December 3, 1988: “If It’s December, It Must Be Belgium” – New Beat report

BEATS & PIECES

MCA RECORDS have, in their usual style, released US pressings here at UK prices of Bobby Brown ‘My Prerogative’ ahead of full UK availability this week (as MCAT 1299) … Black, Rock and Ron ‘Black, Rock and Ron’ is of course based on Ripple’s ‘The Beat Goes On’, whose ‘I Don’t Know What It Is But It Sure Is Funky’ is used by Kid ‘N Play ‘Rollin’ With Kid ‘N Play’ — incidentally, the latter’s ‘2 Hype’ album, reviewed in full on import recently, is now out here on Cooltempo (CTLP 10) … Raze ‘Break 4 Love’ was released here by Champion back in May but is charting now in its current US hit pressing (on US Columbia 44 08164) which seems strange as its 119⅓-0bpm Spanish Fly and 119-0bpm French, Italian, and Caught In The Act mixes were all in fact out here then … Adeva’s Rough Mix and Rough Dub turn out to be a slightly slower 117½bpm, the other three versions being confirmed at 119bpm … Les Adams has created a much beefier remix of Code 61 ‘Drop The Deal’ (an early example of “new-beat”), whereas his 0-125-0pm remixes of Maurice ‘This Is Acid (A New Dance Craze)’ (due on Breakout in a fortnight) could rekindle the whole “acieed” thing, fiercest being the flip’s ‘A Day In The Life’ adopting K & T Mix — that’s the Kev & Trev Mix, the S & T Mix being Sharon & Tracyl … Les has also totally remade (stripping away all of Patrick Cowley’s backing to leave just the original vocal) Sylvester’s ‘Do You Wanna Funk’ in updated beefier style for European release, something which maybe Domino Records should investigate as a replacement for their big selling original version and Housey Housey Mix here —incidentally, this Portsmouth based label has just reissued its old pairing of Donald Byrd ‘(Fallin’ Like) Dominoes’/ ‘Change (Makes You Want To Hustle)’ (DOMT 5) following both tracks’ recent use by respectively Stetsasonic and Blow … ‘Hello Children … Everywhere‘ (EMI EM 1307), a double album of children’s favourites from the Fifties and earlier, looks as if it could be useful for mobile and party jocks … I hope that all the really good mixers whom I keep being assured do exist in Bristol will enter the upcoming UK DJ Mixing Championships heat there (as detailed last week), and the same applies to mixers everywhere — if you all enter and make the contest truly tough this time, you’ll leave no room for the amateurs who sometimes get through at certain heats just to make up the numbers (that way there’ll be no shame even if you don’t win when competing against your equals) … Disco Mix Club’s UK final of the DJ Mixing Championships at the Hippodrome on February 13 now clashes with the BPI’s annual televised British Record Industry Awards at the Royal Albert Hall, which could well deflect record company interest from the mixing (in turn, the World DJ Mixing finals at the Royal Albert Hall on March 14 will also be filmed by BBC-TV, and will be an advance ticket only affair this time, to cut out the rude boys) … Cash Money shows off his New Music Seminar US mixing champion’s belt on the sleeve of his new single, evidently in the belief that this award has more relevance for his American audience than the fact that he beat the whole world in London! … Run-DMC’s movie ‘Tougher Than Leather’ would appear to be causing murder and mayhem in some US cinemas, patrons shooting each other in the stalls … ‘I’m Housin’‘ will be EPMD’s next US single … Arnold Jarvis ‘Take Some Time Out‘ is yet another current “deep house” revival, from April last year .. Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley — inspired by his OMD mix? – has just remixed New Order ‘Fine Time’ … Chris Moore now presents both weekend soul shows on Cardiff’s Red Dragon Radio, 5-7pm Saturdays and 7-9pm Sundays (he obviously wants all soul/dance-type records sent to the station to be addressed to him) … Tim Westwood, Richie Rich, and Hardrock’s Max ‘N’ Dave are joined this Tuesday (29) at Camden Lock Dingwalls by the Demon Boyz, Too Tuff, Trouble, The London Posse, DJ Pogo, Cutmaster Swift … The peripatetic Shoom! seems to have settled every Wednesday at Busbys in London’s Charing Cross Road … Mark King has moved from Putney to present upfront Fridays at Camberley JW’s … Les Adams’ mixing night at Milton Keynes’ The Club at The Point has switched to Friday, as they couldn’t afford him on a Saturday! … John ‘Superstar’ Saunderson is at Southend-on-Sea Mr B’s Thurs/Sat, Ealing Broadway Boulevard Fri/Sun … Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ album may have sold over 2,250,000 copies here but neither it nor the singles from it have had anything like the lasting impact that ‘Thriller’ did, at disco or any other level … ‘Twist And Shout’ was first recorded by the Top Notes on US Atlantic, released here at the time oddly as a Nino Tempo & April Stevens B-side, their version being continuously flat out frantic and very different from the subsequent Isley Brothers recording … ‘The Hitman And Her’ has become much improved now that it visits clubs where better camera angles can be used, and especially now that Pete Waterman has come out from behind the turntables, the result being really good madcap (if still shambolic) fun, Pete’s comments and asides being the best ingredient … Pasadenas producer Pete Wingfield playing piano behind Robin Beck on ‘Top Of The Pops’ — the real thing? … You all know my feelings on acid house, but we’d like to know yours, being DJs and acid club goers, so fill in the questionnaire on page 12 and get it back to us pronto… NANU NANU!

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LES ADAMS and I are for the next few weeks creating the five hour continuously mixed New Year’s Eve party music tape for Capital Radio, and in the process finding out just how good is this, Les’s brand new home studio. No longer in South London’s Worcester Park, this custom fitted, totally carpeted, and at last relatively spacious studio is 50 miles up the M1 in Les and Emma’s recently purchased Newport Pagnell house (close to the third L.A. Mix member, Mike Stevens).

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IF IT’S DECEMBER, IT MUST BE BELGIUM

WHY BELGIUM? Why should this country have reduced music to a bare electronic minimum, to create a local craze that is now being aggressively promoted as the new beat, or “new-beat”, “nieuw-beat”? It’s a country with no black music tradition (despite the Congo!). Instead there is a prosperous Silicon Valley electronics industry, and the emphasis in everyday living is on technology, the conspicuous consumption of the latest cars and electronic equipment setting the lifestyle of the well-heeled young. Already CD singles have a significant share of the dance music market. Television beams in from all around Europe, Britain included, making Belgium a melting pot. A soulless melting pot. It seems inevitable that electronic music would get a hold on such a place. Slow to change, the clubs there were still hung up on the Barry White/Gloria Gaynor “disco” syndrome until an Antwerp DJ called Fat Ronnie started to build a reputation for himself in 1985 by playing German and British electro-pop. As an antidote to fast “disco”, he and others began playing Hi-NRG and instrumental B-sides at the wrong, slow, speed, which created new low frequencies and phase shifts. Using Technics decks, it become common for 45rpm records to be played at 33⅓rpm “plus 8%” (on the vari-speed control). As Fat Ronnie had ended up in a club called Ancienne Belgique, the music became known by the club’s initials as “A.B.-Sounds” (hence the mysterious subtitle on the previously reviewed ‘New Beat — Take 1‘ compilation LP). Just as club trends spread here, so the word spread across Belgium and neighbouring countries, the mobile club crowd driving from city to city on the right nights for the right venues. Inevitably, purpose made records then were made for this still underground market, but — just as with the big “house” hits here — certain surprise hits leapt up the local charts without any radio support (the big difference in Belgium is that now they just don’t dance if the beat is fast — and it’s a totally drug-less scene). Only recently did the name of the music change to “nieuw-beat”, as several record companies set about catering to the market, a market based largely on Antwerp’s influential USA Import record shop. The best records however tend to be made by the DJs themselves, the worst being cynical cash-ins (sound familiar?). The first company to recognise the trend, Antler Records set up the Subway label, whose Maurice Engelen actually wrote to me about “new-beat” some months before the style’s records were more widely available here. He describes it as “a new form of repetitive dance music, combining post-electronic synthesisers and samplers, a dose of pathos and a portion of passion, a diet of ’round about 110bpm and the typical Belgo-European sound as it was developed by bands such as Front 242, A Split Second, Cabaret Voltaire and D.A.F.” I can see why I wasn’t terribly interested at the time — just the sort of stuff I’ve tried to avoid! If “new-beat” has any real effect in Britain, I feel it’s more likely to accelerate the next revival cycle, and reawaken interest in the late Seventies/early Eighties “new romantic” era British electronic acts who originally inspired the Belgians. The time gap seems about right for history to repeat itself, each generation looking back with nostalgia to the music of their big brothers and sisters, as any study of the UK charts will show. In the meantime, today’s Belgian kids are packing places like Ghent’s Boccaccio on Sunday night and doing a pose-y slow standing still dance to the stuff that Belgian record companies are hoping they can persuade us to like as well.

As previously mentioned, a variation on Reese & Santonio’s ‘Rock To The Beat’ has been huge in Belgium, the hit that’s assimilated it being GHENTLON ‘Cheebala’ (R&S Records 880011), most ‘Back To The Beat’-like in the flip’s thuddingly tumbling and twittering 119⅓-0bpm Jolly Boy Mix, the Acid Freak Mix being more routinely acid house-like. However, there is also a confusingly labelled “ecstasy, ecstasy”-introed phonetic (0-)121bpm remake of the actual Reese & Santonio tune, 101 ‘Rock To The Beat‘ (Speed 001), with a noisily chugging 117⅓bpm ‘Saigon Nightmare‘ flip.

Previously mentioned, THE MAXX ‘(The Biggest Illegal Export) Cocaine‘ (German BCM Records 12009) is a documentary quoting and “cocaine”-repeating ploddingly thumping 0-109⅚-0bpm twittery synth chugger, while The Maxx created (back in February) one of the big “new-beat” hits, CONFETTI’S ‘The Sound Of C…’ (German Ariola 611 891), a synth driven thumping and twittering 0-109⅓-0bpm lurcher with deadpan male repeated elaboration of the title line insisting “this is a new style of music”.

More recent are JADE 4 U ‘That Boy (Acid Mix)’ (Subway Records SUB 043), a Tubeway Army type buzzing synth chorded rolling 107⅙bpm instrumental chugger with monk-ish wordless chanting, enough like 1979 to sound comfortingly familiar now; T.99 ‘Slidy‘ (Who’s That Beat? WHOS 4), breathily intoned and phonetically rapped “it’s new beat, it’s a new style” 109bpm synth tinkled lurching chugger; MISS NICKY TRAX ‘Acid In The House‘ (KAOS dance records KAOS 004), dull monotonous sibilant title chanting jittery 114¾bpm twittering lurcher. Another usefully exhaustive compilation album is ‘New Beat — A New Style Of Music‘ (German BCM Records 33015), which by the looks of things I’m going to have to detail next week as I’m running out of room!

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HOT VINYL 

ALEXANDER O’NEAL ‘My Gift To You’ (US Tabu OZ 45016)
Actually due out here imminently (Tabu 463152 1), this is a Christmas album that is likely to be useful for several years to come, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis creating the gospel climaxed rolling singalong 0-100⅓bpm ‘Thank You For A Good Year’, ‘Saturday Love’-ish 0-104bpm ‘Our First Christmas’, ‘Fake’-like vigorous pumping 111⅔bpm ‘Sleigh Ride’, beautiful hushed gently surging 80½-0bpm ‘Remember Why (It’s Christmas)’, and sleigh bells surrounded swaying 77¼-0bpm title track, while an unexpected chunkily chugging (0-)109½-0bpm ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ fits in too, but there are also a dated big band backed 155½bpm ‘Winter Wonderland’, jerkily orchestrated 96⅙bpm ‘This Christmas’, and traditionally treated strings swamped 0-33½-0bpm ‘The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)’ to keep some of the sentiment rooted in the past (1950s vintage). In fact the last and very mentioned songs are due back-to-back as a UK single, see 45s on page 30 for review.

Frankie “Bones” presents BONESBREAKS Volume 2 ‘Raw Beats For D.J.s’ (US Underworld Records Ap 135)
Less formally structured than Todd Terry’s releases maybe but just as hot, this beats, breaks, megamixes and acid house crammed eight-track 12 incher’s most complete, samples studded creations are the Incredible Bongo Band underpinned maniacally megamixing 0-117-0bpm ‘At My House (The Apachies/NY Acid Dust Mix)’, striding twittery 0-121¼-121bpm ‘And the Break Goes Acid (The Break Boys/UK Acid Remix)’, bumpily lurching 120⅔-0bpm ‘Bacardi 151 Beats‘, and to a lesser extent the Ike Hayes wukka-wuk and Big Daddy Kane whining “noise” (I wish someone would remind me what it’s from!) combined throbbing 120-0bpm ‘Shafted Off‘, more basic breaks being the orgasmically climaxed monotonous 119bpm ‘Basic Break Tracks’, repetitively jittering 117¼-0bpm ‘Funky Acid Makossa (the Apachies/Acid Beats)‘, ‘Think (About It)’ sampled punctuated drily jittering 0-121¼-0bpm ‘On The Beat Now (Ramo’s Revenge)’ and drumming slow 88⅓bpm ‘Jamming Breakdown’.

CA$H MONEY & MARVELOUS ‘Find An Ugly Woman’ (US Sleeping Bag Records SLX 40143)
Long awaited, this rather DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince-type jauntily jiggling bass drum jogged 93bpm X-side rap seems far from original, but has a much fiercer rumbling jitter Public Enemy-ish 106⅓bpm ‘The Mighty Hard Rocker’ Y-side (instrumentals too), which shows off to better advantage the mixing skills of world champion DJ Cash.

GARY L. ‘Anything Is Possible’ (US Easy Street EZS-7543)
Smack Music Prods-produced Colonel Abrams-ish gruffly moaned and worried strong sinuously lurching and spurting “garage” bumper, sure to do well right now and already much mentioned, in 0-119¼-0bpm Club Vocal I, (0-)119⅓bpm Club Sensation Dub, 119¼bpm Club Vocal II and Club Cheetha Acid Mix versions.

VARIOUS ‘North — The Sound Of The Dance Underground‘ (de/Construction Records PL71939)
Hacienda DJ (and T-Coy member) Mike Pickering is obviously the guiding light of this gatefold twin-packed 45rpm “album” of Manchester house creations, containing (its hottest track so far) the attractive piano accented and machine washed thumping episodic (0-)119¼bpm ‘I Ain’t Nightclubbing’ by T-COY, plus their older latin piano jangled pshta pshta-ed 0-114⅕bpm ‘Carino’, the T-Coy co-produced frantically twittering calmly cooed 128-127¾-128bpm ‘Dream 17‘ by ANNETTE and naggingly synthed jittery bubbling 121-120⅚bpm ‘Megagrip‘ by MASTERS OF ACID, T-Coy produced keyboards tinkled friskily chugging (0-)123¾-123⅔bpm ‘House Fantaz-ee‘ by DCB, Pickering co-produced ‘A Day In The Life’ quoting frantically leaping infectious 128¾bpm ‘Get On The One‘ by FREQUENCY 9, and apparently independently produced exotically wailed twittery striding 119-119¼-0bpm ‘Voodoo Ray‘ by A GUY CALLED GERALD, spaciously throbbing twittery (0-)119⅔-0bpm ‘Acid To Ecstasy‘ by ED209.

M-D-EMM ‘Fanning The Flames’ (RePublic Records UCT 003R) Another four-tracker under an EP-like generic title, containing the bubbly bounding (0-)121¾bpm ‘I Wanna Do It! (US Hot Bass Mix)’, sampling bits of Hamilton Bohannon ‘New York Is Red Hot’, Avonn ‘Get Down’, In Deep ‘The Rapper’, and (with DJ Mark Ryder at the decks) scratching the Disco 4 ‘Do It’, Chocolate Milk ‘Who’s Getting It Now’, Dynamix ‘Give The DJ A Break’, this creation being brand new while the 122⅔-123¼-0bpm ‘London’s Burning – 1666 (Drug Free Acidic Mix)‘ is an acidic remix of ‘1666 – Ooh Baby I’m So Hot (Pyro-Maniac Mix)’ the 118⅙bpm ‘Burning To The Boogie (Boogie Underworld Mix)‘ a less slick remix of ‘Burn It Down (With The Philly Sound)’ and the 122-122⅙- 122bpm ‘Don’t Stop We’re So Hot (Smouldering Ashes Mix)’ a frantically hustling 1976 disco style remix of ‘Don’t Stop We’re So Hot (Body Sizzling Mix)’. Confused?

SCRAM ‘Running Away (The Weekend Mix)’ (CityBeat CBE 1229)
Girls cooed stark jerkily bumping jiggly leaping 114⅓bpm update of the Roy Ayers Ubiquity jazz-funk classic, effective enough without necessarily being a lasting improvement, flipped by a 113¾bpm Full Length Instrumental Mix (which is actually shorter!).

N. 93 ‘Bus Stop (Les Adams Remix)’ (Rhyme ‘n Reason Records 12 RNR 1)
Likewise an effective enough monotonously chugging though bright 113bpm Les Adams remix (or, rather, remake) of a Jimmy Gray chanted (and, originally, produced) revival of the Fatback Band’s ‘(Are You Ready) Do The Bus Stop’ funk classic from 1975, flipped by Les’s twittering instrumental 113bpm Jam Till You Drop Mix and an unremixed dated 111⅔-0bpm The Night Mix.

HUMANOID ‘STAKKER humanoid’ (Westside Records WSRT 12)
Confusingly titled and indeed originally credited as ‘Humanoid’ by Stakker while on white label promo (which had a total lack of advance DJ reaction), this Mancunian created twittering, fluttering, snarling and sizzling 124¼-124½-0bpm electro instrumental has apparently been boosted by use as the theme tune to BBC2’s ‘Behind The Beat’ segment of ‘Def II’, and looks like giving label owner Morgan Khan his highest placed single ever. With a similar radio edit and much longer 125-0bpm The Omen Mix flip, it’s uncompromisingly fierce and must be frightening radio chart show compilers rigid!

DONNA ALLEN ‘Heaven On Earth’ (US Oceana 91028-1)
Although she’s wailing throughout, this album is selling just about exclusively for Donna’s excellent slinkily souled and saxed swaying 108bpm revival of Maze’s enduring ‘Joy And Pain’, best of the rest being the powerful jerkily rolling 111⅙bpm ‘We’re Smokin’ Now’, grittily drifting 69/34½bpm ‘Renew The Love’, meandering 0-44/22-0bpm ‘Come For Me’ and 35/70bpm title track – which means the jiggly lurching (0-)114bpm ‘Can We Talk’, storming 120bpm ‘Make It My Night’, bashing 113bpm ‘Joker’s Wild’, jittering 105bpm ‘You Move, You Lose’, snapping 123bpm ‘Hot Seat (Of My Car)’ are unsympathetic in their more rhythmic production style.

THE WEE PAPA GIRL RAPPERS ‘Soulmate (Extended Version)’ (Jive JIVE T 193)
A lurching 0-93⅚bpm step back to (by now, dubious?) rap credibility on a spoken and sung “street soul”-ish jogger that’s quite catchy in early Eighties style but may be a bit ponderous for their pop fans, flipped by the Kevin ‘Reese’ Sanderson produced jerkily acidic but tedious 117½-0bpm ‘We Know It (Phosphoric Mix)‘.

OTHER RELEASES which unfortunately I have not had time to BPM yet (despite not sleeping for two nights’) include, on import, the Honey Drippers ‘Impeach The President’ backed funkily rolling SPOONIE GEE ‘(You Ain’t Just A Fool) You’s An Old Fool‘ (US Tuff City); Eric B & Rakim-style tensely rumbling SCHOLAR 1 ‘Turn Up The Radio‘ (US G Fine Sounds); remorselessly talking TOO KOOL POSSE ‘Give ‘Em A Sample‘ (US Profile); JB-cutting lurching rap ‘n’ scratch B-FATS ‘How’s Everybody Feelin’?‘ (US Rooftop Records); Timmy Regisford remixed gospel girls wailed jogging PERRI ‘I’m The One‘ (US Zebra); anxiously whinneyed skittery MYSTIC ‘House Girl‘ (US Rocking House); Nina Simone/Animals/Santa Esmeralda reviving jittery latin hip hop/house/garage fusing LATIN RASCALS ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood‘ (US Tin Pan Apple); unusually twin-packed girl chanted jaunty ‘lko Iko’-ish house WANTED! FOR FUN ‘Where Is The Party‘ (US Play House Records); Clivilles & Cole-created latin hip hop-ish jittery plaintive SANDEE ‘Notice Me‘ (US The Fever). UK releases include the by now typically styled haunting slow jerky Dionne Warwick reviving SMITH & MIGHTY FEATURING JACKIE JACKSON ‘Walk On By‘ (Three Stripe Records); Floaters reviving sweet slow rap ballad STETSASONIC (featuring FORCE MD’s) ‘Float On‘ (Breakout); ‘Paid In Full’ introed haunting gently spoken/sung weaving DEE MAJOR (I.O.F.) ‘Rat Race’ (Catt); strong “street soul” double-sided ROSALINE JOYCE ‘This Time‘/’Try‘ (Intrigue); Simon Harris created, Greg Edwards rapped, Instant Funk based, jittery pop house AMBASSADORS OF FUNK ‘My Mind’s Made Up‘ (Living Beat); Tim Westwood co-owned rap label launching Public Enemy-ish frenetically burbling and churning ‘Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose’ based TROUBLE ‘I Get Hype‘ (Justice); fiercely shouting and scratching violent HIJACK ‘Hold No Hostage‘ (Music Of Life). And there are more — check the chart!

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POP DANCE

PHIL COLLINS ‘Two Hearts’ (Virgin VST1141), fabulous facile 115½bpm catchy swinger in a none too specific Motown influenced pseudo Sixties style (but then it is co-prod/penned by Lamont Dozier) from the ‘Buster’ soundtrack;

KYLIE & JASON ‘Especially For You’ (PWL Records PWLT 24), Neighbours’ singing sweethearts moo and croon a vaguely reggae-ish 0-79¾bpm slushy sentimental swayer, flipped by the friskily flying ‘You’re The One That I Want’/’Frankie’-type 220bpm ‘All I Wanna Do Is Make You Mine‘ (actually inspired in its jaunty bass line by Dee Clark’s ‘Just Keep It Up‘ from 1959 — that’s the sort of break beat that I can spot!), both of course Stock Aitken Waterman creations;

SYDNEY YOUNGBLOOD ‘Congratulations (Punchline Mix)’ (Circa Records YRT 22), ‘Alice I Want You Just For Me’ meets ‘Din Daa Daa’, ‘Don’t Look Any Further’, Spanish guitar and more at 98bpm as the basis for a Milli Vanilli-ish pop rap swayer, full of nifty cuts and edits (similar Homeboy Megagrooves and different 112-0bpm Pain In The Acieed instrumental too);

BONEY M ‘Boney M-egamix ’88’ (Arista 611 947), neat and inevitably jolly (in a dated sort of way) 118-119-120-123¼-123⅔-127¼-128-128⅔-0bpm ‘Rivers Of Babylon/Daddy Cool/Rasputin/Ma Baker/Gotta Go Home’ medleying megamix by Alan Coulthard, using as source an album’s worth of remixes by Pete Hammond, from which come the flip’s Remix ’88 Versions of the (0-)116bpm ‘Rivers Of BabyIon’ and (0-)113½-112¾-113½bpm ‘Mary’s Boy Child-Oh My Lord’ (wot, no ‘Brown Girl In The Ring’?!);

THE LOVE MACHINE ‘Love Machine’ (The Dance Yard Recording Corporation YARD T5), not really as “dreadful” as my hastily judged review said last week, this rather surprisingly Rose Windross led, War ‘Galaxy’ flavoured and ‘Space Bass’ quoting jerkily bounding 0-122¼-122-0bpm corny Yazz-ish pop house effort sounds nearly about a year out of date in ‘Doctor In The House’ style (with a more acidic 0-122¼-0bpm ‘Orgasmosis’ instrumental);

U2 ‘Angel Of Harlem’ (Island 12IS 402), fruitily brassy 102⅔-103⅙-102⅓bpm groaning roller like Bruce Springsteen singing ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ to the tune of ‘The Mighty Quinn’ and backed (this bit’s true!) by the Memphis Horns;

FIVE STAR ‘Let Me Be Yours (Remix)’ (Tent PT 42344), rumbling juddery 94bpm sweet rolling swayer with a seasonal reference to snow, their most appealing single in some time, almost “street soul’;

THE KLF ‘What Time Is Love?’ (KLF Communications KLF 004T), The JAMs-produced gradually intensifying disjointedly spurting 119-0bpm fluttery bumping synth instrumental, rather too staid to be truly “acieed” but if played at 33⅓rpm it could perhaps become the 88bpm basis for a “new beat”;

EON ‘Light Color Sound’ (Vinyl Solution STORM 3), title muttering synth sizzled and twittered spurting 123½-0bpm acid pop;

STEREO MC’s ‘What Is Soul?’ (Fourth & Broadway 12BRW 119), certainly not this Van McCoy ‘The Hustle’ sampling 93⅚bpm churning white boys’ rap (stark 92⅔bpm The Good, The Bad & The Rob B Mix), somehow more “indie” than “b boy” in sensibility.

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HI-NRG

ERASURE ‘Knocking On Your Door’ (Mute 12MUTE 93), Communards-ish frantically rattling, racing and whinneying 134¾-0bpm simple catchy galloper, obviously destined to be a less incongruous than sometimes is usual Hi-NRG chart entry for them (and useful generally for parties), flipped by the Yazoo-do-‘Then He Kissed Me’-ish 121-0bpm ‘Stop!‘;

BARBARA PENNINGTON ‘I’ve Been A Bad Girl’ (Nightmare MARE 69), bass throbbed quite frisky 118-0bpm well sung chugger building fluidly through bumpy accents;

KIM WESTON ‘Who’s Gonna Have The Last Laugh’ (Nightmare MARE 72), thumping then swinging 0-108bpm swayer with tinny brass and production values keeping it in the Hi-NRG camp despite its slower dated soul tempo.

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REMIXES

BILL WITHERS ‘Ain’t No Sunshine (Ben Liebrand Remix)‘ (CBS 653198 6), instead of beefing up the original rhythm to make it faster, Ben’s augmenting beats this time keep the delicate guitar picked classic mournful groaner at a tapping and fluttering steady 39¼/78½-0bpm slow tempo, different rather than a revelation;

JAY STRONGMAN ‘The Sound: East & West (Glasnost Mix)‘ (Rhythm King LEFT R29T), starting with “do you want to dance?” asked in Russian (ready for Gorbachev’s visit!), Jay and brother Phil’s chugging 0-111⅙-0-111⅙-0bpm remix intersperses ‘Change (Makes You Want To Hustle)’ brass with the Red Army Choir as before, plus acidic sirens, scratches and a beefier back beat (BPM-ed off acetate);

DAVID GRANT ‘Intuition 88 (Sulphuric Beats Mix)’ (Fresher FRESTR 1), supposedly strictly promo only but now advertised as commercially available, an instrumental 119½bpm remix with War-like throbbing beats and acidically “screaming” scratch effects.

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THE CLUB CHART – December 3, 1988

01 01 WEEKEND/JUST WANNA DANCE The Todd Terry Project, Sleeping Bag Records 12in
02 03 USELESS (I DON’T NEED YOU NOW) (MARSHALL JEFFERSON WINDY CITY MIXES) Kym Mazelle, Syncopate 12in
03 06 OPEN OUR EYES (MIXES) Marshall Jefferson presents Truth, ffrr 12in
04 02 THE WAY YOU LOVE ME (12” CLUB MIX) Karyn White, Warner Bros 12in
05 05 GET ON THE DANCE FLOOR/CHECK THIS OUT/JOY AND PAIN Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, Supreme Records LP
06 04 THE PARTY (CLUB MIX) Kraze, MCA Records 12in
07 08 KNOW HOW/(INSTRUMENTAL) Young MC, Fourth & Broadway 12in
08 07 RESPECT/HER BAD SELF (THE POSSE/HITMAN MIXES) The Real Roxanne, Cooltempo 12in
09 14 DON’T SCANDALIZE MINE Sugar Bear, Champion 12in
10 18 DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE Mista E, Urban 12in
11 15 YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME (EXTENDED VER.) Turntable Orch, US Music Village Records 12in
12 28 CHECK THIS OUT (CLUB VERSION) Hardhouse, US Easy Street 12in/Champion promo
13 17 REACHIN’ (BROTHERHOOD MIX) Phase II, RePublic Records 12in
14 25 STAKKER HUMANOID/(THE OMEN MIX) Humanoid, Westside Records 12in
15 10 THE SPELL! (GET DOWN WITH THE GENIE)/SPELL ON ME The Funky Worm, FON 12in
16 24 RESPECT (MIXES) Adeva, US Chrysalis/Cooltempo 12in
17 19 TALKING WITH MYSELF/(OPIUM MIX) Electribe 1.0.1., Club 12in
18 12 MY LOVE IS MAGIC (CLUB MIX) Bäs Noir, US nugroove 12in
19 13 LIFE’S JUST A BALL GAME (BALLROOM REMIX) Womack & Womack, Fourth & Broadway 12in
20 — BORN THIS WAY (LET’S DANCE)/(SUE’S FAVOURITE MIX)/(COOKSTRUMENTAL) Cookie Crew, ffrr 12in pre-release
21 26 PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER (PARKSIDE MIX)/MICROPHONE FIEND (DJ MARK – THE 45 KING REMIX) Eric B & Rakim, MCA Records 12in
22 40 YOYO GET FUNKY/HIP HOUSE/CAN U STILL DANCE/I CAN DANCE/KEEP ON DANCING/JACK 2 THE SOUND/FUNK MAKES YOU MOVE/LET’S GO/ACID THUNDER/CLAP YOUR HANDS The DJ Fast Eddie, US DJ International Records LP
23 11 WE CALL IT ACIEED (THE MATEY MIX) d. mob (featuring Gary Haisman), ffrr 12in
24 34 SET IT OFF (EXTENDED MARLEY MARL MIX) Big Daddy Kane, Cold Chillin’ 12in
25 27 RUNAWAY GIRL (MIXES) Sterling Void, US DJ International Records 12in
26 30 VOODOO RAY A Guy Called Gerald, Rham! Records 12in
27 — FIND AN UGLY WOMAN/THE MIGHTY HARD ROCKER Cash Money & Marvelous, US Sleeping Bag Records 12in
28 20 SHARP AS A KNIFE (ACID ATTACK) Brandon Cooke featuring Roxanne Shanté, Club 12in
29 09 CAN YOU PARTY (CLUB MIX) Royal House, Champion 12in
30 16 ROLLIN’ WITH KID ‘N’ PLAY/SOUL MAN Kid ‘N’ Play, Cooltempo LP
31 33 CAN’T WIN FOR LOSIN’ (OVERSEAS MIX/KEVIN HEDGE MIX) Blaze, RePublic Records 12in
32 22 SO MANY WAYS (DO IT PROPERLY PART II) The Brat Pack, Breakout 12in
33 31 TRUTH OF SELF EVIDENCE/STRUCTURE/GRAB THE BEAT Reese & Santonio, ffrr 12in
34 23 IT’S A TRIP (TUNE IN, TURN ON, DROP OUT) (MIXES) Children Of The Night, Jive 12in
35 83 SAY A LITTLE PRAYER (REMIX)/MEGAMIX Bomb The Bass, Rhythm King 12in white label
36 21 I’LL HOUSE YOU Jungle Brothers, US Idlers 12in
37 37 THE CIRCUS The Todd Terry Project, Sleeping Bag Records LP
38 29 THE TWILIGHT ZONE (REMIXES) The Party Boy, Urban Acid 12in
39 36 THE 900 NUMBER/VARIOUS BEATS The 45 King, US Tuff City LP
40 85 SAY A LITTLE PRAYER/10 SECONDS TO TERMINATE Bomb The Bass featuring Maureen, Rhythm King 12in
41 67 MY PREROGATIVE (EXTENDED REMIX) Bobby Brown, US MCA Records 12in
42 — AT MY HOUSE/AND THE BREAK GOES ACID/BACARDI 151 BEATS/SHAFTED OFF Frankie “Bones” presents Bonesbreaks Volume 2, US UnderWorld Records 12in
43 35 TWICE THE LOVE (SHEP PETTIBONE REMIXES) George Benson, Warner Bros 12in
44 48 DON’T EVEN FEEL IT/ROXANNE’S ON A ROLL The Real Roxanne, US Select Records LP
45 43 WAITING IN VAIN Total Contrast, Criminal Records 12in
46 47 EVERYBODY GET UP (MIXES)/TWIST AND SHOUT Salt-n-Pepa, ffrr 12in
47 84 BUFFALO STANCE Neneh Cherry, Circa Records 12in
48 57 JOY AND PAIN Donna Allen, US Oceana LP
49 41 LONDON RHYME SYNDICATE/ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS London Rhyme Syndicate, Rhyme ‘n’ Reason Records 12in
50 49 WHO’S GONNA EASE THE PRESSURE (BIG MAC MIX)/IT’S A CRUEL WORLD (CLUB HOUSE MIX) Mac Thornhill, 10 Records 12in
51 71 RUNNING AWAY (THE WEEKEND MIX) Scram, CityBeat 12in
52 — GOOD LIFE (MAGIC JUAN’S MIX/MAYDAY CLUB MIX) Inner City, 10 Records 12in
53 38 SET THE PACE (SAY YEAH)/STYLIN’ (EXTENDED VERSION) Skinny Boys, US Jive 12in
54 — GET ON THE DANCE FLOOR (THE “SKY” KING REMIX/SURGICAL “SKY” KING DUB/E-Z ROCKIN’ BONUS BEATS/ORGINAL ALBUM VERSION)/KEEP IT GOING NOW (HARDCORE REMIX) Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, German BCM Records 12in
55 74 BREAK 4 LOVE (SPANISH FLY) Raze, Champion/US Columbia 12in
56 80 YEAH BUDDY (EXTENDED MIX) Royal House, Champion 12in
57 91 I WANNA DO IT! (US HOT BASS MIX)/BURNING TO THE BOOGIE (BOOGIE UNDERWORLD MIX) M-D-Emm, RePublic Records 12in
58 — I GET HYPE/(MONO)/INSTRUMENTAL/I GUESS IT’S DOPE Trouble, Justice 12in
59 94 DON’T STOP YOUR LOVE (EXTENDED VERSION/HOUSE MIX) Keith Sweat, Elektra 12in
60 44 KEEP IT INSIDE Cherrelle, Tabu LP
61 42 HMM, HMM Taste Of Sugar/FLESH A Split Second (‘New Beat – Take 1’), Subway Records LP
62 54 CHIKKI CHIKKI AAH AAH/FORDTRAX Baby Ford, Rhythm King 12in
63 39 NIGHT MOVES (MIXES) Rickster, Sure Delight 12in
64 55 SOMEDAY (CLUB MIX) Ce Ce Rogers, US Atlantic 12in/UK promo
65 64 SHOW ME WHAT YOU’VE GOT (MIXES) S.L.F. (Street-Level Funk), Warriors Dance 12in
66 70 CAN YOU FEEL IT? (REMIX) Fingers Inc featuring Chuck Roberts, Desire 12in
67 95 DREAM 17 Annette/I AIN’T NIGHTCLUBBING/CARINO T-Coy/VOODOO RAY A Guy Called Gerald/ACID TO ECSTASY ED209 (‘North – The Sound Of The Dance Underground’) de/Construction Records 12in twin-pack LP
68 96 ROCK THIS PLACE (UK CLUB REMIX/USA MIXES) Mr Lee, Kool Kat 12in
69 98 THE NIGHTMARE (IT’S OVER FOR YOU) (MIXES) Lake Eerie, US nugroove 12in
70 58 COME GET MY LOVIN’ (NYC/MIDWAY MIXES)/MOVE GROOVE Dionne, US Bigshot Records 12in
71 — MY DJ (PUMP IT UP SOME) Richie Rich, Gee St Recordings 12in
72 — GOES LIKE DIS/DRUMS OF STEEL/COOLIN’ IN CALI/THAT’S HOW WE’RE LIVIN’/EVERYBODY GET LOOSE/EXPRESS THE MIND/FREESTYLE ‘88/A MAN’S GOTTA DO WHAT A MAN’S GOTTA DO/LUCIFER/HIT ‘EM AGAIN/BOULDIN, THE OTHER ½ INCE/OUTRO DEDICATION The 7A3, Geffen Records LP
73 — ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE (MIXES) Gary L, US Easy Street 12in
74 56 SERPENT IN THE GARDEN The Garden Of Eden, Pepper Records 12in white label
75 93 YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME Turntable Orchestra/I’M A LOVER Kym Mazelle, RePublic Records 12in pre-release
76 59 JENIFA (TAUGHT ME) De La Soul, US Tommy Boy 12in
77 — WALK ON BY (MIX ONE/MIX TWO)/TRAVELLING/(DIFFERENT CHAPTER MIX) Smith & Mighty, Three Stripe Records 12in white label
78 69 SHOW AND PROVE/AS THE BEAT GOES ON/LET’S DANCE Sweet Tee, US Profile LP
79 — AS ALWAYS (LOVIN HOUSE MIX/CLUB MIX/JACK MIX/ACID MIX) Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk presents Ricky Dillard, Champion 12in
80 — NOT GONNA DO IT (BAM BAM MIX/MIKE DUNN DUB/LARRY PATTERSON 12” MIX/7” MARSHALL MIX) Vicky Martin, US Movin’ Records 12in
81 — TURN UP THE RADIO/(FUNKY WEEKEND MIX/INSTRUMENTAL)/JUST YOUR BROTHER/INSTRUMENTAL Scholar 1, US G Fine Sounds 12in
82 — SLEIGH RIDE/THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY/THANK YOU FOR A GOOD YEAR/OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS/MY GIFT TO YOU Alexander O’Neal, US Tabu LP
83 61 JACK TO THE SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND (MIXES) Hithouse, Supreme Records 12in
84 45 HERE COMES THAT SOUND (DEMOLITION REMIX) Simon Harris, ffrr 12in
85 78 A DAY IN THE LIFE Black Riot, Champion 12in
86 86 BLACK, ROCK AND RON/GETTING LARGE Black, Rock And Ron, US Popular Records 12in
87 — EVERYBODY (LP VERSION)/JUST A GROOVE/MY MIND’S MADE UP/(BRAKEDOWN) Ambassadors Of Funk, Living Beat Records 12in
88 — (WHAT CAN I SAY) TO MAKE YOU LOVE ME (HATEFUL CLUB MIX/BEN LIEBRAND REMIX)/CRITICIZE (BEN LIEBRAND REMIX/STEVE HODGE REMIX)/NEVER KNEW LOVE LIKE THIS (EXTENDED VERSION)/THE LOVERS (EXTENDED VERSION)/FAKE (EXTENDED VERSION)/FAKE 88 (HOUSE MIX) Alexander O’Neal, Tabu LP
89 62 I wanna do MONKEY SAY, MONKEY DO WestBam, German Low Spirit 12in
90 re USELESS (I DON’T NEED YOU NOW) (CLIVILLES & COLE AFTER HOURS CLUB) Kym Mazelle, Syncopate 12in
91 82 HOUSE SENSATION (KEVIN ‘MASTER REESE’ SAUNDERSON MIX) Liaz, 10 Records 12in
92 92 BUS STOP (LES ADAMS REMIX) N. 93, Rhyme ‘n’ Reason Records 12in
93 88 LAP OF LUXURY Dee Dee Wilde, Fourth & Broadway 12in
94 — HAUNTED HOUSE (GARAGE MIX/BLACK ACID OD MIX) Dada Z Nada, US 1 Voice Records 12in
95 63 IT IS WHAT IT IS (MAJESTIC MIX)/BEYOND THE DANCE (BIZARRO MIX)/FEEL SURREAL (SUBCONSCIOUS MIX) Rhythim Is Rhythim, US Transmat 12in
96 — DO YOU WANNA GET HYPE/GIVE ‘EM A SAMPLE Too Kool Posse, US Profile 12in
97 77 100% OF DISIN’ YOU/WORLD UNKNOWN Armando, US Warehouse Records 12in
98 — RAT RACE/HUMAN RACE Dee Major (I.O.F.), Catt 12in
99 — NOTICE ME (NOTICE THE HOUSE MIX/CLIVILLES & COLE CLUB VOCAL/DRUMPELLA/DUBBIN’ AT STUDIO 54) Sandée, US The Fever 12in
100 — BRAND NEW FUNK (REMIX/LIVE)/GIRLS AIN’T NOTHING BUT TROUBLE (88 VERSION/INSTRUMENTAL) DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Jive 12in mailing list promo

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POP DANCE

01 01 GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE Milli Vanilli, Cooltempo 12in
02 04 NEED YOU TONIGHT INXS, Mercury 12in
03 02 WE CALL IT ACIEED (THE MATEY MIX) d. Mob (featuring Gary Haisman), ffrr 12in
04 06 FIRST TIME Robin Beck, Mercury 12in
05 03 STAND UP FOR YOUR LOVE RIGHTS Yazz, Big Life 12in
06 05 BIG FUN Inner City featuring Kevin Saunderson, 10 Records 12in
07 09 WEEKEND/JUST WANNA DANCE Todd Terry Project, Sleeping Bag 12in
08 07 HE AIN’T NO COMPETITION Brother Beyond, EMI 12in
09 12 NATHAN JONES Bananarama, London 12in
10 17 THE WAY YOU LOVE ME Karyn White, Warner Brothers 12in
11 08 JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI Kylie Minogue, PWL 12in
12 — LEFT TO MY OWN DEVICES Pet Shop Boys, Parlophone 12in
13 — SMOOTH CRIMINAL Michael Jackson, Epic 12in
14 13 TEARDROPS Womack & Womack, Fourth & Broadway 12in
15 10 BURN IT UP Beatmasters featuring P.P. Arnold, Rhythm King 12in
16 20 MISSING YOU Chris De Burgh, A&M 12in
17 15 CAN YOU PARTY Royal House, Champion 12in
18 11 REAL GONE KID Deacon Blue, CBS 12in
19 16 THE PARTY Kraze, MCA 12in
20 14 KISS Art Of Noise featuring Tom Jones, China 12in

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HI-NRG

01 05 THE RUMOUR (SHEP PETTIBONE REMIX) Olivia Newton-John, US MCA 12in
02 01 I NEED YOUR PASSION Sweet Connection, German Blow Up 12in
03 02 OVER AND OVER AND OVER Michelle Goulet, Saturday 12in
04 04 REQUIEM London Boys, German Teldec 12in
05 09 WHAT KIND OF LOVE Diana Randall, French Public 12in
06 06 DANCE WITH ME Claudia T, Dutch Made Up 12in
07 03 LOVE EVICTION/LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO LOVE TONIGHT Quartzlock, Retro 12in
08 — WEEKEND The Todd Terry Project, Sleeping Bag 12in
09 07 CAN YOU PARTY (CLUB MIX) Royal House, Champion 12in
10 08 A B C D/BAD GIRLS Radiorama, Italian Disco Merak Music 12in
11 22 I CAN FLY Louise Thomas, Nightmare 12in
12 13 ONLY MUSIC SURVIVES (DJ PROMIX)/SPEND A LITTLE TIME Alba, Italian Merak Music 12in
13 11 YOUR LOVE CAME TOO LATE Eria Fachin, US Critique 12in
14 16 LEFT TO MY OWN DEVICES (THE DISCO MIX) Pet Shop Boys, Parlophone 12in
15 26 ROCK ME BABY Lysa Lynn, US Emergency 12in
16 10 STAND UP FOR YOUR LOVE RIGHTS Yazz, Big Life 12in
17 20 HEART OF GLASS Desiderata, Nightmare 12in
18 12 IS THIS REALLY LOVE Jon Otis, PWL 12in
19 14 DOWNTOWN ’88 (PETER SLAGHUIS REMIX) Petula Clark, PRT 12in
20 21 NEVER TRUST A STRANGER/YOU CAME (JELLYBEAN REMIX) Kim Wilde, MCA 12in
21 17 HIT ‘N’ RUN LOVER (REMAKE) Carol Jiani, Passion 12in
22 30 JACK TO THE SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND Hithouse, Supreme 12in
23 18 THEME FROM P.O.P. Perfectly Ordinary People, Urban 12in
24 33 RIVAL LOVE Astaire, Passion 12in
25 34 STEALING MY TIME Kelly Marie, Saturday 12in
26 24 JACKIE (WAKE UP MIX) Blue Zone, Arista/Rockin’ Horse 12in
27 31 CHICA CUBANA Tatjana, Dutch Hi-Fashion 12in
28 27 SAYIN’ SORRY (DOESN’T MAKE IT RIGHT) Denise Lopez, Breakout 12in
29 15 BACKSEAT OF YOUR CADILLAC C.C. Catch, German Hansa 12in
30 — 1-2-3 (EXTENDED VERSION) Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine, Epic 12in
31 19 BURN IT UP Beatmasters featuring P.P. Arnold, Rhythm King 12in
32 25 BIG FUN Inner City featuring Kevin Saunderson, 10 Records 12in
33 32 IN THE NAME OF LOVE (CLUB MIX) Swan Lake, Champion 12in
34 48 AUTOMATICALLY YOURS Brenda Cochrane, Dazzle 12in
35 re NEVER SATISFIED Carol Woods, Nightmare 12in
36 37 POWER OF PERSUASION Pointer Sisters, US Columbia 12in
37 23 TOO MANY TIMES, TOO MANY CHANGES San, Belgian Infinity 12in
38 39 IT’S ALRIGHT/ALWAYS ON MY MIND – IN MY HOUSE/LEFT TO MY OWN DEVICES/I WANT A DOG/I’M NOT SCARED/DOMINO DANCING Pet Shop Boys, Parlophone LP
39 28 A LITTLE RESPECT (MARK SAUNDERS MIX) Erasure, Mute 12in
40 35 JIVE INTO THE NIGHT Green Olives, Italian “X”-Energy 12in
41 40 FOOLS CRY Fancy, German Metronome 12in
42 re WE CAN MAKE IT Evans & Fisher, Italian EF 12in
43 re YOU GAVE ME LOVE Venice, Italian Flea 12in
44 44 ALL OF ME (BOY OH BOY) Sabrina, PWL/Mega/Videogram 12in
45 45 TURN IT ON TO LOVE (EXTENDED VERSION) Hazell Dean, EMI 12in
46 41 LOVE, TRUTH & HONESTY (BALEARACIDIC MIX) Bananarama, London 12in
47 42 FANTASY BOY Baccara, German Bellaphon 12in
48 — MOVE IT IN, MOVE IT OUT Body Heat, Canadian Sizzle 12in
49 — JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI (THE REVOLUTIONARY MIX) Kylie Minogue, PWL 12in
50 — LOVE HANGOVER (DANCE MIX) Diana Ross, Motown 12in