Month: March 1991

BEATS & PIECES

FRANKIE KNUCKLES and David Morales apparently got back together specially just to create the remixes of Alison Limerick’s ‘Where Love Lives (Come On In)’ . . .True Faith With Final Cut’s positively final UK remix, ‘Take Me Away (Take Me Beyond Mix)’, slots Bridgett Grace’s a cappella over Rhythim Is Rhythim’s strangely phasing and scuffling ‘Beyond The Dance’ (with permission from Derrick May) . . . RePublic Records are setting up their own DJ mailing list, with room for just a few more on top: contact Gerry O on 071-837 2322 . . . ZYX Records are likewise developing a UK DJ mailing list: contact Alex Gold on 081-902 6398 . . . Nina Walsh is updating her alternative dance music DJ mailing list at London Records/ffrr, Chancellors House, Chancellors Road, London W6 9SG . . . Omen Recordings have picked up Hibrid’s ‘Twisted Tambourine’, two new versions being due as coupling for two fresh mixes of ‘Floorquake’, the latter originally having been on the label’s The Born EP’ promo twinpack credited to Doo Lally ‘D’, basically the same act under another name . . . Patti Day’s current UK club tour to promote ‘Drive Me’ is being accompanied by the chance to win a 1966 red convertible Ford Mustang worth £25,000, on view at her different venues, including Welling’s The Station and Uxbridge’s Regals (Thursday 28), Romford’s Hollywoods and Enfield’s The Palladium (Friday 29), Walton On Thames’s Elmbridge Leisure Centre, Deptford’s Champs, Central London’s Busbys and Astoria (Saturday 30) and dates in Scotland to come . . . Free The Soul, a new monthly soul-swing-ragga-rap night, starts this Wednesday (27) at Soho’s Jacquelines (corner of Wardour and Oxford Streets), with Taz Jay presenting DJ Haitch, George Kay, Bobby Gee, Prince Jammer, DJ Pino and Tony ‘Mix It Up’ Tee (no jeans or trainers) . . . Superstition, a “legal rave”, returns to the site of its Christmas Eve success for an Easter party this Thursday (28) at Westbourne Park’s Woody’s in Woodfield Road, with house DJs Noel Watson, Rhythm Doctor, Phil Asher, Ben (Groove) and Nick T upstairs, funk jocks Brian Norman, Stix and guests downstairs . . . Thursday also finds Mad Max and Ray Lock plus guests starting weekly Stress house-type nights at Norbury’s Enigma (side of Central Park, the old Metropolis), while the same duo this Saturday, and then the last Saturday of every month, launch a Mad-Lock Party at Lingfield’s Wire Mill, north of East Grinstead and Ray alone gets smart and trendy every Friday for The Gas Club at Soho’s Gass in Whitcomb Street, west of Leicester Square . . . Saturday (30) sees N-Joi hitting the weekly Ark night (no dress code for this one) at Southend On Sea’s Mr B’s, and Incognito appearing at Glasgow’s The Tunnel . . . Wally Badarou’s classic 1985 jazz-funk instrumental ‘Chief Inspector’ was — like its similar contemporary, Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly’s ‘Twilight’ — a very influential and much sampled groove in its day, now jaunty enough to really get under the skin if it’s given a good chance this time, in Nomad Soul’s new mixes . . . Last week’s Record Mirror Single Of The Week, Gary Clail On-U Sound System’s ‘Human Nature (On The Mix)‘, is 110bpm, while ‘Rumours‘ is 90bpm . . . Michael ‘DJ Mike’ Mason in fact produced ‘Your Love Never Fails’ by Agapé Sounds featuring Richie Weeks . . . Femi Fem’s remixes of Wop Bop Torledo’s ‘Kissaway’ are 89bpm . . . AS IT GROOVES!

---

HOT VINYL
This week’s new club promos and remixes reviewed by New York’s DJ Moneypenny and James Hamilton

VOODOO CHILD ‘Permanent Green’ / ‘M4’
THE BASEMENT BOYS/THOSE GUYS ‘Tonight’ (Reverse Remix/Original Colored Girls Mix)
REESE ‘Bassline’ / ‘Funky Funk Funk’
MK ‘Get It Right’ / ‘Feel The Fire’
UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE Waveform EP: ‘Adrenalin’ / ‘Quadrosonic’ / ‘Back Road To Nirvana’
TRANSPHONIC Club Tools EP: ‘Every Day Of My Life’ / ‘Goddamn’ / ‘Incidental Meditation’ / ‘Bopa Loobop’
Z-FORMATION Intense EP: ‘Beyond The Bounds’ / ‘Deep Meditation’
STREETSIDE BOYZ ‘Do It To The Music’ / ‘Clap Your Hands’
INTELLECTUAL HARMONIOUS SANCTION ‘Influencia’ / ‘Drift & Dream’ / ‘Save The Whales’ / ‘Protagonistic Cry’
BLACK ORCHID ‘Techno Dreams’ (Dream Mix/Industrial Techno Mix) / ‘Baby Baby’
THE RHYTHM FACTOR ‘Phase 1’ / ‘Lose Control’
STATIC ‘The Native Dance’ / ‘Touch Me Baby’

ADDAMS AND GEE ‘Chung Kuo (Revisited)’ (102¼bpm) (Debut Records DEBTX 3108, via Pinnacle)
Without even so much as a matrix number to give any clues on its promoed white label, this, in fact, London DJs Nick Addams & Mike Gee created potentially smashbound if clichéd concoction runs — yawn, yawn (but it really works well!) — the funky drummer “rhythm” behind the hauntingly familiar melody from Vangelis’ ‘Chung Kuo‘ (you might not previously have known its name although you’ll recognise the tune immediately), flipped by the ’70s snippets-plundering tranquil tinkly trotting ‘Bless The Funk‘ (115bpm).

WAY TO GO ‘Fever’ (99½bpm) (US Tommy Boy TB 958)
Although out first in the States, this surging UK soul loper is a Chris Paul produced creation by nervily anguished South Harrow singer Robbie Chandler, in walking bass thumped and hi-hat chattered Radio Edit and Extended Version, or Justin Strauss’ tubular bells and piano punctuated cleaner more jittery but also more calmly rolling Remix, Remix Edit, and Version. From the way it’s printed, you are likely to think that the title is ‘Way To Go’ by Fever, right up until you hear the actual lyric!

RAPPIN’ IS FUNDAMENTAL ‘Rapping Is Fundamental’ (A&M/PM AMY 751)
Driven by a terrifically frisky sparse bluesy funk groove with good humoured backing harmonies reminiscent of ’60s soul if not ’50s doo-wop, and indeed called by them ‘doo-hop’, New York rappers Anthony (AB Money$) Mosley, Osten (Easy Mo Bee) Harvey and Darren (JR) Strand’s daisy age chugger is here in DJ Streets Ahead’s Brighton Daze and Ubiquity 12″ Remixes (109bpm), flipped more authentically by Easy Mo Bee’s Extended Remix and Radio Mix (108¾bpm) — such good fun it should be a smash, if there’s any justice. Continue reading “March 30, 1991: Addams And Gee, Way To Go, Rappin’ Is Fundamental, Alexander O’Neal, Ceybil”

BEATS & PIECES

JEFF YOUNG, having only recently given up DJing to concentrate on his day job, this week makes a surprise move to MCA Records as head of A&R, the hot rumour being that a nationally known DJ has been offered a directorship to replace him at A&M! . . . Jazz FM and Kiss 100 FM having just made changes to their DJ rosters, Capital FM also has revamped its weekday line-up following the sudden departure of John Sachs, apparently to pursue his new career as an author . . . Final Cut W/True Faith’s ‘Take Me Away’ (as it was originally credited) actually surfaced here on US Move The Crowd Records shortly before Christmas 1988, I now see from my records, while around August 1989 it was then credited just to Bridget Grace on US Atlantic — how many people knew that? — it being the mixes from both these that were combined on the recently mentioned US Paragon Records pressing credited to Bridgett Grace, a few copies of which are on offer to ‘trainspotters’ for £6 each (postage included) from Network, Stratford House, Stratford Place, Camp Hill, Birmingham B12 0HT. . . Monie Love vs Adeva’s ‘Ring My Bell‘, although a brisk and breezy instant dancefloor hit, unfortunately sounds a bit muddy and monotonous on radio, so might not become a real pop smash when out next week . . . Mantronix’s breezily lightweight ‘Don’t Go Messin’ With My Heart‘, like their import ‘Step To Me (Do Me)‘, is again nasally whined by new girl Jade Trini but with a burst of rap from Bryce Luvah, in Album Version plus more chunkily percussive US 12″ Mix and Dub treatments (113bpm) . . . Friends Of Matthew’s ‘Out There‘ now is on Pulse 8 (12 LOSE 8, via Total/BMG) . . . Femi Fem of the Young Disciples’ remix of Wop Bop Torledo’s ‘Kissaway (Soulamuffin Mix)‘ has a very pleasantly keyboarded instrumental Pt. II and 7″ Edit . . . Chad Jackson, hit maker and former world mixing champ, is just back from a DJing tour of sweltering Australia and between co-producing the next Yazz album is looking for fun clubs to play in here: offers to Justin Tunstall or Danny De Matos on 081-545 0111 at Contact Management . . . The Jelly Club, with indie grooves spinning DJ Dave and others dishing out free vodka jellies, opens this Thursday (21) at the Soho Theatre Club behind Charing Cross Road’s Astoria in London . . . Galliano are live at Brixton’s The Fridge this Saturday (23) . . . Sunday (24) should see Yogi Horton with Bradford’s DJ Sammon and more at a 1pm all day Scottish rave in Troon’s Pebbles Hotel . . . Frances Nero’s ‘Footsteps Following Me’ was definitely the soul anthem at Pwllheli, its “trust me, trust me” lyric having already wormed its way inside many soul fans’ brains . . . MC Jammy Hammy’s telephoned contribution turns out to be on a forthcoming Altern 8 rather than Nexus 21 single . . . AS IT GROOVES!

---

HOT VINYL
This week’s new club promos and remixes reviewed by Graeme Park and James Hamilton

ALISON LIMERICK ‘Where Love Lives (Come On In)’ (122bpm) (Arista 614 208)
A genuinely massive floorfiller for the last five months although it never hit the pop market, this pelvis-twitching sinewy girl’s piano jangled then sparsely pulsing attractive canterer rightly gets relaunched this week with a bracketed addition to its title in, their very last together, Frankie Knuckles and David Morales’ vocal Classic Mix, Frankie’s more gently tinkling (with a beat skipping shift of emphasis as it gets going) lush strings backed instrumental Cut To The Bone, and David’s drier more electro instrumental Red Zone Mix, which actually correspond with the original promo pressing’s Knuckles & Morales, Knuckles, and Red Zone Mixes. Further brand new remixes by the duo are due to follow.

DEEE-LITE ‘ESP (Oujee Extended Mix)’
A MAN CALLED ADAM ‘I Want To Know’ (The One Mix/Dogs Of Peace Mix)
AGAPÉ SOUNDS featuring RICHIE WEEKS ‘Your Love Never Fails’
GROOVE AND THE GANG ‘In The Mood To Party’
BLACK ART ‘Manifest’
BLACK TULIP AND WENDELL A MORRISON JNR ‘A Song Of Love’
LUCKY STRIKE featuring CHAMPAGNE ‘Body To Body’
LIVING COLOUR ‘Love Rears Its Ugly Head’ (Soulpower Mix/Hip Hop Mix) / ‘Elvis Is Dead’ (Elvis Is In The House Mix/Zans Is Dead Mix)
MIKKHIEL ‘You Can Make It Better (Craig Loftis Gut Bucket Mix)’
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE ‘Reach Out For Love’
IRENE ORITZ ‘My House’
RARE ARTS ‘Boriqua Posse’
WALLY BADAROU ‘Chief Inspector’ (Nomad Soul remixes)
MARINA VAN ROOY ‘Solid Love’ / ‘Never Let You Go’
TONY MORAN ‘Same Sun, Same Sky’

REBEL M.C. (featuring Tenna Fly) ‘The Wickedest Sound’ (64-128bpm) (Desire WANTX 40, via Pinnacle)
Different and well wicked, this starts with a toasting intro in strange stately slow reggae before erupting into a frantic ragga rapped hip house shuffler with the same whistling bleeps piping through both parts, in a Don Gorgon Mix flipped at 33⅓rpm by a rap-less similar jaunty Soundclash Mix and Instrumental, out this week.

TARA KEMP ‘Hold You Tight’ (Giant/WB W0020T)
Finally out here in three brand new remixes by David Shaw & Winston Jones after being huge for ages on import in its seven original mixes, this squeakily plaintive attractive San Franciscan blonde’s unhurried repetitive jiggly jogging lurcher now has an acappella introed percussion clacking All Night Extended Version (100bpm), drier funky drum tapped lightly swingbeat Tight Mix (102¼bpm), and similar more chunkily percussive Hold It Now Hit It Mix (102bpm), all still monotonously mesmeric with much simple sweet appeal. Continue reading “March 23, 1991: Alison Limerick, Rebel M.C., Tara Kemp, Orchestra JB, Club House”

BEATS & PIECES

Record Mirror’s printed directions for finding The Main Event weekender near Pwllheli turned out to be much used, and all who made the journey in daylight raved about the mountainous scenery! The Butlins Starcoast World camp was such a nice place that people actually had respect for their surroundings, chucking less litter and beer than usual. In fact, the age group attending was older than at the last few Prestatyn events, with the perhaps odd result that the semi ‘chillout’ soul-jazz room was the largest venue on the camp. The venues were so far apart, and the night weather so cold and/or wet, that people were polarised in their taste and mainly stayed in the room of their choice, Nobody caught all the star PAs and DJs as they too appeared only in the one room that matched their music style. Jocks like Paul Oakenfold and Graeme Park whipped up a frenzy in the Red Zone warehouse, with vertiginous flashing lights and other gantry-mounted exciting effects. Tim Westwood and the rappers funked up the more basic Fun House, while Chris Hill had formation dancing and Kev Edwards for some reason kept letting off pyrotechnic thunderflashes in the massive ‘disco’ decorated Soul Mine (which cannibalised the little-attended Jazz Club when its sound equipment was needed). Eve Gallagher’s ‘Love Come Down‘ stood out as a much repeated floor pleaser. Three thousand and five hundred attended the relatively short-notice weekend. There’s room for twice that number, but 5,000 is the limit for the next one on November 1/2/3 . . . Gilles Peterson has been invited back to DJ on Jazz FM — it seems he had the station’s largest audience . . . Omar has been signed by Talkin Loud, who will first of all repromote his original Kongo Dance releases . . . Friends Of Matthew’s ‘Out There‘ is out fully in a fortnight on the Pulse 8 label . . . Epic launches Belgium’s A.R.S. Productions logo here with the UK release of the Quadrophonia import in three weeks . . . Rachel Turner is running a UK office and building a DJ mailing list to promote Italy’s Flying Records, at 45A Greenmeads, Woking, Surrey GU22 9QJ (Tel: 0483 766519, Fax: 0483 755949) . . . Sue Macauley and Angie Edwards have set up as independent club pluggers Press To Play, at 138B West Hill, Putney, London SW15 2UE (Tel: 081-780 9070, Fax: 081-780 9766), working some future releases from labels like Reachin’, Truelove, and Rumour . . . Paul James, having had a success promoting his first Shakedown soul-hip hop-house night at Wellington’s Rumours, near Telford, is back there every second Tuesday (starting March 12) and is looking for suitable PAs on 0691 658673 . . . Ben Howard and guest DJs spin classic house-garage-soul nostalgia on free admission at Reunion ’91 Wednesdays at Colchester’s The Venue, starting this week (13) . . . The Twelfth Hour noon-to-midnight alldayer this Sunday (17) at Plymouth’s Academy stars Nightmares On Wax, A Homeboy, A Hippie & A Funki Dredd, Shades Of Rhythm, LFO, Asmo and more with DJs like Kevin Scott, Martyn ‘The Hat’, North & South: £12 ticket details from Kicking Back Leisure on 0202 546093 . . . US soul legends Lenny Williams, Sam Dees, Terry Callier, David Sea and Harvey Scales all appear live at the Caister ‘Back To Our Roots’ Soul Weekend on April 5/6/7 in Great Yarmouth’s Vauxhall Holiday Park, with DJs Gary Dennis, Bob Cosby, Ian Clark, Chris ‘Charlie’ Brown, Tony Fernandez, Dave Anthony, Max Rees, Dave Morrison, Paul Clark, Steve Jackson, Andy Davies, Kevin Beadle, Jamie Trundle and Richard of Richard’s Parties (£55 booking details from TAC on 0702 347237, discounts if you take your own caravan!) . . . Camden Lock’s Dingwalls closed last weekend for redevelopment and could well be bulldozed flat by the time you read this . . . Definition Of Sound’s seven-inch and Extended Live Version of ‘Wear Your Love Like Heaven‘ are based on the Hombres’ original US version of ‘Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)‘ from 1967, covered here in 1970 (and recently re-recorded) by Jonathan King as just ‘Let It All Hang Out‘ . . . Stereo MC’s use the title ‘Lost In Music’ but Sinitta has just remade the whole Sister Sledge oldie of the same name . . . The Mixmasters are following their ‘Night Fever Megamix’ with a Wham! medley called ‘The Bad Boys Megamix’ . . . Herb Alpert’s next UK single will not be the import ‘North On South St’ . . . Love, the logo of Dave Dorrell’s label, now graces a promotional slipmat that’s so rigid and sticky from the ink on the topside that it may be more of a hindrance than help! . . . AS IT GROOVES!

---

HOT VINYL
This week’s new club promos and remixes reviewed by Streets Ahead and James Hamilton

MONIE LOVE Vs ADEVA ‘Ring My Bell’ (Touchdown Mix/Upper Cut Mix/L-Plate Mix)
S’EXPRESS ‘Find ‘Em Fool ‘Em Forget ‘Em’ (Stax Mix/Qwerty Club Mix) / ‘I Like It’
WOP BOP TORLEDO ‘Kissaway (Soulamuffin Mix)’
ROZALLA ‘Faith (In The Power Of Love)’ (Chic Mix/Doom Mix)
REDHEAD KINGPIN AND THE FBI ‘Get It Together’ / ‘Harlem Brown’
CONGRESS ‘Better Grooves’ / ‘40 Miles’
RUN DMC ‘Faces’ / ‘Back To Hell (Remix)’
INCOGNITO ‘Inside Life’ (Dealt Up Mix/Bluey Mix/Smooth Mix)
KATHERINE E ‘I’m Alright’
TRICKY DISCO ‘House Fly’ / ‘Fly Spray’

FRANCES NERO ‘Footsteps Following Me’ (105bpm) (Debut DEBTX 3109, via Pinnacle)
This Ian Levine & Rick Gianatos produced Sister Sledge ‘Thinking Of You’-inspired beefily pushing slinky roller is reissued next week, newly flipped by Steve McCutcheon & Darren Pearce’s plonking piano-introed more pedestrian Sole Mix (108bpm) and guitar chinked less different, so better, Lace Up Mix (105¼bpm). Frances, from Detroit, previously had one single on Motown’s associated Soul label.

GALLIANO ‘Nothing Has Changed (All Aboard Mix)’ (78bpm) (Talkin Loud TLKX 6, via Phonogram)
Produced by veteran jazz jock Chris Bangs, this superb sinuous stately slow roller features a gorgeous languidly meandering husky sly rap spiced by some amusing old nautical talk, weaving slinkily through delicate guitar, Roy Ayers’ vibes and chorusing girls, seagulls introing its jazzy Instrumental (78½bpm), coupled with the sombrely subdued but faster talking more juddery jogging ‘Little Ghetto Boy (Remix)’ (93bpm). A separate limited-edition promo only ‘Nothing Has Changed (Remix)’ (TLKDJ 10) is stripped down by Massive’s Johnny Dollar to the sparser sound of the drum and the bass in a Maiden Voyage Mix and Dub (78bpm), with — evidently taken from the follow-up — a girl moaned fast talking nervy Live Jazz Mix of ‘Power And Glory’ (116½bpm).

2 TUFF ‘Jazz Thang’ (Intrigue Records IGE 14T, via Panther Music)
The east London rap-swingers make their own friskily fingersnappin’ adaptation of the CFM Band’s ‘Jazz It Up’, with a sweetly scatting girl’s “it’s just a jazz thing, shooby dooby doo wah” repeatedly cooing through some quietly muttered suave male rap and bursts of light harmony vocalese, in The Rap and The Song (108¾/217½bpm), The Instrumental (217¾/109bpm) and more deliberately chugging The Version (109bpm) treatments. Great stuff. Continue reading “March 16, 1991: Frances Nero, Galliano, 2 Tuff, Jay Williams, Marva Hicks”

BEATS & PIECES

COLIN DALE has been using Bridgett Grace’s a cappella from True Faith featuring Final Cut’s ‘Take Me Away’ as an intro to his ‘Abstract Dance’ Sunday night show on London’s Kiss 100 fm for the last six months. It adds to the previously detailed list one other rare (and, he says, best) version, a white label of the original on Paragon with seven mixes, including two techno remixes . . . Chapter & The Verse’s terrific jiggly jumping jazz rap ‘Black Whip‘ (106¾bpm) reveals its pre-November origin with a reference to “Thatcher“, but its newer Part two-like less subtle, busier more enthusiastic The R&B Mix (Rham! VRSTX 1) overlays this with an updated “Major, I’m watching you“, too! . . . Paul Haig’s ‘Flight X’ (118bpm) was promoed and initially released as a funky pure percussion groove in the Boilerhouse boys’ relatively plain School Mix and Give The D.J. A Break (Circa Records YRTX 47), but is now also out with an added staccato rap by Doopie of the She Rockers as Paul Haig featuring The Voice Of Reason in the boys’ more fully textured bassily bounding New School Mix (YRRR 47), flipped by their piano jangled similarly bounding Music School Instrumental plus (presumably the original?) its synth jittered and washed much less freely flowing Mantronik Mix . . .Franschene’s commercial 12-inch of ‘Go Sister’ substitutes a jittery scratching ‘Not Half Baked’ instrumental (124bpm) instead of the white label’s buffalo gals introed alternative vocal mix (which doubtless will reappear as either the forthcoming JFX or Hip Hop Remix), the original Hip Hop Mix being ratified as ‘Go Sista (12″ Vocal Mix)’ . . . Deee-Lite’s ‘How Do You Say…Love’ is after all, in fact, out as only a song lacking Pal Joey Dub . . . The Creations featuring Debbie Sharp’s ‘Pay The Price’ (118¼bpm) — not the 1967 Al Kent oldie — was originally promoed with the suggestion that it might be on a new label called Loco but is, in fact, out now on the main Tam Tam Records logo (TTT42, via Sony Music) . . . Innocence’s ‘Remember The Day’ proves to be out next week, while Tribal House’s ‘Mainline’ is out now, a mournful guy and girl moaned wriggly rambling strider with a steadily loping bassline prodded by some Matt Bianco like “let’s go“, in Chep’s Mix, sparser Chep’s Dub Mix (119½bpm) and sinewy Winston’s Mix (119bpm) versions . . .Steve Hodge (Truro) reckons the guitar intro on MC Kinky’s ‘Get Over It‘ sounds like T.Rex’s ‘Cadillac‘, flip of the 1972 hit ‘Telegram Sam’ . . . Young Disciples’ ‘Apparently Nothin’‘ (102½bpm) sounds like it borrows its tuned tympani from Chuck Jackson . . . André Jacobs concedes that his neighbour Mark Ryder did precede him by etching details into label-less vinyl, but points out that it was, in fact, an earlier Clubland featuring Quartz Swedish pressing that inspired him (the first to do so in Britain) to etch label details and messages actually between the tracks of his D-Zone Records releases, something Mark is now doing too — OK? . . . Woodford Green-based Bannerama (read that carefully, not Bananarama!) both hire out ready made, and made to order customised, massive wall hanging banners of the sort that Nicky Holloway first popularised years ago. Ideal instant decor for raves and the like: details on 081 505 6041 . . . David Morales and Frankie Knuckles guest at Soho’s revamped The Milk Bar this Wednesday (6) . . . Sindecut and others appear with DJs Master Tone, Youngblood and Dauntless at the one-off Love this Thursday (7) in Yeovil’s The Studios . . . Weymouth’s big Bleepmouth Weekender 1991 No 1, snowed off last month, is rescheduled for this weekend (8/9/10) at Maximes, with N-Joi, Nexus 21, Nightmares On Wax, A Homeboy, A Hippie & A Funki Dredd, DJs Rule, Shades Of Rhythm, Asmo, Ubik and other acts plus DJs Darren Lee, Kevin Scott, Bob Povey, Johnny Walker, Fabio & Groove Rider, North & South, Martyn ‘The Hat’, Phil Perry, DJ Dance, Sean Holmes, Paul Gotel, Mac and many more, spread over Friday night/Saturday afternoon and night/Sunday afternoon — full booking and accommodation details on 0202 546093 . . . BBC1-TV’s ‘Holiday 91′ featured Butlin’s Starcoast World last week, days before The Main Event weekender there) . . . Andy Baker is busy Thurs/Fri/Saturdays at Rhyl’s Roxanne’s on the Promenade, with specialist dance Fridays really firin’. . . Zammo, Jimmy Mack and Wayne Dunbar run The Rhumba Club Fridays (10pm onwards) at Perth’s Roxanne’s . . . Praise’s ‘Only You‘ (90¾bpm), the music from the telly ad for Fiat’s Tempra, having further confirmed that TV commercials can sell records (if not cars), how long will it be before those Winalot dogs barking ‘She Loves You’ — much more fun! — make it into the chart too? . . . AS IT GROOVES!

---

HOT VINYL
This week’s new club promos and remixes reviewed by James Hamilton and Juan Atkins

METROPLEX/SLASH/INTERFACE PROMO SAMPLER EP:  SHAKIR ‘Sonar 1, 2, 3’ / PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS ‘Mind You Don’t Trip’ /  INFINITI ‘Sunlight’ / REEL BY REAL ‘Surkit’
TECHNO GROOVES ‘Mach 3’ (‘The Cry’ / ‘Ladies’)
STEAL ‘Love Is In The Air’
DATA BASS ‘Trip In The Night’
THE PROJECT ‘Understanding’
MASTER OC AND DJ DANO ‘No-Where’
STUKAS ‘You Make Me Feel So Good (Bxtaro Mix)’
ENERGIZE ‘Report To The Dancefloor (Robert Gordon Remix)’
DIRTY MIND ‘What Time Is It?’

The Remix Of RICHIE RICH’S SALSA HOUSE (featuring Ralphi Rosario) ‘You Used To Salsa’ (122¾bpm) (ffrr FX 156)
‘Evil’ Eddie Richards (Jolly Roger that was) had the bright idea of “doing a Candi Staton” and combining Richie Rich’s Salsa House’ with Ralphi Rosario’s ‘You Used To Hold Me’. This pounding, jangling, scurrying and wailing result snuck out as a limited white label before the boys at ffrr (who own the rights to the tracks) heard it and liked it so much that they gave Eddie a deal and put it out properly! Richie Rich’s unremixed original ‘Salsa House’ will follow on a second 12-inch (despite ffrr’s initial pressing being wrongly labelled to show it as flip already), this first one in fact being flipped by Ralphi Rosario’s catchy Xavier Gold (a girl) wailed and scolded, hi-hat pshta pshta-ed ultra vigorously bounding original ‘You Used To Hold Me’ (123¼bpm). The Source, True Faith, now this — what next?

TRUE FAITH featuring Bridgett Grace with FINAL CUT ‘Take Me Away’ (Network NWKT 20, via Pinnacle)
Everyone by now must surely know that this Bridgett (her correct spelling) wailed 1989 Detroit house track has been, as previously detailed, notoriously adapted and bootlegged in several guises. This first official UK release of Final Cut’s genuine article is here in three treatments, the A-side’s Kaos ‘Definition Of Love’ jangling piano started, beat skippingly surging then bubbly percolating Pinned Up Mix (122½-122¼bpm) being a new shorter version of the initially promoed legal remake of the Pin Up Girls label’s bootleg remix, flipped by a low frequency oscillation punctuated quietly tapping and bleeping Nexus 21 Remix (122¾bpm), plus an original nervily galloping and scurrying Extended House Mix (121¾bpm).

WOP BOP TORLEDO ‘Kissaway’ (89bpm) (Ten Records TENX 363)
It seems that, despite being white labelled (as by Wop Bop) and sounding superb, ‘Still Something Special‘ is considered to be just too sophisticated for release right now and instead we get the ambiguously husky Marianne Morgan’s also attractive although far less exceptional, breathily lisped timeless sweetly sultry swayer (a pity it fades so abruptly), flipped by the Frankie Knuckles & Dave Morales remixed jungle noises introed/outroed clicking and throbbing ‘Jungle Fever (Exotic Version)‘ (115bpm), not the promoed mix, plus the Marianne gurgled gentle then pent-up jiggly ‘Take Me While The Going’s Good (Daktari Mix)‘ (100bpm), all helped by some excellent searing sax. The good news is that ‘Still Something Special’ will be follow-up. Continue reading “March 9, 1991: Richie Rich/Ralphi Rosario, True Faith, Wop Bop Torledo, Awesome 3, Creative Thieves”

BEATS & PIECES

GEE STREET has been saved as a label in its own right after being signed to a six year worldwide licensing deal with Island by the latter’s legendary founder, Chris Blackwell, guaranteeing financial backing to further develop its acts like the Outlaw Posse, Queen Latifah, Richie Rich, PM Dawn, plus of course the Stereo MC’s, who are already signed to Island’s 4th & B’way logo (incidentally, the commercial release of their ‘Lost In Music’ is stickered, not with the usual ‘Parental Guidance Advised, Explicit Lyrics’ warning, but with ‘Spiritual Guidance Advised, Explicit Concepts‘ — like it!) . . . Frances Nero’s ‘Footsteps Following Me‘, the Ian Levine produced Sister Sledge-style underground soul ‘sleeper’, huge for months, has been picked up from Ian’s own Motorcity label for reissue on Debut as a harder more contemporary remix by Massivo member Steve McCutcheon . . . ‘What Is This Thing Called Love?‘, the standout from his ‘All True Man’ album, will be Alexander O’Neal’s new single . . . Jazz FM’s actual founder and guiding light, David Lee has now left his job as the station’s musical director (but remains a shareholder and company director) in a revamp of its programming style . . . Kiss 100 fm in London is following its New York inspiration, WKRS (Kiss FM), by recruiting top British dance music remixers-producers to create exclusive ‘master mixes’ of established dance classics for airplay on the station (and, no doubt, possible future commercial release?) — remixers/producers interested in getting involved should contact Lindsay Wesker on 071-700 6100 . . . Mark Kavanagh has launched a sponsorship financed, free news sheet for Irish DJs and dance fans, Remix, billed as “Ireland’s only independent dance update“, distributed by record shops in Dublin and Belfast or by mail, in return for a large (A4 size) stamped self addressed envelope, direct from Mark at 50 Granitefield, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin — with its second edition due this Friday, the first issue datelined February 9 was only a four page folded single sheet, but it was certainly up to (if not well ahead of!) date and future ones are sure to grow . . . MC Jammy Hammy returns to vinyl with a guest appearance, recorded via telephone answering machine, on the next Nexus 21 single, another “instantly massive UK techno rave stomper, in two mixes!” . . . Faith Sundays (9pm to midnight) have started at Bristol’s The Tube in Frogmore Street, with drum and bass selectors Daddy G. Tin Tin, Nick Warren, Deli G, Paul Morrissey, Dr Jam and Steve Aspey spinning funk-soul-house-rap . . . Tricky Disco’s long awaited follow-up, out in April, will be called ‘House Fly‘ — shades of ‘The Bee’? . . . AS IT GROOVES!

---

HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Tim Jeffery

BLACK BOX ‘Strike It Up’ (DJ Lelewel Mix/Sensitive Mix/Original Remix/Hard Core Remix)
JAM JAM ‘Everybody (Watcha Gonna Do)’
TERRACE In-Motion EP: ‘In-Motion’ / ‘Seventh City’ / ‘Bewitched’ / ‘Gratiot’
WILL DOWNING ‘The World Is A Ghetto’ (Universal Mix/Red Zone Mix/Ghetto Club Mix/Harlem Club Mix/Dreamy Mix)
KENNY LARKIN ‘Integration’ / ‘Colony’ / ‘Metropolis’ / ‘Colonize’
THE BINGO BOYS ‘How To Dance’ (Extended Radio Version/Ambient NY Mix)
GARY CLAIL ‘Human Nature’ / ‘Rumours Of War’
CANDI & THE BACKBEAT ‘The World Just Keeps On Turning’
THE MUNCH BUNCH ‘Chocolate City’

INNOCENCE ‘Remember The Day’ (Cooltempo COOLX 226)
Originally scheduled for mid-February release, but only just promoed, so probably not out fully for a little while yet, this moody slow organ, sax and vibrant electric piano notes-started then funkily jiggling subdued cool sweet Gee Morris-cooed jogger is perhaps even more attractive and atmospheric than usual, in Final (106bpm), percussively clopping bassy Dub (105¼bpm), and rhythmlessly drifting languid Ambient Mixes. Could it be the one to finally give them the crossover hit that their massive dancefloor popularity suggests is now long overdue?

DICK ‘Weekend’ (125½bpm) (Low Spirit/yo-bro 12 YOBR 17, via Total/BMG)
WestBam’s real life brother DJ Dick bursts onto the scene with an excitingly frantic, rampaging and rattling raver punctuated by self publicising shouts and bursts of phonetic rap, in a Club Mix followed continuously by its Beats, flipped by fractionally slower Instrumental and, linked through an electro lull, Zombie Mix versions, guaranteed to leave dancers breathless!

LISA M ‘Love’s Heartbreak’ (104¾bpm) (Polydor PZ 125)
Out this week but promoed with just one track, possibly flipped commercially by the seven incher’s electric piano bubbled catchily loping ‘Love Bug’ (120½bpm), this excellent continuously scratching slithery CJ Mackintosh remixed, Phil Chill produced rapping Brixton girl’s simple strong jiggly chugger has a nice telephone effect halfway and some counterpointing conversational male rap, plus a naggingly repeated jaunty little horn riff that’s instantly familiar (except I can’t place it!). The promo label, incidentally, says it’s 112bpm — shurely shome mishtake? Continue reading “March 2, 1991: Innocence, Dick, Lisa M, Massive Attack, Clive Griffin”