James Hamilton's Disco Page

BEATS & PIECES

RHYTHM KING, realising they’ve become increasingly pop orientated, are the latest record company to launch an uncompromisingly specialist dancefloor aimed label, Outer Rhythm, which like CityBeat’s new XL Recordings will ignore the Gallup chart rulings about the running time of singles whenever necessary to give dance fans full value — first release will be the previously hard to find Forgemasters ‘A Track With No Name’ (see review) — the label’s co-ordinator Michael Perch also acting as the whole company’s in-house club plugger now . . . XL Recordings meanwhile have just released here the Ellis “D” ‘Free Your Mind’ LP (XXXL 101), reviewed fully on import, from which the UK single will be ‘Just Like A Queen’, but not however until there has been a special twin-pack pairing of ‘Took My Love Away’ and ‘My Loleatta’ with the Brooklyn Funk Essentials ‘We Got To Come Together’ (all in various mixes) . . . Frankie ‘Bones’ and other star DJ performers will be jocking at a private CityBeat party this Thursday somewhere in Covent Garden, incidentally . . . CBS have picked up D.J. International Records for the UK now, debuting next week with the Fast Eddie featuring Sundance import hit (which stupidly they’ve promoed in just one mix) . . . D Mob introducing Cathy Dennis ‘C’Mon And Get My Love’ turns out on commercial pressing (ffrr FX 117) to be just in its originally promoed disappointing 120.4bpm Dance Hall Mix flipped, as mentioned last week, by the subsequently also promoed better (0-)119.8bpm Spaghetti Western Mix — leaving that latter promo pressing’s Jools Holland keyboarded Keys II My Love dub, the version that’s actually hottest of all . . . Joyce Sims ‘Take Caution With My Heart’ is similarly on commercial pressing (ffrr FX 118) in its previously promoed now 116.8bpm Take Precaution 12″, 116-0bpm Take Precaution Dub, and 116bpm Original Mixes, but is likewise much hotter in the also already promoed totally different more garage/house-ish “drain” thrummed tougher 116.2bpm Basement Rock Mix by Mark Brydon of Sheffield’s FON Force, with its 116.2bpm Basement Rock Dub plus the previously promoed good chugging 115.6bpm Justins House, these however being due commercially as soon as next week (ffrr FXR 118) . . . Swansea’s famous Martha’s Vineyard is now under new ownership and is being revamped into a bland over-25s venue, despite the reputation as one of Britain’s best black music clubs earned for it by the efforts of DJ Jeff Thomas, who not surprisingly has moved what is still billed as “The Martha’s Monday Night” to Port Talbot’s Wall Street (his other black night is Thursdays at Merthyr Tydfil’s Charbonniers, with commercial Fridays at Neath’s Arches, offers of a funky Saturday being gratefully received on 0792-702034!) . . . Paul Anthony has returned to the West Midlands, opening Jay Jays in Willenhall this Thursday (12) with Mike Page rejoining him as resident jock . . . Andy Carroll of Liverpool’s The State has joined John ‘K’ and James ‘B’ (so does this make him Andy ‘C’?) spinning Euro Beats ‘n’ House on Mondays at Victoria Street’s The Underground . . . Metro has moved from Haven Stables in Ealing to the nearby Stocks on Uxbridge Road every Thursday now . . . Hammersmith’s Le Palais is the cunningly disguised venue for an “inner city M25 party”-type Paradiso night this Sunday (15) with DJs like Paul ‘Trouble’ Anderson, ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards, Derrick May and PAs by The Rebel MC & Double Trouble, 808 State, Rhythim Is Rhythim. . . DJ Ciao, who points out that Hipnosis ‘Droid’ is Italian (I only referred to it being from the “new beat era”, which it was), says that he and fellow Europhiles can tell which Italian and French pop songs inspired many of Stock Aitken Waterman’s creations, and wonders if maybe they will have to look a little further afield now? . . . ‘The Hit Man And Her’, in its unselfconscious way, has become perhaps the closest successor yet to the mid-Sixties’ legendary ‘Ready Steady Go’, and it really is scandalous that London Weekend Television see fit only to show it at 4.00 in the morning on a Sunday when other regions screen it earlier (just 50 minutes or so after it has actually been recorded and rushed by bike to the nearest transmission point!) . . . Broadstairs for bouillabaisse and lobster was the ultimate destination of an East Kent jaunt last week — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

THOMPSON TWINS ‘Sugar Daddy’ (US Warner Bros 0-21320)
An instant big seller in Central London, this Shep Pettibone remixed five-tracker (plus the pure pop 127bpm ‘Monkey Man‘) is sorta like latter day Duran Duran meeting Lipps Inc in its gruffly growled then jauntily chanted jiggly 111¾bpm A-side versions, the slightly Oriental flavoured Sweet N’ Low Mix, piano jangled chunkier Big Daddy’s Dub and drily lurching 7” Remix, but far hotter are the less vocal 112bpm B-side’s percussively clomping and chugging Velvet Rail Mix and Dub, quoting Instant Funk’s “c’mon you can get it”. Just to confuse matters, the here only three-track UK pressing re-titles the Sweet N’ Low Mix as the 12” Remix (Warner Bros W2819T), still 111¾bpm as also now is the Velvet Rail Mix under its new name as the Sugar House Mix, the Velvet Rail Dub becoming the 111⅔bpm Sugar House Dub.

FAST EDDIE featuring Sundance ‘Git On Up’ (US D.J. International Records DJ#990)
“Git up, git on up” isn’t exactly the freshest beat to repeat, though the result is effective enough as this Roxanne Shanté influenced rapping girl duetted routine hip house bounder thumps and jumps through its 123⅔bpm Fast Eddie, 123⅓-123¾bpm Julian “Jumpin” Perez, 123¾bpm Rocky Jones, and 123⅓-123⅔bpm Tyree Cooper Mixes. Rather confusingly, the one version that’s been promoed here ahead of UK release next week is yet another 124¾bpm mix, closest to Rocky Jones’s without being the same.

MR. LEE ‘Get Busy’ (US Jive 1274-1-JD)
Lee Haggard has really got busy, whipping up this Joeski Love title line sampling superb flawlessly simple and infectious hip house leaper, not doing anything necessarily very different but just doing it all so much better than anyone else, in 124-0bpm Club and Hit Man’s House, 124bpm Radio and Chicago Mixes. I guarantee you can’t stay still to this! Dy-no-mite! Continue reading “October 14, 1989: Thompson Twins, Fast Eddie, Mr. Lee, Dee Holloway, Rosso Barocco”

DMC LIMITED

I said a fortnight ago that DMC were over-extended at the bank due to their expansion into magazine publishing and record retailing. That was entirely wrong: they have sent me a letter from their bank manager to prove it. I unreservedly withdraw the statement with my sincere apologies to them.

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BEATS & PIECES

GINO LATINO as the name for a recording act has a confusing history, it first being adopted by Jovanotti, currently seen as presenter of ‘Gimme 8’ on BBC2-tv, who began as a DJ/artiste working for Italy’s Ibiza Records and used this, apparently cartoon character’s, name as an alter ego for his rap recordings on that label – like ‘Welcome’ and ‘Yo’, both big as separate records in Italy last summer and now issued back-to-back on US import — but who has reverted to his real name for the UK released (TV tie-in?) rapping ‘Gimme 5’, perhaps because rival Italian label Disco Magic in the meantime have found a different DJ whom they also call Gino Latino, this being the one whose ‘No Sorry’ is currently hot (probably explaining his lyrical assertion “I’m the best DJ anywhere”) . . . I must thank for the above detailed info the indefatigable ‘Tricky Dicky’ Scanes, pioneering proprietor of Soho’s Trax Records in Greek Street, which began as the country’s leading specialist Euro/Hi-NRG stockist before warehouse DJs started using the shop as a source for obscure fast synthesised instrumental B-sides and suddenly, as a result, it unwittingly sparked off the whole current Euro craze — something about which Dicky is suitably cynical, saying that other record shops will probably have stopped stocking Euro product by Christmas, although at present he is spending three days every fortnight driving thousands of miles around Europe buying up new releases just to keep his jealously guarded edge and stay ahead of the game! . . . Dicky points out, incidentally, that Belgian beats have come up in tempo again from “new beat” to make “hardbeat”, sort of metallic house, examples to look for including Mackenzie ‘Chicago Trip‘, Style ‘Aha Aha’, and the now quite old Dow Jones ‘Techno Groove‘ . . . Oh Well ‘Oh Well’ — no sooner had I thought it worth UK release — is indeed now out (on Parlophone 12R 6236), but in the form of the less good more angular here 110.2bpm Germany issued Remix three-tracker rather than the superior though apparently hard to find US pressing (both reviewed last week) . . . Champion, with predictable unpredictability (but, as it turns out, good enough commercial sense), have reissued last year’s girls muttered 120.8-121.2-120.8bpm weird stark juddery electro/freestyle The Beat Club ‘Security‘ (CHAMP 12-223) — something of an enduring “sleeper”, first about on US Pizazz around July 1988 before coming out here on Bass Records exactly a year ago and briefly peaking at 64 in The Club Chart a month later — while, rather more typically, they have also only just got around finally to releasing the months ago promoted and reviewed Farley Jackmaster Funk ‘Free At Last’, Chubb Rock with Howie Tee ‘Ya Bad Chubbs’ and Kelly Charles & James Bratton ‘Reachin’’ (you can see why I don’t exactly rush to review the label’s promos when even their announced release dates so often prove to be meaningless!) . . . Chris Rea ‘Josephine (La Version Francaise)’, reviewed last week off promo as a better value ‘On The Beach’ flipped single in its own right, for some reason seems now only to be out commercially as a 12 inch coupling to the 134.8bpm ‘The Road To Hell’ (WEA YZ43 I T) . . . The Mix Master ‘Grand Piano’ appears to be subjected to an import bar now ahead of UK release, making the original import copies collectors’ items as the UK version looks like being without some of the original samples . . . Hipnosis ‘Droid’, inspiration for the Manic MC’s ‘Mental’, is coming out here via Pacific . . . Easy Street Records are launching their UK label next week via Viceroy Records, as already reported, with Kelli Saé ‘It’s Too Late’ (Phil Howells is building a club promotion mailing list on 01-401 2226) . . . Islington Music Workshop, home of the I.M.W label, amongst other of its studio training courses, is running a Remix Weekend on October 28/29, teaching the techniques for creating commercially released remixes — full details of this and the other courses on 01-608 0231 . . . Ontario’s hot Bigshot Records are planning a UK showcase performance by all their artistes . . . Leeds Castle near Maidstone (where in fact I was doing a gig on the ramparts 20 years ago the night the Americans landed on the moon) was my daytrip destination last sizzling hot Monday — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

LISA STANSFIELD ‘All Around The World (Long Version)’ (Arista 612 693) Co-penned/produced by her Blue Zone colleagues, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, this sweetly swirling strings swamped lush Philly Soul meets tensely thudding swingbeat-type sultry 101.5bpm swaying jittery jogger is incredibly classy, flipped on promo by a shorter 100.2bpm mix ahead of full release next week. Watch it go!

D MOB introducing Cathy Dennis ‘C’Mon And Get My Love (The Remixes)’ (ffrr FXR 117)
Not even released commercially yet and here already are Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh’s remixes on white label, the A-side’s “a yippee yi yay, ah yah” overdubbed shuffling and cantering (0-)119.8bpm Spaghetti Western mix being due as the commercial pressing’s B-side next week, but meanwhile the track that’s really tearing the place up is the promo flip’s Jools Holland keyboarded chunkily lurching 0-119.6bpm Keys II My Love piano dub, coupled with the Cathy wailed tightly striding 119.6bpm ‘D’ Second Coming mix, this whole second promo being far better than the disappointing initial pre-release. Incidentally, check The Club Chart very closely this week as there’s a ton of hot stuff likely to be hitting that, after doing so many pop reviews, I just didn’t have time to tackle yet.

FOSTER McELROY ‘Dr. Soul (Extended Version)’ (US Atlantic 0-86289)
Marlon Brando impersonating ‘Godfather’ introed then MC Lyte rapped excellent chunkily lurching (0-)108.5-108.3bpm go go/swingbeat/funk jiggler with a usefully timeless sound, remixed from Denzil Foster & Thomas McElroy’s recently reviewed album and equally hot (instrumental flip). Continue reading “October 7, 1989: Lisa Stansfield, D Mob introducing Cathy Dennis, Foster McElroy, Fidelfatti with Ronnette, Liz Torres”

BEATS & PIECES

MOTOWN RECORDS have teamed up with Harlem’s legendary black talent showcase the Apollo to launch a new Apollo Theatre Records label . . . Gilles Peterson, the Anglo/Swiss presenter of the late lamented BBC Radio London jazz show, as previously mentioned now has a day job at Phonogram, in fact setting up a new Talkin’ Loud label for jazzily inclined projects in parallel with a separately headed soul/dance label yet to be announced . . . Dancin’ Danny D has signed his Slam Jam Productions to WEA/Warner Bros Records and is now actively seeking new acts for his Slam Jam label at Unit 32, Ransomes Dock, 35/37 Parkgate Road, London SW11 4NP (01-228 4000) . . . Toronto based Bigshot Records have opened a London office headed by Don Gallacher at Media Business Associates, 9 Carnaby Street (01-437 2747), to field all the enquiries for their hot product . . . Les Adams and LA Mix are now managed by Jimmy ‘Shamus’ O’Reilly at nearby Wardour Street’s Pure Music (01-287 2072) . . . BBC2 last Wednesday morning surprisingly showed an excellent ‘Don’t Believe The Hype’ educational documentary about job prospects in the world of hip hop (I think that was its intention, or maybe it was originally on Def II?), with interesting contributions from Jazzie B, Monie Love, Cutmaster Swift, Doctor K and many more . . . Simon Harris’ latest purpose built album of basic ‘Beats, Breaks & Scratches Vol 4‘ (Music Of Life MOMIX 4) has had all its BPMs calculated by yours truly, and if there is any discrepancy between running speed of the original acetate and the finished pressing it is so infinitesimal that for once you can be assured of accuracy! . . . Birmingham’s old Powerhouse reopens this Thursday (28), with a VIP party the night before, as the totally refurbished £2,500,000 triple venue Ritzy, with resident DJ Kenny Jaymes . . . Foster McElroy’s album, reviewed last week, is called ‘FM²’ — which, word processor incompatibility permitting, should have a small 2 after the FM as in ‘FM squared’ (the pound sterling symbol doesn’t seem to print either incidentally, amongst other things!) . . . Paul McCartney ‘Ou Est Le Soleil?’ appears to be out here too now (Parlophone 12 SOL 1), the same BPM as in last week’s import review . . . Wrecks ‘N’ Effect’s import album is also out here (Motown ZL72679) . . . October 2 is building up as a heavyweight release date for dance product, most of the currently promoed pre-release club hits being due commercially then (surely not following Eddie Gordon’s previously revealed strategy, the start of the month being when punters have money to burn?!) . . . Electribe 101 ‘Tell Me When The Fever Ended’ turns out to be on Mercury (hard to tell from an info lacking white — or rather, pink — label), and out on October 9 just to be different, along with other releases from Phonogram . . . I do wish Rhythm King could make up their minds once and for all about the different mixes of S’Xpress’ ‘Mantra For A State Of Mind’: now the previously promoed and mentioned 120.2bpm Club Vocal/Groove Mantra/Mantra System versions have indeed been released commercially too (LEFT R35T), but as ‘The Club Mixes’ rather than the Levitation Mix (which always was a separate different version, white labelled to some people even before the others), while yet another brand new Baby Ford remix should be out next week — a pity the actual tune isn’t really good enough to warrant all this! . . . DJ Kid Smurf usefully points out that the bassline from Faze-0 ‘Hi’ backs the Fresh 4’s ‘Wishing On A Star’ . . . Sydney Youngblood’s ‘If Only I Could’ seems to use much the same rhythm as Raze ‘Break 4 Love’ (does Mel ‘Litigation’ Medalie realise this yet?), while it is of course the Richie Havens version of the ‘Going Back To My Roots’ rhythm that Judge Jules uses for his Georgette Della Rosa ‘D’ Ya Wanna’ remixes . . . Jon Williams and Judge Jules mix up Italo house for Rusty Egan’s Saturday nights at Mayfair’s Wall Street . . . Jon Jules, Jerry Green plus other DJs and road crew were arrested before they had even started what the tabloid press would doubtless call an ‘acid house’ gig near Southampton two weekends ago (it was actually being promoted by a solicitor!), were locked up but not charged, and when brought before the beak were merely bound over to keep the peace for a year — for doing what? . . . Joyce Sims guests at the Unique 3’s fast becoming legendary the Sound Yard this Sunday (October 1) in Bradford’s Club Rio . . . Da Posse featuring Martell ‘Searchin’ Hard‘ (US Dance Mania), first hot in June, is now suddenly hotter than ever . . . David Peaston proves to be the younger brother of ‘Rescue Me’ immortalising mid-Sixties soul veteran Fontella Bass . . . Kevin Saunderson’s modern remix of the classic Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King ‘Shame’ is now scheduled for RCA release here . . . Jay ‘Mixbuster’ Davis has created a megamix of every track for inclusion in a Salsoul compilation box set coming soon on Indigo Music’s label Garage Trax . . . Frankie Knuckles Presents ‘Your Love’ is included in the currently released UK album compilation ‘Chicago Trax LP Vol 1′ (Trax Records TRAXLP 701, via Radical Records) . . . Jeff Lorber has been in London producing an album by, believe it or not, Brother Beyond (but on his own next set returns more to jazz) . . . I may have been mischievously misinformed about some of DMC’s current affairs, and, if so, naturally apologise should I have overstated the situation (after all they’ve achieved for the DJ world, and the fun we’ve had together, I certainly don’t wish ’em ill) . . . Marlborough for a cream tea was unfortunately the extent of my foray into last week’s brilliant weather — BUT NOT FOR LONG!

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HOT VINYL

SUENO LATINO featuring Carolina Damas ‘Sueno Latino (The Latin Dream Mix)’ (BCM Records BCM 323 X, via Pinnacle)
Differently subtitled but the same as the import’s Paradise Version, this haunting here (0-)117.4-0bpm massive Italian groove patters, pants, sighs and sexily mutters through bursts of some sort of bird noise that becomes its most nagging hook out on the dancefloor (beat losingly introed then more acidic instrumental 117.2bpm Cutmaster-G Mix, and A Cappella).

UNIQUE 3 ‘The Theme (Unique Mix)’ (10 Records TENX285)
Minus the Mad Musician now and co-produced instead by FON Force’s Rob Gordon, this Sheffield re-recording of last year’s hard to find enduringly huge northern “sleeper” by the DJ team from Sundays at The Sound Yard in Bradford’s Club Rio is a crowd effects and rap started then tinny synth piped jittery twittery throbbing unhurried 0-120.6-0bpm deep house instrumental (with a further brief burst of rap), flipped though by the arguably still better more haunting bass synth underpinned fully instrumental (0-)122.8-122.6-122.4-122-122.4-122.6bpm Original Chill Mix, the version whose few pressings on Chill Records first caused all the fuss (new quietly ticking 120-0bpm ‘7 A.M.‘ too), not due fully until October 9.

ADEVA ‘I Thank You (The Philadelphia Mix)’ (Cooltempo COOLX 192)
The outstanding track from her album remixed by Paul Simpson, a gradually building then rompingly whomping emphatically wailed brisk (0-)121.4bpm stomping and swinging strider, not due fully until October 9 but flipped on promo at any rate by Paul’s even better and breezier gloriously loose limbed soulfully sung and tinklingly vibed 119.6bpm Philly Dub Mix, for my money the side to check. Continue reading “September 30, 1989: Sueno Latino, Unique 3, Adeva, De La Soul, Janet Jackson”

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”