James Hamilton's Disco Page

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

Import albums last week included Gwen Guthrie, Kenny G and Glenn Jones, so check the Disco Chart for BPMs if they hit – incidentally, Kenny G’s single review should have read “more ponderous than the (Jr Walker) original but with obvious nostalgia appeal” … London picked up The Incredible Mr Freeze, which apparently was recorded several years ago (like it sounds) … DJs can now get the percussively exciting old T-Connection ‘Do What You Wanna Do’ (US Sunnyview Classics SUN 33306) on 12 inch again as an import – but how about a UK re-release? … Henry Stone is restarting another TK-type label in Florida with new Canadian partner Paul Kline, called Achievement Records … Timex Social Club, with ‘Rumors’ have started a ‘Roxanne’ sized spate of US answer versions, led by Bobby Jimmy & The Critters ‘Roaches’ (US Macola) … Bananarama ‘Venus’ topped US 12 inch sales, Jean Carne ‘Closer Than Close’ Black 45s in Billboard …. Fatback, who will be headlining live act at October’s Barry Island ‘Bognor’ weekend, have recorded ‘Spanish Harlem’ featuring its originator’s son Ben E. King Jr, due on import soon and in fact looking for a UK deal … Michael McDonald’s seven inch hit ‘I Keep Forgettin’’ now sounds a lot different from its original 1962 version by Chuck Jackson … George Benson’s pleasant enough 88bpm ‘Kisses In The Moonlight’ (Warner Bros W8640) has been delayed on 12 inch here so that an extended ‘Breezin’’ can be added to the oldies flip … Disco Gary Van Den Bussche doubtless joins others wondering where to find the recently mentioned great acappella version of Lulu’s ‘Shout’ remake – it’s on the Jive seven inch only, a three-tracker which I received ahead of the 12 inch and presumed was the same … James Brown’s mysterious track which turned up by mistake on the Beat Freaks’ B-side apparently was the only recorded result of a Compass Point Studio session produced by Sly & Robbie for a mooted Island LP that was never completed – a pity so few are ever likely to find it … Steinski’s newsreel-cutting ‘The Motorcade Sped On’, about JFK’s assassination, has turned up on vinyl at last, but only on ultra-expensive hard to find US Disconet … Kenny Beck, currently in litigation over the authorship of ‘Mine All Mine’, manages Harleqiun Four’s lead singer Barbara Tucker … Jak To Jak is being “restructured” for full commercial release … Les Adams has done an incredibly clever megamix of Sly Fox ‘Let’s Go All The Way’, Queen ‘We Will Rock You’ and Boogie Boys ‘Fly Girl’ which is already out in Europe, although here, because it would be classed as a “compilation” for chart purposes, it seems likely only to be Sly Fox’s next B-side … Robbie Vincent devotes at least half his 9-11pm Radio One soul show this Sunday (10) to a recording of Anita Baker’s London concert – the Sunday one, by which time she was evidently less easily swayed by the audience’s shouted requests into singing all her biggest slowies at the start – after which for three weeks Radio London’s Saturday lunchtime soul man Jeff Young fills Robbie’s chair … South London’s SOLAR Radio is now broadcasting instead in Portugal to the Algarve on 90.5FM, complete with Portuguese commercials between the Bill Mitchells! … I bumped into Red Nose Radio’s soul man Richard Searling in an M6 motorway restaurant on my way to see Zuice in Manchester – he was returning from the Anita Baker show, and we had a good natter … Mike Shaft, his community radio plans in temporary tatters, now presents BBC Radio Manchester’s soul show Saturdays 7.30-midnight … Billy Crystal is filming in London during October – could he be visiting South Wales too? … UK Disco Mixing runner-up Jon Davis starts this Thursday (7) a weekly night at Bideford’s brand new Baileys on the quay … Jay Strongman, Pete Tong, Nicky Holloway, Chris Brown, Jonathon More, Bob Jones, Gilles Peterson & Chris Bangs have another Doo At The Zoo in Regents Park this Saturday (9) … Mayfair’s Gullivers doesn’t close now until November, and business is booming … Benny Wilson, funking Stamford Hill’s Cotton Club Thur/Fri/Sat/Sun, like other London jocks finds his black audience slow to respond to anything faster than 110bpm, thus ruling out any “house” hits — however, Ashley Hooper at Bournemouth’s Shunters and Mr C’s is already having to revive the frantic old Francine McGee ‘Delirium‘ and Slick ‘Space Bass‘ … Stock/Aitken/Waterman have done a House Mix of ‘In The Heat Of A Passionate Moment’ as Princess’s follow-up, and a House Remix of O’chi Brown … Ian Levine, having sussed that “house” is only another form of Hi-NRG, is producing ‘On The House‘ by Midnight Sunrise — it had to happen! … SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

CHAD JACKSON, as can be seen, got up to his usual tricks in the initial heats of the New Music Seminar’s scratching competition. Scratchers (and rappers) battled in pairs, each trading three 30-second sets in which they had to outdo each other. Chad, against the Get Fresh Crew’s DJ Barry B, for his second set cut up the words “Get Fresh Crew” in an answerable attack, and the predominantly black New York crowd went wild! His proudest moment? It was a round-winner, as was Cut Master DC’s scratching with a sneaker, his nose and a basketball, while Jazzy Jeff beat last year’s winner DJ Cheese.

All this was done on Numark MDJS Series decks, which jumped like crazy – unfortunately, as they were the competition’s sponsors. Even when fitted with Stanton 500AL cartridges and D5107A1 styli (established as the scratchers’ faves) the decks worked little better. Come the day of the finals, they had been exchanged quietly for Technics, and ostensibly because of this but mainly then to include aspiring scratcher Tony G, whose dad owns influential Los Angeles radio station KDAY, it was suddenly announced that the initial heats would be re-run. This threw most of the now re-matched winners, off-form Chad being beaten by Jazzy Jeff, Eazy G by an athletically on-form Barry B, Cheese by Tony G, Prince Paul by Cut Master DC. The judges were all stars, Grandmaster Flash, Mantronik and that ilk, including Lady B – who actually said she manages Jazzy Jeff. As all the others seemed scared of offending anyone, they tended to sit on the fence and award everyone the same marks, leaving the way clear for Lady B to hold up a full 10 every time for Jazzy Jeff and considerably less for his competitors. The result was inevitable, and probably deserved, Jeff beating Barry B in the final after they’d respectively seen off Cut Master DC and Tony G in the semi-finals. The rapping likewise was even more discredited, heartfelt boos from the audience greeting the judges’ decision to snub the brilliant extemporised raps of newcomer Robert S in favour of their dull peer T LA Rock, who was then beaten by Grandmaster Kaz. But by then the relevance of the whole competition had been called into permanent doubt.

HOT VINYL

JANET JACKSON ‘When I Think Of You (Dance Remix)’ A&M AMY 337)
Teasingly introed quite radical 115¾- 115⅔bpm Jam & Lewis remix of the zestfully bounding girlish bather everyone always wanted as her single, the original’s delightfully laughing outro now fragmented within dub-like rhythm breaks (inst/beats flip), not necessarily an improvement although obviously at this stage something new was needed.

In fact with strange timing it’s also pitted against a less frenetically retextured and extended 0-103⅚bpm ‘Nasty (Cool Summer Mix)’ (US A&M SP-12196) of her last hit, with Herb Alpert tootling some on the even longer Part II, cool like the title says.

MEL & KIM ‘Showing Out’ (Supreme Records SUPET 107)
Their real names, these two female models were dancing for Alan Whitehead’s agency at the Hippodrome DJ Convention when they accosted Pete Waterman and said “You ought to record us!” This eventual outcome was actually written on Friday, July 18, recorded Monday 21, played off acetate by John Sachs on Capital Radio Tuesday 22, out on fully printed promo copies Friday 25, and all over the airwaves Saturday 26 — how’s that for speed? The tightly chanted “house”-tempoed 0-119¾bpm topside has a catchy “get fresh at the weekend” hookline, with a ‘Set It Off’-ish 109¾bpm instrumental ‘System (House Mix)‘ as AA-side flip. Continue reading “August 9, 1986: New Music Seminar scratching competition, Janet Jackson, Mel & Kim, Zuice, Tricky Tee”

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

Theo Loyla is looking for further positive pledges of support from DJs and club managers for the Disco Aid project on Saturday, November 1, so if you haven’t already, please affirm your support in writing to 6 Tomay Cottages, Hawthorne Corner, Herne Bay, Kent CT6 6TH – you’ll be agreeing to donate a supplementary admission fee plus any other funds raised specially that night to help Band Aid and other British charities … Robert Geldof, KBE, has so far declined to lend his support by stepping into the nearest disco for five minutes on that night … Tony Prince launches his commercial record label, created as a production outlet for DJs, DMC Records, at London’s new Limelight next Wednesday (6) with Chad Jackson, Les Adams and Paul Dakeyne as guest mixers – so already the exodus has begun from the neighbouring Hippodrome just down Charing Cross Road! … South Norwood confusingly has a Limelight as well, where this Friday (1) Froggy joins regulars Chris Stewart and Lyndon T … I looked in on New York’s Stringfellows, bigger seeming and emptier than London’s, where DJs Lynn Condon, Beladee Nayhem and Lisa Lace are lovely girls but not the standard of mixers one expects of the Big Apple … Real Thing have signed with Jive for new material … Pieces Of A Dream ‘Joyride’ LP (Manhattan MTL 1004) is now out here, and their UK 12 inch turns out to include the jagged angry 116-0-117bpm jazz instrumental ‘Outside In’ … Ralph Tee is compiling an Arista Masters oldies series of re-releases, jazz, soul and dance, first due being Phyllis Hyman ‘You Know How To Love Me’ and Breakwater ‘Say You Love Me Girl’, soon … Martin Freeland is now also no longer at EMI … Randy Muller has been extensively remixing Skyy ‘Non-Stop’ … Steve Davis, soul fanatic snooker champ, sits in hosting Essex Radio’s weekday evening soul show all next week – I hope he’s practised his cueing! … Lesley Gore’s ‘It’s My Party’ has been accurately recreated as ‘It’s My Body’ in a milk commercial on US radio … Melba Moore’s US TV sitcom series ‘Melba’ debuted unfortunately the night after the NASA space shuttle disaster, and got such poor ratings it was immediately pulled off air; however the remaining episodes are being shown through August on CBS-TV … ‘EastEnders’ actress Sharon Dee Clarke (‘Mad Lizzie’) has been recorded by Ian Levine for Damon Rochefort’s own production company … Sunday (3) Tony Monson and Jeff Young soul an afternoon 2-6pm Thames boat trip, details on 01-533 0117 … Leicester Square’s Secret Rendezvous being defunct, Simon Goffe starts soulful Fools’ Paradise on Fridays from next week (8) at Soho’s Gossips – he seems to have found another good appropriate current song title for his club’s name … Angela Bofill, Stanley Clarke, Kenny G and Dave Valentin make up a revised Soul-Jazz Explosion ’86 package playing Hammersmith Odeon August 30/31 … Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theatre has brought back its traditional amateur nights on Wednesdays, but as a regular 7.30pm evening show rather than as an extra after the main show has ended – because now there is no main show, the place being used for one-off engagements, whereas in its heyday every week saw a different package playing five shows a day, seven days a week, with a movie and newsreel between each show … Eric Mercury was, as co-writer/producer of the original, interested to hear about all the “activity” surrounding the ‘80s Ladies ‘Turned On To You’ – on our second meeting in New York, I caught him playing piano while Daryl Pandy rehearsed a brand new but timeless classic-style blues that could have been from any decade this century, magical! … Justin Strauss, DJ at the fantastic Area (which changes its elaborate décor theme every month), cleverly combined Gwen Guthrie and Tambi … I’m actually saving further New York news like the New Music Seminar’s mixing competition fiasco to accompany other relevant photos … Hot Licks are expanding their video DJ mailing list on 01-486 8794 … Colin Curtis and Pete Haigh soul-jazz Manchester’s Broosters Mondays … Aaron Lewison-White’s long standing residency at Drayton near Chichester has changed names from Brooksies to the new Thursdays … Ken ‘B’ Brudenell has left Southampton Raffles for the freer musical climes of Bracknell Oceans (Fri/Sat) … Mondo Kané is, like the ‘Mondo Cane’ film title that inspired it, pronounced “Mondo Carnay” … Billboard’s Rhythm & The Blues columnist Nelson George observes, “It is amazing how many white English singers want to be Otis Redding and how many black American singers want to be Barry Manilow” – maybe (while shouting “You tell ‘em Nelson!”) that’s because here we can appreciate at a distance the artistry of soul without having had to live through and personally endure its restrictive heritage … Rob Day, commuting from Fridays at New Cross Harp Club to Saturdays at Manchester Hacienda, wonders whether, if it were released tomorrow on DJ International, ‘Blue Monday’ would be considered as anything other than “house”? … it’s getting difficult to tell what’s “house” and what’s Hi-NRG these days … SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

DARYL PANDY, the lovable man mountain with the mighty mouth and six-and-a-half octave range, is actually the voice heard on producer FARLEY ‘JACKMASTER’ FUNK’s ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’ (London LONX 105), or more accurately its really raving ‘Dub Can’t Turn Around’, which oddly is the main vocal side, at 122bpm the most exciting “house” hit to come from Chicago so far. Daryl and (real name) Farley Keith were snapped above at Arthur Baker’s Shakedown Studio while re-recording the vocal for subsequent repressings, although the original is now out here, where it and other “house” records are being welcomed as at last a faster dance music that’s reasonably credible.

Daryl’s is also the lead vocal on FARM BOY ‘Move’ (US DJ International Records DJ-912), produced by fresh-faced boy Dean Anderson, a skittery 118¼-0bpm bounding “house” stormer with emulator breaks between bursts of imperative beefy singing (later by Etheridge Williams too), the vocally concise Radio Mix possibly being best of its four versions. Daryl is dynamite in person, a star waiting to be discovered, and can’t wait to come here to visit Wales, the land of his surname!

SLEEPING BAG Records held a roof party above their Manhattan office at 67th & Broadway during the New Music Seminar, and the DJ up on the roof was none other than an unheralded MANTRONIK, caught here cueing up some hot “house” on the Trax label!

HOT VINYL

MICHAEL McDONALD ‘Sweet Freedom’ (US MCA Records MCA-23641)
Written, arranged and co-produced by Rod Temperton for the Gregory Hines/Billy Crystal movie ‘Running Scared’, and far hotter than Michael’s current Warner Bros seven inch, this exotically lurching 114¼bpm loper (in four marathon mixes) has hints of ‘All Night Long (All Night)’ but mainly is another ‘Yah Mo B There’!

DAVIS/PINCKNEY PROJECT ‘You Can Dance (If You Want To)’ (US Studio Records STU-911)
Fascinatingly arranged 103⅓bpm gradually fleshing out while drily husky singer Lorenzo Queen carries the swing, which is considerable (inst flip). Subtle, downbeat, dynamite!

SHIRLEY JONES ‘Do You Get Enough Love?’ (Philadelphia International 12PIR 2, via EMI)
The solo Jones Girl’s US smash is a Bunny Sigler-created tremendous gospelish 67bpm slow roller with pent-up piano and confidential rap which, despite the whole side one of her also UK-issued LP ‘Always In The Mood’ (PHIL 4000) being other stunning slowies, remains the standout track in our chart. Make it a hit here, too. Continue reading “August 2, 1986: “It is amazing how many white English singers want to be Otis Redding and how many black American singers want to be Barry Manilow””

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

I am the guy that got thrown out of Paradise Garage, for having the temerity to suggest that after all the publicity I have given to both the New York club (which doesn’t close until next year now) and its DJ Larry Levan they might like to let me in for free – so there goes any further mention of “garage” music! … ‘House’ is in any case the correct term for what we’ve been calling ‘garage’, a real producers’ music form to the extent that it’s the producers rather than the artistes who get the main label credit: thus Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk & Jessie Saunders have taken precedence over the actual singer of ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’, the incredible six and a half octave ranged Darryl Pandy, who sounds like Little Richard, looks like Fats Domino, with a satchel mouth like Louis Armstrong, a true star waiting to be discovered! … I had the pleasure at Arthur Baker’s Shakedown Studio of watching Farley Keith re-record (rather than remix) Darryl’s ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’ vocals for a future alternative release (photos next week if they come out) … Arthur’s own 122½bpm ‘I Want To Go To Chicago’ by RT & The Rockmen Unlimited has reached acetate stage, but the big news is that together with DJ International Records owner Rocky Jones he has produced a Chicago/New York All Stars session featuring such as Chip E, Farley Keith, Darryl Pandy, Afrika Bambaataa, Melle Mel, Will (Wally Jump Junior) Downing, Hubert (‘D’ Train) Eaves, André Booth, Bruce Forest and more, the results being split between his own Criminal Records and DJ International for release … Frankie Knuckles was the DJ at Chicago’s Warehouse, which actually closed three years ago, playing such obscure New York records only ever heard there that they came to be called “House” – he cites among many Master Jay ‘TSOB’, Liquid Liquid ‘Cavern’, MFSB ‘Love Is The Message’, and various Gino Soccio titles … Chip E’s singer Jack In House explains that “jack” is another word for dancing, “when the music is loud and pumping like a jackhammer”! … Chicago’s broadminded black mayor Harold Washington is so clued up on the impact of house music that he seems likely to be promoting it himself internationally! … New York’s New Music Seminar as usual had a scratching and rapping contest, but the results were discredited by political manoeuvrings which will be detailed in full next week: suffice to say that UK champ Chad Jackson did magnificently in the initial heats, beating the Get Fresh Crew’s Barry B on applause after cutting up the words “Get Fresh Crew” in real blood-letting battle, but then these initial heats were run again to accommodate someone whose dad owns a radio station, the finals eventually (and deservedly, despite unfair scoring by his manager on the judging panel) won by Jazzy Jeff, while Grandmaster Kaz won the rapping … New York’s urban contemporary radio now isn’t even as upfront as Tony Blackburn on Radio London – make of that what you will! … Timex Social Club now tops US Black 45s, Club Play, and 12 Inch Sales in Billboard! … Livewire, the people who encourage the unwary to ring up huge ‘phone bills, from this week start a new funky service hosted by Radio London DJ Dave Pearce which includes the RM Dance Line, spotlighting several fast new risers on our Disco chart – the service is in London only at the moment, on 0066-66012 costing a maximum 35p for one and a half minutes at peak times, 12p off-peak … Steve Walsh has dubbed his own singalong lyrics over the top of Fatback ‘I Found Lovin’’ for imminent release, and picked up Hanson & Davis for his Total Control label … Club have Wally Jump Junior, and Janet Jackson’s ‘When I Think Of You’ album “sleeper” is finally due next week … Dancin’ Danny Poku has concocted a promo-only re-edited 0-98½-92-101-98½-0bpm ‘Real Roxanne Meets Pee Wee Herman And Howie’s Teed Off’, with scratching by Hardrock Soul Movement, while commercially The Real Roxanne ‘Bang Zoom’ is also out in an instrumentally started 98⅚-99-0bpm The Fresh New Beat Remix (incidentally, on watching ‘Back To The Future’ again in mid-Atlantic, it suddenly became obvious that “bang zoom” was a catchphrase from the vintage Jackie Gleason TV show) … Princess ‘Tell Me Tomorrow’ has reverted to 10-inch size for yet another different 104⅔bpm Saturday DJ Edit mix, while O’chi Brown ‘100% Pure Pain’ is on a Special DJ Copy “white label” as a much altered tighter 113¾bpm US Extended Remix, and finished commercial copies of Phil Fearon have as flip the self-penned accomplished 140-147½-150-151-0bpm jazz instrumental ‘Il Gurnata’ … Epic have released the rock-guitared (0-)101-0bpm ‘House Rocker’ (TA 6952) as Lovebug Starski’s follow-up … Billy Crystal’s smarmy 0-112½-0bpm ‘You Look Marvellous’ (US A&M) is taking off again thanks to its video, as before mainly in the Thames Estuary area so far … London group Zuice, whose 110¼bpm ‘Everyone A Winner’ (a juddery title line looking for a song) isn’t out on Club for a fortnight, are being launched like Total Contrast last year at special DJ parties, in Manchester at Richfields next Monday (28), Glasgow at The Cotton Club Tuesday (29) – see you there? … Nick Graham revives three decades of Pressure Cookin’ black dance music this Thursday (24) at Bromley South’s Dr Crippens … New York saw Chad Jackson diving mouth first into all the exotic frozen cocktails, Damon Rochefort give a taxi driver $100 instead of $1 (notes are the same size!), Steve Walsh chatting to a girl who turned out to be a fellah, being pickpocketed, and escaping from a head-on taxi crash, while Simon Bates seemed not to want people to know he’d been to the New Music Seminar (it might ruin the credibility of Radio One DJs!) … SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

Roger Troutman, during Zapp’s London visit, finally revealed how he creates his distinctive “vocoder” vocal sound. Through a plastic tube he breathes into his mouth helium, a gas that makes his voice go squeaky, the sound of which is taken by microphone into an amplifier and then fed through a synthesizer, the keyboard of which Roger plays to coincide with the words that by being fed through it have now become the sound signal he’s manipulating into “music”, bending and stretching them. This takes practice!

HOT VINYL

Stock Aitken Waterman present MONDO KANÉ featuring Dee Lewis & Coral Gordon, guest star GEORGIE FAME ‘New York Afternoon’ (Lisson Records DOLEQ 2, via PRT)
With the overall concept’s name now phonetically respelt to prevent confusion with a Dutch group called Mondo Cane, production team Stock Aitken Waterman’s debut as “artistes” stars the inimitable nasal tones of the ‘Yeh Yeh’ man crooning Richie Cole’s gloriously breezy 102⅔bpm samba as if it had been written for him. Edited 103⅚-103⅔bpm Little Samba and Fame-less 0-104bpm Nip On mixes join the flip’s oddly wowing (0-)106⅔bpm similarly samba instrumental ‘Manhattan Morning’. Not many know it, but DJ Chris Hill was behind this whole idea.

DEBBY BLACKWELL ‘Once You Got Me Going’ (10 Records TENT 151)
Squalling shrill Debby virtually duets with a mellow soulful backing fellah on this Leroy Burgess co-penned fast frantic 117½bpm jittery flier, sort Aurra and Skipworth & Turner gone Hi-NRG (in four versions).

JAK TO JAK ‘Take It Easy’ (Boiling Point POSPX 806)
The S and M of DSM, Birmingham DJs scratching Shaun Williams and Mambo now join huskily talking rapper Gilly (a guy) who rides the rhythm of a not surprisingly DSM-like mellow ticking 110⅓bpm shuffle groove (jazzier and harder more ‘Twilight’-ish dub flip).

CA$HFLOW ‘Can’t Let Love Pass Us By’ (Club JABX 33)
An unlikely A-side, this intensely chugging tight 115⅓bpm whipper does become quite nagging on a monotonous level, as do the flip’s already charted rambling jiggly 94⅔bpm ‘Spending Money’ and pent-up wriggly 112⅔bpm ‘I Need Your Love’, all having a cumulative soulfulness rather than being strong songs. Continue reading “July 26, 1986: “I am the guy that got thrown out of Paradise Garage””

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

UK FRESH ’86, for which Hashim has cut a theme tune on Streetwave, actually lacks the leading US rap acts, Run-DMC, LL Cool J and Whodini – who, with the Beastie Boys, will be at Hammersmith Odeon on September 12/13, and in Nottingham and Manchester as well! … New York this week at the New Music Seminar was due to see various parties, Profile’s on Tuesday starring Run-DMC, who’ve now sold 1,350,000 LPs in just eight weeks (‘Walk This Way’ is their follow-up single with a great video featuring its originators Aerosmith), while the same night Jellybean was presenting such of his acts as Jocelyn Brown at Anthony And The Camp at Area, and Luther Vandross and Ashford & Simpson were hosting a benefit night at the Felt Forum … Wednesday was due to be “garage” night at Better Days with Bruce Forest and guest DJ Frankie Knuckles presenting Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk, Chip E, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, Farmboy, Fingers Inc – I hope I was there! … Damon Rochefort, making his first trip Stateside to report for rm, got his passport only the evening before he was due to fly out, and then had to queue at dawn for a visa the day he went! … Ian Dewhirst is quitting EMI to run Serious Records’ singles label, and Orin Cozier has already departed from RCA … Froggy and mixing partner Simon Harris have teamed up with Streetwave to launch their own label, now called Music Of Life – and it is this label that has signed LaToya Jackson, and will debut next month with a remixed Cerrone ‘Supernature’ … Disco Mix Club’s new album of ‘International’ mixes (the monthly DJs-only subscription service provides 3 LPs now; details on 06386-67276) is pulling in such Continental star remixers as Ben Liebrand and Rutger ‘Rutti’ Kroese … Tony Prince in addition is launching an actual commercial label, DMC Records through Arista, committed as an outlet for disco DJs to become producers – the first release will be a total remix by Sanny X of Tina Charles’ old ‘I Love To Love’ (just what the world needed, right?), each release being on standard 12 inch plus a multi-track “remix pack” 12 inch with all the bits that jocks need to create their own versions … Timex Social Club topped US 12 inch Sales, Peter Gabriel Club Play, El DeBarge Black 45s in Billboard … Pillar Promotions are compiling an exhaustive listing of all the country’s top clubs and DJs, to be called DJU and sold to pluggers and suchlike for £200, so they want to hear from anyone who thinks they should be included: call Philip Williams on 01-735 8171 … Steve Walsh stoutly insists that although his Rolls Royce is indeed second hand, it’s a late Seventies, one-owner-only model, a snip at £15,500 … Sinitta ‘So Macho’, still selling strongly up North, is turning into a holiday hit in Spain, so may yet smash nationally … SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

HOT VINYL

JEFFREY OSBORNE ‘Soweto’ (A&M AMY 334)
Really rushed out here hard on the heels of the 115½bpm topical protest song cheekily pinches a riff from Miami Sound Machine’s ‘Dr Beat’, especially on the dub version, and here is coupled also with Larry Levan’s 0-112bpm “special US remix” of the seminal ‘Plane Love’. The best thing on his album, now even better, and destined to be huge.

PHIL FEARON ‘I Can Prove It’ (Ensign 604, via Chrysalis)
I suggested following the Real Thing revival that Tony Etoria’s 1977 hit could be worth digging up, and here comes Phil, sticking almost too close to the (108bpm) original for comfort, in a breezily swinging bubbly 110bpm remake which adds some scat and breaks but otherwise even copies the Welshman’s distinctive enunciation (inst flip), with of course a more spacious modern recording quality. Tony peaked nationally at 21, can this top it?

TIMEX SOCIAL CLUB ‘Rumors’ (US Jay Records JAY 001)
Imagine a male Nu Shooz doing ‘Louie Louie’ with the punks (in the original Sixties garage band meaning) chanting wicked, sometimes scabrous, lyrics to a mind numbing 107½bpm hypnotic beat – ‘Vicious Rumors’ is the longer B-side version – and you’ve got the hottest 12 inch seller in the States right now! Continue reading “July 19, 1986: Jeffrey Osborne, Phil Fearon, Timex Social Club, Jeffree, Lionel Richie”

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

COMMUNITY RADIO plans, rather as suspected after so long a delay, have been shelved for the moment while the government evaluates the recommendations of the Peacock Committee’s report on broadcasting m general; however Tory party chairman Norman Tebbit (once head of the Department of Trade and Industry and keen for radio deregulation himself) insists that the delay will be only temporary (whatever length that means) … London Records have snapped up Chicago’s DJ International Records and associated labels House Records and Underground for the UK, with their own logo here, meaning that Cooltempo no longer have Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk & Jessie Saunders here – incidentally the label’s founder Rocky Jones confirms and clarifies: “Garage Music is stuff like Dhar Braxton and Gwen Guthrie from New York, Chicago music is called House Music after the Warehouse Club in Chicago – know the difference!” … New York based Arthur Baker, originally from Boston himself, has produced an anthem for the music actually called ‘Chicago‘ and plans a massive promotion that should boost the sound even further and pull the rug out from under the Chicagoans? … EMI’s disco plugger Ian Dewhirst reports from New York that Cultural Vibe ‘Ma-Foom-Bey‘ is the garage crazed city’s hottest hit, which doubtless all the Brits about to descend on the Big Apple for the New Music Seminar will discover for themselves … ‘Krush Groove’ is showing at London Kings Cross Scala cinema this Thursday-Sunday (10-13) … Midnight Star ‘Headlines’ has been remixed by the Wrecking Crew … Stock Aitken Waterman present Mondo Cane featuring Dee Lewis & Coral Gordon with guest star Georgie Fame is the cumbersome label billing on their 103⅔bpm bossa nova cover version of Richie Cole’s ‘New York Afternoon’, due on Lisson Records soon and already burning up the airwaves … Roger Troutman, who really Zapp-ed London with a tightly disciplined all happening stage show which owed much to past soul heroes, went straight on up to Scotland to produce eccentric P’funker Jesse Rae — I myself was at the far north-western tip of Sutherland two Mondays ago with Spud Murphy watching the sun set at 10.34pm, and the sky stay red all night long! … BBC Radio London’s live link with New York’s WBLS on July the Fourth was, for its Hammersmith Palais section, to all intents and purposes the Steve Walsh show, as the large one shouted “I Am Steve Walsh!” no less than 18 times in an hour … Masquerade’s presentation of ‘The Solution (To The Problem)’, with its “we can work it out” chant of optimism, was ironic considering it coincided with a guy brandishing a knife at the bouncers … Brian D Mason (Cricklewood Ashton), driving a Porsche 911SC Sport Tarca with personalised plate 557 BDM, reckons he’s one up on Steve Walsh’s very second hand personalised Rolls Royce! … Morgan Khan, still unable to discover a British Michael Jackson, enthuses that Streetwave have at least signed LaToya Jackson, doing a duet with Cerrone … Lulu’s original may yet be remarketed, but in the meantime she’s re-recorded a faithful (though lukewarm when compared with her energy 22 years ago) 0-138¼-126½-138-0bpm version of the party classic ‘Shout’ (Jive LULU T1), which surprisingly has competition from the deliberately (and not so incisively) rearranged brand new 148½-0-148½-0-126-147-152-0bpm treatment by Buddy Curtess And The Grasshoppers (Mercury BUD 112) … . . Tania Maria at Euston’s Shaw Theatre on Sunday July 27 coincides with Anita Baker at Hammersmith Odeon – where this Saturday (12) David Sanborn is in concert, while Willie Colon burns up Hammersmith Palais Monday (14) … Thomas & Taylor have left Cooltempo … Technics have already launched a vari-speed compact disc player, giving plus minus eight per cent just like their record decks! … Man Parrish appears at Bolts sometime during Bournemouth’s Gay Pride Festival fortnight 11-27 July … Russell Harries, having moved to Scotland from Bournemouth, boasts he plays real club music at Stirling’s Le Clique where he welcomes funky PAs and coach parties (call 0786-814714 evenings) … Johnny S, looking for other mixing gigs on 01-521 1871, cuts up Stoke Newington’s Nine-Eleven club Saturdays with Elvis and Val Haywood … Steve Aspey, at Kensington’s The Park Fridays now, is joined at Oxford’s Parkers next Tuesday (15) by Bob Masters … Paul M and Fleck start funking specialist Wednesdays at Oldham’s Royton Scandalls next week (16) … Teena Marie on her ‘Emerald City’ LP sleeve says she’s trying to sound “green” – rather than black or white — to break away from our confining preconceptions … SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

LONDON RECORDS now release here the kings of rap ‘n scratch, RUN-DMC, whose 95bpm ‘My Adidas’ (LONX 101) is so concerned with footwear it’s the B Boys’ Blue Suede Shoes’, while (with their instrumentals too) the 105⅙bpm ‘Peter Piper’ coupling is fast catching up in popularity, having harder cutting and nursery rhyme chants. Also on UK release is their massively selling US LP ‘Raising Hell’ (LONLP 21), hottest tracks on the floor so far being the percussive 96⅔bpm ‘Is It Live‘, violently scratching 0- 97bpm ‘Hit It Run‘ and jaunty (0-)127⅔-0bpm ‘You Be Illin’‘. It’s all much more stark and demanding than the Full Force type of productions, so may not take every dancehall by storm … but it’s certainly def.

HOT VINYL

GWEN GUTHRIE ‘Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent’ (Boiling Point POSPX 807)
Beware, creative marketing at work! Initial UK pressings of this grittily nagging subdued 107¼bpm jiggly roller only feature Larry Levan’s two mixes (plus the 74bpm ‘Passion Eyes’), and cost around £3, whereas the far better value £5 import also includes the widely considered superior two Mark Berry remixes to make a five tracker. Obviously Berry’s mixes will be made available here too eventually, by which time you’ll have spent £6 if buying domestic vinyl to get them all. Anyway, the song’s turning out to be quite sneaky and huge at soul venues, but I remain doubtful about its crossover appeal.

THE MAIN INGREDIENT ‘Do Me Right’ (Cooltempo COOLX 126)
The veterans return on an excellent Kenny Beck-penned very wriggly 108½bpm imploring soul nagger with its distinctive near hysterical semi-falsetto vocal choppily stabbing the bubbly beat (inst flip). Continue reading “July 12, 1986: Run-DMC, Gwen Guthrie, The Main Ingredient, Lou Rawls, Shirley Jones”

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

THEO LOYLA and John Saunderson seem to have arrived at a workable way of holding a national Disco-Aid night: they suggest that on Saturday, November 1, all clubs add a small extra admission charge while DJs play requests for cash and hold raffle-type money raisers, with recording artistes donating a brief free PA at the club of their choice . . . Radio London’s Soul Night Out this Thursday, broadcast live at midnight this time to coincide with the Fourth of July here if not in the USA, once again has Tony Blackburn and Dave Pearce live in New York on WBLS while Steve Walsh presents the guest stars at Hammersmith Palais, followed at 2am Friday by Alexander O’Neal & Cherrelle direct from Harlem’s Apollo! . . . Chrissie Jackson spins hot soul newies 7-9pm, Mike Stewart oldies 9-10pm, every Friday now on Norfolk’s Radio Broadland 97.6FM . . . Daryl Stafford’s Eurobeat Top 25 at Bournemouth’s Cabaret Club is broadcast fortnightly on 2CR’s Monday evening Tim Butcher/John Dash show . . . Cooltempo snapped up the sizzling Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk & Jessie Saunders for release in a fortnight . . . Luther Vandross ‘Give Me The Reason‘ (Epic A7288), received so far only on seven inch, is a not particularly danceable ambiguously jiggling 138½/69¼bpm weaver from the film ‘Ruthless People’ . . . WEA have reactivated Shirley Murdock ‘Truth Or Dare‘ and Zapp ‘It Doesn’t Really Matter‘ to coincide with their UK visit . . . CADJ (Central Assn for DJs) meet the first Sunday every month at East Birmingham Hospital Social Club, details from John Baksh on 021-384 6959 . . . Thursday (3) Graeme Park mixes live while models walk at a fashion show in Nottingham’s The Garage . . . Chris Hill is Kev Hill’s next guest at Basildon Sweeneys Monday Guvnor’s Clinic (7), followed by Sean French & Chris Brown, Robbie Vincent, Gilles Peterson & Nicky Holloway, etcetera . . . Mike Shaft, Colin Curtis & Patrick play nothing but garage jack trax at Manchester’s revamped Legend Wednesdays . . . Paul Oakenfold & DJ Wicked Pulse funk The Go-Go Thursdays in Richmond’s The World at Zeeta’s . . . Steve Glover’s gone goggle-eyed now that Bournemouth’s Zig Zag has installed a huge screen video! . . . Cosmic sez “ta” to all who supported him at Basildon’s now defunkt New Yorker . . . Andy Vaughan (Old Kent Road Dun Cow) tips that WQBC synchs superbly out of ‘Borrowed Love’, while my own hot mix at a mobile gig was the guitar intro of Chuck Berry ‘No Particular Place To Go‘ chopped in place of the same guitar figure during James Brown ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag‘! . . . Harmonic Keys Dance Music Service, the Florida based BPM and key directory (BPMs not that accurate, actually), suggests amongst other musically perfect “on key” mixes Sheila E ‘A Love Bizarre’ and Janet Jackson ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’, both in E flat minor . . . Sheila E, forget it — I’ve just seen Sheila Gish, nonchalantly driving a left hand drive American saloon through Hampstead! Howie Tee’s cousin Chris Rumney from Highgate corrects that its Mixmaster Ice who cuts it up with UTFO . . . SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

PEE-WEE HERMAN is the wimpish American comedian fast building a cult following, especially for his debut feature film ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’, to such an extent among B Boys that he, his dance, and ‘Tequila’ theme tune are the — here still unseen so perhaps mystifying — subject matter of the now UK-released JOESKI LOVE: ‘Pee-Wee’s Dance’ (Cooltempo COOLX 125). A starkly insistent catchy (0-)90½bpm minimalist rap, it’s been hanging on for months as an import even without any national exposure for Herman himself, so what’ll happen once we’ve seen him?

UK FRESH ’86 host, hip hopping MIKE ALLEN raps on the mic while GRANDMASTER RICHIE RICH looks happy — probably because his ‘Check It Out’ is the debut release on Hammersmith disco store owner Greg James’s own label, Spin-Off’s Record Company Limited (120FF 1). A jerkily leaping (0-)121¾bpm scratcher with cod “upper class” intro and actually rather foreign sounding rap, its ‘Scratch It Out’ dub may be preferable.

HOT VINYL

One of the first new wave of “garage” records to make its presence felt here (before the description was being applied), this year old incredibly influential minimalist remake of Strafe’s tune has been the backing track to a million DJ mixes, adapted by other artistes, and covered several times in its own right — all without ever getting a UK release, until now. Driven remorselessly by a schlurping “pshta pshta” hi-hat beat which eventually embraces subduedly chanting chicks and further colourations, it’s never a song as such but just a floor jamming 110¾-110½-111bpm groove (I hadn’t realised its electronics fluctuate fractionally). Because so many must already have the import, here the original is flipped by a brand new 110-109¾bpm remix by Herbie Mastermind, making more of an actual song out of previously unheard elements from the master tape, plus a useful if short 110¾bpm Bonus Beats instrumental (hinting also at Maze’s ‘Twilight’). For mixers, and the aware, essential! Continue reading “July 5, 1986: Joeski Love, Grandmaster Richie Rich, Harleqiun Four’s, Princess, Michael Jonzun”

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

STEVE ‘SILK’ HURLEY also has a totally different treatment due of ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’, the Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk & Jessie Saunders version of which exploded in our chart last week, not by being the biggest selling newie but because most jocks charting it already had it at number one! . . . Chicago’s “house” and “jack” styles (ie: “garage” by its local name) may be the most exciting new development in dance music but typically it’s being resisted in Central London’s blacker clubs — however, the faster tempos are taking off elsewhere, and it seems north of Watford Gap many jocks are already taking things to extremes (as they usually do with any easily definable style, miaou, miaou!) . . . Dancin’ Danny D has remixed Loose Ends’ ‘Gonna Make You Mine’ B-side, and Ian Levine is remixing Bucks Fizz (well he would, wouldn’t he?) . . . Style Council’s next single will feature the Showmen’s chairman of the board General Johnson as lead vocalist, reviving last year’s General Crooks & Willie Clayton ‘Love Pains’ . . . Sixties veteran Steve Mancha’s comeback single for EMI is shaping up as a joyful goodie, sorta Dr Buzzard meets the Temptations on the Grapevine! . . . Paradise leader, gospel singing Paul Johnson, is recording secular soul for CBS produced by his chum Junior . . . Luther Vandross’ next B-side will include his track from ‘The Goonies’ soundtrack, ‘She’s So Good To Me‘ . . . The O’Jays’ old ‘My Favourite Person‘ is becoming another boom tune around London . . . CBS’s one-time disco plugger, now in A&R, Steve Ripley, is moving to New York as International Product Manager, off hats! . . . Sergio Munzibai has indeed resigned his Motown post (so is that an end to those M&M remixes on the label?) . . . Regina ‘Baby Love‘ belatedly topped US Club Play (it’ll be reissued here next month) and Billy Ocean ‘Sad Songs‘ Black 45s in Billboard . . . Sinitta ‘So Macho’ evidently sold more copies in one Sheffield shop than anything ever, including ‘Mull Of Kintyre’ . . . Fnday (27) Chad Jackson cuts up Lowestoft Ziggies, Saturday (28) Robbie Vincent souls Bristol Sanborn’s, Monday (30) Kev Hill kicks off his “wicked” weekly Guvnor’s Clinic at Basildon Sweeney’s with guests Pete Tong & Bob Jones . . . BBC Radio Merseyside soul jock Kenni James hosts a funky river cruise next Thursday (3), tickets from Hot Waxx and Chevertons record shops . . . Gary Hickson (Blackburn Kaleidoscope), already doing a club chart rundown Fridays on BBC Radio Lancashire, is about to sit in for holidaying afternoon man Simon Johnson . . . Johnny Wakelin supported Muhammad Ali on ‘Black Superman’ and ‘In Zaire’ now he’s turned — in similarly rabble rousing 0-108¼bpm basic chant style — to ‘Bruno‘ (Chrysalis KOX 1), featuring “you know what I mean, ‘Arry?” loud and clear, unlike last weeks inferior although officially sanctioned rival . . . SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

JULIE ROBERTS, now she’s a TV presenter, has gone all posh and added a “t” to make her Juliet for the revived ‘More Than One Night (Love Mix)‘ (Bluebird/10 BRT 22). Remixed by Herbie Mastermind and herself, the original old B-side had a reggae-ish following in London’s blacker clubs but now, with a “shabba dabba doo” or two and some muted horn, it’s become a possibly too loosely strung rambling 0-81¾bpm jiggly slow weaver (instrumental flip).

STREETWAVE RECORDS continue to raid the ‘CBS Club Classics 2’ LP for their DJ Limited Edition 12-inch series, the latest teaming back to back DEXTER WANSEL ‘Life On Mars‘/WILLIE BOBO ‘Always There‘ (Streetwave SWAVE 9).

HOT VINYL

THE S.O.S. BAND: ‘Borrowed Love (Remix)’ (Tabu TA 7241)
Jam & Lewis replough that fertile Yarbrough & Peoples pioneered ‘Change Of Heart’ furrow for this acappella finished 100¼bpm purposeful roller, flipped by the group’s own self-produced but still typical (0-)87½bpm ‘Do You Still Want To?‘ Uh-huh.

YOUNG & CO.: ‘Such A Feeling’ (US The Sound of London SOL-986-12)
With an infectious burbling bassline and hints of Aurra’s oldie of the same name, this joyful gospelish 119½bpm bounder comes in three mixes, the dubbier Club (B) being pure garage. Er, I thought TSOL was one of Morgan Khan’s labels?

MELBA MOORE: ‘Love The One I’m With’ (US Capitol V-15236)
Bouncily duetted with producer Kashif, this perkily lurching 115½bpm skipper is typically staccato over spiky beats and sets up a happy feeling despite the cold mechanics of its backing. Certainly for soul modernists, it could have wider appeal, too. Continue reading “June 28, 1986: The S.O.S. Band, Young & Co, Melba Moore, Wally Jump Junior, Innerlife”

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

THIS COULD be a long hot sweaty summer if the faster ‘garage’ grooves like Dinosaur L succeed in forcing black dance tempos back up to the 130bpm region . . . StreetSounds have finally launched their Picture Box dance music video series, 12 clip compilations at about £12.50, released bi-monthly in alternation with a Hip Hop video series too, the same label has also started their new Artists Showcase LP series with a good retrospective of The Jones Girls (MUSIC 4), while jazz jock Gilles Peterson has compiled not only ‘Jazz Juice 2‘ (StreetSounds SOUND 4), including Dianne Schuur ‘It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing‘, but also the even more specialist ‘Blue Bossa‘ (Blue Note BNSLP 1, via EMI) . . . The Temptations ‘My Girl’ heads a four-track oldies 12-incher to celebrate their 25th anniversary (Motown ZT 40744) . . . I had no time to mention Loose Ends’ flip, the emphatically wriggling 105¾bpm ‘Gonna Make You Mine‘, now proving hotter for many . . . Froggy & Simon Harris have remixed William Bell ‘Passion’ (and are choked they didn’t get to do the second even bigger Real Thing hit remix!) . . . Theo Loyla’s DJ mailing list Superjocks Hit Squad has amicably divorced itself from the Disco Mix Club so as not to compromise the latter’s impartial dealings with other, rival record promotion companies (Theo, by the way, Level 42 are an excellent pop-rock band, but hardly funk nowadays) . . . US firm Finial Technology later this year launch a $2,500 record playing turntable using a laser beam instead of a stylus (similar to, but incompatible with, the CD system), an instant start/cue professional model for disco and radio use following in 1987 . . . Janet Jackson ‘Nasty’ topped US Black 45s, but Patti LaBelle finally replaced her as top Black LP, while The SOS Band ‘The Finest’ topped 12-inch Sales and Dhar Braxton Club Play, in Billboard . . . US “urban” radio stations appear to be getting much blacker in an effort to show there’s more to R&B than dance music . . . Motown have closed their New York A&R office, presumably putting Sergio Munzibai out of a job (amazingly, the actual office was right above one I used to work in years ago!) . . . Asian immigrants were amongst the earliest audience for electro here, but in the States they’ve been identified (by Dance Music Report’s Hi-NRG correspondent Casey Jones) as chief buyers of Eurobeat, which they call “New Wave”! . . . Fresh Fest III 1986 Mardi Gras Tour, the hip hop package currently touring the US, includes such as Kurtis Blow, Full Force, UTFO, Joeski Love, Whistle, Fat Boys, LA Dream Team, Shabba-Doo, Boogaloo Shrimp and the Jets . . . Aerosmith it is, or rather members Steve Tyler and Joe Perry, who contribute the AoR element to Run-DMC’s ‘Walk This Way‘ . . . July 19 could be chaos at Wembley, what with the UK Fresh ’86 rap fest at the Arena and Frank Bruno fighting in the Stadium — Frank’s “You know what I mean?” comments incidentally turn out to be inserted (very badly) into The Contenders’ dreadful Hi-NRG 130bpm ‘Where’s Harry?‘ (Columbia 12DB 9136) . . . Dave Gregory, in addition to the Essex Radio Soul Night Specials, is setting up his own touring show around the South East with regular gigs at such as West Malling Greenways, Braintree Essex Barn, Basildon Festival Hall, featuring guest jocks and PAs: artists interested in the latter, contact TAC Promotions on 0702-347237 . . . Friday (20) Rapattack join ‘underground’ groover Rob Day and upstairs soulster Bob Jones at their weekly New Cross Harp Club Big TV night . . . Disco Gary & Steve Goddard’s Friday Funk-Shun at Maidstone Harveys skips July 4 but is otherwise regular now . . . Mad Max & Perry Daniels start funking Catford Panthers this Saturday (21) with guest Greg Edwards . . . Monday (23) Neil Fincham celebrates Edinburgh Styx’s first birthday with a 12 hour 9pm-9am (licensed) formal black tie party for all the club’s regulars . . . Andy Baker is cock-a-hoop that his venue at Rhyl’s The Downtown is the first on the North Wales coast to get a 2am licence (he also got married!) . . . Swansea soul supporter James Lewis adds commercial Mondays at Harry’s Dance Bar, and Wednesdays at Cwmbran’s Ripples (the only club in town) . . . I’m afraid the weather’s too warm for Hit Numbers . . . SORRY, WRONG BEAT!

CHRIS PAUL’s ‘Expansions ’86 (Expand Your Mind)’ has been much expanded by the Brothers Fearon in a more percussive 0-113¾-113½-113¾-0bpm remix, which is not necessarily an improvement. Shrink-wrapped as a white label with the original 12-inch over this last weekend, it’s now out in its own right with the original tracks as flip (Fourth & Broadway 12BRWX 48). Incidentally, is this the first pic to be published of Chris? I had to take it myself!

HOT VINYL

SLEEQUE: ‘One For The Money’ (Malaco Dance Records MAL 12-33)
The Jon Williams-renamed and designed label kicks off with my current fave, an infectiously skittering breezy (0-)114-0bpm spacious wriggler with lovely piano and a catchy lilt (in three Paul Simpson mixes). Go man go!

FARLEY ‘JACKMASTER’ FUNK & JESSIE SAUNDERS: ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’ (US House Records FU-10)
More “jack trax” from another of Chicago’s “house” masters, this dynamically spurting express train tempoed 122bpm “garage” groove (in three mixes) is so terrifically exciting it deserves to spread this new true disco style’s following to more than just the trendier clubs. Oddly, the really raving ‘Dub Can’t Turn Around’ is much more vocal than the labelled Club Mix. Try it!

JANICE: ‘Bye-Bye’ (Fourth & Broadway 12BRW 49)
Nu Shooz look out, here comes the next emulator hook-filled maddeningly catchy gimmick hit. Surprisingly only supported on import by the UK’s leading soul jocks, this is greasy kids stuff personified, a silly 113½bpm electro leaper with crazy breaks and Kate Bush-type vocal bursts (here edited in four versions). Continue reading “June 21, 1986: Sleeque, Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk & Jessie Saunders, Janice, Dinosaur L, The Latin Rascals”

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

PHIL FEARON obviously heeds my hints, as he’s reviving Tony Etoria’s ‘I Can Prove It’ (he’s also expanding ‘Expansions 86’ for Chris Paul)! . . . Chris Paul himself is after personality DJs for South Harrow Bogarts and a new Ealing nightclub: send CV and tape to him at Bogarts, Alexandra Avenue, South Harrow, Middlesex HA2 9AD . . . Stock-Aitken-Waterman will be making their debut as artists with guest vocalists, who could well include the likes of Astrud Gilberto and Georgie Fame, on a segued medley of Richie Cole’s ‘New York Afternoon‘ and their own new ‘Everlasting Love‘ bossa nova . . . Randy ‘Funky Chicken’ Muller rang me to say he only missed a bomb in Germany by three days last year but regardless he and Skyy leader Solomon Roberts Jr will visit the UK some time this year, if only to keep up to date with the fashions: Randy’s currently producing a group of New York rappers called Rappers Convention, and for EMI release soon an outfit called Nyteshift . . . Chad Jackson arrived at the Nimes festival in the Roman amphitheatre to find it was a competition for personality DJs rather than mixers, yet he still came second! . . . Disco Mix Club launch in the States in July, following the May introduction of now a third LP in their monthly subscription DJ-only service, this one devoted to International Mixes — this month Les Adams has excelled himself with a ‘Laugh It Off‘ mix that medleys George Formby, Charles Penrose, Lonnie Donegan and more to the ‘Set It Off’ beat, a party classic for years to come (subscription details on 06286 67276) . . . London now have UK rights to Run-DMC, who’ve already sold out New York’s massive Madison Square Gardens for two nights the weekend immediately after the New Music Seminar (coinciding with London’s own UK Fresh ’86 rap fest) . . . New York hip hoppers turned out in force to mourn, at the Bronx’s Devil’s Nest, the recent closure of the legendary home of rap Disco Fever, tribute payers including Run-DMC, Fat Boys, Whodini, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash, Doug E Fresh, Force MD’s, Lisa Lisa, Jellybean Benitez, Bernard Wright and more — the real Fresh ’86? . . . Archie Bell & The Drell’s big boom oldie, now the other one’s out here, is rapidly becoming ‘Hard Not To Like You‘ . . . Matt Bianco is now twin-packed with a bonus c.116½-120½bpm ‘Matt’s Megamix‘ of their samba-style hits . . . Ian Foster ‘Tell Me It’s True’ is already also in a 97¾bpm New York Remix (MCA MCAX 1025) to split its sparse sales, and even a Les Adams 0-109-115¾-0bpm Total Contrast Megamix has had little effect on ‘What You Gonna Do About It’ (London LONXR 95) . . . Haywoode ‘Roses’ is also in a DJs-only promo remix by Michael Barbiero, but forgive me if I don’t BPM it, there are other things to do — um, like would you believe four weeks worth of Hit Numbers for next week?! . . . Steve Walsh, now driving a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 1 number S(teven) M(aurice) W(alsh) 100, guests on ‘Solid Soul’ this Friday (13), and later that evening with Danny Smith at Gt Yarmouth Marina Centre for “the hottest in black music including heavy funk, improvised jazz and real emotional soul” — doesn’t sound like the Walsh gigs we know! . . . Saturday (14) Essex Radio’s Disco John Leech, Bob Jones and Gilles Peterson head Sudbury Gainsborough Club’s 4pm alldayer . . . Nu Shooz and the Crown Heights Affair remix synch together “forever”, tips Graham Gold, who’s returned on Saturdays to Mayfair Gullivers (which doesn’t close until late August) . . . Pete Waterman points out the amazing similarity of Maze ‘Twilight’ to Colonel Abrams ‘I’m Not Gonna Let’ — so maybe Frankie Beverly is really The Godfather Of House and guvnor of the garage groove? . . . Antionette’s backing appears to be by B.T. Express, in spirit if not in fact . . . Princess’s original version of her Hi-NRG LP track ‘In The Heat Of A Passionate Moment’, yet to be released, is really Hi-NRG! . . . Julian Jonah’s ludicrously Paul Hardcastle-like single was actually mixed by him, so no wonder . . . Frank Bruno is cutting a single, naturally enough called ‘Know What I Mean’! . . . RELEASE THE TENSION!

HOT VINYL

WILLIE COLON: ‘Set Fire To Me’ (A&M AMY 330)
The salsa star is already creating mayhem on floors here with his somewhat Santana-ish 116½bpm Latin Jazzbo sizzler and its even beefier scatting Inferno Dub flip, practically the new ‘Jingo’ except not quite as dynamic. But what a beat!

UTFO: ‘We Work Hard’ (US Select Records FMS 62272)
On an excellent value double-sider, this Full Force-produced furious jittery 0-100¾-100¼-0bpm go go hip hop rapper in ‘Alice’ style with human beat box and many bright hooks is flipped by the equally hot — or hotter — nursery rhyme singalong ‘n’ rap 0-105¼-0bpm ‘Kangol & Doc‘, both scratched by Hitman Howie Tee. The freshest jams in town.

THE REAL ROXANNE with HITMAN HOWIE TEE: ‘(Bang Zoom) Let’s Go-Go’ (Cooltempo COOLX 125)
Full Force are behind this other hot double-sider too, backing the bragging 0-99-0bpm rap ‘n’ scratch with a fascinating sequence including real soul singing, Fred Astaire big band licks and a ‘Bugs Bunny’ Elmer Fudd finale! The stark 101¾bpm ‘Howie’s Teed Off‘ cuts in Brick’s ‘Dazz’ amongst others, on a strong flip. Continue reading “June 14, 1986: “House” is actually Chicago-speak for “garage””

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

PHYLLIS HYMAN’s continued unavailability (some say it’s chickenpox) has forced complete cancellation of July 26/27’s New York Jazz Explosion — but worry not, as surely an even bigger attraction has been booked into the Hammersmith Odeon on those same dates as solo replacement, Anita Baker! (original tickets will be refunded or exchanged at point of purchase) . . . Important Records are reissuing Fatback ‘I Found Lovin’, which seems logical, flipped by ‘Is This The Future?’, which seems good value . . . Willie Hutch ‘Easy Does It‘, an old Whitfield-released B-side, is the latest Northern Soul — sorry, London oldie to be touted as a biggie that all the DJs must have . . . Bluebird/10’s commercial copies of the Matthew David ‘Don’t Let Love Get You Down‘ cover version crazily don’t have its usefully promoed instrumental version as flip, negating any advantage left in the face of Archie Bell’s original: already the label has plans to rectify this . . . CBS have reissued on 12 inch The O’Jays ‘Love Train’/’I Love Music’/’Backstabbers’ (Portrait TA 7235) and The Isley Brothers ‘Harvest For The World’/’Summer Breeze’/’That Lady’ (Epic TA 7234), all easily available in other forms, like on Streetwave/StreetSounds, and in fact the outlet now starts its systematic plundering of the ‘CBS Club Classics’ LPs by coupling Wilbert Longmire ‘Black Is The Color’, MFSB ‘Mysteries Of The World’ (Streetwave Limited Edition SWAVE 8) . . . Motown have released as a mid-price double album the Kudu-recorded 1977 Grover Washington Jr ‘Live At The Bijou’ (WL72267(2)), containing ‘Sausalito‘, ‘Summer Song‘, ‘Mr Magic‘ . . . WEA have already rushed UK release of the Bob James/David Sanborn ‘Double Vision’ LP (Warner Bros 925 393-1) . . . Hanson & Davis’ review last week should have mentioned the label (US Fresh Records FRE-5EP) . . . Champion are rushing out Spyder-D’s Nu Shooz rap . . . Thomas + Taylor have a re-edit due with added harmonica . . . Haywoode ‘Roses’ (CBS TA 7224) has been reissued as a rockier, more choppily thunderthumbed aggressive 114¾bpm Bert Bevans remix (promoed to DJs as a 10 inch) . . . Lisson Records (catalogue number prefix DOLEQ) was named by Tilly Rutherford and his partner Pete Waterman after the dole office where he and other redundant PRT employees had to sign on, in London’s Lisson Grove — where there’s also the fashionable Seashell fish ‘n’ chips shop, in which naturally enough the label’s launch lunch was held this Tuesday! . . . Sandra Edwards is first artiste on the Pinnacle distributed new label Soul Town 45, a DJ mailing list being complied by Nik Miles on 01-802 7605 . . . Max LX and Dave VJ of Hardrock Soul Movement are after a rapping lady DJ to join them — send photo and tape, if possible, to (Roger’s sister) Nikki Tovell at Elite Records, 41 Eton Avenue, Wembley, Middlesex HA0 3AZ . . . I can’t tell at this stage how useful it might be here, but the Key West, Florida based monthly $20 subscription Harmonic Keys dance music programming service lists all the disco records applicable to its US market not only by beats per minute but also by musical key, breaking down all changes in tempo and modulation — full details from Stuart Soroka on 010-1-305-294-4491 . . . Alan Coulthard, nearing completion of his law studies, has resigned from Disco Mix Club and severed management connections with its co-founder Tony Prince due to “personal differences” — a shame . . . London’s much loved legendary club DJ from the Sixties (amongst other claims to fame he taught Lulu how to dance), Al Needles sadly died of a heart attack two weekends ago . . . Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s Walkers club was robbed of the bank holiday takings in a shotgun raid, no joke . . . Dardanella Braxton is Dhar’s real name, before the spelling got gimmicky . . . South Eastern Discotheque Association’s annual disco equipment exhibition SEDA 86 is this Sunday (8) afternoon at Gravesend’s Woodville Halls, opened by the Cool Notes . . . Graeme Park spins upfront dance hits Tues/Fri/Sat at Nottingham’s trendily named The Garage — yup, he plays “garage”, too! — as well as Wed at Leicester’s Fan club and this Thursday (5) at Derby’s Glint club in the Blue Note . . . Colin Curtis guests at Manchester Cloud Nine’s modern soul night this Friday (6), and Chris Hill souls Bristol Sanborn’s Sunday (8) . . . Peterborough’s Hereward Radio rather unexpectedly was the clearest station on MW when I spent a sybaritic night near Bala in North Wales at the Pale Hall hotel! . . . Timmy Regisford, following his Colonel Abrams remix, has “done a Sergio Munzibai” and become MCA Records’ New York A&R man . . . Steven Winwood’s next single will be a duet with Chaka Khan . . . Hit Numbers will return next issue, following Bank Holiday disruptions, with a bumper edition three weeks worth of beats per minute for all you pop pickers . . . Disco chart-returning DJs, if you aren’t mailing us your chart on Monday (to arrive by Wednesday), please do so if at all possible — we are of course grateful whenever it’s received, but somehow always just the same few DJs manage to send theirs late, making much more work . . . RELEASE THE TENSION!

HOT VINYL

SKYY: ‘From The Left Side’ LP (US Capitol ST-12448)
Still sounding something like Michael Jackson backed by Brass Construction, the Randy Muller and Solomon Roberts Jr-produced group give out from the left side, the heart, their usual good grooves on the (0-)117bpm ‘Non-Stop’, 115½bpm ‘Love Attack‘, 114½bpm ‘Jealousitis‘, 101½bpm ‘Love Illogical‘, 113¾-0bpm ‘Big Fun‘, 112½bpm ‘Rock It‘, and of course 113bpm ‘Givin’ It (To You)‘, slowing down soulfully for the 0-51½/25¾bpm ‘Song Song’, 38bpm ‘Tell Her You Care’. If they did they’d come here and tour as planned.

ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS: ‘Don’t Let Love Get You Down’ (Portrait TA 7254)
In the vanguard of London’s current Northern Soul-like Seventies “rare soul” revival since first boosted last year, this much sought gently yet grittily weaving singalong 92¼-94¼bpm sleazy swayer is finally out on 12 inch for all to buy, flipped by the much more dated though possibly Tavares-compatible 127½-126½-125½-126½-125-127bpm ‘Soul City Walk‘ and (0-)117-119-117-116½-116bpm ‘Where Will You Go When The Party’s Over?‘.

PIECES OF A DREAM: ‘Say La La’ (US Manhattan V-56022)
Designed for partying under starry skies all night long (all night), the young jazzers’ languid 99bpm vocal jogger combines gently go go-ish beats, a summery lilt, simple “la la la” chorus and distinctive solos (in three mixes) Hot hot hot! Continue reading “June 7, 1986: Skyy, Archie Bell & The Drells, Pieces Of A Dream, Jimmy McGriff, Colors”