Month: October 1989

BEATS & PIECES

BLACK BOX ‘Ride On Time’ sold over 650,000 copies during its six week tenure atop the pop singles chart, which doesn’t actually sound like a lot for so long a time, but nevertheless is claimed to be the best selling “black” dance record ever in the UK —incidentally, isn’t it about time some bright spark whipped out a Loleatta Holloway compilation album? . . . WEA Records on December 1 will be fragmenting in the UK again, as they did for a while during the Seventies, to form two completely separate new major record companies, one comprising Atlantic/Atco/WEA International repertoire plus most current UK signings while the other will comprise Warner Bros/Elektra/Geffen/ZTT and other associated logos including Pete Edge’s new dance label (the name of which has yet to be announced) — although the companies will in most essentials be operating autonomously, legendary dance music plugger Fred Dove will continue working for both from the Alperton warehouse along with the sales team as part of a remaining central staff . . . Atlantic have had to beat off the apparent threat of bootlegs by promoing on white label, in the “SAM” sampler series, Doug Lazy’s squidgily thumping infectious jiggly hip house ‘Let The Rhythm Pump‘, 121bpm in all four mixes . . . De La Soul’s commercial 12 inch pressing of ‘Eye Know’, despite a misleading advert, does not include the strictly promo only Lazy Daisy Mix, this being replaced on the flip by Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh’s also 109(-0)bpm chunkily jogging Patrice Rushen ‘Remind Me’ based The Kiss Mix (plus the previously mentioned (0-)99bpm ‘The Mack Daddy On The Left’) . . . Oh Well ‘Oh Well’ meanwhile would now appear to have been released here by Parlophone also in its better US issued but Music Factory created UK Mix . . . Lisa Stansfield’s seven inch of ‘All Around The World’ is flipped by the also lush languorously swaying 97⅞bpm ‘Wake Up Baby‘, another excellent Blue Zone creation, now on the commercial 12 inch pressing too . . . 10 Records have pressed on 12 inch promo a condensed 0-120⅝bpm Unique Radio edit of the remade Unique 3 ‘The Theme’, to counter criticisms that the full length version is too long . . . ffrr’s next compilation in the ‘House Sound’ album series will be inevitably ‘The House Sound Of Europe — Volume 5 (Casa Latina)‘, including Izit ‘Stories (The Storie Mix)’ (which you’ll find turning up on quite a few other compilations too, although it’s now been signed as a single by ffrr, as has been the also included Gino Latino ‘Welcome’ in the face of fierce bidding) . . . Frankfurt DJ/rapper Deskee’s ‘Let There Be House‘ has been picked up here by Big One’s associated hardcore dance label 1st Bass (another that now ignores when appropriate the BPI’s 20 minutes time limit qualification for the singles chart) . . . Lil Louis’ follow-up will be called ‘Black Out‘ . . . Frankie Knuckles is an exciting addition to the DJ line-up at next week’s sold out Prestatyn weekender, where, among other PAs (as well as Adeva’s live show) on Friday, Digital Underground will be doing a half hour party set complete with paper streamers (but what about indoor fireworks?!), while the Maze featuring Frankie Beverly concert on Saturday is shaping up as a major full scale production . . . Adrian Webb — or ‘Man Webb’ as he’s fast becoming known, thanks to his MANWEB (Manchester And North Wales Electricity Board) sponsors at Prestatyn! — will next be putting on a New Year’s Eve ‘1990 Party’ Soul Weekender, the emphasis on soul, with DJs Jeff Young, Chris Hill, Gilles Peterson, Martin Collins, Froggy, Kev Hill and Sean French plus guest attractions between Saturday, December 30 and Monday, January 1 at Brean Sands near Weston super Mare, which, the venue being residential, will avoid the licensing problems that others are likely to encounter on a Sunday New Year’s Eve (full booking details from Livewire Promotions on 01-364 1212) . . . ‘Man Webb’ seems now but a logical short step on next to ‘Manuel’ (as pronounced in ‘Fawlty Towers’), not that there’s anything incompetent about Webbo, of course! . . . Camber Soul Weekender 89 at Camber Sands’ Pontins near Hastings next weekend, November 3-5, stars the likes of Greg Edwards, Bob James, Aadil, Bob Masters and basically the Kent Soul Festival posse, £40 tickets and details from KSF Promotions, PO Box 100, Ashford, Kent TN24 8AR (telephone 0233-633652) . . . Jon Williams this Thursday (26) has Sharon D. Clarke and Ralph Tee as the first guest PA and DJ at a new “Italian & American Garage & Freestyle House” night in Mayfair’s Wall Street, where he still partners Judge Jules on Hu Gadson & Rusty Egan hosted Saturdays — Jon is also back on home turf at Desa and Gary Hickson’s next The Defhouse in Birkenhead on Monday (30) . . . Jeff Thomas has landed on his funky feet again with a Saturday gig at Barry Island’s The Warehouse, kicking off this week (28) with special guest Jeff Young, and is also spinning smooooth sounds (soul ‘n’ jazz-wise) Sundays at Swansea’s Mothers café bar . . . ‘DJ Jon’ Fawcett of Backstreet Productions claims that his house/funk/world (Balearic?) gigs are among the few house-ier nights in the rap and reggae dominated Bath and Bristol area: he’s in Bath at the Hat & Feather Sundays, Moles Club Mondays, Players Club Thursdays (the main night, entitled lesta Loca!), and at various secret locations Saturdays . . . Phil Ross, Big J, Scott Brazil, Richie T, and Bunny spin soul/rare groove/hip hop every Monday at Bloxwich’s Starlite Club, while Phil Ross joins Kevin J and Sugar D playing much the same but with funk too on Thursdays at Small Heath’s Porsche Club, and jocks solo on Fri/Saturdays at Worcester’s Picassos Nite Club . . . 100= had there been room in The Club Chart last week should have been Ben Liebrand Remix ‘The Eve Of The War’, reviewed this issue . . . London Weekend Television didn’t even show ‘The Hit Man And Her’ the week I wrote about it last — bah! . . . IT’S SUCH A GOOD VIBRATION!

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HOT VINYL

ULTRA NATÉ ‘It’s Over Now (Original Classic Mix)’ (WEA YZ440T)
Not out fully until November 13 but dropped on white label at the shops that matter and hot already for all who have it, this simply stunning Basement Boys produced subtle fruity sax squealed and mournfully soulful girl croaked 119¾-0bpm chunkily lurching garage trotter, with rhythm breakdowns as it progresses and a more instantaneously vibrant B-side 119¼-117¼bpm 1989 With Attitude Mix, has even greater impact than Adeva’s ‘Respect’ had and in this Soul II Soul era is certain to be huge!

THE MIXMASTER ‘Grand Piano’ (BCM Records BCM 344 X)
Distinctively introed by Joe Tex’s “Fellers, what d’you think about the women’s liberation?” before then bounding through Loleatta Holloway’s “it’s such a good vibration” and a lot of KAOS ‘Definition Of Love’ amongst its many samples, this Daniele ‘D.J. Lelewel’ Davoli created 0-124-123-123⅔-0bpm terrifically exciting piano pounded leaper has been massive for months on import, all that’s missing from this UK remix apparently being a Bobby Brown sample, with the Burundi Black rhythm throbbed 0-208½/104¼bpm ‘Piano Groove‘ as flip. The next Black Box?

ROQUI ‘You Are On My Mind’ (RePublic Records LICT 025)
This session singing 21- year-old (pronounced “Rocky”) from East Orange, New Jersey, is given more of an actual song than usual by the Burrell twins for her strong solo debut, a wailing and romping timeless 123½bpm frisky canterer that really leaps along in four different mixes, due fully on November 6. Continue reading “October 28, 1989: Ultra Naté, The Mixmaster, Roqui, El Chico, D.J. Lelewel”

BEATS & PIECES

BAD COMPANY PROMOTIONS are organising a London Mix Competition for mixing DJs, the heats and final to be held in November (7/8/14/15/21/22 and 28) at Hackney Road’s Tantrums, and judged (on musically flowing club mixing skill, note, as well as exhibitionist scratching “bedroom” stunts) by the likes of Jazzy M, Simon Goffe, MC Jammy Hammy, and MTV’s Sophie Brown and James Hyman, with as first prize a latest model Numark disco mixer plus the probability of a special appearance on MTV: would-be competitors, apply as soon as possible to Wayne Nevers on 01-469 2065 at Bad Company Soul Syndicate, 15b Florence Road, New Cross, London SE14 6TW . . . Mix Connection in association with Jazzy Jason of the Dynamic Guv’nors are holding a 1990 World Bedroom Mixing & Production Competition, high quality cassette tape entries of between seven and nine minutes duration to be received for judging by December 1 at Mix Connection, 68 Sunningdale, Round Green, Luton, Bedfordshire LU2 7TE, England (further details and application forms from that address, or from Tim Raidl on 0582-412460) — prizes are a highly publicised year’s management contract with the Britmix production team plus Mix Connection subscription packages . . . Michael Perch clarifies that, although deliberately limited promotion for Outer Rhythm releases will indeed be by him alone, he is acting more as a co-ordinating overseer of the actual Rhythm King label’s club promotion, which continues to be handled independently by Clubnet . . . Now out commercially and selling fast following last week’s white label review is the Forgemasters ‘Track With No Name’ (Outer Rhythm/W.A.R.P Records WAP 1) . . . Mercury have snapped up Qaurtz ‘Meltdown’ for rush release next week as a remix coupled by its original iTMusic mix, while Urban have picked up Fidelfatti featuring Ronnette ‘Just Wanna Touch Me’ . . . Frankie Knuckles Presents ‘Your Love’, the Jamie Principle featuring underground “sleeper”, appears finally to be out here (Trax Records/Radical TRAXT 3), not that it’s been sent to me . . . ‘The Mack Daddy On The Left’, recently reviewed on import (as (0-)99bpm), has been added to the commercial 12 inch of De La Soul ‘Eye Know’, which, so far as one can tell from advertisements, appears to include both of the promoed Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh remixes after all — similarly, the commercial 12 inch of Adeva ‘I Thank You’ (on which The Philadelphia Mix is (0-)121½bpm and Philly Dub Mix 119⅔bpm) adds her album’s good but less incisive 119¾-119⅓bpm ‘I Don’t Need You’ . . . BCM Records have promoed back-to-back here, as a trailer for their November 6 issued ‘Sueno!’ compilation album, Wood Allen ‘Airport ’89 medley with Electric Fling’ and El Chico ‘House Music Lovers’ . . . Fourth & Broadway have promoed the controversial ‘F*** Tha Police’ from NWA’s album, but as yet seem undecided about its commercial release . . . Home Secretary Douglas Hurd, instead of cracking down indiscriminatingly on the so-called “acid house” M25/warehouse parties (where he’d probably find very little drug taking actually goes on, that being last year’s thing), could wipe them out at a stroke if only he would relax the virtual curfew of the 3am licensing laws, as all that the kids (the new generation of voters at the next general election!) want is somewhere to have fun and dance all night — why must officialdom be so negative always? . . . M-D-EMM’s sample spotting main man Dave Lee has noticed it’s Booker T & The MG’s ‘Melting Pot‘ (something of a classic New York break beat) that is used in varying amounts by not only Roxanne Shanté ‘Live On Stage‘ and MC’s Logik ‘Get Involved‘ but also the Big Daddy Kane album track ‘Another Victory‘ . . . Booker T & The MG’s, coincidentally, will be combining with Rufus & Carla Thomas, Sam Moore of Sam & Dave, the Memphis Horns plus Phil Upchurch next January in Cannes at the annual MIDEM music business convention for a Stax reunion concert — the TV rights to which have already been bought here by ITV! . . . Blue Chip Recording’s managing director Kevin Anthony Roberts reverts to his Northern Soul name Kev Roberts when he presents the Stax/Atlantic/Motown/Philly/Sixties R&B/funk classics ‘Kev Roberts Hall Of Fame’ every Friday 9pm-midnight on Mike Shaft’s Manchester radio station, Sunset 102FM — the UK’s first legal soul station! — which comes on air this Sunday (October 22) . . . London’s Evening Standard, in its most recent monthly ES magazine, detailed several DJs’ spooky experiences of supposed ghosts at Capital Radio, which during my 10½ years there were always quite convincingly rationalised as being noises and surges in the air conditioning system, an explanation that still fits most of these latest occurrences (as I grew up in a thoroughly haunted house, this is not a denial of the supernatural) . . . Brian Mason, armed with a copy of rm, recently had a live on-air telephone chat discussing current club music trends with Jody B, his one time DJ-ing partner at Cricklewood’s Ashtons, on her Sunday afternoon Radio One show — in Finland, that is! . . . Cardiff born and bred Damon Rochefort was filmed last week for a half-hour special to be shown on HTV in November, tracing the ‘Rake’s Progress’-like rise of this local boyo made good as journalist/record producer in wicked London — what’s more, he had to do half the programme in Welsh, which he hasn’t spoken now for seven years! . . . Paul ‘Trouble Those Decks’ Anderson, amongst his other “happenin'” London gigs, is starting a new house orientated ‘What It Is!’ 9pm-2am late Sunday night, just down Clerkenwell Road from our typesetters, at Turnmills . . . DJ Pete Heller hosts this Thursday’s weekly Sub Club at Notting Hill’s Subterania in Acklam Road (off Portobello Road under the Westway) . . . DJ guests like ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards and Noel Watson rock the house on two floors for housequake—pure groove every Friday in Mayfair at Cork Street’s Academy (can that be the same Academy as Auberon Waugh’s new literary boozing club?!) . . . Justin Smith spins upfront house ‘n’ beats on Fridays, and on non-alcoholic under-18 Tuesdays, at Ealing’s Stocks . . . Jim Thompson The MCJT and Alan ‘The Fatman’ Ritson spin ltalo house, garage grooves and acid pop every Friday from 7.30pm at Liverpool’s The Queens, Waterloo . . . Mike Howard and Chrissy J mix everything up (including some straight pop) Downstairs at Papa’s pasta joint in West Croydon’s London Road every Friday/Saturday night . . . ILR soul show presenters ‘Big’ Rich Edwards and Jerry ‘Happy Hippo’ Hipkiss team up every Monday at Hereford’s over-2I s Lovejoy’s . . . Mark King’s upfront hip hop and house Sundays at Chertsey’s Galleon are going so well he’s doing the same now on Saturdays at Bagshot’s Hero . . . D.J. International Records in the US have issued a compilation album called ‘Hip House‘ (DJ# 1021) — containing already available stuff by combinations of Fast Eddie, Tyree, Kool Rock Steady, K.A. Posse, Julian “Jumpin” Perez — the sleeve of which takes pains to point out that, although there may indeed have been “house raps” previously, it was Fast Eddie in 1988, on combining hip hop and house for ‘Yo Yo Get Funky’, who first used the actual musical description “hip house” . . . Frankie ‘Bones’ and Tommy Musto, amongst many other various aliases, are now teaming up as the Flowmasters for an EP due soon on XL Recordings . . . RePublic Records are releasing Da Posse featuring Martell ‘Searchin’ Hard’ here, in new US mixes including a swingbeat version . . . Mike Pickering & Graeme Park have remixed Snowboy ‘Snowboy’s House Of Latin’ . . . Nile Rodgers is working on a new album for Chic . . . Janet Jackson’s comeback single may have topped the pop chart in the US, where ears are obviously more attuned to the current jerkily mechanical production techniques of mainstream American dance music, but in house crazy Britain its impact has been much less, although ironically most of its limited dancefloor reaction has noticeably come from the North (which one might have presumed to be the stronghold of house) . . . Southgate’s Cloud 9 Discotheques (01-368 7447) had one of their vans stolen back in August during a Sunday lunchtime, loaded still with an entire mobile disco including such as a Citronic Delaware console, Wilding Sound speakers, Opti Solar 250 projectors, Pulsar Zero 3000 lighting units, other effects and a complete set of records – obviously one has every sympathy in such a loss, but it does point up the need for any vehicles used regularly by mobile discos to be both as anonymous looking as possible (ie: not sign written) and fitted with an alarm if they are likely to be left loaded even for only a short time, on private property just as much as in the street, while ideally whenever busy schedules allow they should of course be completely unloaded between gigs, even if that is a sweat (it’s how I always operated, touch wood without mishap) . . . BCM Records in Germany actually sell a slipmat, bearing their dancing footprints logo, sensibly packaged in a sleeve like an album and with a catalogue number to boot (BCM 70179)! . . . Barry Tomes of Birmingham’s newly renamed PromoBeats DJ mailing list (021-460 1645) is awarding 15 record tokens to the senders of the first five reaction reports received after each mailout, whereas most other better experienced club pluggers usually prefer DJs to wait for up to a fortnight (with maybe interim ‘phoned in reports) in order to form a more fully considered reaction . . . Andy Baker, busy now also with a day job as assistant manager of Bangor’s Our Price record shop, is offering expenses to encourage artist PAs and product promotions to visit his North Wales venues, busy black music Thursdays at Wrexham’s Mr C’s and Fri/Saturdays at Rhyl’s recently refitted Roxannes . . . MANWEB to boost Webbo! — a cryptic way of revealing that the Merseyside And North Wales Electricity Board, as part of their current Manweb Music Machine sponsorship programme in the area, will be sponsoring Adrian Webb of Livewire Promotions’ upcoming sixth Prestatyn weekender (which, incidentally, is now completely sold out) . . . I have for the first time this week not only typed but also totally typeset (thanks to my newly boosted word processor) every word you read in the DJ Directory, so any mistakes are mine alone, leaving just The Club Chart for technical reasons having to be copied from my old word processing package’s print-out (hence the decimal points still instead of fractions) — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

INNER CITY ‘Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin’ (Def Mix)’ (10 Records TENX290)
Kevin ‘Reese’ Saunderson daringly changes pace by reviving Stephanie Mills’ Mtume & Lucas penned slinkily attractive oldie, but he and singer Paris Grey should get away with it as it’s close to the Soul II Soul groove – the only way you can sell soul here these days – in this 0-105½-0bpm Morales & Knuckles remix, weavingly jogging through long lush instrumental passages, flipped by their more bumpily rolling 104⅔-104⅞bpm Master Reese Meltdown Mix plus the stutters spiced though fairly dreary techno (0-)122⅜bpm ‘Set Your Body Free (Marc Kinchen’s London Remix)‘. Not out commercially until November 6, it’s sure to be huge by then!

TONGUE ‘N’ CHEEK ‘Encore’ (Big Buzz BUZZ001)
Total Contrast return, rapping briefly, in an amazing samples woven jiggly tugging 108⅝bpm running synch between the James Brown ‘Funky Drummer’ break beat and bass jogged Cheryl Lynn classic, ‘Encore’ (as big an enduring underground “sleeper” from 1984 as Fatback’s similarly tempoed ‘I Found Lovin’’, hence this virtual remix’s high entry last week in all the dance charts that matter!), flipped by the enigmatically titled ‘Instrumental’, a totally unrelated house tempoed 122¼bpm skittery burbler. Massive!

JIVE BUNNY AND THE MASTERMIXERS ‘That’s What I Like’ (Music Factory Dance MFDT 002)
Actually sent to me this time (thanks!), Andy Pickles & Les Hemstock’s latest party classics crammed 163-161-163-0bpm megamix again is underpinned by the John Anderson Big Band, using their ‘Hawaii Five-0’ at beginning and end, with a clever (if safe) combination of Chubby Checker, Chris Montez, Surfaris, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bill Haley, Eddie Cochran and Dion in between. Let’s twist again! Continue reading “October 21, 1989: Inner City, Tongue ‘N’ Cheek, Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers, Fluke, Grace Jones”

BEATS & PIECES

RHYTHM KING, realising they’ve become increasingly pop orientated, are the latest record company to launch an uncompromisingly specialist dancefloor aimed label, Outer Rhythm, which like CityBeat’s new XL Recordings will ignore the Gallup chart rulings about the running time of singles whenever necessary to give dance fans full value — first release will be the previously hard to find Forgemasters ‘A Track With No Name’ (see review) — the label’s co-ordinator Michael Perch also acting as the whole company’s in-house club plugger now . . . XL Recordings meanwhile have just released here the Ellis “D” ‘Free Your Mind’ LP (XXXL 101), reviewed fully on import, from which the UK single will be ‘Just Like A Queen’, but not however until there has been a special twin-pack pairing of ‘Took My Love Away’ and ‘My Loleatta’ with the Brooklyn Funk Essentials ‘We Got To Come Together’ (all in various mixes) . . . Frankie ‘Bones’ and other star DJ performers will be jocking at a private CityBeat party this Thursday somewhere in Covent Garden, incidentally . . . CBS have picked up D.J. International Records for the UK now, debuting next week with the Fast Eddie featuring Sundance import hit (which stupidly they’ve promoed in just one mix) . . . D Mob introducing Cathy Dennis ‘C’Mon And Get My Love’ turns out on commercial pressing (ffrr FX 117) to be just in its originally promoed disappointing 120.4bpm Dance Hall Mix flipped, as mentioned last week, by the subsequently also promoed better (0-)119.8bpm Spaghetti Western Mix — leaving that latter promo pressing’s Jools Holland keyboarded Keys II My Love dub, the version that’s actually hottest of all . . . Joyce Sims ‘Take Caution With My Heart’ is similarly on commercial pressing (ffrr FX 118) in its previously promoed now 116.8bpm Take Precaution 12″, 116-0bpm Take Precaution Dub, and 116bpm Original Mixes, but is likewise much hotter in the also already promoed totally different more garage/house-ish “drain” thrummed tougher 116.2bpm Basement Rock Mix by Mark Brydon of Sheffield’s FON Force, with its 116.2bpm Basement Rock Dub plus the previously promoed good chugging 115.6bpm Justins House, these however being due commercially as soon as next week (ffrr FXR 118) . . . Swansea’s famous Martha’s Vineyard is now under new ownership and is being revamped into a bland over-25s venue, despite the reputation as one of Britain’s best black music clubs earned for it by the efforts of DJ Jeff Thomas, who not surprisingly has moved what is still billed as “The Martha’s Monday Night” to Port Talbot’s Wall Street (his other black night is Thursdays at Merthyr Tydfil’s Charbonniers, with commercial Fridays at Neath’s Arches, offers of a funky Saturday being gratefully received on 0792-702034!) . . . Paul Anthony has returned to the West Midlands, opening Jay Jays in Willenhall this Thursday (12) with Mike Page rejoining him as resident jock . . . Andy Carroll of Liverpool’s The State has joined John ‘K’ and James ‘B’ (so does this make him Andy ‘C’?) spinning Euro Beats ‘n’ House on Mondays at Victoria Street’s The Underground . . . Metro has moved from Haven Stables in Ealing to the nearby Stocks on Uxbridge Road every Thursday now . . . Hammersmith’s Le Palais is the cunningly disguised venue for an “inner city M25 party”-type Paradiso night this Sunday (15) with DJs like Paul ‘Trouble’ Anderson, ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards, Derrick May and PAs by The Rebel MC & Double Trouble, 808 State, Rhythim Is Rhythim. . . DJ Ciao, who points out that Hipnosis ‘Droid’ is Italian (I only referred to it being from the “new beat era”, which it was), says that he and fellow Europhiles can tell which Italian and French pop songs inspired many of Stock Aitken Waterman’s creations, and wonders if maybe they will have to look a little further afield now? . . . ‘The Hit Man And Her’, in its unselfconscious way, has become perhaps the closest successor yet to the mid-Sixties’ legendary ‘Ready Steady Go’, and it really is scandalous that London Weekend Television see fit only to show it at 4.00 in the morning on a Sunday when other regions screen it earlier (just 50 minutes or so after it has actually been recorded and rushed by bike to the nearest transmission point!) . . . Broadstairs for bouillabaisse and lobster was the ultimate destination of an East Kent jaunt last week — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

THOMPSON TWINS ‘Sugar Daddy’ (US Warner Bros 0-21320)
An instant big seller in Central London, this Shep Pettibone remixed five-tracker (plus the pure pop 127bpm ‘Monkey Man‘) is sorta like latter day Duran Duran meeting Lipps Inc in its gruffly growled then jauntily chanted jiggly 111¾bpm A-side versions, the slightly Oriental flavoured Sweet N’ Low Mix, piano jangled chunkier Big Daddy’s Dub and drily lurching 7” Remix, but far hotter are the less vocal 112bpm B-side’s percussively clomping and chugging Velvet Rail Mix and Dub, quoting Instant Funk’s “c’mon you can get it”. Just to confuse matters, the here only three-track UK pressing re-titles the Sweet N’ Low Mix as the 12” Remix (Warner Bros W2819T), still 111¾bpm as also now is the Velvet Rail Mix under its new name as the Sugar House Mix, the Velvet Rail Dub becoming the 111⅔bpm Sugar House Dub.

FAST EDDIE featuring Sundance ‘Git On Up’ (US D.J. International Records DJ#990)
“Git up, git on up” isn’t exactly the freshest beat to repeat, though the result is effective enough as this Roxanne Shanté influenced rapping girl duetted routine hip house bounder thumps and jumps through its 123⅔bpm Fast Eddie, 123⅓-123¾bpm Julian “Jumpin” Perez, 123¾bpm Rocky Jones, and 123⅓-123⅔bpm Tyree Cooper Mixes. Rather confusingly, the one version that’s been promoed here ahead of UK release next week is yet another 124¾bpm mix, closest to Rocky Jones’s without being the same.

MR. LEE ‘Get Busy’ (US Jive 1274-1-JD)
Lee Haggard has really got busy, whipping up this Joeski Love title line sampling superb flawlessly simple and infectious hip house leaper, not doing anything necessarily very different but just doing it all so much better than anyone else, in 124-0bpm Club and Hit Man’s House, 124bpm Radio and Chicago Mixes. I guarantee you can’t stay still to this! Dy-no-mite! Continue reading “October 14, 1989: Thompson Twins, Fast Eddie, Mr. Lee, Dee Holloway, Rosso Barocco”

DMC LIMITED

I said a fortnight ago that DMC were over-extended at the bank due to their expansion into magazine publishing and record retailing. That was entirely wrong: they have sent me a letter from their bank manager to prove it. I unreservedly withdraw the statement with my sincere apologies to them.

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BEATS & PIECES

GINO LATINO as the name for a recording act has a confusing history, it first being adopted by Jovanotti, currently seen as presenter of ‘Gimme 8’ on BBC2-tv, who began as a DJ/artiste working for Italy’s Ibiza Records and used this, apparently cartoon character’s, name as an alter ego for his rap recordings on that label – like ‘Welcome’ and ‘Yo’, both big as separate records in Italy last summer and now issued back-to-back on US import — but who has reverted to his real name for the UK released (TV tie-in?) rapping ‘Gimme 5’, perhaps because rival Italian label Disco Magic in the meantime have found a different DJ whom they also call Gino Latino, this being the one whose ‘No Sorry’ is currently hot (probably explaining his lyrical assertion “I’m the best DJ anywhere”) . . . I must thank for the above detailed info the indefatigable ‘Tricky Dicky’ Scanes, pioneering proprietor of Soho’s Trax Records in Greek Street, which began as the country’s leading specialist Euro/Hi-NRG stockist before warehouse DJs started using the shop as a source for obscure fast synthesised instrumental B-sides and suddenly, as a result, it unwittingly sparked off the whole current Euro craze — something about which Dicky is suitably cynical, saying that other record shops will probably have stopped stocking Euro product by Christmas, although at present he is spending three days every fortnight driving thousands of miles around Europe buying up new releases just to keep his jealously guarded edge and stay ahead of the game! . . . Dicky points out, incidentally, that Belgian beats have come up in tempo again from “new beat” to make “hardbeat”, sort of metallic house, examples to look for including Mackenzie ‘Chicago Trip‘, Style ‘Aha Aha’, and the now quite old Dow Jones ‘Techno Groove‘ . . . Oh Well ‘Oh Well’ — no sooner had I thought it worth UK release — is indeed now out (on Parlophone 12R 6236), but in the form of the less good more angular here 110.2bpm Germany issued Remix three-tracker rather than the superior though apparently hard to find US pressing (both reviewed last week) . . . Champion, with predictable unpredictability (but, as it turns out, good enough commercial sense), have reissued last year’s girls muttered 120.8-121.2-120.8bpm weird stark juddery electro/freestyle The Beat Club ‘Security‘ (CHAMP 12-223) — something of an enduring “sleeper”, first about on US Pizazz around July 1988 before coming out here on Bass Records exactly a year ago and briefly peaking at 64 in The Club Chart a month later — while, rather more typically, they have also only just got around finally to releasing the months ago promoted and reviewed Farley Jackmaster Funk ‘Free At Last’, Chubb Rock with Howie Tee ‘Ya Bad Chubbs’ and Kelly Charles & James Bratton ‘Reachin’’ (you can see why I don’t exactly rush to review the label’s promos when even their announced release dates so often prove to be meaningless!) . . . Chris Rea ‘Josephine (La Version Francaise)’, reviewed last week off promo as a better value ‘On The Beach’ flipped single in its own right, for some reason seems now only to be out commercially as a 12 inch coupling to the 134.8bpm ‘The Road To Hell’ (WEA YZ43 I T) . . . The Mix Master ‘Grand Piano’ appears to be subjected to an import bar now ahead of UK release, making the original import copies collectors’ items as the UK version looks like being without some of the original samples . . . Hipnosis ‘Droid’, inspiration for the Manic MC’s ‘Mental’, is coming out here via Pacific . . . Easy Street Records are launching their UK label next week via Viceroy Records, as already reported, with Kelli Saé ‘It’s Too Late’ (Phil Howells is building a club promotion mailing list on 01-401 2226) . . . Islington Music Workshop, home of the I.M.W label, amongst other of its studio training courses, is running a Remix Weekend on October 28/29, teaching the techniques for creating commercially released remixes — full details of this and the other courses on 01-608 0231 . . . Ontario’s hot Bigshot Records are planning a UK showcase performance by all their artistes . . . Leeds Castle near Maidstone (where in fact I was doing a gig on the ramparts 20 years ago the night the Americans landed on the moon) was my daytrip destination last sizzling hot Monday — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

LISA STANSFIELD ‘All Around The World (Long Version)’ (Arista 612 693) Co-penned/produced by her Blue Zone colleagues, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, this sweetly swirling strings swamped lush Philly Soul meets tensely thudding swingbeat-type sultry 101.5bpm swaying jittery jogger is incredibly classy, flipped on promo by a shorter 100.2bpm mix ahead of full release next week. Watch it go!

D MOB introducing Cathy Dennis ‘C’Mon And Get My Love (The Remixes)’ (ffrr FXR 117)
Not even released commercially yet and here already are Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh’s remixes on white label, the A-side’s “a yippee yi yay, ah yah” overdubbed shuffling and cantering (0-)119.8bpm Spaghetti Western mix being due as the commercial pressing’s B-side next week, but meanwhile the track that’s really tearing the place up is the promo flip’s Jools Holland keyboarded chunkily lurching 0-119.6bpm Keys II My Love piano dub, coupled with the Cathy wailed tightly striding 119.6bpm ‘D’ Second Coming mix, this whole second promo being far better than the disappointing initial pre-release. Incidentally, check The Club Chart very closely this week as there’s a ton of hot stuff likely to be hitting that, after doing so many pop reviews, I just didn’t have time to tackle yet.

FOSTER McELROY ‘Dr. Soul (Extended Version)’ (US Atlantic 0-86289)
Marlon Brando impersonating ‘Godfather’ introed then MC Lyte rapped excellent chunkily lurching (0-)108.5-108.3bpm go go/swingbeat/funk jiggler with a usefully timeless sound, remixed from Denzil Foster & Thomas McElroy’s recently reviewed album and equally hot (instrumental flip). Continue reading “October 7, 1989: Lisa Stansfield, D Mob introducing Cathy Dennis, Foster McElroy, Fidelfatti with Ronnette, Liz Torres”