James Hamilton's Disco Page

BEATS & PIECES

[In two weeks’ time, James will lead his column with an unreserved apology for his inaccurate claim that DMC were over extended at the bank.]

TROUBLE AT T’MILL? — DMC Ltd, over extended at the bank due to their expansion into magazine publishing and record retailing, have just lost the services of not only star remixer/producer Les Adams but also the Disco Mix Club’s founding mixer Alan Coulthard and ex-world champion mixing DJ Chad Jackson, severing their management links with the company’s Tony and Christine Prince due to stated dissatisfaction, and prompting the remaining in-house mixers/producers to hold out for more money . . . Alan Coulthard, currently a hot property in Europe where his megamixes of such as Boney M and the Village People have been huge hits in France (suddenly megamix crazy as a result!) and other countries, is now representing his own interests (he is a qualified barrister too) on 0628-603452. Chad Jackson, currently working with Trevor Horn and Bruce Forest on a radically house/hip hop/orchestral project for release on ZTT, is contactable on 0860-461567 — he and Alan will be working out of Les’s studio . . . David Grant’s current ‘Life’ was produced by Mike Stevens at his own 8-track home studio in Newport Pagnell, not far down the road from his above mentioned LA Mix partner’s more sophisticated though also bedroom housed studio! . . . Inner City’s next single, not from their album, will apparently mark a change of musical direction . . . Kelli Saé sings ‘It’s Too Late’, last week’s review missing out the accented ‘é’ due to incompatibility between word processing systems (which an rm financed and hopefully soon to be installed £7,000 adaptation to my own computer will rectify for good!), in the same way that The Latin Rage’s title is ‘Esti Locà’ with an accented first ‘à’ . . . Mayday’s already reviewed remix of De-Lite featuring Osca Child ‘Wild Times’ is not due commercially until October 2 — chart returning DJs, as always whenever several mixes are available, please be sure to specify which particular mix(es) you are playing . . . The Club Chart last week, as a result of an increased number of DJs’ returns, had so many records struggling to get into it that there were at least 15 breakers bubbling under with enough chart points to have hit the top 100 only a week before (when it seemed hard enough pressed as it was!), namely Cappella ‘House Energy Revenge’ (Music Man), Prince ‘Partyman’ (Warner Bros), Bäs Noir ‘I’m Glad You Came To Me (Remix)’ (10 Records), Jesus Loves You ‘After The Love’ (More Protein), Paul McCartney ‘Ou Est Le Soleil?’ (US Capitol), Betty Wright ‘Keep Lovin’ New’ (Sure Delight), Jo Ann Jones ‘I Don’t Need Your Love’ (Champion), Adonte ‘Dreams’ (GTi Records), Richie Havens ‘Going Back To My Roots’ (US Week-Off), Gary Jackmaster Wallace & Jammin’ J ‘Party Time’ (US House N Effect), Johnson Dean featuring Lynda Law ‘Somebody Somewhere (Remix)’ (W.A.U./Mr Modo Recordings), YZ.G-Rock ‘Thinking Of A Master Plan’/’In Control Of Things’/’I’m In The Party’ (US Tuff City), CeCe Rogers ‘I Wanna Be’ (US Atlantic LP), Snowboy ‘Snowboy’s House Of Latin’ (Urban), Dizzi Heights ‘Gangster Boogie’ (Viceroy) . . . Prince ‘Partyman’ on commercial pressings is flipped by the previously unreleased good P’funkily smacking lascivious 111.6bpm ‘Feel U Up (Long Stroke)‘ . . . LA Mix (featuring Kevin Henry) ‘Love Together’ on its commercial pressings is in just the British Lovers 12 inch, American Lovers 12 inch, and Banji Lovers Dub mixes, all 120bpm still . . . Redhead Kingpin & The FBI’s next single here, following negative feedback to the idea of the originally announced US choice of ‘Pump It Hottie‘, will now be ‘Superbad, Superslick‘ . . . The JB All Stars with the Funk Ambassadors (ie: The JB’s) are funkin’ Blackpool’s Winter Gardens Pavilion Theatre this Saturday (23) and kick off the relaunched weekly Edinburgh Soul Club at that city’s Calton Studios on Sunday (24) . . . Cardiff’s hip hop and soul posses apparently hang out and buy their vinyl at Spillers Records in The Hayes . . . Jersey was incredibly hot, humid and hazy although thankfully ended up with more sun burning through than anywhere else in England while my mother and I were there last week — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

GEORGETTE DELLA ROSA ‘D’Ya Wanna’ (W.A.U/Mr Modo Recordings MWS 006R)
Unimpressive in its originally released mixes back around last spring, this Barry Upton produced but now Judge Jules remixed sexy girl groaned terrific 115.6-0bpm groove has been newly set to the ‘Going Back To My Roots’ rhythm in its Roots Mix and more smoothly chugging acidic variations in its Organic and Italian chattered (Italian) Roots Mixes, leaving just the twittery thudding 116.2-115.6bpm Do It (Deep) Mix from before.

THE REBEL MC & DOUBLE TROUBLE ‘Street Tuff’ (Desire WANTX 18)
Leigh Guest and chums get into skacid with a vengeance, not in the A-side’s breezily trotting though dull by comparison hip house 118.4bpm Club Mix, but instead really rip up the reggae riffing madly infectious pumping flip’s punningly titled 0-118.4bpm Scar Mix. Riddim!

SERGIO MENDES ‘Mas Que Nada (The Justin Strauss Remixes)’ (Breakout USAT 672)
Using an Ish Ledesma co-produced modern re-recording of the Portuguese girl sung jaunty samba classic as their basis, Justin’s 109.3bpm 12 Vocal, Just Right Mix Dub and Percapella are driven by breezily percolating though rather stolid metronomic percussion, and even drop into the ‘wooh-yeah’ break beat. Continue reading “September 23, 1989: Georgette Della Rosa, The Rebel MC & Double Trouble, Sergio Mendes, Sybil, Foster McElroy”

BEATS & PIECES

ERICK & PARRISH of EPMD (which stands for Erick & Parrish Makin’ Dollars), as a truncated caption last week failed to make clear, did indeed make dollars in appearing at BCM Records’ Summer Dance Festival, only being persuaded to visit Berlin by Sleeping Bag Records advancing them $200,000 of album royalties not in fact due until next April! . . . CDs being such a big part of even the dance market in Germany, BCM Records not surprisingly have circulated there a very limited edition 24 track double CD compilation as a memento of their ‘Summer Dance Festival – The Musical Highlights‘ (BCM 55321), nice to have, even if the included De La Soul, Chubb Rock and Stevie B in the event did not appear . . . Futureshock Promotions (01-533 3840) are organising another exotic weekender in Madrid between Thursday-Sunday, October 5-8, with visits to the city’s most upfront clubs on the other nights but the main focus being early hours ‘happenings’ on the Friday night/Saturday morning hosted by DJs Judge Jules and Graeme Park, at Archy and Kitsch . . . Livewire Promotions’ next Prestatyn weekender (see also photo caption) will feature some significant changes in the main Arena, new American vari-lights livening up the dancefloor and the DJ console being separated off to its own stage on one side, thus helping speed up change-overs between the live acts . . . N.W.A. ‘Straight Outta Compton’, the controversial rap album about which I raved at length some six or seven months back, is finally out here on Fourth & Broadway (BRLP 534) . . . Les Adams has belatedly just realised that the Clivilles & Cole created 28th St Crew ‘I Need A Rhythm‘ quite blatantly uses his own US hit remake of Maurice ‘This Is Acid‘ as its basis (both are on the same label, so there’s no great legal problem!) — Les meanwhile, as well as remixing Norman Cook ‘Blame It On The Bassline’ for the US, is also completely remaking (to be credited as a full LA Mix production) the previously unissued Maurice ‘All Because Of You’ in R&B and House versions . . . The Manic MC’s ‘Mental’ turns out to have been heavily inspired by Hipnosis’ ‘Droid‘, an obscure (as in not very good!) German ‘sleeper’ from the new beat era . . . David Peaston and CeCe Rogers performed at a private promotional showcase in London on Monday and doubtless will be visiting a few more venues while they’re here . . . Steve Wiggins now jocks Wed/Thur/Fri/Saturdays at Cardiff’s The Bank, trendily converted from a real bank, in St Mary Street, booking PAs and promotions for the club too (on 0446-735562) . . . Gary Oldis has gone back to his roots in Sunderland, after three years jocking in the south (well, Scarborough!), running Tues/Wed/Thur/Fridays at Chambers Nightclub in High Street West, Wednesday being the upfront music and live guests night (PAs wanted on 0723-378508 — he’s already had the likes of the Unique 3, Richie Rich and Merlin) . . . Andy King (0905-22551) is likewise after PAs to shake their funky thang for his upfront and packed 8-10.30pm Sunday soul, house and video session at Dudley’s Cromwell’s Nightclub . . . Dancefloor Liberation, embodied by DJs Paul Kirk and Kevin Roux (any good in the kitchen?), jock in Leicester at Streetlife on Fridays and The Forum on Saturdays . . . Stevie May spins upfront soul and house Saturdays at St Helens’ newest nightclub, Lowies . . . DJ Peachy has started ‘a fusion of house beats and rhymes’ called Vision every Sunday (free before 11pm) at Bermondsey Old Kent Road’s Dun Cow . . . Billy Popham has quit globe trotting for a while to become resident DJ at Clerkenwell’s Cage, where Jay Strongman runs his Pig night on Saturdays . . . Tony Griffin turns out to be the jock with the indecipherable signature who, normally resident Thurs/Fri/Saturdays at Birmingham’s Bobby Brown’s, does the Monday soul/funk/house session at Cheltenham’s Swifts . . . DJs being pestered by record pluggers to send us charts, please note (as often stated in the past) that we do not have our own printed chart forms, instead — very simply — just send your genuine floor response based top 20 (or more) on your own paper as regularly as possible, posted ideally on Monday to reach us by Wednesday at the latest (the same deadline for Faxed charts on 01-928 5158) to Alan Jones/James Hamilton, rm, Punch Publications Ltd, Ludgate House, 245 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 9UZ (be sure to include your name and address, where you work, and the date, and bear in mind that any info included for publication will not appear in print until at least two weeks later, so give plenty of warning about any upcoming events) . . . ‘I Thank You’ will thankfully be Adeva’s follow-up (it’s her album’s freshest and most distinctive cut), remixed by Paul Simpson . . . Blacksmith’s Brixton Bass Remix of Diana Brown & Barrie K Sharpe’ Blind Faith’ should be due by now . . . Big Life are releasing the 2 In A Room album and unincluded ‘Somebody In The House Say Yeah!‘ single here, while CityBeat’s new label, XL Recordings, likewise have the current Ellis ‘D’ LP . . . 17-years-old Silver Bullet, real name Richard Brown, was originally in the Aylesbury based rap trio Triple Element . . . Soul II Soul’s next single (not out until November so that the rest of the world can catch up with their UK release schedule) now seems likely to be all new and aimed at the Christmas market, with a kiddie chorus — I kid you not! . . . ffrr supremo and Capital Radio dance show presenter, Pete Tong tied the knot with Debbie last Saturday and is currently off honeymooning in — but of course! — Italy . . . Burnham-on-Crouch, Tillingham, and the whole sparsely populated but picturesque Dengie peninsular in Essex is where I caught the sun last week, before taking my mum to Jersey — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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PRESTATYN 6, Livewire Promotions’ soul/dance music weekender in North Wales on November 3/4/5, now will feature not only ADEVA (above) with her full band plus Bobby Brown’s amazing dance troupe on the Friday, but also — at last — the long awaited live concert appearance there on the Saturday of none other than MAZE featuring Frankie Beverly! Quick, booking details on 01-364 1212!

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HOT VINYL

ABC ‘The Real Thing (Album Version)’ (Neutron NTXDJ 115)
Still apparently only on promo, and done an injustice in my review of the previously also promoed instrumental mixes which I not unnaturally assumed would be better than the subsequent vocal version, this Martin Fry groaned catchily cantering typically facile 118.8bpm vocal is in fact as good as white boy’s house gets (except perhaps it could do with more of a song to cross over), not necessarily improved though flipped for added street cred by emptily throbbing 118.4bpm Frankie Knuckles and better more tightly trotting (with some nice vibes) 122.2bpm Bruce Forest Mixes.

JAZZ & THE BROTHERS GRIMM featuring Baby D & MC Juice ‘Casanova (The Raising Hell Remix)’ (Production House Records PNT 008R)
Hotter than ever now that it’s been remixed, the Coffee revival gains a ‘Let’s Start The Dance’ jiggled jaggedly leaping bass’ heavy new 0-124-0-124bpm hip house-ish attack (beat losingly edited during the rhythm slurring lull near the start), flipped by its 124bpm possibly even wilder Swing To The Hip House Mix and suddenly tame seeming acidic Original Mix.

SILVER BULLET ‘Bring Forth The Guillotine (The Ben Chapman Remix)’ (Tam Tam Records TTT 013)
Infectious ragamuffin hip house rap finally exploding in this ‘Tales From The Darkside’/’Twilight Zone’-ishly introed then James Brown brass and other samples prodded lively lurching 120-0bpm superior remix, with a different scrubbingly shuffling (instru-)Mental Mix and the original 119.8-0bpm Darkside Mix. Continue reading “September 16, 1989: ABC, Jazz & The Brothers Grimm, Silver Bullet, MC’s Logik, The Minutemen”

BEATS & PIECES

Raul Orellana (a regular weekly rm reader!) jocks at Studio 54, the biggest disco in Barcelona, and so far has released 14 megamixed medley records as well as his own productions — J Bonell, the distinctive guitarist on the hits for which he is best known here, is actually a jazz musician and Raul is accompanied on stage instead by flamenco playing Carvajal . . . US Capitol’s ‘Black Havana’ album is being promoted by Syncopate here with a UK tour between September 24 and October 10, featuring CharVoni, Keith Thompson, Madagascar and — a chance to see him that you should not miss — the superb Glenn ‘Sweety-G’ Toby . . . Glenn and his brother Randall E. Toby have their own Queens Village, New York, based International Entertainment Network management, production and artist development company, handling (amongst others) choreographers Christopher ‘Shake’ Mathis and Crystal Glass, the former’s video credits reading like a who’s who in modern black music, including Bobby Brown, Heavy D & The Boyz, Guy, Al B. Sure!, Diana Ross, Rob Base, Ten City, Run-DMC, and even Samantha Fox, while the latter has choreographed for the likes of Colonel Abrams, Kechia Jenkins, The Klub, Kelly Rogers and CeCe Rogers . . . Adeva, who is looking forward especially to working with a live band at November’s Prestatyn weekender, had a good time dancing with Cassio Ware, and Daddy Freddie’s manager Othman Mukhlis struck up a touchingly tender relationship with Nocera, at Cha Cha, the Berlin club (reminiscent in size and atmosphere of the old Gullivers in Mayfair) where all the acts ended up partying after the final night of the Summer Dance Festival, to the expertly synchronised mixing of resident English jock Corin O’Shanahan (he uses his mother’s Irish maiden name!) and Big Beat label owner Craig Kallman (who jocks at New York’s The Tunnel) . . . Mark Moore from S’Express looked in just as a spectator at the Summer Dance Festival — he was appearing at a huge hi-fi exhibition also being held in Berlin (which tied up all the hotels in the process, causing our party’s accommodation to be scattered all over the city) . . . Sonia, presumably for a similar reason, was sitting not far behind me on the ‘plane out to Berlin, but my attempt at a paparazzi-style grab shot photo failed when, in waiting for the right moment, I forgot I’d turned my camera off! . . . I actually had great difficulty getting any good action photos of the Summer Dance Festival thanks to some of the security guys guarding the stage front being direct descendants of the storm troopers, one of them even lining up a punch at my face until two more reasonable colleagues grabbed him! . . . Norbo, the bassist with Kraze, is working on both a comic strip and a treatment for a film about the group, with a story along the lines of the brain police trying to stop house music . . . De La Soul’s name and logo were amongst the graffiti covering the Berlin Wall . . . Bobby Womack says his new album is out next month, featuring such guests as Carlos Santana and Rod Stewart — make of that what you will . . . The Mix Master ‘Grand Piano’ will have some of its possibly more incriminating samples, of such as Bobby Brown removed before it’s released here by, inevitably, BCM Records . . . Syreeta rather than Martha Reeves is the actual singer of the bit of ‘I Can’t Dance To That Music You’re Playing’ heard in The Beatmasters’ current hit (something not a lot of people knew) . . . Cool Cut and Outerlimit would also have been at 97= in The Club Chart last week had there been room . . . Donna Allen helps kick off a new soul night this Thursday (7) at Rainham’s Berwick Manor . . . Chris Hill has returned to his legendary Seventies haunt, Canvey Island’s Goldmine, ramming the place by word of mouth (with coaches from Birmingham and the like!) when he jocks there on an irregular basis about once every three weeks . . . I’m hoping to eat lobsters in Jersey this weekend — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

L.A. MIX (featuring Kevin Henry) ‘Love Together’ (Breakout USAT 662)
Ringing the changes (as does everything on their upcoming ‘On The Side’ album), this Kevin Henry sung rapid follow-up to the Jazzi P rapped hip house ‘Get Loose’ is a Philly Soul-style Ten City- ish (but in fact Carl Bean inspired!) incredibly catchy romping singalong soul anthem that seems so comfortably familiar that the second time you hear it you’ll think you’ve known it for ever. Initial promo pressings have had six mixes, the 120bpm British Lovers, 120.2bpm British Lovers Breakdown and 121-120.6-120.4-120bpm Emma’s Love Mix on the Les Adams side, and three emptier more sinewy 120bpm American mixes on the Frankie Knuckles & David Morales side (other remixes will follow, too). Les and Kevin are seen above being interviewed by Antonia Langsdorf for the five times weekly ‘Tanz House’ show on Germany’s Tele 5 cable channel.

FRESH 4 (Children Of The Ghetto) featuring Lizz E. ‘Wishing On A Star’ (10 Records TENX 287)
Hauntingly produced by Smith & Mighty with the sound of the bass and (funky) drum(mer), this Bristol group’s deadpan girl moaned and occasionally guys mumbled 0-92.3-0bpm revival of Rose Royce’s 1978 ballad is right in today’s Soul II Soul-ish groin grinding groove and, despite actually being full of technical faults, is so loaded with atmosphere its sure to be huge (sparser 92.3bpm Housey and instrumental 92.5bpm Smoke Filled Thoughts versions too).

STARDUST ‘Love Will Find A Way (Sweet Embrace Mix)’ (Republic Records LICT 029)
Blaze using another name create a terrific Vince Montana-ish classily pulsing 117.5bpm jazz-funk/garage instrumental, flipped for value by the ‘Paradise Regained’ compilation’s excellent party chatter introed then interestingly afro-jazz plinky plunked skipping 0-120.3bpm ‘Blazin’ in its Album Mix and drier new Extended Dance Mix, both sides refreshingly different in this day and age. Continue reading “September 9, 1989: “The Berliners can’t be blamed if they’re a bit behind””

BEATS & PIECES

Richie Rich’s ‘Salsa House’, promoed as a five tracker, turns out to be available commercially with the Silver On Black Remix coupled by the Orbital Mix and Original Mix (Edit) on ffrr FX 113, and with the Freaky Rap coupled by the Dub Zone and Full Length Original Mix on ffrr FXR 113 . . . PLASA (the Professional Lighting And Sound Association) holds its annual The Light And Sound Show (LASS?!) for the second time now at London’s Olympia 2 between Sunday/Wednesday, September 10/13, this year’s getting in on the prevailing trend by including several seminar sessions . . . Anglo-Swiss Gilles Peterson, sometime jazz presenter on the late lamented BBC Radio London and now an important part of the yet to be launched London Jazz Radio, has got a new day job doing jazz A&R for Phonogram . . . rm’s sister monthly mag for DJs, Jocks, is running a competition for bedroom mixers, the prize being two days in a fully equipped studio with Norman Cook to produce a finished record for release on Music Factory Records — don’t miss this month’s issue! . . Highbury’s Blapps! Records, bedroom based home of the Dynamic Guv’nors, is starting its own club promotion department (probably in a cupboard!) for forthcoming releases, including an MC Untouchable six-tracker which scratches some old John Lee Hooker blues — bona fide DJs, call Jazzy Jason on 01-226 2122 . . . Diamond Time, who programme most of the UK’s video jukeboxes as well as making the excellent continuously segued two hour monthly DiscEyes video compilation, are launching a new one and a half hour DiscEyes-Dance compilation also for monthly hire (at about £39.50) specifically to discos — details on 01-586 7056 . . . The Club Chart last week had no room to include also at 97= (equivalent to number 100) a re-entry by Kool & The Gang ‘Raindrops’ . . . Pete Tong’s number one radio request should hopefully be about in less exclusive numbers by now, the Smith & Mighty produced remake of Rose Royce’s ‘Wishing On A Star‘ by the Bristol-based (of course) Fresh Four . . . kc Flightt’s recently reviewed ‘In Flightt’ import album is now out here (RCA PL 89776) . . . Old Gold are promoting their dance oldie reissues with a ‘Best Of 12 inch Gold’ mini LP series, each volume containing eight also separately available past floor fillers . . . Desa, one of several DJ stars of ‘Blind Date’, who has added the street soul-meets-sweet soul (groin-grinding joggers, in other words!) Solutions every Tuesday at Wallasey’s Royal Swan to his other successful Merseyside nights, points out that the main Raven Maize backing track is the same as last year’s ‘(We’re) Out Of Control’ (US Fourth Floor Records) . . . Darren Fogel, another DJ notorious from some ‘Blind Date’ exploits, announces he now jocks under his real name of Darren James following a summer stint playing house and rap in Spain . . . DJ The Kid Smurf says Bliss is the place to be this Thursday (31) at Leicester’s Streetlife for house/rap/rare groove . . . KISS-fm hold their 5th Record Fair this Sunday (3) at Highgate’s Jackson Lane Community Centre between 10am-4pm, the first hour costing twice the rest of the day’s admission price at 2 because, like the slogan says, ‘Rare Groove is not dead!’, and it’s the early birds who will get the rarities . . . MC Duke joins Jeff Thomas at Swansea Martha’s Vineyard next Monday (4) . . .  Tim Raidl’s Luton based Mix Connection, currently with 40 megamix and remix creating producers on its Britmix books, is now setting up a subscription service aimed at upfront jocks (details on 0582-412460) . . . Cutmaster-G, involved with Sueno Latino (especially on the B-side), is Andrea Gemolotto, Italy’s finalist in this year’s Technics World DJ Mixing Championships . . . Pascal Gabriel has been producing one side of an album for Jimmy Sommerville, likely to interest pop jocks when released . . . David Brooker and Anne Plaxton’s now Pacific distributed Rumour Records label is releasing next week a compilation album called ‘Warehouse Raves‘ that looks more useful than most, containing such trendy titles as Loleatta Holloway & Dan Hartman ‘Love Sensation (Dutch House Mix)’, Starlight ‘Numero Uno’, Koxo Club Band ‘Paradhouse Remix’, Kariya ‘Let Me Love You For Tonight (Original)’, Fax Yourself ‘Sunshine ’89 (Extended Mix)’, Illusion ‘Why Can’t We Live Together (Love & Unity Remix)’, Rhythim Is Rhythim ‘Strings Of Life (Piano Mix)’, Candy Flip ‘Love Is Life’, Amnesia ‘It’s A Dream (Special Mix)’, Total Science ‘Just A Little Bit’ . . . Newhaven, the Seven Sisters, Beachy Head and that area of Sussex (as well as an earlier brief foray to Cobham in Kent) is where I ended up catching the sun last week (I know you care!), before flying out to Berlin — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

N.W.A. ‘Express Yourself (Extended Mix)’ (Fourth & Broadway 12 BRW 144)
Hot since the winter, the Los Angeles ghetto’s Niggers With Attitudes (to fill out their initials) — Ice Cube, Dr Dre, Eazy-E, Yella and MC Ren — are finally getting a British release for not only their controversially worded album but also right now this catchy (and clean) rare groove-ish (0-)96.2bpm jiggly lurching rap based on Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band’s 1970 street funk classic of the same name (Bonus Beats too), flipped by their album titling angrily aggressive (0-)102.2-0-102.2-0bpm ‘Straight Outta Compton (Extended Mix)‘ and the unincluded ‘Tramp’-ishly lurching filthily funny 97.3bpm ‘A Bitch Iz A Bitch‘ (neither of the latter pair being suitable for airplay!).

THE MIX MASTER ‘Grand Piano’ (Spanish blanco y negro Music MX-229)
Still the potential smashes pour out of Europe, this week’s main sizzler coming via Spain although confusingly it credits Italy’s ‘Ride On Time’ creators Dee Jay Lelewel and Mirko Limoni as composers, an incredibly powerful piano pounded 0-124.3-123.4-123.6-124-124.3-0bpm stormer sampling gruff voiced Joe Tex (distinctively asking at the start, ‘Fellas, what d’you think about the women’s liberation?’) plus the likes of Loleatta Holloway, Tyree, KAOS and more, Raul Orellana remixing the flip’s piano jangled alternative 124.6bpm ‘Take Me Away’ while unexpectedly the 0-209/104.5bpm ‘Piano Groove‘ is based on the throbbing ‘Burundi Black’ rhythm. Dynamite!

DIGITAL UNDERGROUND ‘Doowutchyalike (Playhowyalike Mix)’ (BCM Records BCM 330 X, via Pinnacle)
Still waiting to explode, this De La Soul-ish lazily drawling guys chatted terrific 108.8-0bpm P’funk roller is ear-grabbingly interrupted after three and a half minutes by an amusingly announced pause for station identification and a false fade for radio DJs (not false in the actual Radio Mix!), flipped by the sleazily rumbling and in spurts jauntily vaudevillian 92.2bpm ‘Hip-Hop Doll‘. Continue reading “September 2, 1989: N.W.A., The Mix Master, Digital Underground, 808 State, Ce Ce Rogers”

BEATS & PIECES

The Club Chart last week was the most radically altered in memory, with 35 new (or re–) entries of which 25 had to be BPM-ed before inclusion, unfortunately causing me to deliver the result (after a solid weekend’s work) 20 minutes too late to be printed — my apologies, but here (to make all that time consuming work worthwhile) are the missing positions: [omitted, as these have been listed in the previous week’s column] … I get a bit fed up, not surprisingly, with snide suggestions that I just put in this chart whatever I personally like — far from it, in fact, as after Alan Jones has tabulated all the DJs’ returns and I have then exhaustively monitored and formulated the upfront sales ingredient for everything currently qualifying for inclusion (more than ever before at the moment), all the resulting figures are added up and the order in which they then fall is the order in which The Club Chart then appears, with no personal input at all: there are indeed so many club records coming out now and struggling to get into The Club Chart that last week no fewer than a further 30 had enough chart points to have hit the 100 in the not so distant past, these being by (if you can bear another list) EPMD 12in, NY House’n Authority, Schoolly D LP, Freud Sofa, D Mob, Bobcat, Tuff Crew 12in, Technotronic, Mutha Hood, Tuff Crew LP, Queen Latifah, Sueno Latino, Nicole ‘Rock The House’, Babyface 12in, Debbi Blackwell-Cook, Karyn White ‘Secret Rendezvous (Remix)’, Elle, The Latin Rage, The Beatmasters (remixes), Jody Watley (remix), Nocera (remix), Debbie Mckayle, Too Poetic, 2 In A Room 12in, Michelle & The World War Four, Bang-The Party, Debbie Malone, Farley Jackmaster Funk & The Hip House Syndicate, Kelly Charles & James Bratton, The Groove Robbers (you will hopefully appreciate why I have neither time nor room to review all the included newies this issue!) … LA Mix’s follow-up, the Kevin Henry sung ‘Love Together‘ (Breakout USAT 662), is already hitting on promo ahead of early September release — ringing the changes (as does everything on their upcoming album), it’s a Philly soul-style Ten City-ish (but in fact Carl Bean inspired!) romping anthem initially promoed in six mixes, the 120bpm British Lovers 12, 120.2bpm British Lovers Breakdown and 121-120.6-120.4-120bpm Emma’s Love Mix on the Les Adams side, and three 120bpm American mixes on the Frankie Knuckles & David Morales side … Phonogram have promoed the cryptically labelled Electribe 101 ‘Tell Me When The Fever Ended‘ ahead of September 11 full release, a hauntingly wailed 120.6-0bpm house canterer flipped by a bubblier 123bpm Raggamix and smoother 120.6bpm Instrumental … N.W.A.’s US 12 inch of ‘Express Yourself’ is now due here on Fourth & Broadway next week … Big Daddy Kane ‘Smooth Operator’, reviewed on import only last week, is now out here (Cold Chillin’ W2804T) with both mixes 92.5bpm and ‘Warm It Up, Kane’ 116.6bpm … Babyface’s ‘Tender Lover’ album is also out here (Solar MCG 6064, via MCA) … I probably won’t have room this issue to review the recent rap albums EPMD ‘Unfinished Business’ (US Fresh Records LPRE-92012, due here as Sleeping Bag Records SBUK LP 8, Tuff Crew ‘Back To Wreck Shop’ (US So Deff Records WAR-2712), and Schoolly D ‘Am I Black Enough For You?’ (US Schoolly-D Records/Jive 1237-1-J), all of which were in fact fully BPM-ed when they hit The Club Chart during the last few weeks … RePublic Records have deleted all their versions of Raven Maize ‘Forever Together’ as the tune just was not selling, despite genuinely strong DJ reaction as evidenced by The Club Chart … Severn Sound is running a series of Friday (September 1, 8, 15 being next) nights out at Gloucester’s Cinderella’s Rockerfella’s for broadcast live in the late lamented Radio London ‘Soul Night Out’ style … GLR — Radio London as was — meanwhile is ludicrously dropping Dave Pearce’s nightly dance music show (leaving just his Friday 8.30pm rap and Sunday 10pm soul shows), the only thing a lot of Londoners nowadays ever tune into the station to hear — doesn’t the fact that the station’s ratings have really fallen through the floor since the departure of the Tony Blackburn soul era teach the powers that be anything? (Dave will be replaced by yet more rock music) … CityBeat is splitting into two separate labels, the original logo carrying the label’s long term soul signings plus the more commercial European-type product, while the new XL Recordings will be for harder underground club material (like upcoming stuff from Ellis D, Brooklyn Funk Essentials, Centrefield Assignment and others) — what’s more, the new label will deliberately ignore the Gallup Chart rulings on record length, to give value to buyers even if those sales don’t then count as singles sales … Nicky Holloway, the worse for a couple of lagers or so, waved goodbye to all his current playlist records in the boot of a total stranger’s car when he had a lift back to his hotel in Bologna after jocking at Frigo (that’ll teach him to be trendy and DJ in Italy, except it wasn’t trendy at all, the club was full of farmers!) — he’s managed to replace most of them but is desperate still (on 01-494 0328) for offers of Mike Anthony ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ and Antonia Rodriguez ‘La Bamba’ … Jolly Roger featuring E-Mix ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ is indeed 114.8-115.2-114.8-115bpm, as printed last week, while Evil Ed’s Dubby Club version is confusingly 0-115.2-115-114.8-115.2-114.8-115-0bpm … Cappella, who arguably kicked off the Italo-house trend, returns next month with the already promoed ‘House Energy Revenge‘ (Music Man MMPT 12009), a friskily driving but rather featureless 122.7bpm pounder filled with vocal samples including “got your pleasure” (presumably from ‘Pleasure Control’) and some Arabic chanting, flipped by a more volume pumping-ish 121.8bpm instrumental … Bobby Brown’s next UK single will be ‘Rock Wit’cha‘ — whatever happened to ‘Roni’? … Redhead Kingpin & The FBI’s follow-up unfortunately will be a Teddy Riley remix of ‘Pump It Hottie’, the Salt-n-Pepa styled track from their album … Les Adams has totally remade, rather than remixed, the Al Green sung but originally rockily backed ‘The Message Is Love’ from Arthur Baker and the Backbeat Disciples’ album, giving it a brief Jazzi P rap and a Soul II Soul–type tempo except its ended up more like Hot Chocolate! … Lenny Henry, in his film ‘Lenny – Live And Unleashed’, sings a great go go song called ‘Bad Jokes‘ to the tune of Chuck Brown’s ‘Bustin’ Loose’ (apparently flip of his current single, with which for some reason I have not been serviced) — incidentally, do not leave the cinema during the closing credits (as everyone else did when I saw it) or you will miss an amazing revelation by Steve Martin! … Chris Paul obviously didn’t know there already is a production/recording team called Way To Go when he came up with that name for the act behind the tracks he was originally signing to A&M but now isn’t, if you remember that previous story … Brooklyn’s legendary Frankie Bones and Tommy Musto, on their first ever UK visit (primarily to tout for remixing work), will be jocking over the next fortnight at Slough Civic Centre (August 25), London Sin/Astoria (26), Milton Keynes Outer Limits/London Confusion (27), Rayleigh Pink Toothbrush/Northampton Cinderellas/Dunstable Cinderellas (28), Norwich Sensatoria (September 3), Middlesbrough Club Havana (4), Brighton Savannah (7), London Woodstock (8/9) … Mike Allin, no longer a Saturday fixture at Milton Keynes’ The Point, is nevertheless running a Bank Holiday Monday (28) alldayer there with Jeff Young, Martin Collins, Les Adams (freshly back from West Berlin the previous night!), Joe Field and himself jocking in the main room and Simon Dunmore, Gary Dennis, Ralph Tee and Bob Cosby upstairs, plus many PAs including a full LA Mix album previewing showcase featuring Jazzi P, Kevin Henry, Sweet P and Chyna … Great Yarmouth Tiffanys’ previously mentioned Beach Ball Alldayer will now include a 30 minute live set by Adeva, while other Bank Holiday Monday events include Sleeze! by the sea at Leysdown on Sea’s Stage 3 with Pete Tong, Tim Westwood, Gilles Peterson, Aadil, Eddie Gordon, Craig & Marcus from 7pm-1am, and a Taffia Mafia reunion Summer Shakit Alldayer midday–midnight at Brynmawr’s New Griffin Hotel with the likes of Mike Knight, Gary Mayo, Andy Dogs, Carl Bassett, Mike Wilks, The Thwack Boyz from Norwich and Alan Coles … I don’t know when I’ll next get into the sun, although over the bank holiday I’ll be in Berlin — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

JANET JACKSON ‘Miss You Much (Mama Mix)’ (Breakout USAT 663)
Created again by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, her long awaited return (from an upcoming ‘Rhythm Nation’ album) is an abruptly introed violently snapping (0-)115-0bpm jerky staccato lurcher without much actual song cutting through the rhythm structure, breaking down for the last third into a funkier Prince-type groove, flipped by a less jagged percussively pattering and “oh I like that” repeating dubwise 115bpm Oh I Like That Mix and the industrially jolting jittery swingbeat-ish shrill 108(-0)bpm ‘You Need Me‘.

SUENO LATINO ‘Sueno Latino (The Paradise Version)’ (Italian Dance Floor Corporation DFC 016)
Proving hard to find but sizzling hot for those who’ve got it, this cantering repetitive (0-)118.2-0bpm groove eventually runs through some sexy panting and muttering by Carolina Damas, with babbling brook and nightjar — or some such other nocturnal bird — effects at beginning and end, flipped by a beat losingly introed then more acidic 118bpm Dub Version by Cutmaster-G. September 11 released UK copies on BCM Records appear (on promo, anyway) to be exactly 1bpm slower, and call the same A-side the Latin Dream Mix.

RAUL ORELLANA ‘The Real Wild House (Wild Mix)’ (Spanish Spitfire Music SPX-110)
Obviously the next Euro smash — Spanish, rather than Italian — this incredibly powerful piano jangled and J Bonell flamenco guitar twanged 124.2-0bpm instrumental house bounder samples Iggy Pop’s “I’m a real wild one” and even the Lyn Collins “yeah wooh” break beat amidst the frisky mayhem, a gloriously uplifting experience (123.8-0bpm Single Edit too, and the atmospheric gentle guitar picked 92.1-100.2bpm ‘Entre Dos Aguas (The Night Time Mix)‘). BCM Records release it here on September 18. Continue reading “August 26, 1989: Janet Jackson, Sueno Latino, Raul Orellana, Wrecks-N-Effect, Dionne”

BEATS & PIECES

BMG Records’ dance music supremo Eddie ‘Respect’ Gordon, counting his chickens before they were hatched, was so confident his Dancing In The Streets promotion department would pull off a claimed first last week in charting three dance singles straight into the top 40 (Black Box and Lisa Stansfield made it, in the event, but unfortunately the Manic MCs let him down!) that he pre-announced the anticipated feat by explaining the strategy behind it, saying he deliberately released all three records right at the end of a month, as in the past he has scheduled the gigs he promotes, because that is when he knows his target audience has just got paid — oh well, better luck next time Eddie, if by then some other marketing men haven’t beaten you to success with the same strategy! … Manic MCs’ commercial 12 inch of ‘Mental’ (RCA PT 43038), on full examination, proves to include the Sara Carlson featuring 0-119.2-119-0bpm Full Italian Job detailed last week, plus the instrumental 0-118.8-118.6bpm Full Climax (which appears to be the version previously promoed as The Final Climax) and what seems to be a new 0-119bpm Totally Instrumental (rather than the promoed ‘Blowing Mental’, although trumpet-led act Blow is credited as appearing) — the original white labelled version, the first of now three on vinyl, has so far remained the one in most DJs’ chart returns … Lisa Stansfield ‘This Is The Right Time’ on commercial 12 inch (Arista 612 517), with Mark Saunders’ Extended Version as A-side after all and Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh’s Miles Ahead Mix on the B-side now, is flipped also by the Ian Devaney & Andy Morris created jiggly jogging soulful swingbeat-ish 99.83bpm ‘Affection‘, getting attention in its own right … BRMB presenter Nicky Steele’s recently launched discotheque agency is looking for high quality DJs, mobiles and roadshows of all types to cope with the upmarket bookings that are apparently flooding in, and has arranged a midday meeting on Sunday, September 3, for interested jocks in Birmingham at Kitts Green’s Macadown — however, advance details and applications for CV forms can be had from Nicky Steele Discotheques, 42 Sandbourne Drive, Valley Gardens, Bewdley, Worcester-shire DY12 1BN (0299-400852, speak to Brian) … Gary Hickson, long a regular chart contributor, hadn’t been heard from for a while but with good reason as he now tells us — last October he started presenting a widely (and well) received upfront black music show every Sunday 5-6.30pm on BBC Radio Lancashire, reaching from North Wales and Cheshire right up to South Cumbria on 103.9/104.5/95.5FM … ‘Free At Last’, the amazing “free James Brown” hip house single by Farley Jackmaster Funk & The Hip House Syndicate, is now revealed as featuring such Chicago rappers as MC L Rock, MC Roam, MC Taco, MC Mean, MC Zone, Kid Deaf, Precious Red and indeed MC Farley … Tam Tam have picked up the Dynamic Duo ‘In The Pocket‘ for early September UK release, and are due to reissue Silver Bullet ‘Bring Forth The Guillotine’ in a new Ben Chapman remix … Paul Johnson has exclusive one-off 8.45pm showcase on Thursday (August 17) at Soho’s Borderline (behind Foyles off the Charing Cross Road) … Birmingham’s 17-years-old Sha Sha, whose Soul II Soul-style ‘Lies’ hit The Club Chart on DJ plays alone, is going to be a busy girl this Friday (18) doing PAs around the West Midlands at 10.30pm in Stone’s Chads Nightspot (Stone Manor, near Kidderminster), at 11.30pm in Dudley’s Goldsmiths Nightclub, and at 1am in Small Heath’s The Porsche Club … Richie Rich cuts and spins live this Friday (18) at Brighton’s Zap Club and Saturday (19) at Brixton’s Fridge, with Obsession and MC Rumble … Funtopia featuring Jimi Polo guest at Paul Oakenfold’s weekly Land Of Oz night next Monday (21) at London Charing Cross’s Heaven … £5 advance tickets are now available (from Martin Smith at the venue) for the second Great Yarmouth Beach Ball Alldayer on Sunday, August 27 at Tiffanys, Marine Parade, Gt. Yarmouth, Norfolk NR30 2EW — when you realise the line-up includes Jeff Young, Chris Hill, Pete Tong, Tim Westwood, Chrissie Jackson. Eddie Gordon, DJ Richie, Chris ‘Charlie’ Brown and Richard (of Richard’s Parties) plus Alisha Warren and other PAs, you’ll understand why tickets are worth getting in advance … John Morris presents another of the revamped Caister Soul & Dance Weekends (the 24th if you count the original events actually at Caister) on October 13/14/15 at Gt. Yarmouth’s Vauxhall Holiday Park, featuring Inner City, Leon Ware and Lew Kirton live plus DJs including Bob Jones, Colin Hudd, Trevor Fung, Bob Masters, Simon Dunmore, Norman Jay, Bob Cosby, Gary Dennis, Paul Clark, Tony Fernandez, Chris ‘Charlie’ Brown and Doug Osborne — £49 tickets (£19 deposit) from Caister Weekend, PO Box 334, London N14 (01-367 9118) … DJ Anthony Squiggle is trying to establish a soul/funk/house Monday night at Cheltenham’s Swifts … Cry Sisco!, publicity stories about the act being a group from Paris notwithstanding, would appear to be veteran writer/producer/performer Barry Blue on his own — at least, it’s he who has been doing PAs, wearing a monk’s habit! … Jazz & The Brothers Grimm’s hot remake of Coffee’s ‘Casanova’ is finally out fully, and was in fact bubbling under the Gallup chart at number 106 last week despite oddly neither radio play nor support from the best known “big name” jocks … Gene Griffin apparently is Teddy Riley’s step-father, which doubtless explains their close working relationship … Ian Levine is launching a new Motor City label to separate all his recordings of ex-Motown artistes from his Nightmare label, so that they don’t suffer (as arguably Chuck Jackson did) from the Hi-NRG stigma of the latter logo — the first release will be by Billy Griffin … Frankie Knuckles Presents ‘Your Love’ (US Trax Records TX 150), the uncredited Jamie Principle muttered moody percolating tinkled 117bpm semi-instrumental chugger that suddenly and unexpectedly re-entered The Club Chart last week (it’s apparently big with the sort of jocks who are also playing William Orbit), first charted in November 1987 when it was (and still is) the flip of the fast 132-132.5-0bpm version of ‘Baby Wants To Ride’ — which you may recall was one of the forms in which this originally reached vinyl … The Club Chart last week was compiled from fewer DJs’ returns than the week before, in fact from more like the usual amount, with the result that (for example) the Beatmasters’ single had exactly the same number of chart points both weeks yet climbed from 41 to 29 — had there been room on the page, R. Tyme ‘Illusion’ should have been a re-entry at 100=, while breakers bubbling under the 100 included Judy Torres ‘Love Story‘ (Profile), Bora Bora ‘Jealousy‘ (US BR Records), Rhythim Is Rhythim ‘Beyond The Dance‘ (US Transmat), Viola Wills ‘Gonna Get Along Without You Now (Les Adams Remakes)’ (Music Man), Sandee ‘Notice Me (Notice The House Mix)‘ (Ton Son Ton/US The Fever), Lil Louis ‘French Kiss (Re-Layed)‘ (ffrr), Bang-The Party ‘Bang-Bang-You’re Mine‘ (Warriors Dance), Elle ‘Give It To Me’ (Rham!), Toni Scott ‘That’s How I’m Living (1989 Remix)‘ (Champion), Biddu Orchestra ‘Foundation Of Love‘ (Trax), Queen Latifah ‘Princess Of The Posse (Ultimatum Remix)’ (Gee St), Working Week ‘Eldorado‘ (10 Records) … Dorset, and ultimately Weymouth, is where I found the sun last week after tearing myself away from my time wasting word processor — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

JOLLY ROGER featuring E-MIX ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ (Desire WANT X17, via Pacific)
Danny Rampling was the other trend setting jock who recently revived this classic Timmy Thomas tune, via his remix of the old Illusion remake, followed now though by ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards from Milton Keynes with his very own remake, sung by the gruffly soulful E-Mix of the Family Quest MCs over a gently undulating and subtly reggae-ish throbbing 114.8-115.2-114.8-115bpm (Evil Ed’s Dubby Club too), flipped by the samples patched, basslines and drumrolls driven (plus vocal noises from the likes of Sly & The Family Stone ‘Dance To The Music’), instrumental 126-0bpm ‘Ulysses (Theme From Coldcut)’ and its alternative 124bpm ‘Ulysses (The Groove)‘.

ARETHA & WHITNEY ‘It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be’ Arista 612 545)
Even better than anticipated, the Misses Franklin & Houston’s gloriously whomping and romping duet has been remixed by not only Robert Clivilles & David Cole but also by the ubiquitous Teddy Riley (& Gene Griffin), Teddy obviously whipping up a swingbeat jitter in his main A-side (0-)115.4bpm Extended Remix and harder (0-)115.4bpm Hip Hop Mix, while Clivilles & Cole keep things jiggly if more garage-ish in their (0-)117.33bpm After Hours Club Mix and striding 117.2bpm House Mix. Four strong mixes, two wailing ladies, one big hit!

STEVE “SILK” HURLEY ‘Work It Out Compilation’ (Atlantic 782 003-1)
Actually featuring in the main other artistes produced by Steve, this album of all new material has his own solo surprisingly swingbeat-style though go go-based terrifically jaunty 112bpm ‘A Bit Of Jazz’, the already promoed (and now US 12-inched) STEVE “SILK” HURLEY FEATURING M.DOC credited jerkily lurching powerful 123bpm ‘Work It Out‘, RISSE (a girl) nagged strong fluidly pumping 123.4-0bpm ‘Love Baby‘ and untidy Aretha reviving 119.8-0bpm ‘Chain Of Fools‘, JACKSON & MOORE (vigorous soulful guys) wailed jittery bounding 123.83-0bpm ‘Think!‘ — no, its a new song! — and jerkily jangling 119.5bpm Can’t Let Go’, and JAMIE PRINCIPLE muttered moody cool twittery loping (0-)121-0bpm ‘Cold World‘ and similar breathy 122-0bpm ‘Drive Me‘. Continue reading “August 19, 1989: Jolly Roger, Aretha & Whitney, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, Bäs Noir, Paul Simpson presents Simphonia”

BEATS & PIECES

BRIAN CARTER has assembled a hefty roster of stars for the BCM Records presented Summer Dance Festival in West Berlin over the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of the month: held in the huge Tempodrom marquee, this three day event will feature on Sunday, August 27, Bobby Womack, Stetsasonic, LaKim Shabazz, DJ Mark The 45 King, Chubb Rock, LA Mix featuring Jazzi P and Kevin Henry, Longsy D, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Gibson Brothers, Razzamatazz, the Beat Pirate, plus DJs Les Adams and Jens Lissat; on Monday (28) UTFO, Kraze, Vicky Martin, Jomanda, Toni Scott, Precious, Village People, Fax Yourself, Die Krupps, Soif De La Vie, Napoleon MC, Honesty 69, plus DJs Craig Kallman and Ralf Odermann; on Tuesday (29) EPMD, Digital Underground, Donna Allen, Twin Hype, Stevie B, Queen Latifah, MC Duke, Daddy Freddy, Arnold Jarvis, the Maxx, plus DJs Tim Westwood and Alexander Schreck (there’s the possibility that De La Soul may be looking in too between tour engagements) — with a line-up like that, I expect quite a few people will be pestering Linda Rogers at BCM’s UK office (0689-890749) for fuller details! … Chris Blackwell (who, when first I met him, in 1963, was selling his early releases straight from the trunk of his car!) has reportedly sold Island and its associated labels to Polygram International for £300,000,000 — I well remember him observing in 1965 that, rather than continue licensing soul productions from the US which he then did not own, he was going to build up his own catalogue of wholly owned material that he could then licence (and, as it ultimately turned out, sell) to other people … Nesuhi Ertegun has died aged 71: not a name necessarily well known to today’s music fans, the son of a Turkish diplomat, perhaps surprisingly, he joined his brother Ahmet Ertegun’s New York based pioneering black music label Atlantic in the late Forties and helped make it, and more recently the multi-national WEA corporation, the force you will indeed know … Steve Rubell, whose New York club Studio 54 (whether one liked it or not) came to epitomise between 1977/79 the whole “disco” era, and who latterly co-owned that same city’s almost equally fashionable but less well publicised Palladium, has died aged just 45 of a mysterious liver ailment. Writing in London’s Evening Standard, columnist Clive Barnes gave him an epitaph that could not be more neatly turned: “His friend Andy Warhol said everyone was going to be famous for 15 minutes. The time ran out for Steve, but not before he had his day in the midnight sun” … Andy Thompson, formerly shop manager at Holborn’s City Sounds (like so many record business recruits before him) has been working with Pete Tong at ffrr/London and will now be taking over Johnny Walker’s past duties there as club plugger (wiv a likkle bit of A&R) on 01-741 1234 — what’s more, job seekers, they need an assistant too! … Soul II Soul’s remix of Alyson Williams ‘I Need Your Lovin’’ is flipped on commercial pressings by Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh’s sparsely dubwise swingbeat-style 110.33-0bpm Baby Love Mix of ‘My Love Is So Raw’ plus the Chuck Stanley duetted soulfully weaving 73/36.5bpm ‘Make You Mine Tonight‘ … Sara Carlson’s vocal contribution to the 0-119.2-119-0bpm Full Italian Job commercial A-side mix of the Manic MCs’ ‘Mental’ amounts to some “techno boys and new beat girls go…” repetition and a few more unnecessary lines of rap (accompanied by extra scratching) … Cry Sisco! ‘Afro Dizzi Act’, possibly the potential hit most hurt by the timing of the abrupt closure of PRT’s distribution, is now available again via Pinnacle with a new sparsely dubwise slow seeming 93bpm Kool Kaz Bah Mix on the flip (and a Paul Oakenfold remix to follow) – hopefully all this is not too late, as already Capital Radio for instance has dropped it from the playlist after persevering for several weeks despite the record being unavailable for listeners to buy … A Tribe Called Quest ‘Description Of A Fool’, reviewed on import only last week, is already on 107.6bpm UK promo for August 21 release … Richie Rich’s enduringly popular ‘Salsa House’, imported as a remixed 12 inch but so far only ever on LP here (in several mixes by now), is finally due domestically as an ffrr EP in four different mixes commercially, with an extra two on the promo . . . BCM Records have picked up Digital Underground ‘Doowutchyalike’ for the UK, and are also assembling an Italo/disco assault with hot tracks by Sueno Latino, LANDRO & Co, Wood Allen, El Chico, EJ Robinson, The Mixmaster and DJ Lelewel for an album compilation and selected singles release … Italo and Balearic are definitely out this Wednesday (9) at Torquay’s Monroes where Bob Smith and Chris Dinnis will be spinning “real soul music” for a Summer Hummer, and next Monday (14) at Ealing Broadway’s Haven Stables when Carlon, Dino and Mark’s deep house and soul Metro starts going fortnightly … RCA hold an invitation-only “Mental” party at Hurlingham this Thursday — will there be a police raid, or do they only know the word “acid”?! . . . Paul O. Wain’s previously mentioned Mondays went so well that his upfront night is now Friday at Nottingham’s Hippo Club … LiveWire, as well as their Prestatyn 6 weekender on November 3/4/5, also are helping at any rate to run “48 Hours of Organized KAOS” at Gt Yarmouth’s Pontins Holiday Centre on October 20/21/22 featuring Liz Torres, Coldcut, Pete Tong, Nicky Holloway, Paul Oakenfold, Judge Jules, Fat Tony, Gilles Peterson, Paul Anderson, Jazzy M, Alfredo, Johnny Walker and other names familiar to trendy London clubgoers, full info on 01-494 0328 (office hours) … CityBeat actually confess that they signed Starlight Invention Group’s ‘Numero Uno’ before even obtaining a copy of the Italian import, the DJ Danny Rampling created buzz alone was enough for them! Breakout have started advertising Way To Go featuring Robbie Chandler ‘Fever‘ just a little bit ahead of the gun, as they don’t actually have the rights to this Chris Paul created act, who are currently negotiating with several other interested labels! … The Club Chart last week ended up by being compiled from rather more DJs’ charts than usual, if anything, with the predictable result that many records gained lots of points but actually slipped down in the overall order because the established hits inevitably gained even more. At 99=, had there been room on the page, should have been not only WestBam and Young MC but also the kc Flightt LP, and Diana Brown & Barrie K Sharpe … Martijn Schuitemaker from Solihull — and with a name like that he probably knows — confirms that “Slaghuis” in Dutch does mean “Hit-house”, as “slagen” is to hit, beat or whip (“slagroom” meaning in fact whipped cream, just “room” being cream) … Justin Strauss’s remix of Sergio Mendes ‘Mas Que Nada’ drops in hip house (not just hip) hints out of devilment! … I guess you’ve noticed that the coding of my word processor does not yet match that of the rm typesetters, the whole rigmarole of using this new technology being so time consuming that I fear my reviews are slipping, just temporarily — study the Club Chart closely, because if it’s happening it’ll be in there, and at least with a BPM … West Somerset became my sun drenched if breezy destination last week when finally I was able to leave the word processor — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

DONNA ALLEN ‘Can We Talk (Club Mix)’ (BCM Records BCM 277 X)
Almost stone cold on import but taking off fast now it’s out here, this Clivilles & Cole remix is a brightly lurching and leaping 112.8-0bpm frisky fusion of “purple” and “new jack swing”, here with just the import’s snappier 113.2bpm Dub Version and a newly created 0-112.8bpm Radio Edit.

REDHEAD KINGPIN AND THE F.B.I. ‘A Shade Of Red’ (US Virgin 1-91269)
The young rapper’s fast selling but frankly rather patchy album is probably the hottest for the bassily chugging 103bpm ‘Speaking On Everything’, tightly snapping 108.67-108.5bpm ‘Do The Right Thing (USA)’, ‘There Was A Time’ based (in part) (0-)120.2-120.4bpm ‘Superbad, Superslick’, ‘All Night Long’-ish lazy 89.33bpm ‘We Rock The Mic Right‘, roots reggae 84.9-84.7bpm ‘Kilimanjaro Style‘, serviceable if more routine being the 113.2-113bpm ‘Do That Dance’, (0-)106.33bpm ‘Scram!‘, trickily introed 93-0-101.17bpm title track, 0-117.5bpm ‘The Redhead One‘, ‘Push It’-type (0-)126bpm ‘Pump It Hottie‘.

WHITE KNIGHT ‘Keep it Movin’ (‘Cause The Crowd Says So)’ (US Jive 1244-1-JD)
Nick Huminsky created punkishly rapped and spat powerfully pumping hip house chugger overlaid by familiar sampled riffs and phrases from the likes of Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy, Afrika Bambaataa and the JB’s, in 123.5-123.6-0bpm It’s Dope, 123.4-123.6bpm Dope Acid, 0-123.4-123.6-0bpm Funky, and 123.6-123.8bpm Insane Mixes. UK commercial release on August 21 initially will feature just the two Dope Mixes coupled with London and Dub mixes of his old ‘Yo Baby Yo’, to be followed by the Funky and Insane Mixes as a “remix” with the same oldie’s Chicago mix. Continue reading “August 12, 1989: Donna Allen, Redhead Kingpin & The FBI, White Knight, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Tuff Crew”

BEATS & PIECES

BEATS & PIECES and BEATS PER MINUTE, for the time being at any rate, are going to have to be printed with decimal points instead of fractions when necessary (you hopefully weren’t too confused by one creeping in last week), as to comply with the total in-house computerisation of rm I am trying to get to grips with my own word processor, which very irritatingly (until I work out how to get it to do otherwise!) only seems capable of generating ½ and ¼ as fractions — I actually had to use decimals when writing for Germany’s Network Press, and although they look a bit cumbersome they are easy enough to understand (rounded up or down to two decimal places, ⅐ becomes .14, ⅙ is .17, ⅕ is .2, ¼ is .25, ⅓ is .33, ⅖ is .4, ½ is .5, ⅗ is .6, ⅔ is .67, ¾ is .75, ⅘ is .8, ⅚ is .83, 6/7 is .86, these in practice probably being smoothed off even further for simplicity as a relative indication is really all that’s needed, absolute accuracy always having been hard to guarantee anyway even after painstaking and time consuming repeated calculation) … Sandee ‘Notice Me’, hitting The Club Chart through last December on US The Fever import and then out here on Ton Son Ton with spasmodic non-charted support right up by coincidence until just a fortnight ago, looks like taking off all over again in its 122.33-0bpm Notice The House Mix following the return of the UK DJs who attended the New Music Seminar in New York, where it’s currently mixed so much by the hotter club jocks that it seems to have become the big rave sound of the event! … rm ended up by not in fact moving offices until earlier this week, a fortnight late, which meant that many DJs’ charts had to be couriered back through cross town traffic if sent to the new address as instructed (Alan Jones/James Hamilton, rm, Punch Publications Ltd, Ludgate House, 245 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 9UZ is where they really must be sent now!) — writing three days ahead of its compilation, this seems unlikely to have affected The Club Chart … Breakers bubbling under The Club Chart last week (all with significant support even if not enough then to hit the keenly contested Top 100) include Paul Rutherford, The Minutemen, Boogie Down Productions 12in, Raul featuring J. Bonell, Victor Romeo presents Leatrice Brown, Kelly Charles & James Bratton, LaKim Shabazz, Edwin Starr, Where’s The Fire, Cry Sisco!, Viola Wills, Hithouse, Rockie Robbins, L.D.Jam Inc, Judy Torres … Wednesday, remember, is the day by which I need all records to be delivered at my home address for possible review (most still arrive on Thursday, which is such a waste as I don’t even have time to open them then) — however, Brian Mason (Cricklewood Ashtons) complains about the mail that lately all the piles of promotional vinyl which used to land on his doormat every Saturday, in time for weekend play and evaluation for reaction reports, now tend not to arrive until Monday or Tuesday with the result that he can’t gauge accurate reaction until the following weekend, thus missing his report deadlines and getting in danger of being struck off mailing lists … Spencer Baldwin has joined MCA Records’ dance department and is fast becoming the actual club plugger with whom DJs will be dealing … Michaela Strachan (the ‘Wide Awake Club’s “her” in ‘The Hit Man And Her’) appears to be making her Stock Aitken Waterman produced recording debut with a frantically dated revival of Edwin Starr’s ‘HAP.P.Y. Radio‘ … Dan Hartman’s rippling vibes started then wailing Loleatta Holloway duetted 0-121.6-121.1-121.4bpm ‘Vertigo/Relight My Fire‘ from 1979 (reissued on US CBS Associated Records 4ZH 06922) is among the old Hi-NRG faves being revived on London’s Balearic scene, which, along with the closely related “Italo disco” trend, as Richard ‘Tricky Dicky’ Scanes of Soho’s Trax Records shop in Greek Street (the scene’s main vinyl supplier) so astutely points out, is “all Italian high energy in reality” — this presents us with the ironic and very real possibility that The Club Chart could soon be taking over from rm’s late lamented Hi-NRG chart! … Trax Records’s current Balearic Top 10 is: 1 Black Box ‘Ride On Time’ (de/Construction), 2 Starlight ‘Numero Uno’ (CityBeat), 3 Akasa ‘One Night In My Life‘ (WEA), 4 Richie Havens ‘Going Back To My Roots‘ (US Easy Street), 5 Elkin & Nelson ‘Jibaro’ (German CBS), 6 Paul McCartney ‘Ou Est Le Soleil‘ (Italian Parlophone), 7 Gino Latino (various tracks) (Italian Time LP), 8 L.A.N.D.R.O. & CO. ‘Belo e Sambar’ (Italian New Music), 9 Marco Martina ‘Just An Illusion‘ (Italian Discomagic), 10 D.F.X. ‘Relax Your Body‘ (Italian London Street), while in the next 10 are such recently reviewed releases as the Koxo Club Band, Fax Yourself, Raul featuring J. Bonell, Cry Sisco!, The KLF … Manic MCs ‘Mental’ is finally out this week, billed now as featuring Sara Carlson in some vocal capacity … Adeva ‘Warning’ on commercial 12 inch pressings turns out to include its two, previously detailed mixes plus the Original 12 Mix of her old ‘Respect’ — surely a superfluous and negative move, as there can’t be many people buying the newie who don’t already own the oldie? … Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley featuring M. Doc’s ‘Work It Out’, promoed as an Ext. Mix, will be commercially released here in Club and Acid Mixes … Maze featuring Frankie Beverly’s long awaited debut Warner Bros album is at last scheduled for UK release next month … Markell Riley appears really to exist, and would seem to be the brother of Teddy Riley (but is he actually doing all the work with which he’s credited?) … El DeBarge exhibits some satisfyingly nifty footwork in his video for ‘Real Love’, still one of the better “new jack swing” things to date, so it’s a pity it didn’t do better — a candidate for reappraisal, maybe, now that swingbeat is getting a proper hold?) … Al Green’s current album, its Al B. Sure! and Kyle West remixed ‘As Long As We’re Together‘ swingbeat-style single apart, is merely rather rudimentary gospel and a big disappointment (even the single, heard in this context, is revealed as having religious lyrics) … Steve Dee, probably with some justification, boasts that “a brand new concept in nightclubs” will be opening in Gillingham, Kent, on August 24, Excalibur having four separate sound systems with quad panning, enough lights to present a different major light show every day of the week, 150 video monitor screens, pinball machines as decor on the walls, an ultra violet carpet, and an hydraulic dancefloor that can have either an aquatic light show under it when raised or — how mundane! — people merely dancing on it when lowered … Martin Stooke, who kicked off his long DJing career with just one turntable and 25 Victor Sylvester 78s in 1953, is now described by others as “the oldest DJ in Kidderminster” (a claim he refutes!), yet nevertheless celebrated his 50th birthday still in harness last month alongside other special guest star Midlands personality jocks … ‘Segue’ Steve Goddard (only 33) takes his ‘Adventures In The Land Of Music’ Seventies/Eighties soul/funk/jazz-fusion show every Wednesday to Bermondsey’s free admission Samsons in Grange Road, while otherwise he’s solidly upfront (with a smattering of old swingbeat classics) at the same venue on Saturdays, Rotherhithe’s Gardeners Fri/Sundays, and Old Kent Road’s Drovers Thursdays (all in South East London) — on the subject of oldies, he suggests that a Dancin’ Danny D remix could make Chic’s ‘My Forbidden Lover’ a smash overnight … Crazy Jammers For London Dancers have started Shock-Out Wednesdays at 126 York Way, Kings Cross, with Larry Jazz plus guests presenting jazz dance in the basement and selectors DJ Zaf, Richie ‘R’ and Simon ‘L’ spinning metropolitan dance sounds upstairs — promotion manager Trevor St. Francis of Islington’s Reckless Records is looking for suitable soul, house and swingbeat PAs (on 01-249 7446, Mon/Thursday 11am-3pm) … Simon Bogey and Mark Adrian spend £50 a week just on imports to make their ‘Dance Till Ya Drop’ Sunday nights at bracing Skegness’s TCs “the most upfront on the North East coast” (admission only one quid) … John Rodgers, now resident jock at Gt Yarmouth Tiffanys, also crams in over a 1,000 at Ipswich Hollywood’s soul nite the first Tuesday of every month (which in that case ought to have been this week, August 1, with Eddie ‘Respect’ Gordon too) … DJ Shem aka Streets Ahead (co-star of the ‘Blame It On The Bassline’ video), having graduated from Sussex University with a good English degree, is relaxing in Greece for the rest of the summer before rejoining Norman Cook in Brighton to do further production and remix work … Bob Masters and Chris Bangs host another Bournemouth Weekend (billed as “The Righteous Music Event”) August Bank Holiday Sat/Sun/Monday (26-28), held in five separate sessions with one £21 advance ticket covering them all (from Showman Entertainments, Second Floor, 73 Surbiton Road, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey, full details on 01-546 2754), the other featured jocks including Simon Dunmore, Nicky Holloway, Gilles Peterson, Johnny Walker, Leo Ryan, Gary Dennis, Doris Blofeld (?) … Adeva is the first (repeat) act confirmed for LiveWire’s November 3-5 Prestatyn 6 weekender (booking hotline 01-364 1212) … KISS-fm, vowing not to return to London’s airwaves until they can do so legally, are now lobbying for the allocation of the 104.8FM wavelength to a deserving local cause once BBC Radio 1 relinquishes it in November … Birmingham and Wolverhampton would seem to be hotbeds of pirate black radio, to judge from several recent dial sweeps while driving up the M6 on my way to North Wales (sunny in spells last week!) … I’m outta here, this as every week during the summer on Monday and Tuesday headed hopefully for somewhere sunny, BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

CHAKA KHAN ‘Soul Talkin’ (Serious Soul Mix)’ (US Warner Bros 0-21250)
American 12-inchers are so much better value, this five-tracker coupling Dancin’ Danny D’s Remix and Remix Edit of ‘I’m Every Woman’ with Frankie Knuckles’ Hallucinogenic Version of ‘Ain’t Nobody’ on one side (labelled as “Happenin’ Then . . .”) while the main plug side (” . . .Happenin’ Now”) is Paul Simpson’s beefy bass jolted swaying and strolling 110.2bpm garage remix of something actually new, or at least from Chaka’s most recent album, ‘CK’ (Serious Soul Edit too).

kc FLIGHTT ‘In Flightt’ (US RCA 9776-1-R)
Arguably a pioneer of hip house before even the Beatmasters, rapper kc’s strong album has the Jazz (a girl) duetted atmospherically shuffling 122½bpm ‘Summer Madness’, friskily acidic 123.8-123.4bpm ‘Fantasy’, urgently latin 125bpm ‘It Goes Like This’, coolly synthed 117½bpm ‘Jazz Player’, skittery 123bpm ‘Bass Line’, quietly sinuous 122½bpm ‘Let’s Go’, Randy Muller fluted 89-0bpm ‘Your Place Or Mine’, dull 115½bpm ‘Africa’, already known 121.2bpm ‘Planet E (House Mix)’, 120.2bpm ‘She’s Sexxy (Fantasy Mix)’ in demand 0-123bpm ‘Let’s Get Jazzy‘. A pity the level of the cut is so low.

ALYSON WILLIAMS ‘I Need Your Lovin’ (The Jazzie B & Nellee Hooper Remix)’ (Def Jam 655143 6)
Soul II Soul’s massive success with slinkier traditional soul tempos is thankfully having the effect of bringing speeds back down again, this promo (single-sided white label only, so far) for instance, their remix of one of her album tracks, creating an instant demand despite being a chunkily jogging slow 85.14-84.86bpm soulfully wailed and worried roller, a really mesmeric groove. Continue reading “August 5, 1989: Chaka Khan, kc Flightt, Alyson Williams, Lonnie Gordon, Sergio Mendes”

BEATS & PIECES

DON’T FORGET we’ve moved, all charts should go to Alan Jones/James Hamilton at rm, Punch Publications Ltd, Ludgate House, 245 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 9UZ (Fax number 01-928 5158) … ‘Batdance’ is not heard in any form during the movie of ‘Batman’, the incidental music and orchestral opening title theme being by Danny Elfman while Prince contributes ‘The Future’, ‘Vicki Waiting’, ‘Electric Chair’, ‘Partyman’, ‘Trust’ and the closing credits’ ‘Scandalous’ (not that it seems that many), most being played on ghettoblasters as party music or the like (the film is good fun if very violent, with Jack Nicholson’s gloriously over the top performance as the Joker a standout to relish) — the music you’re most likely to go home whistling, however, is the old ‘Beautiful Dreamer‘ as featured repeatedly by Hill Bowen & Orchestra (CBS)! … Gordon Mac points out that KISS/fm’s much criticised demo cassette was not a necessary part of the station’s submission for the London incremental FM licence, the rest of the application being totally professional: furthermore, had the station succeeded, its daytime shows would have been presented by veteran broadcasters while the more amateur but knowledgeable presenters would have been heard only in the evenings … CBS have followed the US-style ‘Stronger Together’ seven inch demo by the Chimes with now a separate 12 inch promo, ‘1-2-3 (The Silent Club Dub)‘, a soulfully pent-up girl wailed 110¼bpm chunkily lurching jiggly production by Jazzie B & Nellee Hooper no less, who also have produced the currently ffrr promoed wriggly tapping 111½bpm huskily semi-spoken unhurried ‘Blind Faith‘ by Diana Brown & Barrie K Sharpe … Atlantic have promoed Steve Hurley “DJ’s on the box” stuttering jerkily episodic exciting hip house-ish 122⅘pm ‘Work It Out‘ … ‘In Motion’ remains the title of the Precious track here, as previously reviewed, largely because that is what it was called when sent to MCA Records from its Big Beat US label … Inner City’s gatefold sleeve housed remixes, detailed last week, will not in fact be out until July 31 and August 7 … The Blow Monkeys featuring Sylvia Tella ‘Choice? (Re-remix)‘ (RCA PT 42958), sounding like a fault although apparently intentional, is an oddball 116⅖-116⅕bpm revamp overlaid by a wowing and wobbling rhythm as if the tape is slipping, coupled though by also new 116⅖bpm Magic Juan, so-called Electro, and 116⅕bpm Short Mixes, all driven to differing degrees by the ‘Think (About It)’ drumbeat … Longsy D’s latest creation, ‘Rude Boyz Gettin Funky’ is actually by L.D.Jam Inc! … ‘I Feel The Earth Move’ turns out to have been withdrawn to make way for ‘Blame It On The Boogie (PWL Remix)‘ by Big Fun, a sibilant hissing cymbal swamped effete 117⅖-117⅕-117⅖-117⅕bpm remake of Mick Jackson’s 1978 Jacksons oldie (recent inspiration of course for Norman Cook’s ‘Blame It On The Bassline’) … AVM Records here have a partnership with the Sound Of Belgium label and will be releasing Fax Yourself ‘Sunshine ’89’ on July 31 … Milton Keynes’ Jolly Roger is the latest DJ to record Timmy Thomas’s ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’, for August 14 release … Newport Pagnell’s Les Adams celebrated his homecoming from hospital by buying a CD Jukebox … South-West Devon was my sun scorched destination last week — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

THE BEATMASTERS featuring MC Betty Boo ‘Hey DJ/I Can’t Dance To That Music You’re Playing’ (Rhythm King LEFT 34T)
Switching between the Claudia Fontaine sung chorus of Martha Reeves & The Vandellas’ 1968 US hit ‘I Can’t Dance To That Music You’re Playing‘ and the modern Monie Love-ish rap of MC Betty Boo (also apparently known as Alison), this aggressive 120⅗-0bpm hip house jitterer is yet another in a rapidly overcrowding field, while the AA-side’s authentically shanking and jumping, Luke Tunney trumpet brayed and Jum Jum chanted, Sixties style (apart from a few acidic squiggles) 0-123⅘bpm ‘Ska Train‘ is more ska than sk’ouse and sounds like a fresher hit to me.

LIL LOUIS ‘French Kiss’ (ffrr FX 115)
Much hyped and massive, this mesmerically repetitive (0-)123⅖-123⅗-123⅘-0-124-0-bpm house instrumental gradually decelerates and accelerates through an orgasmic tempo-less break about two-thirds through, subsequent pressings being due to have other new mixes but the promo at least retains as flip the import’s twittery 0-121⅗bpm ‘Jupiter‘ and clanging (0-)125⅖-125⅘-126bpm ‘Wargames (Remix)‘.

BLACK BOX ‘Ride On Time (Massive Mix)’ (de/Construction PT 43056)
This Loleatta Holloway sampling gospel-ish girl roared exciting Italian house canterer is here in the same mixes as on import but with new UK names, this 119-118½(break)-119bpm original A-side, the (0-)118⅖-118⅘bpm Epsom Mix (Garage Trip) and 118½bpm Ascot Mix (Piano Version). A hit by any name! Continue reading “July 29, 1989: The Beatmasters featuring Betty Boo, Lil Louis, Black Box, Raven Maize, Odyssey”

BEATS & PIECES

NOTE NOW that we have moved, making the new address for all charts and other communications — as of last week, so this really is important! — rm, Punch Publications Ltd, Ludgate House, 245 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 9UZ (Fax number for charts, addressed like envelopes for the attention of Alan Jones/James Hamilton, is 01-928 5158) … I currently have a deadline so early on Thursday that unless record companies have ensured bike delivery of their product to my home address by Wednesday afternoon, they stand no chance of it being considered for review the following week (The Club Chart however will continue to reflect records’ activity up to the weekend immediately preceding publication) … London Jazz Radio, with backers including Michael Caine, Humphrey Lyttleton, Cleo Laine, Johnny Dankworth, Miles Kington, Bill Oddie, Brian Rix, Andre Deutsch and several MPs, won the London incremental FM radio licence — which won’t be bad, as the professionally run station promises a range of programming embracing all types of jazz plus soul, R&B and blues, influenced very probably by the way in which US jazz stations operate … KISS-fm’s hopeful backers meanwhile are described as being “choked”, but, although undeniably popular when operating as a pirate, their shoddy presentation just was not professional and tight enough to deserve to win: however, they were apparently one of the runners-up, and, depending on whose report you believe, further FM airspace may or may not be made available in London for the best two runners-up … Capital Radio’s Los Angeles recorded new jingles feature Philip Ingram, no less … BBC2-tv finally shows the drastically edited highlights of the Technics World DJ Mixing Championships Royal Albert Hall stage show this coming Monday (24) between 6.30-7pm … Les Adams celebrated the LA Mix single’s entry into the Top 20 by somehow getting pneumonia, but (against the advice of two doctors and, for what it was worth, myself) he nevertheless drove down from Newport Pagnell to Hammersmith for the Bobby Bland/Johnnie Taylor/Denise LaSalle show, but was in such pain on arriving that he checked in instead to the luckily nearby Charing Cross Hospital — where, following the show, Emma Freilich, Peter Young (“PY The Pink Tie” as he’s now known!) and MC Jammy Hammy found him sitting in just his underpants on a trolley with nobody looking after him, it taking us three hours then to get him properly admitted and tucked up in bed (which at the time of writing is where he seems likely to stay for some time yet) … West London’s Record & Disco Centre has been short of staff after the opening of a new sandwich bar, as within two days’ at least 25 people went down with food poisoning, including the shop’s Jerry Green, Sheridan Jules and Barvin Patel! … Brixton’s Red Records, having branched successfully into Soho, has just opened another new store in Peckham, at Rye Lane’s Aylesham Centre (described as a high street location without the usual high street compromises!) … Lil Louis ‘French Kiss’ has been promoed by ffrr, initial UK pressings being flipped by the import’s ‘Wargames’ and ‘Jupiter’ although vocal versions are yet to come — meanwhile, though, Simon Harris has recorded a cover version under the name Big Louis, which his own Living Beat Records will release on August 7, a fortnight after the original in a gentleman’s agreement with ffrr (for whom, of course, to complicate things, he records under his own name!) … Unyque Artists have split away totally from The Dance Yard Recording Corporation as an independent label, distributed by Spartan still … ‘Ska Train‘, so hot on promo, will after all now be a double A side on the Beatmasters’ next single … CBS have promoed on US-style seven inch the Soul II Soul/Loose Ends-ish jogging 95⅓bpm ‘Stronger Together (Demo Version)’ by The Chimes, flipped by the less good brassily jolting 0-94⅓bpm ‘Bodyrock‘ … I regret my new deadline left no time to review (on import) the girl wailed James Bratton & Kelly Charles created garage Franda Robertson ‘Think‘ (Micmac); aggressively snarled pumping hip house White Knight ‘Keep It Movin’‘ (Jive); afro rhythm flavoured jiggly Italian Landro & Co ‘Belo E Sambar‘ (New Music); anxious guy wailed vigorously bounding The Fascination ‘Serious‘ (Play House Records); Randy Muller penned swingbeat Skyy ‘Love All The Way‘ (Atlantic); Frankie Bones and Lenny Dee created typical acid, hip house and even rock eight-track ‘Looney Tunes‘ EP (Nugroove); War accompanied slow gruff rap Ice-T ‘Heartbeat (Remix)‘ (Sire); MC Jammy Hammy “get off” sampling murkily volume pumping Italian St Andrew’s Gang ‘The Family House’ (Discomagic); swingbeat-ish one side and slow soul t’other Babyface ‘Tender Lover’ (Solar LP); and (out here) totally Les Adams remade breezily chugging Viola Wills ‘Gonna Get Along Without You Now‘ (Music Man); Teddy Riley produced and Timmy Regisford remixed whompingly buoyant swingbeat Déjà ‘Goin’ Crazy‘ (10 Records); girls sung bass pumped cantering Biddu Orchestra featuring Erica ‘Foundation Of Love‘ (Trax); Yazoo ‘Don’t Go’ based (rather than the Yazz you might here expect) jittery Euro house Two Without Hats ‘Try Yazz‘ (Music Man); DC Lee led ethereal “yay yay yeah” background girls chanted catchy sparse wriggly striding Slam Slam ‘Move (Dance All Night)‘ (MCA Records) … Koxo Club Band ‘Paradhouse Remix’ in its A-side German remix is 117⅘-117⅗bpm, while similarly Doug Lazy ‘Let It Roll’ on Atlantic is also only 117⅘bpm, Dee Major ‘Rock My Rhyme’ is 0-111⅘bpm and Steady B ‘Nasty Girls (Extended Version)’ is 122 bpm (none with “changing girls”, or “chanting chix” for that matter!) … Donnie Elbert, the distinctively high piercing pitched falsetto revivalist in the early Seventies of ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ and ‘I Can’t Help Myself’, has died aged 52 in Philadelphia — his searingly intense 1957 US hit slowie ‘What Can I Do‘ became something of a standard that was much covered subsequently by Jamaican singers, while the song for which he will probably be best remembered (his Motown revival pop hits notwithstanding) is the ‘Can I Get A Witness’ tempoed mid-Sixties mod anthem, ‘A Little Piece Of Leather‘ … Overlord X heads a big rap/funk/raga jam this Saturday (22) at Ipswich’s ICA in Woodbridge Road … Mark Richards spins upfront house/hip hop and soul classics at Reading’s After Dark Club on Thursdays, Sundays and Under 18 Saturday lunchtimes … Arista labelmates Aretha Franklin & Whitney Houston’s upcoming ‘It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be’ duet has been remixed by Clivilles & Cole, hopefully a good sign … Sonia’s pop smash strikes me now as being reminiscent, in pitch and atmosphere if not actual chords, of Sheena Easton’s debut hits … BCM Records’ all-star funk fest in Berlin is fast becoming THE place to be over the August bank holiday, although before then we are in danger of being regaled by tall stories from everyone currently in New York at the New Music Seminar (of course I’m not there, with my deadlines I haven’t time to go anywhere!) … I’m outta here, BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_EsKv3PWS4

JODY WATLEY with Eric B. & Rakim ‘Friends (Extended Version)’ (MCA Records MCAT 1352)
The Hank Shocklee, Eric Sadler and Paul Shabazz remixed fidgety bouncing and bumping ultra-jittery (0-)100⅙bpm swingbeat jolter with Rakim’s guest rap was surprisingly slow to take off on import but is so rhythm packed it’s sure to hit here, flipped (instrumental too) by the similarly Andre Cymone produced more plaintively jittering 102⅙bpm ‘Private Life’.

ADEVA ‘Warning’ (Cooltempo COOLX 185)
Promoed at any rate in two alternative double A side mixes, Adeva plummily gurgles and wails through this terrifically powerful garage newie, which may not have the benefit of already familiar lyrics like ‘Respect’ but is instantly catchy, in Paul Simpson’s rumbling and tumbling 0-119⅕bpm High On Hope Mix and Tony Humphries’ nervily jerking (0-)119-118⅘bpm Zanzibar Mix (the latter with more angular Chic-ish guitar and “D” Train-type synth). Watch it explode!

THE 28th ST. CREW ‘I Need A Rhythm (Vocal Club Mix)’ (US Vendetta Records VE-7023)
The Clivilles & Cole created “group” album’s title track is now 12-inched, a girls sung samples woven jittery 0-125-125⅖bpm house canterer echoing the likes of Jomanda ‘Make My Body Rock’, Maurice ‘This Is Acid’ and Adeva ‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T’ in a smoother variation of the Todd Terry style, flipped by new Dubs numbers 1 and 2 — which, when this is out here soon in identical form (Breakout USAT 666), will be designated as the juddery tripping 125⅕-0bpm Dub Style and more interestingly episodic lurching 123⅕-0-123⅗-0bpm alternative Dub. Continue reading “July 22, 1989: Jody Watley with Eric B. & Rakim, Adeva, The 28th St. Crew, Smokin’ Gang, Fax Yourself”