James Hamilton's Disco Page

BEATS & PIECES

THE BEATLES’ ‘Yesterday’ followed by John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ are hotly rumoured to be due as the next big bootleg remixes in funky drummer stylee — inevitably, someone had to do it . . . D.N.A. (totally unconnected with the foregoing, so don’t read between the lines), despite now realising they would have ended up making much more money had they left ‘Tom’s Diner’ as a bootleg, have also remixed ‘Rusted Pipe’ from Suzanne Vega’s most recent album — except A&M in the States appear reluctant to allow its release as they don’t want her to become too established in people’s minds as a disco artiste! — plus The The’s ‘Armageddon Days‘, Tongue ‘N’ Cheek’s remake of Patrice Rushen’s ‘Forget Me Nots‘, and Ryuichi Sakamoto’s remake (with Mike Love of the Beach Boys on lead vocal) of the Rolling Stones’ We Love You’, while their own follow-up to ‘La Serenissima’ will be a remake of David Bowie’s ‘Rebel Rebel’ with a house beat (but no “wooh yeah”!) . . . ‘Everybody’ turns out here to be credited on commercial pressings to The Criminal Element Orchestra featuring Wendell Williams, in just two mixes now (both 121¾bpm), the A-side’s Rap being a bowdlerized version of the import’s (Everybody) Rap Your Body minus its possibly controversial “Michael Jackson yelps” (if you get my meaning), flipped by a similar brand new Doesn’t Rap instrumental which was neither previously promoed nor on import . . . Peter Harris, head of GTi/Kickin Records, had niggling superstitious misgivings about the catalogue number of The Scientist’s ‘The Exorcist’ and so changed it from GTI 013T to KICK 1T on the printed label, but the unlucky “13” remained as the matrix number stamped in the vinyl — which may or may not have jinxed the first commercial pressing to be faulty and need scrapping, the at last loaded distributor’s van to catch fire, and finally the then contracted national courier’s lorry containing most of the successfully pressed copies (amongst other valuables) to be hi-jacked from outside King’s Cross station last Sunday night, with the consequence that as of last week the majority of shops still had not received the much in demand single (which, one trusts without hitch, is being repressed yet again)! . . . Raw Bass Records (who have licensed Ashford & Simpson’s in demand ‘Love Or Physical‘ Capitol LP track from last year for singles release here) are planning a series of talent showcasing separate soul, techno, and rap compilation albums each containing eight new tunes by various otherwise unsigned UK artists, who will get royalties and the chance of attracting major label attention — send cassettes for consideration to Henry Yori, 99 Budleigh Crescent, Welling, Kent DA16 1DP . . . Music Factory Mastermixes, the monthly subscription megamix service for DJs only, having been founded in July 1986 by the folks who went on to create Jive Bunny, is currently celebrating its 50th issue with a triple LP pack containing eight megamixes (including the hits of Madonna, Technotronic, WestBam and various recent release medleys), a remix of Dennis Edwards’ ‘Don’t Look Any Further’ plus Part 21 of the regular ‘DJ Toolkit’ of useful samples and drop-ins, instead of the usual just two LPs — subscribers also receive a newsletter, a copy of ‘Jocks’, occasional promos (including all Music Factory Dance releases) and discounts on certain disco equipment, the UK subscription rate ranging from £15 per month to £165 a year with one-off trial copies of this or previous month’s issues being available (apply first for a membership agreement form to Music Factory Mastermixes, Hawthorne House, 5/7 Fitzwilliam Street, Parkgate, Rotherham, South Yorkshire S62 6EP, telephone 0709 710022, fax 0709 523141) . . . Alex Kerr-Wilson, manager of Tom Astor’s famous Orinoco studios (as immortalised in Enya’s ‘Orinoco Flow’), has for some time also been running an agency now formally known as Orinoco Mix which handles (on 071-232 0008) a specialist team of studio experienced remixers comprised so far of DJs Steve Proctor, Noel Watson, Carl Cox, Tommy D and engineer Ian Tregonin, all with impressive individual track records . . . Dancin’ Danny D — currently so massive in the States following the US pop success of D Mob that ironically he got mobbed just while out shopping for clothes there! — has produced two tracks for a “dance album” by movie star Kim Basinger, while here he has signed Juliet Roberts to a Slam Jam Productions/Eternal deal that kicks off with a reportedly excellent revival of Nat ‘King’ Cole’s ‘Again’ . . . Xpansions’ ‘Elevation’ has in fact been picked up by Arista (613 683), rather than de/Construction, but remains with an Optimism Records label . . . Nightmares On Wax’s previously reviewed promo (out fully in a fortnight) is indeed called ‘Aftermath’, flipped by ‘I’m For Real’ . . . Angel C’s calmly rapped though powerfully pushing ‘Impossible Dream’ (C.T. Records CTT 14), reviewed rather early six weeks ago as a promo, is only now just out commercially following club and Kiss 100 fm support by the likes of Jay Strongman and Danny Rampling . . . Tami Carrington, formerly at Motown and BMG, is a recent recruit to independent club pluggers Power Promotions (071-482 0728), where in particular — reflecting her own personal interest — she is building a specialist rap DJ mailing list . . . Backstreet Promotions are updating their mailing list for DJs in the London area, on 081-459 5545 . . . Hi Tek 3 featuring Ya Kid K’s ‘Spin That Wheel (Turtles Get Real)’ is merely a newly subtitled UK reissue of a single that happened to be included on the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ soundtrack album, while the official follow-up to the Partners In Kryme ‘Turtle Power’ chart-topper will be a percussively smacking Italo house-type Music Factory remix/remake of Orchestra On A Half Shell’s ‘Turtle Rhapsody’, out in early November at the same time as the film . . . Soft Cell’s old material is getting the updated remix treatment . . . Paul ‘Trouble Those Decks’ Anderson has been remixing Blaze’s ‘Get Up’ . . . The Grid’s ‘A Beat Called Love’ has had its superior 7″ Mix promoed on an exaggeratedly hi-fi eastwest Transcription Broadcast Service 12 inch test pressing, which looks very impressive but the detailed technical data included could just be satirical gobbledygook! . . . George Benson’s latest album, ‘Big Boss Band’, is a big band jazz set largely accompanied by the Count Basie Band (now led by saxophonist Frank Foster), first planned with the Count while he was still alive . . . DJ Lof, having last Thursday started the weekly Crosstown Traffic upstairs at Coventry’s Park Lane, this and the first Thursday of every month incorporates a Dress Up Before You Mess Up club night especially for fashion and art students to parade their creations — and on this week’s launch night (October 4) BBC-tv’s ‘The Clothes Show’ will be filming, among other attractions (details on Coventry 403984 after 6pm) . . . Swanley’s Hickorys has gone rootsy with Kym Daniels’ classy soul music Saturdays . . . Spalding DJ Johnny Corcoran has just started writing a monthly Disco page in Lincolnshire’s ‘South Holland Times’ . . . Italy’s big dance craze this summer was the sega (pronounced “ceegar”), apparently not unlike the lambada, so how long before cash-in records reach us? . . . BOOMIN’!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Streets Ahead

THE DYNAMIC GUV’NORS ‘I Can’t Live Without You’/‘I Know My Task’/‘These Guys Are Doper Than Dope’
PRESSURE DROP ‘Back To Back’
SINDECUT ‘Tell Me Why’/LP version/‘Wisdom’
NINJAMAN and FLOURGON ‘Zig It Up (The Main Attraction Remix)’
HI TEK featuring YA KID K ‘Spin That Wheel (Turtles Get Real)’
TODAY ‘I Got The Feeling’
STEVE HARVEY ‘I’m The One’
QUEEN MOTHER RAGE ‘Slipping Into Darkness’
STYLE ‘The Assassinator (Paralysing Mix/Killer Mix)’
RUBY TURNER ‘It’s A Cryin’ Shame (UK Remix)’

OMAR ‘There’s Nothing Like This’ (72bpm) (Kongo Dance DPST 7, via 081-453 0638)
Selling fast as causing a huge stir on radio (and probably hearth rugs!), if not yet dance floors, this lovely sensuous Al Jarreau-ish jogger is lifted from the jazzy Herne Bay soulster’s Jazz FM plugged hit album (further proof that the new incremental stations have the power to bring subtle mid- and down-tempo black music back to popular prominence), flipped by its Radio Mix and the sparse jiggly half-steppin’ ‘Don’t Mean A Thing‘ (95¾bpm).

ITAL ROCKERS ‘Ital’s Anthem (Trebledown-Bassup Mix)’ (125bpm) (Bass-ic BASS 3T, via Rough Trade)
Leeds based busily productive Bass-ic Records’ third release in almost as many weeks looks like their most successful to date, an amazing reggae/bleep fusion with “featuring strictly rockers” and “ryddim” ragga samples punctuating the piping and booming electro oscillations, flipped by the more traditional ‘washing machine’-type low frequency squidged ‘Science (First Bass Mix)‘ (122bpm). Possibly, massive.

4 FOR MONEY ‘A Moment In Time’ (Tam Tam Records TTT 030)
Much plugged on Kiss 100 fm and climbing fast now it’s finally out here, this catchy Italo house chugger (actually from Italy) has repetitive gruff vocal punctuations and a naggingly familiar piano riff in its Raw (119½bpm) and thumpingly started janglier Original (120bpm) Mixes, or a longer totally different percussively shuffling and pulsing piano-less Rising High Dub (123¾bpm). Continue reading “October 6, 1990: Omar, Ital Rockers, 4 For Money, Brenda Russell, Ten City”

BEATS & PIECES

SOUL II SOUL appear not to be releasing ‘People’ here at all, going with ‘Missing You’ in time for Christmas instead . . . Nigel Webb, previously at BMG, has replaced Eddie Gordon as head of club promotions at east west, where he will be running his own new DJ mailing list (WEA, Electric Lighting Station, 46 Kensington Court, London W8 SDP) . . . ‘Pal Joey’ Longo reveals that he looped Carl Bean’s ‘I Was Born This Way’ through the Earth People’s ‘Dance’ (along, of course, with Chic) — so that is what it is! . . . Nightmares On Wax’s “There’s something going round inside my head, I think it’s something I feel, it’s something unreal” acappella vocal hook in ‘Aftermath’ (as their newie turns out to be titled) sounds like Cuba Gooding’s remake of Main Ingredient’s ‘Happiness Is Just Around The Bend’ — thanx to Dave Lee at RePublic Records for the memory jog . . . US Cutting Records have remixed Hashim’s seminal ‘Al-Naafyish’ for imminent import release . . . Rhythmatic, Nottingham’s Mark Gamble and Leroy Crawford, have revived their ‘scam’ Sheffield telephone code 0742 Records label for a 10-inch pre-release pressing of ‘Frequency‘ (124½bpm), a twittery bleeping and spurting East Midlands techno bounder, coupled with the bassily throbbed jerkier Detroit style ‘Demons‘ (121¼bpm), due for eventual 12-inch release on Network (NWKT 13) . . . T.A.S. The Altered State’s B-side ‘Make Some Noise‘ is turning into the hot side thanks to play on guess which new radio station . . . Professor Griff & The Last Asiatic Disciples’ ‘The Verdict’, reviewed on import this issue, is due for UK release on October 15, when some alternative remixes by none other than Norman Cook will also be separately 12-inched — and there is a strong possibility that Griff will be touring here next month, too . . . October 22 looks like a busy date, most of the current promos seeming to be scheduled for release then! . . . Buffalo Soldiers are a new US rap group featuring Cameo leader Larry Blackmon’s son . . . The Boys enliven their video for ‘Crazy’ with impersonations of George Michael, Bobby Brown, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson (a brilliant send-up of his ‘Thriller’ video), and Milli Vanilli (possibly funniest of all) . . . MTV has been showing the video of Virginity 99’s ‘Kiss My Cherry Lips‘, a girl sung translation set to a hip hop-ish beat of ‘Das Erdbeermund’, rather late after Culture Beat’s German treatment but still interesting if anyone can find it . . . Diamond Duel Discotheques, no sooner had I finished writing last week’s mention, had the van containing their Cruisin’ Caraoke and other disco equipment stolen from right outside their shop — but Steve Crosby managed to get another set of gear in time to continue their Bishopsgate B.B.’s Thurs/Friday residency without a break (information leading to recovery of the missing property is however welcomed on 081-393 6265) . . . Superstition, “the original legal West End rave” (actually, a carefully disguised activity for University Of London students, open to the public) returns with DJs CJ Mackintosh, Marco and guests plus live musicians this and every second Saturday (Sept 29, Oct 13 and 27, etc), 10pm-4am, in Thornhaugh Street off Bloomsbury’s Russell Square . . . Innocence featuring Gee Morris perform a 30 minute live PA for Ben & Andy (the Boilerhouse boys) at Reasons To Be Cheerful this Saturday (29) in Brixton’s The Fridge, while over the road at the same time, Brixton’s The Academy hosts The Hats ‘N’ Roses Autumn Ball (wear either or both) with Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Nicky Holloway, Terry Farley, Fabio, The Grooverider, Mark Webster, Steve Lee plus PAs by Bass-O-Matic, Movement .98 and Spider (£12.50 advance credit card bookings on 081-392 2922) . . . Chris Forbes gets upfront for the over-20s (smart dress) every Friday at Welwyn Garden City’s West 1 Nightclub . . . Chad Jackson, once renowned for his slashed jeans, is these days sporting a moptop hairstyle and wickedly thin goatee beard as his new beatnik look . . . BOOMIN’!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Graeme Park and James Hamilton

RIO RHYTHM BAND ‘Carnival De Casa’
UNIQUE 3 (featuring KARIN) ‘Rhythm Takes Control’
DEBRA LEWIS ‘New Love Affair’/‘Don’t Change Me’
TRU FUNK ‘4am’
RENEGADE SOUNDWAVE ‘In Dub’ (‘Thunder’/‘Deadly’/‘Women Respond To Bass’/‘Transworld Siren’)
JAH WOBBLE AND THE INVADERS OF THE HEART ‘Bomba’ (Andrew Weatherall and Hugo Nicholson remixes)
TONY! TONI! TONÉ! ‘Feels Good’ (US remix by Ken ‘Dr Shaft’ Kessie)
2XL ‘Destruction’
RHYTHMATIC ‘Frequency’
L.U.P.O. ‘Keep It Up’
CAMACHO’S PROJECT featuring REGINA WILSON ‘Slave’
AZTECH ‘Symphony Of Brotherhood’/‘Symphony Of Ska’
VOICES ‘Give Me Your Body’/‘I’m Your Freak’

A HOMEBOY, A HIPPIE AND A FUNKI DRED ‘Total Confusion’ (123bpm) (Tam Tam Records TTT 031)
From the Rising High Collective, this word spittingly rapped rumbling frantic thunderer is in excitingly blazing Confusion Mix, aptly titled less frantically throbbing instrumental Mellow Mix and a shorter Reprise, hot on white label already ahead of release next week.

ED TERRY ‘Show Me Love’
EVOLUTION BRIDGE ‘Simplicity’/‘Meree In Two’
RON WILSON ‘Prove It To Me’
THE RHYTHM METHOD featuring RUBBER RONSKI ‘The Call Of The Wild’
EXTORTION featuring DIHAN BROOKS ‘How Do You See Me Now’
ELEANOR JOHNSON ‘Reach Out’
KUSTOM MADE ‘Too Busy’
RALPHI ROSARIO featuring SK-TA ‘Running Away’
MOE-WET featuring KAREN WAITE ‘In The Heat Of The Night’

WENDELL WILLIAMS ‘Everybody’ (122bpm) (de/Construction Records PT 44072)
Outrageously prodded by swirling bursts of what sounds like Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’, among other things including Black Box’s (credited) ‘Everybody Everybody’ title line, the Arthur Baker produced fantastically exciting hip house leaper has not surprisingly exploded in British clubs while still on US import, the biggest import in a long time, here slightly slower in just edits of its (Everybody) Rap Your Body and Disco Lives Saxophonic Acid Vibe Rock Don’t Stop It Rave Mix versions, and full (Everybody) Swing Your Body version.

WESTERN BLOCK introducing Terri Symon ‘Right Here Right Now’ (100bpm) (Epic 656182 6)
Renamed from Eastern Bloc to prevent confusion with Manchester’s record shop and label distribution set-up of the same name, Paul Witts and Rob Manley’s group debuts with an excellent Terri Symon wailed, familiar bass burbled jiggly jogging street soul groin grinder initially circulated in Alternative Twelve and Extended Twelve mixes, and now not necessarily improved but also due separately in Creative Source’s more Latin flavoured jittery Society MIX (Epic 656182 5), flipped by Witts & Manley’s jerkily pattering Jazzy Mix. Continue reading “September 29, 1990: A Homeboy A Hippie And A Funki Dred, Wendell Williams, Western Block/Terri Symon, Zoe, The Intelligent Hoodlum”

BEATS AND PIECES

KISS 100 fm’s free launch party at Highbury Fields turned into such an instant roadblock that by early afternoon, before the star PAs had even begun, the station was already warning people to stay away in order to prevent the danger of injury from the crush — overcrowding backstage too meant that the stars were not allowed to linger after doing their PAs, but everything otherwise appears to have gone off well enough . . . Mark Webster and Graham Gold, the station’s breakfast show presenters, have a novel way of “breaking” records on air, records they don’t like, literally into pieces — smashed last week was the Saint Etienne newie, described as “a piece of poo”! . . . Les and Emma Adams of LA Mix didn’t have a honeymoon after their wedding, instead the next day they drove up to Manchester to appear on Piccadilly KEY 103, Sunset Radio, and ‘The Hit Man And Her’ (however, they did manage to have two separate wedding receptions, three days and 60 miles apart)! . . . Steve Crosby of Worcester Park’s Diamond Duel Discotheques (081-393 6265) doesn’t only do mobile discos, he has a mobile Cruisin’ Caraoke — karaoke (the correct spelling, meaning “empty orchestra” in Japanese) being the sing-a-long to backing tracks craze currently popularised by Steve Wright on Radio 1 — which is both available for hire and also in residency on Thursday and Friday evenings at B.B.’s in Bishopsgate, near London’s Liverpool Street Station . . . de/Construction Records have snapped up the Arthur Baker produced Club Chart storming Wendell Williams ‘Everybody’ here . . . Samuelle ‘So You Like What You See’, already reviewed twice on import, has been promoed here way ahead of eventual UK release (Atlantic A6151 T) in the same, superior, Extended LP Mix (99¾bpm), Teddy Riley 12-inch Remix (104¾bpm) and Club Remix (108¼bpm) . . . Ann-Marie Smith is the singer who sounds so much like Adeva in A&M/PM’s new duo New Life, in which she partners Justin Phil-Ebosie . . . ‘Summer‘, in its commercially released Full Blog Version (as it turns out to be called), is credited as being by Ben Chapman’s Loop De Loop featuring J. J. . . .  Eric B. & Rakim’s ‘In The Ghetto‘ (94bpm), briefly introed by the very start of Donny Hathaway’s live version of ‘The Ghetto’ as a separate nice little tribute, has lovely repeated lush piano notes like those from Barry White’s ‘I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby‘ — thanks for the memory jog to Jon Jules at Rayners Lane’s Record & Disco Centre, where Jesus Jones keyboardist lain Baker is the latest addition to the counter staff! . . . Jamie Bromfield, who previously often partnered YoYo as remixing engineers at the PWL studios, is now partnered by Dan Lycett at their own Crucial Dance label for which he is building a DJ mailing list on 071-403 9658 — initial releases have been by Grand Plaz (before it was signed to Urban) and King For A Day . . . Richard Lowe, leaving Rough Trade/RePublic to go freelance doing press promotion for Tam Tam Records/Savage among others, is building not a DJ mailing list but a specialist black/dance music journalist mailing list on 071-837 2655 . . . Warriors Dance is starting a sister label called Addis Ababa Records for “sweeter” soulful types of music, while Pacific is launching a more pop oriented Planet Pacific label for which demos are invited at Pacific House, Vale Road, London N4 1QB . . . Submission Records, home of East Midlands house music, has moved to The Square Centre, 389-394 Alfred Street North, Nottingham NG3 1AA (telephone 0602 417272, FAX 0602 412277) . . . Florida based Luke Skyywalker Records, home of US notoriety attracting foul mouthed rappers 2 Live Crew, is now called just Luke Records to prevent confusion with the ‘Star Wars’ character of similar though slightly differently spelt name . . . Bob Jones’s ears must have been burning recently, to judge from all the praise his Sunday 3-5pm (when last heard) real soul show on Kiss 100 fm has been getting . . . BOOMIN’!

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HOT VINYL

SLAM SLAM featuring DEE C. LEE ‘Something Ain’t Right’ (116¾bpm) (MCA Records MCAT 1444)
Paul Weller, Dr Robert and Dee C. Lee get together for a sturdily bounding galloper throatily moaned mainly by the latter with mixer Dancin’ Danny D joining in soulfully on his Slammin Club Mix, flipped by a more thinly skittering Jammin Urban Mix, out next week.

SNAP ‘Cult Of Snap (World Power Mix)’ (110bpm) (Arista 613 596)
Already promoed in a strictly limited single sided Ibiza ’90 Edit (109¾bpm), merely re-edited from the LP as a temporary stop gap to hold off the cover version by Hi Power, this now properly remixed (and, unusually for the UK, 33⅓rpm) corny but catchy “zoombah yay” Afro chanted jiggly throbbing chugger has twiddly Middle East sax effects by Bobby Sattler and newly permanent group member Pennye Ford (Sharon Redd’s kid sister) chorussing between gruff MC Turbo’s bursts of butch rap, flipped by a percussively thundering (like a slowed down ‘Burundi Black’) Ibiza ’90 Mix — totally different to the Ibiza ’90 Edit, note — plus its original, Pennye-less and less punchy, Album Version.

THE SHE PROJECT featuring Jenni Evans ‘Summer Reprise’ (103½bpm) (SHE Records SHE 12002, via 081-421 2478)
Previously the standout from their otherwise house filled ‘Technofusion’ album of last December, created and remixed by Sahara’s Steve Sinclair, Peter Hinds & Kevin Ellis (link up their surname initials to see that it’s not the feminist project one might at first glance have supposed), this Jenni sung sweet sultry street soul jogger now jiggles perhaps just a little bit too deliberately in sort of Soul II Soul stylee through its Sound System Mix, flipped however much more sympathetically by a sparser gently jiggling Warm Bass Mix and similar Album Remix. Continue reading “September 22, 1990: Slam Slam/Dee C. Lee, Snap, The She Project/Jenni Evans, Mica Paris/Rakim, Caron Wheeler”

BEATS AND PIECES

BEATS INTERNATIONAL’s actual vintage classic blues reviving ‘Burundi Blues‘ (Go.Beat GOD X 45) in its commercial version is just like its initially promoed (and also included) ‘Burundi Dub’ (105bpm) but with full vocals by Janet Kay, while now also separately promoed is a new very different gentler percussively tapping and shuffling Boilerhouse Mix (104¾bpm) (GORDJ 45) by Ben & Andy the Boilerhouse Boys, coupled with their Boilerhouse Guitar And Vocal Mix plus Norman Cook’s alternative Sixties blues riff and ‘Mr Bass Man’-ishly based chugging Traditional Version (120bpm) . . . Maxi Priest featuring Jazzie B’s ‘Peace Throughout The World (Remixes)’ (Ten Records TENR 317) has been updated by the busy Boilerhouse Boys’ calmly tapping soulful timely ‘Peace In The Middle East’ and ‘Beats Around The World’ (100½bpm), plus John Gallen’s more smoothly swaying The Video Remix (100¾bpm) and Abbey Shah’s totally different bass thrummed lurching Abbey’s Treaty Remix (101bpm), while Movement •98 featuring Carroll Thompson’s oddly slow moving ‘Sunrise’ has been given a more jauntily cantering Ragga Mix and Ragga Dub Mix (129¼bpm) by Aswad’s Drummie Zeb, due next week (Circa Records YRTX 51) . . . Pianonegro’s ‘Roots’-ish piano jogged, afro and ragga chanted ‘Pianonegro‘ (93bpm), having been huge throughout the summer in hotspots like Tenerife and Ibiza, is being relaunched here on September 24 in a more smoothly rolling Honky Tonk Remix (Epic 656081 8) flipped by an also new sparser fluttery Nix Renegade Dub . . . Sinitta’s ‘Love And Affection’ (Fanfare 12FAN 31) appears now to have come straight out commercially in its murkily jiggling D.N.A. Remix (89¾bpm) instead of the version originally reviewed . . . Melba Moore’s ‘Do You Really Want My Love’ (Capitol 12CL 592), reviewed on import but not apparently promoed, is now out here — as also is B.S.O.G. featuring Elaine Hudson’s ‘Bow Wow Wow’ (RCA PT 44008), reviewed when part of a twin-packed promo although now separated . . . Quincy Jones’s youthful protégé, Tevin Campbell sings lead on the next single scheduled for remixed release from Prince’s ‘Graffiti Bridge’ double album, the usefully Soul II Soul/SOS Band-ishly tempoed cool jiggly ‘Round And Round‘ (107bpm) . . . Motown are boosting the separately reviewed soundtrack album from the hip hop/new jack swing movie ‘House Party’ with a strictly promo only 12 inch (MPR- 19) containing the previously imported L.L. Cool J ‘To Da Break Of Dawn (Remix Version)‘ (104¾bpm) and Artz & Kraftz ‘What A Feeling (12″ Mix)‘ (112¼bpm) plus the album’s Flavor Flav ‘I Can’t Do Nothing For You, Man!’ (116¾bpm) and Full Force Family ‘House Party’ (114bpm) . . . TV-am last Thursday by mistake played the otherwise Bombalurina compatible “wooh yeah” driven ‘Let It All Hang Out ’90’ (121½-119½bpm) Sanny X remix of Jonathan King’s 1970 oldie — now credited as being by JK25 (MCA Records MCAT 1439) — at an incorrect 33⅓rpm so that it came out sounding rather more interesting (if just a tad too slow, although of course vari-speedable, at around 89bpm) in a Mancunian ‘nouveau hippy’ funky drummer stylee with definite re-remix possibilities! . . . Paul Oakenfold’s now fully launched PerfectO Records’ latest signing, joining Gary Clail and Lynda Law, is Bristol based The Corporation featuring singer Jane Hamlin . . . Brixton’s Fridge this Thursday (September 13) starts a new Jelly In The Fridge night with DJs ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards, Jon Cox and Nils Hess joined by LFO and the Forgemasters both appearing live, while Bass-O-Matic similarly guest next week and The Shamen Sound System the week after — the same venue’s Reasons To Be Cheerful Saturday this week features a 30 minute exclusive set by the Dream Warriors . . . Hip Joints play live this Saturday (15) at Windsor’s DDC with Seventies/Eighties soul/funk/jazz-funk jocks Chris Brown, Dave Morrison and Lee Drummond, in the town centre’s The Old Trout the first and third Saturday of every month . . . The Dream II at Andover Sports Centre next Saturday (September 22), 8pm-2am, promises a bouncy castle, inflatable maze, lots of noise, DJs Jumpin’ Jack Frost, Grooverider. Trevor Fung, Alex Hazzard, Martin Phippen and more (a tickets in advance from various outlets) . . . L.A. Mix partners Les Adams and Emma Freilich finally get married this week, with MC Jammy Hammy as best man and the disco by none other than Jazz FM’s “P.Y. The Pork Pie”, Peter Young! . . . Tony ‘Mayhem’ Monson (now at Kiss 100 fm) has been replaced on Saturday nights at Essex Radio by his old Solar Radio colleague Mark ‘Sparks’ McCarthy, whose new 10pm-2am ‘Rhythm Of Life’ show features dance and soul both ancient and modern . . . London’s brand new black and dance music Kiss 100 fm sounds best when, with the honourable exception of a few such obviously experienced radio presenters as Dave Pearce, David Rodigan and Graham Gold, most of its other DJs shut up and let the music do the talking: their enthusiasm for and knowledge of the music cannot of course be faulted but enthusiastic amateurs are still to be found on the many remaining pirates, to whom kids will tune if that’s what they want, while unfortunately the big budget advertisers the station needs in order to pay the bills now that it’s legal (it currently carries a lot of youth aimed education and semi public service ads) are not particularly interested in that young demographic and could well be frightened off completely by an overly amateurish approach regardless of the size of the audience — already, maybe as a consequence, the published roster of daytime presenters is proving to be fluid, and, just a mischievous though serious suggestion, would become even more listenable with the recruitment of such former pirate rivals as the well seasoned CJ Carlos! . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL
reviewed by Jay Strongman and James Hamilton

ERIC B & RAKIM ‘In The Ghetto’
COOL C ‘Life In The Ghetto’
SKATEMASTER TATE ‘Justice To The Bass’/Dub/‘Joe’s Jam’
CANDYMAN ‘Knockin’ Boots’
MELLO C ‘House This Out’
KENYATTA ‘I Wanna Do Something’
LAKIM SHABAZZ ‘No Justice No Peace’
TAIRRIE B ‘Murder She Wrote’
KINGS OF SWING ‘Nod Your Head To This (Norman Cook/Original/Audio Two Mixes)’

INNOCENCE ‘Let’s Push It’ (Cooltempo COOLX 220)
Only just promoed so probably not out fully for a while, this presumably again Gee Morris wailed and Jolley Harris Jolley created jiggly throbbing thudder again has an attractive slinkily sinuous vocal (and a catchy sax tone twiddled break) but builds a beefier groove than usual in its Big Beat Mix (105½bpm), with a Pink Floyd-ish guitar washed alternative gentler swingbeat Belief Mix (103-102½bpm) plus a drily juddering Sax Urbana dub of the old ‘Silent Voice’ (102¾bpm).

NENEH CHERRY ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ (103½bpm) (Circa Records YRT 53)
Spearheading an AIDS research benefitting charity album, Cole Porter’s sophisticated lyrics suddenly assume a new significance in this message rap augmented strange stark bassily chugging adaptation, co-produced by Baby Afrika Bambaataa of the Jungle Brothers with its Instrumental and a more squidgily jolting David Z Remix (102¾bpm) as flip, due commercially next week. “Share your love, don’t share the needle.”

NUMARX ‘Do It Good’ (112bpm) (US MBR MARX 1002)
On their own Marx Brothers Records (not that Marx is necessarily the real name of anyone involved!), this infectious ‘In The Bottle’ rhythm and “let’s do it” prodded conversationally narrative rap jiggler actually seems to be proving hottest in its largely Instrumental Mix, with vocal Hip Hop, orgasmically started Extended, and two Basement Boys remixed slicker Basement Mixes too. Continue reading “September 15, 1990: Innocence, Neneh Cherry, Numarx, The Chimes, Mimmo Mix/Valerie Etienne”

BEATS AND PIECES

TONY COCHRANE, well known north o’ the border for many years as a Dundee based DJ, promoter, and promotional tour organiser, has now recruited Scotland’s 40 top club jocks to form a record pool along US lines, possibly the first here since the Seventies, members paying just £4 for a weekly box of not only the best new UK dance releases supplied by record and promotion companies but also some imports supplied by two US record pools (in an exchange product deal), companies already confirmed as using the Scottish Professional DJ Pool’s service (costing them only £50 per mailout, details on 0382 644003) being MCA, CBS, AVL, BMG, Big Life, eastwest, 4th + B’way, Rhythm King, Cooltempo and Debut, with more signing on all the time . . . Kiss 100 fm’s launch party at North London’s Highbury Fields this Sunday (September 9) features festive fun for all the family plus a string of appearances (listed in planned running order at 15 minute intervals between 2.15 and 8.30pm) by Roots, Heatwave, Caron Wheeler, Maureen Walsh, Movement .98, Slam Slam, Laquan, Innocence, Robert Owens, Titiyo, Richard Rogers, Jomanda, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Dream Warriors, Diana Brown & Barrie K. Sharpe, Loose Ends, The Rebel MC, Double Trouble, Beats International, Black Box, The Pasadenas, Maxi Priest, The Chimes, LL Cool J, Ten City, Aswad — some show, huh, and all for free! . . . Eddie Gordon and Suzanne Jeoffroy are about to quit plugging for eastwest to become, from September 17, respectively divisional general manager and club promotions manager at Urban, where the addition of the Dave Dorrell owned Luv Records and two other brand new labels will be swelling the Polydor dance outlet into a self contained operational group . . . Steve Mason, owner of record distributors Pinnacle as well as a pressing plant, an import/export company and several labels, has bought the London based dance music shop chain Red Records’ main Soho branch in Beak Street, now renamed Unity without any change of music policy (he was originally negotiating for all four shops) . . . D.N.A. turn out to be EMI’s West Country sales representative Neal Slateford and studio engineer Nick Batt, while the whole white label scam behind their ‘Tom’s Diner’ remix was masterminded by veteran South London DJ ‘King Enri’ Yori, co-owner of Raw Bass Records (and until recently an EMI rep too) . . . ‘Tom’s Diner’ re-remixer Alan Coulthard meanwhile, ironically, has just followed D.N.A. again in re-remixing Sinitta’s ‘Love And Affection’, with more jazzily plonking piano . . . Bazza at Oxted based Box 52 Records (named after the post office box number of their address, PO Box 52, Oxted, Surrey RH8 9YJ), looking for new artistes on 07374 3992, aggressively warns that the label will be taking risks to break away from the rut of current record company thinking, no free promos for DJs and shops being one tactic — so, don’t bother applying for a mailing list there! . . . Non Fiction Records is launched this week as the “independent” wing of Fiction Records (home of indie band The Cure), alongside their specifically “dance” label Desire . . . Brixton’s Blacksmith, the first outsiders ever to do so, are remixing the next Public Enemy single, promoed here initially as a (no doubt very collectable) seven inch in just its original LP mix, the angrily bounding ‘Can’t Do Nuttin’ For You Man‘ (117½bpm) — like it says, “get that shit!” . . . Soul Family Sensation’s superb Soul II Soul-ish ‘I Don’t Even Know (If I Should Call You Baby)‘ (One Little Indian 42 TP 12, via Rough Trade) has Full Mix (100bpm) and even sultrier slow starting The Karen Carpenter Late Night Mix (99½bpm) versions, plus the stabbing organ and piano prodded jittery ‘Beat, Author!‘ (114¾bpm) . . . J.T. & The Big Family’s ‘Foreign Affair’ in its Guys Mix is, as inadvertently omitted last week, a significantly faster 108bpm to suit its totally different sweetly chugging Italo style . . . Channel 4 in their Friday 6-7pm ‘The Word’ series are planning two, separate, future features about Northern Soul and weekenders . . . Tashan, A Tribe Called Quest, Ronnie McNeir, Brand New Heavies, and the reformed Dramatics featuring Ron Banks, LJ Reynolds, Willie Ford, Lenny Mayes and Steve Boyd are among the live acts scheduled for the Blackpool Soul & Dance Weekender 7 at Southport Pontins over November 23/24/25, with DJs Tim Westwood, Colin Curtis, Richard Searling, Bob Masters, Bob Jeffries, Bob Jones, Jonathan, Norman Jay, Simon Dunmore, Ian Clark, Yogi, Billy Davidson, Tom Jackson, Graeme Ellis, Steve Hobbs, Sylvester, Hewan Clarke, The Educated Jazzman, Simon Mansel, Gary Dennis and more — £55 ticket details on 091-389 0317 . . . Light + Sound Show ’90, the disco equipment exhibition, is this coming Sunday to Wednesday, September 9/10/11/12 at London’s Olympia 2, £6 admission on the door (if you missed early bird registration), 11am-6pm . . . Kiss 100 fm’s very first playlist meeting listened to and rejected (rather more interesting than the records they actually chose!) current club hits by Electribe 101, Lynda Law, David Grant, Wendell Williams, Elaine Hudson, Mike ‘Hitman’ Wilson featuring Shawn Christopher, Movement .98, T.D.P., History featuring Madeleine Jo, and a whole lot more — they did in fact chose a fair number of other club hits, which is probably just as well for “London’s black and dance music” station . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL
reviewed by Norman Cook and James Hamilton

CURTIS MAYFIELD & ICE T ‘Superfly 1990 (Mantronix Remix/Fly Mix)’
MASSIVE ATTACK ‘Daydreaming’ / ‘Any Love’
THE INTELLIGENT HOODLUM ‘Back To Reality (Drum And Bass Mix)’

MAESTRO FRESH WES ‘Drop The Needle’ (121bpm) (US LMR 2661-1-RD)
Debuting the RCA distributed new Lefrak-Moelis Records, this DJ Mark The 45 King remixed infectious jauntily jumping hip house-ish fast talker is in drily tapped and thrummed The 45 King Remix, The 45 King Dub (121½bpm), strong jiggly thumping Manu Dibango-ishly driven samples swamped The Throwdown Club Mix, Beethoven’s Fifth introed wordy Radio Edit, and mumbling started less hip more MC Hammer type unremixed LP Version, instantly large in London and Manchester. Are you ready for the drop?

MAXI PRIEST (FEATURING JAZZIE B) ‘Peace Throughout The World’
STEREO MC’S ‘Elevate My Mind’ / ‘Message From The Motherman’
SOUL FAMILY SENSATION ‘Baby’
AFRICAN BUSINESS ‘In Zaire Business’
SAMUELLE ‘So You Like What You See (Extended LP Mix/12” Remix/Club Remix)’
REBEL PRINCESS, COCOA TEA AND SHABBA RANKS ‘Just Be Good To Me’

ADAMSKI ‘The Space Jungle’ (120½bpm) (MCA Records WMCAX 1435)
Brilliantly setting the words of Elvis Presley’s 1957 classic ‘All Shook Up’ to an episodically pausing and surging new wriggly electro track, this inspired stroke of cheeky fun filled genius deserves to be an even bigger pop smash if possible than his last number one (it seems that Adamski tackles the vocals himself now, Seal having moved on), this particular limited edition promo pressing being flipped by a much more beefily bounding ‘Instrumental All Shook Down’ version.

SEDUCTION ‘Breakdown (Clivilles/Cole Club/Dub Mix)’ (107bpm) (US Vendetta Records 75021 7040 1)
Leading off an instantly massive twin-packed double 12 inch from Robert Clivilles & David Cole’s girl group, this violently jittering bright rap judderer is excitingly scratched and washed with familiar samples (strident short reprise too) but isn’t necessarily as hot here as the accompanying ‘Iko Iko’-type nursery chant started then infectious stark fiercely chugging and scrubbing ‘Groove Me’ (121bpm) in its Club Mix and separately pressed different more house-ish Dub Mix (also with a short reprise), the latter flipped by the at first music box-like then rippling keyboard tinkled jazz-funky instrumental ‘One Mistake (Master Mix)‘ (118bpm). Continue reading “September 8, 1990: Maestro Fresh Wes, Adamski, Seduction, Lost Entity, N.W.A.”

BEATS AND PIECES

SNAP’S ALBUM version of ‘Cult Of Snap‘ was merely re-edited, with increased repetition of its chant, to create the Ibiza ’90 Edit that crashed into The Club Chart last week as a strictly limited edition of only 400 pressings, distributed to key shops rather than direct to DJs (many of whom, however, by then were doubtless already playing the original album track) in an effort to stave off the cover version by Hi Power that is now out in UK, Italian, Belgian and bootleg pressings — commercial UK release of the Snap original is still not scheduled until September 10, by which time newly permanent group member Pennye Ford’s vocal will have been added to a proper 12 inch remix, although this is not yet confirmed as the mix that will be released first . . . Kiss 100 fm started their continuous test transmission last Wednesday and, within hours, they and all of London’s other ILR stations went off air, the joke immediately doing the rounds being that, just from force of habit, the DTI’s pirate busters by mistake had raided the IBA’s FM transmitter (where in fact a fuse had blown!) — the black and dance music station’s full service begins at noon this Saturday (September 1) . . . Robbie Vincent, still hosting a nightly ‘phone-in on LBC, will be presenting a Sunday lunchtime show for Kiss 100 fm, all of whose original DJs will have specialist evening shows while the more generally aimed weekday slots will be filled through the day by Dennis O’Brien (5-7am), Graham Gold & Mark Webster (7-9am), Dave Pearce (9am-noon), David Rodigan (noon-2pm), Trevor ‘Madhatter’ Nelson (2-4pm), just the ‘drive time’ 4-7pm slot having yet to be filled, probably by (so the whisper has it) a mystery figure who might not be free to start for a few weeks — the station celebrates its launch with a massive open air party for all the family next Sunday afternoon (September 9) in Highbury Fields, where, among star appearances by such as the Chimes, Pasadenas and many more, Tony! Toni! Toné! are scheduled to make their live UK debut . . . Lindon T is the lynchpin at new “no restrictions/no pretensions” Redemption Saturdays in Paddington’s The Starlight (under the Great Western Hotel, Praed Street), joined in weekly rotation by guest jocks Bryan Gee (this week), Trevor Madhatter, Rocky ‘n’ Diesel, Femi, Fat Tony . . . LiveWire and The Incredible Organisation present another Kaos 3 rave weekender at Gt. Yarmouth Pontins over October 19/20/21, featuring “a major American act” plus DJs Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Nicky Holloway, Pete Tong, Dave Dorrell, Fabio, Groove Rider, Graeme Park. Fat Tony, Marvin Connor, Johnnie Walker, Lisa Loud, Nancy Noise, Phil Perry, Glen Gunner, Steve Bicknell, Rocky ‘n’ Diesel, Steve Lee, Dean Thatcher and Carl Cox (£50 tickets and train booking details on 081-364 1666) . . . Camber Weekenders meanwhile have Camber 5 at Camber Sands Pontins over November 2/3/4 with guest PAs plus DJs Greg Edwards, Carl Cox, Bob James, Stuart Vant, Rob Huntley, Richie-D, Simon Grant, Trevor Hadley, Dave Reeves, DJ Sheff, ‘J-D’, and the full Sunrise FM team including Bad Boy West, Tony White, Peter Stapleton and Andy M (£45 credit card bookings on 0233 633652) . . . Piccadilly KEY 103 main man Stu Allan and Cee host house/soul/hip hop nights at two different Shades nightclubs, in Reddish (Stockport) on Mondays and in Stalybridge on Thursdays, both with no dress restrictions . . . Premier Leisure promise 3D laser lighting, apparently the first of its kind in the country, when they open their new £4,000,000 The Palladium in Ponders End, Enfield, on October 5 . . . Mellow Man Ace and the Ruthless Rap Assassins are the latest acts to be featured on promotional slipmats . . . Sheffield’s W.A.R.P. Records, in a bit of a tizzy, point out that a track called ‘Brainstorm‘ currently white labelled as being by LFO has no connection with their own ‘LFO’ hit makers, apparently being a revived old recording by a different act who already happened to have the same name . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL  
reviewed by DJ Streets Ahead and James Hamilton

SNAP ‘The Cult Of Snap (Ibiza ’90 Edit)’
HYPNOTONE ‘Dream Beam (Danny Rampling Remix)’
GRAND PLAZ ‘Wow Wow – Na Na’
SPIDER ‘Together As One’
TACKHEAD ‘Class Rock’
THE SHAMEN ‘Make It Mine’
LAQUAN ‘Now’s The B Turn’/‘Witness The Drift’
A CERTAIN RATIO ‘Shack Up (Machine Mix/Norman Cook Mix/Man Mix)’
SALT ‘N’ PEPA ‘Independent (Independent Funk Mix/Rhyddim Mix)’
ORBITAL ‘Omen’/‘2 Deep’/‘Open Mind’
THE CURE ‘Let’s Go To Bed (Remix)’

CABARET VOLTAIRE ‘Easy Life (Remixes)’ (Parlophone 12RX 6261)
Remixed by co-producer Robert Gordon of Sheffield’s FON Force, the synth instrumental is now slower in new gently bleeping attractive so-called Vocal Mix (120½bpm), Very Strange Mix (120¼bpm) — which is breathily vocal, a labelling mix up? — and just plain Strange Mix (120½bpm) versions.

THE K.L.F. ‘What Time Is Love? (Moody Boys Vs. The KLF Mix)’ (125-104¼bpm) (KLF Communications KLF 004Y)
Last and now this summer’s rave fave in a new ragga quotes introed and punctuated much more electronic bleeping faster though unrushed remix, flipped by also new lopingly pulsing bubbly Echo & The Bunnymix (119bpm) and Asdic pinged tempoless ambient Virtual Reality Mix versions.

ELECTRIBE 101 ‘You’re Walking’ (Mercury MERX 328)
Much plugged already on Radio 1 by Jeff Young and now at last promoed, probably well ahead of commercial release, this excellent loosely striding cool sparse chugger is expressively warbled by wailing Billie Ray Martin in its Corporate Def Mix (110½bpm), with Maze ‘Twilight’/Wally Badarou ‘Chief Inspector’-type “blink-blink” noises, flipped by faster though less urgent more slinkily wriggling Peeping Tom and gently thumping atmospheric instrumental Ambient Groove Mixes (114½bpm). Continue reading “September 1, 1990: Cabaret Voltaire, The K.L.F., Electribe 101, Lynda Law, Tony! Toni! Toné!”

BEATS AND PIECES

EN VOGUE return in full live concert to Prestatyn, the scene of their UK breakthrough, as stars of the November 2/3/4 Prestatyn 8 weekender, which will also feature a live performance by Light Of The World and other star attractions including guest jocks Dancin’ Danny D and Soul II Soul DJs Jazzy Q & Friends — booking details on 081-364 1212 from LiveWire, who are also collaborating with London’s Jazz FM radio station to stage the 1st Jazz FM Weekend at Camber Sands over November 23/24/25, with Roy Ayers, Pharoah Sanders, A Tribe Called Quest (really?!), Steve Williamson, Working Week, The Brand New Heavies, Galliano, Steve White, Incognito, Snowboys Descarga and more all playing live, plus many PAs, and the station’s Gilles Peterson, Jez Nelson and Chris Philips heading the DJ line-up (booking details for this event on 081-364 1666) . . . The 45 King’s original ‘The 900 Number’ (107¼bpm), having bubbled around the bottom of the chart for over a year before inspiring Chad Jackson’s ‘Hear The Drummer (Get Wicked)’ adaptation, could finally be the smash it’s always deserved to be in its own right now that it has been reissued (Dance Trax DRX 912, via Big Wave/BMG) coupled at last by a vocal version for radio — an, unfortunately not very good, extended remix of LaKim Shabazz’s ‘The Posse Is Large’ (110¼bpm) — plus still the dull ‘The King Is Here’ (100¾bpm), with even a CD single too this time . . . DNA’s ‘La Serenissima’, pre-released and reviewed as a phoney Italian import, is now chart climbing in its regular pressing (Raw Bass Records 12 RBASS 006) . . . Rumour Records have “snapped” up and are rush releasing here the hot Hi Power ‘Cult Of Snap’ (RUMAT 24), reviewed on import last week . . . Sha-Lor ‘My Love (Has Gone Away) (The Musto/Bones Remixes)’, also reviewed only last week on import, has been rushed out here by new label WGAF (NGY 12 101, via Castle Communications) in just its Tommy Musto NY Garage Mix  (122¼bpm) and Frankie “Bones” Belgium Freestyle Mix (122½bpm), both now slower . . . Lalah Hathaway’s excellent revival of Jaki Graham’s ‘Heaven Knows’, produced like the original by its writer Derek Bramble, was only promoed in its already reviewed import pressing and is now out commercially (Virgin America VUST 28) . . . ‘Who Dares Wins’ is the correctly titled extra track on Derek B’s newie . . . Linda Carriere is in fact the vocalist featured on Loose Ends ‘Don’t Be A Fool’, due next week also in a tinkling vibes and ‘Funkin’ For Jamaica’ trumpet accented jerkily jittering Twilight Mix (97¾bpm) (10 Records TENR 312) . . . Cooltempo, including the label’s dynamic club supremo Simon Dunmore and his new assistant Laura Barwick, have joined the record company exodus to West London and moved along with Chrysalis Records to the Old Phoenix Brewery at Bramley Road, London W10 6SP (telephone 071-221 2213), tucked under the Westway by Latimer Road tube . . . Power Promotions’ now four strong team are however moving in the opposite direction to Kentish Town on September 3, when their address becomes 32 Holmes Road, London NW5 3AB (071-482 0728) . . . Emily Leggatt is updating the DJ mailing list at independent pluggers IRP, 112 Talbot Road, London W11 1JR (071-727 3458) . . . Beats Per Minute that pop jocks might find useful include Bombalurina ‘Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ (Remix/7 Inch Version) 126; Prince ‘Thieves In The Temple (Remix)’ 130-128¾/Thieves In The House Mix/ Temple House Dub’ 126¾; The Human League ‘Heart Like A Wheel (Extended Mix)‘ 119½; Bocca Juniors ‘Raise (63 Steps To Heaven)’ (Heavenly Rap/Piano Hoe Down/Philly House Skank) 104/(Redskin Rock Mix) 104½; Primal Scream ‘Come Together’ (Farley Mix) 96/(Weatherall Mix) 93¾; That Petrol Emotion ‘Hey Venus’ (Mad Thatcher Disease Mix) 113¾/(Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Mix) 113½; UB40 ‘Wear You To The Ball (Extended Mix)‘ 96¾ . . . The UK Voguing Championships are taking place to benefit AIDS research at London’s Charing Cross Road Busby’s tonight (Tuesday 21), the whole frothy event being filmed for future TV broadcast and video release (on Island Visual Arts), so hurry, hurry . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL  

MONIE LOVE featuring TRUE IMAGE It’s A Shame (My Sister)’ (108bpm) (Cooltempo COOLX 219)
This standout track from her upcoming album, already much played by specialist radio shows and now remixed three different ways, slots sections of rap between girls chorused quotes from the classic ‘It’s A Shame’ by the Motown Spinners (as they were known here in 1970, before a change of label made Detroit a more appropriate prefix), closest to its attractive guitar twanged melody with some added sax in Ultimatum’s catchy gentle Ultimatum Mix, or alternatively in John Waddell’s drier rolling Sister Sledge ‘He’s The Greatest Dancer’-type rhythm based Cool As Mix, and Pete Lorimer’s trumpet brayed wukka wukked jiggly tumbling jazz-funky Hot Shot Mix.

THE GRID ‘A Beat Called Love’ (123½bpm) (eastwest SAM 700)
Breathily whispered with breezy girl group support and a blazing trumpet break over an appropriately pounding massive beat, this gloriously soaring bright pop swinger by Richard Norris and Dave Ball is currently yet another single sided promo on EW’s generic label with no other details of its eventually released form, not that this version is entirely suitable for airplay (not being by Madonna)!

WENDELL WILLIAMS ‘Everybody’ (123¼bpm) (US Minimal Records QAL-251)
An Arthur Baker produced really exciting loose adaptation of the Black Box song (the Italians being credited as co-composers for supplying little more than its ‘Everybody Everybody’ title line), this forcefully charging hip house bounder is rapped instead by a gruff guy and samples much more besides to create its ‘Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’ swirled (Everybody) Rap Your Body, (Everybody) Swing Your Body, Dub Your Body, and Guru Josh/Adamski inspired bleeping instrumental — get this — Disco Lives Saxophonic Acid Vibe Rock Don’t Stop It Rave Mix! Yes, by all means, do get this! Continue reading “August 25, 1990: Monie Love, The Grid, Wendell Williams, Culture Beat, Beats International”

BEATS AND PIECES

Kiss 100 fm, as the eagerly awaited London dance and black music radio station’s logo now reads, has moved at last into its headquarters at Kiss House, 80 Holloway Road, London N7 BJG (telephone 071-700 6100, fax 071-700 3752), finally ending the months of speculation about its for some reason quite closely guarded location . . . Stu Allan’s consecutively segmented ‘Bus’ Diss!’/’Souled Out’/’House Hour’ Sunday 7-10pm show on Manchester’s Piccadilly KEY 103 (the final hour always including a 40 minute house mix to fit in as much stuff as possible) has proved so popular that he’s been given an 8-10pm ‘Don’t Touch That Dial!’ show on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday too, playing current soul, dance, house and hip hop (no indie or pop) . . . Kid Frost’s excellent Chicano rap ‘La Raza’, recently reviewed off the import pressing that was promoed here, is now out commercially (Virgin America VUST 25) . . . Heather Austin, the original Cool Notes’ lead singer last heard solo on Urban, has signed now to Rhyme ‘n’ Reason Records and her first single ‘All For You’, featuring JB M.C., has already been snapped up by Vaughan Mason ahead of its release here for US release on his Grove St. label . . . Double Trouble, the UK group, are calling themselves Double The Trouble in the US so as not to clash with that country’s rapping The Original Double Trouble (as they are now calling themselves here) . . . London’s The Brain Club is currently up in Edinburgh, for the duration of the Festival, at the Playhouse Theatre’s studio, where Graeme Park and Dave Haslam from Manchester’s Hacienda guest over the next two Saturdays with Harvey and Chocci plus the likes of Jay Strongman, while bands there include Mr Monday and Ubik (August 18), The Shamen, Irresistible Force, Ramjac Corp, Sunsonic and Deep Joy (25) . . . Joy Barling Loyla (Theo’s missus) and her horse Hero did indeed get to Stockholm for the 100 mile endurance race, in which they came fourth and helped gain a gold medal for Great Britain as part of the overall winning team! . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL  

CANDY DULFER ‘Saxuality (Ben Liebrand Mix)’ (123bpm) (RCA PT 43770)
The attractive Dutch saxist coos and squawks through a lightly scampering hip house groove that’s sorta like Janet Jackson being produced by Prince in Fast Eddie’s basement while Jr. Walker practises some jazzy new licks next door — in other words, sizzling! — flipped by a more frantically jittery Susan Rogers Mix (124bpm) plus the ‘A House Is Not A Home’ paraphrasing tranquil slow soulful ‘Home Is Not A House’ (57/28½bpm).

CLUBLAND featuring QUARTZ ‘Let’s Get Busy’ (122bpm) (US Geffen Records 0-21609)
Selling anew in yet another combination, this US pressing has not only the current King Bee rapped Snap remix, now called The Snap Attack Mix, and the old Original Version, but also David Morales’ more jerkily episodic cantering The G Mix (which although unlabelled was secretly included, as the Def Dee Mix, on the Swedish pressing of Snap! The Remix!) plus — the only all new track, note — Morales’ brisk but basic repetitive The G Beats Mix, some Satoshi Tomiie organ chords eventually being all that breaks its monotony.

SHA-LOR ‘My Love (Has Gone Away) (The Musto/Bones Remixes)’ (US Fourth Floor Records FF-1116)
Shamelle and Lori Maynard’s wailed and muttered jerkily bounding “nasty house music” canterer is now in Tommy Musto’s keyboard stabbed thrumming frisky N.Y. Garage Mix (123¾bpm) and piano jangled more episodic instrumental Salsoul Dub Mix (124bpm), Frankie “Bones” buzzing jiggly Belgium Freestyle Mix and similar chugging instrumental New Beat Madness (124bpm), plus a full vocal driven tight Radio Edit (123¾bpm). Continue reading “August 18, 1990: Candy Dulfer, Clubland featuring Quartz, Sha-Lor, Roé, if?”

BEATS AND PIECES

ROBBIE VINCENT will be one of the stars of London’s incremental dance music radio station KISS-fm, starting full transmission on September 1 with Capital FM’s reggae ruler David Rodigan another star recruit . . . KISS-fm has in fact been only temporarily assigned its distinctive 100MHz wavelength but is likely to have an audience streetwise enough to retune once the frequency changes after 18 months or so . . . A&M’s resolve not to have a separately named dance label has slipped already with the appearance of the clever new A&M/PM logo . . . Def Jam is launching several new labels, including Ruff House, JML, Rush Associated Labels (RAL), and True Blue Records . . . Channel 4 will be screening a new TV dance music series called Dancedaze, starting on September 2 (at 5.30pm), the 10 programmes featuring over 60 UK rap, rave, ragga and soul acts with the emphasis on those who don’t normally get much ‘overground’ exposure (most of the filming is at Brixton’s Academy during the three days of this coming weekend, but there is no word of an audience being needed) . . . BBC Radio 1’s specialist dance and soul output is being squeezed together all on a Friday night in the station’s new schedules, Andy Peebles being due to follow after the ‘Big Beat’ . . . ‘Big Beat’ presenter Jeff Young’s most recent appearance at Jeff Thomas’s heaving Monday in Swansea’s Martha’s Vineyard attracted as usual many pluggers all the way from London, this time A&M’s Bob Masters, WEG(UK)’s Fred Dove, eastwest’s Spencer Baldwin, Cooltempo’s Simon Dunmore and Sleeping Bag Records’ new boy Jamie Tee, plus PAs by Kenny Thomas and Tammy Payne . . . Barry based Alan Coulthard, whose megamix of the ‘Dance Nation 1814’ album’s tracks will couple Janet Jackson’s rocky ‘Black Cat’ here, is now similarly megamixing her old ‘Control’ album too and has also just remixed ‘Tom’s Diner’ with added piano and a different rhythm for imminent release . . . 50 copies of Monie Love’s forthcoming album have been serviced to selected jocks with all its tracks scratched to make them unplayable apart from her brilliant remake of the Motown Spinners’ It’s A Shame’, due as her next single in remixed form but not yet pressed on its own! . . . S*Express appear to be testing the market with successive different promos, the track reviewed two issues ago now being superceded by the tabla blooped and girl wailed vigorous jangling and chugging ‘Nothing To Lose‘ (120bpm) (Rhythm King SEXY 01 TX), still flipped however by ‘Find Time To Be Yourself (Vocal Mix)’ and ‘My Laser (just Won’t Function Anymore)’ . . . Lindy Layton’s commercial 12 inch of ‘Silly Games’ does have the dragging Danny’s Mix as A-side, flipped by the better wah wah accented chunkier Norman’s Mix plus, best of all and the one with which most people will be familiar, a brighter and tighter radio version . . . Steve Anderson’s remixes of Cherrelle’s ‘Affair’ (110¼bpm) turn out to be coupled commercially by his earlier remix of the Alexander O’Neal duetted ‘Saturday Love’ (115¾bpm) (Tabu 656202 6) . . . Tabu in fact is moving from CBS, who now just have the next Alexander O’Neal album to come Jazzie B has been producing Teena Marie . . . LL Cool J’s imminent ‘The Boomin’ System (Cars Drive By)‘ is bassed by En Vogue’s ‘Hold On’ . . . Rob Manley, Paul Witts and vocalist Terri Symon have signed to CBS as a group that was originally to be called Eastern Bloc, but following protests from the well established Manchester record shop of the same name will now be known as Western Block . . . Matt Gray plus Paul Doherty and other guests rave up a Storm audio-visual dance experience this Saturday (11) in two atmospheric areas at Sevenoaks’ Bligh’s Hall, 8pm-1am . . . Deee-Lite PA at Daisy Chain next Tuesday (14) in Brixton’s The Fridge . . . James Brown’s newly reissued classic album ‘Live At The Apollo (October 24, 1962)’ (Polydor 843 479-1) was never really usable by dance DJs but is still worth a close listen as it captures the stage show that originally made him so huge a star, staying high in the US album chart for over a year following its 1963 release — a then previously unheard of feat for such a raw R&B act, helped no doubt by his spreading popularity with the ‘Animal House’-type college crowd . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed this week by James Hamilton and Chad Jackson

MASTER ACE ‘Take A Look Around’ LP: ‘I Got Ta’/‘Letter To The Better’/‘Me And The Biz’/‘Take A Look Around’
DR PHIBES ‘The Story Two’
R-EARTH ‘R-Earth’
SPECIAL ED ‘Come On – Let’s Move It’
SOUL FAMILY SENSATION ‘Don’t Know If I Should Call You Baby’
EARTH PEOPLE ‘Dance’
JUDIE TZUKE ‘God Only Knows (Mix 1/Mix 2)’
PHASE N’ RHYTHM ‘Swollen Pockets’/‘Hook-n-Sling’
A.S.K. ‘Dream’
HARDNOISE ‘Untitled’
VARIOUS ‘Dance Hall Of Shame’ LP
YELLO ‘Unbelievable (Dub Me Mix/Ford’s 12-inch/Ford’s Edit/X-rated Mix/Morales Mix/Techno Mix)’
STETSASONIC  ‘Speaking Of A Girl Named Suzy’
THAT PETROL EMOTION ‘Hey Venus (Mad Thatcher Disease Mix)’

JAM ON THE MUTHA ‘Hotel California (Orb in Cali Mix 1)’ (91¾bpm) (M&G MAGXR 3, via Polydor)
Now remixed by The Orb and on a new label (at an inflexible 45rpm!), the remade Eagles oldie ploddingly jogs through muttering introed authentic enough strained vocals, flipped by an even more fully authentic sounding really pleasant gentler Like Joe Never Left Mix and a muttering introed then effects washed basically rhythmless Orbitally Ambient Mix.

TRICKY DISCO ‘Tricky Disco (Saxy Mix)’ (124bpm) (W.A.R.P./Outer Rhythm WAP 7R)
Fast becoming the biggest bleeper of all, as predicted, this smurfs punctuated electro leaper’s sparse remix now adds just a little bit of Guru Josh-ish spacey saxophone as the title suggests, with an atmospherically introed twittery Inner Space Mix (124¼bpm) flip.

MONIE LOVE ‘Monie In The Middle (The Remixes)’ (Cooltempo COOLXR 210)
Sadly not as big nationally as its club success suggested it should be (presumably because not gimmicky enough), Monie’s fast talker adds ‘Hollywood Swingin”-type brass in Ultimatum’s Brother Take The Hint Mix (117½bpm) and a nice late Sixties funk feel in their Lavender Hill Instrumental (116½bpm), while, as a total alternative, Massivo amazingly add bleeps to their The Orr-Some Remix (114bpm)! Continue reading “August 11, 1990: Jam On The Mutha, Tricky Disco, Monie Love, BBG, N.W.A.”

BEATS AND PIECES

PLASA (the Professional Lighting And Sound Association) mounts the thirteenth annual disco equipment exhibition, Light + Sound Show ’90, at London’s Olympia 2 from Sunday to Wednesday September 9-12, a must as always for jocks and club owners who want to compare the latest gear, admission being £6 on the door unless you pre-register before August 17 by sending a cheque for £3.50 (payable to PLASA Ltd) with full name, address, telephone number and company or other relevant details to Light Sound Show ’90 Registration, Data House, Carriers Close, Tile Hill, Coventry CV4 8AW . . . Joan Armatrading’s old ‘Love And Affection’ has been given a trendily slinky 90bpm revival for release in four weeks, serviced on white label to DJs both by Rush Release, who coyly credit it to Renet, and by Pitstop, who comes clean and credits it correctly to Sinitta (very classy it is, too)! . . . Snap ‘Ooops Up’ is still wrongly being referred to (even in an answer to a Radio 1 quiz last week) as being based on the Gap Band’s ‘Oops Up Side Your Head’, when all that’s common to both are those five words, whereas its actual rhythm track is of course largely like Shirley & Company’s ‘Shame, Shame, Shame’ – incidentally, a little known fact is that the original US title of ‘Oops Up Side Your Head’ began by being the rather less memorable ‘I Don’t Believe You Want To Get Up And Dance’! . . . ‘A Knife And A Fork’ by Think Tank (who turn out to be the craftily disguised Information Society) lifts its hookline, as Norman Cook helpfully points out (and interprets as “A knife and a fork, a bottle and a cork, that’s the way we spell New York”), from Dillinger’s reggae-funk classic, ‘Cocaine In My Brain’ . . . Janet Kay, originator of ‘Silly Games’, sings back-ups on Lindy Layton’s new revival and then takes over from her to sing the actual lead on Beats International’s next single . . . Bobby Konders is coming to the UK specifically to produce reggae type dancehall talent, while KRS-One is among the growing number of Americans who plan to set up a London office . . . eastwest now becomes the even more latest logo to appear on a promotional slipmat! . . . BCM Records have snapped up for UK release the oddly credited featuring: C’hantal ‘The Realm (Love In D Minor Mix)’, hottest up North . . . Lowrell ‘Mellow, Mellow Right On‘ (OG 4183) could prove the most useful of the latest reissues in the Old Gold label’s 12 inch Gold series, which includes double-sided couplings of further oldies by Chic, Sister Sledge, Detroit Spinners, Modern Romance and the Cool Notes, while the label’s 5 Inch 3-Track CD Dance Greats series interestingly makes available on CD single three probably predictable oldies by each of Mtume, Herbie Hancock, Earth Wind & Fire, Aretha Franklin, Ritchie Family, plus several new album compilations . . . Pete Haigh’s street soul, house and hard tunes Bassix! night has been attracting so many people on Tuesdays that it’s added Fridays too at Blackpool’s Just Ji’s — he reckons that both rave and slow beat tunes are going down equally well in the North-West now . . . Robin ‘Lof’ Moorcroft clarifies that independent reports of his retirement were exaggerated: after running the disco there for 15 years he indeed no longer has any ties with Coventry’s Dog & Trumpet, which far from having closed in fact remains the city’s “best dance space” (to use his words}, while his disco still runs instead at Silvers, Park Lane and Tic Toc nightclubs . . . Coventry’s techno, house, freestyle and sometimes hip hop spinning DJ Shock-C, meanwhile, raves it up at Henley Green’s Chalkies on Atmosphere Sundays and Kollision Tuesdays, joined on the latter night by Technofreak and keyboard ace Lunacy, plus he joins Dobbo, Doc Scott and Technofreak on Fridays at Vine Street . . . Soho’s Milk Bar (next to the Astoria) starts a ‘Thursday Night Live’ season this week (August 2) with BBG, followed over the rest of the month by A Man Called Adam, The Farm, the James Taylor Quartet (invitation only), and the Brand New Heavies . . . Nicky Holloway, as well as several mentions here last week, also managed so be name checked by the Pretentious Music Journalist on Steve Wright’s Radio 1 show! . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL

LONNIE GORDON ‘Beyond Your Wildest Dreams’ (100bpm) (Supreme Records SUPET 167)
Rightly earning widespread praise, this “I’ll bring you joy” repeating superb sultrily soulful attractive gently undulating jiggler proves for those who might have forgotten that its writers/producers Stock Aitken Waterman can indeed create a classify sophisticated groove when they want, this one featuring another of Matt Aitken’s jazzy guitar breaks similar to ‘Mandy’s Theme’, with a good Senza Voce (literally, ‘Without Voice’) instrumental as flip. Following the sustained criticism from some quarters of their more facile commercialism maybe this switch to class will restore SAW’s chart fortunes, the former style not in fact having been quite so successful of late?

L.A. MIX ‘Coming Back For More (Full Length Version)’ (101¼bpm) (A&M AMYDJ 579)
The first taste of Les and Emma’s new LP, this cops a lick from Chad Jackson — so to speak! — by starting with an ‘Unwind Yourself/The 900 Number’ inspired but totally different fruity sax riff before lightly soulful Francesco elegantly agonises through a softly jiggling Soul II Soul-ish rhythm with some lovely little melodic twiddles, the fruity sax farting about again in the breaks while there’s a jazzier sweet solo too. Should you inadvertently play the 33⅓rpm promo at 45rpm as the label suggests, you’ll find the Instrumental (12″ Edit For Radio, 7″ Version and A Cappella too) comes out a just slightly too frantic 136½bpm!

THE RAGGA TWINS ‘Ragga Trip’ (101bpm) (Shut Up And Dance Records SUAD 5)
North London veteran sound system DJs/MCs, brothers Demon Rocker and Flinty Badman have instantly exploded with this Shut Up And Dance produced jiggly throbbing combination of frantic hoarse raggamuffin rapping and acidically twittering synth, with its Inst. (102¾bpm) too, flipped by the Prince-type “dearly beloved” introed/interspersed bleeping and rumbling ‘Hooligan 69‘ (126½bpm) plus a disjointed backwards tape fluttered and rock guitar droned, decelerating ‘Paro 69‘ loose variation. Continue reading “August 4, 1990: Lonnie Gordon, L.A. Mix, The Ragga Twins, House Of Venus, Keith Sweat”