BEATS & PIECES
SOUL II SOUL appear not to be releasing ‘People’ here at all, going with ‘Missing You’ in time for Christmas instead . . . Nigel Webb, previously at BMG, has replaced Eddie Gordon as head of club promotions at east west, where he will be running his own new DJ mailing list (WEA, Electric Lighting Station, 46 Kensington Court, London W8 SDP) . . . ‘Pal Joey’ Longo reveals that he looped Carl Bean’s ‘I Was Born This Way’ through the Earth People’s ‘Dance’ (along, of course, with Chic) — so that is what it is! . . . Nightmares On Wax’s “There’s something going round inside my head, I think it’s something I feel, it’s something unreal” acappella vocal hook in ‘Aftermath’ (as their newie turns out to be titled) sounds like Cuba Gooding’s remake of Main Ingredient’s ‘Happiness Is Just Around The Bend’ — thanx to Dave Lee at RePublic Records for the memory jog . . . US Cutting Records have remixed Hashim’s seminal ‘Al-Naafyish’ for imminent import release . . . Rhythmatic, Nottingham’s Mark Gamble and Leroy Crawford, have revived their ‘scam’ Sheffield telephone code 0742 Records label for a 10-inch pre-release pressing of ‘Frequency‘ (124½bpm), a twittery bleeping and spurting East Midlands techno bounder, coupled with the bassily throbbed jerkier Detroit style ‘Demons‘ (121¼bpm), due for eventual 12-inch release on Network (NWKT 13) . . . T.A.S. The Altered State’s B-side ‘Make Some Noise‘ is turning into the hot side thanks to play on guess which new radio station . . . Professor Griff & The Last Asiatic Disciples’ ‘The Verdict’, reviewed on import this issue, is due for UK release on October 15, when some alternative remixes by none other than Norman Cook will also be separately 12-inched — and there is a strong possibility that Griff will be touring here next month, too . . . October 22 looks like a busy date, most of the current promos seeming to be scheduled for release then! . . . Buffalo Soldiers are a new US rap group featuring Cameo leader Larry Blackmon’s son . . . The Boys enliven their video for ‘Crazy’ with impersonations of George Michael, Bobby Brown, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson (a brilliant send-up of his ‘Thriller’ video), and Milli Vanilli (possibly funniest of all) . . . MTV has been showing the video of Virginity 99’s ‘Kiss My Cherry Lips‘, a girl sung translation set to a hip hop-ish beat of ‘Das Erdbeermund’, rather late after Culture Beat’s German treatment but still interesting if anyone can find it . . . Diamond Duel Discotheques, no sooner had I finished writing last week’s mention, had the van containing their Cruisin’ Caraoke and other disco equipment stolen from right outside their shop — but Steve Crosby managed to get another set of gear in time to continue their Bishopsgate B.B.’s Thurs/Friday residency without a break (information leading to recovery of the missing property is however welcomed on 081-393 6265) . . . Superstition, “the original legal West End rave” (actually, a carefully disguised activity for University Of London students, open to the public) returns with DJs CJ Mackintosh, Marco and guests plus live musicians this and every second Saturday (Sept 29, Oct 13 and 27, etc), 10pm-4am, in Thornhaugh Street off Bloomsbury’s Russell Square . . . Innocence featuring Gee Morris perform a 30 minute live PA for Ben & Andy (the Boilerhouse boys) at Reasons To Be Cheerful this Saturday (29) in Brixton’s The Fridge, while over the road at the same time, Brixton’s The Academy hosts The Hats ‘N’ Roses Autumn Ball (wear either or both) with Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Nicky Holloway, Terry Farley, Fabio, The Grooverider, Mark Webster, Steve Lee plus PAs by Bass-O-Matic, Movement .98 and Spider (£12.50 advance credit card bookings on 081-392 2922) . . . Chris Forbes gets upfront for the over-20s (smart dress) every Friday at Welwyn Garden City’s West 1 Nightclub . . . Chad Jackson, once renowned for his slashed jeans, is these days sporting a moptop hairstyle and wickedly thin goatee beard as his new beatnik look . . . BOOMIN’!
HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Graeme Park and James Hamilton
RIO RHYTHM BAND ‘Carnival De Casa’
UNIQUE 3 (featuring KARIN) ‘Rhythm Takes Control’
DEBRA LEWIS ‘New Love Affair’/‘Don’t Change Me’
TRU FUNK ‘4am’
RENEGADE SOUNDWAVE ‘In Dub’ (‘Thunder’/‘Deadly’/‘Women Respond To Bass’/‘Transworld Siren’)
JAH WOBBLE AND THE INVADERS OF THE HEART ‘Bomba’ (Andrew Weatherall and Hugo Nicholson remixes)
TONY! TONI! TONÉ! ‘Feels Good’ (US remix by Ken ‘Dr Shaft’ Kessie)
2XL ‘Destruction’
RHYTHMATIC ‘Frequency’
L.U.P.O. ‘Keep It Up’
CAMACHO’S PROJECT featuring REGINA WILSON ‘Slave’
AZTECH ‘Symphony Of Brotherhood’/‘Symphony Of Ska’
VOICES ‘Give Me Your Body’/‘I’m Your Freak’
A HOMEBOY, A HIPPIE AND A FUNKI DRED ‘Total Confusion’ (123bpm) (Tam Tam Records TTT 031)
From the Rising High Collective, this word spittingly rapped rumbling frantic thunderer is in excitingly blazing Confusion Mix, aptly titled less frantically throbbing instrumental Mellow Mix and a shorter Reprise, hot on white label already ahead of release next week.
ED TERRY ‘Show Me Love’
EVOLUTION BRIDGE ‘Simplicity’/‘Meree In Two’
RON WILSON ‘Prove It To Me’
THE RHYTHM METHOD featuring RUBBER RONSKI ‘The Call Of The Wild’
EXTORTION featuring DIHAN BROOKS ‘How Do You See Me Now’
ELEANOR JOHNSON ‘Reach Out’
KUSTOM MADE ‘Too Busy’
RALPHI ROSARIO featuring SK-TA ‘Running Away’
MOE-WET featuring KAREN WAITE ‘In The Heat Of The Night’
WENDELL WILLIAMS ‘Everybody’ (122bpm) (de/Construction Records PT 44072)
Outrageously prodded by swirling bursts of what sounds like Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’, among other things including Black Box’s (credited) ‘Everybody Everybody’ title line, the Arthur Baker produced fantastically exciting hip house leaper has not surprisingly exploded in British clubs while still on US import, the biggest import in a long time, here slightly slower in just edits of its (Everybody) Rap Your Body and Disco Lives Saxophonic Acid Vibe Rock Don’t Stop It Rave Mix versions, and full (Everybody) Swing Your Body version.
WESTERN BLOCK introducing Terri Symon ‘Right Here Right Now’ (100bpm) (Epic 656182 6)
Renamed from Eastern Bloc to prevent confusion with Manchester’s record shop and label distribution set-up of the same name, Paul Witts and Rob Manley’s group debuts with an excellent Terri Symon wailed, familiar bass burbled jiggly jogging street soul groin grinder initially circulated in Alternative Twelve and Extended Twelve mixes, and now not necessarily improved but also due separately in Creative Source’s more Latin flavoured jittery Society MIX (Epic 656182 5), flipped by Witts & Manley’s jerkily pattering Jazzy Mix. Continue reading “September 29, 1990: A Homeboy A Hippie And A Funki Dred, Wendell Williams, Western Block/Terri Symon, Zoe, The Intelligent Hoodlum”