Month: August 1989

BEATS & PIECES

The Club Chart last week was the most radically altered in memory, with 35 new (or re–) entries of which 25 had to be BPM-ed before inclusion, unfortunately causing me to deliver the result (after a solid weekend’s work) 20 minutes too late to be printed — my apologies, but here (to make all that time consuming work worthwhile) are the missing positions: [omitted, as these have been listed in the previous week’s column] … I get a bit fed up, not surprisingly, with snide suggestions that I just put in this chart whatever I personally like — far from it, in fact, as after Alan Jones has tabulated all the DJs’ returns and I have then exhaustively monitored and formulated the upfront sales ingredient for everything currently qualifying for inclusion (more than ever before at the moment), all the resulting figures are added up and the order in which they then fall is the order in which The Club Chart then appears, with no personal input at all: there are indeed so many club records coming out now and struggling to get into The Club Chart that last week no fewer than a further 30 had enough chart points to have hit the 100 in the not so distant past, these being by (if you can bear another list) EPMD 12in, NY House’n Authority, Schoolly D LP, Freud Sofa, D Mob, Bobcat, Tuff Crew 12in, Technotronic, Mutha Hood, Tuff Crew LP, Queen Latifah, Sueno Latino, Nicole ‘Rock The House’, Babyface 12in, Debbi Blackwell-Cook, Karyn White ‘Secret Rendezvous (Remix)’, Elle, The Latin Rage, The Beatmasters (remixes), Jody Watley (remix), Nocera (remix), Debbie Mckayle, Too Poetic, 2 In A Room 12in, Michelle & The World War Four, Bang-The Party, Debbie Malone, Farley Jackmaster Funk & The Hip House Syndicate, Kelly Charles & James Bratton, The Groove Robbers (you will hopefully appreciate why I have neither time nor room to review all the included newies this issue!) … LA Mix’s follow-up, the Kevin Henry sung ‘Love Together‘ (Breakout USAT 662), is already hitting on promo ahead of early September release — ringing the changes (as does everything on their upcoming album), it’s a Philly soul-style Ten City-ish (but in fact Carl Bean inspired!) romping anthem initially promoed in six mixes, the 120bpm British Lovers 12, 120.2bpm British Lovers Breakdown and 121-120.6-120.4-120bpm Emma’s Love Mix on the Les Adams side, and three 120bpm American mixes on the Frankie Knuckles & David Morales side … Phonogram have promoed the cryptically labelled Electribe 101 ‘Tell Me When The Fever Ended‘ ahead of September 11 full release, a hauntingly wailed 120.6-0bpm house canterer flipped by a bubblier 123bpm Raggamix and smoother 120.6bpm Instrumental … N.W.A.’s US 12 inch of ‘Express Yourself’ is now due here on Fourth & Broadway next week … Big Daddy Kane ‘Smooth Operator’, reviewed on import only last week, is now out here (Cold Chillin’ W2804T) with both mixes 92.5bpm and ‘Warm It Up, Kane’ 116.6bpm … Babyface’s ‘Tender Lover’ album is also out here (Solar MCG 6064, via MCA) … I probably won’t have room this issue to review the recent rap albums EPMD ‘Unfinished Business’ (US Fresh Records LPRE-92012, due here as Sleeping Bag Records SBUK LP 8, Tuff Crew ‘Back To Wreck Shop’ (US So Deff Records WAR-2712), and Schoolly D ‘Am I Black Enough For You?’ (US Schoolly-D Records/Jive 1237-1-J), all of which were in fact fully BPM-ed when they hit The Club Chart during the last few weeks … RePublic Records have deleted all their versions of Raven Maize ‘Forever Together’ as the tune just was not selling, despite genuinely strong DJ reaction as evidenced by The Club Chart … Severn Sound is running a series of Friday (September 1, 8, 15 being next) nights out at Gloucester’s Cinderella’s Rockerfella’s for broadcast live in the late lamented Radio London ‘Soul Night Out’ style … GLR — Radio London as was — meanwhile is ludicrously dropping Dave Pearce’s nightly dance music show (leaving just his Friday 8.30pm rap and Sunday 10pm soul shows), the only thing a lot of Londoners nowadays ever tune into the station to hear — doesn’t the fact that the station’s ratings have really fallen through the floor since the departure of the Tony Blackburn soul era teach the powers that be anything? (Dave will be replaced by yet more rock music) … CityBeat is splitting into two separate labels, the original logo carrying the label’s long term soul signings plus the more commercial European-type product, while the new XL Recordings will be for harder underground club material (like upcoming stuff from Ellis D, Brooklyn Funk Essentials, Centrefield Assignment and others) — what’s more, the new label will deliberately ignore the Gallup Chart rulings on record length, to give value to buyers even if those sales don’t then count as singles sales … Nicky Holloway, the worse for a couple of lagers or so, waved goodbye to all his current playlist records in the boot of a total stranger’s car when he had a lift back to his hotel in Bologna after jocking at Frigo (that’ll teach him to be trendy and DJ in Italy, except it wasn’t trendy at all, the club was full of farmers!) — he’s managed to replace most of them but is desperate still (on 01-494 0328) for offers of Mike Anthony ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ and Antonia Rodriguez ‘La Bamba’ … Jolly Roger featuring E-Mix ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ is indeed 114.8-115.2-114.8-115bpm, as printed last week, while Evil Ed’s Dubby Club version is confusingly 0-115.2-115-114.8-115.2-114.8-115-0bpm … Cappella, who arguably kicked off the Italo-house trend, returns next month with the already promoed ‘House Energy Revenge‘ (Music Man MMPT 12009), a friskily driving but rather featureless 122.7bpm pounder filled with vocal samples including “got your pleasure” (presumably from ‘Pleasure Control’) and some Arabic chanting, flipped by a more volume pumping-ish 121.8bpm instrumental … Bobby Brown’s next UK single will be ‘Rock Wit’cha‘ — whatever happened to ‘Roni’? … Redhead Kingpin & The FBI’s follow-up unfortunately will be a Teddy Riley remix of ‘Pump It Hottie’, the Salt-n-Pepa styled track from their album … Les Adams has totally remade, rather than remixed, the Al Green sung but originally rockily backed ‘The Message Is Love’ from Arthur Baker and the Backbeat Disciples’ album, giving it a brief Jazzi P rap and a Soul II Soul–type tempo except its ended up more like Hot Chocolate! … Lenny Henry, in his film ‘Lenny – Live And Unleashed’, sings a great go go song called ‘Bad Jokes‘ to the tune of Chuck Brown’s ‘Bustin’ Loose’ (apparently flip of his current single, with which for some reason I have not been serviced) — incidentally, do not leave the cinema during the closing credits (as everyone else did when I saw it) or you will miss an amazing revelation by Steve Martin! … Chris Paul obviously didn’t know there already is a production/recording team called Way To Go when he came up with that name for the act behind the tracks he was originally signing to A&M but now isn’t, if you remember that previous story … Brooklyn’s legendary Frankie Bones and Tommy Musto, on their first ever UK visit (primarily to tout for remixing work), will be jocking over the next fortnight at Slough Civic Centre (August 25), London Sin/Astoria (26), Milton Keynes Outer Limits/London Confusion (27), Rayleigh Pink Toothbrush/Northampton Cinderellas/Dunstable Cinderellas (28), Norwich Sensatoria (September 3), Middlesbrough Club Havana (4), Brighton Savannah (7), London Woodstock (8/9) … Mike Allin, no longer a Saturday fixture at Milton Keynes’ The Point, is nevertheless running a Bank Holiday Monday (28) alldayer there with Jeff Young, Martin Collins, Les Adams (freshly back from West Berlin the previous night!), Joe Field and himself jocking in the main room and Simon Dunmore, Gary Dennis, Ralph Tee and Bob Cosby upstairs, plus many PAs including a full LA Mix album previewing showcase featuring Jazzi P, Kevin Henry, Sweet P and Chyna … Great Yarmouth Tiffanys’ previously mentioned Beach Ball Alldayer will now include a 30 minute live set by Adeva, while other Bank Holiday Monday events include Sleeze! by the sea at Leysdown on Sea’s Stage 3 with Pete Tong, Tim Westwood, Gilles Peterson, Aadil, Eddie Gordon, Craig & Marcus from 7pm-1am, and a Taffia Mafia reunion Summer Shakit Alldayer midday–midnight at Brynmawr’s New Griffin Hotel with the likes of Mike Knight, Gary Mayo, Andy Dogs, Carl Bassett, Mike Wilks, The Thwack Boyz from Norwich and Alan Coles … I don’t know when I’ll next get into the sun, although over the bank holiday I’ll be in Berlin — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

JANET JACKSON ‘Miss You Much (Mama Mix)’ (Breakout USAT 663)
Created again by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, her long awaited return (from an upcoming ‘Rhythm Nation’ album) is an abruptly introed violently snapping (0-)115-0bpm jerky staccato lurcher without much actual song cutting through the rhythm structure, breaking down for the last third into a funkier Prince-type groove, flipped by a less jagged percussively pattering and “oh I like that” repeating dubwise 115bpm Oh I Like That Mix and the industrially jolting jittery swingbeat-ish shrill 108(-0)bpm ‘You Need Me‘.

SUENO LATINO ‘Sueno Latino (The Paradise Version)’ (Italian Dance Floor Corporation DFC 016)
Proving hard to find but sizzling hot for those who’ve got it, this cantering repetitive (0-)118.2-0bpm groove eventually runs through some sexy panting and muttering by Carolina Damas, with babbling brook and nightjar — or some such other nocturnal bird — effects at beginning and end, flipped by a beat losingly introed then more acidic 118bpm Dub Version by Cutmaster-G. September 11 released UK copies on BCM Records appear (on promo, anyway) to be exactly 1bpm slower, and call the same A-side the Latin Dream Mix.

RAUL ORELLANA ‘The Real Wild House (Wild Mix)’ (Spanish Spitfire Music SPX-110)
Obviously the next Euro smash — Spanish, rather than Italian — this incredibly powerful piano jangled and J Bonell flamenco guitar twanged 124.2-0bpm instrumental house bounder samples Iggy Pop’s “I’m a real wild one” and even the Lyn Collins “yeah wooh” break beat amidst the frisky mayhem, a gloriously uplifting experience (123.8-0bpm Single Edit too, and the atmospheric gentle guitar picked 92.1-100.2bpm ‘Entre Dos Aguas (The Night Time Mix)‘). BCM Records release it here on September 18. Continue reading “August 26, 1989: Janet Jackson, Sueno Latino, Raul Orellana, Wrecks-N-Effect, Dionne”

BEATS & PIECES

BMG Records’ dance music supremo Eddie ‘Respect’ Gordon, counting his chickens before they were hatched, was so confident his Dancing In The Streets promotion department would pull off a claimed first last week in charting three dance singles straight into the top 40 (Black Box and Lisa Stansfield made it, in the event, but unfortunately the Manic MCs let him down!) that he pre-announced the anticipated feat by explaining the strategy behind it, saying he deliberately released all three records right at the end of a month, as in the past he has scheduled the gigs he promotes, because that is when he knows his target audience has just got paid — oh well, better luck next time Eddie, if by then some other marketing men haven’t beaten you to success with the same strategy! … Manic MCs’ commercial 12 inch of ‘Mental’ (RCA PT 43038), on full examination, proves to include the Sara Carlson featuring 0-119.2-119-0bpm Full Italian Job detailed last week, plus the instrumental 0-118.8-118.6bpm Full Climax (which appears to be the version previously promoed as The Final Climax) and what seems to be a new 0-119bpm Totally Instrumental (rather than the promoed ‘Blowing Mental’, although trumpet-led act Blow is credited as appearing) — the original white labelled version, the first of now three on vinyl, has so far remained the one in most DJs’ chart returns … Lisa Stansfield ‘This Is The Right Time’ on commercial 12 inch (Arista 612 517), with Mark Saunders’ Extended Version as A-side after all and Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh’s Miles Ahead Mix on the B-side now, is flipped also by the Ian Devaney & Andy Morris created jiggly jogging soulful swingbeat-ish 99.83bpm ‘Affection‘, getting attention in its own right … BRMB presenter Nicky Steele’s recently launched discotheque agency is looking for high quality DJs, mobiles and roadshows of all types to cope with the upmarket bookings that are apparently flooding in, and has arranged a midday meeting on Sunday, September 3, for interested jocks in Birmingham at Kitts Green’s Macadown — however, advance details and applications for CV forms can be had from Nicky Steele Discotheques, 42 Sandbourne Drive, Valley Gardens, Bewdley, Worcester-shire DY12 1BN (0299-400852, speak to Brian) … Gary Hickson, long a regular chart contributor, hadn’t been heard from for a while but with good reason as he now tells us — last October he started presenting a widely (and well) received upfront black music show every Sunday 5-6.30pm on BBC Radio Lancashire, reaching from North Wales and Cheshire right up to South Cumbria on 103.9/104.5/95.5FM … ‘Free At Last’, the amazing “free James Brown” hip house single by Farley Jackmaster Funk & The Hip House Syndicate, is now revealed as featuring such Chicago rappers as MC L Rock, MC Roam, MC Taco, MC Mean, MC Zone, Kid Deaf, Precious Red and indeed MC Farley … Tam Tam have picked up the Dynamic Duo ‘In The Pocket‘ for early September UK release, and are due to reissue Silver Bullet ‘Bring Forth The Guillotine’ in a new Ben Chapman remix … Paul Johnson has exclusive one-off 8.45pm showcase on Thursday (August 17) at Soho’s Borderline (behind Foyles off the Charing Cross Road) … Birmingham’s 17-years-old Sha Sha, whose Soul II Soul-style ‘Lies’ hit The Club Chart on DJ plays alone, is going to be a busy girl this Friday (18) doing PAs around the West Midlands at 10.30pm in Stone’s Chads Nightspot (Stone Manor, near Kidderminster), at 11.30pm in Dudley’s Goldsmiths Nightclub, and at 1am in Small Heath’s The Porsche Club … Richie Rich cuts and spins live this Friday (18) at Brighton’s Zap Club and Saturday (19) at Brixton’s Fridge, with Obsession and MC Rumble … Funtopia featuring Jimi Polo guest at Paul Oakenfold’s weekly Land Of Oz night next Monday (21) at London Charing Cross’s Heaven … £5 advance tickets are now available (from Martin Smith at the venue) for the second Great Yarmouth Beach Ball Alldayer on Sunday, August 27 at Tiffanys, Marine Parade, Gt. Yarmouth, Norfolk NR30 2EW — when you realise the line-up includes Jeff Young, Chris Hill, Pete Tong, Tim Westwood, Chrissie Jackson. Eddie Gordon, DJ Richie, Chris ‘Charlie’ Brown and Richard (of Richard’s Parties) plus Alisha Warren and other PAs, you’ll understand why tickets are worth getting in advance … John Morris presents another of the revamped Caister Soul & Dance Weekends (the 24th if you count the original events actually at Caister) on October 13/14/15 at Gt. Yarmouth’s Vauxhall Holiday Park, featuring Inner City, Leon Ware and Lew Kirton live plus DJs including Bob Jones, Colin Hudd, Trevor Fung, Bob Masters, Simon Dunmore, Norman Jay, Bob Cosby, Gary Dennis, Paul Clark, Tony Fernandez, Chris ‘Charlie’ Brown and Doug Osborne — £49 tickets (£19 deposit) from Caister Weekend, PO Box 334, London N14 (01-367 9118) … DJ Anthony Squiggle is trying to establish a soul/funk/house Monday night at Cheltenham’s Swifts … Cry Sisco!, publicity stories about the act being a group from Paris notwithstanding, would appear to be veteran writer/producer/performer Barry Blue on his own — at least, it’s he who has been doing PAs, wearing a monk’s habit! … Jazz & The Brothers Grimm’s hot remake of Coffee’s ‘Casanova’ is finally out fully, and was in fact bubbling under the Gallup chart at number 106 last week despite oddly neither radio play nor support from the best known “big name” jocks … Gene Griffin apparently is Teddy Riley’s step-father, which doubtless explains their close working relationship … Ian Levine is launching a new Motor City label to separate all his recordings of ex-Motown artistes from his Nightmare label, so that they don’t suffer (as arguably Chuck Jackson did) from the Hi-NRG stigma of the latter logo — the first release will be by Billy Griffin … Frankie Knuckles Presents ‘Your Love’ (US Trax Records TX 150), the uncredited Jamie Principle muttered moody percolating tinkled 117bpm semi-instrumental chugger that suddenly and unexpectedly re-entered The Club Chart last week (it’s apparently big with the sort of jocks who are also playing William Orbit), first charted in November 1987 when it was (and still is) the flip of the fast 132-132.5-0bpm version of ‘Baby Wants To Ride’ — which you may recall was one of the forms in which this originally reached vinyl … The Club Chart last week was compiled from fewer DJs’ returns than the week before, in fact from more like the usual amount, with the result that (for example) the Beatmasters’ single had exactly the same number of chart points both weeks yet climbed from 41 to 29 — had there been room on the page, R. Tyme ‘Illusion’ should have been a re-entry at 100=, while breakers bubbling under the 100 included Judy Torres ‘Love Story‘ (Profile), Bora Bora ‘Jealousy‘ (US BR Records), Rhythim Is Rhythim ‘Beyond The Dance‘ (US Transmat), Viola Wills ‘Gonna Get Along Without You Now (Les Adams Remakes)’ (Music Man), Sandee ‘Notice Me (Notice The House Mix)‘ (Ton Son Ton/US The Fever), Lil Louis ‘French Kiss (Re-Layed)‘ (ffrr), Bang-The Party ‘Bang-Bang-You’re Mine‘ (Warriors Dance), Elle ‘Give It To Me’ (Rham!), Toni Scott ‘That’s How I’m Living (1989 Remix)‘ (Champion), Biddu Orchestra ‘Foundation Of Love‘ (Trax), Queen Latifah ‘Princess Of The Posse (Ultimatum Remix)’ (Gee St), Working Week ‘Eldorado‘ (10 Records) … Dorset, and ultimately Weymouth, is where I found the sun last week after tearing myself away from my time wasting word processor — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

JOLLY ROGER featuring E-MIX ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ (Desire WANT X17, via Pacific)
Danny Rampling was the other trend setting jock who recently revived this classic Timmy Thomas tune, via his remix of the old Illusion remake, followed now though by ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards from Milton Keynes with his very own remake, sung by the gruffly soulful E-Mix of the Family Quest MCs over a gently undulating and subtly reggae-ish throbbing 114.8-115.2-114.8-115bpm (Evil Ed’s Dubby Club too), flipped by the samples patched, basslines and drumrolls driven (plus vocal noises from the likes of Sly & The Family Stone ‘Dance To The Music’), instrumental 126-0bpm ‘Ulysses (Theme From Coldcut)’ and its alternative 124bpm ‘Ulysses (The Groove)‘.

ARETHA & WHITNEY ‘It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be’ Arista 612 545)
Even better than anticipated, the Misses Franklin & Houston’s gloriously whomping and romping duet has been remixed by not only Robert Clivilles & David Cole but also by the ubiquitous Teddy Riley (& Gene Griffin), Teddy obviously whipping up a swingbeat jitter in his main A-side (0-)115.4bpm Extended Remix and harder (0-)115.4bpm Hip Hop Mix, while Clivilles & Cole keep things jiggly if more garage-ish in their (0-)117.33bpm After Hours Club Mix and striding 117.2bpm House Mix. Four strong mixes, two wailing ladies, one big hit!

STEVE “SILK” HURLEY ‘Work It Out Compilation’ (Atlantic 782 003-1)
Actually featuring in the main other artistes produced by Steve, this album of all new material has his own solo surprisingly swingbeat-style though go go-based terrifically jaunty 112bpm ‘A Bit Of Jazz’, the already promoed (and now US 12-inched) STEVE “SILK” HURLEY FEATURING M.DOC credited jerkily lurching powerful 123bpm ‘Work It Out‘, RISSE (a girl) nagged strong fluidly pumping 123.4-0bpm ‘Love Baby‘ and untidy Aretha reviving 119.8-0bpm ‘Chain Of Fools‘, JACKSON & MOORE (vigorous soulful guys) wailed jittery bounding 123.83-0bpm ‘Think!‘ — no, its a new song! — and jerkily jangling 119.5bpm Can’t Let Go’, and JAMIE PRINCIPLE muttered moody cool twittery loping (0-)121-0bpm ‘Cold World‘ and similar breathy 122-0bpm ‘Drive Me‘. Continue reading “August 19, 1989: Jolly Roger, Aretha & Whitney, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, Bäs Noir, Paul Simpson presents Simphonia”

BEATS & PIECES

BRIAN CARTER has assembled a hefty roster of stars for the BCM Records presented Summer Dance Festival in West Berlin over the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of the month: held in the huge Tempodrom marquee, this three day event will feature on Sunday, August 27, Bobby Womack, Stetsasonic, LaKim Shabazz, DJ Mark The 45 King, Chubb Rock, LA Mix featuring Jazzi P and Kevin Henry, Longsy D, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Gibson Brothers, Razzamatazz, the Beat Pirate, plus DJs Les Adams and Jens Lissat; on Monday (28) UTFO, Kraze, Vicky Martin, Jomanda, Toni Scott, Precious, Village People, Fax Yourself, Die Krupps, Soif De La Vie, Napoleon MC, Honesty 69, plus DJs Craig Kallman and Ralf Odermann; on Tuesday (29) EPMD, Digital Underground, Donna Allen, Twin Hype, Stevie B, Queen Latifah, MC Duke, Daddy Freddy, Arnold Jarvis, the Maxx, plus DJs Tim Westwood and Alexander Schreck (there’s the possibility that De La Soul may be looking in too between tour engagements) — with a line-up like that, I expect quite a few people will be pestering Linda Rogers at BCM’s UK office (0689-890749) for fuller details! … Chris Blackwell (who, when first I met him, in 1963, was selling his early releases straight from the trunk of his car!) has reportedly sold Island and its associated labels to Polygram International for £300,000,000 — I well remember him observing in 1965 that, rather than continue licensing soul productions from the US which he then did not own, he was going to build up his own catalogue of wholly owned material that he could then licence (and, as it ultimately turned out, sell) to other people … Nesuhi Ertegun has died aged 71: not a name necessarily well known to today’s music fans, the son of a Turkish diplomat, perhaps surprisingly, he joined his brother Ahmet Ertegun’s New York based pioneering black music label Atlantic in the late Forties and helped make it, and more recently the multi-national WEA corporation, the force you will indeed know … Steve Rubell, whose New York club Studio 54 (whether one liked it or not) came to epitomise between 1977/79 the whole “disco” era, and who latterly co-owned that same city’s almost equally fashionable but less well publicised Palladium, has died aged just 45 of a mysterious liver ailment. Writing in London’s Evening Standard, columnist Clive Barnes gave him an epitaph that could not be more neatly turned: “His friend Andy Warhol said everyone was going to be famous for 15 minutes. The time ran out for Steve, but not before he had his day in the midnight sun” … Andy Thompson, formerly shop manager at Holborn’s City Sounds (like so many record business recruits before him) has been working with Pete Tong at ffrr/London and will now be taking over Johnny Walker’s past duties there as club plugger (wiv a likkle bit of A&R) on 01-741 1234 — what’s more, job seekers, they need an assistant too! … Soul II Soul’s remix of Alyson Williams ‘I Need Your Lovin’’ is flipped on commercial pressings by Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh’s sparsely dubwise swingbeat-style 110.33-0bpm Baby Love Mix of ‘My Love Is So Raw’ plus the Chuck Stanley duetted soulfully weaving 73/36.5bpm ‘Make You Mine Tonight‘ … Sara Carlson’s vocal contribution to the 0-119.2-119-0bpm Full Italian Job commercial A-side mix of the Manic MCs’ ‘Mental’ amounts to some “techno boys and new beat girls go…” repetition and a few more unnecessary lines of rap (accompanied by extra scratching) … Cry Sisco! ‘Afro Dizzi Act’, possibly the potential hit most hurt by the timing of the abrupt closure of PRT’s distribution, is now available again via Pinnacle with a new sparsely dubwise slow seeming 93bpm Kool Kaz Bah Mix on the flip (and a Paul Oakenfold remix to follow) – hopefully all this is not too late, as already Capital Radio for instance has dropped it from the playlist after persevering for several weeks despite the record being unavailable for listeners to buy … A Tribe Called Quest ‘Description Of A Fool’, reviewed on import only last week, is already on 107.6bpm UK promo for August 21 release … Richie Rich’s enduringly popular ‘Salsa House’, imported as a remixed 12 inch but so far only ever on LP here (in several mixes by now), is finally due domestically as an ffrr EP in four different mixes commercially, with an extra two on the promo . . . BCM Records have picked up Digital Underground ‘Doowutchyalike’ for the UK, and are also assembling an Italo/disco assault with hot tracks by Sueno Latino, LANDRO & Co, Wood Allen, El Chico, EJ Robinson, The Mixmaster and DJ Lelewel for an album compilation and selected singles release … Italo and Balearic are definitely out this Wednesday (9) at Torquay’s Monroes where Bob Smith and Chris Dinnis will be spinning “real soul music” for a Summer Hummer, and next Monday (14) at Ealing Broadway’s Haven Stables when Carlon, Dino and Mark’s deep house and soul Metro starts going fortnightly … RCA hold an invitation-only “Mental” party at Hurlingham this Thursday — will there be a police raid, or do they only know the word “acid”?! . . . Paul O. Wain’s previously mentioned Mondays went so well that his upfront night is now Friday at Nottingham’s Hippo Club … LiveWire, as well as their Prestatyn 6 weekender on November 3/4/5, also are helping at any rate to run “48 Hours of Organized KAOS” at Gt Yarmouth’s Pontins Holiday Centre on October 20/21/22 featuring Liz Torres, Coldcut, Pete Tong, Nicky Holloway, Paul Oakenfold, Judge Jules, Fat Tony, Gilles Peterson, Paul Anderson, Jazzy M, Alfredo, Johnny Walker and other names familiar to trendy London clubgoers, full info on 01-494 0328 (office hours) … CityBeat actually confess that they signed Starlight Invention Group’s ‘Numero Uno’ before even obtaining a copy of the Italian import, the DJ Danny Rampling created buzz alone was enough for them! Breakout have started advertising Way To Go featuring Robbie Chandler ‘Fever‘ just a little bit ahead of the gun, as they don’t actually have the rights to this Chris Paul created act, who are currently negotiating with several other interested labels! … The Club Chart last week ended up by being compiled from rather more DJs’ charts than usual, if anything, with the predictable result that many records gained lots of points but actually slipped down in the overall order because the established hits inevitably gained even more. At 99=, had there been room on the page, should have been not only WestBam and Young MC but also the kc Flightt LP, and Diana Brown & Barrie K Sharpe … Martijn Schuitemaker from Solihull — and with a name like that he probably knows — confirms that “Slaghuis” in Dutch does mean “Hit-house”, as “slagen” is to hit, beat or whip (“slagroom” meaning in fact whipped cream, just “room” being cream) … Justin Strauss’s remix of Sergio Mendes ‘Mas Que Nada’ drops in hip house (not just hip) hints out of devilment! … I guess you’ve noticed that the coding of my word processor does not yet match that of the rm typesetters, the whole rigmarole of using this new technology being so time consuming that I fear my reviews are slipping, just temporarily — study the Club Chart closely, because if it’s happening it’ll be in there, and at least with a BPM … West Somerset became my sun drenched if breezy destination last week when finally I was able to leave the word processor — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

DONNA ALLEN ‘Can We Talk (Club Mix)’ (BCM Records BCM 277 X)
Almost stone cold on import but taking off fast now it’s out here, this Clivilles & Cole remix is a brightly lurching and leaping 112.8-0bpm frisky fusion of “purple” and “new jack swing”, here with just the import’s snappier 113.2bpm Dub Version and a newly created 0-112.8bpm Radio Edit.

REDHEAD KINGPIN AND THE F.B.I. ‘A Shade Of Red’ (US Virgin 1-91269)
The young rapper’s fast selling but frankly rather patchy album is probably the hottest for the bassily chugging 103bpm ‘Speaking On Everything’, tightly snapping 108.67-108.5bpm ‘Do The Right Thing (USA)’, ‘There Was A Time’ based (in part) (0-)120.2-120.4bpm ‘Superbad, Superslick’, ‘All Night Long’-ish lazy 89.33bpm ‘We Rock The Mic Right‘, roots reggae 84.9-84.7bpm ‘Kilimanjaro Style‘, serviceable if more routine being the 113.2-113bpm ‘Do That Dance’, (0-)106.33bpm ‘Scram!‘, trickily introed 93-0-101.17bpm title track, 0-117.5bpm ‘The Redhead One‘, ‘Push It’-type (0-)126bpm ‘Pump It Hottie‘.

WHITE KNIGHT ‘Keep it Movin’ (‘Cause The Crowd Says So)’ (US Jive 1244-1-JD)
Nick Huminsky created punkishly rapped and spat powerfully pumping hip house chugger overlaid by familiar sampled riffs and phrases from the likes of Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy, Afrika Bambaataa and the JB’s, in 123.5-123.6-0bpm It’s Dope, 123.4-123.6bpm Dope Acid, 0-123.4-123.6-0bpm Funky, and 123.6-123.8bpm Insane Mixes. UK commercial release on August 21 initially will feature just the two Dope Mixes coupled with London and Dub mixes of his old ‘Yo Baby Yo’, to be followed by the Funky and Insane Mixes as a “remix” with the same oldie’s Chicago mix. Continue reading “August 12, 1989: Donna Allen, Redhead Kingpin & The FBI, White Knight, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Tuff Crew”

BEATS & PIECES

BEATS & PIECES and BEATS PER MINUTE, for the time being at any rate, are going to have to be printed with decimal points instead of fractions when necessary (you hopefully weren’t too confused by one creeping in last week), as to comply with the total in-house computerisation of rm I am trying to get to grips with my own word processor, which very irritatingly (until I work out how to get it to do otherwise!) only seems capable of generating ½ and ¼ as fractions — I actually had to use decimals when writing for Germany’s Network Press, and although they look a bit cumbersome they are easy enough to understand (rounded up or down to two decimal places, ⅐ becomes .14, ⅙ is .17, ⅕ is .2, ¼ is .25, ⅓ is .33, ⅖ is .4, ½ is .5, ⅗ is .6, ⅔ is .67, ¾ is .75, ⅘ is .8, ⅚ is .83, 6/7 is .86, these in practice probably being smoothed off even further for simplicity as a relative indication is really all that’s needed, absolute accuracy always having been hard to guarantee anyway even after painstaking and time consuming repeated calculation) … Sandee ‘Notice Me’, hitting The Club Chart through last December on US The Fever import and then out here on Ton Son Ton with spasmodic non-charted support right up by coincidence until just a fortnight ago, looks like taking off all over again in its 122.33-0bpm Notice The House Mix following the return of the UK DJs who attended the New Music Seminar in New York, where it’s currently mixed so much by the hotter club jocks that it seems to have become the big rave sound of the event! … rm ended up by not in fact moving offices until earlier this week, a fortnight late, which meant that many DJs’ charts had to be couriered back through cross town traffic if sent to the new address as instructed (Alan Jones/James Hamilton, rm, Punch Publications Ltd, Ludgate House, 245 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 9UZ is where they really must be sent now!) — writing three days ahead of its compilation, this seems unlikely to have affected The Club Chart … Breakers bubbling under The Club Chart last week (all with significant support even if not enough then to hit the keenly contested Top 100) include Paul Rutherford, The Minutemen, Boogie Down Productions 12in, Raul featuring J. Bonell, Victor Romeo presents Leatrice Brown, Kelly Charles & James Bratton, LaKim Shabazz, Edwin Starr, Where’s The Fire, Cry Sisco!, Viola Wills, Hithouse, Rockie Robbins, L.D.Jam Inc, Judy Torres … Wednesday, remember, is the day by which I need all records to be delivered at my home address for possible review (most still arrive on Thursday, which is such a waste as I don’t even have time to open them then) — however, Brian Mason (Cricklewood Ashtons) complains about the mail that lately all the piles of promotional vinyl which used to land on his doormat every Saturday, in time for weekend play and evaluation for reaction reports, now tend not to arrive until Monday or Tuesday with the result that he can’t gauge accurate reaction until the following weekend, thus missing his report deadlines and getting in danger of being struck off mailing lists … Spencer Baldwin has joined MCA Records’ dance department and is fast becoming the actual club plugger with whom DJs will be dealing … Michaela Strachan (the ‘Wide Awake Club’s “her” in ‘The Hit Man And Her’) appears to be making her Stock Aitken Waterman produced recording debut with a frantically dated revival of Edwin Starr’s ‘HAP.P.Y. Radio‘ … Dan Hartman’s rippling vibes started then wailing Loleatta Holloway duetted 0-121.6-121.1-121.4bpm ‘Vertigo/Relight My Fire‘ from 1979 (reissued on US CBS Associated Records 4ZH 06922) is among the old Hi-NRG faves being revived on London’s Balearic scene, which, along with the closely related “Italo disco” trend, as Richard ‘Tricky Dicky’ Scanes of Soho’s Trax Records shop in Greek Street (the scene’s main vinyl supplier) so astutely points out, is “all Italian high energy in reality” — this presents us with the ironic and very real possibility that The Club Chart could soon be taking over from rm’s late lamented Hi-NRG chart! … Trax Records’s current Balearic Top 10 is: 1 Black Box ‘Ride On Time’ (de/Construction), 2 Starlight ‘Numero Uno’ (CityBeat), 3 Akasa ‘One Night In My Life‘ (WEA), 4 Richie Havens ‘Going Back To My Roots‘ (US Easy Street), 5 Elkin & Nelson ‘Jibaro’ (German CBS), 6 Paul McCartney ‘Ou Est Le Soleil‘ (Italian Parlophone), 7 Gino Latino (various tracks) (Italian Time LP), 8 L.A.N.D.R.O. & CO. ‘Belo e Sambar’ (Italian New Music), 9 Marco Martina ‘Just An Illusion‘ (Italian Discomagic), 10 D.F.X. ‘Relax Your Body‘ (Italian London Street), while in the next 10 are such recently reviewed releases as the Koxo Club Band, Fax Yourself, Raul featuring J. Bonell, Cry Sisco!, The KLF … Manic MCs ‘Mental’ is finally out this week, billed now as featuring Sara Carlson in some vocal capacity … Adeva ‘Warning’ on commercial 12 inch pressings turns out to include its two, previously detailed mixes plus the Original 12 Mix of her old ‘Respect’ — surely a superfluous and negative move, as there can’t be many people buying the newie who don’t already own the oldie? … Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley featuring M. Doc’s ‘Work It Out’, promoed as an Ext. Mix, will be commercially released here in Club and Acid Mixes … Maze featuring Frankie Beverly’s long awaited debut Warner Bros album is at last scheduled for UK release next month … Markell Riley appears really to exist, and would seem to be the brother of Teddy Riley (but is he actually doing all the work with which he’s credited?) … El DeBarge exhibits some satisfyingly nifty footwork in his video for ‘Real Love’, still one of the better “new jack swing” things to date, so it’s a pity it didn’t do better — a candidate for reappraisal, maybe, now that swingbeat is getting a proper hold?) … Al Green’s current album, its Al B. Sure! and Kyle West remixed ‘As Long As We’re Together‘ swingbeat-style single apart, is merely rather rudimentary gospel and a big disappointment (even the single, heard in this context, is revealed as having religious lyrics) … Steve Dee, probably with some justification, boasts that “a brand new concept in nightclubs” will be opening in Gillingham, Kent, on August 24, Excalibur having four separate sound systems with quad panning, enough lights to present a different major light show every day of the week, 150 video monitor screens, pinball machines as decor on the walls, an ultra violet carpet, and an hydraulic dancefloor that can have either an aquatic light show under it when raised or — how mundane! — people merely dancing on it when lowered … Martin Stooke, who kicked off his long DJing career with just one turntable and 25 Victor Sylvester 78s in 1953, is now described by others as “the oldest DJ in Kidderminster” (a claim he refutes!), yet nevertheless celebrated his 50th birthday still in harness last month alongside other special guest star Midlands personality jocks … ‘Segue’ Steve Goddard (only 33) takes his ‘Adventures In The Land Of Music’ Seventies/Eighties soul/funk/jazz-fusion show every Wednesday to Bermondsey’s free admission Samsons in Grange Road, while otherwise he’s solidly upfront (with a smattering of old swingbeat classics) at the same venue on Saturdays, Rotherhithe’s Gardeners Fri/Sundays, and Old Kent Road’s Drovers Thursdays (all in South East London) — on the subject of oldies, he suggests that a Dancin’ Danny D remix could make Chic’s ‘My Forbidden Lover’ a smash overnight … Crazy Jammers For London Dancers have started Shock-Out Wednesdays at 126 York Way, Kings Cross, with Larry Jazz plus guests presenting jazz dance in the basement and selectors DJ Zaf, Richie ‘R’ and Simon ‘L’ spinning metropolitan dance sounds upstairs — promotion manager Trevor St. Francis of Islington’s Reckless Records is looking for suitable soul, house and swingbeat PAs (on 01-249 7446, Mon/Thursday 11am-3pm) … Simon Bogey and Mark Adrian spend £50 a week just on imports to make their ‘Dance Till Ya Drop’ Sunday nights at bracing Skegness’s TCs “the most upfront on the North East coast” (admission only one quid) … John Rodgers, now resident jock at Gt Yarmouth Tiffanys, also crams in over a 1,000 at Ipswich Hollywood’s soul nite the first Tuesday of every month (which in that case ought to have been this week, August 1, with Eddie ‘Respect’ Gordon too) … DJ Shem aka Streets Ahead (co-star of the ‘Blame It On The Bassline’ video), having graduated from Sussex University with a good English degree, is relaxing in Greece for the rest of the summer before rejoining Norman Cook in Brighton to do further production and remix work … Bob Masters and Chris Bangs host another Bournemouth Weekend (billed as “The Righteous Music Event”) August Bank Holiday Sat/Sun/Monday (26-28), held in five separate sessions with one £21 advance ticket covering them all (from Showman Entertainments, Second Floor, 73 Surbiton Road, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey, full details on 01-546 2754), the other featured jocks including Simon Dunmore, Nicky Holloway, Gilles Peterson, Johnny Walker, Leo Ryan, Gary Dennis, Doris Blofeld (?) … Adeva is the first (repeat) act confirmed for LiveWire’s November 3-5 Prestatyn 6 weekender (booking hotline 01-364 1212) … KISS-fm, vowing not to return to London’s airwaves until they can do so legally, are now lobbying for the allocation of the 104.8FM wavelength to a deserving local cause once BBC Radio 1 relinquishes it in November … Birmingham and Wolverhampton would seem to be hotbeds of pirate black radio, to judge from several recent dial sweeps while driving up the M6 on my way to North Wales (sunny in spells last week!) … I’m outta here, this as every week during the summer on Monday and Tuesday headed hopefully for somewhere sunny, BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

CHAKA KHAN ‘Soul Talkin’ (Serious Soul Mix)’ (US Warner Bros 0-21250)
American 12-inchers are so much better value, this five-tracker coupling Dancin’ Danny D’s Remix and Remix Edit of ‘I’m Every Woman’ with Frankie Knuckles’ Hallucinogenic Version of ‘Ain’t Nobody’ on one side (labelled as “Happenin’ Then . . .”) while the main plug side (” . . .Happenin’ Now”) is Paul Simpson’s beefy bass jolted swaying and strolling 110.2bpm garage remix of something actually new, or at least from Chaka’s most recent album, ‘CK’ (Serious Soul Edit too).

kc FLIGHTT ‘In Flightt’ (US RCA 9776-1-R)
Arguably a pioneer of hip house before even the Beatmasters, rapper kc’s strong album has the Jazz (a girl) duetted atmospherically shuffling 122½bpm ‘Summer Madness’, friskily acidic 123.8-123.4bpm ‘Fantasy’, urgently latin 125bpm ‘It Goes Like This’, coolly synthed 117½bpm ‘Jazz Player’, skittery 123bpm ‘Bass Line’, quietly sinuous 122½bpm ‘Let’s Go’, Randy Muller fluted 89-0bpm ‘Your Place Or Mine’, dull 115½bpm ‘Africa’, already known 121.2bpm ‘Planet E (House Mix)’, 120.2bpm ‘She’s Sexxy (Fantasy Mix)’ in demand 0-123bpm ‘Let’s Get Jazzy‘. A pity the level of the cut is so low.

ALYSON WILLIAMS ‘I Need Your Lovin’ (The Jazzie B & Nellee Hooper Remix)’ (Def Jam 655143 6)
Soul II Soul’s massive success with slinkier traditional soul tempos is thankfully having the effect of bringing speeds back down again, this promo (single-sided white label only, so far) for instance, their remix of one of her album tracks, creating an instant demand despite being a chunkily jogging slow 85.14-84.86bpm soulfully wailed and worried roller, a really mesmeric groove. Continue reading “August 5, 1989: Chaka Khan, kc Flightt, Alyson Williams, Lonnie Gordon, Sergio Mendes”