Month: January 1991

BEATS & PIECES

RADIO STATIONS have pruned their playlists and oldies to ensure that no records that might cause distress during the Gulf War are played: oldies you won’t be hearing include Adamski’s ‘Killer’ (even though the song’s title isn’t mentioned in the record), and Edwin Starr’s ‘War’ and Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s ‘Two Tribes (Go To War)’. Meanwhile, The KLF’s ‘3am Eternal’ has been requested by radio stations as an edit without its gunfire intro, and A Tribe Called Quest’s ‘Can I Kick It?’ is being avoided in its Boilerhouse Mix because of the normally innocuous “This is the sound of an invasion, a musical invasion of America” intro (as for Iron Maiden’s ‘Bring Your Daughter…To The Slaughter’, forget it!) . . .  Bomb The Bass might not be the best name to have just now, as a consequence . . .  LA Mix’s upcoming album (out early February) has a dynamite adaptation of the Whispers’ ‘It’s A Love Thing’, the D. Marcus C. rapped ‘Love Thang‘, which A&M in the States have freaked over and which will be a sure fire crossover hit when out here — the trouble is, we look like getting instead the pleasant enough Leslie George and Juliet Roberts duetted lovey dovey radio ballad ‘We Shouldn’t Hold Hands In The Dark‘ as the immediate follow-up to ‘Mysteries Of Love’, a much greater gamble for the chart and hardly the guaranteed dancefloor smash that the rap would be . . . Sheyla Aslan moved this week from Tam Tam Records to replace the now radio plugging Bob Masters as dance promotions manager at A&M, but DJs need not reapply as she has taken her mailing list with her . . .  Belfast’s largest stockist of imports, white labels and dance material in general, The Gramophone Shop now re-opens after closing to the public every Tuesday evening between 6-8.30pm as a membership card controlled preview club for DJs and vinyl junkies, with the birdman Mark ‘Mk1’ Smyth and Dave spinning all the latest newies nice and loud — record companies interested in supplying upfront promos can contact them on 0232 321172 for details . . . Mark Archer’s previously mentioned percussionist father plays live bongos on Nexus 21’s just completed new ‘Nexus‘ and ‘No Statues‘, while ‘Why’, another techno bleeper completed by them in Stafford last week, is a collaboration with Jay Denham from Fade To Black — incidentally, despite all the tongue in cheek hype about ‘Techno City UK’, Mark’s C&M Connection partner Chris Peat advises that nothing much actually happens in Stafford (no, surely?), so don’t all flock there expecting too much! . . .  Gracie Fields’ real surname was Stansfield, but apparently she was no relation of Rochdale’s other more recently famous lassie from Lancashire, Lisa . . .  Love Inc. is the collective name for several of the separate signings to Dave Dorrell’s own Love Records, their ‘Love Is The Message‘ (EVOLX 1, via Polydor, out this week) featuring rapper MC Noise and vocalists Sylvia Mason James and Roman, an Italo-type frenetic jitterer created by Phil (United Funk Industries) Mills & Bruce Smith and remixed by — their first ever outside commission — Black Box’s Daniele ‘DJ Lelewel’ Davoli, Mirko Limoni & Valerio Semptici (hence the Italo sound!), in wheezy dry synth chords scrubbed Love Love Love and possibly preferable less cluttered fluttery synth driven Philadelphia Mixes (121½bpm), plus a piano backed thumping short Baby Love Mix (121¾bpm) . . . Kenny Thomas’s ‘Outstanding’ was produced by Adrenalin M.O.D. member Richie Fermié and DJ Glen Gunner, and remixed by DJ/Cooltempo dance music supremo Simon Dunmore, details missing from the white label promos previously seen . . . Frank “K” featuring Wiston Office’s ‘Everybody Let’s Somebody Love’ turns out here to be A-sided by its Chic ‘I Want Your Love’ strings swirled To Michael Mix, with the Club and Frank “K” Mixes as flip (all fractionally closer to 120bpm than before), but minus the import’s Bonus Conga break beat . . . Dee Dee Brave’s ‘My My Lover’ (US Movin’ Records MR010) was produced by the elsewhere Teulé assisting Kerri ‘Kaoz 6.23’ Chandler, a cooing and wailing stridently pitched girl’s title repeating but otherwise largely lyricless brisk garage strider in his episodically surging Kaoz Again Mix and more tightly bounding Original Mix (120¼bpm), or much better on the B-side (120bpm) in Glen ‘Paradise’ Pickney’s pipes tootled then sturdily whomping Just Like Paradise (with less of the title and more Madonna-ish muttering) and David Camacho’s vigorous 1986 style house instrumental Camacho Pumping Mix . . . Shep Pettibone has remixed ‘Rescue Me‘ as Madonna’s next single . . . VoiDOid this Wednesday (Jan 23) at the Octagon in Bangor, North Wales, start going weekly with their previously less regular Chaos rave (a name they’ve been using since before it became so clichéd — but, they say, it doesn’t matter much in Bangor, where flares are just catching on from the last time they were in!) . . . ‘Country Boy’ Lloyd and the band Visualize make their live debut also this Wednesday at London’s City University students’ union rave . . . Kid Smurf kicks off a Hive night next Monday (Jan 28) at London’s Borderline, due then to be the last Monday of each month, with himself and his sister Niki Da Silva (no relation to Jon!) spinning garage, soul and rap . . . Dave Wheeler and Charlie plus weekly guest jocks run a free admission house/soul Liquid Lunch every Saturday afternoon 1-5pm in Richmond’s Caines pub, on Lower Richmond Road (A316) . . . Jason Black has taken over from Craig Williams as resident jock at Flicks Nightclub in Brechin, near Montrose, Tayside . . . BBC2-tv on Mondays during its 6.30pm ‘Def II’ slot is now showing the US sitcom in which Monie Love is apparently due to become a cast member, ‘The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air’, sort of ‘The Cosby Show’ (or, more particularly, its spinoff ‘A Different World’) meets ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ (and isn’t that a good one, too?) starring DJ Jazzy Jeff’s partner Will ‘The Fresh Prince’ Smith as a Philadelphia rapper staying with his very upwardly mobile and respectable aunt and uncle’s family where the rich folks live in Los Angeles. Benny Medina, vice president of dance music at US Warner Bros Records, co-conceived and co-produces the series, while ‘Fame’ TV star Debbie Allen directed at least the first episode . . . AS IT GROOVES!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by DJ Streets Ahead and James Hamilton

TECHNOMANIA FEATURING EMMA HAYWOODE ‘(You’re Puttin’) A Rush On Me (Embrace The Bass Mix)’
THE BEATMASTERS FEATURING ELAINE VASSELL ‘Dunno What It Is (About You)’
CAUSE ‘N’ EFFECT ‘Hype’ / ‘That’s What It Is’
KING SUN ‘Be Black’
RICHARD ROGERS ‘Spread A Little Love’ / ‘R R Beats’
CUTTY RANKS ‘The Stopper (Main Attraction Remix)’
CHAPTER & THE VERSE ‘Black Whip’ / ‘Travelling Man’ (Part 1/Part 2)
BOMB THE BASS ‘Love So True’ / ‘Understand This’ / ‘You See Me In 3-D’

2 IN A ROOM ‘Wiggle It’ (SBK 12SBK 19)
A big US pop crossover since it was first on import back in August, selling fast now it’s finally out here, this George Morel produced jauntily bounding hip house galloper has a particularly catchy chantalong rap (originally credited to a guy called Dose Material although Rafael Vargas and Rog Nice are the names who currently front it), leaping here through just its original pressing’s short Club Edit (122¾bpm), instrumental Dub Mix (122½bpm), and a newer long episodic Def Wiggle Mix (123bpm) with a bleeping acid finale. Radio likes it, so it could be huge.

DESKEE ‘Kid Get Hyped’ (123bpm) (Big One VVBIG 27, via Rough Trade)
Excitingly produced by WestBam, this frantically leaping jaunty Euro hip house rap has the catchy (if inane!) refrain, “jump, stomp, kid get hyped, it’s just that type”, in hollow bass whomped chugging Vocal, Raydio, bubblier percolating Raw and Dub Mixes, instantly huge on promo and sure to explode now that it’s out, this week.

THE SOURCE featuring CANDI STATON ‘You Got The Love’ (Truelove TLOVE 1 DJ, via React)
Due by now with Olimax’s as yet unheard new Morning Time Mix on the commercial pressing, this previously bootlegged and much ballyhooed ‘Love/Rock’ combination of Candi’s 1986 vocal over Jamie Principle’s ‘Your Love’ has been initially promoed on a D.J. L.T.D. white label, coupling (on the B side if you examine the etched matrix number) the original plinky plunking Eren’s Bootleg Mix (114¾-115½bpm) with a new “12 o’clock precisely” speaking clock introed more ponderously thumping Jolly James Remix (112bpm). Continue reading “January 26, 1991: 2 In A Room, Deskee, The Source/Candi Staton, Lindy Layton, 808 State”

BEATS & PIECES

Soul II Soul’s mainman, Jazzie B, has founded a new Funki Dred Records label in conjunction with Motown, who have exclusive rights to its product in North America and Europe while Jazzie B retains rights for Japan and Australasia . . . DJs Jazzy M and Jasper VJ, owners of London’s New Kings Road Vinyl Zone record shop, in addition to their Oh’Zone Records electro house logo are launching a new label called Delphinius Delphis (the Latin for dolphin), especially for danceable “real music” – using “real” instruments – like soul, salsa, Philly, funk and jazz . . . ‘Delphis’ for some reason looks like becoming a trendy word, as an act called the Impossibles release a single of that name next month, too . . . CBS, as previously warned, since January 1 no longer exists as a name, the overall record company operation having become Sony Music Entertainment Limited UK, the words Sony Music replacing CBS in all its former applications apart from the actual CBS label, which now as in the US is called Columbia, while the dance music department is called just The Dance Division . . . Gee Street, still continuing in management and music publishing, have shut down their previously successful dance label following distribution problems and shrinkage of its market share last year . . . Manchester’s police have given The Hacienda club an additional six months reprieve, until July, in which to prove further its claim to have stamped out drug abuse on its premises and thus avoid the revocation of its licence . . . 2 In A Room’s jaunty hip house ‘Wiggle It’, reviewed on import five months ago before it became a US pop hit, is due here on SBK this week, while D-Shake’s ‘My Heart, The Beat’ is out next week . . . Monie Love’s next single, in March, will be her album’s Adeva duetted adaptation of Anita Ward’s ‘Ring My Bell’ . . . Deskee’s album, out here at the end of the month, unlike its import version will feature the full 12 inch mixes of all his past singles, produced by WestBam, Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh, and Longsy D . . . Dave Lee & Mark Ryder’s complete UK revamp of Simphonia’s ‘Can’t Get Over Your Love’, only available on RePublic Records’ ‘Rewind’ album of remixes (reviewed w/e December 1), has become so hot in New York that it’s soon to be 12-inched there on Easy Street . . . The Scientist has been to Russia to appear on a TV show reputedly seen by more than 150,000,000 people, and has been invited back for more TV in February and a 40 date tour of the USSR in June/July! . . . Kevin Scott, once of Bournemouth’s Kevin’s House fame, has returned to the Dorset coast and teamed up with Martyn The Hat, Derren Lee, Kenny from the Blackburn Ravers plus various other jocks and live acts to run a rave every Saturday in Weymouth’s Maximes, where a three day ‘The Bleepmouth 91 Weekender No 1’ (culminating in a Sunday night homeward bound party at Bournemouth’s Valentino’s) over February 22/23/24 is scheduled to feature the likes of LFO, Rhythmatic, Nightmares On Wax and more – details of the £25 weekender tickets, £65 including two nights’ accommodation and Bournemouth return coaches, from Kicking Back Leisure Ltd on 0202 298350 . . . Gt. Yarmouth’s Rosies becomes Cell Block H every Saturday with convict DJs Richie, Richard, Curt Johnston, Mike Bolton and more, including fortnightly top guest jocks like Colin Faver, Carl Cox, Trevor Fung, Fabio and Groove Rider . . . Capital FM, in the face of increased radio competition within the London area from such as Kiss 100 fm, Jazz FM, Melody FM, Choice FM, Spectrum and other even more local new incremental stations, nevertheless has declared record audience figures for the last six months – which must mean that the arrival of these newcomers, and all the attendant publicity, has boosted radio listenership in general . . . Pete Tong, having replaced Jeff Young in BBC Radio 1’s Friday 7.30-10pm dance music slot, has himself been replaced on Capital FM by Tim Smith from Tyneside’s Metro Radio FM, who as well as taking over the Saturday 5-8pm dance show from this week, will also be behind Friday night’s ‘The Beat Goes On’, 10pm-midnight . . . Channel 4’s documentary last Tuesday about the making in 1948 of the classic Ealing comedy ‘Whisky Galore!’ merely mentioned in passing the translated title, ‘Whisky a Go Go!’, under which the film became so popular in France that during the Fifties a great many French nightclubs and then early discotheques were named after it, this name becoming a cliché that spread along with the disco fashion from France in the Sixties first to Britain (London’s Whisky a Go-Go was, for over 20 years, a Continental disco where The Wag is now situated) and then the US, the result being that “go-go” became equated with “disco” for a while, especially in the States, bringing about the expression “go-go dancing” . . . Washington DC’s go go music, rather later, was also of course named after the same source, not that any go go acts I met there realised it – they all seemed to think the name originated directly from the Miracles’ 1966 hit, ‘Going To A Go-Go’! . . . Angelo Badalamenti’s moody music remains the best thing about ‘Twin Peaks’, making his soundtrack album (Warner Bros 7599-26316-1), with useful cast list photos on the sleeve, essential home and in-car listening . . . DAMN FINE!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Graeme Park and James Hamilton
[the first page of Graeme Park’s reviews is missing]

STATUS ‘Down’
BASS CULTURE ‘Facts Of Life’
THE STEP ‘Yeah You’
TUFF LITTLE UNIT ‘Join The Future’ / ‘Masterplan’
PRAISE ‘Only You’
DECLARATION ‘Declaration’
THE CREATIONS FEATURING DEBBIE SHARP ‘Pay The Price’

NOMAD featuring MC Mikee Freedom & Sharon Dee Clarke ‘(I Wanna Give You) Devotion (The Remixes)’ (Rumour Records RUMAZ 25, via Pinnacle)
Released in November – when I said it screamed out “smash hit!” every time I heard it, something I still believe – but then almost immediately deleted temporarily to prevent it from being buried by the pre-Christmas crush, this Damon (nomaD) Rochefort produced terrifically catchy sax honked hip house bouncer, tongue twistingly ragga rapped by a young Bristol MC over Sharon’s deadly catchy repetition of the old Ten City title line, is again separately available in the superior original mix described above (RUMAT 25) (116bpm), which did not need improvement but has had to be remixed four different ways for renewed marketing purposes, in a piano chorded and Sharon sung striding jazzy Soul Mix (119½bpm), Paul ‘Trouble’ Anderson’s rave sirens overdubbed and rap updated Trouble’s Club Mix (115¾bpm), flipped by Dave Lee’s percussively clacking cooled out The Joey Negro Mix (116½bpm) and sparsely thrumming The Rock Shock Mix (117bpm).

FRANK “K” featuring WISTON OFFICE ‘Everybody Let’s Somebody Love’ (119¾bpm) (Urban URBX 66, via PolyGram)
Out here this week in the same format as promoed on import, the already huge pop-aimed breezy Italian hip house rap (by Parma based DJ Francesco Pini, featuring MC Killiam, Sharon Blythe and Roberto Fontolan as the oddly named ‘Wiston Office’) is in piano jangled Club, swirling Chic ‘I Want Your Love’ strings spliced To Michael and more gently cantering Frank “K” Mixes, with a sparsely tapping Bonus Conga (120bpm) beat too, while out next week is Danny Rampling’s more immediately if only briefly Chic-ish (Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards get co-composer credit) then repetitively throbbing less vocal Pure Sexy Remix (119bpm) (Urban URBXR 66) and its jiggly clomping chantalong Pure Dub.

TEULÉ ‘Drink On Me (Club Version)’ (124½bpm) (Profile PROFT 321, via Pinnacle)
Pronounced “Tay-U-Lay”, mournfully moaning fellahs Teulé Brown and Kerri Chandler’s attractive James Bratton piano vamped smooth bubbly bounder has some oddly appealing vocal harmony discords, with one-sided chat-up lines giving way to a bleepy break two thirds through this A-sided version, or a different bleepily chugging After The Rave Mix, lisping fully vocal Radio Version, and fractionally faster brightly percussive Original Version (125bpm). Continue reading “January 19, 1991: Nomad/MC Mikee Freedom/Sharon Dee Clarke, Frank “K”/Wiston Office, Teulé, Quartz/Dina Carroll, Tara Kemp”

BEATS & PIECES

THE MAIN EVENT is the new North Wales weekender that completely replaces LiveWire’s already discontinued Prestatyn series, now only seven weeks away on March 1/2/3 (instead of over Easter as before), with a change of location a further 70 or so miles through scenic Snowdonia to Pwllheli’s far superior Starcoast World where the funfair rides, boomerang roller coaster and sub-tropical Water World are all included in the £55, £60 or £65 ticket cost (according to different accommodation grades, booking details on 081-364 1212), four separately themed music venues each having their own live concerts (acts yet to be confirmed), PAs, and DJ teams, with Frankie Knuckles, David Morales, Pete Tong, Paul Oakenfold, Graeme Park, Dave Dorrell, Nicky Holloway, Dean Thatcher, Orde Mickle, Stuart McMillan and Marvin Connor jocking in the Red Zone, Chris Hill, Bob Jones, Bob Masters, Simon Dunmore, Chris Brown and Gary Dennis in The Soul Mine, Tim Westwood, Soul II Soul DJs, Martin Collins, Madhatter Trevor, CJ Mackintosh, Stu Allan, Froggy, Ian Reading, Jeff Thomas, Eddie Gordon, Kev Hill and Chris Forbes in The Fun House, and Gilles Peterson, Patrick Forge, Sylvester, Norman Jay, Kevin Beadle, Brother Marco, Tin Tin and Craig & Marcus in the talkin Loud Jazz Club . . . Allied Breweries are promoting their Hobec bier by sponsoring a Hobec Hot Wax recording competition and club tour (during which entrants’ tapes will be played for preliminary judging), the competition being open to over-18s not already signed to a record company — the prize is a contract with RCA — who should submit their own fully original dance music creations (on non-returnable tapes labelled with name and address) no later than February 15 to Brooks Senior, 142-144 New Cavendish Street, London W1M 7FG, the tour starting at Saltcoats’s Metropolis this Saturday (Jan 12), then visiting Newcastle upon Tyne’s Walkers (Friday, Jan 18), Manchester’s Man Alive (Wednesday, Jan 23), Sheffield’s The Palais (Wednesday, Jan 30), Nottingham’s Venus (Tuesday, Feb 5), Birmingham’s Coast To Coast (Friday, Feb 15), with the final at London’s Subterania (Friday, Feb 22), where judges should include the likes of Norman Jay, Derek B, Dave Dorrell and Barrie K. Sharpe . . . Subterania DJ Danny Gee (Griffiths) calls himself G Double E on ‘Fire When Ready‘ (129½bpm), ragga rapped frantic funky hip house flipped by the moodier deep house ‘Why Does It Hurt‘ (122½bpm) and Deee-Lite influenced thundering breakbeat ‘Gee Theme‘ (127½bpm), out commercially in a fortnight (Jumpin’ & Pumpin’ 12TOT 10, via Pinnacle Recuts) . . . Bologna based but Guadeloupe born Jean Claude ‘MC’ Killiam, Rimini based but London born Sharon Blythe and Turin based native Italian Roberto Fontolan make up the oddly named Wiston Office, who accompany Parma based Italian club DJ Francesco Pini as Frank “K” featuring Wiston Office on the hot ‘Everybody Let’s Somebody Love‘, already reviewed (and promoed here) as an Italian Unknown pressing ahead of UK release next week on Urban (URBX 66) . . . Izit’s again ‘Stories’-like old fashioned daintily but funkily half-steppin’ ‘Make Way For The Originals‘ (96½bpm), with a mellower instrumental ‘Make Way For The Solos‘ (95¼bpm) flip, was warm before Christmas on Pig & Trumpet Records (PT 002) but apparently is due on Optimism Records . . . Ralph Tresvant’s self-titled album, recently reviewed on import, is now out here (MCA Records MCG 6120), and his ‘Sensitivity‘ import single is due too . . . CJ Mackintosh’s Extended Club Mix (98bpm) of Three Times Dope (3xD)’s ‘Mr Sandman’ (CityBeat CBE 1258), out next week, is introed and interspersed by a snatch of the Four Aces’ 1954 version of the Chordettes’ similar vintage ‘Mr Sandman’ smash, not heard though in his other three remixes . . . D-Shake’s droning industrial raver ‘My Heart, The Beat‘ (122¾bpm) — not quite as remorselessly brutal as ‘Yaaaaaaaaaahl — is flipped (both at 123bpm) by its 7″ Edit and a much lighter jerkily bounding house-type ‘Dance The Night Away‘ variation (Cooltempo COOLX 228) . . . Adonte’s languid rollingly lurching ‘Feel It’ (RePublic Records LICT 041) is in soulful Carlotta wailed K.M.A.P.H. Mix and husky Akeef rapped Jazz-Dub Stylee versions (105¾bpm), coupled by the funkily drummed wrigglier ‘Good Times (Obzokey Mix)’ (118½bpm) . . . Pitstop has moved with his DJ mailing list from London to Manchester, where his address is now Pitstop Promotions, c/o Jellystreet, Grosvenor House, 94-96 Grosvenor Street, All Saints, Manchester M1 7HL (telephone 061-273 6522/6592) . . . DJ Tat, following up some successful Bassment Beats underground nights, presents dec-a-dan-ce (dress how ya like, but no visible Y-fronts!) every second Wednesday (this week, January 9, included) in Chesterfield’s La Mont Martre nightclub, with a cross section of old and new house, hip hop, ragga and soul to get away from the continuous bleep sessions that apparently pass for entertainment elsewhere in his area . . . Andrew ‘Madhatter’ Holmes has ‘bleep free’ non-stop garage and classic Eighties dance Keep The Fire Burning Mondays at Manchester’s Precinct 13, where he’s joined by hip hop DJs Kwartz for Intimate Connection Fridays and First Priority Sound for Wild Pitch Saturdays . . . DJs Phil C, CJ, Jazz T, Prone and Bucks launch the rap, swing and ragga Intelligence — motto ‘Intelligent Music, Intelligent DJs, Intelligent People’ — this Friday at Farnborough Recreation Centre (off the A325, two roundabouts south of Farnborough Station, on Meudon Road then right on Westmead) . . . Alyson Williams meanwhile appears this Friday (11) at Brixton’s The Fridge . . . DAMN RIGHT!

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HOT VINYL

KENNY THOMAS ‘Outstanding (The More Beef Mix)’ (102¾bpm) (Cooltempo COOLXR 215)
An ‘I Found Lovin”-like enduring ‘sleeper’ for first its originators the Gap Band during the early Eighties and more recently (since way back last June) London-based Kenny, neither act’s versions ever having made much pop chart impact despite their repeatedly proven dancefloor popularity, this naggingly grooving groin grinder still can’t quite rival the Gaps’ original for sheer power but is now much improved by this appropriately beefier bassily jogging remix, flipped by an also new, acappella and bass introed, sparsely jiggling Bust A Cone Mix (105½bpm).

C&C MUSIC FACTORY (featuring Freedom Williams) ‘Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) (Cole 1991 Hip House Club Mix)’ (122bpm) (CBS 656454 5)
Now making the pace in the sales race, this less Snap-like much thinned out and sometimes siren punctuated remix has an odd booming heartbeat outro, flipped by jiggly stark episodic The 1991 House Dub/Music Beats (122bpm) and punchily leaping The 1991 Radio Remix (121½bpm) versions, also new to Britain.

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST ‘Can I Kick It? (Extended Boilerhouse Mix)’ (96½bpm) (Jive JIVE T 265)
Already reviewed as a single sided promo, the Boilerhouse boys’ Ed Rudy commentary (about The Beatles’ first US visit) introed remix of this ‘Walk On The Wild Side’ bassed lethargically rolling muttered rap is now slightly faster and out commercially coupled by the import’s LP Version (96¼bpm) and totally different Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band ‘Fried Okra’ backed Phase 5 Mix (101bpm), plus the Afrika Baby Bam guesting slinky jazz organ backed wordily drawled ‘If The Papes Come (Remix)‘ (95¼bpm) — except now also there is yet another, strictly limited, single sided promo containing a real “do-re-mi-x”, a ‘The Sound Of Music’ dialogue interspersed ‘Can I Kick It? (The Von Trapp Mix)‘ (96½bpm) (Jive QUEST 1), very clever and witty, and not likely to be on commercial release! Continue reading “January 12, 1991: Kenny Thomas, C&C Music Factory, A Tribe Called Quest, v.i.m., Mariah Carey”

BEATS & PIECES

DISCO MIX CLUB has agreed to pay the PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) a dubbing licence royalty of 17½ per cent, as demanded, on the full retail price of everything the club’s members purchase through their subscriptions, including not only the club’s megamixes (its original reason for existence) but also its magazines, a backdated amount to cover the latter being payable in instalments over the next few years (magazine-only sales, and promotions like the DJ Mixing Championships, are not involved) . . . Jive Bunny’s current ‘The Crazy Conga Mix’, incidentally, uses many of the same oldies and in the same order as a classic Disco Mix Club megamix, the Les Adams created ‘Laugh It Off’ from around five years ago (when it was set to the schlurping “pshta pshta” rhythm of the oddly spelt Harleqiun Fours’s ‘Set It Off’) . . . Phonogram Records have appointed Paul Martin as the new overall head of dance, co-ordinating all promotion of dance product on labels like Mercury, fontana, talkin’ Loud and Global Village, while Wendy K (recently at Sleeping Bag Records) has become the actual club promotions manager and is updating the DJ mailing list (especially for upfront, indie and soul playing jocks outside London) on 081-741 1212, extension 5476 . . . Mariah Carey’s ‘Someday’ appears to be out here too now (CBS 656583 6), although in how many of the import’s Shep Pettibone mixes (110bpm) is unclear . . . DJ’s Rule ‘Serious EP Vol-1’ (Canadian Hi-Bias Records HB-001), the four-tracker created by Nick Anthony Fiorucci (of former Bigshot Records fame) and Michael Ova on their Hamilton, Ontario, based new logo — which announces itself as “The DJ’s Label” — features the repetitive girls chanted jauntily skipping ‘Get Into The Music‘ (122bpm), jumpy Detroit techno style ‘That’s It‘ (122bpm), “you make my body hot” repeating girl moaned though passion lacking ‘Makes Me Feel Sexy‘ (120bpm), and ambient rippling water introed/outroed cantering ‘In Deep‘ (122bpm) . . . Mimmo Mix’s ‘My Way‘ (118bpm), the girl wailed and piano plonked cantering cheeky Italian rewrite of Phase II’s ‘Reachin”, has been creating quite a stir — but will any label dare to pick it up here? . . . Sweet Exorcist’s ‘Clonk‘ had a belated sudden sales surge just before Christmas, following the temporary hiatus caused while its Sheffield based W.A.R.P. label ended a fruitful association with Rhythm King’s logo Outer Rhythm and signed instead now to Pinnacle for independent distribution . . . Birmingham’s Network label has been given the rights to an exclusive Nugroove compilation of underground New York tracks, due soon along with a Retro-Techno series of remixed Detroit classics and other techno rarities . . . Stafford’s last claim to pop chart fame may have been the Climax Blues Band, back in 1976, but during an earlier even more primitive technological era in Techno City UK, as it is now fast becoming known, bleeping Nexus 21 member Mark Archer’s percussionist father played bongos and sang with the Bob Gough Sound! . . . Norman Wisdom isn’t Pete Waterman’s dad by any chance, they look awfully alike? . . . Nexus 21’s next release, by the way, will be called ‘Two Men, A Drum Machine & A Cornet’ — that’s cornet as in soft ice cream cone, Mr Whippy style! . . . DJ EZJ mixes up bleeps, house, hip hop, pop and lots of indie on freaky Dancin’ Fridays at Madchester’s 42nd Street . . . James Brown once sang (more or less, with one word changed to suit the season!), “It’s a brand new year so let a man come in and do the Funky Popcorn” . . . DAMN RIGHT!

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Funny what little gems you discover when rummaging through Record Mirror’s long and illustrious history. Take this corker of a pic of DMC’s boss Tony Prince in his lesser known role as editor of the Osmonds magazine and ‘big cheese’ in the Osmonds fan club, caught here scouring Record Mirror for useful titbits. Judging by the similarity of their haircuts, Tony was obviously a big fan of Donnie himself. Those were the days eh? — Donnie, David Bowie and Nazareth all in the magazine at the same time. And just to show there’s no malice involved here, Record Mirror would like to sincerely congratulate DMC for extricating themselves from their dispute with PPL and wish them a prosperous year ahead. Coming soon: more embarrassing pics of DJs from our photo library.

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Paul Gotel

ICE CUBE ‘Kill At Will’ (US Priority Records EVL7230)
AmeriKKKa’s most wanted, the angry N.W.A. rapper’s latest instantly big selling solo album is only a six (‘n’ a bit) tracker this time (so presumably a mini-LP?), with the “Los Angeles, gang capital of the nation” documentary quote introed, violently churning Chuck D guesting ‘Endangered Species (Tales From The Darkside) (Remix)’ (108bpm), similarly churning ‘The Product‘ (110½bpm), street confrontation introed then sampled breaks weaving ‘Jackin’ For Beats‘ (104¼bpm), languidly but chillingly narrated ‘Dead Homiez‘ (84¼bpm), jolting romantic ‘Get Off My Dick And Tell Yo Bitch To Come Here (Remix)‘ (97¼bpm), and respects due namechecking ‘I Gotta Say What Up!!!‘ (88¼bpm). Radio jocks will need to be good tape reversing splicers before they can air any of it, as usual!

2ND AVENEW ‘It’s The New’ (US Alleviated Records ML-2211)
Yet another exceptionally classy Larry Heard creation, this gruffly drawling rap duo’s cooing Kriss Coleman supported friskily leaping but gentle joyous jazzy skipper is in vocal Club Mix and Short Versions (120bpm), and Mr Fingers’ breezily keyboarded Dub (120¼bpm), deserving to be big by now. Don’t miss it!

RISING HIGH COLLECTIVE ‘Magic Roundabout’ (128bpm) (Tam Tam Records TTT 038)
The Hippie from A Homeboy, A Hippie & A Funki Dredd goes it alone to produce this slow organ and ragga comments punctuated but mainly “come on” shouts exhorted, frantic thrumming and bleeping low frequency oscillated bounder, selling fast just before Christmas, flipped by the similarly tempoed but different drums throbbed bassily booming ‘Guess Who’s Back Jack‘ (125bpm), punctuated by some title answering “Jack The Ripper” stutters. Continue reading “January 5, 1991: Ice Cube, 2nd Avenew, Rising High Collective, Eve Gallagher, Trilogy, 1990 Year End Chart”