ODDS ‘N’ BODS
IMPORT PRICES seem certain to rise horrendously, possibly this week, to keep pace with the plummeting pound (anyone going to New York in March should consider buying their dollars now before the bad exchange rate gets even worse): even at current prices the records that DJs buy as soon as they come out are not necessarily the best, but the cheapest (ie: UK releases) . . . Sergio Munzibai, now ensconced as Motown’s New York A&R guy, is already busy with John Morales remixing such as the Dazz Band and Temptations hits (back-to-back on US promo), for likely inclusion on their respective UK follow-ups, while American pressings of Stevie Wonder ‘Don’t Drive Drunk’ include a bonus remix of the old 121½bpm ‘Did I Hear You Say You Love Me‘ from his 1980 ‘Hotter Than July’ LP . . . Prelude, answering my “Whatever Happened” question, have signed Rose Royce, LTD, Undisputed Truth and Enchantment in a move away from disco to soul . . . Thames Valley DJ Assn’s annual Shownite next Sunday (27) at Sunbury Kempton Manor — at which Wham! are heavily hinted to be appearing! — will for the first time be preceded in the afternoon (2-7pm) by a major equipment exhibition in a separate hall . . . Hammersmith Odeon’s New York Jazz Explosion with Roy Ayers, Tom Browne, Lonnie Liston Smith & Jean Carn on Sat/Sun Feb 23/24 has added a 5.30pm matinee on the Sunday to help satisfy demand . . . Junior ‘Do You Really Want My Love’ from ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ has been remixed by John Luongo for UK release in a fortnight — the film opens Jan 25 with Eddie Murphy himself coming here to promote it (and take the country by storm?) . . . Polydor have picked up Direct Drive, and EMI next week put out the previously reviewed rapped and sung bonking 114½bpm Canute ‘Amazing Mind‘ (12TAKE 1) . . . WEA for some reason have reissued Dominatrix ‘The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight‘ (X9572T), last year’s quirky sparse 112½bpm US club hit which meant little here . . . Julia & Company’s new ‘I’m So Happy‘ is due soon . . . Shalamar’s current product is so poor that that their next single looks like being creatively marketed with a medley of their old hits as flip . . . Eugene Wilde’s ‘Chey Chey Kule‘, has been remixed for Dutch 12in, while the version used on UK pressings of his LP misses out the Woody Woodpecker intro that’s such a catchy feature of the US album . . . Dave Gregory this Saturday (19) devotes the 6-7pm hour of his nightly Essex Radio 95.3/96.4FM soul show to the favourites of snooker champ Steve Davis (bad luck in Warrington though), who reveals he’s so into the music he even once spent a day working behind the counter at Chadwell Heath import shop JiFS! . . . London’s latest radio ratings would appear to show all the pirates combined with only a 10 per cent listenership, Tony Blackburn making no appreciable difference to Radio London’s figures during the day, and Capital on the upsurge again level pegging with Radio One just a little behind Radio Two . . . JFM have had their first full studio confiscation bust, under sinister circumstances (rumour suggests that a former pirate is trying to clear away competition for his own return — which really is madness when a show of respectable solidarity has never been needed more), but thankfully Solar-FM returned on 102.4FM last Sunday — JFM had become so boring playing the same old pre-Xmas hits that I actually switched back to Capital for the same records played less frequently! . . . BMP’s name seems to be tripping up word-blind radio DJs, one wally even explaining in detail what the initials BPM stand for after playing the record! . . . Phonogram’s Pete Tong reckons Rymans no longer stock the Rexel hand tally counter (useful for counting Beats Per Minute) but he found one at a commercial office supplier, where it only cost £7.95 — whereas Rayners Lane Record & Disco Centre’s Jerry Green had to pay £13.50 for his at a normal stationers recently . . . Disco Mix Club’s November ‘Glam-Rock’ mixer Sanny X has now restructured oldies by The Sweet into a commerical 12in ‘It’s It’s . . . The Sweet Mix‘ (Anagram 12ANA 28), a bit bitty at first but doubtless fun for the ‘Supersonic’ TV generation, his January DMC mixes being an excitingly scratched ‘The Adventures Of Sanny‘, wild freaky Millie ‘My Boy Lollipop’ remix and electronically over-clever Billy Ocean medley, while Alan Coulthard’s more straightforward and danceable mixes are an excellent Sister Sledge medley and really useful (especially the first ½) fast pop Hyper-Energy set . . . Stargard ‘Which Way Is Up‘ (MCA), coincidentally included on Sanny’s ‘Adventures’, has been getting revived alongside the “go go” hits by the likes of Radio London’s Jeff Young, while Chaka Khan ‘I’m Every Woman’ has had much provincial play again . . . Major Harris ‘Love Won’t Let Me Wait‘ (57½/28¾-58/29bpm in the sexier extended Atlantic LP version) always used to be followed nicely by the similar vintage and equally orgasmic 47¼-95-93-92-91½-92bpm Leon Haywood ‘I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You‘ (20th Century LP) — has anyone thought of reviving that, too? . . . Chaka Khan (with Billy Ocean) celebrates her birthday on Tuesday (22) wetting herself playing the Playhouse in Edinburgh — where ‘Hopalong’ Neil Fincham is back funking the Speakeasy . . . I myself the same night (Tuesday) return to London’s old Speakeasy, now Bootleggers, for a special ’60s night in aid of Ethiopia with such as Eric Clapton raffling a guitar and the likes of The Who and Tony Curtis promised in the audience! . . . Kenny Tosh (Belfast) evidently prefers a ‘Hooked On’-type clap track on his Glenn Miller medleys and will be sticking with Tony Evans ‘Jive Alive’ (Tema) instead of the ungimmicky powerful John Anderson Big Band ‘Glenn Miller Medley’ (on still elusive Modern) — isn’t it hard to say “clap track” and not “clap trap”?! . . . Philip Radjuschko of Maidenhead’s small scale AKOM (All Kinds Of Music) mobile and Jay Buzz of Dagenham’s Buzzers mobile were amongst jocks successfully relaying some of my Capital party tape on New Year’s Eve — Jay incidentally gets as funky as requested (which looks like, very!) Wed/Fri at the Old Burford Arms’ newly refurbished Magnums cocktail bar just off Stratford Broadway near Bow flyover . . . Disco Gary now does Maidstone High Street’s brand new The Sunset on funky Thursdays (girls free) and hot fun Saturdays, with PAs by Jimmy Ruffin Sat (19) and Chosen 3 Thurs (24) . . . Sunday (20) London Lyceum’s 2-11pm reggae/funk alldayer stars David Rodigan, Steve Walsh, Smiley Culture, Barrington Levy, Maxi Priest, Asher Senator, Papa Face & Bionic Rhona, Direct Drive, Cool Notes, Jaki Graham, Hi-Tension . . . Jeff Young joins Nicky Holloway Monday (21) at London Bridge Tooley Street Royal Oak . . . Greg Wilson revives “the interesting years” 1980-1983 on a one-off Tuesday (22) at Wigan’s The Pier . . . Wednesday (23) Sacha Vitorovich starts weekly The Future at South Kensington Harrington Gardens Roxanne’s with fashion shows, live bands, video spectaculars and other trendy excitements . . . Ben Calhoun does Peterborough Hickory’s Fri, March Raffles Sat . . . ‘Toad’ seems a surprising nickname for Marie Clare, now full time at Bolton’s Sundowners — ‘Sleuth’ may be more appropriate, as she has a degree in criminology! . . . ‘Frenchie’ Paul French finally made it from Dunfermline’s Night Magic over to Norway and Bergen’s Oleana’s . . . P’funker (and Time Zone player) Bernie Worrell guested live after Christmas with his old colleague Jesse Rae at Edinburgh’s Hoochie Coochie Club before flying home after a European tour . . . Mick Clark, the Brighton soul jock who went into A&R at Virgin, has not disappeared but merely moved sideways to 10 Records — where the red hot Sasss is his current project . . . Slack & Black might get more phonecalls at Island if their answering machine’s opening “soundtrack” was about three minutes shorter! . . . Cashmere ‘Can I’ isn’t only Hall & Oates-ish, it has the “uh-oh” from ‘Self Control’ . . . Mike Morgan wants to hear from other Hi-NRG jocks around Central/SE Essex at 281 Main Road, Broomfield, Chelmsford . . . Carol Lynn Townes from all accounts has the best bit in ‘Breakdance 2 — Electric Boogaloo’, yet anyone watching telly recently has probably seen it anything up to three times already, used as a video . . . Phil Fearon was sitting just behind me last Friday at ‘The Terminator’ (a cut price ‘Blade Runner’ for violent fun fans) . . . Big Phil Etgart (Greenford Barbarellas) synchs Krystol/Nuance (dub)/Clair Hicks/Chaka Khan (newie) for the sound of now — everyone else is digging out James Brown, Fatback, T-Connection and other percussive choppy oldies for the sound of tomorrow . . . GO GO GO-GO!
HOT VINYL
COMMODORES: ‘Nightshift’ (Motown TMGT 1371)
A spine tinglingly haunting gently intensifying 105bpm tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, sung by new ex-Heatwave member J.D. and Walter Orange, produced by Dennis Lambert, most easily slotted in for dancers before it becomes familiar between either Teena Marie ‘My Dear Mr Gaye’ or Midnight Star ‘Curious’, and (whose rhythm it borrows) Lionel Richie ‘All Night Long (All Night)’ — thanks for the mix to Graham Gold. This should be a national smash.
SASSS Featuring DEXTER WANSEL and GROVER WASHINGTON JR.: ‘I Didn’t Mean It At All’ (10 Records TEN 41-12)
Not only that but sounding like it’s sung by the (sassy?) Jones Girls an’ all, this gorgeous dreamy slow 94bpm ticker aims to be another ‘Nights Over Egypt’ as Grover softly toots through producer Dexter’s weaving beat (beefily striding flipside 121bpm ‘City Life‘ by the het-up chix) — but Wally Average may miss its subtle charms.
GEORGE BENSON: ’20/20′ (Warner Bros W9120T)
Remixed by ubiquitous Jellybean and losing the 7in/LP version’s Al Jarreau-ish scat impact in the process, this rhythmically tricky electro skittered staccato 0-110bpm jerky spurter somehow lacks warmth, and fades away before an instrumental continuation comes back in on the beat. The flip’s guitar doodled jazzy instrumental 106bpm ‘Shark Bite‘ is not on the new LP, which (along with others) time has prevented me reviewing. Continue reading “January 19, 1985: Commodores, Sasss/Dexter Wansel/Grover Washington Jr, George Benson, Nuance/Vikki Love, Barrington Levy”
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