Month: April 1990

BEATS & PIECES

FRANKIE CROCKER, following the popularity of his previous visit, is back on London’s Capital FM next week (April 30-May 4) broadcasting his evening soul show simultaneously on New York City’s WBL “kickin'” S! . . . Soul II Soul’s imminent new album is much more consistently tempoed than their first, side two being especially strong with a brilliant instrumental called ‘Time‘ which I can’t stop replaying on cassette, and a future smash ‘Our Time Has Now Come‘ closing track . . . Light Of The World are about to return with a single mixed by Jazzie B, which can’t hurt — and Teena Marie is being produced by him, too . . . LiveWire Promotions’ seventh Prestatyn weekender possibly dragged on rather too long over four days at Easter but delivered most of what had been promised, there being just a few substitutions among the publicised PAs, while the huge main room (with improved atmospheric lighting) was totally surrounded by a stylised cityscape custom painted on banners, a gigantic inflatable fly hovering menacingly above the stage to complete the theme . . . Darryl Pandy so energetically performed his upcoming house revival of The O’Jays’ ‘I Love Music’ at Prestatyn, kicking his slippers high over the stage curtains before rolling around on the floor waggling his legs in the air, that he was taken away by stretcher with a bad back . . . Robert Owens, you would have thought legendary enough from his soulful vocal work with Fingers Inc, was met with bored indifference and actual boos by the Prestatyn crowd, suggesting that deep house is too subtle for today’s ravers (for whom, to judge from this South-East dominated weekender anyway, slower funky Soul II Soul/Snap/Family Stand-type tempos really do mean increasingly more now) . . . Chris Brown, the contemporary acid house rave DJ, really cracked it at Prestatyn however by reverting to his veteran soul roots for a set that drew not only applause after his every lesser known though excellent classy selection, but also spontaneous soul clapping through all the rhythm breaks, and massed formation dancing . . . Lisa Stansfield was so closely protected by bodyguards that not even the promoters could get close to her at Prestatyn (where Snowboy played percussion in her band), it being a real case of “Elvis has left the building” as immediately her live show was over she was whisked into a waiting coach and away . . . Flavor Flav, so enjoying himself that he stayed on the camp at Prestatyn, is not at all the rap fanatic one might suspect from Public Enemy, confessing to a love of doo wop (Fifties vocal groups) — but he knows what time it is, even if the clock around his neck has stopped! … George Ergatoudis, fresh from producing both a one hour documentary on remixing and a series on the history of hip hop for broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in July, is the new club promotions manager at 4th + B’way . . . Ann Matura is building a DJ mailing list at Desire Records, 97 Charlotte Street, London W1P 1LB (apply in writing) . . . Rumour Records are rush releasing Don Pablo’s Animals ‘Venus’, which should make it a lot easier to find here, Cooltempo are rushing D-Shake ‘Yaaaaaaaaaah’/’Techno Trance’, and BCM Records are rushing Richard Rogers ‘Can’t Stop Loving You’ . . . adventures of Stevie V ‘Dirty Cash (Money Talks) (Sold Out Mix)’, as last week’s review omitted, is on Mercury (MERXR 311) . . . Arthur Baker, amongst Breakout’s dropped acts, has indeed now signed to RCA . . . DJ Mark The 45 King’s remix (96½bpm) of David Bowie ‘Fame 90’, featuring Queen Latifah’s rap, turns out to be merely the seven inch B-side! . . . Chrysalis have labelled promos of a Colin Hudd remix of the Blue Aeroplanes’ ‘Lovers All Around’ as “Gangly Bootleg” . . . ‘Hotel California’, the Eagles’ AoR standard, is getting a ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ treatment from Jam On The Mother . . . Nicky Holloway has moved just over the lane beside London’s Charing Cross Road Astoria to the basement of 12 Sutton Row in which, using all white decor, he has created The Milk Bar, an intimate club open six nights a week where the “cream” of London’s DJs will play music “with bottle” to make the place “shake”, and although for instance Fridays feature himself plus Paul Oakenfold and Saturdays Dave Dorrell and Pete Tong, a music policy back to black roots is best exemplified by the start next Thursday of a nostalgic Full Circle night, starring Chris Hill (May 3), Greg Edwards (10), and Froggy (17), no less! . . . Skegness’s Life Weekender this Fri/Sat/Sunday (27/8/9) still has a few places so ring 0772-700282 in a hurry if you fancy seeing the likes of Candy Flip, Paradox, Ashley & Jackson, Stevie V, Mr Monday and a massive DJ line-up including ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards, Cohn Curtis, Colin Faver, Jonathan, Carl Cox, Soul Sam and many more . . . KICKIN’!

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EN VOGUE were the surprise sensation of Easter’s seventh Prestatyn weekender, reviving the classic girl group style of the Sixties with an appealingly choreographed powerful acappella intro to their current import, ‘Hold On‘, which consequently ended up easily the hottest hit to emerge from the four day event — if not just about the only hit ever really broken at Prestatyn so far!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Steve Procter and James Hamilton

DIANA BROWN & BARRIE K SHARPE ‘The Masterplan’
FLUKE ‘Joni’
MXM ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’
BLACK BOX ‘Fantasy’
CABARET VOLTAIRE ‘Keep On’
THE FARM ‘Stepping Stone’
DADA NADA ‘Deep Love’
JOVONN ‘Turn And Run Away’
BASSOMATIC ‘In The Realm Of The Senses’
TRUE LOVE EP (white label – includes the original ‘Your Love’/’You Got The Love’ bootleg)

BBG ‘Snappiness’ (106bpm) (Urban/Hoax Recordings URBX 54)
Originally white labelled as ‘Sn/appiness Mix’, Big Boss Groove’s Soul II Soul ‘Happiness’ inspired instrumental sets placidly plonking piano chords to a jittery driving rhythm that, coincidentally or not, now seems quite like the actual Snap style — did BBG know something that we didn’t back in February, just before ‘The Power’ first appeared? — flipped by new chunkier Happening and Impulse Mixes rather than the original GoGo Mix, with a female vocal version featuring Dina to follow.

LIQUID OXYGEN ‘The Planet Dance (Move Ya Body)’ (Champion CHAMP 12-242)
Huge even while just on import (½bpm faster!), this intriguing combination of various house elements including the piping synth from Unique 3’s ‘The Theme’ with the early electro style of ‘Planet Rock’ is in Club Dance (123bpm) and instrumental Dub Dance (120¾bpm) versions, flipped by the Madness “hey you” introed twittery burbling instrumental ‘You Have To Understand (Club Mix)‘ (123½bpm) and its short Beat Mix (123bpm).

YOUNG M.C. ‘I Come Off’ (95½bpm) (4th + B’way 12BRW 171)
Rightly A-sided here by Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh’s far superior Southern Comfort Mix, their jazz-funky Aaron Neville ‘Hercules’ rhythm jogged slinkily rolling treatment ideally cushions this gruffly bragging rap and also has a UK only instrumental Southern Comfort Dub, flipped by the US A-side’s different sharply jiggling staccato 12″ and 7″ Remixes. Continue reading “April 28, 1990: BBG, Liquid Oxygen, Young M.C., Shut Up And Dance, 2 In A Room”

BEATS & PIECES

AS UNWITTINGLY hinted in last week’s Lance Ellington review, the ‘dance’ label Breakout has in fact been dissolved, all its directly signed acts being dropped apart from L.A. Mix and Jazzi P, who will now be on the main A&M label — to which Steve Wolfe (from Cooltempo) and Bob Masters (from Sleeping Bag Records) are moving as of next Monday to run a revamped dance music division, under the guidance of Jeff Young . . . Arthur Baker and the Backbeat Disciples, amongst the defunct label’s dropped acts, are already talking to RCA . . . Wendy K takes over as head of club promotion at Sleeping Bag Records . . . L.A. Mix, incidentally, are preparing to record their second album and as before are talent scouting for singers and rappers to feature as guest vocalists — those interested in auditioning should first call their manager, Jimmy O’Reilly, on 071-372 1005 . . . Mantronix are again joined by Wondress for the April 30 released sinuous jiggly jogging ‘Take Your Time‘ (Capitol 12CL 573), in segued Club (107¼bpm) and Dub (108½bpm) versions, not so far included on their album (although this apparently is being rectified), flipped by the Bryce Luvah rapped jerkily racing hip house ‘Don’t You Want More (Club Version)‘ (122bpm) . . . DJ Mark The 45 King’s The 900 Number’ was recently deleted to build up a surge of demand after already selling about 50,000 copies here (its popularity since late 1988 as a dance craze tune having been spread slowly by word of mouth), so that it should finally storm the Top 40 (and then be killed stone dead?) when re-released on April 30 (Dance Trax DRXZ 912) including, as previously revealed, some brand new Chad Jackson remixes, currently promoed (though not all are due commercially) with his funkily drumming and James Brown grunts punctuated Numeric Breakdown, C.J. Breakdown (108bpm) and ‘For The Love Of Money’ bassed amongst other changes A Different Style (108½bpm), plus the slowed down Marva Whitney ‘Unwind Yourself’ intro looping Original Instrumental (107¼bpm) . . . CBS have postponed commercial release of The Chimes’ slinkily swaying ‘Stronger Together’ (94½bpm), promoed on white label in David Morales’ lushly drifting Red Zone and more immediately wailing Unified Mixes, as detailed last week by Dave Dorrell, rushing instead their version of U2’s ‘Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For‘ within the next fortnight to coincide with its US release (although apparently we’ll be getting some different mixes) . . . Soft House Company ‘What You Need…‘, an import ‘sleeper’ since last November, is due here soon on a new Phonogram label, Global Village . . . BCM Records have finally got around to releasing Wood Allen ‘Airport ’89’ here (BCM326X) . . . ‘House Party’, the US hit movie’s rap and swingbeat soundtrack album featuring Flavor Flav, LL Cool J & Marley Marl, Kid ‘N Play, Today, Force MD’s, Full Force Family and more, fully reviewed on import w/e March 24, is now out here (Motown ZL72699) . . . Public Enemy’s disappointing ‘911 Is A Joke‘ (103bpm) has been taking its time hitting The Club Chart but is flipped by the much better frenetically churning and jiggling ‘Revolutionary Generation‘ (113½bpm) . . . Cherrelle with Alexander O’Neal ‘Saturday Love’, a surprisingly brief flash in the pan once commercially released in Olimax & DJ Shapps’ invigorating remix, is also now out in a much more mundane Steve Anderson remix (116bpm) that sticks closer to the original (Tabu 655800 8) . . . Frankie Knuckles’ previously promo B-sided Frankie’s Favourite Garage Mix of Tongue ‘N’ Cheek ‘Tomorrow’ is due now commercially flipped by Frankie’s Def Dub plus ‘Encore (Slammin’ Mix)’ (Syncopate 12SYX 34) . . . Boney M featuring Liz Mitchell’s cryptically white labelled cover version of ‘Stories’ (Ariola 612 997) is flipped by not only what appears to be its Radio Mix (93¾bpm) but also the unrelated joltingly rolling instrumental ‘Rumours‘ (101¼bpm) ‘A Vinyl Junkie’ anonymously infos from Marlow that the girl group track on the ‘Take Sting Away On Acid EP’ bootleg’s B-side is ‘Take Me Away’ from the original Italian flip of The Mix Master’s ‘Grand Piano’ (of which I only ever had a Spanish pressing, with a much altered Raul Orellana remix of ‘Take Me Away’) —thanks, AVJ! . . . Rhythmatic are revealed as being Leroy Crawford and Mark Gamble, the guys from Krush — it seems they named the 0742 Records label (on which their now Network scheduled ‘Take Me Back’ first appeared) after the telephone area code for Sheffield merely as that is where they happened to be at the time! . . . Reachin’ Records have moved offices to Unit 302, Metrostore, Eastman Road, Acton, London W3 7QS (telephone 081-749 8619, fax 081-746 1209, the different exchange numbers being correct) . . . Lisa Farrar and Rupert Garricks will be handling respectively radio and club promotion under Marie Birch at Impact Record Promotions (071-602 8822) . . . Middlesbrough’s Blaises has a Murder Inc Monday next week (April 23) with DJ Naz, DJ Mad ‘A’, Jason Bushby, DJ Liam, MC Fox, plus raving keyboardist ‘Scoots’ live . . . Paul Campbell hosts house and hip hop Thursdays at Warrington’s Oliver’s pub . . . Steve Aspey is the new presenter of the Saturday 6-9pm ‘Dance Trax’ show on Severn Sound 102.4FM/774AM . . . BBC producer Nick Ware is currently working on a three part series for Radio 1 about the history of discotheques and disco music in the UK, which should be well worth hearing when eventually it’s aired . . . The Club Chart’s entry threshold was the highest it’s ever been last week, thanks to DJs’ concentration in strength on a narrower range of records (despite there being increasingly more dance product about) than in the past, the points needed to enter at 100= last week being enough normally to hit the upper 70s, the result being for instance that Larry Joseph & Science kept the same number of points as the previous week yet fell from 61 to 83 while a massive 30 breakers had enough points normally to hit the 100 . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL

MOVEMENT .98 (featuring Carroll Thompson) ‘Joy And Heartbreak’ (Circa Records YRTPRX 45)
Created by the Electra team of Rob Davis, Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne, this twinpack promoed (out separately next week) instantly massive Carroll cooed and naggingly familiar chimes accented sweetly swaying gorgeous — one hesitates to say, yet again, Soul II Soul-ish — drifter has Oakenfold & Osborne’s tightly tapping The Future Mix (96bpm) and gently weaving The Raid Mix (93½bpm) on one single, and on the other (with repetition of the latter) Smith & Mighty’s resonant though less fluid Mellow Mix (94bpm) and perhaps more atmospheric doodling Mellow Instrumental Mix (93¾bpm).

M.C. DUKE & D.J. LEADER 1 ‘The Final Conflict (Rap Version)’ (116¼bpm) (Music Of Life NOTE 35 DJ)
Introed like a trailer to ‘Omen III (The Final Conflict)’, this Simon ‘DJ Leader 1’ Harris mixed and co-produced angry rap jiggler is full of menace though lightened by some title line quotes from Peter Gabriel’s ‘Games Without Frontiers’, with its Instrumental too and coupled also on promo by The Buggen Haggen Mix, Bonus Beats and Percapella, but flipped commercially by a scratching jittery 1990 Remix (119-119¼bpm) of ‘I’m Riffin’ and its 1990 Instrumental (119¾-119½bpm).

MUSTO & BONES ‘All I Want Is To Get Away’ (121¾bpm) (CityBeat CBFT 5)
Only on (widely circulated) promo as a sampler plugging Tommy & Frankie’s ‘The Future Is Ours’ album, this jittery scurrying Italo house meets Todd Terry-type wriggler has a catchy though overly repeated title line chorus, flipped by (from just the CD version) the acidically churning ‘This Will Be Mine‘ (121¾bpm) and twittery ‘Tequiro‘ (122¾bpm), both in washing machine style. Continue reading “April 21, 1990: Movement .98 (featuring Carroll Thompson), M.C. Duke & D.J. Leader 1, Musto & Bones, Touch Of Soul, Don Pablo’s Animals”

BEATS & PIECES

BEATS INTERNATIONAL Snap, Innocence, Kicking Back, Candy Flip, Robert Owens, MC Wildski, Diana Brown & Barrie K Sharpe, Carlton, David Grant, Titiyo, En Vogue, Darryl Pandy, Light Of The World, Leila K, Buss The Move, possibly Redhead Kingpin, plus of course the Soul II Soul DJs and a full 90 minute live set by Lisa Stansfield (her first anywhere) make the impressive final line-up of attractions at this Easter weekend’s Prestatyn four-dayer, sold out long ago . . . 1990 World Mixing champion DJ David, for his debut BCM Records release, is collaborating with MC Eric (of ‘This Beat Is Technotronic’) on a megamix of current — indeed Technotronic type — European hits, based though largely around Twenty 4 Seven’s ‘I Can’t Stand It’ . . . Paul Oakenfold’s decision to switch the music policy at Land Of Oz (Mondays in Charing Cross’s Heaven) from house to the slower beats that once again prevail in London (hurrah!) has apparently upset some pastel clad ravers but he intends sticking to his guns, perhaps not least because his own current studio creations are at the slower tempo . . . eastwest have picked up Olimax & DJ Shapps’ remake of ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ . . . David Bowie ‘Fame 90’ turns out to be on commercial 12 inch just in the Arthur Baker and (as it proves) John Gass remixes reviewed off promo, so presumably the DJ Mark The 45 King remix featuring Queen Latifah must be due separately . . . Rhythmatic, despite both their 0742 Records telephone area code label name and their minimalist electro style suggesting a Sheffield origin, rather oddly appear to be from Birmingham, their ‘Take Me Back’ being due for full release on that city’s Network label . . . Janice Christie’s haunting slinkily cooed ‘Tell Me Who (Who’s Been Sleeping In My Bed)’ (Movement Soul MSOUL 003, via 01-968 0228), very classy garage, is apparently in mixes by both New Jersey’s Tony Humphries and London’s Noel Watson, but the label only lists an uncredited 6.40 Club Mix (110¾bpm) and tightly following Epiphenomenal Mix (111-110¾bpm) — whatever that means! — on one side and a less smooth 9.00 Club Mix (111¼bpm) on t’other . . . The Cool House Dub of 2 Guys On Acid ‘House Music (All Night Long)’ is indeed the A track on the ‘Take Sting Away On Acid EP’ bootleg’s flip — any further suggestions about the second, girl group, track? . . . Donna Allen’s ‘Serious’ may be one source of inspiration for Jill Jones’s maddeningly familiar vocal phrasing in Ryuichi Sakamoto’s You Do Me’, but I’m not entirely convinced it’s the main one . . . Motor City Techno Mob, whose ‘Ready To Roll’ (reviewed last week) is not in fact out commercially until April 30, prove to consist of main man/producer David McMurray, a past P’funk associate of George Clinton and Bootsy Collins who has toured with Was (Not Was), plus jazz trumpeter Rayse Biggs and percussionist Asiha Hill . . . Prince himself penned Kid Creole And The Coconuts’ The Sex Of It’, now out here (CBS 655698 6) presumably in the already detailed three mixes that were teasingly credited on UK promo to KC & TC . . . Caister Soul Weekend DJs Tim Westwood, Colin Hudd, Bob ‘Hippy’ Jones, Gary Dennis, Dave Malone and Ray Keith, plus The Jazz Bags live, hold a Hardcore Jam this Wednesday (11) at Colchester’s Hippodrome, while some of the above are also at Colchester’s The Venue for an Easter Sunday Deep half-dayer (6pm-midnight), with Jay Strongman, Gary Dennis, Dave Malone, Ray Keith, Ju, Gilly, Turbo and The Jazz Bags again . . . Graham Gold this Thursday (12) starts a new Roccoco night at London’s Camden Palace . . . Jason Bushby’s Fridays are still firin’ at Saltburn-by-the-Sea’s Philmore, with regular PAs and guest DJs, this special Good Friday’s including DJ Liam, DJ Naz, Davy D & MC Junkie D, Mike Shaw and Nugroove, plus a PA by local hip hop collective Murder Inc…. Good Friday also sees the return to Torquay’s Monroes of the monthly Humdinger “scream and shout-free” real soul/jazz/funk night, with a PA by Innocence and guest DJ Simon Dunmore joining Chris Dinnis — whose Saturday 8-10pm soul show is still on Plymouth Sound 97FM in Devon/Cornwall, while his Dorset/Avon/Somerset aimed Orchard FM 102.6FM Saturday 6-8pm soul show actually reaches Exeter, South Wales, Bristol, Southampton and Bournemouth . . . Black Box, Guru Josh, Adamski, and Musto & Bones are amongst the live acts this Saturday (14) at an Energy party in Docklands’ London Arena . . . Passion 9T Part 1 is an Easter Sunday 2pm-midnight alldayer at Brixton’s The Fridge, with Unique 3, The Forgemasters and Shut Up And Dance among the live acts plus DJs Jumping Jack Frost, Fabio, Bones, ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards, Grooverider, Bryan Gee, Dave Foster, G-Force (Eureka) . . . Jeff Thomas’s black music Monday has moved from Port Talbot back to Swansea at ExI’s (sic), suitably called Martha’s Mondays as the club is in the same building as Martha’s Vineyard where it all began (he’s also on Wednesdays at Swansea’s Sloanes) . . . Andrew Holmes is among the Trash DJs hosting Let’s Get Horny Fridays at Manchester’s Precinct 13, combining upfront US house and hip hop with early Eighties West End/Prelude-type “114bpm (!)” classics, their next bi-monthly legal allniter being on Friday, April 27 . . . DJ Twitch and ‘mega’ DJ Brainstorm run UFO Friday nights (midnight-4am) at Edinburgh’s The Venue, spinning hard beat, hard house and technodub, with live sampling by Ege Bam Yasi . . . Belgian hard beat also dominates Future Zone Fridays and Saturdays at Burnley’s Angels with Paul Taylor and resident DJ/promotion manager David Croft, the latter back from two years of club and radio work in Norway and Switzerland . . . DJs Tim, Matt and Mark, saying there’s more to South Yorkshire than Sheffield (yeah, how about Tickhill?!), front a new fortnightly house club in Rotherham, The Bass-Ment in Masbrough’s Prince Of Wales Cellar Bar every second Friday — to judge from the date this info was sent, that could mean next week . . . Cleveland DJ Mark Watson, well known locally from the Mad Mark’s and T.F.M. Roadshows, needs a kidney transplant to lead a fully normal life but is surviving through use of a hospital’s kidney machine, advice about proven fund raising disco ideas to help finance a machine of his own being welcomed by fellow DJ Graham Murray on 0642-226270 . . . The Club Chart’s entry threshold was back up almost higher than ever last week, leaving several bubblers doorstepping just outside when a week earlier they’d have been in it: A Tribe Called Quest, Starpoint, Ecstasy, Pandella, Boneshakers (‘Reachin’ 1′ LP), The Motor City Techno Mob, 808 State, Cry Sisco! (Hard Spell Mix), The Man With No Name, BBG, amongst others . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Dave Dorrell and James Hamilton

SATOSHI TOMIIE (FEATURING ARNOLD JARVIS) ‘And I Loved You’ (Dave Dorrell)

FOREMOST POETS ‘Reasons To Be Dismal’ (Dave Dorrell)

THE CHIMES ‘Stronger Together’ (Dave Dorrell) Continue reading “April 14, 1990: Soul II Soul, Madonna, Richard Rogers, D-Shake, Da Posse & Underground Crew, 3rd Bass”

BEATS & PIECES

CHILL ROB G’s funkily chugging ‘Let The Words Flow‘ (109bpm) was, as flip to the Afro flavoured ‘The Court Is Now In Session‘ (100bpm) (US Wild Pitch Records WP 1011), in The Club Chart right through February and March last year and is now attracting renewed attention as the inspiration for Snap’s ‘The Power’ — of which, our own Alan Jones was first to realise, the female “you got the power” title line copies Jocelyn Brown’s ‘Love Is Gonna Get You’ acappella . . . Arista’s UK pressing of ‘The Power’, it must be emphasised, is an also Germany issued re-recording without the contentious samples of the very first import version — meanwhile, out here also is the brand new Snap introducing Turbo B. ‘The Power (Remix)’ (Arista 613 134), revamped by Sven Väth of Off into a now ‘Greyskull’ soundtrack introed more sparsely chugging Transformer Mix and alternative very different disjointedly jiggling Generator Mix (both still around 108¾bpm) . . . I wasted several hours while writing last week’s Mellow Man Ace review trying to identify the naggingly familiar riff that prods most mixes of ‘Welcome To My Groove’, only to remember too late (and in an instant!) that of course it’s from the Nite-Liters’ ‘K-Jee’, a 1971 US hit probably better known here as by MFSB (their revival being on the ‘Saturday Night Fever’ movie soundtrack) . . . ‘House Music All Night Long’ was of course by Two Guys On Acid, and it seems that the track I identified from the use of their refrain on the flip of the ‘Take Sting Away On Acid EP’ is merely that whole tune, unrestructured — while, as several readers have similarly pointed out, the Bo Diddley-ish guitar in Soho’s ‘No Hippy Chick’ seems to be from The Smiths’ ‘How Soon Is Now’ . . . The 1990 UK Asian DJ Mixing Championship finals are this Friday afternoon (April 6), noon to 7pm, at Brixton’s The Fridge, where not only the eight Asian DJ finalists but also Micky D, DJ Terry, DJ Pogo and DJ Indy will be spinning sounds . . . Radio Luxembourg 208 (1440 kHz) has just launched an “all-dance” Saturday schedule with new recruit Chris Forbes sandwiched at I0pm-midnight between Mike Hollis and Tony Murrell . . . AK will be the name of Andrew ‘Komix’ Komis’s UK label, as opposed to New Jersey Sounds which appears only to be for use in America . . . Roxanne Shanté’s two separate commercial 12-inchers split up her previously reviewed promo twinpack’s tracks (without including all of them) to couple CJ Mackintosh’s Hip Hop Mix and Hip Hop Instrumental (now both 120bpm) of ‘Go On Girl’ with his Hip Hop Mix (115bpm) of ‘Live On Stage’ (Breakout USAT 689), or CJ’s House and Yarr Gyee Mixes (also now 120bpm) of ‘Go On Girl’ with Mackintosh & Dorrell’s House Mix (about 115¼bpm) of ‘Live On Stage’ (USAF 689) . . . Frankie’s Favourite Garage Mix on the promo B-side of Tongue ‘N’ Cheek ‘Tomorrow’ will be out commercially as a separate ‘remix’, to follow Frankie Knuckles’ Warehouse Mix (which was the promo A-side) . . . Jeff Redd’s previously reviewed import album ‘A Quiet Storm’ is out here now on MCA Records (MCG 6086), while Professor Griff And The Last Asiatic Disciples’ ‘Pawns In The Game’ is distributed here by Greyhound . . . Public Enemy’s long awaited and often announced ‘Fear Of The Black Planet’ album really is due for UK release on April 17 . . . Diana Brown having long since left her Brothers, her upcoming excellent ‘Masterplan‘ will be credited to Diana Brown & Barrie K. Sharpe . . . Gee Street are gearing up to rush release Queen Latifah’s currently US issued ‘Come Into My House‘ even though its import sales are negligible in comparison with her ‘Mamma Gave Birth To The Soul Children’ UK hit . . . Archway’s Pure Groove Records shop staff head across town from the Holloway Road to Westbourne Green’s Woody’s in Woodfield Road this Wednesday (April 4) to host a one-off night featuring Ziad & Roots and guests, plus a “unique” live set by Lovejoy . . . Ann Peebles and David Hudson with the Memphis Horns are the live soul stars of the four day Caister weekender over the May 4-7 bank holiday, Guru Josh, DJ Tim Westwood, and an on-site fairground complete with dodgems being further attractions (£59 ticket info on 01-367 9118) . . . Jay Caulfield’s Saturday night residency at Newtownards’ Mingles has been going six years now and is “still the place for people who take their dance music seriously!” . . . Kym Daniels “plays it harder than hard” Fri/Saturdays at Swanley’s Hickorys . . . John ‘Nick’ Osborne has moved after five years from Purley’s Cinderellas Rockerfellas (where he’s replaced by Terry Adams) to Mecca’s new smart dress Ritzy in Kingston upon Thames . . . Jamie Tee is desperate for his gigs to be namechecked, Wed/Thur/Fridays at Barnet’s The Dandy Lion and Saturdays at Milton Keynes’ ZaZoo . . . Elephant & Castle’s free admission Archduke Charles pub (in Heygate Street of the Walworth Road) has Mike Howard Thursdays, Terry James Fri/Saturdays, Noel H Sundays . . . Rick Robinson and Scott Ellis plus guests like Leigh Taylor, Scott Warren and Paul Doherty house it up at Hullabaloo! every Thursday in Steamer’s Nightclub aboard the floating Tattershall Castle pub, moored off London’s Victoria Embankment (from personal experience, I doubt if they enjoy lugging gear ashore when the tide is out, and the gangplank virtually vertical!) . . . KICKIN!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Streets Ahead

MIKI HOWARD ‘Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do) (Brixton Bass Mix)’ (97½bpm) (Atlantic A7935T, via EastWest Records)
Aretha Franklin’s lovely “I’m gonna rap on your door, tap on your window pane” Stevie Wonder penned 1974 classic, the hottest cut on Miki’s old import album (included also in its mellow 95½bpm LP Version), has been remixed here by Blacksmith with a much sharper episodic jiggle, and an added edge to the brief opening burst of now Miss C performed and MC Mello written rap, promoed well ahead of April 30 release and sure to be big by then.

JUNGLE BROTHERS ‘Because I Got It Like That (Ultimatum Vocal Mix)’ (Streets Ahead)

CARLTON ‘Do You Dream’ (Streets Ahead) Continue reading “April 7, 1990: Miki Howard, Technotronic, Jamie Principle, The Motor City Techno Mob, Fallout”