James Hamilton's Disco Page

BEATS & PIECES

BIG LIFE are rush releasing the De La Soul album here this week, largely as a result of its appearance in The Club Chart despite their attempt to get US imports banned — they had originally scheduled its UK release for later in the month, March 27 now instead being the release date for Richie Rich’s remix of the set’s hottest track, ‘Me Myself And I‘ (which on reflection is perhaps more ‘Knee Deep’ than ‘One Nation Under A Groove’!) … Merlin is featured rapper on the Beatmasters’ early April released jerkily tumbling 124-0bpm ‘Who’s In The House‘, this paraphrased but blatant remake of ‘Turn Up The Bass’ being a dig at Tyree as they claim to have originated the very first “hip house” record in 1986! … Eddie Gordon has called his new dance department at BMG the apt Dancin! In The Streets — it embraces the Bertelsmann Music Group’s labels RCA, Arista and Motown plus subsidiaries (on 01-636 8311, ext 2266) … Everton Webb of Birmingham’s Sidestep Promotions (021-643 6584) has taken over the club promotion of Big Life (aided by the label’s Tessa Lewis), which includes Ahead Of Our Time too … Graham Gold, veteran jock at Soho’s Gullivers and co-compiler of the excellent monthly Disc-Eyes music video service, is preparing a heavyweight bid for the Greater London FM community radio licence, his proposed station being tentatively titled Sound Of Urban London (SOUL-fm) … ‘Joy And Pain’ will be Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock’s next “new” single, both here and in the States … Bonnie Byrd here will be on the new BsBi label, presumably a Mahesh Bajaj venture … Desire have picked up Corporation Of One ‘The Real Life’, while Fourth & Broadway have Keyman Edwards … I began BPM-ing the UK pressing of Deniz ‘You Were The One’ and, on finding that our Metro Mix equivalent of the import’s Club Mix appeared to be much the same, assumed that the other mixes ,were unchanged in speed too — however, on closer examination I find that they’re not, so adjust last week’s review to make the House Mix 118½-118bpm, Shameek’s House Mix 118⅙-118⅓bpm, Metro Club Mix (0-)116⅖-116⅗-116⅖bpm, Deniz-A-Pella 116½bpm (drat, that’s another half hour out of my life!) … Radio Clyde’s mix master Paul Welsh actually threw me a wobbler by suggesting my BPMs have been getting inaccurate over the last few months, but by recalculating several using a different stopwatch and then re-BPM-ing records from way back I found no divergence — so maybe it’s Paul who needs a new watch or deck (don’t forget there are discrepancies between different pressings and mixes, which I monitor separately, the given Beats Per Minute only applying to the particular version stated) … DJs who return charts would in fact do Alan Jones and myself a great favour if they could detail the different mixes they might be using of individual tunes (incidentally, we do not supply printed chart forms — use your own paper unless serviced with chart forms from other sources) … Graphic Records have released a descriptively titled ‘Past, Present & Future‘ album of Darryl Payne productions (LIPS 4), for full review later, with tracks by such as Brian Keith, Sinnamon, Marc Sadane, Dino Terrell and NV … N.W.A.’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’ album (US Ruthless), apart from a revival of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band’s ‘Express Yourself‘, is a particularly filthy rap set full of repetitive obscenities and the glorification of gang violence — yet I heard one “mutherf***ing”-filled track being played on a European radio station when tuning my new car’s radio! … 12 inch imports for future full review include the Talking Heads ‘Once In A Lifetime’ — sampling hip house KC Flightt ‘Planet E‘ (RCA); jaunty girls chanted and samples studded early Eighties-style electro Domino ‘Cuties Get Connected‘ (Profile); frantic Todd Terry-ish samples-crammed LNR ‘Work It To The Bone’-based Casanovas Revenge ‘Let’s Work‘ (Invasion), which includes the “wooo”/”yeah” driven ‘Here We Go‘; Jungle Brothers ‘I’ll House You’ rudely remaking No Face ‘Hump Music‘ (Mess); Glenn ‘Sweety-G’ Toby created percussively driving pop aimed The Klub ‘Stand Up‘ (Smokin’); Philly recorded superb weaving soulful guy sung Theryl ‘Open Up Your Heart‘ (Hot Soul); breathily tender slow swaying blue eyed soul Dino ‘24-7‘ (4th + B’way); Jocelyn Brown-ishly wailed bashing backbeat jolted jogging Towanna Sheppard ‘The Stronger The Love‘ (Renown International Records); ‘You Don’t Know’ rearranging stuttery jittery Serious Intention ‘We Know‘ (Easy Street); MFSB adapting jazzily chugging and bubbling MFM Orchestra ‘Love Is The Message’ (MFM); Tommy Musto produced squeakily “street soul”-ish bounding Arlene ‘Who Will It Be?‘ (Midnight Sun); urgently rapping and scratching Sir Fresh & DJ Critical ‘Sit’em Down (Git’em & Hit’em)‘ (Solid Goals Records); Master Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane rapped, Joe Tex piano sampling murky slow Marley Marl ‘The Symphony (Remix)‘ (Cold Chillin’); Reggie & Vincent Calloway produced strangulated guys sung juddery uttering Sharp ‘Playboy‘ (Elektra) — and there are more! … Orchestra JB ‘On A Love Groove‘ (Metro Media Music) is becoming a big “cover-up” secret for several trendy jocks who considered it to be a naff volume pumper when new, while 1977’s Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers ‘Egyptian Reggae‘ (Berserkley) is much revived by more pop orientated trendies around London … Tim Westwood and Max ‘n’ Dave are joined next Wednesday (15) at London Camden Lock’s Dingwalls for a Rap Review 3 by DJ Pogo, Monie Love, Top BiIlin’, London Posse, Trouble, plus probable guests from the previous night’s World Mixing final … Ket Shah, Stewart Eden and DJ Lewis play hard tackle Fridays at The Harlem Shuffles in London Edgware Road’s Jools Wine Bar … London’s Hippodrome has apparently re-started gay Monday nights … Daryl Stafford ended up as only a temporary stand-in at Southampton’s Magnum, where the resident DJ is still Richard Hunt — who has also taken over from emigrated Adrian Dunbar at Bournemouth’s Bolts … Soul II Soul’s latest vocalist, Caron Wheeler, was formerly in La Famille, and the rock stars backing vocal trio Afrodisiak … LA Mix’s album, currently in mid-production, is likely to surprise everyone with its variety of styles, and emphasis on real instruments as well as machines! … North Wales, looking lovely in the sun last week (between occasional snow flurries), is already about as advanced vegetationally as a normal April and, even should things only stay the same until Easter, will be well worth exploring by Prestatyn weekender visitors if the weather is good — head for the hills, to the west and south-west across the Vale of Clwyd, and get lost on purpose! … I seem to have stumbled on a pattern for finding good value, ex-garage director’s slightly second hand cars in Wales, a swap between my 1986 “C” registered red Nissan Silvia and an “F” reg white one (with air conditioning and other luxury refinements) only costing me a difference of £4,000 last week … Disco Mix Club’s international DJ convention starts this Sunday, you hardly need reminding, so I’ll see you all there? … WOOO! YEAH!

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HOT VINYL

JUNGLE BROTHERS ‘Black Is Black (Ultimatum Mix)’ (Gee Street GEE T15, via Demix/Rough Trade)
Vocally augmented by Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest and totally remixed here by the Stereo MC-associated Ultimatum, this buoyantly jiggling 117½bpm calmly stated Malcolm X quoting anti-segregation rap is followed by the more sparsely bubbling vibes prodded jazzy 0-117½bpm ‘Ultrablack’ version, and double AA-side flipped by DJ Soul Shock’s previously imported 0-99⅔-100-99⅔-0bpm remix of the slinkily weaving ‘Straight Out Of The Jungle‘ (which drops into Grandmaster Flash’s similar ‘The Message’ amongst other funkily rumbling quotes), plus the languidly muttering 0-99⅚bpm ‘In Time‘ featuring Q-Tip again.

HEATHER AUSTYN ‘Bad Attitude (Extended Mix)’ (Urban URBX 33)
Martin Freeland created soulfully wailed and fast phrased chunkily jiggling strong UK recorded 110⅘bpm funk jolter (instrumental flip), not due commercially until March 20 but proving too hot to hold back.

THE MINUTEMEN ‘OK, Alright’ (US Smokin’ TAI 126615)
Norberto ‘Norty’ Cotto-created typically Todd Terry-type drums thrashed and guys chanted dated jack track-style nervy jumper, in 121bpm Club Mix, (0-)121-0bpm Spago Mix, 121-0bpm Bonus Beats and Radio Mix (the latter mislabelled in place of the Acappella), selling well. Continue reading “March 11, 1989: Jungle Brothers, Heather Austyn, The Minutemen, Bobby Brown, Alyson Williams”

BEATS & PIECES

THE 1989 International DJ Convention’s opening party on Sunday, March 12, will include an Alyson Williams live showcase plus PAs by such as De La Soul, Jungle Brothers. Cash Money & Marvelous, MC Lyte, Black Rock And Ron, Audio Two, Brian Keith, Jomanda, and Funky Worm, while the following day’s producers panel session will feature the likes of Clivilles & Cole, Frankie Knuckles, Hank Shocklee, Bruce Forest, Gail ‘Sky’ King and DJ Mark The 45 King — no rubbish, eh? (full booking details from the Disco Mix Club on 06286-67276, 63227, 67124) … De La Soul and Chanelle look like being added to the Prestatyn Easter weekender’s line-up (late bookings may still be available from LiveWire on 01-364 1212) … EMI have closed down their in-house dance promotion department, the Syncopate label however remaining as before with Tim Rudling still as club plugger and consultant but in an independent capacity, through his new The Kipyard Consortium … MCA Records’ UK pressing of Vicky Martin ‘Not Gonna Do It’, due commercially in four weeks but widely pre-released, turns out to be totally different from the US import with a brand new (0-)121½bpm Bam Bam House Mix as main A-side, 121½bpm 7″ Edit, Acapella and 121¼bpm Marshall Jefferson Radio Mixes being new too … Candi McKenzie’s ‘Wanna Be Good Tonight’, now I’ve finally seen properly printed finished copies, turns out to be a Jolley Harris Jolley creation, with no Dancin’ Danny D involvement after all! … RCA have picked up Jomanda ‘Make My Body Rock’, while Champion snapped up the new Lake Eerie … Diana Ross is returning to Motown, not only as an artiste but also as a shareholder in the label … Blaze are also now indeed signed to Motown, but Kevin Hedge has started his own Ground Level label “to bring a bit of black ownership into the current garage music scene” — Kevin, whose remix of Chanelle will be separately marketed as it arrived too late for inclusion on the main UK pressing, has also remixed the upcoming new Coldcut single … RePublic Records’ second compilation album of ‘The Garage Sound Of Deepest New York’ will be subtitled ‘Paradise Regained‘ and contain nothing but brand new unreleased New Jersey productions primarily by Blaze, with some by Smack Music Productions, Paul Scott and others … ‘Magic Juan’ Atkins has remixed the now Sharon Dee Clarke credited ‘Something Special’ for March 27 release, from the ‘Urban House’ LP on which this wailing 124½-0bpm skipper (the set’s main highlight) is confusingly billed as being by its producer Damon Rochefort … ffrr are plugging their Belgian new beat product with a supposedly promotional but fast selling — if you know where to look — 12 inch sampler (NBSAMP 1) coupling the ominous muttered chugging Dirty Harry ‘D’Bop’ (in 0-110bpm vocal and 0-108bpm instrumental) with the more thinly jittery rolling Taste Of Sugar ‘Hmm, Hmm’ (0-113¾bpm vocal and 0-113⅔bpm instrumental) … Chris Phillips and Paul Bennun’s monthly G.O.D. (Get On Down) night next Thursday (9) at Exeter Quay’s Warehouse Club features solid purple, P’funk, punk-funk and swing beat … Jay Strongman and a rota of guests including Bob Jones, Julian ‘Slack’ Palmer and Gilles Peterson spin all sorts and vintages of black music at Low Rider Thursdays in Soho’s Borderline (off the Charing Cross Road beside Foyles), where Madhatter Trevor hosts Upfront Fridays and jocks like DJ Mixmaster Tee, Colin Faver and Judge Jules have Garage Grooves Saturdays … Jazzy M, Steve Harris and Cut Master J mix up Chemistry on Thursdays at Brixton’s Fridge … Big ‘H’ hosts jazz ‘n’ soul Sunday evenings at Harry’s House in Slough’s Furze Hotel, on Uxbridge Road at George Green … Gary Mayo mixes Wednesdays at Cardiff Chicago’s … Steve Wiggins’ Saturday “70s Night” at Barry Island’s Warehouse has confused several flare-trousered Gary Glitter freaks — it’s all the drinks that are 70p! … Gt Yarmouth soul DJ Danny Smith had 500 of his most valuable records stolen from his car while it was parked outside his flat over the weekend (a silly place to leave them, it must be said), and offers a huge £5,000 reward for the conviction of the thief and return of the vinyl … John ‘JD’ Digweed, now he’s club promotions manager of the Sussex/Kent Playhouse group of venues, is looking for possible PAs and good DJs on 0424-421751 … WEA have made some promotional slipmats that advertise not only Ten City but also the company’s “man of the year”, club plugger Fred Dove! … Tyree Cooper and ladies’ man Kool Rock Steady by all accounts have found their brief moment of fame a heady experience while touring here … Ian Levine has actually gone to great expense to keep not only the legal right to the group name Seventh Avenue but also the group’s lead singer, now joined by two new members, Jive only having signed his past partners (who apparently didn’t sing on the records anyway) … Mick Brown & Pat Sharp’s next Stock Aitken Waterman-produced revival will be of Gonzalez ‘Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet‘, again to benefit Capital Radio’s ‘Help A London Child’ … GIVE IT SOME OF THAT, KID!

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HOT VINYL

CHANELLE ‘One Man (One Mix)’ (Cooltempo COOLX 183)
Reminiscent of the early Eighties’ Sharon Brown style, although largely based on Double Exposure’s ‘My Love Is Free’ from 1976, this Kevin Hedge of Blaze co-produced, Frankie Knuckles & David Morales remixed, superb cool girl gurgled and wailed smooth bass bubbled weaving here 118⅖-118¼-0bpm strider (118¼-0bpm Dope Dub and Intense Mix too) already is “the new Adeva”, instantly massive on import.

THE 45 KING ‘The 900 Number’ (Doctor Beat DRX 912)
DJ Mark The 45 King’s fruity baritone sax honked and dryly funked drums thumped repetitively looped 107⅙bpm break beat already drives hip hop crowds wilder than just about anything else at the moment, and is finally out here coupled with the similarly instrumental drum and bass thudded 102½bpm ‘Coolin’‘, and boringly rapped 100⅔bpm ‘The King Is Here!‘ — rather a waste considering two vocal versions of ‘The 900 Number’ could have been used instead, from his LP, and MC La Kim’s ‘The Posse Is Large’.

EPMD ‘I’m Housin’’ (Sleeping Bag Records SBUK 7T)
Long Island rappers Erick & Parrish Making Dollars’ jiggly shuffling lurcher from their last album is much brighter now in an exclusive UK-only 107⅓-107-0bpm Simon Harris remix, transformer scratching some “what it is, what it is” gospel wailing from Aretha Franklin’s ‘Rock Steady’ (107⅙-106⅚bpm semi-Instrumental too), flipped by a brand new echoingly drawled dedications started and Steve Miller Band ‘Fly Like An Eagle’ quoting 87⅔-0bpm treatment of ‘Get Off The Bandwagon‘ (Instrumental too), already hot on promo. Continue reading “March 4, 1989: Chanelle, The 45 King, EPMD, De La Soul, Gerald Alston”

BEATS & PIECES

The 1989 International DJ Convention is the next, now rapidly approaching, big date that should be in every jock’s diary, held at London’s Leicester Square Empire on March 12/13, Sunday having the welcoming party and Sleeping Bag Records sponsored Shure ‘Golden Mic’ UK Rapping Championship finals while Monday’s all day session includes seminar discussions and the preliminary eliminations for the 1989 Technics World DJ Mixing Championships — the finals of which, and the superstar studded DJ Awards ceremony, are then on Tuesday (14) at the Royal Albert Hall (full booking details from the Disco Mix Club on 06286-67276/633227124, three day tickets for non DMC members being £50, one day tickets £15) … Shure ‘Golden Mic’ rap finalists, selected at the UK mixing semi-finals, are slow talking freestyle Brian ‘Uncle B Nice’ Bennett, patois style toasting MC Daddy The Baddy, dreadlocked angry fast Daddy Dru (who all came first in their areas), sassy Jazzy P (as in Pauline), fast toasting Crazy Cool Desine, confidently haranguing DJ Oski Osic, 11 years old Samm E.E. (photographed twice in rm last week!) … Leigh’s Ruebens continued to prove hard to spell last week — the correct version (we must get it right at least once!) being R-U-E-B-E-N-S – where for some reason semi-finalists Tim Garbutt and Krazy K failed to show up (rather negating the Stockton heat where both had qualified), while Scotland’s Adrian Rennie couldn’t get the night off work! … Simon Harris is hosting a Music Of Life hip hop jam at the Café De Paris after the Royal Albert Hall world mixing final, with Tim Westwood, Derek B, Madhatter Trevor and live rappers throwing down … De La Soul’s weirdly conceptual, dialogue interspersed ‘3 Feet High And Rising’ album is proving hard to find on Tommy Boy import but will be BPM-ed should it hit The Club Chart this week, along with any other mile high pile of import 12-inchers that I picked up but didn’t have time to review … EPMD’s old but now much remixed 107⅓-107-0bpm ‘I’m Housin’‘ (107⅙-106⅚pm Instrumental) and totally altered 87⅔-0bpm ‘Get Off The Band Wagon‘ have been promoted by Sleeping Bag Records ahead of commercial UK release in a fortnight, these mixes not being scheduled for US release at all! … MCA Records have picked up Vicky Martin’s recently hot but now dormant ‘Not Gonna Do It’ import, which won’t be out until the end of March … Living Beat Records have remixed 1982’s Sinnamon ‘Thanks To You’ for UK release … ‘One Kiss will Make It Better‘ may not be on the vinyl LP of Ten City’s ‘Foundation’ album but an edited version is on the cassette and CD, along with extended mixes of ‘That’s The Way Love Is (Deep House Mix)’, ‘Right Back To You’ and ‘Devotion’ — any self respecting DJ should of course already have the originals on 12 inch anyway, but even so it seems a pity that vinyl buyers are so poorly served, even if the (Germany EQ-ed and pressed) LP is already low on volume by being so cramped … I’m not surprised I instantly recognised that the basis of The Dynamic Guv’nors present Jazzy Jason ‘M.U.S.I.C. (Use It)‘ is Tyrone Brunson’s The ‘Smurf’ — they actually used the remix I did of it as part of my 1983 medley of it with C.O.D. ‘In The Bottle’, on Streetwave! … Paul Simpson has re-recorded his “sleeper” from last year, ‘Musical Freedom’ (which somehow got lost between poorly co-ordinated promo and commercial release), this time featuring the vocals of Adeva! … New Jersey Queens & Friends ‘Party And Don’t Worry About It’ will be the backing beat of the Cookie Crew’s next B-side… Jon Sharp has started a Recuts dance division at Orpington based record distributors Pinnacle (0689-70622, ext 222), specialising in sales, marketing and promotion for smaller indie dance labels – those currently distributed include Music Of Life, Living Beat, Hot Melt, Warrior and Rham! Records … Marie Birch of London’s Sound Promotions (01-864 4484) and Everton Webb of Birmingham’s Sidestep Promotions (021-643 6584) have joined forces in PA’s Unlimited to organise personal appearance tours nationwide for the artistes … Tim Raidl, promoting indie dance labels from his Luton based Define Promotions UK (0582-412460), is also touting for business as a remixer – he created the Martin Luther King overdubbed Fingers Inc ‘Can You Feel It’ mix among other recent projects for Jack Trax … Jamaica’s veteran sound system DJ and legendary dub creator, King Tubby was robbed and then shot dead outside his house early in the morning two Mondays ago … LiveWire’s ever growing list of confirmed appearances for the Prestatyn Easter weekender now includes Ten City, Kym Mazelle, Midnight Star, Adeva, Inner City, Jomanda, Monie Love, Smith & Mighty, Longsy D and MC Duke … Jungle Brothers plus Richie Rich and guests next week start touring Manchester Legends (March 1), Rayleigh Pink Toothbrush (2), Northampton Roadmenders (4), Norwich Arts Centre (5), Brixton Fridge (6), Brighton Top Rank (8), Ipswich Corn Exchange (15) … DJ Richie B this Thursday (23) replaces the Roadblock night with a new more eclectic deep house/hip hop/garage/funk/go go/soul Gangster Boogie weekly gig at Westerham’s Grasshopper Inn, Moorhouse — meanwhile, the same thing also now happens at Greenford’s Oscars Nightclub, starting on Monday next week (27) before switching thereafter to every Wednesday … Sixties jazz organist ‘Big’ John Patton headlines at Brighton’s Jazz Bop 2 this Friday (24) in the Top Rank Suite, with Gilles Peterson, Baz Fe Jazz, Russ Dewbury and Bob Smith at the decks and many other live attractions … Brian Davies and guests play the latest funky stuff on both vinyl and video every Wednesday from next week (March 1) at Kidderminster’s Weavers Nitespot (only £1 before 10pm) … DJ Kid ‘D.F.M.’ Smurf, the super duper dance floor master, garage houses Leicester’s Helsinki Bar Wednesdays/Saturdays, the Bear Cage Fridays … London’s currently “resting” KISS fm jocks will be organising a musical week away in Majorca at the end of September, full details of the £195 holiday on 01-354 0893 (no Wallys!) … Theo Loyla on his retirement from disco plugging will become the manager of Gatefield Sounds record shop in Herne Bay, handy for home but hardly the nerve centre of the music biz! … Shep Pettibone’s Power House Mix of Will To Power ‘Fading Away’, reviewed on import and promoed here in that form too, is now on UK release (Epic 6546518) … James Lee ‘Wild Stroke Of Luck’ in its commercial form turns out to be very different from its far better Turntable Orchestra-ish promo mixes, beware … Alan Coulthard, despite all his much vaunted qualifications, seems to have bypassed his proposed career as a music biz lawyer to concentrate on remixing … Les Adams, believe it or not, is apparently becoming as hot in the States as Toddy Terry is here! … GIVE IT SOME THAT, KID!

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Arthur Baker is currently in the country overseeing the final preparation of his “solo” album on Breakout — in Jellybean-like style the first single (due early April) will feature Shirley Lewis while also supplying vocals on the album are Robert Owens, Will Downing, Jimi Somerville, Martin Fry, Andy McClusky of OMD and more. Arthur began to judge the Technics mixing finals, but then either got bored, or disgusted, or else had something better to do, and walked out halfway!

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THE WINNERS

Cutmaster Swift, defending 1988 champ, came on last in the finals of the 1989 Technics UK DJ Mixing Championships and, as anticipated by the smart money, pulled it off to be the winning champ again! With delightful grace, grimaces and gyrations, his skill packed seven minutes included a Guy ‘Teddy’s Jam’ synch (good to find someone using this neglected killer), 45rpm fast cuts, and a hilarious “acieed” satirising trance dance with his T-shirt pulled over his head. In case the few photogenic stunts give a wrong impression to people who were not there, his manipulation of the decks was all important – and, what clinched it for him, Swift’s most stunning trick of all sounded like an expertly flawless fast cutback using two copies of a record to repeat the same phrase, except that there was only one record on the deck, and Swift was manually lifting the stylus back a groove precisely on the beat without any discernible break in sound! You has to see it to believe it!

A close and thoroughly deserved second was DJ Pogo, whose locomoting fast accurate tricks were breathtaking and gained a fantastic response, one of his new stunts being the manipulation of the mixer’s crossfader with his shoulder – he seemed like the winner until Swift followed him on stage.

Third was the crowd pleasing 15 years old Scratch Professor, who for my money was more “show business” than “scratch business”, appearing initially in shades with a pair of slinky Robert Palmer-style femmes fatales undulating behind him as she stood on a chair with his foot on the record (rather than the mixer, which was a switch), his mixing being reasonably accurate but with messy transitions at times – he repeated his “bad meaning good” fast cuts and ‘Bad’ transformer scratch.

DJ Biznizz to my mind was better, doing almost flawless fast cuts with lots of flash, and manipulating the crossfader with his tongue and foot.

One of the leading favourites to win, DJ Jay, who it must be remembered is only two years older than the young-for-his-age-looking Scratch Professor, was disappointingly much less accurate than usual, fast cutting but with jumps and skips, to cool audience response. The very partisan London audience at the Empire obviously perceived the finals to be an exclusively hip hop event, any suggestion of house (apart from Swift’s satire) getting a cool reception, and any overly acrobatic antics that detracted from the pure skill of scratching being actually booed.

Merseyside’s DJ Trix was given a hard time but won the crowd around with his “bring the noise” and other fast cuts in a typically slick, accurate and clever programme that was easily the equal of most of the aforementioned London jocks, but Manchester’s zanily acrobatic DJ Leaky Fresh, who scratched well apart from some sloppy cutbacks, was rudely booed, while Sheffield’s Mink was plagued by a repeatedly jumping tone arm yet attempted acrobatic tricks which were doomed to fail.

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Continue reading “February 25, 1989: UK DJ Mixing Championship Finals, M.C. Duke, Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, Brian Keith, Don Baron”

BEATS & PIECES

PAUL KINDRED is leaving CityBeat to take over from next Monday (20) as dance promotions manager at A&M/Breakout, the position left vacant by the departure of Rob Manley for Virgin — where, coincidentally, he has just rationalised his function for the various “Allied Virgin Labels” into the newly titled AVL Dance Department … Longsy D’s House Sound ‘This Is Ska‘ has been rush released commercially after all (Big One VV BIG 13), in the same format as promoed … Prince Lover Dalu’s commercial pressing of ‘Let Me Make Love To You‘, not due fully until next week, now includes the more sinewy urgent but drily rapped sparse jittery leaping 0-117⅗-0bpm ‘All Praise‘ … Monie Love’s own ‘I Can Do This’, despite holding off Ten City atop The Club Chart for the past few weeks, obviously needs help in the pop chart and is now in a brand new drily jittering 117bpm percussively bubbling The Dancin’ Danny D Remix (Cooltempo COOLXR 177) — I wonder if she approves of this one? … Nathan Lewis points out that, as Prince Gismo, he is not in the Smith & Mighty posse and only interrupted Monie Love in Bristol after she had in fact challenged any local MC to come out and do better — he concedes that Sefton Terminator shut him down, respect being due, but that Monie did not (sorry that my details were incorrect, but at the time I was deep in conversation with BBC Radio Bristol’s Sunday 2-5pm black music presenter Tristan Bolitho, and was only alerted that something was going on by, as Nathan rightly describes, more crowd noise than there had been all night!) … Nathan also maintains that the Papillon was full of regulars that night, which is why there was no atmosphere as the majority didn’t know about mixing anyway — however, the venue’s management maintained that the crowd was not their regular one, and the fact remains that, at 1,400 strong, it was the biggest to turn out at any of the Technics UK DJ Mixing Championship heats, so people must have known why they were there! Bristol’s best mixing DJs are, so (as you can imagine!) I am reliably informed, more interested in maintaining a musical groove for their dancers and would not be interested in the exhibition style of mixing, which has nothing to do with their floor-filling skills … Chippenham’s Goldiggers semi-final obviously attracted a large Bristol contingent, and to their credit they really did make some noise, but then maybe it could be argued there was more to shout about! … Peace? … Les Adams draws the interesting parallel between the Technics mixing championships and snooker tournaments, pointing out that the top snooker players aren’t scared to put their reputations on the line, so why don’t more top mixers compete (so, why doesn’t he?!) … GLI would do well to develop a cut-down mixer the size of the Gemini, which most of the more dexterous mixing DJs prefer purely because it’s not too wide … Bob Masters, the veteran soul jock (or is that just his hairstyle?) who now plugs dance for Supreme Records, could always be relied on to play a crucial selection as warm-up DJ on the Technics tour … I have driven 5,500 miles since Christmas! … Tim Westwood, who it seems just cannot tell the time (to judge from his repeated miscalculations on Capital Radio!), was apparently badly beaten up with baseball bats at a certain Brixton venue last week … Tyree Cooper the producer, super duper trooper, announces that his rapper Kool Rock Steady is the cousin of Afrika Bambaataa … Taking Your Business (T.Y.B.) are the rappers of ‘Just Got Laid’, not Talking Your Business, while Dave Lee jumps back to correct himself that Peter Jacques Band ‘Mighty Fine‘ is obviously the track behind Def Jef’s ‘Just A Poet (It Feels Mighty Fine)‘, not ‘On The Real Tip’ … Alan Jones actually finds the slog in working out the Pop Dance chart such a thankless task that he’s stopped doing it, the space being filled soon instead by sales charts from a rota of upfront dance music shops around the country … Rhyl’s Alan Taylor (0745-36757), back on the mobile circuit in North Wales, is desperate for room and hopes to shift around 2,000 of his top title soul and dance 12-inchers for £1,000 … £3,500,000 has been spent on Manchester’s 21 Piccadilly, the most luxuriously appointed club I have ever seen, with Maxim’s style art nouveau decor, original oil paintings on the walls, a massive crystal chandelier concealing the lighting effects — the trouble is that it’s so big there can’t be enough up-market regulars to fill it and the restaurant’s food is disappointingly not up to the style of the place (the chef burnt some steaks and the fire brigade arrived in the middle of dinner!) but with John Mayoh and Gina midweek and Hutchy jocking Fri/Saturdays it’s well worth a visit … Andrew Holmes (DJ Madhatter) now co-manages Manchester’s black music Precinct 13 in South King Street, where Hewan Clarke jazz/soul/grooves Tuesdays, Rhythm Doctor and Gerry Dammers do “deep” Wednesdays, Madhatter and Dr Lamont hip house/funk Fridays, Ze Carioca, Hewan and Madhatter handle Saturdays, while the successful ‘Communion Sunday’ is about to restart … DJ Cook Cutz, Mixmaster Edzy, Deadly ‘D’ and MC JMP, plus guests like Hutchy and Holcott Foster, are building up Bradford’s Sunday The Sound Yard at the Club Rio Campus (near the university in Woodhead Road) … Brighton’s Bob Smith and Plymouth Sound’s soul boy Chris Dinnis, plus guests, play real, modern and indie soul, with jazz, JB funk and rare grooves too at the latest of the South-West’s quarterly “real soul” specials next Thursday (23), Humdinger 4 at Exeter’s Boxes on the Quay (details from 0392-439477) … Bournemouth’s Cabaret Club has, at short notice and amidst much bad feeling, closed down as a gay venue, DJ Daryl Stafford being the only staff member to land on his feet again with a brand new residency at Southampton’s refurbished Magnum Club … Norman Scott is cock-a-hoop that, following the closure of the Monday gay nights at The Hippodrome, attendance at his own Mondays is now 1,200 and Saturdays 1,600 at Bang, in London’s Charing Cross Road … Castle Combe, the world famous “Britain’s prettiest village” candidate near Chippenham, on February 8 was pretty well awash with all sorts of flowers in bloom, while many bushes in that South Cotswolds area were in new green leaf — remarkable! … GIVE IT SOME OF THAT!

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FINALISTS ‘89

ONLY SEVEN finalists are able to compete against the defending 1988 champion, Cutmaster Swift, for the 1989 Technics UK DJ Mixing title this Wednesday (15) at London’s Empire in Leicester Square … and here at last, after five weeks of exhaustive play-offs around the country, are those truly magnificent seven.

In the semi-finals, at Uxbridge’s Regals (where he said of his jealous critics, “They don’t want to battle on the turntables, they just want to fight”), DJ Pogo came first with a scratch mix programme that took a while to warm up but ended brilliantly with fantastic fast cuts creating a rhythm from one rapidly repeated beat, and a slurring, motoring frantic finale — in the middle of his set he had turned the Gemini mixer upside down and fast cut working the fader in reverse under it with his finger, then his bum, elbow, nose and most other protruberances!

15-year-old Scratch Professor came a very close second, having performed a deadly accurate programme, including “bad meaning good” cutbacks, ‘Bad’ transformer scratches and a synch, and even did a little dance.

Mink, from Sheffield’s FON Force, was totally untogether to begin with, putting on the wrong sides of records, but then showed flashes of cheeky brilliance in some dexterous manipulation and pulled off a unique slow scratch trick, earning a qualifying third place having repeated his entire set following sound problems with the Gemini mixer that he (as did so many others) had opted to use instead of the larger GLI.

Doctor K was the most impressive I’d ever seen him, doing very stark “black is black” cuts, and accurate cutbacks without using headphones, some at a speeded up 45rpm — a shame there wasn’t room for him in the final.

DJ “Whizz-Kidd” was not quite as tidy as he had been at Romford but had some good tricks (including a long synch of Kylie Minogue through the Lyn Collins “woo/yeah” break beat!) while DJ Carl, Rob Nelson (the Northern Ireland winner), and DJ Kut One were, with respect, not really up to the highly innovative standard of the obvious leaders.

At Chippenham’s Goldiggers, an excellent venue with a large stage so that all could see, making for a good night, Monie Love’s brother DJ Jay was the convincing winner with a programme of amazing fast accuracy, basically doing frantic cutbacks with immense cool and limb twisting dexterity, using a few tricks like his chin on the crossfader, and pulling his “14 K Gold” wool hat over his eyes in a blindfold, the crowd going apeshit!

Second was his colleague DJ Biznizz, thanks to a flawless performance. I regretted that DJ Reckless was unable to qualify, as his gracefully executed programme had included an excellent slow backwards and forwards scratch, accurate cutbacks and a long beat on beat running synch during which he sat on a chair at the front of the stage!

Norwich’s Sure Delite was extremely competent if a bit clinical (common amongst similar “bedroom mixers), while Dodger X, Terry Crofts and DJ Wizard Random were not up to the prevailing 1989 standard.

At Leigh’s hard to find (and hard to spell!) Reuebens, the most satisfactory result was a complete tie for the first place between DJ Leaky Fresh and DJ Trix. Leaky, aided by last year’s area winner Owen D, kicked off by falling over backwards — literally! — to be helped to his feet James Brown style. He then cavorted everywhere, mixing well all the while. Trix by contrast mixed with terrific dynamics, doing cutbacks without headphones as he built to a “bring the noise” finale of dazzling dexterity. Chris Harris as usual proved to be a strong scratch technician, but there were no more places to be won, Scotland’s Brian Hope (with a nicely chugging ‘Bring The Noise’/’Fake’ syncopation) and Newcastle’s house mixing Cool T being the only other contestants.

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THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

1 DJ JAY

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2 DJ BIZNIZZ

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3 DJ LEAKY FRESH

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4 DJ TRIX

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5 DJ POGO

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6 SCRATCH PROFESSOR

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7 MINK

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SAMM E.E., 11-year-old rapper from Bristol, was such a wow at Chippenham that he had to go through to the rapping finals!

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HOT VINYL

SOUL II SOUL ‘Keep On Movin’ (Club Mix)’ (10 Records TENX 263)
Not due commercially until March 6 (with a Teddy Riley remix to follow!) but far too hot to hold, this superb bumpily sinuous slinky 93⅓bpm jogger features yet another — classily understated and the best yet? — female soul singer with a “yellow is the colour of sun rays” hookline and the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra’s sometimes weirdly sawing live strings (in four mixes). Not to be missed!

TEN CITY ‘Foundation’ (Atlantic WX 249)
Double Exposure, rather than the Trammps, are the group who come most to my mind when listening to Marshall Jefferson’s deliberately mid-Seventies “Philly soul” styled treatment of this album, Byron Stingily’s wailing falsetto soaring through the massed strings and jumpy beats (including Philadelphia veteran Earl Young’s acoustic drums) in the ‘Ten Per Cent’- ish 122½bpm ‘Satisfaction’, scurrying 120⅓bpm ‘You Must Be The One‘, pshta pshta-ed tense 0-120bpm ‘Suspicious‘, really Philly-style 120¾bpm ‘For You‘, jittery chugging dull 114⅔bpm ‘Where Do We Go?‘, smoochy 64⅓/32⅙bpm ‘Close And Slow‘, mushy sweet 64¼bpm ‘Foundation‘, plus edited versions of Timmy Regisford’s more soulful 120⅘bpm Underground Mix of ‘That’s The Way Love Is’, the old 0-120⅔bpm ‘Devotion’ and 120⅕bpm ‘Right Back To You’ (but no ‘One Kiss Will Make It Better’ — didn’t it fit the prevailing style?). Somehow the new tracks sound cramped in album form, which won’t stop such an eagerly awaited debut set selling, but they like the edited hits really need to be stretched out.

THE 45 KING PRESENTS… LAKIM SHABAZZ ‘Pure Righteousness’ (US Tuff City TUF LP 5557)
…or M.C. La Kim, as the LP’s label spells his more familiar monicker! Produced and co-penned by break beat plundering DJ Mark The 45 King, this as a result fast selling set by the punchy rhythm riding rapper and his DJ Cee Just has the conversationally begun before then instrumental and “D” Train ‘You’re The One For Me’ synth prodded “hip house”-ish 118⅕bpm ‘Adding On (Club Track)’, scratchily saxed dryly jiggling 107⅓bpm ‘First In Existence‘, slinkily jogging 105⅓bpm ‘Getting Fierce‘, insistent burbling 113½bpm ‘Sample The Dope Noise‘, percussively pattering sparse weaving 106⅓bpm ‘The Posse Is Large (Remix)‘, funkily saxed 101⅓bpm ‘All True And Living‘, James Brown “clap your hands” punctuated lazily chugging 105¼bpm ‘Pure Righteousness‘, fast talking jittery 104⅙bpm ‘Black Is Back‘, unhurriedly jolting 95¼bpm ‘Don’t Try Us‘. Continue reading “February 18 1989: Soul II Soul, Ten City, The 45 King presents Lakim Shabazz, The Dynamic Guv’nors, Phase II”

BEATS & PIECES

MIXING STANDARDS may have been disappointingly low amongst most of the entrants in the 1989 Technics UK DJ Mixing Championships (don’t forget that many more DJs are knocked out at preliminary stages than end up in the heats), but it must be said that just about all who qualified for this week’s semi-finals are “up to scratch” and well worth seeing, so, whatever the outcome, next week’s grand final at London’s Empire Ballroom on Wednesday (15) is guaranteed to be really exciting! … I and other observers are beginning to think that future competitors should have to include a mandatory running synch mix in their championship repertoire, just to prove that they can actually “mix” before going off into flights of scratching fantasy (rather as Pablo Picasso proved he was a superb draughtsman before he began painting people with jumbled faces) … West London’s overall standard at Ealing’s Broadway Boulevard was not as low as last year (when the heat had been at Uxbridge’s Regals, swapped about this time as venue for the regional semi-final), but, as also at Romford’s Hollywood (like a downmarket Stringfellows), few real standout mixers were weeded out from over 30 entrants at each heat (for full results, see the photo captions) — obviously, most of the good London mixers with get up and go have indeed got up early and gone to compete in the provincial heats, once again … LL Cool J ‘Rock The Bells’ and Hashim ‘Al-Naafyish’ have continued to be this year’s groan-inducing “oh, not again” clichés — even Pogo used the latter! — while use of Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock ‘It Takes Two’ slowed down at the later heats, which was a pity as all the judges enjoyed going “wooo” — “yeah” along with it … Barking’s DJ T Rox was the first ever girl to enter the mixing championships, in recognition of which she was put into the Romford heat, unfairly to her as although performing bravely she really wasn’t up to it … Dancin’ Danny D, star producer/remixer of D. Mob fame and his own new Slam Jam Productions company, was for no reason prodded and pushed by the Romford bouncers as everyone was leaving … Sleeping Bag Records, offering a recording contract to the winner, are sponsoring the 1989 Shure UK Rapping Championships, in which rap acts are competing at this week’s mixing semi-finals before having a final of their own at the March 12 opening party of the 1989 International DJ Convention … Technics’ World DJ trophy this year will be a reputedly solid gold SL 1200 turntable! … rm reader Ray Young is losing sleep, incidentally, wondering why the Technics SL 1200 deck’s calibrated speed control slider does not reflect the actual mathematical percentage speed shifts that can be checked against the platter’s illuminated strobe markings — it beats me but, unless anyone else knows better, could it be because the slider’s stated percentages cannot be geared consistently to both the different 45rpm and 33⅓rpm playing speeds? … She Rockers ‘On Stage’ turns out on commercial pressings to be a Broad Beans Mix and 118⅘bpm, with an added 119bpm Instrumental Mix … Funkmaster Wizard Wiz’s flip, left out for lack of room last week, is the juddery thudding 96bpm ‘Fat Tim‘ … Cash Money & Marvelous’s album, reviewed in full on import, is now out here (Sleeping Bag Records SBUK-LP-4) … Wally Jump Junior & The Criminal Element ‘Thieves‘, promoed (and reviewed) back in October and dead as a doornail by December, appears only now to have been released commercially! … Bobby Brown’s UK follow-up will be a re-issue of ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, and MCA Records have also reissued the Mac Band featuring The McCampbell Brothers ‘Jealous‘ (which had zilch response when first about in November) … Ten City’s UK issued album ‘Foundation’ (Atlantic WX 249) arrived too late to BPM, so check The Club Chart as usual for all the latest beats, including no doubt those for the DJ Mark The 45 King produced import rap album, Lakim Shabazz ‘Pure Righteousness’ (US Tuff City TUFLP5557) … UK remixes this week, which likewise will be BPM-ed if they hit The Club Chart, include the Kevin Saunderson remixed locomoting stuttery Reid ‘Real Emotion (The Motortown Meltdown)’, Les Adams remade jittery rolling Bäs Noir ‘My Love Is Magic (Big Bäs Drum Remix)‘, Dancin’ Danny D remixed ‘It Takes Two’ overdubbed though rather messy Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock ‘Get On The Dance Floor (The Danny D Remix)‘, originally imported Cameo ‘The Skin I’m In (The Truth)‘, frantically jittering stuttery S’Xpress ‘Hey Music Lover (Spatial Expansion Remix)‘, not particularly improved The DJ Fast Eddie ‘I Can Dance (The Rapture Mix) ‘/’Hip House (The Annihilation Mix)’ … Ten City and Kym Mazelle, plus live bands, are confirmed along with the likes of Adeva and Monie Love for the rapidly approaching March 24-26 Easter weekender at Prestatyn — full booking details (get in there quick as the last one was vastly over-subscribed) on 01-364 1212 from Live-Wire, who hint that they’re also “talking” to Bobby Brown, Chaka Khan, Jungle Brothers and Cash Money as the final line-up is far from complete! … Martin Collins’ contributions to Capital Radio would appear to be non-vocal for the time being, until a clause expires in his old contract with Chiltern Radio — meanwhile, he and Colin Watts hold a Pink Elephant/Dumbo’s soul club reunion this coming Monday (13) at Luton’s Ronelles … Kim Vernon, Wes Allen and occasional guest Paul Landon pump out all kinds of house, hip hop and soul at Back Street Fridays in Preston’s Loot — the aforementioned Paul Landon has actually just launched the previously local In The Mix house music fanzine on a national basis, and plans a Play It Loud record label to follow (subscription and mailing list details from In The Mix, 83 St George’s Road, Deepdale, Preston, Lancs) … Rob Hemans, who teaches street dancing for charity purposes at Swindon’s Plus One youth centre (0793-642765), checked the scene in Moscow before Christmas and had ’em breakdancing in the snow — he now plans next winter to take the Stone Youth Enterprise dance/rap/graffiti hip hop troupe over to subvert Russian kids properly! … Colchester’s University Radio Essex, the county’s longest established radio station, celebrates its 18th birthday on March 1 with a reunion of its former staff (many now running BBC and ILR stations), a national student radio conference with speakers on all aspects of local and national media, and general on-campus hi-jinks — details from programme controller Will Jackson on 0206-863211, ext. 230 … Chris Paul has remixed Perri ‘I’m The One’ in ‘Ain’t Nobody’ style, while J.J. Fad ‘Supersonic’ is due again in a “hip house” mix … Disco Gary VanDenBussche, recovering from a fall off a seven foot stage (ouch!), infos that Big Daddy Kane ‘Wrath Of Kane’ is based on the JB’s ‘Giving Up Food For Funk’ played at 45rpm instead of 33⅓rpm, while M-D-Emm member Dave Lee, usually to be relied on, reckons that Def Jef ‘On The Real Tip‘ is also based on the Peter Jacques Band ‘Mighty Fine‘ … The 45 King ‘The 900 Number’ has torn the roof off everywhere except in supercool Bristol on the Technics mixing tour, so why hasn’t it been higher in The Club Chart? … Boy Meets Girl may be one of Alan Jones’s current faves but is, of course, only in the Pop Dance chart because it’s been returned by pop playing DJs — I was merely trying to point out last week that Alan alone compiles that (and the Hi-NRG) chart, its new entries being unknown to me until they appear in print … MC Jammy Hammy was found fast asleep at the wheel of his parked car, when Mel Medalie dropped off some Champion promos at his house early one morning, for no more exciting reason than that he had been up all night (during a period in which he only slept properly four times in eight days) putting last week’s rm column together! … Disco Mix Club leader Tony Prince looks so young now with his brushed forward hairstyle that he’s known as the Clitheroe Kid! … GIVE IT SOME OF THAT, KID!

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DJ POGO, London’s overall winner last year, as widely anticipated won the East London mixing heat at Romford’s Hollywood, but confessed he was not on full form (it’s Pogo who scratches on, and produced, Monie Love’s current smash).

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ROB NELSON from Bangor, Northern Ireland’s winner again at Portrush’s Traks.

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DJ CARL, the lightfingered Carlos Hampden, convinced the judges that he should be second in Ealing by mixing backwards from the wrong side of the console.

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DJ “WHIZZ KID” from St Albans was the deserved qualifying runner-up in Romford, actually doing long synched mixes and a “morse code” transformer scratch.

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CUTMASTER SWIFT, defending 1988 Technics UK DJ Mixing Champion, is the man that they’re all going to have to beat in the 1989 UK finals next Wednesday (February 15) at the Empire in London’s Leicester Square, which by all accounts will be tough!

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DJ SLIPMATT with, as record feeder, his partner DJ Lime are the group S.L. II (whose previously reviewed ‘Do That Dance’ is now out commercially on B/Ware! Records) — despite deserving a place in some judges’ estimation at Ealing he somehow didn’t make the top three.

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HOT VINYL

CHANELLE ‘One Man (One Mix)’ (US Profile PRO-7241)
Kevin Hedge of Blaze co-produced, Frankie Knuckles & David Morales remixed, superb cool girl gurgled and wailed smooth bass bubbled weaving 119-0bpm garage strider (in three mixes), the new Adeva, instantly massive on import but due out here on Cooltempo at the end of the month (white labelled this week) with a bonus Blaze mix for the UK only.

THE STOP THE VIOLENCE MOVEMENT ‘Self-Destruction’ (Jive BDPS T1)
Reviewed in full on import only last week, this rapidly UK released all-star anti-violence rap message is here 0-104⅚bpm in its Extended Mix, Special Remix, and break beats augmented Instrumental versions.

THE STYLE COUNCIL ‘Promised Land (Longer Version)’ (Polydor TSCX 17)
Instantly hotter than Joe Smooth’s original, this ‘Magic Juan’ Atkins mixed much more fully textured and forcefully galloping 125¾-0bpm Paul Weller and D.C. Lee raggedly wailing cover (Pianopella Version too, and also house styled 119¾-0bpm ‘Can You Still Love Me?‘ flip in two versions) is already about in the actually Joe Smooth remixed even better more tensely snapping, cymbal schlurped clacketty rattling 125¾-126-0bpm much altered

‘Promised Land (Joe Smooth’s Alternate Club Mix)’ (Polydor TSCXS 17),
flipped by the now J.Z.J. remixed far better and tighter piano jangled jittery “deep” style (0-)120-0bpm ‘Can You Still Love Me?’ in Club Vocal and 12 O’Clock Dub versions. Continue reading “February 11 1989: Chanelle, The Stop The Violence Movement, The Style Council, Donna Allen, Tyree featuring Kool Rock Steady”

BEATS & PIECES

NEXT MONDAY (February 6) the Technics UK DJ Mixing Championships semi-final scheduled for Sheffield has been moved to Uxbridge’s Regals, Tuesday at Chippenham’s Golddiggers and Wednesday at Leigh’s Reubans remaining as announced — for last week’s heats winners see the photo captions … Northern Ireland’s heat this Wednesday (1) at Portrush’s Traks is attracting a large contingent of record pluggers from London — I wish deadlines didn’t keep me away from it … DJ Jay must, as of last week, still head the betting above Leaky Fresh, DJ Biznizz, Scratch Professor, DJ Trix and DJ Reckless — but DJ Pogo, in this Tuesday’s heat at Romford’s Hollywood, could top the lot before the final showdown against defending champ Cutmaster Swift! … Cash Money, likely to be a judge, will not be defending his World Mixing title, instead last year’s Danish runner-up Mick Hansen will stand in … Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock ‘It Takes Two’ was less in evidence last week (Scratch Professor actually used Lyn Collins ‘Think (About It)’ for its original “yeah”/”wooo”!), LL Cool J ‘Rock The Bells’ and Hashim ‘Al-Naafyish’ becoming the over-used clichés … Swansea’s Martha’s Vineyard may have been less exhilarating than Manchester’s Hacienda but had a really happy, nicely behaved crowd (reminiscent of a Chris Hill crowd 10 years ago) who couldn’t believe their luck when Sefton Terminator human beatboxed with Chad Jackson scratching behind him for the rest of the night — a big contrast to the massive 1,400 strong crowd’s stone cold belligerent attitude problem at Bristol’s Papillon (not the club’s regulars, it must be noted) … Nathan Lewis (Prince Gismo from the Smith & Mighty posse) rudely interrupted Monie Love’s PA in Bristol, but she and Sefton Terminator then shut him down vocally for good! … Southampton’s New York New York heat was remarkable in that every competitor was called DJ something or other — and all came from the general London area … Tyree ‘Turn Up The Bass’ is now on import 12 inch, but travelling the country as a mixing judge has prevented my getting it and other hot imports like the Kings Of Swing ‘Stop Jockin’ James‘ (ie: find someone other than James Brown to rap over!) in time to review … Joe Smooth has actually done a remix of the Style Council’s cover version of his own ‘Promised Land’ … Monie Love’s commercial pressing of ‘I Can Do This’ (Cooltempo COOLX 177) features the now 115⅔bpm Uptown Mix, funkier 115½bpm Downtown Mix, and DJ Pogo plugging jiggly go go tempoed 101¼bpm ‘Feels So Good’ bonus track … ‘This Is Ska’ appears only to be due commercially in the 12 inch promoted Skacid Mix and Dub on the Longsy D’s House Sound ‘For The World’ LP (Beg One BIGA 1) which apart from an equally original acid house treatment of ‘Zorba’s Dance’ is routinely and datedly “acieed” … ‘Bus Stop’ by N93 (of course, the number of the night bus between Twickenham and Hampstead Heath!) is in its 113⅕bpm Les Adams remake flipped — despite inaccurate sleeve credits — by just the previously separately promoed 118⅗bpm The Night Mix now it’s out commercially at last (Rhyme ‘n’ Reason Records 12RNR 1) … Cameo’s import remix is indeed due to be separately marketed here … Turntable Orch’s new ‘Caught You Looking’ will be completely remade for the UK … BBH Records claim (although it may be a scam) that just 200 copies have somehow been re-imported of their West Germany consigned pressing of the Mafia megamixed 0-121⅓-122-121½-121¾-122-0bpm WestBam, Adonis, Royal House, Jungle Brothers, D. Mob and many more medleying though Deep House Corporation credited ‘Kiss My Acid (The Acid Hit Mix)‘ (BBH-4) – it certainly could never come out here legally! … Mahesh Bajaj has apparently signed Bonnie Byrd’s import hit for his Needle and Upfront labels, which he continues to run from the offices of PRT (his biggest creditor in the crash of Serious Records, so obviously the company still has faith in him — just as it did in Morgan Khan under similiar circumstances) … CityBeat have picked up Brian Keith ‘Touch Me (Love Me Tonight)’, which will also be on Graphic Records’ upcoming album of Darryl Payne productions … Def Jam are having to rename their new soul (as opposed to rap) label, now to be known as OBR (Original Block Records) instead of Black Gold to prevent confusion with the old label of the some name … Monie Love, cropping up everywhere, even supplies a pertinent brief rap halfway through the 118⅓bpm still sinuously loping Adeva ‘Respect (The Dancin’ Danny D Remix)‘ (Cooltempo COOLXR 179) … Magic Juan’s 124½-124¾-125bpm Sex Mix, about which I raved when it was promoed, is only available commercially coupled with the 125½-125¾-0bpm Burning With DJ Desire Mix as flip to the less good 124¾-125bpm The Pod Went Pop Mix of The Beloved ‘Your Love Takes Me Higher’ (WEA YZ3S7T), which has already been superceded by a piano thrummed 124½-124¾bpm bounding Hi-NRG house Deep Joy “Angelic Mix” (YZ35TX) … Cash Money & Marvelous ‘The Mighty Hard Rocker’ is now selling better ironically in Nottingham DJ Graeme Park’s busier 106⅓-106½-0bpm B&B Remix (Bottom & Bass) (Sleeping Bag Records SBUKR 5T) – others in a pile of remixes which I will only BPM if they hit The Club Chart include an acidic Robert Howard & Kym Mazelle ‘Wait’, differently instrumented Turntable Orchestra ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’, ‘The 900 Number’ scratching denser Richie Rich ‘My DJ (Pump It Up Some)’, Memphis-style brass augmented Cookie Crew ‘Born This Way’, variously treated Smith & Mighty ‘Walk On…’, thumping techno styled Double Trouble ‘Feel The Music’, Frankie Knuckles’ not noticeably much different Truth ‘Open Our Eyes’, disjointed Electribe-1.0.1 ‘Talking With Myself’, Les Adams’ rebuilt lighter Lavine Hudson ‘Intervention’, muffled multi-tracked Merlin ‘Born Free’, Paul Dakeyne’s dreadful inappropriately “industrial” Errol Brown ‘Love Goes Up And Down (The Dusseldorf Mix)’ … I have neither time nor room to review all the new stuff, let alone rehashes … Denny Laine has re-recorded the Moody Blues smash he sang in 1964, ‘Go Now’, which talking to Gloria Hunniford on Radio 2 last week he correctly said had been sent over in its original Bessie Banks version from New York by “a friend” (he also correctly mentioned the same friend sending Irma Thomas’s ‘Time Is On My Side’, which then reached the Rolling Stones), but when pressed as to the friend’s identity said it was top New York radio DJ of the time, B. Mitchell Reed – uh uhh, Denny, try to remember, that “friend” was me! … GIVE IT SOME OF THAT!

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DJ BIZZNIZZ from Herne Hill, as tipped, was the dextrous winner in Bristol, with (bottom) the now 15-year-old SCRATCH PROFESSOR from Paddington a close second.

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DJ RECKLESS from Croydon, who (as Viv Ulson) had deserved to be placed last year, this time won at Southampton in engaging style.

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MC KELZ (left) and KRISSY KRISS of the Smith & Mighty crew, even had to shout repeatedly “Bristol posse make some noise” and “Bristol don’t let us down” when they PA-ed to typically sullen response at the Bristol mixing heat — in which, as I pointed out (to a response of boos and later hand-pumping congratulations), not one local Bristol DJ was represented, although legend has it that the city is full of excellent mixing DJs! The few who did enter were knocked out in preliminary stages. Local radio presenter Tristan Bolitho defends the scene by explaining that it’s very laid back, certain clubs being full of hot jocks and cool customers who don’t care about outside events. On the other hand, Master C of Radio FTP (trying for legal licence) reckons the DJs lack confidence, and should be ready in two years’ time. Smith & Mighty reputedly don’t care about national record success and merely put out their innovative productions for local consumption, but to judge from last week it looks as if their associates have begun to realise that being laid back and introverted can lead to total inertia. Being cool is all very well, except, as the outbreaks of fighting in the crowd proved, deliberately bottling up one’s natural enthusiasm can lead to violence as an alternative outlet. It’s so much more fun to be naturally happy, and outgoing. Get wise, Bristol and wake up! You’ll never get rich if you don’t take on the rest of the real world.

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GRAND WIZARD RANDOM from Bracknell won in Swansea thanks largely to his calmly confident “cool” poise.

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TERRY CROFTS from Cardiff, second in Southampton last year, had less far to travel to come to the same in Swansea – last week’s only “local” success.

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DJ KUT ONE from Lewisham came deserved second in Southampton.

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HOT VINYL

THE STOP THE VIOLENCE MOVEMENT ‘Self-Destruction’ (US Jive 1178-1-JD)
Many months in gestation, this concerted all-star attempt to convince black American youth that the ignorant violence of a stupid few hurts everyone is an excellent rolling jiggly 0-105bpm straight talking catchy rap featuring in turn and together Malcolm X, KRS-One, MC Delight, Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte, Stetsasonic’s Daddy O & Wise, D-Nice, Ms Melodie, Doug E Fresh, Just-Ice, Heavy D, Fruit-Kwan, and Public Enemy’s Chuck D & Flavor Flav (in four versions, the Instrumental having added break beats), essential for all rap fans and obviously something of a landmark. Hopefully its message will hit home and have effect.

NEW JERSEY QUEENS & FRIENDS ‘Party And Don’t Worry About It (Instrumental)’ (Base Line BASL 003T, via Rough Trade/The Cartel)
Bird Rollins-penned terrific sleazy 100⅔102⅔-102⅓-100⅔-102⅓-101⅔bpm rare groove instrumental from 1973, with reedily swelling organ chords setting up mesmeric tension against the drily jittering and shuffling rhythm, making it both a street soul jogger and a b boy appreciated break beat (Vocal and vocal/instrumental combining Extended Versions are included too, but it’s the Instrumental that’s essential).

SHE ROCKERS ‘On Stage’ (Jive JIVE T 195)
Plaintive fast talking 119bpm infectious funkily wukka-wukking female rap jiggler, produced by Antonio & Donna with Hamish Macdonald and scratching DJ StreetsAhead, while Adonis helped the girls produce the other alternative side’s frantically smacking excitingly driving 133¾bpm ‘Get Up On This’ (edit too), not maybe available commercially just yet. Continue reading “February 4, 1989: The Stop The Violence Movement, New Jersey Queens & Friends, She Rockers, Sha-Lor, Lachandra”

BEATS & PIECES

Eddie Gordon it is who leaves MCA Records soon, as hinted, to run an RCA/Arista/Ariola/Motown combining dance department at BMG, while Dancin’ Danny D Poku (retaining consultancy links) leaves Cooltempo at the end of February to set up his own D. Mob smash financed Slam Productions, doing independent record promotion as well as productions and remixes … Jon Williams has already left Club, apparently because Phonogram aren’t really all that into dance music (one would never have known!) … Theo Loyla, after 11 years of disco plugging, is closing his Superjocks record promotion service at the end of March … Thames Valley DJ Association hold their annual equipment exhibition this Sunday (29), Disco-Ex 89 at Sunbury-on-Thames’s Kempton Manor from noon (£1.50 entrance), followed by the awards, cabaret and dinner Shownite 89 (£15.50 advance bookings only, on 0734-771450) … 1989’s Technics UK DJ Mixing Championships next week are at Ealing’s Broadway Boulevard (Monday 30), Romford’s Hollywood (Tuesday), and in Northern Ireland at Portrush’s Traks (Wednesday) – for last week’s winners see the photo captions over the page (remember the first two at each heat quality for the area semi-finals) … Manchester’s Hacienda had by far the best audience and atmosphere ever during the history of the mixing championships, the amusing funky Leaky Fresh who won there being one of the friends who had lifted last year’s local winner Owen D into his famous “swallow dive” … Leeds’ past area champ Hutchy passed the preliminaries at Nottingham this time but still didn’t win a place this year, despite accomplishing an accurate long distance scratch using two billiard cues, one hooked to the fader – the trouble is that these sorts of tricks have all been done and more original skills are winning through now, as exemplified by the sustained brilliance of young DJ J, who crammed in so many fantastic fast scratches that he stopped short once he’d shown what he could do! … DJ J currently heads the betting, with Leaky Fresh and DJ Trix next favourites, but even Chris Harris and DJ Sure Delight have put Mink, the previous week’s best, in the shade (he was too inconsistently brilliant) – however, DJ Pogo, DJ Bizness and defending champ Cutmaster Swift are yet to come, and are tipped to be even fresher than the “kid”, DJ J! … Liverpool’s mix fans proved a bit unruly at The State, nicking most of the special Technics camp chairs used by the judges, and stealing a shoulder bag from Jive’s Bob Masters that contained not only all his address files but also his and Mervyn Anthony of Sleeping Bag’s credit cards … Monie Love, a perpetually worried looking perfectionist, is always interrupting her live rap to demand the mic be turned up louder, but when DJ Pogo backed her in Nottingham she actually wanted it turned down – she herself manned the decks behind the Cookie Crew’s guest PA in Manchester, and is talking about entering the championships as a DJ next year … Tyree will be PA-ing at the Leigh Reubans area semi-final and Empire final … CCDP put on a terrifically energetic PA, limbs failing everywhere … “wooo”/”yeah” has become the catchphrase of this year’s championships, most mixer using this Lyn Collins ‘Think (About It)’ break beat in its embodiment by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock as ‘It Takes Two’, which CityBeat are about to reissue (the duo have actually just split, incidentally) – Germany’s BCM Records meanwhile have just issued a stunning picture disc 12 inch coupling ‘It Takes Two’ with ‘Get On The Dance Floor (The “Sky” King Remix)’ (BCM 18178) … DJ Mark The 45 King turns out to be only 18 … ‘Fine Time’ is indeed the new A-side by Yazz (commercially as Big Life BLR6T), with ‘Dream’ as flip – we wish her luck … Coldcut’s next featured female guest vocalist will be Lisa Stansfield from Blue Zone, on their upcoming ‘People Hold On’ … 1940 (before my time despite what some might think!) was apparently the last winter as warm as this, which rather deflates the “greenhouse effect” theories, and, while this week last year I was surprised to find flowers blooming by the Bristol Channel, this year they’ve been evident everywhere up north already on our DJ judging travels, with pansies in Glasgow even a fortnight ago – but nothing beats a bush in actual budding leaf on January 4th in Newport Pagnell! … GIVE IT SOME OF THAT!

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HOT VINYL

LADY TAME ‘Loud Ladies’ (061 Records STAG 1061)
Sarah-Jane from Tameside in Blanchester was just a radio listener last summer when she sent some self-penned rap lyrics to Key 103 fm’s Sunday night Bus Diss! and Souled Out presenting Stu Allan, and indeed the witty Roxanne Shanté-ish words are best in this percussively pattered funkily rolling and lurching 113½bpm fast talking rap by her that Stu then produced to launch his, and fellow Key 103 mid-morning man Tim Grundy’s, 061 label (named after Manchester’s telephone area code, in case you hadn’t realised).

LONGSY D’s HOUSE SOUND ‘This Is Ska (Skacid Mix)’ (Big One PRE 13)
Smash-bound crazy fun packed 125¼-0bpm fusion of skanking Sixties blue beat “wiv a Iikkle bit of” twittering Eighties acieed (to create “skacid!”), the rhythm and prodding vocal interjections being however what many now will think of as 2-Tone (busier 125-0bpm Dub), flipped by the totally acidic and overly frantic 133¼-0bpm ‘Things Just Don’t Make Sense‘ — Longsy D being revealed as the man behind the Housedoctors’ ‘Gotta Get Down’, incidentally, so he has a pedigree that goes beyond his previous reggae-rap fusions too.

JOE SMOOTH INC. featuring Anthony Thomas ‘Promised Land (Club Mix)’ (DJ International Records DJINT 6, via Westside Records)
Hailed now as a classic anthem of last year’s summer of love (so how come only three DJs ever chart-returned it during its earlier “peak” in July’?), Joe Smooth’s finally UK released schlurping hi-hat hustled speedy here 124½bpm sombre inspirational deep house canterer, sort of gospel made to feel mighty real in Seventies disco style (125¾bpm Underground and 125½bpm Freestyle Mixes too), suddenly finds itself with a thunder stealing rival from a totally unexpected quarter, THE STYLE COUNCIL! Their Magic Juan mixed much more fully textured and forcefully galloping 125¾-0bpm cover version is already winning the sales race while still on promo, ahead of full commercial release in a fortnight (Polydor TSCX 17). What a turn up! Continue reading “January 28, 1989: Lady Tame, Longsy D, Joe Smooth, Kyna Antee, Charles B”

BEATS & PIECES

The 1989 Technics DJ Mixing Championships are now well and truly on the road and rolling, the first winners and runners-up (who qualify for the regional semi-finals) being detailed in the photo captions … Mink is the man to watch from the first three heats, this Sheffielder having flashes of intense brilliance rather like last year’s UK champ, Cutmaster Swift —sorry there isn’t room to go into greater detail about them all … George Little, Scotland’s champ for the last three years, wasn’t even placed this time at Glasgow’s Hollywood Studio, while similarly Hutchy, North Midlands champ for the last two years, didn’t even make it out of the knock-out preliminaries of Leeds’ Warehouse (but may re-enter somewhere else) – incidentally, there were no Southern “ringers” travelling North to enter this time! … Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock ‘It Takes Two’ so far seems to be this year’s over-used cliché … DJs aren’t going to gain points by mixing without using headphones if the resultant mix is dreadful (so play safe and don’t do it!), but then most seem incapable of doing a basic running mix without it going out of sync anyway! … Stockton-on-Tees’ The Mall, like a larger and more comfortable Hippodrome, serves Stringfellows style food as well — there can’t be many towns where the best restaurant is in a disco … Swansea Martha’s Vineyard (Monday 23), Bristol Papillon (Tuesday) and Southampton New York New York (Wednesday) are next week’s mixing venues … Jive’s over indulging Steve Wren had to have his hotel room repaired in Stockton, while, also among the entourage of judges, London/ffrr’s ultra keen Johnny Walker wasn’t put off by recent air disasters and flew up to Glasgow, back to London for a day’s office work, and then up to Stockton … Lockerbie is a sobering sight to drive past, the size of the crater right by the road, and the gutted houses, being impossible to visualise accurately from TV … I see that hip hop has even reached sleepy Richmond in North Yorkshire, the graffiti “Def Jam” being spraycanned onto a door in this castle-dominated picturesque hill town — which unfortunately will only reinforce some people’s prejudices against the music and its followers … DJs are being invited to audition, by submitting a tape of one of their own typical club nights (to Andrew Wood of Power Promotions, 18 Keens Rood, Croydon, Surrey CR0 1AH), in order to win a PA by one of the artists on the Garage Trax label’s upcoming compilation album (likely to be someone along the lines of Adeva, Gary L or Carol Leeming) plus a full promotion package … Martin Collins, whose move from Chiltern Sound to take over the Sunday breakfast show at Capital Radio was delayed sadly by the death of his father, will also be sitting in for Pete Tong later this month … BMG, the record company group that now includes RCA, Motown, Arista and Ariola, could as of this week already have a much-needed dance product overload, poached from another company with a set of initials! … Dancin’ Danny D to fly solo (“acieed” paying the bills)? … Nicky Holloway, virtually running London’s Astoria now, has a host of US stars booked for his Friday/Saturday Sin nights there … Hip House is already the name of the night, with Bryan Gee and Pete Stuart, at Bromley-By-Bow’s Highway Club (in Gillender Street off the northern approach to the Blackwall Tunnel) … Tyree ‘Turn Up The Bass’ is due to be 12-inched here (in several remixes) ahead of the US, where ‘T’s Revenge’ remains his single … Joe Smooth, of course (not Smith!), mutters ‘Perfect World’ on his own ‘Promised Land’ LP, which is now out here (D.J. International/Westside Records DJART 903) — as is Luther Vandross ‘She Won’t Talk To Me’ (Epic LUTH T9), reviewed last week — while the Diaz Brothers’ title is ‘Blow Some Static’ … I missed the fact last week that the Mix Masters’ more frenetically acidic B-side is a separate tune, ‘Pump It Up Home Boy’, in the Hurtin, Home Boy and P-P Pumped Again Mixes that in haste were wrongly credited under the ‘House Express’ A-side title … Hi-NRG chart positions last week were totally incorrect duo to a typesetting computer error — sorry … Sterling Void’s commercial 12 inch only has ‘Runaway Girl’ in its Radio Mix and Pimp Dub, and just the House Mix of ‘It’s Alright’, while for some reasons the useful House Instrumental is replaced by on instrumental of the still-included original album version of ‘2 Hype’ on Kid ‘N Play’s commercial 12 inch … Mantronix ‘King Of The Beats‘, the US B-side that wasn’t on their last disappointing album, has been hanging on to such sustained specialist hip hop floor reaction since July that — considering how duff their last few singles were — one wonders why it still hasn’t been issued here? … GIVE IT SOME OF THAT!

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MINK, from Sheffield’s FON Force, winning in Leeds with an army of judges looking on, including (front row) Phonogram’s Linda Rogers, MCA’s Eddie Gordon, Virgin’s Rob Manley, Cooltempo’s Steve Wolfe, CityBeat’s Paul Kindred, (second row) M|A|R|R|S’s CJ Mackintosh, Supreme’s Bob Masters, Sleeping Bag’s Mervyn Anthony and Radio Aire’s Carl Kingston.

  

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HOT VINYL

MONIE LOVE ‘I Can Do This’ (Cooltempo COOLXR 177)
Proving remarkably accomplished and confident as the main guest attraction at all the Technics DJ Mixing dates, 18 years old Monie (British but also with a Brooklyn family base and heavyweight New York rap star friends) is obviously smash-bound with this terrific infectious jumpy 115⅓bpm jiggler, produced by Dancin’ Danny D with DJ Pogo, who synchs the Whispers’ ‘And The Beat Goes On’ through the Uptown Mix and hits a far harder James Brown groove for the Downtown Mix, huge already on pre-release promo but still not out fully until next week.

BÄS NOIR ‘My Love Is Magic (Club Mix)’ (10 Records TEN X 257)
Ronald Burrell created terrific pattering piano nagged and wailing girls gurgled spurting 122¾-0bpm percussively tapping garage leaper by Trenton, New Jersey, schoolgirl sisters Mary and Morie Bevins, (dub/edit flip), huge already on import.

ERROL BROWN ‘Love Goes Up And Down (Extended Mix)’ (WEA YZ340T)
Brightly bounding synth snorted (0-)122¼bpm cheerful romping and swirling smacker (Sub Dub Mix flip), joyously uplifting, the most genuinely “soul”-type thing the Hot Chocolate croaker has ever done – and the first I’ve ever really liked! Continue reading “January 21, 1989: Monie Love, Bäs Noir, Errol Brown, Black Rock and Ron, Hanson & Davis”

BEATS & PIECES

Last week’s Hammy Awards may have seemed a bit dry and dull, mainly because for some reason there didn’t seem to be room for most of the more personal ones, so here’s a recap…

DON’T POINT THAT THING AT ME (it might be loaded): James Brown (‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Mailbag’?)

GIMME A BEAT AND I CAN LOSE IT (in a tape edit): what sometimes seems like most studio engineers!

“HULLO, MICHAEL, ARE YOU AND BUBBLES FREE ON MARCH THE 14TH?”: Tony Prince of the Disco Mix Club (now with a hard act to follow)

HIS SHOES HAVE NOT BEEN FILLED: Steve Walsh

N-SIGN RADIO’S TV STAR: Tim Westwood

‘TOP OF THE POPS’ VIDEO STAR (if only for two seconds!): MC Jammy Hammy

PERFECTION TAKES TIME: Les Adams

SIX MONTHS’ SUPPLY OF LOBSTERS: Adrian Webb of LiveWire (that being what each Prestatyn weekender pays for!)

A TOPLESS STRAP OR A STRAPLESS TOP?: Joyce Sims

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UK heats of the Technics DJ Mixing Championships next week are at Manchester’s Hacienda (Monday 16), Liverpool’s The State (11), Nottingham’s New York New York (18) — be there! … Concorde Artists’ 1989 World Dance Championships appeared to be televised live from the Hippodrome last week in a cheap looking production, relegated to two o’clock in the morning — the winner, not that the result has had much relevance for several years now, was deservedly Nigeria’s Bimbo Gomero, helped immensely by his heavily fringed white clothes which moved in syncopation with his African dance steps (interestingly, Rhythm King supplied all the contest’s music, by such acts as S’Express, Bomb The Bass, Beatmasters and Jay Strongman, which was an advance over the Nigel Wright produced cover versions of previous years!) … Martin Collins seems to be joining Capital Radio … Tim Raidl is updating his DJ mailing list for Jack Trax and the new Garage Trax labels – send exhaustive work details to him at Define Promotions UK, 68 Sunningdale Round Green, Luton, Bedfordshire LU2 7TE … GTI Records likewise are building a mailing list, contact either Peter Harris or Errol Henry at 282 Westbourne Park Road, London W11 1EH (01-221 8698) … Carol Leeming may be from the Midlands but, press release notwithstanding, Boyz In Shock members Paul Denton and Dean Zepherin are actually from Harrow in North West Greater London … Lindsay Wesker points out that Seduction’s opening “fraternity chant” is by Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy from the railway car scene in ‘Trading Places’ … Alan Coles, Mark George and Mike Wilks spin modern and independent soul this Saturday (14) at Maesglas Working Men’s Club in Newport, Gwent … Paul Oakenfold’s Mondays at London Charing Cross’s Heaven are now known as The Land Of Oz … GIVE IT SOME OF THAT, KID!

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HOT VINYL

TYREE ‘Tyree’s Got A Brand New House’ (US DJ International Records DJ 1016)
Not maybe quite as consistent as his labelmate The DJ Fast Eddie’s LP but dominated by the already massive (and coincidentally ‘Yoyo Get Funky’-like) ‘Turn Up The Bass’, an incredibly exciting 123½-0pm “house rap” leaper using Lyn Collins’s ‘Think (About It)’ “wooo – yeah” amongst many hip hop samples, Tyree Cooper’s nevertheless good album has also the James Brown grunt punctuated strong acidic striding instrumental 125½bpm ‘T.J.G.P.‘, vocodered galloping old 127⅓bpm ‘Acid Over’, stuttery 124½-0bpm ‘House Line‘, almost Rick Astley-ish 123½bpm ‘I’ll Never Let You Go‘, bland acid rap 125¼bpm ‘Acid Is My Life‘, girl nagged tinkling 123¼-0bpm ‘Let’s Get Together‘, smoothly talking 121-0bpm ‘Life‘, datedly twittering 125bpm ‘Acid Overture‘, and Black Riot ‘A Day In The Life’ adapting 122½bpm ‘T’s Revenge‘ — not though one of the also 122½bpm mixes on the separately 12-inched

TYREE ‘T’s Revenge – It Takes A Thief’ (US Underground UN 128),
this routinely acidic choice of single being in stuttery Julian Jumpin’ Perez, twittery Fast Eddie’s Acid Mix, jumpily percussive Tyree’s Remix and all three combining Joe Smooth’s Mix versions.

FAST EDDIE ‘Yo Yo Get Funky’ (US DJ International Records DJ 968)
The other track that’s really setting the pattern for what must surely become a “hip house” craze, this terrifically exciting Lyn Collins ‘Think (About It)’, Maceo & The Macks ‘Cross The Track’ and other funky samples woven jumpily rapping 125½bpm flier is in Original Radio form or broken down into different repetitive elements for the Woo Yea!, Funky Music, Tyree’s Funky Beats, and Use To Hearin mixes. However, despite this being by far the hottest hit on his album too, instead the UK 12 inch is

THE DJ FAST EDDIE ‘Hip House’ (DJ International Records DJINT 5, via Westside Records),
which samples Hashim’s ‘Al-Naafyish’, in 122⅔-0bpm LP Version and meIlower Deep Mix plus more routinely 0-122⅔-0bpm Nightmare Mix treatments, coupled also by the synth washed and twittered jerkily leaping instrumental 123⅓-0bpm ‘I Can Dance (LP Version)‘. Get the LP instead! Continue reading “January 14, 1989: Tyree, Fast Eddie, Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, Turntable Orchestra, Adeva”

HAPPY NEW YEAR! … I regret that there is no room for more than the Hammy Awards this issue, which means that the conclusion of Les Adams’, and my Capital Radio five hour New Year’s eve party music will have to wait a further week (but then, if you heard it, you know by now what was in it), along – most irritatingly – with a huge pile of new reviews … US imports doing the biz before Christmas included not only Tyree’s ‘T’s Revenge‘ (US Underground) on 12 inch but also his album ‘Tyree’s Got A Brand New House’ (US DJ International Records), from which the ‘Think (About It)’ punctuated and previously mentioned ‘Turn Up The Bass‘ is in extremely similar “hip house” style to the now 12-inched Fast Eddie ‘Yo Yo Get Funky‘ (US DJ International Records), while other import hits (check this and the last issue’s Club Chart for relevant BPMs) have been Peter Black ‘How Far I Go‘ (US DJ International Records), Phortune ‘String Free‘ (US Hot Mix 5 Inc), the DJ Mark The 45 King-produced Gang Starr ‘Gusto‘ (US Wild Pitch), Bipo ‘Why?‘ (US Jump Street) … Ten City ‘That’s The Way Love Is’ has been white labelled by Atlantic here (ahead of late January US release of its parent album), Stock Aitken Waterman’s remix of Kool And The Gang ‘Celebration’ (Club) is now out in addition to the Moet Mix, while other new UK Releases this week should include the already well known Turntable Orchestra ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’ (RePublic Records), Adeva ‘Respect’ (Cooltempo), Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock ‘Get On The Dance Floor (The ‘Sky’ King Remix)’ (Supreme), Sterling Void ‘Runaway Girl’/Sterling Void & Paris Brightledge ‘It’s All Right’ (ffrr), Cash Money & Marvellous ‘Find An Ugly Woman’ (Sleeping Bag Records) … I never wrote that Quantize ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling/Loving Suite’ (Passion) was “badly” duetted – it should have read as “blandly”! … 1989’s Technics UK DJ Mixing Championships’ heats kick off next week, at Glasgow’s Hollywood Studios (Monday 9), Stockton-on-Tees The Mall (Tuesday), Leeds The Warehouse (Wednesday) – weather permitting, I will be making every effort to be at all the mainland UK heats, so come up and say hello! – the UK final, as previously warned, now having moved to February 15 at Leicester Square’s Empire (rather than the Hippodrome) … GIVE IT SOME OF THAT!

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“GET OFF!” Yo, MC Jammy Hammy here, and to the “hip house” backing of yet another riff sampled from ‘A Day In The Life’, it’s time to book the Royal Albert Hall, get James Brown out of jail, and present the annual club music awards that show what really happened in 1988. The results may not be the way you would like them to be in retrospect, but – sticking strictly to the statistics to be derived from the year-end Hi-NRG and Club Charts (printed in the Christmas issue of rm) – this is how they stack up in fact.

THE CLUB CHART HIT OF 1988: d. Mob ‘We Call It Acieed’ (ffrr), number one in the year end chart if both mixes are combined (its main chart impact being in the promoed LP mix).

RUNNERS UP: Inner City ‘Big Fun’ (10 Records), at number one in the actual year end chart, was separated by only one point from Ten City ‘Right Back To You’ (Atlantic), and by only eight points from The Todd Terry Project ‘Weekend’ (Sleeping Bag Records), the latter being likely to leap over the lot had there been a chart for week ending December 31 (in which hypothetical case, Inner City ‘Good Life’ would also have vaulted up spectacularly from the low placing of 96 that just three weeks in the Top 30, albeit at Number One, had earnt it).

RECORDS AT NUMBER ONE FOR LONGEST (all with five weeks): Joyce Sims ‘Come Into My Life’ (London), previously 1987’s import of the year, S’EXPRESS ‘Theme From S’Express’ (Rhythm King), Inner City ‘Big Fun’ (10 Records), d. Mob ‘We Call It Acieed (The Matey Mix) (ffrr).

THE CLUB CHART ARTISTES OF THE YEAR: Inner City featuring Kevin Saunderson

RUNNERS UP: The Todd Terry Project, Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, S’Express, The Pasadenas, Keith Sweat, Joyce Sims, Eric B & Rakim, Will Downing, Kid ‘N Play, Coldcut

PRODUCERS OF THE YEAR (tie): Todd Terry – The Todd Terry Project ‘Weekend’/’Just Wanna Dance’ and ‘Bango (To The Batmobile)’, Swan Lake ‘In The Name Of Love’, Royal House ‘Can You Party’, and arguably Jungle Brothers ‘I’ll House You’ (which uses ‘Can You Party’ as backing track); Marshall Jefferson – Ten City ‘Right Back To You’/’One Kiss Will Make It Better’, Kym Mazelle ‘Useless’, Truth ‘Open Our Eyes’, and just as arguably Royal House ‘Can You Party’ and Jungle Brothers ‘I’ll House You’ as both are underpinned by his bassline from ‘Move Your Body’!

BRITAIN’S DJ PRODUCERS: Mark Moore (S’Express), Tim Simenon (Bomb The Bass), Les Adams (LA Mix), Matt Black & Jonathan More (Coldcut), Norman Cook, Simon Harris, Eddie Richardson (Jolly Roger)

RAP ACT OF THE YEAR: Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock

RUNNERS UP: Kid ‘N Play, Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy, and anyone called Roxanne!

IMPORT OF THE YEAR: Jungle Brothers ‘I’ll House You’ (US Idlers)

REISSUE OF THE YEAR: Rose Royce ‘Car Wash’/’Is It Love You’re After’ (MCA Records)

THE CLUB CHART LABELS OF 1988: 1 (–) ffrr, 2 (1) Cooltempo, 3 (2) Breakout, 4 (re) MCA Records, 5 (–) Rhythm King, 6 (4) Champion, 7 (5) Fourth & Broadway, 8 (3) London, 9 (re) 10 Records, 10 (–) Elektra, 11 (6) Atlantic, 12 (–) Sleeping Bag Records, 13 (–) FON, 14 (11) Urban, 15 (–) CBS, 16 (15=) Club, 17 (–) CityBeat, 18 (–) Reprise, 19 (–) Syncopate, 20 (7) Warner Bros

RECORD COMPANIES OF THE YEAR (labels ranked by hit strength): 1 (5) London (ffrr/London), 2(2) WEA (Elektra/Atlantic/Reprise/FON/Warner Bros/WEA), 3 (1) Chrysalis (Cooltempo/Chrysalis/Ensign), 4 (4) A&M (Breakout), 5 (13) MCA (MCA Records), 6 (–) Rhythm King, 7 (3) CBS (CBS/Def Jam/Tabu), 8 (6) Champion, 9 (8) Island (Fourth & Broadway), 10 (15) Virgin (10 Records), 11 (11) Phonogram (Club/Fontana), 12 (11) Polydor (Urban/Urban Acid/Scotti Bros), 13 (7) EMI (Syncopate/Manhattan), 14 (–) Sleeping Bag UK, 15 (–) CityBeat, 16 (–) Big Life (Ahead Of Our Time), 17 (–) Supreme Records, 18 (–) RePublic Records, 19 (–) US Idlers, 20 (14) Serious (RIP)

WE TRY HARDER: WEA

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?: Soul Music

HI-NRG HIT OF 1988: Michelle Goulet ‘Over And Over’ (Saturday)

RUNNERS UP: Natalie Cole ‘Pink Cadillac’ (EMI-Manhattan), M&H Band ‘Popcorn’ (French Family, making it import of the year), Barbara Doust ‘If You Love Somebody’ (Saturday)

HI-NRG HITS AT NUMBER ONE FOR LONGEST: Eria Fachin ‘Savin’ Myself’ (Saturday), starting its chart career on Canadian Power in 1987, was number one for 13 weeks during that year and for another five weeks in 1988, making 18 (non-consecutive) weeks in all – otherwise, restricted to 1988 (with eight weeks), Yazz & The Plastic Population ‘The Only Way Is Up’ (Big Life)

HI-NRG ARTISTE OF THE YEAR: Hazell Dean

RUNNERS UP: Quartzlock, Eria Fachin, Seventh Avenue

HI-NRG LABELS OF 1988: 1 (–) Saturday, 2 (–) EMI, 3 (1) Nightmare, 4 (–) Reflection, 5 (4) London

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO: Passion, 1 in 1986, 5 in 1987, nowhere (not one hit in the year end Top 40) in 1988

RECORD COMPANIES OF THE YEAR (new award): 1 Nightmare (Saturday/Nightmare), 2 EMI (EMI-Manhattan/Parlophone), 3 Reflection, 4 London (London/Ibiza), 5 PWL (PWL/Lisson Records)

That’s where the strict statistics end. From now on things may get more contentious!

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Ten City ‘Right Back To You’ (Atlantic)

TURNTABLE TURNAROUND: Turntable Orchestra ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’ (US Music Village Records, now on RePublic here)

BREAK BEAT OF THE YEAR: Lyn Collins ‘Think (About It)’

(GREEDY) BEAT ON THE STREET: ‘Get On The Good Foot’

GIMME A (go go) BEAT AND I CAN USE IT (over and over again): Ben Liebrand, and Phil Harding & Ian Curnow

GIMME A CHANT AND I CAN ABUSE IT: Dancin’ Danny D (“acieed!”)

GIMME ANYTHING AND I CAN SAMPLE IT: Todd Terry

GIMME A BASSLINE AND I CAN REWRITE IT (but don’t you copy me!): Stock Aitken Waterman

“THIS IS WHAT WE DANCED TO ON OUR HOLS” Paul Oakenfold, Nicky Holloway, Danny Rampling, Johnny Walker

“CAN I COME TOO?” Pete Tong

“GIVE IT SOME OF THAT, KID!” Pete Waterman, on the now hugely enjoyable ‘The Hitman And Her’

‘TOP OF THE POPS’ VIDEO STAR: MC Jammy Hammy

WHO THANKS WHO? Brandon Cooke and Roxanne Shanté

THIS YEAR’S THING: “hip house”

LAST YEAR’S THING: “acieed!”

Finally, thank you to the closedown of BBC Radio London for turning me on to LBC, and the pleasure of talk radio! Continue reading “January 7, 1989: The Hammy Awards for 1988”