October 2, 1982: Kool & The Gang, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Ruddy Thomas & Susan Cadogan, Rockers Revenge, Gwen Guthrie

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

MUSICAL YOUTH, as my review would have revealed, have a great promotional video available to clubs for a quid from MCA, the young Brummies coming across like a juvenile Jacksons . . . Grace Jones’s new ‘Nipple To The Bottle’ US single will be the B-side here to ‘Apple Stretching’, due imminently . . . Island’s Lloyd Burrell is hoping to build an exclusive DJ mailing list — only people who can realistically break new product, no time wasters, “big names” welcome — so write to convince him at Island Records, 22 St Peters Square, London W6 . . . Liberal leader David Steele’s rapping ‘I Feel Liberal — Alright!‘ really is out on record — but what label, who’s doing disc promotion, and will there be an Arthur Baker “fierce” remix ?! . . . Peech Boys rather belatedly will be out here in a fortnight on IDS, via RCA . . . Morgan Khan has replaced the NY Skyy track with the Salsoul Orchestra/Loleatta Holloway ‘Seconds’ remix on Melba Moore’s UK 12in, as well as the instrumental version, has on 2-track flip for some reason the rather short and dated 113½bpm ‘Let’s Go Back To Lovin’ from last year . . . Luther Vandross’s new US Epic 7in, an oddly disjointed old fashioned nice medley of ‘Bad Boy/Having A Party‘ (Sam Cooke’s song), may not be so danceable by today’s standards but sounds very much as if it was recorded at the ‘Jump To It’ session . . . Martin Collins has me as his guest playing some choice soul oldies this Sunday (3) during the second hour of his 3-6pm ‘Soul Seekin’ show on Chiltern Radio (792m MW), which can be picked up certainly in North London . . . Dick Sheppard, expatriate Brit now playing “new wave dance” records as the prime time “morning drive” jock on Los Angeles’s number one rated radio station KROQ, has had the sad task of returning to Torquay for the funeral of his dad, Reg — my oldest reader, according to Dick, he used to send out these disco pages complete with his own comments to LA every week . . . Dick also reports that LA has finally gone “new wave dance” crazy, the Whisky on Sunset Strip for instance scrapping its famed live music sessions to become a records-only new wave disco, while its new wave dance policy is what put KROQ at number one — let’s hope the Yanks don’t go into over-kill like they did with “disco” . . . London’s Capital Radio has made getting up (or going to bed if you’re like me!) a pleasure all through the week again, Graham Dene returning to the weekday breakfast show and Peter Young taking over at weekends — see, the good guys do sometimes win! . . . The Limit ‘She’s So Divine’ won Capital’s People’s Choice vote last week . . . Sunday night’s ‘Roseland’ movie on TV featured Cheryl Lynn’s ‘Super Cool’ during a hustle sequence — penned by Elton John/Bernie Taupin, it was produced by none other than Greg Edwards (OUR Greg Edwards?)! . . . Ian Levine (Charing Cross Heaven), currently raving about the Weather Girls ‘It’s Raining Men’ (US Columbia 12in) — they’re the Two Tons Of Fun by another name — and Melissa Manchester ‘You Should Hear How She Talks About You‘ (US Arista 12in), has done a two-part history of gay disco music in this and the next issue of ‘Him’ magazine . . . Cori Josias, recently seen on TV, turns out to be one of Rusty Egan’s proteges, her ‘Taking It Straight‘ presumably being destined for release soon . . . Evelyn King rapidly replaced Rockers Revenge at the top of the US Dance/Disco chart . . . Thames Valley Disc Jockeys Association will be celebrating its fifth anniversary next January with “the biggest promotion night ever attempted by a DJ Assn” . . . Theo Loyla’s lady Joy Barling once again painted Level 42’s LP sleeve . . . Erskine G, gigging at Southall’s White Hart with an electrophonic phunk bias, is seeking further work (01-571 4528 evenings) and invites club managers to give him a club full of receptive young people and he’ll prove he’s good — trouble is, if it’s already full, why would it need him?! . . . Steve Goddard, the Curly Wurly chewing ‘Soul Messiah’, could do with more gigs no matter how modest around the London area on 01-500 2749 . . . Watford’s New Penny is now looking for DJs who play a wide range of music and can work big screen video equipment — call Mr Harris on Watford 22003 Thurs-Sunday evenings . . . Phil Richards now does Luton Sands . . . Eddy Grant’s original ‘Walking On Sunshine’ / ‘Sunshine Jam’ (Ice 12in) is still at the usual £1.99 from Adrian’s in Wickford High Street . . . Nigel Halkes (Portishead) reports from a Greek holiday that Athens is flooded with cheap bootlegs (incidentally Nigel, your unidentified track is Pino D’Angio ‘Ma Quale Idea‘), and has sent me a tape from New York’s WBLS of Grover Washington Jr endorsing Kentucky Fried Chicken! . . . the Isley Brothers look shagged out and wrecked on their current LP sleeve, but then none of us are getting any younger . . . Chris Hill reckons the Beverly Glen Music label should now add Tyrone Davis or someone of similarly soulful stature to their artist roster, which so far comprises Bobby Womack and Johnnie Taylor . . . who the hell is Tiny K? . . . Greg Wilson, Wigan-based mixing star, says the funk scene up North is healthier than for ages with packed alldayers and booming import sales in Manchester/Liverpool specialist shops, even futuristic gigs featuring a fair amount of funk in return for the electrophonic phunk that’s been adding colour to soul playlists . . . Micky Holloway (Bermondsey Bensons) is pleased that the Phase One Roadshow adapted their mixer’s cueing controls (which gave me such difficulty in Margate) at his suggestion so that now he can do running mixes with no problems . . . Mark Summers (Hackney Marshes Flappers), who’ll pay for copies of our old disco charts up to 1978, raves that Shalamar ‘There It Is’ synchs sensationally at the break with “D” Train ‘Trying To Get Over’ instrumental remix . . . Neil Fincham (Edinburgh Mad Hatters Speakeasy) makes the valid point that women especially like dancing to the obvious hits and oldies so that if you kick off with these you can get the evening going early, and then when asked for something in that category once you’ve swung into “up front” gear you can also make the excuse that you played it earlier . . . LET’S DANCE!

UK NEWIES

KOOL & THE GANG: ‘Ooh, La, La, La (Let’s Go Dancin’)’ (De-Lite DEX 9).
Switching around the brackets in its title here, this subdued in tempo though jolly in atmosphere reggae-inspired 96½bpm 12in jitterer is already getting rave reaction from fun loving black dancers and will obviously be yet another pop smash — and again it’s worth mentioning how good it is with Freddie McGregor’s ‘Reggae On It‘ (Intense 12in), a reggae version of their ‘Get Down On It’ at a similar speed.

KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS: ‘Annie, ‘I’m Not Your Daddy’ (Ze 12WIP 6801).
Another ultra jiggly goodtime sleazy (and now remixed) 110bpm 12in mixture of Latin-ish exotic textures trucks and sashays along with fruity trombone poking through the polyrhythms.

RUDDY THOMAS & SUSAN CADOGAN: ‘Make Me Feel Good’ (Hawkeye HD 44, via 01-961 0866).
Sizzling hot superbly beautiful gently reggaefied 85-86bpm 12in lovers rock duet by the two stars of the familiar Gamble & Huff-penned “touch me” slowie — who did it, was it Teddy & Stephanie? — screaming out for regular radio play and pop hit status. Continue reading “October 2, 1982: Kool & The Gang, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Ruddy Thomas & Susan Cadogan, Rockers Revenge, Gwen Guthrie”

September 25, 1982: “Simon Cowell has 7,000 kazoos”, Raw Silk, Sharon Redd, Level 42, Nick Straker Band, Gang’s Back

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

SUDDENLY DISCO seems to be “in” again, to judge from the chart — and isn’t Evelyn King doing well? . . . David and Sketch are rumoured to have un-Linxed, and Pete Stringfellow it’s speculated has bought London’s Talk Of The Town venue (who else could afford the rates?) . . . ‘The Passage‘ is the Evasions return soon on Groove Production — it’s a send up of ‘The Message’ . . . Chris Hill is looking for a young guy, preferably a jock, to do disco promotion “in the old style” at Ensign (01-727 0527) . . . Teena Marie and Motown, her managers, and everyone down to the washroom attendant seem to be at legal loggerheads in the States currently . . . Solar next month in the USA launches a new label, Constellation, for white pop acts — but they’ll be produced by Solar’s usual black team . . . Rams Horn’s rumoured demise in Holland was evidently greatly exaggerated . . . Marvin Gaye’s now completed debut set for CBS has totally electronic backing, ‘Sexual Healing’ the first single reportedly being a real knee trembler (due next month) . . . Diana Ross’s next single from an upcoming LP is ‘Muscles‘, prod/penned by Michael Jackson! . . . The Quick are not now on commercial 12in after all, so wave bye bye to that . . . The Limit’s UK B-side, ‘Pop‘, turns out to be a really nice slinky 90bpm jogger with bright Heatwave-ish harmonies and jazzy instrumentation . . . Steven Fay (Darwen) and 15 years old Nigel Halkes (Portishead) both indicate Hi Voltage ‘Let’s Get Horny‘ has the same tune (mixing well) as the 1978-issued Quartz ‘Beyond The Clouds‘ (TK) — rummage, rummage! . . . CBS’s tactics with Sharon Redd’s UK 12in have upset record dealers now lumbered with the unsaleable initial batch . . . Level 42’s live B-side tracks, it will come as no surprise to regular readers of this paper, were recorded last May in Guildford (yup!) and Tunbridge Wells . . . Galaxy’s Phil Fearon stuns everyone at PAs by doing a standing forward flip, feet to feet, appropriately enough during his ‘Head Over Heels’! . . . Steve Naylor has organised a return visit here for hot New York mixing jock Dan Pucciarelli, of Brooklyn’s Dynasty disco, who’ll be at Blackpool Touchdown this Thurs/Fri/Saturday (23/24/25), at Leeds Warehouse next Fri/Saturday (1/2), with Mike Shaft and Colin Curtis at Manchester’s Hell on consecutive Tuesdays (28/4), and on Mike Shaft’s Sunday afternoon Piccadilly Radio show . . . Tony Monson now does a weekly bit on Phil Allen’s late Saturday night/Sunday morning Capital Radio disco soul show, which of course features the Monson-compiled bang up-to-date London sales chart at 1.45 am . . . Robbie Vincent, whose Saturday lunchtime Radio London soul show guest this week is Bob James, reckons it’s a good job he does buy his own records as he’s not on many mailing lists himself — and if even he isn’t, what chance is there for youth club jocks?! . . . Robbie actually thinks Rockers Revenge is a “great record” but prefers to play something in the time available which maybe could do with the exposure: he also recommends Chez Moi in Tunbridge Wells, where DJ Miguel works hard and there’s a good vibe . . . Johnnie Walker, the ex-pirate/Radio One jock and not the Frenchies jazz-funker, has returned to England’s airwaves at Radio West in Bristol . . . Rockers Revenge, only just into the US Black singles chart, is finally top of the Dance/Disco chart there (Evelyn at 2) . . . Yazoo dropped the “oo” to become Yaz in the States as there’s another group of the same name . . . I Level, huge on New York’s urban contemporary radio, has been remixed by John Luongo for US Epic release . . . Richard Jon Smith is climbing fast US Dance/Disco . . . Eddy Grant’s ‘California Style‘ and ‘Time Warp‘ have been sought after for so long in New York that they’re now selling bundles there on bootleg . . . Simon Cowell has 7,000 kazoos (count ’em) to give away to mobile jocks to help promote Joce & The Kazoo Band’s ‘Kazoo Kazoo‘ — send your disco details to him at Baby Records, 46 South Molton Street, London W1Y 1HE . . . Nick Ratcliffe (0344-882535 daytime), now working exclusively in clubs, has a 300 watt mobile disco complete with light show all housed in a large box trailer for which he’ll accept around £1,300 . . . JFM sounds like a profit making concern — but not for its DJs? . . . Flashback twiddled along to 92MHz . . . Peterborough’s Slickers now re-opens on Sunday 10th October, with a big 3rd birthday alldayer . . . Brixton’s Fridge delayed going gay but now welcomes guys on Fridays, with Keith Barker-Main at the decks . . . Watford’s New Penny has big screen video (and 40p a pint until 10pm Thurs/Fri/Sat!) . . . Alan Costa (Brighton Kings Club/Kings II) tips a couple of German Hansa singles, Barrabas ‘On The Road Again‘ and Frank Zander’s send up of ‘Da Da Da’, sung in German but about changing a “da da da” drooling baby’s nappy . . . Sylvester’s showing in the funkier Disco chart owes most to Scottish, coastal holiday resort, and East London pub jocks (in case you were wondering?) . . . Colin Irving (Llandudno Risboro Hotel) has Yvonne Elliman ‘Love Pains‘ at number one . . . Kool’s ‘Let’s Go Dancin’ is monstrous for me at Mayfair Gullivers thanks to the ethnic audience . . . Frenchie (Blackpool), reporting big punter interest in slowies, revives Jean Carn’s 1978 ‘Don’t Let It Go To Your Head‘ . . . Neil Saxon (Fridays) and Dave Collins (Saturdays) have six months in which to get the old Eclipse disco in Coulsdon back on the map or else it’ll be turned into a restaurant — it’s above the Rising Sun in Chipstead Valley Road, they both play hot toons . . . Paul Burnette on his latest visit to Gt Yarmouth Tiffanys not only forgot all his records but even left his Radio One coat and case on the car park roof — however neither item even made the reserve of 10p at auction so DJ Roger Dynamite returned them via Simon Bates! . . . Mark Millar (Woodcote Hall Woody’s near Newport on Fridays, amongst other Telford area gigs) offers his own services as entertainment after the big showdown between Mike Page and Trevor Hughes — trouble is, Trevor seems kinda quiet of late, not a squeak out of him since Mike got holstered up . . . Gary Oldis (Aycliffe Bee Jays) mutters that ‘Lofty’ Lofthouse should clean up his act (and, yes, Gary — he plays Shakatak!) . . . Andy Baker (St Asaph Flicks) grumbles that I didn’t visit him from Denbigh, but with nearly no sleep all week and a breakdown on the way I was certainly in no shape to go out! . . . Steve Humphreys (Headcorn After Dark mobile) is trying to identify a Eurodisco/Kat Mandu ‘I Wanna Dance’ — sounding song with the line “dance like Fred Astaire” — any ideas? . . . Deborah McGriff & Rita Saunders, the Jamaica Girls now, earlier were on Legacy’s ‘Word Up’ . . . ‘Poltergeist’ is set deep in ‘E.T.’ territory . . . Jay W McGee, spelt correctly for weeks, inexplicably had an “h” added at a most inopportune time last week! . . . Bob Jones, “jazz rock jock”? . . . Tom Browne ‘Funkin’ For Jamaica’ synchs sensationally out of Howard Johnson ‘So Fine’, and with lots of vari-speed Imagination ‘Heart ‘N’ Soul’ is great out of Shakatak ‘Invitations’ . . . Froggy (who it was that forgot to take the Rick James T-shirts to Hastings) uses two copies of Sharon Redd’s ‘Beat The Street’ remix, whilst playing the vocal repeatedly synching the very end of the instrumental so that during her closing chorus you hear the words “beat it — beat it” flying from left to right across the speakers . . . er, JUMP JUMP JUMP TO IT . . . HEY . . . BEAT IT BEAT IT!

UK NEWIES

RAW SILK: ‘Do It To The Music’ (KR KRT 14).
Well, here’s a turn up — I didn’t expect it on KR! A huge seller on import, this chix cooed and wailed slinky 112-114-115-116bpm “do it do it do it do it” swayer (good fun with you know who!) has massive crossover appeal and builds through nice sax to a semi-“fierce” rhythmic finale, this element then being emphasized on 3-track 12in flip in an acappella started 0-114-115-116bpm ‘Dub Mix‘, and a now UK-only ‘Special Version’ which starts with ‘Poltergeist’-type noises.

SHARON REDD: ‘Never Give You Up’ (Prelude PRLA 13-2755).
Sensational value, as previously noted, this solidly smacking 112½bpm Evelyn King-ish A-side now being flipped on 3-track 12in by both the instrumental and vocal remixes of the electronically jittering smoother 118bpm ‘Beat The Street’!

LEVEL 42: ‘Weave Your Spell’ (Polydor POSPX 500).
Just like Shakatak these guys have sewn up a sound of their own, this particular glibly harmonised “thunderthumbs” bass pushed flowing 119-117-122(break)-118bpm 12in bounder erupting with jaggedly percussive bass halfway (it’s a remix of their LP version — full review next week), flipped by live versions of jittery 115bpm ‘Love Games’ and tranquil dreamy ‘Dune Tune’. Now if they can just stitch up Shakatak type sales . . . Continue reading “September 25, 1982: “Simon Cowell has 7,000 kazoos”, Raw Silk, Sharon Redd, Level 42, Nick Straker Band, Gang’s Back”

September 18, 1982: Jay W. McGee, The Limit, Melba Moore, Gary’s Gang, Kool & The Gang

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

SHARON REDD’S ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ has rapidly been re-pressed on UK 12in with both the instrumental and vocal remix versions of ‘Beat The Street’ as 2-track flip — this’ll kill her album, but boy what a bargain! . . . The Quick’s ‘Touch’ will now indeed be on full length commercial 12in . . . Morgan Khan’s Streetwave label next week puts out a 6-track £2.99 33 1/3rpm LP-type 12in called ‘Streetnoise‘ containing Hi Voltage ‘Let’s Get Horny‘, Weeks & Co ‘Go With The Flow’ (vocal and instrumental), The LIVE Band ‘A Chance For Hope’, Carol Jiani ‘You’re Gonna Lose My Love’, NY Skyy ‘Let’s Celebrate (Remix)’ . . . Weeks & Co is currently on US Prelude 12in as well as Canadian Black Sun, this switch to a hip label doubtless causing its sales surge . . . Capital Radio’s Greg Edwards must take credit for reviving Hi Voltage’s fortunes . . . Elite has licensed from Inner City for 4-track £2.50 12in the jazzy Lee Ritenour ‘Sugarloaf Express‘, Kazumi Watanabe ‘Gentle Afternoon‘, Don Latarski ‘Jennifer Anne’s Samba‘ / ‘Beginning Song‘ (Elite 4 PLAY 101) . . . ‘D’ Train ‘Walk On By’ is now remixed with a longer instrumental start on 3-track US 12in (Prelude PRL D638) with the herky-jerky c.124bpm ”D’ Train (Dub)’ and ‘Tryin’ To Get Over’ . . . Imagination’s single is ‘In The Heat Of The Night‘, which could be a bad mistake — especially as radio loves ‘Heart ‘N’ Soul’ . . . Fat Larry’s Band ‘Zoom’ is now on LP-length 12in (WMOT VS 546-12) with 2-track flip of the Rick James-inflected 115-116-115-116-117-119bpm ‘Traffic Stoppers‘ and ‘Jamming’-quoting 117-118bpm ‘House Party‘ . . . Alton Edwards next week issues ‘Shining Light‘, a 126bpm bright squeaky pure pop skipper which soul fans will hate, recorded because according to his manager Margaret Hamilton (no relation, though I wouldn’t mind!) CBS confess they can’t market disco material . . . BADEM’s exhibition featured an impressively created disco environment in which to demonstrate a well co-ordinated but slightly too long lighting effects display, while out on the stands the stacks of boring old lightboxes looked decidedly outmoded by the far more sophisticated (if more expensive) developments that have taken place in disco hardware — although the most welcome sight was the Cambridge Pianola Company’s cassette operated automatic piano, an oasis of old world simplicity . . . Roger Squire’s had a suite of their own in which to show their many wares, and over the road in a pub there was a rival ‘Discoextra’ exhibition featuring Cliff Wilding’s Lampseed lighting products amongst others . . . Rob Harknett (Roydon) expressed before the event his hope that this year more DJs would stop and chat to each other instead of brushing by in a world of their own, and I certainly talked to quite a few, including at length Chris Cole of the West Surrey & Hants DJ Assn . . . Paul Anthony, who arrived by motorbike from Wolverhampton Eve’s, wonders what awful secret prevents Radio One’s Steve Wright from appearing at his or any other Wolverhampton club . . . Ilford Room At The Top’s John Osborne is, I now realize, a dead ringer for Haircut 100’s Nick Heyward — down girls! . . . Room At The Top celebrated its 12th birthday this Wednesday (15), incidentally . . . Larry Foster packs Gants Hill Villa every Friday and does Stratford Reflections on Wednesdays, amongst other gigs, but has stopped doing Romford Lamps on Tuesdays and Thursdays and thus would like other work those nights (on 01-519 7280) . . . Travis, one of the dancers, has a Sunday afternoon 3-6pm dance and exercise session at Gants Hill’s The Villa (Ilford), take £3 and your ‘Fame’ togs . . . Steve Goddard, who now does Romford Lamps on Fridays, seems like an amiable loony to judge from what he says about his Saturdays and Mondays in the guise of The Soul Messiah at Barking’s Chains, where “anybody genuine enough to convince me of a more ‘in the groove’ venue gets a free Curly-Wurly bar and a photo of my Aunt Hilda of East Grinstead — Curly-Wurleys away, with a hip-hop, chow chomp, you don’t stop chomping till it’s all gone!” . . . “Harry” or “Big H” as he’s variously known, only jocking a year despite advancing age, has the mouth and confidence of another Chris Hill (although not the music) and could be fun to catch at Bagshot Pantiles, Ascot Belvedere Arms, Southampton Barbarellas amongst other regular gigs . . . South Harrow’s Bogarts is bulging with happy funksters every Thursday thanks to Chris Paul, who jams along on sax over the records — he’s also at Southampton Barbarellas on Fri/Saturdays, where they can’t otherwise hear or buy import soul . . . Direct Drive were evidently unaware of the PA they were reported as ignoring, but by actually naming a group even if they were as in this case innocent I hope the message was rammed home that lack of appearance can be damaging to both the act and the club — however beware the old con where a promoter bills an act as appearing for a PA without first having actually booked the act, and then expecting the act to turn up so as not to disappoint the fans . . . John Grant, until recently one of the North-West’s most revered jocks, has moved his harbour mastering location from Newhaven to the far hipper Brighton, where the Vinyl Demand record shop had the good fortune to buy up his entire jazz-funk collection — they may even have some of it left, if Paul Clark hasn’t bought it all! . . . David ‘Rowdy’ Yeats is at liberty (with a small “l”), not Liberty the record company — ie: he needs a gig! . . . Soho’s Le Beat Route in an effort to cut costs have perhaps unwisely stopped using any DJs who actually charge proper money, hence, and it’s a wrench, my Tuesday ’60s soul night is no more — and I’d love another somewhere else! . . . Fatman Graham Canter hosted an early evening party last week for music biz liggers at London Piccadilly’s Xenon, which turned out to be nowhere near as big or flashy as I’d expected . . . Showstopper Promotions take over Luton’s Caesar’s Palace premises for another of their Pink Elephant Fun House venues, to open in December as a companion to the similarly revamped Southgate Royalty . . . Sandy Martin (Swindon Brunel Rooms) was playing his Soul On Sound cassette’s preview mix so loudly in the car that he didn’t know he’d lost a hubcap until someone flagged him down a mile later! . . . Soul On Sound’s next preview mix, which took me 26 hours to create, flows as well as the last one with 28 record snippets blended into 22 mins 55 secs, but lacks a similar overall strength of material and has to hiccup slightly to accommodate Kenny G and Carl Carlton — however listen out for the Pressure Drop/Sharon Redd instrumental / “Q” and the Alfie Silas/Suzy “Q”/Nighthawk instrumental/Donald Byrd sequences, and then tell me which record is which ‘cos I’m still not sure myself! . . . Beats Per Minute fine tunings for some of last week’s Imports are Jamaica Girls 119-121-120-120½bpm, New Jersey Connection 116½-115-113-115-113-115-113bpm, West Street Mob 113-114-115-116-117-115-116bpm, Began Began 0-124-122-124-122-124-0bpm . . . American black music has always shifted in style and sound through the years — under the general euphemistic labels of “race music”, “sepia sounds”, “rhythm & blues”, “soul”, and now “black” or “urban contemporary” — and if what black American funk musicians are now getting into in a big way is electronics then I don’t see how we are in a position to pontificate and argue about the relevance to “soul” of this move: it’s on a par with gospel purists in the ’50s being upset about their favourite singers switching to the devilish blues — which brought about “soul” in the first place! . . . Robbie Vincent leads the field of those DJs now too hip to play Rockers Revenge — I hear he says it’s a “youth club record” . . . Rotherham Tiffanys’ Paul Barron hopefully has better luck with the horses than he has with the Gee Gee’s! . . . Tom Wilson (Edinburgh Oscars) can’t wait to see plugger Erskine Thompson’s new film, ‘E.T.’! . . . Mayfair’s Rockafella’s late nite eaterie (next to Samantha’s) currently has Maggie Thatcher’s Swiss holiday chef Jack Garlic cookin’ in the kitchen while waiting to start at a new restaurant being opened by Maggie’s hubby’s company . . . Yazoo on its US-pressed Sire 7in singles is now appearing as Yaz, a mistake (or intentional move?) which has been carried over into the Billboard charts — who took the “oo” out of Yazoo?! . . . I alone seem to have been right in my spelling of Jay W McGhee, where everyone else had him as JW . . . Orin Cozier’s “Ladies’ Man” influence seems to be spreading at Streetwave to Morgan Khan and now Patrick Boothe! . . . Adrian Martin (Denbigh Bamboo/Towyn Jollie Nights) is the North Wales DJ who started the local demand for Pete Brown’s ‘Can’t Be Love‘ 12in — he’s had offers of £25 and £30 for his copy . . . Van Martin revives Johnny Guitar Watson ‘I Need It‘ at Ernie ‘Whitehouse’ Priestman’s new Touchdown Tavern in Blackpool’s Talbot Road . . . Paul Major (East Anglia) revives Philadelphia International All-Stars ‘Let’s Clean Up The Ghetto‘ out of ‘The Message’ . . . Richard ‘Lofty’ Lofthouse (Chester-Le-Street Whispers) re-recommends Callers Records in Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s Northumberland Street for good import prices to bona-fide DJs . . . Adrian Dunbar (Bournemouth Adams) is mixing Lime ‘Agent 406‘ with Sylvester/Cowley (incidentally UK 7in pressings of Sylvester are slower than the import 12in and I’ve not heard the UK 12in), Derek Pierce (Bath Moles) mixes Soul Sonic Force and Giorgio ‘The Chase‘, Ian Levine (London Heaven) mixes Carl Carlton and Carol Jiani ‘You’re Gonna Lose My Love‘ . . . JUMP JUMP JUMP TO IT . . . HEY . . . DO IT DO IT!

UK NEWIES

JAY W. McGEE: ‘When We Party’ (Ensign ENYT 231).
If at first this doesn’t hook you, hang on in there, as the surprisingly subtle GQ-ish jauntily pushing 120-121bpm 12in kicker builds through ultra catchy “uptown downtown” chants (now in fact tagged on in brackets after the title on UK labels) to truck through a buoyantly instrumental last half, the deep soul slow ‘I’ve Been Checking Out (Too)’ flip being a goodie (too).

THE LIMIT: ‘She’s So Divine’ (Arlola AROD 285).
Given such a low profile UK release by Ariola that I haven’t even had a copy or seen it advertised, this Dutch originated successor to Blue Feather is a superb resonantly loping easily soulful 116bpm 12in romp through the song previously done by Jan Akkerman but now remade by its original writers. Huge on import already, it evidently has a flip here called ‘Pop‘.

MELBA MOORE: ‘Love’s Comin’ At Ya’ (EMI America 12EA 146).
Prod/penned by Paul Lawrence Jones III to sound just like his ‘I Can’t Stand It’ on Evelyn King’s LP, this carefully controlled 114bpm 12in judder and thud-filled cool slinky smacker is also extremely like Howard Johnson — but then they’re all from the same production team. Continue reading “September 18, 1982: Jay W. McGee, The Limit, Melba Moore, Gary’s Gang, Kool & The Gang”

September 11, 1982: Sharon Redd, Dennis Brown, Freddie James, Pressure Drop, New Jersey Connection

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

AND WHAT sort of shape do we find you in this morning? (You can see what shape we are now!) . . . BADEM’s disco equipment exhibition public days are Sunday/Monday (12/13) at London’s Bloomsbury Centre Hotel, no details of timing but afternoons obviously. I’ll maybe see you there sometime late-ish Sunday . . . Joe Tex died of a heart attack aged 49 last month — best remembered by the present generation for his ‘Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)’ smash in 1977. His real heyday as a soul star was the latter ’60s, when his incredible microphone catching acrobatic stage movements were amongst the most exciting of all . . . Hot Quisine ‘Keep That Same Old Feeling‘ has had a complete Rockers Revenge-style remix (if not remake?) full of fiercely flanged flutter echo claps, but unfortunately they didn’t change the rushed tempo . . . Michael Wycoff’s ‘Diamond Real‘ has shown up on US RCA 12in with instrumental flip, c.109 bpm . . . Push ‘My Heart‘, recently circulated on white label promo, will be remixed on Excaliber in a month . . . David ‘Rowdy’ Yeats, after just four months of working in largely undefined ways on Solar product here, suddenly finds WEA reckon they can promote Shalamar without him — thus he’s at Liberty on 01-874 4003 . . . London’s Barracuda in Baker Street has suddenly become an Arab club, on Saturdays anyway, turning away scores of dejected funksters when they turned up as usual . . . Capital’s Graham Dene must take most credit for constantly plugging Fat Larry’s ‘Zoom’ on his weekend breakfast shows over several months . . . Lloyd Charmers, or rather his wife, gave birth to twins Debbie & Donna at Paddington’s St Mary’s Hospital — if it’s good enough for Chuck & Di, what? . . . Josh Wedgewood-Benn, son of the ex-Lord Stansgate, drums with Buddhist reggae group Ozo . . . Chris Hill returns for just one night on Wednesday 22nd September to the Lacy Lady, or at least to its original site at Ilford’s Kings . . . Greg Wilson’s half-hour mixing spot comes up on its three-weekly rota this coming Monday (13) on Mike Shaft’s TCOB soul show, 8-11pm Piccadilly Radio . . . I hope my Soul On Sound mix out of Rockers Revenge into Norwood B ‘You’re On The One‘ (Philly World 12in) draws more deserved attention to the latter . . . Nick Davies (Aylesbury 87970), keen to buy/swap Ashton Gardner & Dyke’s old ‘Resurrection Shuffle’, had Wham bring acetates of their new Kid Creole-ish ‘Young Guns’ into his Watford New Penny gig . . . West Surrey & Hants DJ Assn members meet this Monday (13) at 8pm in Guildford’s Stoke Hotel, all DJs welcome — oh, and Chris Cole, WHAT T-shirt? . . . ‘E.T. (The Extra-Terrestrial)’ is a nice little movie full of good vibes, not a blockbuster, but just nice . . . Harvey Fuqua, now known as a record producer, turned up on TV screens last week in his original guise as one of the doo-wop singing Moonglows in the movie ‘Rock Rock Rock’ — young Harvey was the tallest of the backing vocal trio standing at the end . . . Afrika Bambaataa somehow loses a “k” and an “a” on UK labels of Soul Sonic Force . . . Polydor seem to have someone called Adam Vincent servicing DJ mailouts . . . Richard ‘Lofty’ Lofthouse packs Chester-Le-Street’s Whispers every Sunday, claiming it as the only regular black music gig in the whole North-East (it’s currently running a disco dancing competition too), and wonders why more pluggers don’t visit . . . Reading Rebecca’s now has free admission before 10pm every Thurs/Fri/Saturday but a tighter dress code — no jeans, trainers, T-shirts etc . . . Rayners Lane Record & Disco Centre’s bronzed Andy Mann reports that in Greek discos, the decor of which would shame most UK clubs, the jocks spend all night mixing brilliantly — plus there’s no admission charge, you just pay for your drinks (not that licensing laws would allow that here) . . . Leslie Hill (Chippenham), also back from Greece’s Thassos Island, says the likes of Human League, Soft Cell, Haircut 100 and Bob Marley are big with the locals, but luckily the Just In Time disco was supplied with all the moderately current UK disco biggies . . . I blew a core plug on the M1 going up to Denbigh for the bank holiday weekend, and four tows and ten hours later eventually arrived there thanks to the AA’s Relay service — which, had it been a gig would not have got me there in time, but at least does get your vehicle wherever you want it for free (or at least a small subscription) . . . Jim ‘Ripper’ Kershaw (Sheffield Fanny’s Scene Two) revives to great floor activity the old Spencer Davis Group ‘Keep On Running’, currently the basis of a loo-paper commercial . . . Tricky Dicky’s younger gay crowd are well into Yazoo, Soft Cell and now Billy Idol . . . Yazoo ‘Don’t Go’ was inadvertently missed out of last week’s Gay Top 20, while Stateside their ‘Situation’ remix is still top Dance/Disco hit and Aretha Franklin the new top Black single . . . Boris Midney is reported to have done one of his “disco suite” jobs on the ‘Dreamgirls’ score . . . Greg Edwards was really cookin’ on his Capital soul show’s continuous last half hour on Saturday . . . Andy Baker (St Asaph Flicks) mixes Rockers Revenge ‘Acappella Sunshine’ over the intro of Sly Cabell ‘Special Club Mix’, Tom Wilson (Edinburgh Oscars) mixes Sylvester/Patrick Cowley with Kat Mandu ‘The Breaks’ (yeah, well it is Scotland!), Neil Fincham (Edinburgh Mad Hatters Speakeasy) mixes Chic ‘Le Freak’ out of the Tom Tom Club rhythm break . . . JUMP JUMP JUMP TO IT!

UK NEWIES

SHARON REDD: ‘Never Give You Up’ (Prelude PRLA 132755).
Just as good, though currently not quite as hot, as ‘Beat The Street’, this more Evelyn King-ish chunky 112½bpm 12in disco roller is the UK singles choice and chiefly remarkable for its amazing rhythm track, flipped by the stolid 101bpm ‘Send Your Love‘.

DENNIS BROWN: ‘Halfway Up, Halfway Down’ (A&M AMSX 8250).
More traditionally reggae than ‘Love Has Found Its Way’, although just as catchy, this lazily looping Marley-esque 75-76-77bpm 12in swayer is flipped by the superbly subtle floating 77bpm ‘Weep & Moan‘.

FREDDIE JAMES: ‘Don’t Turn Your Back On Love’ (Arista ARIST 12489).
Dangerously late out here, the excellent Tony Green-prod/Tee Scott-mixed simple strong straight ahead 113bpm 12in disco roller builds through nagging vocals in very mixable familiar fashion, with a slightly fiercer instrumental flip. Continue reading “September 11, 1982: Sharon Redd, Dennis Brown, Freddie James, Pressure Drop, New Jersey Connection”

September 4, 1982: Shalamar, Zapp, Passion, Sharon Redd, Brenda Taylor

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

BADEM’S 1982 disco equipment exhibition is at London’s Bloomsbury Centre Hotel next weekend, Sunday/Monday 12/13th September being public days and Tuesday/Wednesday for trade visitors, the largely Pernod-sponsored show including a ‘Superdisco’ exhibit combining various brands of hardware with music, dancing girls, and doubtless the odd drink or two! . . . Howard Johnson’s ‘So Fine’ romped home on Capital Radio as last week’s listeners-voted People’s Choice — but then they have had a while in which to get used to it . . . Evelyn King’s album, meant to be out here ahead of US release, has been delayed (wouldn’t you know?) but is sure to thrill you with its um-yum photos of the lovely lady! . . . Junior’s follow up, due soon, couples the Tee Scott-remixed ‘Let Me Know’ / ‘I Can’t Help It’ . . . London are releasing a cassette version of Rockers Revenge, but to qualify as a single it’s only 10 minutes each side . . . Motown’s hot shot plugger Robert Blenman lost his driver’s licence so can’t get around much any more, yet remains the label’s hippest contact . . . Direct Drive and other bands should realize that if they commit themselves to doing a PA at a club, they should then appear even if subsequently offered a more lucrative engagement elsewhere — PAs may only be promotional appearances but if handled right they are meant to benefit those doing them, are likely to have cost the venues in advertising and effort, and are hopefully an attraction for potential fans who turn out on purpose to see them, so that non-appearance can do nothing but harm to reputations . . . Dartford Flicks’ excruciatingly tight restaurant seats, fixed too close to the tables, were a design fault (no?) and are being repositioned . . . Flicks resident Colin Hudd and Brighton’s Paul Clark replace relatively “new boy” Nicky Peck and, surprisingly, the long serving Tom Holland on Showstoppers Xth Caister bill . . . Woking’s Tristins wine bar in Chertsey Road, under new ownership, is jazz-funked Fri/Saturdays by Paul Hazelle, who also funks Camberley’s Cambridge Hotel in its Splinters guise (rather than Frenchies) on Thursdays . . . Mark Clark has sold his big Bracknell-based Back Chat roadshow to turn resident at Marylebone’s Italian/French-orientated Cinecitta in Welbeck Street, where he needs more Eurodisco material . . . Bazzer mutters that a twiddle to 92.2 FM around North-West London every Sunday 2-11pm (and especially 4-6pm, when he’s on!) could be an aural flashback . . . Martin Starr seems thoroughly ensconced in London now, jazz-funking Neasden’s Level One Thurs/Sundays (pop-funk Mondays) and just returning to Bristol at the weekends to join Superfly at Spencers on Saturdays until he gets a good weekend gig up the Smoke . . . Michael Bird (01-272 0310) offers his services as a relief DJ — is that oral or manual? . . . Chris Cole now writes and types most of the West Surrey & Hampshire DJA’s ‘Disco’ magazine, despite evident dyslexia . . . Mark Summers (Hackney Marshes Flappers) recommends East Ham’s Imaginations record shop for low import prices and DJ discounts . . . Andy Baker (0745-591 135), resident at St Asaph’s refurbished Flicks (formerly The Stables) in North Wales, pleads for a 12in copy of Peter Brown ‘Can’t Be Love‘ — I’ll have been staying just down the road over the Bank Holiday but can’t oblige . . . Neil Wiltshire, pre-match DJ at Billericay Town FC, reckons a recent Alan Coulthard mix on 208 slavishly copied (from ‘Lovers Holiday’ onwards) a bootleg mixer 12in called ‘Another One Madly‘ — how’s about it, kid? . . . I pretty well taught myself tape editing for the current Soul On Sound preview mix medley (easy enough after watching Capital’s Roger Scott in action), not that any of the mixes themselves are tape edits . . . Mike Allen, in a different musical context, last week played a ravishing segue sequence of John Williams ‘Cavatina’, Dire Straits ‘Private Investigations’, Marvin Gaye ‘Trouble Man’ . . . Trevor Hughes (Telford Redeye Roadshow) says he’s taking his pet hedgehog for a walk to see his flat mate on the M11 . . . Trevor then challenges Mike Page (Shifnal Nell Gwynn) to shoot it out on stage each using his own gear (sometime in November when Trevor’s not booked), the loser dancefloor activity-wise then forfeiting his share of the takings and paying for the hall — this is the stuff we want, pick up the glove Mike! . . . Karl (Barnsley Rebecca’s) miaous that Nick Bradman (Sheffield Maximillions) ought to lay off Tight Fit for periods of more than ten minutes and get some people into the club if he wants to get record company mailouts — more of the stuff we want, that could be another challenge there! . . . Steven Fay (Darwen) revives Bell & James ‘Living It Up‘ (A&M 12in), which I seem to remember broke first and always was hottest in the North-West . . . Alen Gaskell funks St Helens West Park every Sunday, and every other Thursday (next week 9th) does Widnes Tigers Rugby Club which he’s thinking of renaming Tardis (back in time), as the punters still think Diana Ross’s ‘I’m Coming Out’ is the hottest dancer . . . Flash Gordon (Bristol Misty’s) reckons our Nightclub chart should be relabelled Hype & Wally, while Paul Barron (Rotherham Tiffanys) grumbles that not enough alternative dance tracks show up in it now — I know, I know, but we can only work with the charts we get and if you don’t send ’em how can we change things? . . . Alan Jones, who does the groundwork in compiling the disco charts, actually has a new scheme which should soon improve the Nightclub situation . . . Paul Barron incidentally, rather than his club’s manager, recently won a £500 holiday incentive prize for doing the best promotion for Club Continental Holidays — not often that the DJ gets the recognition . . . Tricky Dicky (London Dicks Inn discos) has noticed the Gay Top 20 is already stagnating — the trouble with any chart is that they tend to be self-perpetuating over a period of time, even though as in this case we’re getting quite a good turnover of regular contributions . . . Progressive Discos is another publication’s euphemism for their gay chart — Retrogressive Disco would be more accurate to my mind, considering the rhythms and even the songs are all so old . . . ooh! . . . Adrian Dunbar (Bournemouth Adams) is surprised Yvonne Elliman, especially, and Lime have not been issued here as in common with so much “gay material” they’re basically just Wally fodder . . . Donna Summer’s album hasn’t exactly set the disco world on fire . . . I never cease to be amazed how in the middle of my very obviously ’60s Soul Tuesdays at Soho’s Le Beat Route people still ask for ‘Come On Eileen’ or modern disco . . . Dave Rawlings (Reading Rebeccas) suffers from the current complaint, asking “Is it just me or do all DJs have trouble finding enough time in a night to play all the records they want to?” . . . DO IT DO IT . . . HEY . . . DO IT DO IT!

SECOND IMAGE have a new Pete Wingfield-produced 12in due in a fortnight, ‘What’s Happening‘, a bushy tail wagging little pent-up 101bpm jiggler full of scarcely suppressed vocal eagerness (and not a little hint of Pete’s own bright harmonies).

What’s more, we have six autographed copies of the exclusive white label promo, PLUS six special red and white Second Image caps, to award to the six winners (one of each).

In this simple competition! Answer the following: 1) Name the first Polydor single by Second Image. 2) What link is there between Second Image and David Grant of Linx? 3) Which past producer do Second Image have in common with Central Line?

Send your answers with your name and address to Second Image Competition, Record Mirror, PO Box 16, Harlow, Essex — the first six correct entries opened get the goodies!

UK NEWIES

SHALAMAR: ‘There It Is’ (Solar K 13194T).
Strong and obviously smash bound jiggly slow thudding 103bpm 12in half-stepper (remixed) with an immediately recognisable typical slinkily sinuous tune.

ZAPP: ‘Dance Floor’ (Warner Bros K 17990T).
Kings of subtly shifting repetitive electrophonic phunk. Roger’s Family Troutman hit a steady 110½bpm 12in vocodered groove that just don’t quit, flipped by their similar original first 105bpm ‘More Bounce To The Ounce‘ hit from two years ago (when it went well with ‘Oops Up Side Your Head’).

ZAPP: ‘Do You Really Want An Answer?’ (LP ‘Zapp II’ Warner Bros 1-23583).
Ignored when the rest of the set was reviewed as not immediately a dancer, this fantastic 119-0bpm doo-wop soul vocal group swayer has seared its way into everyone’s mind thanks to repeated radio soul show play and should indeed be heard by all true soul fans. Continue reading “September 4, 1982: Shalamar, Zapp, Passion, Sharon Redd, Brenda Taylor”

August 28, 1982: “Some are born rappers, some are born mixers, some are born party ravers”

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

DARTFORD FLICKS now looks like a very pretty spacious ice cream parlour all in pale pink and blue, although the effect is more green thanks to the lighting — the suspended central lighting grid now includes a spinning multi-directional ‘Close Encounters’ UFO effect and dangling “jelly-fish” — but how the hell is anyone other than a midget meant to fit in the restaurant’s fixed chairs, which are almost as excruciating as the red Julienas wine!? . . . Sharon Redd’s UK single will now be ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ next week, while London has picked up Patrick Cowley/Sylvester for imminent release . . . Morgan Khan’s latest “bitch”, due on Streetwave in a fortnight, the Hudsons ‘Show Me You Care‘ turns out to be a tentatively sung blandly “pleasant” mid-tempo 111bpm shuffling side-to-side swayer with semi-scat harmonies and an easy sophistication — well made but nothing you haven’t heard before, and hardly the potential pop hit crossover material Morgan must be badly in need of right now (why doesn’t he grab some white girls and record them chanting over a jungle rhythm, like everyone else does to get a hit these days) . . . Grand Master Flash UK 12in pressings are still the same “pissing” version, though doubtless the delayed 7in version will be different for radio . . . Melba Moore ‘Love’s Comin’ At Ya‘ and the similarly Paul Lawrence Jones III-prod/penned Evelyn King ‘I Can’t Stand It‘ album track are to all extents and purposes (especially for mixers) the exact same record! . . . Eddy Grant’s original ‘Walking On Sunshine’ has been reissued in the States on Epic with a bit of ‘Sunshine Jam’ added to extend the intro . . . Larry ‘Peech Boy’ Levan has completely remixed Gwen Guthrie’s ‘It Should Have Been You’ on US promo . . . Froggy says he’s a working jock and doesn’t have five days in which to assemble an Alan Coulthard-type mix, and anyway Radio One policy evidently is against that sort of thing . . . I know what he means, having spent 20 hours assembling the next Soul On Sound preview mix, which even if I say so myself is — given the usual restrictions — as close to perfection as anyone could get it, and at £1.50, better than most boots that would cost £8 or more . . . I’m all too aware that although it’s only a neat way of combining short segments of new releases for review purposes, everyone’s expecting a fully fledged mixer medley: well, now you’ve really got one! . . . Soul on Sound cassettes seem much in demand with our lads in the South Atlantic, incidentally . . . Tony Jenkins takes over funking Epping Forest Country Club every Thurs/Fri/Saturday in October . . . Pete Tong can’t have been studying our Disco chart during June/July, when over a six week run the 12.6.82 reviewed Billy Griffin ‘Hold Me Tighter In The Rain’ (US Columbia LP) peaked at 65 — not a monster maybe, but surely hard for most other people to miss? . . . Zapp ‘Dance Floor‘ is now top US Black Single with Grand Master Flash climbing fast, while Yazoo ‘Situation (Remix)‘ tops the US Dance chart — which is currently very dull, our own being much hotter . . . Romanelli ‘Chain Reaction‘ (21 Records 12in) is top new add for Ian Levine at London’s gay Heaven . . . Tony Walton (Blackpool 0253-24562), 10 year veteran DJ, first of the ballroom and most recently the Continental circuits, can really mix to judge from a cassette made at his last Munich Club New York gig, where much of the material he used would make him suitable for gay venue work: however, he’s not specifying that, but would like the high quality UK residency his skill so obviously warrants . . . Greg Wilson has started mixing funk/soul/jazz on Thursdays at Huddersfield Stars Bar and Saturdays at Liverpool Rotters Scene 2, in addition to Tuesdays at Wigan Pier and Wednesdays at Manchester Legend, and by all accounts has built up quite a following (all heavily into handclaps, huh?!) . . . Neil Fincham and Colin Cordrey, still at Edinburgh Mad Hatters Speakeasy, now take turns with Roy Menzies so that one of the three funks Whitburn’s Mainstreet club every Thurs/Fri/Saturday — and they do mean “funk”! . . . Chris Britton says Watford Baileys is leaving behind its old image and will be THE leading venue for upfront quality music both UK and US (he then adds he’s just become press and publicity manager too!) . . . Peterborough’s Sunday Slickers soul club returns to the Cresset in Bretton on September 26 . . . Tomorrow’s Edition ‘Walk On The Wild Side’ is not of course the mistaken composer credited Lou Reed song but the old movie-theme (previously souled by Brook Benton/Marvin Gaye, jazzed by Jimmy Smith), now given a vintage vocal group treatment . . . Patrick Boothe has already had his “badger” hairstyle chopped off! . . . Wonder Dog ‘Ruff Mix’ was created by one H. Trumann — presumably that’s Harry . . . Buzzz . . . still haven’t . . . who’s the speed king in the Sound 2000 disco Transit who tried to cut me up north of Aylesbury on Saturday evening? . . . I could only afford 14 of the week’s unusually strong batch of 12in imports — with so much useful material about and so few chances for DJs to get it across, there is going to be an awful lot that’ll get lost, making the market for this type of music almost exclusively made up of the DJs themselves, I should think . . . many of today’s Wally hits were yesterday’s hip imports, but they’re still the same records so why give up on them when nothing about them has changed? . . . next you’ll be sneering at Rockers Revenge . . . DO IT DO IT . . . HEY . . . DO IT DO IT!

Techni-Colah!

THE COLAHS are real live triplets — and how many of them have you heard of in the music biz? Classically trained from an early age, James now plays keyboards, Marke bass and Peter guitar, and as youngsters they wrote an experimental rock ballet before appearing in the Young Jazz Musician Of The Year competition, their career together being nipped in the bud by Peter’s incapacitating car crash in 1978.

Now regrouped, the Colahs have been gigging at such as Ronnie Scott’s Club and debut on 7in with ‘Hesitation’ (Epic EPC A2642), an Earth Wind & Fire influenced brassy lurching 119bpm blue-eyed chanter with many familiar ingredients, which is getting disco attention as a promo-only 12in.

Pain and passion

SHARON BROWN’S stunning grey-eyed features are worth seeing any time, even if her new Virgin 12in is causing disappointment in many quarters.

Titled ‘Love Don’t Hurt People’, the song makes out that it’s not love but “people who hurt people” — which is often true, but what about those people in love with the concept of being in love? Their partners can’t be blamed when the bubble bursts. Anyway, that’s enough heavy philosophising! You could find the record (reviewed last week) grows on you, and if it does to the extent that it sells well, we could then be graced by a visit from New York-based Sharon. Hmmm, it’s a hit!

GAZ ANDERSON currently jocks virtually every night at the swank Fred & Gingers in Mayfair’s Old Burlington Street, where he continuously mixes upfront music with no speech at all save for important announcements — which sounds familiar! Gaz reckons this could be the coming trend for clubs in major cities, although he snidely suggests it’ll take a while for most DJs to “mix” rather then just “patch” rhythms together, citing as a superb example of a real mixer Pelter Rommer at Xenon and casting libellous aspersions about patching in the direction of certain green skinned persona. Hey, as long as it keeps ’em dancing, let’s just do what we do do best! Some are born rappers, some are born mixers, some are born party ravers, some are multi-talented, and everyone should try developing their capabilities, but once these have been established don’t go forcing yourself into a hole you don’t fit, just because someone else is good at it.

IMPORTS

LACK OF sleep and subsequently time means that I can only list the new releases this week — but as everyone says that what they really like are the Odds ‘N’ Bods, I doubt if anyone will worry! Next week’s deadline being early on account of the Bank Holiday, I am going to have a lot of extra work cut out this way too, but that’s not the reason. BPM’s listed as “c” have only been roughly calculated at this stage. The following are all on import: Continue reading “August 28, 1982: “Some are born rappers, some are born mixers, some are born party ravers””

August 21, 1982: Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Howard Johnson, Evelyn King, Mike & Brenda Sutton, Melba Moore

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

CANADA’S SCORPIO label catalogue including Jay W McGee should by now have been picked up for Britain by Ensign Records . . . American jazz label Inner City has reportedly gone bust, Bob Jones (Chelmsford) suggesting that someone with the cash could buy up their entire back catalogue as there’s always a market for it amongst jazz punters here . . . Real Thing have signed with EMI, their Nigel Martinez-produced ‘Seen To Smile‘ being due now . . . Sweet Pea Atkinson’s ‘Dance Or Die’, reviewed last week on import will here be flip to ‘Don’t Walk Away‘, a gruff tumblingly dragging 102bpm jiggly jogger (Ze 12WIP 6808) . . . Jimmy Cliff’s debut album for CBS (CBS 85878), the very listenable ‘Special’, includes a “special offer” for all purchasers to then send off for a free 12in copy of his included new single, the gently reggae 79½bpm ‘Roots Radical‘ (much played on radio) . . . MCA appear to have reactivated their DJ mailings, under Paul Bunting . . . John Sachs’ Backstage club didn’t last long, the Mayfair premises in Green Street now reverting to the Greenstreet name under the new ownership of lovely model Beverley Knock, reopening this Friday — although Beverley emphasises that it isn’t a disco as such, the dancefloor being too small! . . . Greenford’s Barbarellas is looking for an established soul-funk DJ to do Fridays and Saturdays, no time-wasters . . . Chris Kaye, funking a busy round of regular gigs in West Kent, would like to be offered one-off guest spots in superior venues in the North or Scotland — anywhere but the South-East, for a change, sez he! — so managers/promoters, call Chris on 0892-45023 . . . Howard Johnson ‘So Fine’ now tops the US Dance Disco chart, Jennifer Holliday is still top US Black single and climbing Pop . . . Hi Voltage ‘Let’s Get Horny‘ makes a surprisingly late and unexpected chart debut here, considering the mixer-orientated 124½bpm fierce-ish track first appeared at the start of May . . . Bobby “O” is selling really well as a result of my mix with it on the first Soul On Sound, according to Rayners Lane’s Record & Disco Centre — incidentally, one problem with listening to “fierce” electro-funk at Rayners Lane is you can never be sure if what you’re hearing is on the record or off their ever-busy video games! . . . Peterborough’s Discoasis shop in Cross Street sells import LPs at £6.49, 12in £3.99, DJs getting a special discount . . . George Andrew (Salford Mister Shifters mobile) thanks Stockport’s Grove Records (in London Road, Hazel Grove) for their support at the otherwise largely unsponsored recent Bramhall Festival . . . Adrian, of Bournemouth’s gay orientated Adams bar/disco, recommends Carnival Records in Ashley Road, Bournemouth, for extremely cheap disco 12in prices . . . I’m surprised such a straight MoR record as the Boys Town Gang is getting so much evident “soul” disco play . . . Mark Clark (Bracknell) hopes record companies wouldn’t pounce on any DJs who happen to sell old promos at “car boot” sales in aid of the South Atlantic Fund — probably not, Mark, as long as all future rights to their mailouts aren’t included in the sale! . . . Neil Fincham & Colin Cordrey (Edinburgh Mad Hatters Speakeasy), recently pictured with Junior, claim to be the longest DJ team in the country — total height 12′ 8½” if laid end to end in bare feet (which wouldn’t surprise me) — and challenge all comers . . . I can’t compete, being partnered by Graham Gold, despite my 6’ 8” . . . Watford’s Ponderosa is all very well, but the trouble with unlimited um-yum is it’s too darned fattening! . . . OK, Roger Dynamite, you work at Tiffanys in Gt Yarmouth (we’re not mind readers you know) . . . Sandy Martin reckons after the introduction at Swindon Brunel Rooms of Angus the Angry Bull that women make the best bucking riders thanks to their thigh power — cor, slobbers Sandy, there were some on Angus that could turn an “all nighter” into a “weekender”! . . . thank you Sandy, we get your drift, now tell it to Spare Rib . . . ‘The Day The Music Died’, now published here, is a novelisation (and gripping read) of the development of black music within rock ‘n’ roll from ’56 to ’63, written by Joseph C Smith who under the name Sonny Knight scored the original hit with ‘Confidential’ in 1956, well worth finding and full of thinly disguised characters from the music business — if you’re into your history, read it . . . Cliff Dawson; with a soul listening set on US Boardwalk currently being imported, is from New York but used to be in our own Chosen Few . . . Mezzoforte, the Icelandic jazz-funkers, have rivals in the form of a Nottingham white boys group recording under the same name . . . Capital’s Phil Allen, whose Sunday morning 1.45am London funk chart I never miss hearing, mentioned “a heavy dew” and Peter Young in the same breath — brilliant! . . . Larry Foster, well busy at such East London venues as Reflections, Lamps, The Villa and the Albion pub, left between gigs for a brief holiday in the Lake District to return to London for the following weekend, only to drive back to the Lakes on Monday and repeat it again the next weekend — this doesn’t beat me however: years ago at midsummer I did four consecutive mobile gigs all in different areas, then drove hell for leather to the very North-West of Scotland just to see the midnight dusk, saw it, dug it (though it rained!), and then turned right round again to head back for two more gigs in the South just three days after the last one . . . Tom Wilson (Edinburgh Oscars) says also about his holiday at Salou in Spain that the jock in a club called Shalako mixed the Police ‘Roxanne’ over the break in Soft Cell ‘Tainted Love’ to great effect . . . Mad Marx at Clacton Butlins in his redcoat role had to extemporize when the bingo machine broke down in front of 200 old age pensioners, so he rapidly turned to the record decks and proceeded to rap over ‘You’re The One For Me’ — which was such a hit with the OAPs he now raps every night! . . . (Mad Marx now wonders, who the hell told him that?) . . . Nick Ratcliffe (Winkfield) and others should note that our two Disco and Nightclub Charts are compiled quite simply like this: DJs returns which only and obviously relate to soul/funk/jazz/black material are used for Disco, while any charts which include more than the odd few non-black pop-type titles go towards Nightclub, the orientation of the venues being easy to spot by these means (and neither being considered superior to the other) . . . that said, and although I know how dancers these days seem depressingly keen on oldies, is there any chance we could get some DJ contributors for our Nightclub chart who play something more recent than last month’s hits? . . . DO IT DO IT . . . HEY . . . DO IT DO IT!

DUNN & BRUCE STREET, whose ‘Shout For Joy‘ is chuckling up the chart on Satril, turn out to be two Philly Sound veterans with an interesting past. Dunn Pearson Jr has racked up extensive arranger credits especially with the O’Jays, as well as Wild Cherry, M’Lady, Patrice ‘Choc-let’ Banks, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass, Stephanie Mills and the Detroit Spinners, while his partner Bruce Gray with a similar background co-wrote the theme for US TV’s ‘Soul Train’ show and arranged the Trammps ‘Disco Inferno’. Continuing the Philly link, their hit in the States is on former O’Jay Bobby Massey’s Devaki label.

BRIAN “BAZZER” MASON, cueing up records at his Friday residency in South Harrow’s Bobby Magee’s, is kept busy also at Watford’s New Penny on Saturday’s (have you eaten at the Ponderosa yet?) and at Southgate’s Pink Elephant (the old Royalty) on Mon/Tues/Wednesdays. Thursday’s he sleeps!

CROWN HEIGHTS AFFAIR, after their past brilliances, have really disappointed with the UK release of their latest 12in, ‘Somebody Tell Me What To Do‘ (De-Lite DEX 8), a competent enough but scarcely exceptional pedestrian lurching 112bpm chanter flipped by the sweet soul slow 0-37/74-38/76bpm ‘Heart Upside Down’ both from an imminent new LP of which we must hope for better. At least they’re in commendably soulful voice, but all trace of dazzle and flash is sadly lacking.

UK NEWIES

GRAND MASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE: ‘The Message’ (Sugarhill SHL 117).
Truly an overnight sensation, this reality rooted 100bpm 12in message is rapped in a mixture of conversational and beat binding voices with a sound-effect ‘Living For The City’-like street bust as climax of the mesmerizing simple repetitive rhythm riff. Dig the message — “its like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from going under” —and look out for (I’m told) “kissing” instead of “pissing” on UK pressings!

HOWARD JOHNSON: ‘So Fine’ (Funk A&Merica USAF 1221).
Funnily enough I freaked on first hearing this but then tempered my original import review with caution, thinking “Nah, it’s too carefully controlled.” Doo-wop acappella introed insistently rolling smooth 113bpm 12in smacker with great vocal work by the ex-Niteflyte singer, officially flip here to the creamily jogging “new soul” slow aching 102bpm ‘Keepin’ Love New‘.

EVELYN KING: ‘Get Loose’ LP (RCA RCALP 3093).
From the production team who bring you Howard Johnson and Melba Moore (joke!), this beautifully packaged set is out here ahead of the States and is full of immediately familiar stuff at a tempo you know and love. Best possibly are the steadily smacking 114-115bpm ‘I Can’t Stand It’, sinuously weaving 115bpm ‘Back To Love‘ and 114bpm title track, plus there’s the 113½bpm ‘Stop That‘, 117bpm ‘Get Up Off Your Love‘, 108bpm ‘Betcha She Don’t Love You‘. Continue reading “August 21, 1982: Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Howard Johnson, Evelyn King, Mike & Brenda Sutton, Melba Moore”

August 14, 1982: Rockers Revenge, Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force, Galaxy, Wanda, Jay W. McGee

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

IMAGINATION, after doing backing vocals for Kelly Marie’s Crusaders- produced track, hint they weren’t exactly impressed despite the Crusaders’ twenty years of musical experience — “the guys are fantastic but they need to utilize what’s happening now, though we did learn a lot from them,” hastily adds Leee . . . Leee also says, “I can’t wait to get a flop, then we’ll know who the real people are in the music business” . . . Italy meanwhile has Imagination’s ‘Just An Illusion’ at 4 and ‘Body Talk’ at 10 in the chart, Belgium has ‘Music And Lights’ at 12, and in Canada ‘Just An Illusion’ has sold enough to go “double gold” . . . Dartford’s futuristically revamped Flicks reopens next week with a preview night party on Thursday (19) and a fireman’s fancy dress ball on Friday (20), when Chris Hill joins Colin Hood, and already the enquiries have been so heavy that the club has had to install an answerphone to handle reopening details on Dartford 25520 . . . Canvey’s Goldmine, on the first week of its tenth anniversary celebrations, had kids queueing outside at 10 in the morning last Saturday! . . . Orin Cozier is now deservedly the Streetwave label’s full time national radio plugger and artist liaison manager, Morgan Khan meanwhile is now hyping himself up on new singings, the Hudson Brothers . . . Howard Johnson ‘So Fine‘, which hasn’t stopped climbing since the news got about it wouldn’t be on UK release, will be out here after all, but as flip to ‘Keepin’ Love New’ (now watch the hipper than hip drop it fast!), spearheading the relaunch next week A&M’s Funk A&Merica series along with Magic Lady ‘Sexy Body’ / ‘Get Off’ (wot not ‘Give It Up’?), Jeffrey Osborne ‘Eenie Meenie’ / ‘You Were Made To Love’, Atlantic Starr ‘Love Me Down’ / ‘You’re The One’ . . . Britain’s first video pool, A. B. SEE provides a monthly one hour compilation of current hot promotional videos at £50 + VAT per month, initially sending two tapes so that the older one can be replaced after the first month thus leaving you always with two to rotate, and the service is already much used by London Clubs (I can vouch for the videos at Le Beat Route) although A. B. SEE’s Roz Bea would like to hear from more provincial clubs with video facilities — contact her at Albion Leisure Services, 147 Oxford Street, London W1 (01-734 9072) . . . Peter Powell’s Steppin’ Out soul show on Radio One (Mondays 6.10pm) would surely be of most benefit if it left all the brand new pre-release exclusives to the local radio specialist shows, which have more time available, and instead concentrated its 50 minutes on consolidating those soul disco hits which, with just a little bit more national airplay, could possibly cross over into the pop chart . . . Industry sources estimate that 5000 sales are needed to break even on a disco hit, many not getting anywhere near that despite apparent chart popularity, while with luck an average disco chart topper which also hits the bottom end of the pop chart can possibly sell around 30,000 after a lot of hard graft . . . Froggy’s Steppin’ Out mixes really should be more ambitious and busier — its no fun waiting right through a record just to hear one segue, especially now that young Alan Coulthard on Radio Luxembourg zaps you with something incredible every few seconds on his megamix masterworks (provided radio reception lets you hear it) . . . Martin Collins Soul Seekin’ show on Chiltern Radio (c.792 MW) every Sunday 3-6pm can be picked up in London, and I’m glad to hear he’s more than lived up to his earlier praised potential . . . Jeff Young is sitting in for Robbie Vincent on Radio London’s Saturday lunchtime soul show for the next few weeks . . . Capital’s recently absent reggae jock David Rodigan has grown a muff around his mouth, to go with the second star lead role he’s been off filming in Greenland for BBC TV’s ‘Shackleton’ series, due on our screens next spring . . . Tony Jenkins Soul On Sound cassette magazine got off to a great start, shops already reporting that my preview mix medley has brought people back in to buy records featured — remember, I can’t use more than a short excerpt (to comply with copyright laws) and so will never be able to do an ideal mix by waiting for all the optimum mix points, but I think you’ll find this week’s edition is even neater . . . Ambiance drummer Mike Parkinson stuck it out giving helpful nods while Tony Jenkins dozed off during the marathon all night session it took to end up with the new medley! . . . Technics digital readout adjustments to achieve the Rockers Revenge/Sharon Redd ‘Beat The Street’/Bobby “O” mix (during which I’m still not sure what bits belong to what records!) are +2.1/0.0/–3.7 . . . Bobby “O” (for Orlando) produced the Flirts ‘Passion‘ gay synth hit, a c.120bpm 12in remix of which is now on Canadian Unidisc (UNI-1086) . . . Graham Gold moves downstairs on Friday nights at Mayfair’s Gullivers in Down Street, leaving me to funk the whole night upstairs on my own (no hardship in itself!) . . . Wham’s glamorous platinum blonde dancer Shirlie Holliman gets nothing from gigs and so earns her keep, not working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, but as one of the remarkably friendly girls at Watford’s Ponderosa — the UK’s first truly authentic American restaurant which is so good I’ve travelled there from London twice in four days to gorge on dirt cheap steak with shrimp, unlimited help yourself salad, unlimited soft drink refills, unlimited um-yum! . . . Harringay Bolts national gay disco dancing championship was won by 20 year old masseur David Beard . . . Ian Levine (Charing Cross Heaven) has Sharon Redd ‘In The Name Of Love‘ at the top of the gay venue’s chart and reminds me that Stephanie Mills ‘I Can’t Give Back The Love I Feel For You‘ was of course originally Syreeta’s debut single when called Rita Wright . . . CBS conned a lot of jocks by disguising the Goombay Dance Band as the GD Band on white label 12in promos of ‘Rain’ . . . Marvin Howell’s ERC label (hot with the Boys Town Gang, whose ‘Signed Sealed And Delivered‘ revival will be the next single pulled off their September-issued LP) is now clarified as being the outlet for product licensed from the US, with acts going on Marvin’s Project label System being phased out (Pino D’Angio possibly being transferred to ERC later in the summer) . . . Adrian reports from Bournemouth’s gay Adams Disco in the Maison Royale complex that Carol Jiani ‘Hit ‘N Run Lover’ megamix is still Bournemouth’s biggest hit, the Fri/Sat/Sun/Tuesday club being busiest on the cabaret Tuesday nights . . . Tony St Michael’s nights at Islington’s Hemingford Arms pub have changed from funk to gay, Sundays for women, Mondays for men . . . Tony de Vit compiles a gay disco chart at Birmingham’s Nightingale Club which he then features on his Beacon Radio show, without identifying the fact that it’s gay, and supplies to listeners by post . . . Paul Parker ‘Right On Target‘ (US Megatone 12in) is top of the US Dance/Disco chart, although Ian Levine prefers the ‘Pushin’ Too Hard‘ flip . . . Laura Branigan ‘Gloria’ is now on UK 12in (Atlantic K 11759T) . . . Gibbo is playing so much material normally associated only with gay discos that I had difficulty in stopping our chart compiler Alan Jones from classifying Edgbaston Faces French Club Jardine as gay! . . . Tricky Dicky Richard Scanes in his Disco Music shop at 391C Mile End Road, London E3, offers UK 12in at £1.90 and US 12in at £3.50 to our gay chart readers, the same discount as for DJs, adding “If you’re gay and a DJ you get an extra special kiss!” . . . yeuchh! . . . Eddie Murphy, whose ‘Boogie In Your Butt‘ was intended as a disco parody but is in fact one of the best funk cuts this year, is a sort of American equivalent to Lenny Henry on TV there . . . Keni Burke, selling well on UK 12in, appears to have been around too long for jocks to stick with him . . . I don’t understand the evident rush to buy Glass — the girls are out of tune, dammit! — nor the surprisingly short lived peak reached by the incredibly good Redd Hott ‘Ecstasy‘ . . . A&M in America have started an AyM label series for strictly Latin music (of the ethnic Mexican/South American variety) . . . Gunch appears probably to be some new illegally ingested substance . . . Al Green is taking time off from his Memphis church to play the type-cast role of a minister alongside Patti LaBelle on Broadway in a new adaptation of the gospel musical ‘Your Arm’s Too Short To Box With God’, set for an eight week run starting in a month at the Alvin Theatre . . . Teddy P, many doctors agree, may never walk again — so I’m sorry about last week’s comment, based on earlier more optimistic reports — although he is already in other respects more mobile than the even more unfortunate Johnnie Wilder . . . Nigel Halkes (Portishead) reminds us that the flip of Shalamar’s ‘Make That Move’ was ‘The Pop Along Kid‘, all about body popping . . . Teesside jocks Cleveland Area DJ Association is now affiliated with the DJF, details from Graham Murray, 7 Crossbeck Way, Ormesby, Middlesbrough, Cleveland . . . Theo Loyla has returned to Mecca after 12 years, joining Dave Munday on Saturday’s at Guildford’s Cinderella Rockerfellas . . . Suzie Halls, remembered by many DJs as Fred Dove’s assistant a while back, now works just along the road from me in Willesden at Jive . . . Brian ‘Bazzer’ Mason jocks Mon/Tues/Wednesday upstairs at Southgate’s Pink Elephant (ex-Royalty) . . . Dion Schoun of Copenhagen’s Tattersall (Tatters Disco) recommends the Ding Dong record shop at Silkegade 3, behind the Illum warehouse, in Copenhagen as a hot source of imported US and UK material . . . Kev James is now permanently based in Denmark (this month at Skagen’s Disco Admiralen), where he says Rick James is king and Falco’s original ‘Der Kommisar‘ is classed as funk . . . Mark Clark (Bracknell) on a recent return to Rotterdam spent a weekend coaching Blue Feather to speaka de English, so now you know who to blame if you encounter them here . . . Rob Harknett (Roydon 027979 2329) had an expensive narrow escape (literally) from Czechoslovakia after his young son came out with measles (silly taking him there really), Rob only managing one gig behind the Iron Curtain but at least he was greeted by the crowd like a superstar — now he needs a copy of the 24.4.82 Record Mirror as the copy he sent his Czech chum was lost . . . Tom Wilson (Edinburgh) writes from Salou near Tarragona that Kasso ‘Kasso‘ seems big in Spain . . . Nick Ratcliffe (Winkfield) says the taverns in Corfu all wind up with a selection of terrible Eurodisco, the ‘Stars On 45’ singles and ‘Disco Bouzouki’, but it’s all good fun (apart from the other bloody foreigners)! . . . Mark Summers, resident at Hackney’s recently opened luxurious 1920s-styled Flappers in Temple Mills Lane, regularly gets visited by local tribe the Hymen Bursters! . . . Donna Summer’s recording sessions with Quincy Jones were more of a strain than originally anticipated, according to a good report in the LA Times, Donna being preoccupied by her unexpected pregnancy — and did you spot it on TV, but because of this her current video makes extensive use of a slimline cardboard cutout of her! . . . Mike Page (Shifnal Nell Gwynn), who’s always being told he’s too expensive, asks on behalf of himself and several other local jocks, who the hell is Trevor Hughes? (OK guys, meet at noon on main street) . . . Frenchie’s sweat dripped onto his close talk mike while he was fiddling with the badly earthed lighting controller the other Wednesday at Kirkham Charlie Max’s and — ZAPP! – instant hair straightener . . . Chris Cole (Cranleigh Cranley Hotel), please note that although provincial reaction comes via the mail, London’s contribution to the Disco 90 includes bang up to date verbal reports . . . Eddy James (Walthamstow Royal Standard) reckons BPM should now become CPM, for Claps Per Minute . . . WEA’s Fred Dove opines “There are too many DJs asking for free records because they can’t afford to buy them, not because they want to promote them” (think about it, there’s a subtle difference!) . . . Alfred McCrarys says “Absolutely!” . . . Delbert says “KEEP IT CRUCIAL!”

UK NEWIES

ROCKERS REVENGE featuring DONNIE CALVIN: ‘Walking On Sunshine ’82’ (London LONX 11).
Along with “D” Train’s ‘You’re The One For Me’, likely in retrospect to be 1982’s most influential disco record, this brilliant 115bpm 4-track 12in restructuring of the Eddy Grant song is already deservedly the hottest sound in the nation and an absolute delight for mixers. Try overdubbing its own acappella version (get two copies!). Aretha Franklin’s acappella intro, the US ‘Keep On’ B-side’s acappella intro, the Peech Boys acappella 7in, or synch for sensational effect as much of Sharon Redd’s ‘Beat The Street’ as you can manage. If you’re one of the few who haven’t yet heard it, look out for all the sneaky bits nicked from “D” Train and others. It’s a hit-bound cross fertilisation of culture, owing as much to the Human League as to funk. What a blast!

AFRIKA BAMBAATAA & THE SOUL SONIC FORCE: ‘Planet Rock’ (21 Records POPX 497, via Polydor).
People either love or loathe this blatant pinch of Kraftwerk’s ‘Trans Europe Express’ speeded up on 126bpm 12in as either an instrumental flip (big for many) or with a freaky US smash rap as the main side. Either way it’s big and getting bigger all the time, with lots of pop appeal.

GALAXY: ‘Head Over Heels’ (Ensign ENYT 229, via RCA).
Not widely available just yet but already eagerly sought on red label promo following weeks of teasing radio play by Robbie Vincent, this Phil (Kandidate) Fearon-penned/sung Quincy Jones-ish slick creamy 117bpm 12in roller was produced by the currently hot Pete Wingfield, whose own gorgeous piano playing on the jazzier instrumental flip is making that the most danced to side, although both develop beautifully as they flow along. Continue reading “August 14, 1982: Rockers Revenge, Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force, Galaxy, Wanda, Jay W. McGee”

August 7, 1982: Aretha Franklin, Dunn & Bruce Street, Teddy Pendergrass, Grandmaster Flash, Jermaine Jackson

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

SHOWSTOPPER PROMOTIONS next year will keep a huge marquee disco running for three months right through the summer season at St Tropez after their return ten day jazz-funk special has finished . . . Southgate Royalty meanwhile is packing ’em in six nights a week in its new guise of the Pink Elephant Fun House, with two separate discos, lotsa fun and sideshows, dirt cheap admission . . . Canvey Island’s legendary Goldmine celebrates its tenth anniversary all this month with a different musical theme each Saturday, this week’s finding Chris Hill and Jeff Young reviving ten years of jazz (including Chris’s “swing thing”) . . . Chris Hill, if he and Carol have been to the movies recently, is doubtless saying “MISTER Porky, to you!” . . . Capital Radio’s bright young blood, Gary Crowley starts a weekly Saturday lunchtime shindig this week (7) at London’s Charing Cross Road Busbys, 11.30am-2.30pm, soft drinks only, aided by ‘Motorway Mick’ Brown and PA’s by Buzz and Wham . . . ‘Reggae On It’ is indeed by Freddie McGregor and will be out here on Erskine Thompson’s new Intense label segued out of ‘Follow This Ya Sound’ as a 3-track 12in flipped by the ‘Big Ship’ remix . . . Narada Michael Walden’s US 12in of ‘Summer Lady’ is a new improved remix and will be out here imminently . . . ‘Chanson D’Llegance‘ in an 11½ minute remix is on the new Disconet . . . Sharon Redd’s ‘Can You Handle It’ in probably the KISS remix version (although it seems slower at c.109bpm) is on US Prelude 12in (PRD-1005) flipped by Muslque ’82 ‘Keep On Jumpin’ (remixed) and ‘In The Bush’ (one version or another), both c.132bpm . . . Holland’s enterprising Rams Horn label is sadly reported to be going broke, which will dry up a strong source of remixes . . . Soul Sonic Force may soon come here on Polydor-distributed 21 Records, Fatback ‘She’s My Shining Star’ is evidently now on UK 12in, Zapp ‘Dance Floor is due too . . . MCA are re-releasing the Crusaders ‘Street Life’ on 12in (MCAT 513), Motown revive Smokey Robinson’s 1979 US smash ‘Cruisin’ . . . Patrick Boothe had a close encounter with a paint sprayer, or is his new hairstyle the “badger” look?! . . . ‘School’s Out’, huh, David and Ji? . . . KEEP IT TIGHT!

Laura ‘n’ Order

LAURA BRANIGAN is shooting up the gay charts in the States and now here with her version of Umberto Tozzi’s storming Euro-hit of 1979 (covered by Jonathan King), the Donna Summer-ish driving 130½bpm ‘Gloria‘ (US Atlantic DM 4835) which is already getting so much pop radio play in Britain that the import 12in has been joined by a UK 7in (K 11759). Born and bread in Brewater, a small upstate New York town, Laura moved to New York City for a drama school course before singing behind Leonard Cohen on his 1977 European tour as part of The Army.

Level Crossing

I LEVEL, whose now released ‘Give Me‘ debut on Virgin has got everyone talking, are Duncan Bridgeman, Sam Jones and Joe Dworniak. Lead vocalist Sam, who used to sing with reggae group Brimstone, wrote the record while Duncan and Joe are co-owners of the Moody demo studios which they financed from past involvements, Duncan with Shake Shake and bassist Joe with BEF. Both have backed John Foxx. This variety of backgrounds is obvious in their work now, giving ‘Give Me’ a very strong wide appeal and freshness of approach which should make it a monster crossover hit.

UK NEWIES

ARETHA FRANKLIN: ‘Jump To It’ (Arista ARIST 12479).
Luther Vandross-produced/co-penned feminist angering (0-)119-120-120½bpm 12in bumper starts with some skippable acappella wailing and a bit of talking before the beat bubbles up and Lady Soul gets down to moaning and searing her way through the supporting chix with some incredible soaring “shabadoodledaweeda” scatting that’ll make your neck hairs bristle!

DUNN & BRUCE STREET: ‘Shout For Joy’ (Satril 12SAT 5OO).
With a name play on Dun & Bradstreet, the guys chuckle in Terry Wogan style and tell us to “have a good time” as this quietly infectious languidly smacking 111(start)-113bpm 12in bumper winds along to an effective gap in the backing rhythm towards the end. An immediate monster for those few jocks initially on it, it’s been surprisingly slow to spread considering how good it is (especially with Howard Johnson, and try A Taste of Honey out of it).

TEDDY PENDERGRASS: ‘Now Tell Me That You Love Me’ (LP ‘This One’s For You’ Philadelphia PIR 85937).
Gamble & Huff-prod/penned absolutely gorgeous familiar 37bpm smoocher with a Dexter Wansel-arranged catchy little twiddle in the backing (did he sing this at Hammersmith?), while other nice slowies on a typical set are the Ashford & Simpson-prod/penned 37-75bpm ‘Only To You‘ and synthetically burbling steadily rolling 0-98-101bpm ‘I Can’t Win For Losing‘. If he had a funny way of walking before his accident, what’ll it be like now? Continue reading “August 7, 1982: Aretha Franklin, Dunn & Bruce Street, Teddy Pendergrass, Grandmaster Flash, Jermaine Jackson”

July 31, 1982: I Level, Evelyn King, Roy Hamilton, Eddie Murphy, Peech Boys

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

THE CRUSADERS continue in their attempt to alienate all their original fans. Joe Sample and Wilton Felder (who will be doing production work here several times a year now) have produced, written and played on the next release by — honestly, you’re never in a million years going to guess this, and in fact I find it hard to believe still, despite Joe having told me himself — yes, really, Kelly Marie! . . . Tony Jenkins SFX-like ‘Soul On Sound’ cassette magazine debuts this week and includes a review section constructed as a marathon mix of just 45 seconds each of 26 records, all segued in a continuous session by myself — and considering the restrictions, TJ hovering stopwatch in hand to tell me when 45 seconds was coming up, I think the result ain’t bad (it really was just one take, but there’s a splice near the end as a stylus jumped!) . . . Motown’s Robert Blenman is planning some Rick James promotion nights (featuring his records and videos with giveaways etc.) for the period 19-29 August and needs more midweek venues — if interested, contact Robert or Rose on 01-499 4100 . . . Rick’s follow-up, due then, will be ‘Hard To Get’ . . . Phonogram’s Jeff Young urgently requires heavy metal jocks for a new mailing list — apply to him with full genuine work details at Phonogram/Decca, 50 New Bond Street, London, W1 9HA . . . Polydor Promotions’ Adam Vincent is putting together a very limited video club list . . . Sharon Redd’s UK single looks like being ‘In The Name Of Love’ (oh well, another one down the tube) . . . Narada Michael Walden’s ‘Summer Lady‘, evidently big on the Continent thanks no doubt to its French speaking lady, is now on US Atlantic 12in flipped by his current UK issued ‘You Ought To Love Me’ . . . Rah Band’s remixed ‘Tears And Rain’ is due now as the A-side on 3-track KR 12in flipped by their recent TMT red label’s other two cuts . . . Pinnacle distributed Ace Records (one of Ted ‘Rock On’ Carroll’s labels along with Chiswick) in August launches a new Kent Records logo especially for ’60s soul, starting with a ‘For Dancers Only‘ LP containing such Northern specialities as Mary Love, Felice Taylor, Ikettes, ZZ Hill . . . Phonogram’s licence for Can’t Stop Productions — Ritchie Family and, er Village People product — expired last December so rather than having to renegotiate a new deal which would include the, er, Village People they passed on the Ritchie Family (although there were belated talks about just their album until that subsequently stiffed), while Can’t Stop’s deal with RCA evidently doesn’t include Britain . . . Whitehaven Whitehouse’s DJ Colin Young has his club top 20 on Radio Luxembourg this Friday (11pm), Colin’s own ‘Turn It Up’ show going out on BBC Radio Cumbria every Tuesday and Thursday 5-6pm . . . Luxembourg irritatingly kept fading away during Alan Coulthard’s ‘1979 CBS’ mix last Friday, a week when Alan sported his first love bite from a home town Cardiff girl who didn’t know he’d found such fame in London, that he’s now even getting records from Fred Dove! . . . WEA’s Dove incidentally takes time out in North Wales this weekend to help Al Taylor run to WEA party nights on Fri/Saturday at Poppeys in Bodelwyddan, just south of Rhyl . . . Roger Tovell’s Friday Funkshun show on Gloucester’s Severn Sound (388 MW) is an hour shorter now, 8-10pm, but much more up-front since its reclassification as a minority interest programme — Roger also jocks Fri/Saturdays at apathy-filled Stroud’s Brewhouse . . . Capital Radio’s Tony Hale, once producer of Radio One’s old Al Matthews soul show, never stopped talking about Bobby McFerrin during his on-air plugs for the Knebworth jazz festival (where the weather continued to be fine) — I wonder who told him Bobby was hot! . . . Jennifer Holliday is now top US black single and climbing the pop chart too . . . Angela Clemmons here has finally broken outside gay clubs — and it’s good to see Second Image with a chart hit at last . . . Irene Cara’s 12in quartz locks at 130bpm, the massive success of ‘Fame’ unfortunately proving that as people go out less these days you’ve really got to be on telly to get a hit . . . Gary Allan (Liverpool McMillans) says: “Still waiting for the return of the US Disco chart, as Billboard is starting to eat a large hole in my pocket — I’d rather buy a record with the money it costs” . . . Pete Tong should note my idea of soul is not “one big hand-clap”, although handclaps do help make disco records danceable — trouble is, there are not many people left who can remember my own idea of real soul (for instance, how many Falcons fans are out there now?!) . . . Jeff Young, Ian Shaw, now Wigan Pier’s Greg Wilson is the latest with a poodle haircut . . . Paul Anthony (Wolverhampton’s luxurious Eve’s, where he’d welcome more artist PA’s) watched for the first time a video of the movie ‘Fame’ and was more shocked by the language than young son Duncan! . . . Edgbaston Faces French jocks Steve Dennis and Alan Gibson are both noticing a demand for newer and newer material, Gibbo in the previously futurist-slanted Club Jardine section now playing what he calls “innovative uptempo electronic dance music”, which combines electro pop, funk, and gay sounds . . . Gary Old is packing Aycliffe Bee Jays at the weekends with mainly soul/funk people, nevertheless breaks up the night with no complaints from anyone by catering to the future-pop fans with two half-hour spots early and late in the evening . . . Newcastle Upon Tyne’s David Emery (54 Reid Park Road, Jesmond, NE2 2ES) has been operating a hand serviced promotion service to just a dozen or so Newcastle/Sunderland area DJs on behalf of various major labels (no jerks serviced and no other DJs needed at the moment), and would welcome further record company interest . . . Trevor Hughes of Telford’s Redeye mobile says Abba’s ‘When All Is Said And Done‘ is currently big with rock fans when played at 33 1/3rpm and introduced as the newie by either Jim Steinman or Meat Loaf! . . . Mike Page (Telford Nell Gwynn) had better strap on his cowboy holster incidentally as Trev is gunning for him with the charge that by under-cutting fees at the gig he’s spoiling things for established local jocks . . . Graham Gold hosts the first of four Sundays this week (1) at Deptford’s Albany Empire to be divided fortnightly between funk and reggae, this Sunday seeing Incognito and One Force playing live, then Second Image there two weeks later (15) . . . Keith Barker-Main, ex-Earls Court Grafitti, starts a weekly gay night at Brixton’s well-appointed Fridge club next Thursday (5) . . . Imagination ‘Just An Illusion’ still gets more requests than ‘Music And Lights’ — anyone else notice that? . . . Paul Major is busy at Great Yarmouth’s Brunswick Regency Suite yet still finds time to write a weekly Country Bumpkin newsletter full of reviews of his promos, and to write a book (which he’s paying to have published — Paul, that’s a con, they should be paying you) — so why’s he looking for work elsewhere? . . . Paul’s brother at some other unidentified East Anglian hot spot, Roger Dynamite, was impressed by the fun and games during a recent Tony Prince appearance, a “change your clothes” competition producing lots of fast fully frontal stripping, followed by 1500 plus people all turning their clothes inside out to Odyssey . . . Steve Day next season starting 21st August will be club DJ at Leyton Orient football ground . . . Bob Jones & Nicky Peck’s recent Isle of Wight jazz-funk boat trip had the added attraction of a close look in Portsmouth harbour at all the returned Falkland fleet . . . Hot Quisine ‘Keep That Same Old Feeling’ finished copies quartz lock at 124bpm . . . Chris Britton: ‘Saddle Up’ is 110bpm, T-Connection ‘Wanna’ 120-122bpm, OK? . . . Tony Reeve (St Albans) thinks it’s unfair and sexist in this age of ‘equal pay’ that club managements should give concessions to women with free or reduced admission and fewer dress restrictions than for men — but, Tony, think about it as a man, aren’t you going to frequent a club that’s full of scantily clad young ladles? . . . Paul Macey has moved residencies on the Isle Of Wight to the Warners Puckpool Holiday Camp at Ryde, while Mad Marx says “hi de hi” and “see you in September” to his jazz punters from his seasonal stint as a Redcoat at Clacton on Sea Butlins . . . Gary Allan is now taking bookings for a weekender at Butlins in Wales, any DJs want to join him? (that’s a joke!) . . . M Platts says “I’ve got to be honest, sometimes I do exaggerate” — no, surely not? . . . Nick Bradman, resident at Sheffield’s luxurious Maximillions, writes in the guise of “Disgusted, Rotherham” that as a bona fide full time DJ he still doesn’t get many promos . . . Edinburgh’s naughty DJ is rumoured now to have been using other DJs names to try and get additional mailouts from record companies, which may unwittingly have cut off the genuine DJs . . . oh for a return to the days when everyone bought all their records . . . KEEP IT TIGHT!

UK NEWIES

I LEVEL: ‘Give Me’ (Virgin VS 523-12).
Brilliant British trio, (two white, one black) debut with a fantastically simple catchy fresh 113½–114½–113½bpm 12in snapping and tapping roller (dynamite between Freddie James and Larry Graham) full of weird effects and budgie noises, smoothly chanted or instrumental on the ‘3 a.m.’ flip. This has crossover pop appeal just as much as the funksters will love it.

EVELYN KING: ‘Love Come Down’ (RCA RCAT 249).
Typically well controlled and carefully crafted steady 116-117bpm 12in snicker, terrific out of Larry Graham, with a surprisingly faster 117½-118½bpm instrumental flip, Evelyn wailing well and most powerfully as it progresses, but unless she pulls pop punters pre-conditioned by Patrice she may not cross over from the committed disco crowd this time.

ROY HAMILTON: ‘Take Your Time (The Ultimate Mixx)’ (Excaliber EXCL 522).
Roy’s terrific frantically fierce smacking Narada/“D” Train-inspired 130(intro)-123-121-123bpm 12in instrumental exciter has been cleaned up since its brief burst of white label activity — but beware, as it’s the flip that’s good, his new remixed vocal A-side now actually being worse than the first. Continue reading “July 31, 1982: I Level, Evelyn King, Roy Hamilton, Eddie Murphy, Peech Boys”