BEATS & PIECES
Due commercially on May 23, the freshly re-EQed full length soundtrack LP version of Rose Royce ‘Car Wash’ is 108(intro)-113-114-116-114½-115⅔-118-119-122(break)-120-123bpm, and the flip’s S-Express-like ‘Is It love You’re After’ 116-118-120-121⅓-121-116-120-121bpm (not a major news item in itself, but, what with telephone interruptions, that info took three quarters of on hour to calculate — so be grateful, people!)… Disco Mix Club’s subscription service mixes have always been eligible for our dance charts, given enough DJ support, but the first ever actually to hit The Club Chart are both from the ‘April 88 Mixes 1’ LP, Paul Dakeyne’s alternative 98-97⅚bpm remix of the Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’, and Ben Liebrand’s rhythmically augmented 111⅓-0bpm Taja Sevelle ‘Love Is Contagious’ (emphasising the waltz tempo’s triple time beat) — subscription details for bona fide DJs on 06286-67276… Coldcut have produced their ‘Doctorin’ The House’ singer in her own right on the upcoming Yazz & The Planet Squeeze ‘Only Way Is Up‘… WEA’s man of the year has been winding up DJs with a white labelled ‘Illeagle Mix‘ that’s actually Nick Kamen’s ‘Tell Me’ given a juddering (0-)108-114-108⅓-107⅔-108-108⅓-108bpm bass bombing megamix by Camberley DJ Dave Roarty, sampling such as Dave & Ansell Collins, James Brown, Madonna, Aretha Franklin, Janet and Michael Jackson… T.U.F.F. (T.ested U.nder F.ull F.orce) ‘We’ve Got A Hot One For You‘, on Sonoscope promo, is yet another “Lady Penelope” started totally unoriginal ‘Thunderbirds’ scratching 0-120½-0bpm volume pumper — when will they ever end?… MC Jammy Hammy’s cries of “get off” and “not again”, as heard on LA Mix’s ‘Check This Out’, stem from the UK heats of the Technics Mixing Championships, when a certain degree of impatient intolerance on my part as a judge led to the coining of these catchphrases every time some unsuspecting DJ decided to scratch mix “this is a journey into sound”!… Les Adams’ ‘Luther In Love’ megamix, the side that’s been selling it, is evidently left off the flip of Luther Vandross’s new ‘I Gave It Up’ remix – likewise, ‘PO Box 2000’ is being left off the Brothers Johnson 12 inch here (to be replaced by their old ‘Ain’t We Funkin’ Now’)… Will Downing, whose current US single is the album version of ‘Sending Out An SOS‘, has totally remixed ‘In My Dreams’ as his UK follow-up… Guy’s members, as well as producer Teddy Riley, are lead singer Aaron Hall III and bass guitarist Timmy Gatling… RCA’s 12 inch club promos will soon have a new generic sleeve featuring a vertical list of Beats Per Minute figures, the appropriate one for the enclosed record being underlined (somehow in a tie-in with Technics turntables)… Club have picked up the underrated Click ‘Freq. Jam‘, one of the UK’s better acid trax… May Day bank holidays left me no time to BPM new LPs by the provocatively posing naked (and sex obsessed) Prince, back on romantic form Teddy Pendergrass, typically sophisticated Sade, and (on import) US radio-aimed Randy Hall, disappointingly downtempo Johnny Kemp… Dave Prater, the one time partner of Sam Moore in Sixties soul duo Sam & Dave, died last month in a car crash… New York’s B Boy Records has signed here to Westside Records, one of the first UK releases being a double LP distillation of three old Boogie Down Productions albums… Meli’sa Morgan’s June 18/19 London debut at the Hammersmith Odeon will be supported by saxist Najee… The Pasadenas follow an invitation-only preview this Thursday at London’s Ronnie Scott’s with a short tour around Wakefield’s Roof Top Saturday (May 14), Bristol’s Papillon Monday (16), Glasgow’s Cotton Club Friday (20), and Liverpool’s Quadrant Park Saturday (21)… DJs Brian G, Pete Funnel! and Rockie house/soul/rap/funk York’s hard and crucial Sweatbox every two weeks, this Saturday (and the second Saturday in each month) at the Windmill, followed on the last Friday of each month (starting May 27) at Keatons… Sunday (15), DJs Fat Tony, Dave Dorrell, Tim Westwood and more man a noon to midnight dance marathon of Hammersmith’s Le Palais to raise money for on AIDS hospice… Dartford’s Flicks raised £2,700 at its most recent charity allniter, all for local good causes… Tony Masters and Paul The Soul Man, plus guests, have a Sixties and Northern Soul alldayer at Torquay’s Coral Island Showbar this Sunday (15), noon-10.30pm… Chris Dinnis returns next Wednesday (18) to Boxes on Exeter’s Quay with Bob Smith for a “real soul” Humdinger 1 (£1 advance tickets on 0392-39477, after 5pm)… Mick Fuller funks upfront Mondays at Brighton’s Swifts, and Sundays at Hove’s Palmeira (pub hours)… Simon Dunmore, Jon Jules and Paul Warren are hard ‘n’ upfront weekly at the Tuesday Soul City in Greenford’s Greenford Hotel, on Uxbridge Road… Paul McBride souls and funks Belfast’s Wellington Park on Wednesdays, saying “We need as much plugging as possible for soul here in Belfast”… Portsmouth mixer Warren Aylward hosts a weekly Wednesday Goodgroove soul night at Southsea’s 5th Avenue… Jeff Thomas, of Swansea’s Martha’s Vineyard fame, also souls Thursdays at Merthyr Tydfil’s revamped The Kooler (formerly the Kirkhouse)… Martin Jay counts down The Club Chart from rm every Thursday at Lewisham’s Mid Kent Tavern… Tim Smith only ever seems able to slip soul records onto the air at Metro Radio over bank holidays, but at Newcastle upon Tyne’s Blue Monkey he has added a Klassix night on Thursday for oldies and rare grooves… Steve Cochrane, already ramming “Rick Astley and Madonna-free” Freestyle Mondays, has taken over Fridays as well at Harlow’s Highwire, with Rose Royce guesting this week (13)… Nick Power funks up Fridays at Braintree’s “wild style” Ice Club in the Essex Barn, and is slightly more commercial on Saturdays at Hatfield’s Partners… Mike Knight funks and hip hops Sundays at Aberdare’s Baverstocks Hotel… Damon Jay has moved from London’s Gullivers to join John Mayoh jocking at Wakefield’s Casanovas, mixing acid, funk, and soul Fri/Sat/Mon, and especially Wednesdays… Martin McSweeney, back in a club as resident jock at Rotherham’s Harveys Nightspot, is also busy producing a “jazz house” project… Disco Dave Singleton, still at Eccles The Rainbow after 11 years, has started an agency and (on 09252-6018) is after a pair of Manchester/Merseyside girls for a kiss-o-gram and go-go dancing work… South Wales DJ Steve Wiggins has his own Up-Front music column in the Barry & District News now… London’s Evening Standard last week ran a competition, “The Garage club was credited was being the birthplace of house music, in which American city?” — ignoring the fact that house was born at and named for the Warehouse in Chicago, one assumes they meant the Paradise Garage in New York!… I seem to be joined by many other readers in rating ‘Hooperman’ as the best new thing on TV: another creation of Stephen Bochco (of ‘Hill Street Blues’) with Terry Louise Fisher, the Sunday evening half hour series stars John Ritter (of ‘Three’s Company’) as a San Francisco police inspector and the delightful Debrah Farentino as his apartment block’s janitor, plus an enchanting little dog called Bijou… Chester Browton, from Selsey, suggests I might contribute to the rare groove craze by listing what I consider to be the best Seventies funk records never to break commercially — the trouble is, I really don’t remember the Seventies, they passed in a blur (however, if you want to know about the Sixties…!)… GET OFF!
HOT VINYL
M-D-EMM ‘Get Busy (It’s Partytime!)’ (Republic Records MDM001T, via Rough Trade)
From much the same stable as ‘Beat Dis’ and ‘S-Express’, this must be one of the next volume pumping crossover hits. Created primarily by Rough Trade’s Dave Lee (second left), DJ Mark Ryder (kneeling) and Mike Chill (right), with Lincoln Anderson and Caffy, it’s in three very different mixes, the Peoples Choice ‘Do It Any Way Ya Wanna’-ish chunkily routine 0-118¾bpm Club Mix (inspired also by Loleatta Holloway ‘Hit ‘N’ Run’, MFSB ‘Love Is The Message’ and the Salsoul Orchestra ‘You’re Just The Right Size’, without sampling any of them), the jazzier cool house 120¼-0bpm Busy House Mix (speeding up an old Black Heat riff), and —biggest in London — the rare grooves-like S-Express-ish 117¼bpm Body Action Mix, sampling phrases from the likes of Joeski Love, Cameo, Micronauts, Soul Sonic Force, Fatback Band, JR Funk, Jammers, B Boys, Trouble Funk, Sweet Tee, Johnny Dynell and MFSB (all the horns though being original, merely typifying the flavour of the period).
JAMES BROWN ‘I’m Real’ (US Scotti Bros 4Z9 07805)
“All you copycats out there get offa my chip”, shouts Mr Brown as he kicks into the first single from his eagerly awaited Full Force-produced LP, a deliberately archetypal 0-105½bpm jerky funk jitterer given modern transformer scratches and juddery edits (especially in the really fierce 105⅚-0bpm ‘Real (F.F. Hyped-Up Mix)‘ flip) while remaining basically the same old James Brown that all the copycats have so long admired.
THE PASADENAS ‘Tribute (Right On) (The Q Street Mix)’ (CBS PASA T1)
Pete Wingfield produced, Richie Rich remixed, terrific mushy hi-hat shushed Seventies style 0-107bpm jazz-funk jiggler with music history tracing vocals, by the old Finesse disco dance troupe, right on target for the latest retrogressing trend. Continue reading “May 14, 1988: M-D-Emm, James Brown, The Pasadenas, By All Means, Animal Nightlife”
Amongst the many star PAs, I really felt for Nitro Deluxe, who only has 10 per cent sight and was led on stage for what should have been a three minute slot, which he kept lengthening because — who can blame him — he probably had the greatest audience response he’ll ever have in his life. Terry Billy so enjoyed herself that she spent the entire weekend, up all night with the best of ’em! Wee Papa Girl Rappers were hanging out, too, but Simon Harris was crestfallen at being booed on stage, mainly, he thinks, because his record kept jumping. At least he was working live, whereas everyone else used a cassette — and, anyway, surely his friendship with Public Enemy gives him credibility even if he is in the top 20?
Chubby young Al B. Sure! put on a squirming performance before the main Easter Sunday event, Joyce Sims’ first ever live gig anywhere with a backing band, which proved to be interesting as, when you consider she pits her distinctively plaintive vocal pitch against Mantronik’s electronic rhythms when recording, the live percussion turned ‘All And All’ into a Latin tune!
Her new US single, the revival of Barbara Acklin’s swinging ‘Love Makes A Woman’, as it does on record, featured the surprise guest appearance of Jimmy Castor (‘The Everything Man’) on sax, a highlight for those who knew what was happening. Pres Jam 4 is over the Guy Fawkes weekend of November 4/5/6 (booking details on 01-364 1212), so fireworks are a foregone conclusion, while heavily hinted as the star live attraction is — wait for it — Frankie Beverly and Maze! Whoosh!
Derek B is the latest remixer of Eric B & Rakim ‘I Know You Got Soul’, his “
Luckily, most of the night had been geared very much to their taste, although Tony Prince, with utopian vision, had promoted the evening as a star-studded music biz awards night for the industry in general. Next year he may well have to separate the pop acts from the rap acts, or restrict admission in order to take full advantage of the Albert Hall as a prestige venue, as this year somehow the balance there was definitely wrong. None of this is to suggest that anything ugly happened (indeed, certain behaviour last year when Chad Jackson won was far more disgraceful).
Matt Aitken was booed when he took his place on stage as a judge, and then at the start of the Stanton/DMC World DJ Awards ceremony halfway through the evening, 
James Hamilton's Disco Page 