DISCO MIX CLUB’s 1989 UK Mixing Championships heats will be in January on Mon/Tues/Wednesdays, at Glasgow Hollywood Studios (9), Stockton The Mall (10), Leeds Warehouse (11), Manchester Hacienda (16), Liverpool The State (17), Nottingham New York New York (18), Swansea Martha’s Vineyard (23), Bristol Papillon (24), Southampton New York New York (25), Ealing Broadway Boulevard (30), Romford Hollywood (31), and in Northern Ireland at Portrush Traks on February 1 (a separately organised event) … Regional Finals follow likewise in February, at Sheffield Cairo Jax (6), Chippenham Goldiggers (7) and Leigh Reubens (8), with the UK Final at London’s Hippodrome on Monday, February 13 … DJ competitors should contact John Saunderson on 06286-67124 for entry details, while rappers wanting to enter the regional finals’ three rap heats should send demo cassettes to him at PO Box 89, Slough SL1 8NA … I hope to be judging as usual at all the mainland dates, snow and Thursday dawn deadlines permitting on the Wednesday nights (you may have noticed the increased number of Northern venues, which reflects the far greater response this contest gets the further it is from London!) … RePublic Records’ back-to-back pre-released Turntable Orch and Kym Mazelle tracks will not be released separately until after Christmas, provisionally on December 28 … Kym Mazelle ‘I’m A Lover‘ (misprinted anyway but on closer examination 118-118½-116⅔-116¾bpm, with an 116⅓-0bpm dub) first surfaced on import back in January, and was returned largely in Manchester charts for some weeks but I regret was never reviewed then as my local record shop either couldn’t get it or wasn’t shifting it — however, Turntable Orch ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me‘ (confirmed in its 12″ Extended Ver. as 0-115¾bpm, with an 116-0bpm Dub Ver.), which surfaced on 0-115½bpm import in March, was reviewed soon after with perhaps some foresight as an “excellent hopefully not over subtle piano nagged unhurriedly jittering burbling garage groove”, but failed to hit The Club Chart at the time … Ce Ce Rogers’ piano plonked moaning smooth Marshall Jefferson-created 119⅓-0bpm deep house ‘Someday‘ goes back even further, first showing up in Manchester during July/August 1987, peaking early December again without quite hitting The Club Chart — now it’s on UK promo and much revived … Rickster ‘Night Moves‘ (originally on import in January), Raze ‘Break 4 Love‘ (from the spring), Julian Jonah ‘Jealousy & Lies’ (hottest for the trumpet washed Alkaline and Litmus remixes), the enduring Night Writers ‘Let The Music (Use You)‘, Ten City ‘Devotion‘ (and even ‘Right Back To You’), Park Ave. ‘Don’t Turn Your Love‘, Ralphi Rosario ‘You Used To Hold Me‘, Joe Smooth ‘Promised Land‘, and (bouncing off the similarly Ronald Burrell-produced Bäs Noir’s success) Tech Trax Inc ‘Feel The Luv‘ are some of the other notable “deep house” revivals that the “acid” backlash has suddenly brought to the surface … ‘Don’t Believe The Hype’, the News At Ten inspired 0-126-0bpm acid track, has appeared as by Mista E now on Urban (URBX 28), impersonator Steve Coogan of ‘Spitting Image’ replacing the original promo’s actual Alastair Burnet, Sandy Gall and Paul Gambaccini voices (a jokey The Copyright Mix is due to follow!) … Champion Records’ UK pressing of the Royal House newie is fractionally slower than the import, making ‘Yeah Buddy’ 122½-122¾-123-0bpm, ‘The Chase’ 0-106⅙-0bpm, ‘Can You Beats (Dirty Beats)’ (0-)122⅙-0bpm … Cherrelle’s ‘Affair’ album is out here now (Tabu 460734 1) … Stock Aitken Waterman’s commercial pressing of ‘S.S. Paparazzi’ contains the Hassell-Bladder and Yoyo’s Dub Mixes on the B-side but has two new The Crowning King and The Boys Have A Go Back Mixes as A-side, still 124½bpm — thanks for making me waste effort and time … Arista’s correct catalogue number is 611 916 for the Four Tops ‘Loco In Acapulco’, which also turns out to be in a pH Balance Mix and pH Dub — it would be so much easier if they labelled their promos properly to begin with — and likewise, The Boozin Bang’n Dance Crew have become just B.B.D.C. on UK issued Priority Records (PX 22) … grrr! … I tend to wait for most of the UK releases to get near The Club Chart before bothering to BPM and review them these days, as there just are too many bloody records coming out to keep up with them all — I haven’t had time to review Alexander O’Neal’s ‘My Gift To You’ LP (typically treated vigorous, and some slushy, Christmas songs!) amongst others this week, for lack of time … Paul Oakenfold “playing” guitar with Electra on ‘The Hitman And Her’ — get right on one matey … NANU NANU!
HOT VINYL
INNER CITY ‘Good Life (Magic Juan’s Mix)’ (10 Records TEN X 249)
Another ‘Big Fun’-style breezily bounding 125bpm vigorous “techno” galloper with Paris Grey chanting, cooing and wailing the catchy lyrics, flipped by Derrick May’s rattling 125¼bpm Mayday Club Mix, plus Les Adams’ old “industrial” 122⅓bpm L.A. Big Big Fun Remix of ‘Big Fun’ for some reason again.
RHYTHIM IS RHYTHIM ‘It Is What It Is (Majestic Mix)’ (US Transmat MS 6)
Derrick May produced nervily pulsing, fluttering and sizzling synth washed 124¼-124½-0bpm techno twitterer in washing machine style, already known from 10 Records’ ‘Techno!’ album, flipped (at 33⅓rpm) by the brand new frantically acidic 129¾bpm ‘Beyond The Dance (Bizarro Mix)‘ and electronic drums thrashed skittery 124⅔-123¾bpm ‘Feel Surreal (Subconscious Mix)‘, all instrumentals.
ADEVA ‘Respect (12” Extended Version)’ (US Chrysalis/Cooltempo 4V9 43329)
Paul Simpson mixed gentle synth burbled (0-)119bpm rambling girl wailed superb fluidly weaving “garage” adaptation of what you suddenly realise in surprise is Otis Redding’s classic, quite unlike The Real Roxanne’s current treatment (in five mixes), sure to be huge at deep house/garage gigs. Presumably Adeva equals “a diva”? Continue reading “November 26, 1988: Inner City, Rhythim Is Rhythim, Adeva, Black Rock & Ron, Armando”
NEW ALBUMS I regretfully had neither the time nor space to review this week include the ‘Hearsay’ remixing Alexander O’Neal ‘All Mixed Up’ (Tabu), his ‘My Gift To You’ Christmas album not being out here until next month; Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis-created surprisingly soulful Pia (Zadora) ‘When The Lights Go Out’ (Epic); likewise surprisingly good Sheena Easton ‘The Lover In Me’ (US MCA Records); break beats based The 45 King ‘Master Of The Game’ (US Tuff City); subdued rapping Sweet Tee ‘It’s Tee Time’ (US Profile); sweetly squeaked sultry Angela Bofill ‘Intuition’ (Capitol); rare grooves compiling Various Artists ‘Boogie Tunes 2‘ (Graphic Records) … 12 inch imports similarly include the nervy twittering Rhythim Is Rhythm ‘It Is What It Is (Majestic Mix)‘ (US Transmat), flipped by two acid newies; sampling, scratching and shouting Black, Rock and Ron ‘Black, Rock and Ron‘ (US Popular); James Brown/Brothers Johnson/Masters At Work/Kraze/etc sampling Only In The Dark ‘Make Noise‘ (US Profile); Criminal Element Orchestra/T La Rock & Jazzy Jay/etc sampling Todd Terry-type Bad Boy Orchestra ‘Hip Hop Salsa‘ (US Smokin’); Gaz ‘Sing Sing’-based rapping Ms. Melodie ‘To Sing All Night‘ (US Jive); Troggs adapting drily rapped Tone-Loc ‘Wild Thing‘ (US Delicious Vinyl), with a better hoarsely sinuous ‘Loc’ed After Dark‘ flip … Reese & Santonio’s old ‘Back To The Beat’ (with ‘The Sound’)’ coupling, the deadpan girl muttered title line repeating (0-)122bpm ‘Rock To The Beat’ thumper has apparently become something of a Belgian disco anthem in a local “new beat” cover version, and so is due to be added to commercial pressings of their current ‘Truth Of Self Evidence’ too … Belgian new beat may be the hot hype at the moment but even so, the Balearic Electra ‘Jibaro’ is being reissued this week in its various mixes … ‘Ford Trax‘ is the title of Baby Ford’s new excellent instrumental B-side — and also of a nine-track 12 inch twin-pack due out next month … K-9 Posse rap group member Vernon Lynch seems to be the brother of Eddie Murphy! … ffrr rather than Supreme Records have picked up the Ultramagnetic MC’s LP, plus Sterling Void’s ‘Runaway Girl’ … Original Concept’s ‘Straight From The Basement Of Kooley High!’ LP is now out here (Def Jam 462978 1), as finally is EPMD’s ‘Strictly Business’ LP (Sleeping Bag Records SBUK LP 1) … Carolyn Martin is opening a New York office and US branch of the Disco Mix Club … Def Jam are launching in the US a new Black Gold label for soul rather than rap releases, switching over to it Oran ‘Juice’ Jones, Tashan, Chuck Stanley and Alyson Williams, and singing veteran group Blue Magic … Jeff Thomas was persuaded to stay full time at Swansea’s Martha’s Vineyard, where he has so radically altered the Mon/Wed-Fri/Saturday night policy to solidly black music that now anyone turning out in conventionally “smart” dress is actually refused admission (there being plenty of other clubs locally all vying for that market) — also, he’s started rap/acid/deep house Sundays at Neath’s brand new First Base American bar and diner … Norman Cook cuts up Worthing’s Sterns this Thursday (17) … Plymouth Sound’s soul presenter Chris Dinnis and Bob Smith hold a rare groove/classic soul/funk/jazz ‘Humdinger 3’ at Boxes on Exeter Quay next Wednesday (23), when Eon Irving starts a weekly garage/funk ‘Inside America’ night at Mayfair’s Prohibition in Hanover Street … ‘Hype House’ every Thursday at Bradford’s The Palace has house/funk/soul/rap/rare groove with the “beats per minute posse”, DJ Cool Cutz, DJ Vibe Alive, Mixmaster Eazy and Master JMP, while Cool Cutz and Eazy also spin acid and hard hip hop on two levels in the Dance Zone at the nearby Jokers every Fri/Saturday … Prestatyn’s mayor came to check out the LiveWire weekender and nobody believed who he was to begin with — he’s a 28-year-old biker! … Tom Astor was amongst the party I took to Prestatyn — he owns South London’s Orinoco Studio, at which Enya recorded ‘Orinoco Flow’ … Keith Sweat (who reputedly cost £30,000 for his Prestatyn show) was so paranoid that when a fan penetrated his bus to say hello, Keith bleated to security “He could have shot me!” — which says more about America than anything else … Pete Tong closed down Saturday night’s music at Prestatyn by playing the Gipsy Kings’ terrific ‘Bamboleo‘, about which I raved when it was first released, and which if reserviced could yet become a Christmas smash … Breakout’s main man Mike Sefton took paternity leave two weeks ago — he’s the proud dad of a baby daughter … Taboo’s ‘No. 6‘, the recently reviewed revamp of TV’s ‘The Prisoner’ theme, turns out to be by none other than Keith West of ‘Excerpt From A Teenage Opera (Grocer Jack)’ fame in 1967 — the first psychedelic era (when indeed the TV series was first shown) … Les Adams and I are again creating Capital Radio’s New Year’s Eve continuous party music tape, running this year from 9pm until 2am … NANU NANU!
PRESTATYN SOUL WEEKEND 4
ADRIAN WEBB has lost count of the total number of weekenders that he has promoted, something like 38, but knows for sure that the Prestatyn Soul Weekend 4 was his 26th soul weekender. No wonder by now he knows how to get all the arrangements right, the most remarkable aspect of the event being the complete lack of trouble. This, despite over 4,000 revellers being present, divided into different musical factions — although, as DJ John E Walker shrewdly observed, the crowd these days is not really that interested in the music. First timers tended to be togged out in “acieed” style, but although a lot of fast house was played the only jock who really catered for them was Paul Oakenfold. Elsewhere, the acid backlash had begun to bite — which rather unsettled the event’s equilibrium. Had it been held even just a month earlier, I am sure that “acieed!” would have dominated.
As things turned out, few of the jocks seemed fully confident about what they ought to play. Robbie Vincent and Chris Hill had their late night ‘Acid Free Zone’, but were not the only ones to structure whole sets around Seventies soul, Ian Reading being one other example, while Gilles Peterson and Chris Bangs typically churned out vintage funk and jazz. There seemed to be much less feedback between the DJs and the crowd than in earlier years, perhaps because, unlike in the past, few DJs could actually claim that any particular segment of it was in fact “their” crowd. The one exception was superstar Tim Westwood, whose hip hop session was perhaps the most crucial of the weekend. Keith Sweat’s live show was rapturously greeted, but the scrappy PAs that followed were often embarrassing (I missed Royal House who appeared in the afternoon). Karyn White and Troop, slick US chart stars, were by far the best.
Chris Hill, still “The Godfather”, as usual presented the grand finale, and reverted to a tried and trusted formula (that hadn’t been tried for several years), declaring “This is tradition, like Stratford On Avon, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the last night of the Proms”, as he launched into ‘Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now’ and ‘Bring The Family Back’. He then said, “Some people think they invented going ape shit crazy six months ago, well we invented going ape shit crazy 10 years ago” — and played ‘Shout’! I doubt if anyone ended up having a bad time, but in comparison with past weekenders over the last 10 years it didn’t strike me as being memorable. However, for those who want memories of it, a full length colour video of the highlights will be available for £16.99, while tickets for Prestatyn 5 (over Easter, March 24-26) are also now bookable from LiveWire on 01-364 1212. Continue reading “November 19, 1988: Prestatyn Soul Weekend 4, Keith Sweat, Turntable Orchestra, Cherrelle, Marshall Jefferson presents Truth, Royal House”
CLARE SHAVE, having brought renewed credibility to especially 10 Records’ dance product, has left her club promotions post at Virgin to go independent as Pure Beat Promotions, working in tandem with Jimmy O’Rheilley’s management company Pure Music at 32 Wardour Street, London W1V 3HJ (01-287 2072) – where she’s still reassembling her missing Filofax ‘phone numbers … Rob Manley meanwhile is leaving Breakout at the end of next week to take over at Virgin as of December 5 (things moved rather faster than anticipated once Clare had made her feelings known, Siren/10 Records wanting to keep an in-house promotion department instead of retaining an independent) … Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock’s ‘It Takes Two’ album is now indeed out here on Supreme Records (SU 4), who are also rush releasing the Ultramagnetic MC’s album reviewed on import only last week … Gee St Recordings’ UK version of the Jungle Brothers’ ‘Straight Out The Jungle’ (GEEA001) adds to the album’s originally reviewed tracks the Richie Rich reconstructed ‘I’ll House You’ hit, plus, with the first 5,000, a bonus 12 inch containing a ‘Because I Got It Like That’ (and thus also Sly Stone) based 0-108-107⅚bpm Ultimatum’s Ultramix, flipped by its chuggingly drummed 107⅚bpm Jungle Beats and brief Jungle Bass … SLF’s album will contain an extended club mix of the excellent ‘Show Me What You’ve Got’ vocal version … Tim Jeffery’s Cool Cuts chart was a little bit too upfront last week, Republic Records not even having cut their Turntable Orch/Kym Mazelle and Younger Generation pressings (the latter in fact won’t be about for ages)! … Timeless Records are including club jocks in their mailing list now, contact Miss Rakha Desai for an application form on 01-961 3889 … Fred Dove, Jane Evans, Les Adams, Emma Freilich and myself all turned up with invitations to the grand opening last week of Milton Keynes’ refurbished The Club at The Point only to find all the outside doors locked – after ages, a jobsworth did come and open a door but then wouldn’t let us in as, guess what, the doors close at midnight (and this, after 20 minutes of freezing outside, was at half a minute actually before midnight!) … I was not initially very impressed once we did get in, first impression of The Club being a glass box with flashing lights and dreadful distorted sound (the latter remained true), but on closer examination, particularly when the lights came on at the end of the night, it proved to be rather more attractive, and the mirrored tower over the dancefloor up which the lights operate is quite impressive … Pat Sharp, who was almost forcibly stripped after getting a girl to flash her boobs for a T-shirt, had been the evening’s star MC, Rob Manley, Mike Allin, and Joe Field being the jocks until Les Adams (who starts a Saturday slot there as a result) joined Joe for a double handed mixing session … Stock Aitken Waterman apparently have produced an acid house treatment of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, by none other than the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra — will ‘Top Of The Pops’, ban that? … ‘TOTP’, to be consistent, will presumably also ban all mention of “ecstasy” and — one they may not yet be aware of — “fantasia”? … Fantasia appears to have a more sinister drug-related meaning than being just the name of a club, despite the televised protestations of certain DJs involved that there’s no link between drugs and the music (honest, guv’nor) … TV-am last Thursday featured America’s most widely networked radio talk show host, English born Michael Jackson (no relation) — back in 1980, Robbie Vincent and I visited him at his KABC base in Los Angeles, where even then his show beat all the music stations in the ratings … London’s Evening Standard described the Prince and Princess of Wales as “jiving energetically to ‘Choo Choo Train Driving’ by the Pasadenas” — shurely shome mishtake? … Eon Irving points out that the “I tell you I can’t relax, you know” quote in The Real Roxanne’s ‘Respect’ is by American cult comedian Rodney Dangerfield … Norman Cook and Streets Ahead were cockahoop at Brighton’s Downbeat last Wednesday when Run-DMC and Jam Master Jay jammed on the mic, with Derek B and Public Enemy in the house too … Nicky Holloway, Pete Tong, Rocky & Diesel start Deep in Uxbridge at Regals this Tuesday (8), playing deep house, garage, new beat and Balearic, but no acieed … Sheikh Jnr every Wednesday (9-11pm) at the free admission Blue Notes in Wantage’s The Swan, and in a one off this Friday (11) at Newbury College, says it’s “dress tuff, music likewise” … Graeme Park currently hosts ‘Steamer’ Wednesdays at Sheffield’s Leadmill, ‘Phreek’ Thursdays and ‘Phreek 2’ Saturdays at Nottingham’s Kool Kat (ex-The Garage), and joins Mike Pickering on Fridays at Manchester’s Hacienda, playing hip hop and early electro as well as house … Steve Roberts (Putney Mr Micawbers), in a chart that’s otherwise acid, deep house and soul, has revived Yazoo’s ‘Don’t Go’ — it had to happen! … Radio Sheffield’s dance master Holcott Foster and Radio Manchester’s living soul legend Mike Shaft have started Saturdays together at Huddersfield’s PleasureDome, where Holcott alone handles seriously acidic Fridays … John Matthews at Wealdstone’s Tudors on Thursdays has absolutely no acid, just soul/funk/jazz … Alexander O’Neal’s new US album is a Jam & Lewis produced (and partly penned) Christmas set called ‘My Gift To You’!… John Dunn rather than Bill Grainger now manages Kelly Marie … Record Mirror’s legendary Norman Jopling was never “Normal”… NANU NANU
HOT VINYL
THE TODD TERRY PROJECT ‘To The Batmobile, Let’s Go’ (Sleeping Bag Records SBUKLP 002)
Not due for UK release until November 21, this eagerly awaited album doesn’t have so much that’s new and essential as nearly half the tracks are already known, the giggly jumping (0-)124bpm ‘Bango‘, Class Action girls wailed (0-)123-0bpm ‘Weekend‘, Third World underpinned 121⅔-122-0bpm ‘Just Wanna Dance‘, and excitingly nervy scratching and leaping 121-0bpm ‘Back To The Beat‘. However, the brand new ‘Batman’ effects introed acidically sizzled typical jittery leaping instrumental (0-)121-0bpm ‘The Circus’ is certainly hot, other fresh cuts being the tensely jittering 118-0bpm ‘It’s Just Inhuman‘, “you bad”-repeating jiggly tugging hip hop-ish 0-103⅔-0bpm ‘You’re The One‘, funky drummered rambling scratched and rapped 102⅓-0bpm ‘Made By The Man‘, and attractive but odd atmospherically doodling 0-87-0-87-0bpm ‘Sense‘.
KID ‘N’ PLAY ‘2 Hype’ (US Select Records SEL 21628)
Producer Hurby Luv Bug ransacks the Sixties and early Seventies for funk riffs to back this strong rap set, with the “oh la, oh la” chanting infectious go-go 0-103bpm ‘Rollin’ With Kid ‘N Play’, ‘Funky Broadway’, based 105bpm ‘Brother Man Get Hip‘, Sam & Dave bass-lined 0-113-0bpm ‘Soul Man‘, James Brown based (and grunted) 0-111⅓bpm ‘Do The Kid ‘N Play Kick Step‘, sorta ‘Walk On The Wild Side’/’Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)’ combining (0-)111-0bpm ‘Can You Dig That‘, ‘Uptight’ based 0-134½-0bpm title track, fast talking jittery 115-0bpm ‘Damn That DJ (The Wizard M.E.)‘, The Real Roxanne-duetted swaying 0-93½-0bpm ‘Undercover‘, previously released 105bpm ‘Gittin’ Funky’, 99bpm ‘Last Night’, 115bpm ‘Do This My Way’.
THE REAL ROXANNE ‘The Real Roxanne’ (US Select Records SEL 21627)
Rapping “Roxanne” Martinez gets soft on some slowies which add to this good album’s variety, but stays tougher than ever on the furiously fierce, Public Enemy “boyee” and Royal House/Jacksons “can you feel it” shouted, ‘Shaft’ wukka-wukked 114¼bpm ‘Don’t Even Feel It’ (this set’s ‘Get On The Dance Floor’), catchy Dixie Cups/Shirelles flavoured jiggly singalong 106bpm ‘Luv Scandal‘, tensely jittering vaguely Jackson 5-ish 92bpm ‘Look But Don’t Touch‘, huskily talked/sung and “la la”-ed (off a crackly old record) (0-)97-0bpm ‘Early Early (La La)‘, soulful piano chorded attractive swaying 80⅓bpm ‘Infactuated‘, plaintively sung Tiffany-ish (0-)76⅓-0bpm ‘Oh Darlin’ (Like We Used To)‘, JB-based jaunty old 114½bpm ‘Roxanne’s On A Roll‘, current Aretha reviving 112-0bpm ‘Respect’ and ‘Pick Up The Pieces’ backed 0- 104½bpm ‘Her Bad Self’. Continue reading “November 12, 1988: The Todd Terry Project, Kid ‘N’ Play, The Real Roxanne, OMD, George Benson”
George Benson has added an extra date this weekend at Wembley, and so won’t be a surprise visitor to North Wales (where I’m sorry to hear that Prestatyn will be a firework free zone) … Supreme Records picked up the Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock album here, from which ‘Get On The Dance Floor’ will inevitably be their first single but not until January … DJ Bob Masters incidentally has just joined the label as dance music product and club promotion manager … Westside Records now have exclusive UK rights to Chicago’s Trax Records product, the long term deal covering all back catalogue and future releases … Motown, newly reinvigorated following their purchase by MCA Records, have signed the Pointer Sisters and Leon Sylvers, amongst others … Sharon Davis has written a weighty ‘Motown – The History’ (Guinness Books, £14.95) which covers the legendary record company’s entire existence, perhaps a little bit too thoroughly during the most recent era with which she herself has had her closest involvement, Gordon Frewin supplying an exhaustive looking discography which will doubtless prove most useful (and throw up some surprises?) … ‘The Hit Factory Vol 2’ (Fanfare/PWL Records HF4), continuing the compilation of “the best of Stock Aitken Waterman”, already includes their only just US released SOS Band/Princess-style 100bpm ‘Tell Him I Called’ by Miami girl duo Sequal … Bananarama’s ‘Greatest Hits Collection’ album is being promoted by a probably quite useful 0-120½…126bpm ‘Bananarama Megamix’ of their biggest hits on special limited edition “not for resale” promo (ffrr MEGA 5) … Timerider’s typically European (0-)119⅓bpm thudding electro instrumental ‘Cocoon’ (Lisson Records DOLEQ 8) has, as previously warned, been reissued from last year now that it’s used both as the theme tune to TV’s ‘The Hitman And Her’ and in ‘The Fruit Machine’ film (from Germany’s XYZ Records, and apparently 1985, it is not a PWL creation) … Kym Mazelle’s import pressing of ‘Useless’ (US EMI-Syncopate V-15406) contains all the Marshall Jefferson and Clivilles & Cole mixes on one piece of vinyl, making better value than the split UK release … Vesta Williams’ ‘Vesta 4 U’ LP is now out here (Breakout AMA 5223) … Neneh Cherry ‘Buffalo Stance’, reviewed last week off an uninformative promo pressing, turns out to be produced by Tim Simenon … I had forgotten that Rickster ‘Night Moves’ was in fact American, on US Vinyl Pak back around January … Children Of The Night ‘It’s A Trip’ is wrongly labelled, the Killer Instrumental Mix properly being Mike ‘Hitman’ Wilson’s Psychedelic Remix … I can’t say I’m looking forward to BPM-ing Ten City’s upcoming album, which producer Marshall Jefferson confesses uses live drums (by Philly veteran Earl Young) and will “mess up a lot of DJs”! … Stetsasonic’s follow-up, advisedly for the pop market, will be their album’s revival of the Floaters’ ‘Float On’ … Derek B appears to be having trouble coming up with a crucial enough mix of his long delayed next single, ‘Who Dares Wins’ … Roger Tovell is now head of music at Severn Sound, where the new librarian/producer Jerry Hipkiss’s 6-9pm ‘Saturday Soul’ show plays soulful dance music and deep house, refusing to revive the flagging careers of failed pop musicians/computer programmers who’ve jumped on the nearest passing bandwagon (we know just who he means!) … I fear that Capital Radio’s clever rescheduling of their Saturday night black music programmes, with Pete Tong starting his chart rundown at 7.30pm, followed by Tim Westwood at 8pm, must be keeping many people tuned who might otherwise have switched over to Radio 1 for the inestimable Robbie Vincent soul show – Robbie, by the way, had over 5,000 callers to the “information line” he plugged on Radio London prior to moving to LBC! … Greater London Radio, as Radio London has now become, isn’t anything like as good with presenters as it was during its continuously segued test transmissions, which seemed to attract more listeners than ever while they were running! … Stuart Coleman’s excellent Sunday ‘Echoes’ oldies programme sadly has not carried over to GLR (maybe LBC could give him a slot?), one of his last guest interviewees being Record Mirror’s legendary 1960s journalist Norman Jopling – who has recently resurfaced, writing the liner notes for a scrappy Ike & Tina Turner compilation on Start, and promoting the new 12 Inch Grooves series of “collectable club favourites” that Old Gold Records have just started, the first CBS originated batch including back-to-back Marlena Shaw ‘Yuma/Go Away Little Boy’/Starship Orchestra ‘New York, New York’, Ned Doheny ‘To Prove My Love’/Hawk & Co ‘Nite-Life’, Eddie Murphy ‘Boogie In Your Butt’/’Party All The Time’ and others by Melba Moore, Bobby Glover, Jimmy Messina, Kenny Loggins, The Futures, Dee Dee Sharpe Gamble … Stylus Records seem likely to get a puzzled reaction to their TV advertised ‘The Rare Groove Mix’ album, a follow-up to their successful ‘60s Mix’ series, which for some misguided reason they didn’t think would sound so commercial if titles ‘70s Mix’ – far from “rare groove”, the totally pop contents contain such real rarities as Dawn ‘Knock Three Times’, Mud ‘Tiger Feet’, and Derek & The Dominos ‘Layla’! … Finesse Conditioner’s telly commercial use of Irma Thomas’s ‘Time Is On My Side’ reminds me that at the same time in 1964 that I sent Bessie Banks’ ‘Go Now’ over from New York as material for the Moody Blues, I also sent Irma’s record, which London based Denny Cordell then passed on to the Rolling Stones, whose cover version became their very first US hit! … I can recommend for any hungry Prestatyn visitors this weekend to try at lunchtime the eat as much as you like for around £6, help yourself starters, main courses and puds at the Dinorben Arms in Bodfari, a picturesquely sited hilltop village about 10 miles due south of Prestatyn down the western slopes of the Clwydian Range – leave the camp as if for London, first right (after the railway bridge and sharp bend) on the A547 towards Rhuddlan, once you’ve got into the countryside turn left in a dip (soon after passing the dramatically big hill) to go through Dyserth, and then head straight (with just one right hand fork as you leave the houses) along a country road through Rhualtt and Tremeirchion to Bodfari, where the pub is impossible to miss as it dominates the village (the food may be more “gourmand” than “gourmet”, but I promise you won’t regret the outing) … I myself, if you’re all there, will be further down the Vale Of Clwyd at the even better Cerrigllwydion Arms in Llanynys, my “local” when in North Wales – and if you feel bold enough to find that, you’ll have to buy a map! … Gilles Peterson and Rob Galliano join Hugh Bryder to “acid jazz” Liverpool’s Mardi Gras Club on Thursday (3) … Saturday (5) finds Kid ‘N’ Play, Salt-n-Pepa, MC Duke and the Fly Girls at the Brixton Academy, while Ray Keith, Guy Palmer, Dave Malone and Turbo bring acid, deep house and def beats to Colchester’s The Venue … Jeff Thomas is joined at Swansea Martha’s Vineyard by Royal House on Monday (7), and James ‘D Train’ Williams the following week … Nigel Hill, after five years mobile, is now resident six night a week at Weston-Super-Mare’s Mr B’s, where he starts an acid house night next Wednesday (9) with guests the Moody Boys and This Ain’t Chicago, plus Baby Ford the following week … Dave Evans has also jumped on the bandwagon, with acid Mondays at Stockport Hamiltons … Norman Cook sends greetings from Brighton to point out that it was of course he who created the “illegal mix” of the Osmonds’ ‘One Bad Apple’ (something not made apparent by its plain white label), and that he’s now jocking at Downbeat with Streets Ahead on Wednesdays and Jacky on Saturdays … Barry Island’s veteran (though not that old) jock, Steve Wiggins would welcome a change of South Wales scenery if anyone in clubland is interested (on 0446-733196, office hours) – he offers upfront soul, reggae, pop, golden oldies, party sets, even fruit from his shop! … Dee Dee Wilde supports Will Downing on his UK visit later this month, at Manchester’s Apollo (19) and London’s Hammersmith Odeon (20/21) … Castle Beat ‘I Shot The Sheriff/Deputy Of Love (Medley)’ finally appeared in someone’s chart, at number one for Danny Rampling of London’s legendary Shoom, no less … DJ Trix has at number one in his Birkenhead Bassment chart, “DJ Trix Live On Stage’ – like it! … Glyn Prince at Swindon’s Brunel Rooms Ampitheatre combines The Mafia ‘ABC’ and Osmonds ‘One Bad Apple (Illegal Mix)’ in a megamix … Mark Devlin (Witney) tips that the original mix of Bam Bam ‘Give It To Me’ synchs perfectly with the Patrick Cowley remix of Donna Summer ‘I Feel Love’ (which was due to be reissued but now appears to have been put on hold) … Mike Shawe (2 Marlwood Drive, Brentry, Bristol BS10 6SJ) offers any price for a copy of Blare ‘Nightlife’ … NANU NANU!
‘NEW BEAT’
The gadfly of dance music fashion has darted on, just as you thought “acieed!” was where it’s at. Those same pace-setting London jocks who launched the still locally limited “Balearic beat” trend, but who ironically ended up better publicised for the “acieed!” orientation of their gigs, have dropped acid like a hot brick now that it has crossed over commercially (naturally, they cite a variety of other justifications!) and instead are latching on to the Balearic related Belgian variant of electro Europop known as “new beat” (about which I mentioned several weeks ago, although it became garbled in the printing, that the previously reviewed Amnesia ‘Ibiza‘ is a prime example). Already, dedicated fashion victims are following their lead and snapping up copies of a domestically distributed Belgian compilation album, A.B.-SOUNDS ‘New Beat — Take 1‘ (Subway Records SUB 034, via Rough Trade), even though it merely sounds like the experimental electro tinkerings of Blancmange, Yazoo and other similar British “new romantics” of the early Eighties, but without such strong songs. Its biggest tracks, which are indeed OK, include the tinkling, twittering and muttering densely chugging 0-112bpm A SPLIT SECOND ‘Flesh‘, “taste of sugar” and “do you wanna suck my (bleep)?” punctuated James Brown-cutting 0-114bpm TASTE OF SUGAR ‘Hmm, Hmm‘, and to an extent the imperatively muttered and girls entreated martial chugging 108⅔-00bpm EROTIC DISSIDENTS ‘Move Your Ass‘, the rest being the dialogue overlaid nervily jittering deceptively slower sounding 0-120bpm S.M. ‘S.M.‘, “hey Mister Dee Jay” chanted jauntily synthed rolling 112bpm ELECTRIC SHOCK ‘Don’t Talk About Sex‘, Oriental flavoured ploddingly attractive jogging 98½bpm JADE 4 U ‘Rainbows (Instrumental)‘, “Chinese” girls chatted trotting 112bpm SECRETS OF CHINA ‘Chinese Ways‘, Tibetan flavoured jiggling 108bpm SHAKTI ‘The Awakening‘, gruff “dance” prodded drily electronic lurching 108⅙bpm BEAT BEAT BEAT ‘Beat In The Street‘, droningly undertowed simplistic Euro-rapped 0-110⅓bpm DIRTY HARRY ‘D’Bop‘, sometimes old “electro”-style instrumental 0-113-0bpm IN-D ‘Virgins In-D Sky’s‘ and monotonous depressing dense 110⅓-0bpm SNOWY RED ‘Euroshima-Wardance‘. I can’t say they do anything for me, much. From the some Belgian Antler Records source and selling on 12 inch for several weeks now, MAJOR PROBLEM ‘Acid Queen (Dirty Version)‘ (KAOS dance records KAOS 003) is a kinky “show me your pussy”/”get down on your hands and knees” muttering and groaning purposefully lurching 113bpm twittery heavy thudder (fully instrumental flip), while getting “new beat” attention also has been LAIBACH ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ (Neue Slowenische Kunst/Mute 1MUTE80T), the Rolling Stones tune being most recognisable in the AA-side’s frequency fluttering juddery (0-)117⅔-0bpm electro treatment with sampled stuttery Jagger chatter, the A-side being a resonant throbbing and chugging 123bpm instrumental that doesn’t seem particularly related (it’s hard to know from blank white labels, there also being a more recent and properly printed but confusingly labelled remix three-tracker).
The above are only a few examples, there being a lot of good material according to Nicky Holloway, just back from trawling through record shops in Belgium, who incidentally points out that nobody actually sat on the floor at Rockley Sands as only about half a dozen acid trax were played there over the entire weekend, the Balearic groove having already moved on to new beat (in combination with other stuff) by then! Nicky is in fact returning to London’s Astoria this Saturday (November the Fifth), leaving Prestatyn early, to start a weekly Made On Earth night in the new non-acidic style (absolutely NO Smiley T-shirts admitted), with guest jocks Mark Moore and Trevor Fung this first night after which Pete Tong will be his regular partner. Meanwhile, Paul Oakenfold’s Monday night at Heaven has already changed its name to Spectrum Presents Fantasia, with a similar acid-free policy of new beat, garage and deep house. Could it be that “Belgique, Belgique!” (as in, “Bel-jeek, Bel-jeek!”) will become the new “acieed!” chant? Inevitably, Pete Tong is ensuring that London/ffrr are in on the new trend at the beginning, the series-continuing ‘Balearic Beats Vol 2 — New Beat’ album already being in the pipeline, as basically the above reviewed Belgian compilation with its more duff tracks substituted by better. I can already anticipate the first Hercule Poirot Remix…
HOT VINYL
THE PARTY BOY ‘The Twilight Zone (Remix)’ (Urban Acid URBX 27)
Chris ‘Bam Bam’ Westbrook recorded here for the ‘Urban Acid’ album (its best track) and subsequently remixed this mystically muttered, child giggled, synth bubbled and twittered 123bpm sparse simple acid treatment of the TV theme, a real mood piece for trance dancing (alternative 123bpm B-side mix more like — but not — the album version).
ERIC B & RAKIM ‘Microphone Fiend (Remix)’ (MCA Records MCAT 1300)
Also separately promoed with its own instrumental and seven inch version as flip but commercially available like this, the US choice of follow-up is this DJ Mark-The 45 King (rather than Red Alert) remixed wordy slow rumbling 93½bpm murkily churning jogger with bursts of jingle bells and a fiercely scratched finish, AA-sided by the more UK compatible fast talking jittery ‘Put Your Hands Together’ in the already separately promed (0-)111-0bpm Fon Force Mix, overlaid by resonant synth tones, and (the decisive winner on promo in The Club Chart) Graeme Park’s (0-)112bpm Parkside Mix, with Humphrey Bogart “play it!” intro and overlaid “acieed” sirens nagging away.
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