘Make The Music With Your Mouth, Biz’.

Chubby young Al B. Sure! put on a squirming performance before the main Easter Sunday event, Joyce Sims’ first ever live gig anywhere with a backing band, which proved to be interesting as, when you consider she pits her distinctively plaintive vocal pitch against Mantronik’s electronic rhythms when recording, the live percussion turned ‘All And All’ into a Latin tune!

Her new US single, the revival of Barbara Acklin’s swinging ‘Love Makes A Woman’, as it does on record, featured the surprise guest appearance of Jimmy Castor (‘The Everything Man’) on sax, a highlight for those who knew what was happening. Pres Jam 4 is over the Guy Fawkes weekend of November 4/5/6 (booking details on 01-364 1212), so fireworks are a foregone conclusion, while heavily hinted as the star live attraction is — wait for it — Frankie Beverly and Maze! Whoosh!

HOT VINYL

THE BREAK BOYS ‘And The Break Goes On (The Original Freestyle Groove)’ (US Fourth Floor Records FF 1090)
Tommy Musto co-created terrific frantically exciting 119bpm percussive ‘Set It Off’-ish throbber based heavily on George Kranz’s ‘Din Daa Daa’, but a real journey into sound too, in six mixes (118¾bpm And The Dub Goes On), sure to be huge!

NARADA ‘Divine Emotions (Remix)’ (Reprise W7967T)
Pronounced now as “NAR-da”, Michael Walden returns in his own right with a great loose limbed 117⅓pm smacking strider like an updated cross between D Train and his old ‘Tonight I’m Alright’ style (Single Mix, and tightly lurching 111½bpm ‘Tighter‘ too, the good 117⅙-0bpm Dub Mix being due here on later pressings).

PEDRO ‘Goodfootin’’ (B.U.M. UM 001)
Nothing to do with either of the possible Pedros, Waterman and Tong, the latest bootleg styled, though doubtless later to be proved legal, “scam” is an infectious jerkily chugging 0-109⅓bpm shuffler sampling James Brown’s voice – to what could possibly be the Sly & Robbie backing track to the unreleased JB session that you may remember snuck out briefly as an ultra-rare ‘Beat Freaks’ B-side (Dub Mix flip), rather good.

E.U. ‘Da’Butt’ (US EMI-Manhattan 56083)
A massive US black hit (from Spike Lee’s ‘School Daze’ movie) but largely unknown here until Chris Hill brought a copy home from the States, this Marcus Miller-produced jauntily bumping go go jiggler proved to be one of the few newies that really cut through the crowd at Prestatyn, thanks to its “when you feel that notion put your backfield in motion” and “sexy sexy” chants, in 97bpm Extended Soundtrack, 97⅙-97½bpm Radio, and jerkily edited dubwise 96⅓-97½bpm B-Boy Mixes (Radio Edit too). Continue reading “April 16, 1988: Prestatyn ‘Pres Jam’ report, The Break Boys, Narada, Pedro, E.U., DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince”

BEATS & PIECES

1987 UK mixing champ, M|A|R|R|S member CJ Mackintosh has also transformer scratched on Nasty Rox Inc’s bass pumping jiggly go-go-tempoed 0-100bpm ‘Escape From New York’, using Chuck Brown’s ‘I Need Some Money’, promoed now and due commercially (in a different mix) on ZTT at the end of the month… Jay Strongman, scratching with Gene And Jim Are Into Shakes, has been jocking at a warehouse party in, of all places, Moscow – using one deck, a cassette machine, and the 20 records he was allowed through customs!… Capital Radio’s Help A London Child charity-boosting DJ Duo, chanting Mick Brown and Pat Sharp, are pleased to be in any chart, but somehow hadn’t anticipated that the first one they’d hit would be Hi-NRG!… Rick Astley’s original recording partner, Lisa Fabien (remember their ‘Where You Gonna?’ as Rick & Lisa?) is due to make her own solo debut with the Stock Aitken Waterman-produced ‘Better Than Ever’… Rayners Lane’s Andy Phippen made a premature announcement of his retirement from record retailing, as in a swift turn of events he’s about to set up shop in a bigger way than ever at an already established more central London location, about which my lips are temporarily sealed!… DJ Jazzy Jeff & The French Prince’s new import ‘He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper’ double LP, which I’ve had no time to review yet so check The Club Chart for BPMs, includes a “bonus scratch album” of live jams… Kool Moe Dee’s newie, due next week, is the Cameo-style rolling slinky 0-93-0bpm ‘Wild Wild West’, complete with spaghetti western whistling… Derek B’s follow-up, on his own Tuff Audio label through Phonogram on April 18, is the fiercely scratching much harder ‘Bad Young Brother (Billy Beat Mix)’, 100⅓bpm on acetate… “Turntable Terroriser” (and smartarse!) Ernie Hartley from Shropshire reckons, Jackson 5 apart, the bassline through ‘Goodgroove’ is from 1979’s ‘The Walk’ by The Inmates – which I remember as being rather fast, so is it syncopated at half speed?… Network Press, the German DJ mag (their equivalent of Jocks) for which I write as well, has suddenly crossed over to general consumers following massive TV and radio coverage, as it was the only publication there to review the unreleased “black album” by Prince – remarkable to think this fact could generate so much interest (just one thing, if you want to subscribe, it is all written in German, my stuff too!)… Tony Jenkins, Nigel Wilton, Bill Griffin, Ralph Tee and Colin Line have another ram jammed Up West night this Wednesday (6) at London’s Hippodrome… Gilles Peterson, Chris Brown, Eddie Gordon, Craig & Marcus jazz-soul Sleeze! This Thursday (7) in Gillingham, above Catch 22… Sunday (10), Tony Poole and Terry Munro are joined by Rob Cosby jazzing Old Harlow’s Cheeks… Jeff Thomas, saying “It takes two to bango, y’all” (like it!), has added a free admission, no dress restriction, quality soul and jazz Sunday Club Soul Nite at Swansea’s already heaving soul oasis, Martha’s Vineyard… Phil Harding didn’t do the Bunker Kru’s better Pink Ink Mix, it was the creation of Cardiff-based “bedroom mixers” Steve Teear and Ian Gallivan, the Noise Boyz – who seem to be the duo behind that TWC “mixer” reviewed last week (it, or something else by them called ‘Who Gizza 4 X’ is due soon legally on Jam Today)… Utopia appears to be the act’s name credited with that ‘Walk On The Wild Side’-based “mixer” which I reckoned might be titled ‘Girl (You Rock My World)’, while the acid track by Click is correctly titled ‘Freq Jam (Straight To The Phreeek)’, with further Varda The Drums Girl, Acid Deluxe, and Trip Out Sister mixes (in that order)… Joyce Sims’ correct catalogue number for ‘Walk Away’ is LONX 176… Narada’s good dub mix will be missing from his 12 inch on initial UK pressings next week, but will be added later… EMI’s ‘Best Of Brass Construction’ compilation will include a remix of ‘Movin’’ by – shock, horror! – Phil Harding… Les Adams’ new Yamaha unit is actually a synthesiser, but his now even newer Roland TR-909 is a drum machine (for only another £185 second hand, although he had to drive to Stockport to get it!)… Graeme Park had better hurry up with Groove’s revival of ‘Hijack’, as the title has been hijacked by new rap group Hijack, on Music Of Life… Tony Blackburn gets thanked (amongst many) on the sleeve of Grandmaster Flash’s new LP!… Frankie Beverly is still with Maze, despite some people’s scepticism, now they’ve signed to Warner Bros… Loose Ends have 16 new recordings which they’re now weeding down to an album’s worth… Prestatyn photos and story next week… GET OFF!

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LOUR SILAS JR is the name you’ll see, more likely than not, as remixer of any American releases on MCA Records. He, too, began his career as a disco DJ, jocking in such clubs as Contempos, Disco 9000 and Moody’s, as well as mobile, in Los Angeles from 1976 to 1983. More faces behind the names on the labels, soon!

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HOT VINYL

GREGG DIAMOND & BIONIC BOOGIE ‘Hot Butterfly’ (Urban URBX 16)
Marvin Gaye-influenced attractively swaying 87(intro?)-89½-89-89⅓-89⅔-91⅓-91bpm jogger with French phrases, sung in typically distinctive style by Luther Vandross (during his session singing days), a rare groove from 1978, flipped more mundanely by the dated “disco” 177bpm [sic] ‘Fess Up To The Boogie‘ and 145½bpm ‘When The Shit Hits The Fan‘ (neither led by Luther).

ROB BASE & DJ E-Z ROCK ‘It Takes Two’ (CityBeat CBE 1244)
Infectious jumpy (0-)111¼bpm rap duet set to Lyn Collin’s ‘Think’ (semi-instrumental flip), massive on import for ages, and still likely to do well now that it’s finally out here.

J.V.C.F.O.R.C.E. ‘Strong Island’ (Hardcore/B Boy Records HAKT 11)
Deadpan 96¼bpm rap jogger (about the trio’s native Long Island) with a Freda Payne fuzz guitar riff, big on import for a while, now flipped by the disjointedly starting dreary 90⅔-0bpm LEVI 167 ‘Something Fresh To Swing To‘ (Instrumentals too). Continue reading “April 9, 1988: Gregg Diamond & Bionic Boogie, Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, J.V.C.F.O.R.C.E., Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Al B. Sure!”

BEATS & PIECES

Norman Cook and Dancin’ Danny D have reverted to their Troublesome Twosome nickname to prevent confusion with the longer established Double Trouble remix team of Leigh Guest, Mike Morrison and Damon Rochefort (whose prior claim I have upheld by referring to the newcomers as Norman C & DJ D)… Coldcut’s 0-110-109(Sex Machine)-113-110½-0bpm ‘Payback Mix’ of James Brown tracks is on single-sided promo as ‘Coldcut Meets The Godfather’ ahead of April 11 release, when it’ll be flipped by ‘Stone To The Bone’, ‘Give It Up Or Turn It Loose (Remix)’, and ‘Cold Sweat’, while Urban next Tuesday release Gregg Diamond & Bionic Boogie ‘Hot Butterfly’, a Marvin Gaye-influenced but actually Luther Vandross-sung (in his session singing days) 87(intro?)-89½-89-89⅓-89⅔-91⅓-91bpm swaying disco jogger from 1978… Phil Harding and Ian Curnow have created a radically different remix of ‘I Want You Back’ by the Jackson 5 for release on Motown!… ’15 Minutes’, the Antonio Valesquez & Wolfgang Prinz-created acid house track, turns out to be credited to Ca Sa as artists, on Diamond Duel (DISC T2), but still as a white label… Mantronix’s already reviewed ‘In Full Effect’ LP is now out here on 10 Records (DIX 74)… Fourth & Broadway have shrink-wrapped the old Eric B & Rakim ‘Paid In Full’ album with a bonus LP containing the known remixes by Coldcut, Derek B, Democratic 3 and the Wild Bunch, plus a brand new volume pumping Richie Rich remix of ‘I Know You Got Soul’ that won’t be out in any other way… Walter Beasley’s album track ‘On The Edge’, mentioned last week, is a new US 12 inch (Polydor 887 413-1)… Ceejay ‘A Little Love’, the Bananarama-like Dutch canterer, is 119¾bpm… Hazell Dean ‘Who’s Leaving Who’ on commercial 12 inch is in a smoothly bounding new 119½bpm Bob’s Tambourine Mix (mixed in fact by Pete Hammond!)… Critical Mass, whose ‘No Nonsense’ I said was by Two Guys A Drum Machine And A Trumpet, are – to be picky – drummer Martin Parry of Fine Young Cannibals and trumpeter Graeme Hamilton of both TGADMAAT and his own Birmingham band, End Of Chat… Cappella ‘Push The Beat/Bauhaus’ is also about on a bootleg as DJ Megamix Vol 2 ‘Very Interesting’ – be warned… Run-DMC ‘Run’s House’/’Beats To The Rhyme’ will be rushed on white label ahead of April 25 UK release… S-Express is now due commercially next Tuesday (April 5) but Gwen McCrae goes back to April 18… US Capitol have signed Smith & Mighty and S-Express, while 4th + B’way picked up Bomb The Bass Stateside… Champion have the Basement Boys and Black Riot here… Wally Jump Jr ‘Private Party’ is due in a Simon Harris acid house mix and then another Les Adams remix… James Horrocks has left Rhythm King on a hot streak to start his own label… DJ Jon Jules takes over ownership of Rayners Lane’s Record Centre this week, Andy Phippen retiring from record retailing to set up a studio and label (doubtless starring Chris Paul?)… Bluebird have bought Soho’s Record Shack shop, to expand their ever growing chain… Samantha Fox has been produced in the US by Full Force, with a remix to come by Derek B, while Mantronik has produced Amazulu… Les McKeown of the old Bay City Rollers is currently producing acid house (which must take all of 15 minutes!)… Jim Cotter, following last week’s mention, is still after a talking gig but meanwhile is mixing again at Soho’s Jaqueline’s… Nicky ‘Nosejob’ Holloway’s Easter Doo at London’s Astoria has Pete Tong, Derek B, Gilles Peterson and Chris Bangs this Thursday (31), when Steve Jervier, Horace and Chris Brown rock Soho’s Wag… Saturday (2) sees Wag DJs Paul Guntrip, Brother Marco, Dave Henley and Justin Langlands, plus a mechanical bronco and visuals on an Inter City Hustle at Brighton’s Corn Exchange (next to the Dome), while Aadil, Paul French, Simon Goffe, Mark Ryder, Kev Edwards and Disco Gary VanDenBussche throw down the Easter Big Beat at Maidstone’s Kent Hall… Easter Day finds the Wag taken over by such Groove Gladiators as Jay Strongman, Richie Rich, Colin Faver, Gordon Mac, Steve Jervier, Danny Ramplin [sic], Madhatter Trevor and DJ Tee… Roxanne Shanté, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, MC Shan and the Cold Chillin’ roadshow are not only at Prestatyn on Saturday, but also Nottingham Rock City Sunday (3) and Brixton Academy Monday (4)… Bank Holiday Monday also sees Defhouse Fifteen at Birkenhead’s Atmosphere with Desa, Kenni James and guests, Steve Allen heading a Shindig at Peterborough’s The Millionaire Club with the instruction “dress to sweat”, Nitro Deluxe at Swansea’s Martha’s Vineyard, and the Bratt Pac’s upfront evening at Colnbrook’s Queens in aid of Capital Radio’s Help A London Child appeal… ‘Let’s All Chant’ is not Capital jock (and sometime ‘Roxy’ TV presenter) Pat Sharp’s recording debut, he had a Norwegian number two partnering Amanda Redington on ‘Catch 22’!… Hamburg radio star Chris Hill recently presented on UK TV one of Night Network’s ‘N-Sign Radio’ segments (by coincidence he owns the Ensign label!), showing the Al B Sure! video which he’d been given in Germany – before WEA UK’s “man of the year” Fred Dove even knew it existed… BBC2-TV’s Sunday evening ‘Showtime At The Apollo’ series is well worth seeing, despite Eartha Kitt’s embarrassing links, and so many of the acts filmed around 1954/5 at the Harlem theatre being “tastefully” staid… ‘Internationally Known’ is another volume pumping bootleg-ish megamix circulated on mysteriously uncredited cassette, doubtless as a scam, but Carl Kingston has been followed by Paul Stead and James Whale in playing it so much on Radio Aire that their Leeds listeners are clamouring to know who it’s by, and nobody does know!… Scratchmo’s funky scatter is Satch, the resident chauffeur at Island Records… Les Adams, who synchs S-Express from halfway through Cappella to get perfect echoed effects, has added a £1,400 Yamaha TX 802 (the drum unit used by Stock Aitken Waterman) to take his home studio’s equipment up to £72,500… The Club Chart last week missed the beats per minute from some new entries that had been reviewed but unexpectedly didn’t fit – in fact, it’s impossible to keep up with the deluge of disco dross that record companies are now pouring out, like in the late Seventies “disco boom”, so, bird in the hand style, it’s the reviews that I’ve already done that (if they fit) get printed first… GET OFF!

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GAIL ‘SKY’ KING — in our increasing quest to bring you the faces behind the names on the labels —started her career as assistant studio engineer for Arthur Baker before learning to edit with the Latin Rascals. Her first label credit was for the edit of Vinnie Monaco’s ‘Rappin’ Rocky’ (US Powerhouse Records) and her first major success, back with Arthur, was Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Big Love’ remix. Her other hits include Russ Brown ‘Gotta Find A Way’, Temptations ‘Look What You Started’, Criminal Element Orchestra ‘Put The Needle To The Record’, Prince ‘Sign ‘O’ The Times’, Club Nouveau ‘Lean On Me’ and Wally Jump Jr ‘Tighten Up’, latterly as producer too. You have to realise that in the States, the “remixer” often deals in broad concepts while it’s the “editor” who does the work!

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HOT VINYL

TAJA SEVELLE ‘Wouldn’t You Love To Love Me?’ (US Paisley Park Records 0-20826)
A lot funkier than her current UK smash, this wriggly jittering chunky lurcher is 12-inched as a 105⅓-105⅙bpm Jellybean Vocal Remix which suddenly surges brightly into its last half, with his percussive 105⅓-105⅙bpm Dub too, plus a jerkier violent 105⅓bpm Paisley Park Mix and jigglier chugging 105⅓-0bpm Joe Blaney Mix. The Bean’s is best.

NARADA ‘Divine Emotions (Remix)’ (US Reprise 0-20874)
Always a bigger name here during his own hit-making heyday around eight years ago, Narada Michael Walden is now mostly known in the US as the hot producer behind such as Whitney Houston, but blazes back at last in his own right with a dynamite loose limbed 117⅓bpm smacking strider like an updated cross between D Train and his old ‘I Shoulda Loved Ya’ style, with chording synth and piano jangled percussion remixed by Shep Pettibone (Single Mix and 117⅙-0bpm Dub Mix too, plus the tightly lurching 111½-0bpm ‘Tighter’).

JOHNNY KEMP ‘Just Got Paid’ (US Columbia 44 07588)
Teddy Riley co-produced trickily introed but then snappily strutting strong 116½-0bpm infectiously building jerky funk canterer with all the class of his Keith Sweat work (in four mixes). Say ho! Ho ho ho. Continue reading “April 2, 1988: “It’s impossible to keep up with the deluge of disco dross that record companies are now pouring out””