January 24, 1987: Steinski & Mass Media, Anita Baker, The System, Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, MC. G.L.O.B.E.

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

STEVE ‘SILK’ HURLEY – according to no less a source than ‘John Craven’s Newsround’ – apparently reckons he won’t be getting any royalties from his deal for ‘Jack Your Body’ and, as he’s now a member of J.M. Silk on another label anyway, isn’t going to help his hit by promoting it in person – he doesn’t appreciate, though, that by coming here he’d become a star in his own right, regardless of the royalty situation … Simon Harris has actually remixed ‘Jack Your Body’, for creatively marketed release … Technics 1987 DJ Mixing Championships heats don’t stop even for the weather, the winner at Manchester Saturdays being the remarkable Johnny Jay from the Gallery (see caption), with a mightily peeved Rob Manley from Bolton’s Dance Factory second, and local scratcher Danny Bennett third, while – after fellow judge Les Adams had driven me the long way round (via Birmingham and Leicester) as the Pennines were impassable – at Barnsley’s prettily decorated Japanese Whispers the winner was def Funkmaster Hutchy from Leeds’ the News, with Chuzzer from Hull’s Juliets second and local lad Sean Broadhurst third (although John Melkin of Sheffield’s Isabellas was highly commended) … Radio Manchester’s soul jock Mike Shaft created a truly marathon ‘Best Of 86 Mix‘ which must have taken weeks to assemble, very neatly apart from some clashing keys which don’t really matter … Les Adams seems to be commissioned to make a megamix a week, his latest being an incredibly smooth Tina Turner medley … Tashan’s UK single will be the US A-side, ‘Chasin’ A Dream‘, but flipped for the floors by ‘Read My Mind‘ … Gap Band’s follow-up couples ‘Bop B Da B Da Da‘ with ‘Keep Holding On (Remix)’ … Al Jarreau has at last recorded the theme from TV’s ‘Moonlighting‘ for singles release – incidentally, the series’ soul-loving star Bruce Willis has released a very respectable recreation of the Staples Singers’ ‘Respect Yourself’ on US Motown! … Shep Pettibone has remixed the old Colors ‘Am I Gonna Be The One’ (US First Take) … Man Two Man member Miki Zone died suddenly on New Year’s Eve – from spinal meningitis – only days after recording a follow-up to ‘Who Knows What Evil?’ … Ian Levine has been producing Mary Wells … Country singer Donna Reed wanted to make a funk record, so wrote to Prince, and he’s produced her on RCA! … Radio London’s newly named “NITE-fm” expanded evening programmes have recruited Gary Crowley for a ‘GCHQ’ show on Wednesdays 10pm-midnight, making a roster of Dave Pearce Monday/Thursday, Gilles Peterson Tuesday, all three alternating to present a specialist chart show Fridays … Steve Walsh’s chantalong Anthem Mix of Fatback ‘I Found Lovin’’ certainly gets played more in the North than it does in London! … Tony Jenkins is returning monthly with his star-studded Soul On Sound nights to London’s Hippodrome, starting Wednesday February 4, and likewise is at Harrow Weald’s Middlesex and Herts Country Club next Tuesday (27) … Kev Hill has started the Monday Mondo Bongo at Southend Chesters, with Chris Hill as co-host most weeks, and Pete Tong February 16, Robbie Vincent … February 23 Nick Halkes and mates funk Pressure Drop upstairs at New Cross Goldsmiths’ Tavern this Saturday (24) … Sylvester ‘Someone Like You‘ topped US Club Play, Luther Vandross ‘Stop To Love‘ Black 45s in Billboard … Bob Boardman, the ‘Bits & Pieces’ song you need is Ringo Starr ‘No No Song’ … I’d appreciate it if DJs did NOT send their charts to my home address – send ’em straight to rm … KEEP CHILLED!

JOHNNY JAY, winner of the Manchester heat of the Technics DJ Mixing Championships, is likely to prove a sensation at the finals, and a hard act to beat, because he’s now posed a new problem for contestants to master — he mixes without using headphones! OK, it’s been done before, and he does scratch into the beats that he finds, but nevertheless he manages to produce a flowing programme with some stunningly accurate one line drop-ins presumably cued by eye and experience alone. Finalists who were confident before hove got the collywobbles now!

HOT VINYL

STEINSKI & MASS MEDIA ‘We’ll Be Right Back’ (4th + B’way 12BRW 59)
Double Dee’s one-time partner has exploded first on radio and now in clubs with his debut single, which very cleverly cuts catchphrases and clichés from US TV commercials into a Full Force-type 0-101bpm bouncy beat (dub/bonus too), a real gimmick hit.

ANITA BAKER ‘Caught Up In The Rapture (Remix)’ (Elektra EKR 49T)
Her album’s most accessible dancer, this gorgeous gently loping and spurting 0-91¾bpm swayer has had its rhythm emphasised and brightened so sympathetically that now the original sounds quite flat in comparison – as does the flip’s live Hammersmith version – plus there’s Rod Temperton’s sultrily rolling slow lovely 84½bpm ‘Mystery‘, too.

THE SYSTEM ‘Come As You Are (Remix)’ (Atlantic A9297T)
Much mellower than the techno-funk duo’s past stuff, this jauntily trotting buoyant 110bpm tripper has an attractive vocal melody and could almost be another ‘Midas Touch’, it’s so catchy. Continue reading “January 24, 1987: Steinski & Mass Media, Anita Baker, The System, Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, MC. G.L.O.B.E.”

January 17, 1987: Frankie Knuckles, Bobby McClure, The Microphone Prince, Stacy Lattisaw, UB40

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

STEVE ‘SILK’ HURLEY’s unsurprisingly high but still dramatic chart entry was unable to be boosted by a ‘Top Of The Pops’ appearance as neither RCA (who now have him as part of J.M. Silk) nor London could locate his whereabouts last week! … Atlantic Starr have quit A&M to join Warner Bros, with a single due in a month … Les ‘Mixdoctor’ Adams has now created a Kurtis Blow megamix … Maze featuring Frankie Beverly play Wembley Arena February 27/28 and Manchester Apollo March 17/18 — let’s hope they’ve got a new stage act this time! … ‘Reet Petite’, as mentioned last week by Alan Jones in Chartfile, was the joint composition of Berry Gordy Jr and one Tyran Carlo, the latter turning out to be in fact the pseudonym of Hank Ballard’s featured guitarist on his recent London visit, Billy Davis – in addition, although Jackie Wilson had already reached number 13 on both sides of the Atlantic in 1957 singing ‘Stardust’ as lead vocalist of Billy Ward & His Dominoes (a fact forgotten by most people), his solo debut with ‘Reet Petite’ was surprisingly a real hit only in the UK, reaching number 6 here as opposed to 62 in the US, his first Stateside smash not coming until exactly a year later at the end of 1958 (following moderate success with ‘To Be Loved’), the also Gordy co-composed ‘Lonely Teardrops‘, which by then shamefully meant nothing here but was in retrospect the first example of the earliest discernible ‘Motown Sound” (incidentally, if you can find ‘To Be Loved’ on Coral seven inch, its 185-183bpm ‘Come Back To Me‘ B-side is another rockin’ floorfiller despite some dodgy guitar licks) … 1987’s Technics DJ Mixing Championships are now under way, the first heats being won last week at Newcastle-upon-Tyne Walkers by Chris ‘CJ’ MacKintosh (from London’s WBLS!), with Newcastle’s dole-drawing Paul Pringle a creditable second and Lincoln’s Mad Max Burns third, while at Edinburgh Amphitheatre last year’s Scottish winner won again, Glasgow’s George Little, with the local Brian LeVell a deserved extremely close second and Robert Asher third … Edinburgh’s venue, the Ampitheatre was an extremely impressively converted old theatre with lavish lighting, but it remained freezing cold and never very full — one girl there came up while Ray Elliot was competing and asked for a request! … Raze ‘Jack The Groove’, followed by ‘Jack Your Body’ and ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’ are fast becoming this year’s over-mixed clichés, replacing last year’s ‘Set It Off’! … Jon Davis, runner-up in both the UK mixing and personality DJ contests last year, has suddenly split these shores to spend 1987 in Singapore teaching disco techniques as a rep for Far East equipment and record importers Data Engineers – which leaves one less challenger for Chad Jackson’s crown! … Exeter’s Chris Dinnis, the only DJ ever to find a copy of Kanu Sukalagwan’s legendary Jap-jazz LP, has started a Saturday brunchtime 11am-1pm soul show on Plymouth Sound 96FM … Metro Radio dropped their soul show, leaving as the North-East’s only soul DJ Adrian Allen on Radio Tees – who, in his daytime capacity, forgot to play H.M. The Queen’s Christmas Day speech (nothing heavy, but he did play it an hour late in the end!) … London Weekend Television’s Friday night ‘South Of Watford’ series within the next few weeks features a programme all about Streetwave/StreetSounds founder Morgan Khan, including some dirt dished up by me … I hope you saw BBC2’s brilliant play ‘Coast To Coast‘ two Sundays ago, with Lenny Henry and John Shea as Sixties soul-playing mobile DJs (lovely observation of their awful gigs, and a great soundtrack) plus the increasingly visible Al Matthews as a soul singing US Air Forceman … The Naturals ‘Funky Rasta (‘87 Mix)’ on finished pressings is 104⅔ (dub too), with the Original Jam at 105⅔bpm … 4th + B’way for some reason have promoed Sly & Robbie’s old (0-)94⅚bpm version of Yarbrough & Peoples’ ‘Don’t Stop The Music’, instead of the truly in demand ‘Bits & Pieces’ … Billy Griffin, currently visiting the UK, will have a remix of ‘E.S.P.’ as his follow-up’s flip … Serious Records picked up Darlene Davis … A Perfect Fit turn out to be made up of white Edinburgh one-man band Michael Wuzkowski with ex-Shakatak singer Lorna Bannon – was the wool pulled over some people’s eyes? … I don’t know who was responsible for this New Year’s Eve party tape on Capital Radio, it certainly wasn’t me (to put all the complaints at rest!) – I was gigging live in North Wales, where Amos Milburn’s ancient original ‘One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer‘ was the hit of the night (how about a reissue, Charly?) … Paul Dakeyne’s brilliant ‘Blue Monday Re-Ordered‘ New Order remix from the October 1986 Disco Mix Club LPs however, despite a perfect synch out of the Communards ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’, was amazingly a floor-clearer – Paul himself mixes live at London’s Hippodrome every Tuesday from about 11.30pm … George Clinton ‘Do Fries Go With That Shake’, Sheila E ‘A Love Bizarre’ and Jesse Johnson ‘Crazay (Remix)’ all synch together, bar on bar … Billboard s US charts since last noted have seen Dead Or Alive stay atop 12 Inch Sales, Janet Jackson ‘Control’ and then Kraftwerk ‘Musique Non Stop‘ top Club Play, Bobby Brown’s sweetly romantic 67-0bpm ‘Girlfriend‘ and then Janet Jackson top Black 45s … rm Disco chart new entries in the unprinted full Top 100 last week were: 77 TC Curtis re-remix, 83 Willie Colon, 84 Jungle Wonz, 85 Master C&J, 87 Sweet T And Jazzy Joyce, 88 Masters of Ceremony, 91 Jean Knight ‘Mr Big Stuff’, 92 House Master Boyz ‘House Nation’, 95 Hot Chocolate, 98 Xray, 99 Wally Jump Jr, 100 Ray, Goodman & Brown ‘Take It To The Limit’, while Eurobeat newies were: 4 Mike Mareen, 14 Candy J, 24 Martin Bazar, 25 Lisa Smith … Steve Walsh points out his 72 inch waist measurement is for loose fitting blouson-style jackets … KEEP CHILLED!

What the well dressed mixer is wearing this season: Stone Island designer flying helmet, Velcro-fastened fingerless gloves, and white lip gloss for that “sur la piste” sporty skier look. Yup, it’s 1986’s UK Mixing Champion CHAD JACKSON, revealing the current “look” with which he hopes to dazzle into submission all his new competitors at the 1987 final on February 10 at London’s Hippodrome.

HOT VINYL

FRANKIE KNUCKLES ‘You Can’t Hide’ (US D.J. International Records DJ 923)
Chicago’s original Warehouse DJ, Frankie is seen above (left) with his co-producer/mixer Joe Smooth (right), while Chip E helped out too on the production of this liberally adapted 120⅘bpm house treatment (in four mixes) of Teddy Pendergrass’s ‘You Can’t Hide From Yourself’ — although who the actual singer is, moaning and hollering through the bassline prodded percussively pattering rhythm (in typical Chicago style) is unclear! The result, however, is not as typically house as you’d expect. A pity StreetSounds’ massive boxed ‘The Philadelphia Story’ somehow missed out Teddy’s version…

BOBBY McCLURE ‘You Never Miss Your Water’ (US Edge Records ED 12-005)
The ‘Peak Of Love’ singer whose early 1965 duet with Fontella Bass, ‘Don’t Mess Up A Good Thing’, was her first hit (flipped by Oliver Sain’s actually more popular here at the time ‘Jerk Loose’ instrumental), Bobby returns after 20 years with a James Gadson-produced swaying jiggly joggly 100bpm revamp of the Cash McCall-penned soul standard, completely modern sounding – while, as if to make a point, the even better Michael Wycoff-penned wailing chunkily rolling 104⅔bpm flip is called ‘It Feels So Good (To Be Back Home)’. Hang on, this latter sounds so good it could be another ‘I Found Lovin’’! A real pushing nagger, the B-side is a soul smash – be warned!

THE MICROPHONE PRINCE ‘Who’s The Captain (I Wonder, Wonder Who)’ (US Still Rising Records SRR-1006)
Are you ready for the Monotones’ (oh, all right, and Mudlarks’!) 1958 hit ‘Book Of Love’ used as the basis for a modern rap? Instead of the whole “I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who” – bomp! – “who wrote the book of love”, the chorus repeats only the first half and then, to a jaunty 91⅚bpm go go hip hop beat, the Microphone Prince and Count Busy ‘D’ conversationally swap classic music hall lines in sustained jokey misunderstanding that’s such fun it’ll make this the next ‘Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble’ – which the decidedly indelicate 0-93⅔bpm ‘Yvonne & Corry’ is more like, though not for airplay (inst flip). Continue reading “January 17, 1987: Frankie Knuckles, Bobby McClure, The Microphone Prince, Stacy Lattisaw, UB40”

January 10, 1987: The Mohawks, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, Hot Chocolate, Freeez, Blaze

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

Barry Island holiday camp has been sold as building land, so Livewire’s next Soul Weekend has been moved to Prestatyn Pontin’s in North Wales and brought forward to Easter, Good Friday to Bank Holiday Monday April 17-20 inclusive (the first four-dayer) – not so good for the weather, maybe, although the camp is evidently superior, with closed-circuit colour TV in all the self-catering chalets, Roy Ayers as an exclusive live act, and the usual mafia DJs joined by Jazzy Jeff, Chad Jackson, Tim Westwood, Johnnie Walker, Ian Reading (details on 01-364 1212) … Disco Mix Club didn’t tell us that there is a London heat for the UK DJ Mixing Championships, at Streatham’s Sussex Tavern on Wednesday, January 28 while, just to recap, the other heats to come are at Manchester Saturdays Tuesday (13), Barnsley Japanese Whispers Wednesday (14), Birmingham Millionaires Monday (19), Bristol Chasers Tuesday (20), Bournemouth Clouds Monday (26), with the UK final at London’s Hippodrome Tuesday, February 10, and the World Final at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday, March 9 (limited public tickets for the latter are available with full details on 06286-67276) … Aleem featuring Leroy Burgess ‘Get Down Friday Night’ (US NIA NI-1258) has been reissued, a Sharon Brown ‘I Specialise In Love’-inspired burbling jiggly “I like to boogie” chanter, presumably still 113-113½-115-116-117bpm, one of the first (if not the very first) M&M mixes … T.C. Curtis ‘Slave Of Love’, a real nagging sleeper, has been remixed yet again as the 100⅔bpm Final Count Down Mix (Hot Melt ISTC 007), rhythmically go go-ish still with added silly noises and samples slotted in … Heavy D. & The Boyz’ 98½bpm ‘Mr Big Stuff’ remix (MCA Records MCAX 1106) is cut and scratched on top of the original scratching – different, if not entirely necessary … Sylvia Striplin ‘You Can’t Turn Me Away’, now I’ve finally located my original 1980 copy, squeakily weaves through 90½-89½-88⅔-90-88⅔-89-90bpm … Freddie Jackson’s sinuous smoochy 89⅔bpm ‘Have You Ever Loved Somebody’ is due on single (Capitol 12CL 437) to coincide with his UK visit … Davis/Pinckney Project’s hit has been given a totally pointless remix with added synth and tempoless intro … Les Adams has created a Midnight Star megamix to be UK flip of ‘Engine No. 9’ – which, let’s face it, to judge from import reaction will need the help … Champion are releasing the recently bootlegged old Masterdon Committee ‘Funk Box Party’ and have picked up M.C. Shy-D, Sweet Tee & Jazzy Joyce, Home Wreckers, Blaze, plus a remix by Phil Harding and Pete Waterman of the old Kinkina ‘Jungle Fever’ … Judy La Rose ‘Little Bit Of Love’, in a reverse deal, has already been picked up from Champion for US release by Profile, and with its lurching momentum is proving to be a bit of a grower which maybe I underestimated … Stacey Q ‘Two Of Hearts’ is due again in an even more blatantly hi-NRG 130¾bpm ‘Q-Mix’ – I wonder what the “Q” stands for? … Ian Levine has been producing Archie Bell & The Drells and Jr Walker – not, thankfully, in hi-NRG style – for his Nightmare label … Richard Long, who installed the world beating sound system at New York’s Paradise Garage, died of AIDS before Christmas … Michael Jackson, who, through his purchase of ATV Music, now controls the Beatles’ copyrights, objected to the Beastie Boys’ use of bits of ‘I’m Down’ on a track that consequently had to be left off their album … I concentrated so much on our year-end chart statistics for the Hammy Awards that I forgot my own personal choice for The One That Got Away, beyond any doubt Shirley Jones ‘Do You Get Enough Love’ … Wayne Fitzgerald (0733-237968), area controller for the Superjocks Hit Squad, is updating his DJ mailing list for the East Anglia area (which stretches to Lincoln, Northampton, Milton Keynes) … Buddy Holly lookalike, Johnnie Walker has got Mike Sefton’s old disco plugging job at Phonogram, who are reviving Casablanca as a label, while Mike at his new gig is starting an A&M Breakout black music label … Jeff Young lived up to our expectations and managed to oversleep before Christmas, arriving only in time for the last 40 minutes of his Radio London Saturday breakfast soul show, which luckily bright eyed and bushy tailed Gilles Peterson was able to start for him! … Richard Searling, back on Red Rose Radio from this Sunday 7-9pm, has his monthly ultra-soulful bash at Clayton-Le-Woods Halfway House next Wednesday (14) … Michael Knight, with no dance floor to keep filled, plays all sorts of classy soul Sunday lunchtimes at Brynmawr’s New Griffin Hotel cellar bar (on the A465) … Paul James souls Liverpool’s 19 Fun Pub Sundays … Tuesdays, Andrew Holmes spins soul/jazz/funk at Manchester’s Berlin, as do Danny Smith and Richard Routledge at Gt Yarmouth’s Two Necked Swan … Ricky John reports his Burnley venues Annabellas & Cat Whiskers are having a £1,750,000 refit in February … Arista’s press officers Patsy Johnson and Val Rooker took some journalists (self included) for lunch in Boulogne a week before Christmas; it was so rough that many were seasick and the ferry was so late that the booked restaurant was closed (the one next door was good, though), a Swedish guy had no visa and wasn’t allowed to land with us, and we only caught the boat back by five minutes – but it was great fun! … John Godfrey, who complained in rm about people throwing beer at the Barry Island weekender, was noticeably the first to chuck food about at Nicky Holloway’s party! … Essex R&B DJ Bob Jones had a haircut and seems to have gone grey – the Phil Seaman look? … Chris Hill is 10 years younger than Elvis Presley would have been today (January 8), the birthday also of David Bowie, Shirley Bassey, Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, and Laura Leyton-Pope (her dad manages Matt Bianco!) … KEEP CHILLED!

THE PHOTO we had to publish! Special Branch and Doo At The Zoo-promoting DJ NICKY HOLLOWAY is getting ever more ambitious with his recently formed Starship Enterprises, the launch of which he marked with a party for all the funk mafia DJs at Mexican restaurant Break For The Border (coincidentally exactly a year after Adrian Webb similarly launched Livewire). Nicky’s two main upcoming enterprises are a weekender at Poole’s Rockley Sands on March 20-22 and a funk holiday package in Corfu for your choice of one or two weeks in May, 9-16 or 2-16. DJs common to all events include Pete Tong, Gilles Peterson, Jay Strongman, Bob Jones, Chris Brown, Johnnie Walker, Paul Oakenfold, Chris Bangs, Bob Masters, Nicky himself, with others in Corfu and Jeff Young of Poole (details on 01-439 2628). Er, Nicky, you should have paid me the bribe!

HOT VINYL

THE MOHAWKS ‘The Champ’ (Pama PMT 1, via Jet Star)
Number one on most DJs’ want lists ever since, thanks to its inclusion in so many recent scratch mixed medleys, they discovered it was a top New York break beat, this actually London-recorded UK club smash from 1968 is finally out again, on a 12 inch that (as the BPM will show) simply doubles up the original seven inch, inspired by Lowell Fulsom’s Otis & Carla-covered ‘Tramp’ in its female title chant and basic structure, it’s a bubbling and staggering 108½-114-111⅔-114-111-113¼-108½-114-111⅔-114-111-113¼bpm instrumental played by piercingly wheezing reedy organ with Stax-style brass and a very live drum kit. Had the charts been as fairly organised as they are today, it was big enough to have been a proper hit back then. Maybe now it’s gonna make it?

STEVE ‘SILK’ HURLEY ‘Jack Your Body’ (London LONX 117)
Unbelievably out here at last after being massive on import as long ago as last April, this is considered by London to be the official follow-up to Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk’s hit, a sizzling and rattling house bounder in four different versions, the 122¼bpm ‘Jack Your Body – Home Made’ namechecking “J.M. Silk” before monotonously repeating, as do the 122¼bpm ‘Club Your Body’ and 122bpm ‘Dub Your Body’, the basic “jack your body” title line, while the 126bpm ‘Steve Silk Hurley’ repeats that particular name.

HOT CHOCOLATE ‘You Sexy Thing (Extended Replay Mix)’ (EMI 12EMI 5592)
Dutch mastermixer Ben Liebrand has brilliantly created a brand new chunky 106⅔bpm go go backing into which he slots only some of the melody carrying elements and vocal strands of the original 1975 pop hit, to give a totally updated and much improved result (inst flip, and 107⅓bpm ‘Every 1’s A Winner’). Continue reading “January 10, 1987: The Mohawks, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, Hot Chocolate, Freeez, Blaze”

December 27, 1986: The Hammy Awards 1986

This week’s edition of Record Mirror was a special two-week issue, so the next edition was dated 10th January 1987. There were no reviews or weekly charts this week.

THE HAMMY AWARDS

YO, HOMEBOY! It’s that double def fresh time of the year, when once again we open the golden envelope and see who was really hot to trot in 1986. All statistics are derived from the year-end disco charts, so you can’t argue! Record company executives can start quaking now, as I think some heads will roll…

DISCO ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Janet Jackson

RUNNERS UP: Midnight Star, Cameo, Kurtis Blow, Gwen Guthrie, Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk & Jesse Saunders featuring Darryl Pandy, Alexander O’Neal, Mantronix, Loose Ends, Princess

DISCO HIT OF 1986: Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk & Jesse Saunders featuring Darryl Pandy ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’ (London)

RECORD AT NUMBER ONE FOR LONGEST (tie): Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk & Jesse Saunders featuring Darryl Pandy ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’ (London) and Raze ‘Jack The Groove’ (Champion), both for six weeks.

IMPORT OF THE YEAR: Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley ‘Jack Your Body’ (US Underground) — however, ***STOP PRESS!!!*** it’s due here at last for December 29 rush release on London (LONX 117), legal difficulties having finally been resolved.

BEAT OF THE STREET: “der rump dump dum dum dump dum”

MY KIND OF TOWN: Chicago is.

ALBUM ARTISTS OF THE YEAR: Luther Vandross, Alexander O’Neal, Janet Jackson

DISCO LABELS OF THE YEAR: 1 (2) Club, 2 (–) A&M, 3 (8) London, 4 (4) 10 Records, 5 (7) Fourth & Broadway, 6 (–) Champion, 7 (10) MCA Records, 8 (9) Cooltempo, 9 (–) Warner Bros, 10 (3) Capitol, 11 (–) Tabu, 12 (–) Boiling Point, 13 (–) Supreme Records, 14 (–) Epic, 15 ( 1 ) Atlantic

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?: Motown (5 in ’85, 1 in ’84)

WE TRY HARDER: A&M

RECORD COMPANIES OF THE YEAR (labels ranked by hit strength): 1 (2) Phonogram (Club/ London), 2 (10) CBS/Epic (Tabu/Epic/CBS/Scotti Bros/Def Jam/Portrait), 3 (–) A&M, 4 (9) MCA (MCA Records/Solar), 5= (1) WEA (Warner Bros/Atlantic), 5= (8) Chrysalis (Cooltempo/Ensign/ Chrysalis), 7 (7) Island (Fourth & Broadway/Island), 8 (5) 10 Records, 9 (–) Champion, 10 (4) EMI (Capitol/EMI/ Manhattan/Total Control Records), 11 (–) Polydor (Boiling Point), 12 (–) Supreme Records, 13 (6) Virgin (Virgin, Circa Records), 14 (–) US Underground, 15 (–) Streetwave

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?: RCA (3 in ’85, 2 in ’84)

WE TRY HARDER: CBS/Epic

PRODUCERS OF THE YEAR: Jam & Lewis

RUNNERS UP: Larry Blackmon, Stock-Aitken-Waterman, Full Force, Mantronik, Nick Martinelli

REMIXER OF THE YEAR: Mantronik

RUNNERS UP: Louil Silas Jr, Larry Levan, Shep Pettibone, Dancin’ Danny D

MEGAMIXER OF THE YEAR: Les Adams

EUROBEAT ARTISTS OF THE YEAR: Seventh Avenue

RUNNERS UP: Eastbound Expressway, Louise Thomas, Darryl Pandy, Man 2 Man Continue reading “December 27, 1986: The Hammy Awards 1986”

December 20, 1986: Throwdown, Howard Hewett, Nitro Deluxe, Master C & J, Prince Phillip Mitchell

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

Jet Star turns out to be the successor to the old Pama label, and — guess what? — it at last will be reissuing the original Mohawks ‘The Champ‘ in the new year … Jean Knight ‘Mr Big Stuff‘ is easily available here on Old Gold (OG 9534), presumably still 93bpm … UK DJ Mixing Championships heats start in January at Newcastle-upon-Tyne Walkers Tuesday 6, Edinburgh Ampitheatre Wed 7, Manchester Saturdays Tues 13, Barnsley Japanese Whispers Wed 14, Birmingham Millionaires Mon 19, Bristol Chasers Tues 20, Bournemouth Clouds Mon 25, with the UK final at London’s Hippodrome Tuesday, February 10 … I hope to be judging at all these venues, so see you there! … London’s Royal Albert Hall is the prestigious site of the final International Mixing Championships, transformed by Avitec Electronics into a massive disco for the occasion, on Monday March 9, the day after the Disco Mix Club’s 1987 International DJ Convention will once again have been at the Hippodrome (Sunday, March 8); tickets for both events are available singly or combined (the latter the better deal, while all are cheaper if bought before Feb 15 – call 06286-67276 for full details) … Disco Aid to date, with lots more money still to come, has raised £32,000 — better than nothing, but a long way short of expectations … CBS might now find takers for the James Brown 12 inch, having replaced the flip’s ‘Living In America (R&B Mix)’ with a Message House Mix of the charging full tilt (0-)126-0bpm ‘Goliath’ floor burner, remixed by Chris Lord-Alge, as too is its newly extended more delicately starting 108⅓-0bpm A-side, ‘How Do You Stop‘ (Scotti Bros JAMES 01) – typically, this yet again throws away an album’s hottest track on a B-side (shades of ‘What’s Missing’) … Phonogram have given up with ‘Victory’, replacing the A-side of Kool & The Gang’s 12 inch with ‘The Throwdown Mix‘ (Club JABXR 44), a typical neat 111…124½bpm Les Adams megamix of ‘Get Down On It/Ladies Night/Fresh/Big Fun/Straight Ahead/Celebration/Misled/Emergency’ – in fact, all the hit floor-fillers that fit, nicely timed for Christmas! … Hindsight’s subtitle ‘Spare A Dime Mix’ always led one to expect a remix and, sure enough, ‘Small Change’ is now also in a dubbier 111⅙bpm ‘The Corn Xchange Mix’ (Circa YRTX 1) – a pity the original hasn’t done as well nationally as it deserved … 5,000 copies of the originally promo-only current Loose Ends 12 inch twin-pack finally reached the shops commercially in yet another creative marketing ploy by Virgin, who now, along with some sort of cassette pack, have at least four configurations of ‘Nights Of Pleasure’ on sale, not counting seven inch – maybe if the right songs in the right mixes were widely available from the start, none of this manoeuvring would be necessary … CityBeat are starting a regular remix series of 12 inch four-trackers, The Ultimate Mixes ’87, kicking off with Arthur Baker’s four radical revamps of Freeez ‘IOU’ and Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk’s four of John Rocca ‘I Want It To Be Real’ (the inspiration behind Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley ‘Jack Your Body’!); the Freeez remixes are house-styled 121¼bpm Club Dub and 121bpm Club Vocal, go go-ish 105¼bpm Shakedown Vocal and Instrumental (CityBeat CBE 1209), due Jan 5 … rm’s next full BPM column after the Hammy Awards and Christmas won’t be until January 8, so note that also due on UK release earlier that week are the remixed 0-104⅔-0bpm Naturals ‘Funky Rasta’ (Cooltempo COOLX 140), and (all on Champion) Raze ‘Let The Music Move U’ (119¼)/’Get Down’ (119½)/’Control Me’ (128¼bpm) (CHAMP 1227), Gary L ‘Time’ (120½bpm) (CHAMP 1228), Libra Libra ‘I Like It’ (120¼bpm) (CHAMP 1226) … DJs, please post your next charts to us no later than Monday, January 5 … Hank Ballard & The Midnighters attracted lots of faces, including Capital’s Peter Young and Charlie Gillett, Radio London’s Robbie Vincent, Radio One’s John Peel, DevonAir’s Dave Treharne, WBLS’s Tim Westwood, the Monster Raving Loony Party’s Screaming Lord Sutch, and – to my delight – the guy who graduated from being a punter to DJ with me at The Scene 21 years ago, Brian Peters … Richard Searling presents his Top 50 personal soul choice of 1986 on Red Rose Radio between 10pm-2am on January 1 … Heatwave are recording here an album and single for February release via PRT … Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk has remixed First Choice ‘Let No Man Put Asunder’ with new vocals added by Roshelle Fleming … Brian Mason (Cricklewood Ashtons) thinks he can detect a similarity between more than just the titles of Robbie Nevil ‘C’est La Vie’ and T.S. Monk ‘Bon Bon Vie’, while likewise Bruce ‘Dr Juice’ Nelson (Sheffield Sinatra’s) suggests the Davis/Pinckney Project ‘You Can Dance (If You Want To)’ and Men Without Hats ‘Safety Dance’ … Krystal’s ‘Precious, Precious’, now I’ve checked, is not the old Jackie Moore song, but with so similar a title line the modern song could well have been a rearrangement … Heavy D. & The Boyz (due as a remix) has much the same ‘Triple M Bass’ as Worse ‘Em (now promoed here on Champion, at 97⅚-97⅓-97-96⅔-0bpm, which means I hadn’t spotted the US Profile pressing should really be 0-98⅓-97⅙-0bpm in similarly decelerating stages) … Steady “B” also has a 12 inch (with remixes as well as the already reviewed LP versions) of the modern “talking blues”-style ‘Cheatin’ Girl‘ and scratched bragging rap ‘Bring The Beat Back‘ (US Jive/Pop Art 1023-1-JD) … Ready For The World’s smoochily “probing” 0-64⅗bpm ‘Love You Down‘ topped US Black 45s, Freddie Jackson Black LPs, Dead Or Alive Club Play too in Billboard … Sharon Dee Clarke doesn’t have much acting to do as the night nurse in TV’s ‘The Singing Detective’, she’s usually asleep! … Pez Tellet & Andy Gould are promoting the brand new RJ’s on New Brighton promenade as a “serious dance venue’, to counter the area’s many fun-pubs, and they’d welcome offers of PAs on 051-639 5746 … Boxing Day (26) Rob Day and the Brothers Slide start the weekly Friday Escapism for all vintages of funk at New Cross Cupids (in Goldsmiths Tavern), as a replacement for the defunct Flim-Flam – which will return in February at a new venue … I don’t know why my ‘Hit List/Disco Round-Up’ reviews in the latest issue of JOCKS have been printed so far out of the right running order that most of the lead reviews come last, but it’s even got me confused! … Christmas is almost here — many thanks for all your cards, and KEEP CHILLED!

HANK BALLARD & THE MIDNIGHTERS wore marvellous last Thursday at the Hammersmith Palais, turning the clock back to the Fifties and Sixties without making any compromise to more recent musical developments. Hank, with his tidily lean face looking ever youthful, began making hits in 1954 and surely couldn’t have been much more dynamic even then, while the Midnighters vocal group stood out on their own especially singing ‘My Girl’, member Caesar Valentino doing back flips and splits during his solo Jackie Wilson tribute, and guitarist Billy Davis revived all the redundant blues licks you never thought you’d see performed again (as was everything) in such perfectly dated style. Soul, blues, gospel and rock ‘n’ roll combined, with inevitably ‘The Twist’, to make an educational blast from the past and back to the future.

Friday (19) LWR’s Jasper and Jazzy M (seen above) with Rick Davis, Crazy Larry and Grandmaster Richie Rich start a “Syndicate” of DJs funking East Sheen’s the Bull; Sunday (21) London Charing Cross Road’s Astoria is funked from 4pm by Jeff Young, Simon Goffe, Tim Westwood, CJ Carlos, Gordon Mac, Jasper and BB&Q, while Graham Gold joins Joe Field souling Hemel Hempstead’s Heath Park; Monday (22) BB&Q are with Rick Davis at Uxbndge RegaIs; Wednesday (Christmas Eve) Northfleet Red Lion’s late night fancy dress Slammer has Chris Hill, Pete Tong, Eddie Gordon, while there are separate funk and jazz rooms at Hemel Hempstead’s Heath Park with Joe Field, Bob Cosby, Dave Ealand, Doug Osbourne and Big Blow; Christmas Day (25) Glasgow Dunlop Street’s Warehouse has BB&Q and 4AM (from 6pm!); Boxing Day (26) Preston Easy Street’s 4pm limited 600 admission Soul Sauce has Richard Searling, Kev Edwards, Kenni James and Roy Rose, while Camberley Cambridge Nite-Spot’s annual Frenchies beach party is hosted as ever by Chris Brown; Saturday (27) Great Shelford (Cambndge) De Freville Arms is souled by Martin Collins, Graham Gold, Tony Fernandez and Joe Field; Sunday (28) Leeds Tiffany’s alldayer stars unspecified jocks; Tuesday (30) Steve Allen souls Peterborough Millionaire. Those are the ones that arrived in time — it’s not a complete list, I know.

HOT VINYL

THROWDOWN ‘The Champ’ (HardBack BOSS 3)
Gilles Peterson, Paul Phillips and George Michael’s cousin Andros Giorgio have produced with musicians from Hi-Tension, Kandidate and the Team Ten Horns a note for note 111bpm remake of the reedy organ driven UK-recorded 1968 break beat classic by the Mohawks, currently numero uno on most DJs’ want lists (however, for good news, see Odds ‘n’ Bods!). Based on the chant and structure from Lowell Fulsom’s ‘Tramp’ – better known by Otis Redding & Carla Thomas – it’s still instrumental on the A-side (edit too), while the AA-side adds in Faze One and DJ Streets Ahead for a 0-100⅔bpm ‘Bust The Champ’ rap ‘n’ scratch (edit/beats too) that’s up to US standards of toughness.

HOWARD HEWETT ‘Stay’ (US Elektra 0-66827)
Shep Pettibone and the Latin Rascals have concocted five remixes of the Shalamar star’s hottest album track, a mesmeric jittering Jam & Lewis-ish swaying jogger that ends up excitingly pent up but is most immediately passionate in the 98½bpm Before Midnight Mix and slow burns in the 99bpm After Midnight Mix, with 98¼bpm Dub, 98⅓bpm Instrumental/Bonus Beats too.

NITRO DELUXE ‘The Brutal House’ (US Cutting Records CR-210)
Rapidly building over the past two weeks, this bass and jittery percussion boosted ever shifting 114½bpm instrumental reverts to the Bohannon, BT Express type of Seventies rhythm but with greater modern clarity and some squeaky doodling synth tones nagging through it all. The flip’s 114⅔bpm ‘Let’s Get Brutal’ and its 114bpm Dub are differently textured shorter treatments. Continue reading “December 20, 1986: Throwdown, Howard Hewett, Nitro Deluxe, Master C & J, Prince Phillip Mitchell”

December 13, 1986: Kool Moe Dee, Ronnie McNeir, Billy Preston, Romero, Stardom Groove featuring Tonya Wynne

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

JOHN CECCHINI, of the Bonkers Showbars in Liverpool/Wallasey/Macclesfield, won last Thursday’s final of the Disc Jockey Of The Year, with Cuddly Craig Bland from Great Harwood s Munroes coming second and Jon Davis from Plymouth’s Academy third (the latter of course being runner-up to Chad Jackson in this year’s mixing contest, too) … Colin Hudd has abruptly split with his award-winning residency of eight years at Dartford’s Flicks, after owner Mike Keam offered less money than last year for working on Christmas Eve … New Orleans R&B star Lee Dorsey died last Tuesday from emphysema, which — ironically, considering ‘Working In The Coal Mine’ was his biggest hit — is what coal miners often suffer from … StreetSounds’ major opus, compiled by Ralph Tee, the massive 14 LP boxed set ‘The Philadelphia Story‘ (PHST 1986) contains 140 Philadelphia International classics covering the last 15 years, probably everything you can think of and then some, so if you haven’t got them already, this is the best way to get ’em now! … StreetSounds’ latest Artists Showcase albums are retrospectives of Keni Burke and Archie Bell & The Drells … Luther Vandross’s 12 inch, which has failed to sell since his LP is such better value, is now a four-tracker with — just what we wanted — an even more hi-NRG 143¼bpm US remix of ‘Stop To Love’, plus finally on single The Goonies’ soundtrack’s pleasant (0-)102⅙bpm ‘She’s So Good To Me‘ (Epic 650216 8) … Timex Social Club ‘Mixed Up World’ has now been promoed yet again with yet another juddery lurching 144bpm Bongo In The Congo Mix of ‘Thinking About You Girl’ (yawn) … US pressings of the Mantronix LP include the UK remix of ‘Ladies’ … ‘I’m In Love‘ is already Ruby Turner’s US single … Europe’s long standing fiendishly catchy smash, Taffy ‘I Love My Radio (Midnight Radio)’ (TransGlobal/Rhythm King TYPE 1T) is starting to hit now it’s out here, in a rollicking 119½bpm American Mix and harder 121bpm European Mix, one for pop jocks to check as it should be huge … The Concept have followed the exactly year old ‘Mr DJ’ with, logically though over similarly, the 119½bpm ‘Miss DJ‘ (on US Macola) … Capital Radio’s Dr Hip Hop, Mike Allen gets name-checked on Steady “B”’s US LP sleeve … Faze One are calling themselves Throwdown for a rapping remake of the Mohawks’ ‘The Champ‘, out next week on HardBack (but when will the much sought 1968 original ever be out again, legally?) … Dave Lee, of Rough Trade record distributors, tips off that MC Shy-D may have lifted ‘Biyo’ from the intro of last year’s Italian remake by Sammy Barbot, while Steve Parks’ ‘Movin’ In The Right Direction‘ (currently bootlegged) was title track of his 1984 gospel LP on US Solid Smoke … Thursday (11) Steve Walsh and Nick Lawrence look large funking Woodford Town Football Club’s Woodys … Graeme Park funks Matlock’s Ye Olde English club this Thursday (11), then on Monday (15) Any Day Now PA with him and Trevor M at their Nottingham Easy Street night, before on Wednesday (17) at his Nottingham The Garage residency and on Thursday (18) at Derby Blue Note’s Glint night Graeme is joined by some of London’s Wag Club DJs … Eon Irving funks Wednesdays’ Jungle Rock night at Kensington Henry Africa’s, John Matthews and Jon Jules funk Greenford Barbarella’s Rhythm Box Thursdays, John DeSade does Hythe seafront’s Ocean 11 Thur/Fridays … Stamford Hill’s redecorated late night Cotton Club, having successfully chased away the ruffians, now wants to attract a “nice” crowd who are into funky stuff — DJ Benny Wilson guarantees the music and atmosphere are good, so doesn’t anyone clean living wanna boogie, too? … I’m afraid you’ll be too late if you haven’t already sent in your gig details for the holiday season, as next week’s rm will be the last one of the year to have a regular column – after that, it’s Hammy Awards time! … KEEP CHILLED!

This fresh faced elf is in fact Radio London’s learned jazz DJ, Gilles Peterson, who’s somewhat cornered the market in compiling jazz LPs. His latest, StreetSounds’ ‘Jazz Juice 4‘ is due imminently (containing such as Mel Tormé ‘Comin’ Home Baby‘, Peggy Lee ‘Fever’, Billy Larkin & The Delegates ‘Pigmy Part 1‘ and Wild Bill Davis ‘Hit The Road Jack‘), while in the series he’s been doing for EMI is his most recent Blue Note compilation, ‘Blue Bop‘ (Blue Note BNSLP 2). This contains Don Wilkerson’s ‘Dem Tambourines‘, the saxist on Ray Charles’s ‘I Got A Woman’ recreating a similar exciting feel in 1962 to a Ramsey Lewis-ish 106-105-106-105⅓-0bpm backing (double the BPM for a truer tempo, except it’s not that frantic), which could be useful for more than just jazz jocks.

HOT VINYL

KOOL MOE DEE ‘Go See The Doctor’ (Jive JIVE T136)
Fast making the phrase “pus-sy pus pus” the singalong chant of the moment, this hilarious 89⅙bpm rap about a randy chap’s dose of VD and the girl he got it off may seem shockingly offensive enough to ban, but ponder this: right now, it’s getting through to kids the message that they should use a condom far more effectively than any government campaign could. There is a version with words reversed to protect the shockable, while the flip’s 91⅔bpm ‘Monster Crack‘ is a cleanly worded warning about drugs — not that that side’s getting any play. Far from getting steamed up about it, the protectors of our public morals should be ensuring that this is made available on the National Health!

RONNIE McNEIR ‘Follow Your Heart’ (Expansion Records EXPAND 6, via PRT)
On an already selling good value three-track 12 inch from his hard to find recent import album, this nice fluidly tripping 121¼bpm soul canterer Is flipped by the excellent Al Jarreau-meets-Keni Burke 93½bpm ‘Everybody’s In A Hurry‘ and slinkier 95bpm ‘Love’s Under Suspect‘, all beautifully sung with many subtle touches.

BILLY PRESTON ‘Since I Held You Close’ (US Motown 4570MG)
Much played by Capital Radio yet surprisingly slow to sell so far, this cleanly smacking slightly old fashioned exciting 112½-112⅚bpm driver is vocally a dead ringer for the Isley Brothers (inst/edit too), and to my mind terrific! The Nick Martinelli-produced pleasantly swaying (0-)90⅙bpm ‘It Don’t Get Better Than This’ makes a good bonus as well. Continue reading “December 13, 1986: Kool Moe Dee, Ronnie McNeir, Billy Preston, Romero, Stardom Groove featuring Tonya Wynne”

December 6, 1986: Bobby Womack, Schoolly-D, Mantronix, Level 42, Tashan

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

THE CREATIVE marketing of Loose Ends continues, another version of their 12 inch (Virgin VS 919-13) now featuring Nick Martinelli’s ‘Nights Of Pleasure’ mix and ‘Let’s Rock‘, as before, plus commercially at last Dancin’ Danny D’s slippery 102⅔bpm ‘Slow Down’ remix, and a brand new group-created wriggly bubbling 101⅔bpm ‘Johnny Broadhead‘ instrumental … Georgie Fame ‘Samba’ has been totally remixed by Phil Harding into an excellent 103bpm Ipanema Beach Party Mix (Ensign ENYR 605), incorporating brief quotes from ‘Yeh Yeh’, ‘Tequila’, The Girl From Ipanema’ and more in the lengthened new intro, with whistles and many extra effects, plus Mondo Kane’s ‘New York Afternoon’ added to the flip, but unfortunately it’s too late to convince chart-watchers there’s a samba revival going on and may not now be fully available … Phil Fearon ‘Ain’t Nothing But A House Party’ is similarly too late in a far fiercer electronically attacking 123bpm Fun’Kim-Mel Remix (Ensign PFW-2), mainly instrumental and truly house … Five Star ‘lf I Say Yes’ has been given an angrier 121bpm Shep Pettibone Urban Remix (Tent PT 40982R) … ‘Top Of The Pops’ next year starts being syndicated on US TV, with another Los Angeles-recorded American half-hour added to make an hour long weekly programme — but, as it’s being promoted as a “rock” show, and will be edited to include archive material and rock interviews, you can bet the bits left on the cutting room floor will be all the black hits which we as a nation enjoy and the US pop market is thus still denied … Luther Vandross topped US Black LPs, JM Silk Club Play, Dead Or Alive 12 Inch Sales in Billboard … US West End’s reissue of Bombers ‘Everybody Get Dancin’‘/Betty LaVette ‘Doin’ The Best That I Can‘ includes a condom shrink-wrapped to it — obviously the label’s doing its bit to combat AIDS! … Cameo’s ‘Candy’ remix in the US is being flipped by ‘She’s Strange’ … Alan Randall’s typically accurate recreations of George Formby’s ukulele-plunking oldies get medleyed in a scratch mix (really!) created by Nomis Sirrah, better known for his Cisum Fo Efil label through Evawteerts, who’s formed a new less “street” Superb outlet for the seasonally useful and well made 117¾-118¼-0bpm result, ‘’Ooked On Formby‘ (Superb FORMB 1), the 12 inch House Mix of which I’ve yet to hear! … ‘Street Sounds 19‘ is prettily packaged as an advent calendar (a common trend this year), window number five concealing the only photo featured, of Morgan Khan as Santa! … Ken ‘B’ Brudenell has stopped DJing to become DJ/Record Promotions Manager for Mecca Entertainments … Hank Ballard & The Midnighters are live next Thursday (11) at Hammersmith Palais: a black superstar of the Fifties and founding father of soul, Hank adapted Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters’ ‘What’cha Gonna Do‘ into his 1959 original version of ‘The Twist‘, for which he is now rather better known … Richard Searling’s “quiet storm” soul show will indeed be back on Preston’s Red Rose Radio, every Sunday 7-9pm from January 11 now … Steve Allen retains his long standing Saturday 7-9pm Hereward Radio soul show but has dropped his Thursday evening slot … Lowestoft’s Steve Ogley (0502-60364) is looking for a Norwich/Ipswich area venue in which to run a weekly house/funk/rap night … Andrew Holmes house/funk/raps Ashton-under-Lyme Birch Hotel’s Madhatter Wednesdays (just 50p), and reckons Duke Bootee ‘Broadway‘ shares rhythm tracks with Word Of Mouth featuring DJ Cheese ‘Coast To Coast‘ – quite likely, since Duke manages Cheese! … Chad Jackson says he’s been using the ‘Jungle Book’ mix since his time at Manchester’s Hacienda, long before the Disco Mixing championships, and anyway synchs it with a different track to the one used by Jon Davis — Jon meanwhile has quit Cornwall to John ‘Curly’ Marlowe at Plymouth’s Academy … Bournemouth’s “spectacular new” Clouds opens Thursday (4), while Welling’s Station disco pub has had a complete revamp … Robbie Nevil ‘C’Est La Vie’ on commercial copies features just Arthur Baker’s remix (and a dub), plus the pop 0-124½bpm ‘Time Waits For No One‘ … George Benson’s ‘Shiver’ seems aptly titled with all the chillin’ going on around it in the Disco chart, not only ‘ Chillin’ Out’ and ‘I’m Chillin’’, but also of course one of the most memorable lines from ‘The Rain’ is “I chilled” … Oran ‘Juice’ Jones having really taken off, how about someone investigating the import answer versions by Miss Thang and Leot Littlepage? … KEEP CHILLIN’!

HOT VINYL

BOBBY WOMACK ‘Womagic’ LP (MCA Records MCG 6020)
Largely recorded in Memphis with veteran producer Chips Momon, the super-soulster’s eagerly anticipated set is more for fireside listening with little to have truly lasting impact on dance floors, apart maybe from the typically surging (0-)116bpm ‘Can’tcha Hear The Children Calling’ and pulsing tender 100bpm ‘The Things We Do (When We’re Lonely)‘. His vintage Sixties-style 64¼bpm revival of the Masqueraders’ I Ain’t Got To Love Nobody Else‘ (the Tommy Cogbill-produced original remains one of my all-time faves), acoustic 0-51⅓/102⅔-103⅔bpm ‘When The Weekend Comes’, gentle (0-)99/49½-100⅓bpm ‘More Than Love’, plodding US single 86-87½bpm ‘(I Wanna) Make love To You’, soulfully doodling c21½bpm ‘I Can’t Stay Mad’, convoluted 0-112½bpm ‘It Ain’t Me’, and dead slow starting 0-39/78bpm ‘Outside Myself’ won’t disappoint fans, though.

SCHOOLLY-D ‘Saturday Night (X Rated)’ (US Schoolly-D Records SD-115)
Charted on import almost before the ink of our interview was dry, here’s the new rap he mentioned, a busily scratched (0-)99⅔bpm wiggly jitterer with enough foul mouthing amidst its mixture of nursery rhyme and drug attack to earn an “X” rating (radio version and instrumental too), while the dirtily bragging 0-103⅔-0bpm ‘Do It Do It!‘ repeatedly cuts in ‘Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf’.

MANTRONIX ‘Music Madness’ LP (10 Records DIX 50)
Hot hip hop without anything screaming out to be a single, liveliest being the rapid-fire rapped and whistled 99-0bpm ‘Electronic Energy Of…’, tunefully unison chanted go go hip hop 0-101⅓bpm ‘Scream’, and ‘Stone Fox Chase’-harmonica-ed 0-98bpm ‘Listen To The Bass Of Get Stupid Fresh Part II’, this latter repeated as the early basis of a 0-98⅓-101⅔-99⅔-0bpm ‘Mega Mix’. Their reported Forties big band foray finds echoes of ‘Sing Sing Sing’ in the 105¼bpm ‘Big Band B-Boy’, the 99bpm ‘Who Is It’, 103bpm ‘We Control The Dice’ and 92bpm title track completing a set whose initial sales have been on import. Continue reading “December 6, 1986: Bobby Womack, Schoolly-D, Mantronix, Level 42, Tashan”

November 29, 1986: Fission, Curtis Hairston, Heavy D. & The Boyz, Oliver Cheatham, M.C. Shy-D

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

LOOSE ENDS’ commercially released ‘Nights Of Pleasure’ appears to be a single 12 inch containing Nick Martinelli’s 103bpm mix and just Dancin’ Danny D’s 104⅔bpm Dub version (not his vocal remix, once again), plus the older 120½bpm ‘Let’s Rock’ … Dancin’ Danny Poku has in fact joined Pete Edge running Cooltempo, the black music team at Virgin now being Mervyn Anthony and Justin Lubbock … UK promo copies of ‘Mr Big Stuff’ are flipped for collectors by the rapping and chanting 96⅔bpm ‘Uptown’s Kicking It‘, credited to The Uptown Crew despite the lyrics going “my name is Heavy D — and we are The Boyz”, evidently unscheduled here and (although it sounds awfully familiar) not due yet even in the US … Les Adams has concocted a 106½-111-121¼-0bm Jaki Graham ‘Megamix’ (EMI 12JAKIX 9) out of ‘Set Me Free/The Closest One/Step Right Up’, and has done a much smoother 114¾bpm lnto The Street Mix of Sharon Dee Clarke ‘Dance Your Way Out Of The Door’ (Arista ARIST 22682), other current remixes including an emptier 0-115¼-0bpm Commodores ‘Goin’ To The Bank (Credit Card Mix)‘ (Polydor POSPA 826), Phil Harding’s 130bpm Cupid Mix of Billy Ocean ‘Love Really Hurts Without You’ (Supreme Records SUPETX 110), a much chunkier 109⅔bpm New York Mix of O’chi Brown ‘Two Hearts Beating As One’ (Magnet MAGT 297R), Dancin’ Danny D’s go go-ish 100bpm Party Time mix of Octavia ‘2 The Limit’ (Cooltempo COOLR 131), and a US Warner Bros promo-only 0-108⅓bpm Victor Flores Passion Mix of Jeff Lorber ‘Facts Of Love’ (selectively mailed out by Phonogram here) … Mel & Kim’s Freehold Mix is indeed 119bpm … Cooltempo, who will be releasing it, warn that shops selling bootleg copies of the Naturals ‘Funky Rasta‘ run the risk of a visit by the BPI … Maceo & The Macks’ ancient ‘Across The Tracks‘, currently so hot its only just outside our Disco chart, is apparently being bootlegged here with the Jackson Sisters ‘I Believe In Miracles‘ as flip … Cultural Vibe has been repressed in the US with a brand new mix of ‘Dub Games’ … David Grant has left Chrysalis to sign with Polydor … Patti LaBelle duetted ‘On My Own’ at her Hammersmith shows with drummer John lngram, from the family group Ingram, and his sister Barbara Ingram was one of the three backing girls (in fact she was hardly able to walk as a lighting rig had recently fallen on her feet) … London’s WBLS returned with a strong signal, and is one of at least six black music stations now cockily running right through the week … Freddie Jackson ‘Tasty Love‘ topped US Black 45s, Cameo ‘Word Up’ and then the Communards ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ Club Play in Billboard … Bobby Nunn of the original Coasters died aged 61 from a heart attack in Los Angeles on November 5, just as elements of his group’s old style seem to be resurfacing in some of today’s rap records … Thursday (27) Redhill s old Busbys reopens as Millionaires, with Paul Fernandez of Purley Scarlets there every Friday and looking for PAs on 0268-727412 (office hours) … Robbie Vincent souls Didcot’s revamped Rio Friday (28), when Tony Blackburn joins Chris Britton at Tottenham Websters … Nick Lloyd of Swindon Pasha (Tues/Thurs) had his records stolen from his car, mainly seven inch singles, some rubber-stamped with his nickname “Funky Banana” or with “Pasha Nightclub”. He’s offering £100 reward, call Swindon Police on 0793-28111 … Randy Crawford’s totally tempoless ‘Almaz‘ is lovely for listening, but is it really a floor-filler? … Gap Band 8 —One Way 9, Hip Hop Electro 15 — Serious Beats 1, Hibernians 4 —Hamilton Academicals 0 … DER RUMP DUMP DUM DUM DUMP DUM.

PATTI LaBELLE surprised many with one of the best live shows in a long time at Hammersmith Odeon two weekends ago. Looking stunning, yet very basic and human under the glitter, she kicked off her shoes, jumped up and down in gospel frenzy, lent her furs to people in the audience, and, cracking open a Heineken, said “I don’t like drinking out of a can … but I will”. Burp! The sudden appearance of Bobby Womack on stage almost stole the show, everyone spontaneously leaping to their feet, but in the end it was definitely Patti’s night. A blinder!

HOT VINYL

FISSION ‘King Of Swing’ (Streetwave UKHAN 4)
Retitled so that Radio One won’t have to advertise a brand of beer, and remade using different recordings of the Glenn Miller tunes to get around copyright problems, this amusing 97⅚-0bpm rap ‘n’ scratch by Howierd The Duck and DJ Szeps is indeed the already raved about and now widely available ‘Miller Light’ (in two vocal versions, plus beats and the 119bpm ‘Private Dicks’).

CURTIS HAIRSTON ‘Chillin’ Out (Remix)’ (Atlantic A9335T)
Already huge on import, this Timmy Regisford remixed Jocelyn Brown-tempoed catchy 98⅔bpm jiggler (dub/edit too) is here joined by his LP’s introverted jolting (0-)109½bpm ‘Hold On (For Me)’.

HEAVY D. & THE BOYZ ‘Mr Big Stuff’ (MCA Records MCAT 1106)
Hottest hip hop of the day, this Andre ‘Dr Jeckyll’ Harrell-produced jerkily jittering 98½bpm rap revolves around Jean Knight’s repeatedly scratched-in 1971 classic of the same name (inst flip). Continue reading “November 29, 1986: Fission, Curtis Hairston, Heavy D. & The Boyz, Oliver Cheatham, M.C. Shy-D”

November 22, 1986: Cameo, Luther Vandross, The Gap Band, Beastie Boys, Billy Crystal

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

JANET JACKSON’s weak 120bpm original 12 inch version of ‘Control’ has been replaced by an immediately attacking far harder (0-)122½-0bpm Out Of Control Video Mix (A&M AMX 359), which should turn it around now … George Benson’s dub of ‘Shiver’ is actually only on the single 12 inch version now, not on the twin-pack as had it been included that would have had too many minutes of music to qualify as a single … Radio One were threatening to ban Cameo’s ‘Candy’ as they thought the title was about drugs! … Richard Searling’s devotion to “quiet storm”-style soul instead of funky dance music has resulted in such low ratings for his Red Rose Radio soul show that he was going to be dropped by the station, until a public outcry ensured that his show will return, on Sundays, from January 2 … Stu Allan plays Original Concept and other def 1986 toons on Piccadilly Radio, sharing a Sunday 1-6am disco show with Chris Buckley and soloing later with harder upfront stuff Sunday 11pm-2am … London’s latest ballyhooed pirate WBLS lost their aerial after three days, but their signal until then had been lousy anyway … Shinehead’s 12 inch is so overpoweringly bassy that it’s being repressed to prevent blowing speakers! … Music Of Life picked up The Source featuring Candi Staton, while Club have had Wooly Reasonable &t The Yo Culture all along … Masterdon Committee ‘Funk Box Party‘ has been bootlegged in the UK with LJ Reynolds ‘Key To The World‘ and Hi-Tension ‘There’s A Reason‘ as flip … Run-DMC actually recorded ‘Hold It Now Hit It’ before the Beastie Boys were given their original Larry Smith produced track to lay vocals over, Tim Westwood being the proud owner here of an acetate! … Mario Reyes’ dialogue excerpts on the recently reviewed ‘Whatever Turns You On’ are in fact from ‘Pee Wee’s Big Adventure’ … Belfast Soul Club meets fortnightly on Thursdays (Nov 20, Dec 4) at Belfast’s Star & Garter in Rosemary Street – turn up, or call Terry Corr on Belfast 661761 for details … Saturday (22) Graham Gold, Jerry Green, John Matthews and more soul at 3.30pm alldayer at Northolt C&L Leisure (Polish War Memorial turn off A40), while the Hills (Chris & Kev) are alive to the sound of soul at Harlow Whispers, and Robbie Vincent souls Great Yarmouth Tiffanys … lain Norman is building up a funky little scene at Needham Market’s Barking Fox Sun/Fri, Ipswich Hoofers Wed … Tristan Bolitho has left his native Cornwall for Bristol’s Studio … Dave Rawlings during his Disco Aid night at Basingstoke Martines only played paid-for requests (no Madonna all night!), and took £5 to smash Nick Berry’s single on stage — after which he was given much more money for having done so! … Faze One were set upon by a gang of 15 white youths and kicked to a pulp when they stopped for a burger in Newcastle-upon-Tyne after doing ‘The Tube’, their attackers not knowing or caring who they were, just seeing their colour … John Morales & Sergio Munzibai were DJs for the opening of New York’s new 1018 club, on the West 18th Street site of the old Roxy roller-disco … Friendly, Curtis and possibly even Bobby too look like living over here along with brother Cecil Womack, who is even setting up his own UK label … Jeff Young warns that Swing Out Sister’s follow-up, ‘Surrender‘, is serious soul boy stuff! … DER RUMP DUMP DUM DUM DUMP DUM…

TONY BLACKBURN takes the Radio London Soul Night Out into deepest Essex this Thursday (20), for the first time to Basildon Festival Hall, then next week (27) it’s back into the smoke at Clapton’s Dougies. Steve Walsh will also, of course, loom larger than life!

HOT VINYL

CAMEO ‘Candy’ (Club JABX 43)
Although closely battled by ‘Back And Forth’, their LP’s winning track is this familiarly lurching 110½bpm weaving web of exaggerated voices, buzzing guitar, honking sax and off-centre beats, flipped by a sparser new 108½bpm remix and the lovely soulful slow 90⅔bpm ‘Don’t Be Lonely‘.

LUTHER VANDROSS ‘Give Me The Reason’ (Epic 650216 6)
Presumably A-side again as it’s from the currently showing film ‘Ruthless People’, this reissued ambiguously jiggling 138¾bpm spurter is flipped by his similar US A-side cantering 143-0bpm ‘Stop To Love‘, both vocally soulful if dodgy for dancers – oh, and yes, also on there is ‘See Me‘, the gorgeously weaving 102bpm swayer which by far is his hottest track here! Thrown away as a flip…

THE GAP BAND ‘Big Fun’ (Total Experience FT 49780)
Rush released wonderful Stevie Wonder-ish joyfully rambling 110⅔-112¾-112-113⅔- 114½-114-112½-114¼bpm soul burbler in three main mixes here, this being the Mega Mix. Continue reading “November 22, 1986: Cameo, Luther Vandross, The Gap Band, Beastie Boys, Billy Crystal”

November 15, 1986: Duke Bootee, George Benson, Beastie Boys, Donna Allen, One Way

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

JEFF YOUNG’s essential Saturday lunchtime Radio London soul show ludicrously is being moved from November 29 to eight o’clock in the morning, ending at 10am, the thinking being that as it’s such an audience builder maybe it’ll get people switching to the station earlier in the day – the trouble is, its audience must mainly be made up of clubgoers, and for them its original 11.30am start was nicely timed to be their breakfast show! … Streetwave snapped up Fission for rush release in a remix using even more Glenn Miller (although remakes to get around legal problems), thus turning the original rare pressing into an instant collectors’ item … Mantronix’s new LP is evidently going to feature Glenn Miller-type swing tunes too … CBS finally saw sense, and now Oran ‘Juice’ Jones’s seven inch does indeed end with the rap that’s made it a US smash … Mel & Kim have yet another crucially timed remix, harder than scratching, this one called logically enough the Freehold Mix (Supreme SUPETZ 107), 119bpm off acetate – what next, the Planning Permission Mix? … Swing Out Sister’s 112¾bpm remix belies its subtitle A New Rockin’ Version by being actually much funkier right from the start, with an instrumental Horny Version flip, definitely the one to use now (Mercury SWING 2212) … Real Thing unknowingly pre-empted last week’s comment from DJs that a go go remix would help, with their Club Mix which strips back the vocal to expose more instrumental rhythm thus almost fitting the bill … Curtis Hairston ‘Chillin’ Out‘ is being rushed out here on Atlantic hopefully by next week … Jive appear to have the singles rights to Kool Moe Dee ‘Go See The Doctor‘, which in the current venereal climate might even be worth official support as the ideal way to get the condom message over to street kids! … Run-DMC are contributing raps to the next albums by both Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, the latter’s track being anti-crack (Jacko’s US release date of November 26 looks a bit ambitious, informed sources suggesting his LP will be too late for Christmas now) … London’s “warehouse” station WBLS 88.55FM was launched at the Limelight with, in the event, only six Technics decks and those only used normally in pairs, the event (later revealed to have been planned that way by Derek Boland) being probably the most “New York”-like in atmosphere ever in a London club, with no chat, no house, and lots of darkly dressed serious young men upstairs, the real socialising going on downstairs, all in all a good night … Gordon McLeod reports live from London every week to his mother Candy Devine’s Friday 9-11pm soul show on Belfast’s Downtown Radio … New York’s WNBC “flying eye” traffic reporter Jane Dornacker was killed when the helicopter she was actually broadcasting from crashed into the Hudson River … Melba Moore & Freddie Jackson ‘A Little Bit More‘ topped the US Black 45s in Billboard … Luther Vandross’s US newie is the fast rocky 143½bpm ‘Stop To Love‘ – oh dear, I hope we don’t have to follow suit here … Ben Findon’s “1986 Dance Mix” of ‘Love Really Hurts Without You’ is a total remake, containing not one note of the original 1976 hit version, even Billy Ocean’s vocal being from out-takes never previously used, as the original now belongs to CBS — I said it was controversial! … Ben Liebrand is following his hit Tavares revival with a remix of Hot Chocolate ‘You Sexy Thing’ — yawn! … The Time have not only reformed for A&M, but also Herb Alpert has cut five tracks with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis for his own new album, while the Brothers Johnson are back together again and back on the label … Thursday (13) Archie Bell & The Drells start their first UK tour for 10 years at Basildon Festival Hall … Bobby Womack joins Patti LaBelle on Saturday (15) at Hammersmith Odeon, but not the following night … Monday (17) Tim Westwood and Lyndon T start hip hopping Hammersmith Town Hall, for free on the local rates for the first two weeks … Thursday (20) Nigel Porter spins Sixties soul and R&B, at Exeter Boxes … Shake & Fingerpop scorch Soho’s Wag Wednesdays … Phil Simmons rocks the house on Fridays at Richmond-upon-Thames’ reopened Park Avenue … Streetwave’s disco plugger Andros, embarrassed by his mailing list being so out of date, wants DJs to help him update it on 01-997 9989 (instant meltdown at Ealing telephone exchange!) … Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley ‘Jack Your Body’ and the old First Choice ‘Let No Man Put Asunder‘ share the same bass line, making a terrific mix, tips Pete Tong … DER RUMP DUMP DUM DUM DUMP DUM…

MIKE SEFTON, in a surprise move, joins the current spate of record company musical chairs and leaves Phonogram (where he’s long been their popular disco plugger) of the end of this month to head black A&R at A&M. This is a wrench, as he’d been looking forward to taking new US Phonagram signing CINDY VALENTINE (left) on a three week PA tour of Aberdeen!

HOT VINYL

DUKE BOOTEE ‘Broadway’ (HardBack BOSS 2, via Streetwave)
The main man on ‘The Message’ now adapts Dyke & The Blazers’ 1967 classic ‘Funky Broadway’ into a similarly bleak, stark jolting 91⅔bpm go go hip hop rap ‘n’ scratch (inst/edit flip); extremely powerful if depressing.

GEORGE BENSON ‘Shiver’ (Warner Bros W8523TF)
Mellowed out and more hesitantly started, David Todd and Nick Martinelli’s 105bpm extended remix of his outstanding vintage-styled wriggly swaying backbeat jazz-funk jogger is flipped by a useful (unbilled) instrumental dub and the gentle 103/51½bpm ‘Love Is Here Tonight’, and for a “special limited edition” it’s twin-packed with older jerky 0-110¼bpm Jellybean remix of ‘20/20’ (seguing into its dub) and the craftily ‘Shiver’-compatible 105-104bpm ‘Love Will Come Again’. Good value, huh?

BEASTIE BOYS ‘It’s The New Style’ (Def Jam 650169 6)
Although somewhat overtaken by the even fresher Original Concept, this angrily Run-DMC-ish 0-98⅔-0-77bpm rap is exciting floors with its slower “whoa-oh” chant-along rabble rousing last part (dub too), flipped by two treatments of the speaker-blowing very strange backwards-run 46/92bpm ‘Paul Revere’. However, even hotter now is their LP ‘Licensed To Ill’ (US Def Jam BFC 40238), for full review next week but packed with exciting white boys’ rap and Led Zeppelin riffs, the most widely acclaimed standout, though, being their brilliant 0-96⅔bpm revival of War’s ‘Low Rider’, here called ‘Slow Ride’. Check it! Continue reading “November 15, 1986: Duke Bootee, George Benson, Beastie Boys, Donna Allen, One Way”