November 21, 1981: Brandi Wells, Norman Connors, Mike & Brenda Sutton, Tom Browne, Tracy Weber

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

KOOL’S HOT ‘Get Down On It’ is set for white label 12in circulation just before Christmas, going on sale at the start of January . . . Morgan Khan’s first rush-release on Streetwave will be Alton Edwards ‘I Just Wanna (Spend Some Time With You)‘, an ultra-exciting if – in 12in form – slightly rambling 121bpm smacker with a rhythm track that’s so sharp it draws blood (this is remixed and not the same version as originally put about by DJM) . . . Rick James has some great videos doing the rounds, ‘Give It To Me Baby’ revealing a temperature-raising lady and ‘Super Freak’ a squad of lovelies, while he and Teena Marie are both featured in concert . . . Kool’s ‘Steppin’ Out’ is also on video . . . Great Yarmouth Tiffany’s this Saturday (21) holds a DJ Jamboree (7.30pm – 1am) with six jocks on stage simultaneously accepting 20p requests for charity, Pepe spinning soul, Roger Dynamite futurist, Bobby H rock, Paul Major jazz-funk, Ian Soames rockabilly, Paul Venables pop – things could get noisy! . . . London’s pirate radio stations, operating mostly on Sundays and now rather overcrowding the FM wavelengths, held a big meeting last week convened by Radio Invicta at which all their various grievances were thrashed out – while channels of co-operative contact were opened not a lot else was resolved, although the first initial outcome is likely to be some wavelength changes, with a further meeting called before Christmas . . . Ricky MacKenzie has joined Karen Spreadbury in the Eyes And Ears PR firm and is compiling a DJ mailing list, so send full work details to her at 31 Osborne House, 414 Wimbledon Park Road, London SW19 (01 769 9673) . . . Barry McCloud Enterprises are updating their DJ mailing list to 1,000 for transfer to computer – apply to Linda Winning at Suite 29, Isabel House, 46-47 Victoria Road, Surbiton, Surrey (01 399 5324) . . . I dunno who’s sent ’em, but everyone except me seems to have had Reggae Allstars and Defunkt promos . . . Alistair Watt (Fraserburgh) says he’s at least one rock jock who reads this page – and Carrere confirm they had great response to their recent request for rock jocks . . . Thames Valley DJ Assn members (non-members welcome too) meet this Sunday (22) at noon in Cippenham Alexandras on Bath Road in Slough to hear about equipment technicalities, insurance, and legal CB rigs – TVDJA details from Frank Smith on Ashford (Middx) 42587 . . . Adrian Williams (who with Ian Turner spins hot wax Thurs/Fri/Saturdays at Rhyl Central Hotel’s Grass Roots wine bar) was thoroughly underwhelmed by the Birmingham Faces DJ Convention and together with others from North Wales left before the open forum . . . Graham Bond (Teesvalley Roadshow) however reckons that Faces “was the best weekend I’ve had for ages, everybody was very friendly and I’ll be going again next year” . . . Greg Wilson (Wigan Pier/Manchester Legend) points out that not all the Northern jocks at Faces had chips on their shoulders, he and Paul Randall (Legend) both took the stage to scold the complainers: speaking as well connected and well paid DJs in two of the UK’s top clubs, Greg says it’s up to the Northerners to narrow the advantage London area DJs have in being local to the record companies by keeping in close contact with the companies themselves and going to them rather than expecting things to be served up on a silver salver . . . I know for a fact that pluggers put PA’s in venues and service DJs with exclusive promos wherever in the country they may be as long as those venues/jocks create the right chemistry, which amounts to an enthusiastic environment made up of responsive crowds and civilised surroundings held together by someone who knows what they’re doing . . . Andy Collins reveals that the “Bobby Moore” chant began in the Fusion Few and Magnum Force coach on the way to Caister as rhyming slang for “Are you sure?” (“Are you Bobby Moore?”), and built from there to take over by Sunday’s finale as THE Caister call – Andy also complains that there wasn’t enough of Sean French at peak times (“he’s brilliantly stupid at big events”), adding Tom Holland and Chris Brown did good sets playing newies . . . Phil ‘Rod’ Andrews, whose ’60’s chart was printed last week, is now at Derby’s Horse and Groom on Mon/Tues/Wednesdays, plus the Woofters Roadshow does a promotional disco all day Saturdays in Derby’s HMV Shop to help boost sales . . . Joe Williams jazz-funk Mondays in Tottenham have moved from Elton’s to Valentino’s (the old Charlie Brown’s), Steve Walsh starring next week (23) . . . Soho’s Hombres in Wells Street (north of Oxford Street) is the latest London club to have 25p drinks all night, on Tuesdays . . . Samantha’s in New Burlington Street (west of Regent Street) is finally removing its celebrated E-Type Jaguar DJ booth after 17 years . . . Rockerfellas “tomorrow” is long time coming . . . Pete Tong is now, apart from odd Sunday gigs, only at London Baker Street’s Barracuda every Fri/Saturday, his old Hilltop venue having closed on Mondays while Nicky Peck has taken over Fridays at Charing’s King Arthur’s Court . . . Mondays at the Barracuda are now live music night under the name ‘Diverse’, £3.50 tickets (including automatic membership) in advance only, full details on 01-903 2962 . . . Alan Coulthard now funks Fri/Saturdays at Dial 9 off Marble Arch, between his University of London studies . . . Lee Taylor, ex-Tokyo Joe’s, heads for Holland and four months in Chevingham – but what club? . . . Incognito’s 7in sleeve has one of the Big Dipper’s Heavenly Bodies posing with Bluey . . . Imagination’s pianist Tony Swain very obviously plays on the theme from Barbara Woodhouse’s new TV series . . . Phonogram are picking up Ruddy Thomas ‘Just One Moment Away’ . . . Four Tops ‘Don’t Walk Away’ will be follow-up, and Bar-Kays ‘Nightcruising’ is set for UK 12in . . . Sunnie correctly draws for the fine distinction that the Pretenders ‘I Go To Sleep’ is actually more like Dusty Springfield than Dionne Warwick . . . Keith Henderson (Birkenhead 644 8178) says the funk scene in Merseyside is improving, and then in the next breath adds he’s looking for somewhere to funk . . . Central Line’s ‘Walking Into Sunshine’ is now Top 40 in the US soul chart and even a low entry in the Pop Hot 100 . . . Paul Major (Yarmouth), that’s a 15-17, and a 15-31 to you too, fella! . . . ALL THE GOOD NUMBERS!

SANDY MARTIN of Swindon’s Brunel Rooms is currently being nicknamed ‘Toots’ thanks to his activities with a trumpet, especially in accompaniment to Blue Rondo A La Turk – for which he also gets whistles and maraccas going. He used to jock in Scotland. Could it be a case of – sorry ‘baht this – “Toots Mon”?!

UK NEWIES

GEORGE BENSON: ‘Turn Your Love Around‘ has turned up on 3-track 12in (Warner Bros) with ‘Unchained Melody’ and ‘Soulful Strut’, and PATTI AUSTIN’S 123bpm ‘The Genie (Remix)‘ is on 12in now too with the 103bpm ‘Every Home Should Have One’ (Qwest). Other hot numbers which lack of space and time mean you must wait until next week for full review include PERRY HAINES ‘What’s Funk?‘ (Fetish Funk Rox.12in – 115-114-113-112bpm), DYNASTY ‘Love In The Fast Lane‘ (Solar 12in – 111bpm), GQ ‘You’ve Got The Floor‘ 120-119-118-121-119bpm / ‘Face To Face’ 98bpm / ‘I Love (The Skin You’re In)’ 106-108bpm / ‘Shy Baby’ 114-116bpm (Arista LP), ANGELA BOFILL ‘I Do Love You‘ 0-56/111-56/111bpm / ‘Tropical Love’ 0-43/87bpm / ‘Something About You’ 113-114bpm.

IMPORTS

BRANDI WELLS: ‘What Goes Around Comes Around’ (LP ‘Watch Out’ US WMOT FW 37568).
Watch out indeed – for the next Evelyn King! Mixing sensationally with her last two hits, the otherwise classy slow set’s two killer dance cuts are exceptionally strong, this powerfully lurching 113bpm snickety strutter progressing through some great sparse breaks to have a slight edge over the chunky bass rumbled 117bpm title track, which has a rap about her backing band and some superb scatting. Dynamite stuff!

NORMAN CONNORS. ‘Mr C’ LP (US Arista AL 9575).
Satisfyingly strong consistent set (especially for listening), dominated by the punchily pushing 0-132bpm instrumental jazz title track which has to be the best of its bass and brass powered searing sort for months, up-tempo vocal cuts being the Temperton/Wonder-ish jauntily jerky smacking 0-116-118bpm ‘Keep Doin’ It‘, Latin flavoured urgent jittery 118-120bpm ‘Stay With Me‘, Jean Carn & Derrick Hughes-duetted tripping 0-109bpm ‘Love’s In Your Corner‘ mellow shuffling 119-120-121-120-121bpm ‘She’s Gone‘, and heavily funky 114bpm ‘Party Town‘.

MIKE & BRENDA SUTTON: ‘We’ll Make It’ (US SAM S-12342).
Superstars they may yet be despite their unalluring name, this terrific backbeat kicking 117bpm 12in swinger being not only just like Phyllis Hyman’s ‘You Know How To Love Me’ as if sung by Ashford & Simpson, but also a mind bogglingly similar mix out of Melba Moore’s ‘Take My Love’. It’s a hot one!  Continue reading “November 21, 1981: Brandi Wells, Norman Connors, Mike & Brenda Sutton, Tom Browne, Tracy Weber”

November 14, 1981: George Benson, Incognito, Earl Klugh, Syreeta, Jakob Magnusson

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

MORGAN KHAN, who built Excaliber single-handed and then even more significantly R&B (which scored three hits with its first three releases), has formed a new label called Streetwave with CBS in a deal that could make him almost as rich as the rest of his family, the label to be headquartered in fashionable downtown West Acton . . . Linx won Capital Radio’s People’s Choice vote last week but I’ve yet to find a DJ that doesn’t agree their new single is awfully dull . . . Hot Cuisine’s ‘Disco Calypso’ is being issued as remixed A-side — and, incidentally, which US disco chart is it that they’re top of? . . . Dynasty ‘Love In The Fast Lane’ and Donald Byrd ‘I’ll Always Love You’ are due on 12in . . . Wallabys opened on Tuesday and not Monday, as an unfortunate printing vision last week would have had you believe, Jeff Young’s gig being at another venue on the previous night and Martin Collins’s weekly night at Luton’s Hat & Bonnet on Tuesdays — apologies to all concerned . . . Anthony Bernards & Ken Gerou will be taking Wallabys to various venues around the London area as a loveable feast, full details of dates as they are decided . . . BG & Alex Allders, late of Funktion, have formed their own Winners moveable event, having taken over London’s Embassy this Monday just gone for an historic event fancy dress party, and then start two weekly next Thursday (19) at the Exclusive Club in Margaret Street on the site of the old Speakeasy . . . Jr. Walker last Wednesday at Mayfair’s Gullivers could not have found a better setting or atmosphere for his dynamite chuck and jive-filled act — protesting after every number that he had to go, he nevertheless stayed on for an hour and a quarter of energy packed blowing and hollering all firmly rooted in the blues, to produce one of the very best nights that Gullivers has ever seen . . . Mark Haywood’s Roots With Zoots night every Monday at Soho’s Le Beat Route features 1940s/early ’50s R&B and boogie laced with doowop . . . Mark Clark (Bracknell) is in charge of presentation at Earl’s Court’s Ski Show from Saturday (14) for eight days, promising plenty of appropriately cool soft soul and jazz over the speaker system . . . Tom Amigo & Steve Wiggins are cataloguing 10,000 singles from 1973 to now, all tastes and invite jocks with wants to send an SAE to Steve at 19 High Street, Barry, South Glamorgan CF6 8EA — legitimate DJs will get a good deal . . . Frenchie reports from the North-West that — in places like Manchester’s Placemates, Legends, Rufus, Wigan Pier, Blackpool Man Fridays, etc — the jazz-funk scene has survived the disasters of 1980 to get back on the right track, and he wonders how this compares with the scene down South . . . Steve Dennis and Gibbo, playing disco/soul and electro/futurist respectively at Edgbaston Faces, both say their punters are demanding newies rather than oldies — how refreshing . . . Alan Gaskell (St Helens) buys his imports at Liverpool City Centre’s Rumbelows (NEMS) in Whitechapel, where prices are LP £5.49/£5.99, 12in £3.49, 7in £1.10 (in the current climate these prices may have changed by now), while Steven Fay (Darwen) recommends Manchester’s HMV Records in Market Street for 7in imports and LPs . . . Alan Coulthard’s killer mix between Modern Romance’s ‘Tear The Roof Off The Moose’ and their US ‘Can You Move’ rapper remix of ‘Salsa’ reveals a remarkable similarity in the backing tracks . . . Jon Williams (Birkenhead) reckons all labels should employ a clerk to BPM their disco releases so that the correct BPM can be printed on the record, thus spreading the enjoyment of the art of mixing to all DJs . . . Sylvers ‘Come Back Lover Come Back’ last week should have been printed as 0-108-107bpm . . . Neil Benjamin (Guildford) now looks ultra-futuristic but used to roadie for Chris Brown, and says “hi” to Chris . . . Roger J Cooperman souls Wed/Sat/Sundays at Reflections in Stratford, E15 . . . Xmas hits are tricky to predict too far in advance, but I for one won’t be upset if Cliff Richard’s revival of ‘Daddy’s Home’ wins the race this year . . . I wonder how many other mobile DJs find their biggest request is nearly always Dire Straits? . . . KEEP ‘EM HAPPY!

LUTHER VANDROSS, looking like Lenny Henry on his finally released album’s sleeve, made his name as a session singer and by doing numerous commercial jingles for US TV and radio, before finding fame as the vocalist on Change’s ‘Glow Of Love’ and ‘Searching’. Didja know though that he arranged the vocals for Barbra & Donna’s ‘Enough Is Enough’?

UK NEWIES

GEORGE BENSON: ‘Never Give Up On A Good Thing’ (LP ‘The George Benson Collection’ Warner Bros K65107).
An obviously high quality oldies double album set (including CTI and Arista material), packed in a single pocket sleeve with a testimonial filled booklet, the only newie apart from the 7in-issued 102bpm ‘Turn Your Love Around‘ being this excellent smoothly whomping brassy 114bpm backbeat smacker which is already huge for demo-serviced jocks and well up to his usual standard … though word has it that the rest of his newly recorded material was not, hence this hasty stop-gap set.

INCOGNITO: ‘North London Boy’ (Ensign ENYT 221).
Their most commercial bet yet, this terrific powerfully skipping 121-122-123bpm 12in jazzy shuffler has het-up vocals by Tessa Webb, the good lyrics interspersed with some searing sax stabs.

EARL KLUGH: ‘Twinkle’ (Liberty 12UP 647).
Dynamite bass snapped delicate but beefy 123bpm guitar picked instrumental jazz jitterer, great mixed out of ‘Heavy On Easy’, on 3-track 12in with the lusher ‘Broadway Ramble’ and ‘Dance With Me’.  Continue reading “November 14, 1981: George Benson, Incognito, Earl Klugh, Syreeta, Jakob Magnusson”

November 7, 1981: Modern Romance, Blue Rondo A La Turk, Twennynine with Lenny White, Rick James, Teena Marie

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

DAVE McALEER, evidently disenchanted by the lack of chart success for such hot product as Jerome, has announced he is leaving DJM/Champagne . . . Champagne meanwhile are readying their ‘Re-Mixtures’ follow-up, an 8-track LP split between UK and US material (Justo Almario ‘Sho’ You Right’ being the only one with any previous action), this set appropriately titled ‘Pre-Mixtures’ and selling for the price of an import 12” . . . US imports have however shot up in price again, even Groove now listing albums at £6.49 (though regular DJ customers get a discount) . . . Second Image blow the brass on – guess what – the Jam’s current hit! . . . Kool’s ‘Get Down On It’ has spawned a new hand gesture, at the relevant points in the song you point in time with the music at the point you’d like your partner to get down onto, grinning wickedly the while! . . . Gonzalez are looking ultra sharp these days all dressed in tuxedos, with a gorgeous sexy black lady now singing and gyrating out front, Janice Hoyte . . . Jeff Young is not only up-dating the soul, general and rock mailing lists at Phonogram but he is also compiling a brand new electro/futurist DJ list, so any busy jocks with big audiences who’d like a stab at any of these should send full work details to Jeff at Phonogram, 50 New Bond Street, London W1Y 9HA . . . Rush Release had nothing to do with the 7-Up rock ‘n’ roll mailout, which was sent by someone else (PEEL? MAP?) . . . Noreen Allen has shifted sideways following Motown’s departure to handle now the general EMI disco mailouts . . . Gee Bello tells me that Light Of The World’s new single was written a year ago and recorded six months ago – so if it sounds like Linx (who have the exact same line-up) it must be something in the air! . . . EMI incidentally sent some people a pair of snazzy pale blue socks imprinted with a Light Of The World logo . . . RCA celebrated the acquisition of Motown with a party at Soho’s Le Beat Route, where an impromptu raffle of various Motown LP sets raised £110 for Capital Radio’s Help A London Child campaign . . . Motown’s back catalogue is now available through RCA, and still includes a lot more old singles than you’d probably realised . . . Decibel Disco Distributors – just opened at 99 Stoke Road, Slough (Slough 35814) – as well as selling gear also service it, with a Monday in / Friday out turnaround and subsidised collection/delivery . . . Trevor Walters sounds so exactly like the record when singing live over the instrumental version at PA’s it is uncanny . . . Steve Wiggins (Barry Freddie’s Bar) now joins those raving over Continental hit Pino D’Angio ‘Ma Quelle Idea‘ – how about it, RCA? George Andrew (Salford) says as well as on the expensive German double pack, Boney M ‘Margherita’ has been on French Carerre 7in for ages (49.709) – the twin 12in set being the big attraction though, and Gordon Laing (Hamilton) is desperate to get it . . . Alan Costa (Brighton Kings Club Kings II) is back from Venezuela recommending salsa fans to check out Billo’s Caracas Boys ‘Billo 81½’ LP – but where’dya get it, Al? . . . Sandy ‘Toots’ Martin (Swindon Brunel Rooms) horrified the Halloween punters by eventually opening the coffin, to reveal – Buzby! . . . Gail Cartwright, Denise Hickman, Kim Bissell and Julie Smith attempt to break the 200 hours 7 minutes World Go-Go Dancing record starting Friday 27th November at 6am (if successful they’ll still be wiggling at 2pm on Saturday 5th December!) backed up by the Signs, In Transit and Tracks ‘N Grooves mobile discos, all in a shop window in Dudley’s Wolverhampton Street – sponsors to benefit the Lower Gornal Children’s Leukemia Appeal Fund should contact Al Gilbert on 021-557 6609 . . . Rob Harknett debuts next week (Tues/Wed 10/11) at Harlow’s new 1920’s decorated Joseph’s Bar (restaurant & disco) where he’ll be having to use the managements own record selection – will they be 78rpm to go with the decor? . . . Frenchie has managed to get a Sunday dancing licence for his Charnock Richard gig at the Bowling Green, this solo venture not however indicating any sort of a split with his partner Pete Haigh . . . Feta Anikulapo-Kuti evidently celebrated last February 28th in Nigeria by marrying 26 wives all at the some time! . . . Greg Phillinganes (pronounced Fill-in-gains) when asked for simplicity’s sake who he had NOT played with, after a moment’s pause said “Earth Wind & Fire – by that much!” . . . Lesley Gore’s original ‘It’s My Party’, was, it seems timely to remind you, produced by Quincy Jones . . . Flash Gordon (Bristol Misty’s) reckons Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’ LP track sounds like a future smash . . . Martin Starr has started a soul column in ‘Out West’, Bristol’s listings magazine . . . Bristol’s DJ mafia are miffed by Radio West paying less attention to them than they say they’d evidently been promised – but then isn’t that the story wherever a new station opens up? . . . Paul Gambaccini’s Drifters history last Thursday on Radio One was excellent . . . DJ diners discovered last Friday night that the kitchen had burnt out at Rockerfella’s, off Regent Street . . . Sunday morning in wooded Surrey was breathtakingly beautiful, the trees at their most brilliantly autumnal and the sun shining as I motored back from a gig prior to Inter-City expressing (without sleep) up to Birmingham after all . . . Paul Allen of 170 Claremount Road in Halifax had all his gear stolen – equipment, lights, records, the most easily identifiable should anyone in the area be offered any for sale being a Citronic mono console MM313L (Serial number 940081 – 94881/SP25/F4300), Citronic P100 amp (s/no T7023), and a Lewis 10 band graphic 120w amp . . . Davy King (Ballymena Raglan), sorry I don’t know nuffink about makes of lighting equipment . . . Steve Walsh joke corner: “What’s the difference between Steve Walsh and Polo? People like Polo!” (whoops, you’ve probably just sussed who the Pope joke was about!) . . . MAKE ‘EM LAUGH!

CAISTER

Ever since saying that there weren’t many new records played at Caister, I’ve had a succession of aggrieved DJ’s telling me I should have been in such and such a venue at such and such a time and I’d have heard them play such and such a newie. I actually made a point of spending more time than usual in both venues specifically to listen to the music. I also conferred both at Caister and since receiving these complaints with other people whose judgement I trust. I still think that too many old records were being featured, but will grant the jocks that they did a good job and that the people who matter, the punters, had a lovely time. Northern Soul fans have a lovely time in Wigan, too, and that I fear is where the concentration on oldies and recherche jazz is heading, the Southern scene if the DJ’s aren’t careful. Robbie Vincent pointed out that at least the oldies were a fresh selection and not Brass Construction or Roy Ayers all the time (Froggy then upset this argument by later confessing that he had played them in his last session!), Robbie adding that very sensibly, new records were built up to, out of ones that everyone knew. Two years ago, though, it was the other way round and so much new material was being played by every DJ that it was the oldies which were built up to . . . this being what made them stand out. Two years ago it could be said (though not by me) that there was much more strong new material about. Two years ago the big hits to come out of the first Caister, which everyone played on all their sessions, were ‘Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now’ and ‘Ring My Bell’. Would any of the DJs now play ‘Ring My Bell’? Like hell, they would!

FACES

THE FIRST thing you see on stepping out of a train at Birmingham is a building with big letters on it saying “Futurist”. This turns out to be a cinema, but no matter, as that is where much of Birmingham’s night life is currently at, musically speaking. Disco was the topic of discussion on Sunday though, at the DJ Convention in Edgbaston’s Faces, where 290 disco jocks turned up to meet each other (most important) and listen to a variety of guest speakers droning on. The only one to get a cheer was Morgan Khan, who merely stepped mikeside to say that despite his showdown at R&B/Excaliber he has far more exciting future plans in the contract signing stage. The forum finally got going with an open discussion which mainly consisted of pain in the arse Northerners with chips on their shoulders having a go at London Lyceum DJ Steve Walsh and WEA’s Fred Dove about the age old North versus South attitude, and why doesn’t Fred send out rock records (“Because I’m head of black music promotion!”). This was great fun if not very constructive and was just settling into a nice invective-spitting groove when convention organiser Steve Dennis called it to an untimely halt. Boo! In a combination fax ‘n info quiz and It’s A Knockout-style silly games competition between teams from the North and South, it was perhaps quite telling that while the Northerners were better at games, it was the Southerners’ far superior knowledge that won not only the quiz but the whole contest. An actually rather subdued Fatman Graham Canter had drafted me into the Southern team without telling me about the games, and I’m afraid I was too tired to take in exactly what was expected of me, but I probably wouldn’t have done any better if I had known! Overall, despite the greatly increased attendance, the convention seemed a bit less significant than last year’s – however, it was very well organised and well worth attending as a meeting place. I greatly enjoyed meeting and re-meeting many of our regular chart contributors and am glad I sacrificed sleep and good sense to go there after all. And so back by train, with a guard who over the intercom sounded exactly like Reginald Bosanquet. Very Strange!

UK NEWIES

MODERN ROMANCE: ‘Ay Ay Ay Ay Moosey’ (WEA K 18883T).
Sensational ultra-happy conga-kicking singalong fun, the 12in version of the 118bpm title track (an instant pop smash) then continuing as a great instrumental 117bpm ‘Moose On The Loose’ with Beggar & Co-ish “woah-oh” chants (good mixed with ‘Zulu’), the flip being a cooler 118bpm dub amusingly called ‘Tear The Roof Off The Moose‘ – these latter two versions being fine for less pop-orientated venues as nobody’ll know what’s hit them, they’ll just dance.

BLUE RONDO A LA TURK: ‘Me And Mr. Sanchez’ (Diable Noir VS 463 – 12, via Virgin).
Equally sensational frantically flying zestful 127bpm 12in salsa blast, produced by Pete Wingfield with lots of authentic rhythm and jazzy playing coming through on the ‘Club Mix’ while the more vocal ‘Extended Mix’ (not necessarily longer) has English accented lyrics. Try it out of Bunny Mack.

TWENNYNINE with LENNY WHITE: ‘Twennynine (The Rap)’ (LP ‘Just Like Dreamin’ Elektra K 52325).
Excellent consistent sounding coolly rhythmic set with several potentially hot cuts, this being a great powerful bass bumped 115bpm chix-rapped smacker (good between Slave and Skool Boyz), ‘Need You‘ an infectious chunkily rolling 96bpm beefy offbeat-smacking jogger, the title track a softly cooed gentle Sergio Mendes-ish 0-114-115bpm floater, while the 117-121bpm ‘Rhythm‘, 113bpm ‘Movin’ On‘ and 117-119bpm ‘Don’t Look Back‘ are all variations on a pervasive bass-pushed guys ‘n’ gals-sung classy dance sound.  Continue reading “November 7, 1981: Modern Romance, Blue Rondo A La Turk, Twennynine with Lenny White, Rick James, Teena Marie”

October 31, 1981: Caister report, Earth Wind & Fire, Diana Ross, George Benson, Gayle Adams, Melba Moore

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

THIS SUNDAY’S big DJ Convention at Birmingham’s Faces in Edgbaston, by the Five Ways roundabout at 34 Auchinleck Square, promises fun and games as well as serious discussion and, if it’s like last year’s (and if you can stop Fatman getting too excitable!), should be well worth attending that afternoon (2–6.30pm) . . . I am unlikely to be there as I’ve a big gig the previous night . . . Bristol’s Radio West goes on air this week (96.3 FM/238 MW) with Raymondo hosting a weeknight show which from 10pm to midnight goes softly soulful with reggae on Thurs/Fridays, plus at the tail end of his Saturday afternoon show from 5 to 6pm Ray’ll play new disco before switching for an hour of ’60’s soul oldies in a progressive examination of that era called ‘The Soulful Years’, put together for him by myself . . . Dunstable’s Radio Chiltern (97.5 FM/362 MW) has Martin Collins doing an imports slot for the last half-hour of Paul Cook’s 3-6pm Sunday soul show . . . George Benson actually recorded a new album which didn’t meet his label’s requirements, so instead next month there’s a double set of oldies with just three new tunes, one being his current single and another a monster at Caister . . . London has picked up Alphonse Mouzon for remixed 12in soon . . . Second Image not surprisingly sound like Linx – David Grant wrote it (and ‘Walking Into Sunshine’s’ Roy Carter produced it – these fax not discernible on white label!) . . . Junior ‘Mama Used To Say’ has had yet another 110bpm “special new mix” on promo-only 12in, flipped by the Linx-ish stop-start 115bpm ‘Fame’ (a new song) . . . Pete Gage has produced a newly recorded recreation of the notorious Disconet version of ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’ – NOT in this case performed by Abba, but by The Bank – which on the Hot Spinner label is being touted as a “legal bootleg” (repeat: this is NOT by Abba, it’s a soundalike) . . . Rose Royce’s full length ‘R.R. Express’ is on Dutch 12in . . . Slave ‘Snap Shot’ / ‘Funken Town’ and edited versions of Yellowjackets ‘Matinee Idol’ / ‘Sittin’ In It’ / ‘Rush Hour’ have been sent out by Fred Dove on US promo-only 12in . . . Chris Hill heads a special return of jazz-funk to Southgate’s Royalty on New Year’s Day with a Caister Veterans party, tickets on sale in advance to Caister identity “passport” holders only . . . Pete Tong now jocks for Funktion on Fri/Saturdays at London’s Barracuda in Baker Street . . . ITV’s World Freestyle Dancin’ Championship 1981 last week could have been better presented but at least the music was quite convincing – until the soundalike musicians got faster and faster as the show progressed (still, the Londoners won!) . . . Marshal King (Sunderland Mayfair Suite) wonders if any companies have a current touring Boogie Bus-style promotion which could entertain 1500 teenage consumers? . . . John Mayoh (Bolton Rockerfellas) has been having fun on Saturday nights running look-alike competitions – Blondie, Manilow, Sting – John himself doing a good Manilow-nosed Debbie Harry! . . . Southampton’s Dennis Brynner (Barbarellas – soul) and Dave Van Seiger (Turpins/Floaters – Pop/Futurist) now have two shows on the local university’s Radio Glen, Wednesdays 6-8pm being futuristic and old soul, Sunday same time being a disco newies report . . . Paul Clark (Brighton Busby – Sunday) reports that his Savanna venue was short-lived due to poor response and complaints about the sound system! . . . Chris Dinnis switches his jazz-funk nights at Exeter Boxes to Wednesday as from 11th Nov . . . Gary Allan’s gay Wednesdays and Sundays are now Liverpool McMillans’ busiest nights . . . Tricky Dicky says although the gay disco scene has got larger (he magnanimously recommends Lazers), fewer people are interested in the music – appearances by ’60s girl singers being the latest gay club fad, people like Helen Shapiro, Susan Maughan, even Diana Dors (he himself presents Kathy Kirby at Tottenham Eltons next Wednesday 4th) . . . Dicky also reckons that the lowest record prices are at Groove, apart that is from his own prices at Disco Music, 391c Mile End Road, London E3 – open 2-7pm Thurs; 1-6pm Fri/Sat only – with a large stock of old and new goodies at ultra-keen prices . . . Flash Gordon, keeping it funky at Bristol’s Mistys Nite Club, says (and I must agree) that the only local import stockists, Virgin, are so expensive he rings Alan at Flashback Records in Swindon, who gives a ten per cent DJ discount – US LP £5.99/12in £3.99 and actually delivers right to the club! . . . K. Henderson (Birkenhead) wants a separate import chart – but they’re all in the same order they would be in the main chart already . . . Jim Kershaw hopefully raised lotsa money for Sheffield’s very first Over-60s Pop-In Centre by running in last Sunday’s New York marathon . . . John Waller’s highly prized secretary Karin has been pinched from Phonogram by Orin Cozier at Arista! . . . PLAY A NEWIE!

CAISTER

SHOWSTOPPER PROMOTIONS eighth jazz-funk and soul weekender at Caister was evidently the most trouble-free of them all, and in other respects a great success too. However, some elements seemed to be missing: audience participation events and new records. The lack of the latter was much commented on by those concerned with the current sad state of the scene. The first two Caister weekenders in 1979 created several hits by playing lots of new material, but since then the DJs, by taking the easy option, have encouraged the crowd to expect a diet of oldies which already have proven chant-along appeal. October 1981 will be remembered for Kool & The Gang’s ‘Get Down On It’ thanks to Chris Hill (the other biggies were Alphonse Mouzon and – not really a newie – Bohannon), and in fact it really was only Chris, in some superb sets which embraced excellent mixing, crowd control, walking on water, and blues harmonica over ‘R.R. Express’, who really took a chance to play new material. Otherwise, the closed circuit Radio Caister was more upfront than the live jocks. It was on the round-the-clock radio that you heard Gayle Adams, Melba Moore and the like. Martin Collins once again proved himself to have the best radio style (for my money he would walk into a late night slot now), while Tom Holland and Bob Jones played some really interesting selections during the dawn-watch hours when the rowdies had left the radio venue, Brother Louie and Mick Clark were the other featured radio jocks (along with some help from facility supplying Radio Invicta), while a slot was found for all the rest of the live DJs too – Froggy, Robbie Vincent, Sean French, Chris Brown, Jeff Young, Pete Tong, Nicky Peck. During an on-air agony auntie session, Chris Hill was moved to remark about a young man wearing a mini-skirt “that he obviously hasn’t got a sexual problem” – not realizing that unseen by him the guy was lifting up the front of his skirt to show off his masculine characteristics! This sort of silliness used to be on a mass organized scale at previous Caisters, most notably through fancy dress or talent competitions, but this time in place of punter-created inspired lunacy there was a sad boxing kangaroo and other assorted animal acts in a truly appalling circus, run by professionals, which fell very flat. (The racing camels had been banned – evidently the locals weren’t keen on the idea of camel shit on their beach!). However, sweaty fun and mass hysteria reached their usual levels once everyone was crammed together swaying, chanting, call-and-answering, the new chant for some obscure Vincent-originated reason being “Bobby Moore!” (minus his Rhythm Aces), while Al Jarreau’s ‘Roof Garden’ formed the basis for a lewd and lascivious singalong. There was nearly an ugly situation at the end of Sunday’s final finale when it was revealed that (in a deliberate policy move) none of the jocks had brought a copy of ‘Shout’ to the gig, but Cab Galloway’s “hi-de-hi” filled ‘Minnie The Moocher’ was eventually played as a substitute. Amongst the tribes, the Medway Rain Forest Missionaries freely distributed ‘Woah Cry’ fanzine (great title!) had a slightly higher chuckle content than the Staines Fusion Few’s pussy mag (sorry Chris!), and Welwyn Toxicated had to be the best tribe name. Perran Sands camp photographer, nicknamed Rolf following his antics at the earlier weekender, was adopted as Showstoppers official Caister cameraman, Fred Dove showed his WEA videos to huge audiences, Arista’s Orin Cozier broke down on the way home (thanks for the lift anyway, Orin!), Nicky Peck sported a pinstriped bomber jacket and baggy pegged pants custom tailored for him by Image of Chatham, Chris Brown bought a round (and a cheroot for himself!). Despite my own and other veteran Caister-goers’ misgivings about the lack of new material being broken, first-timers like the four funkiest people in Frieth (yeah – you find it on the map!) had a fabarootie time and doubtless will be back for Caister 9 on March 26/27/28, 1982 – earlier in the year than usual so as not to clash with Showstoppers trip to St Tropez in May. Anyway, another first-timer at Caister, RM’s Alan Coulthard will be revealing his impressions in Record Mirror next week.

LIGHT OF THE WORLD having fragmented into the horny Beggar & Co and jazzy Incognito, just Gee Bello and Nat Augustin are left under the original group name, and they now sound like Linx. Gee (vocals/percussion) and Nat (guitar/bass/vocals) have the same talents as David and Sketch, but even so the similarity on their EMI debut ‘Ride The Love Train’ is ridiculous!

UK NEWIES

EARTH, WIND & FIRE: ‘Let’s Groove’ (CBS A13-1679).
Vocoder introed typically lurching 124(start)-125bpm jittery strutter with lots of staccato squeaky vocal clucking, now at last on impatiently awaited full length 12in with instrumental flip. Their ‘Raise!’ LP (CBS 11-85272), available if you’re lucky on picture disc, is pretty typical too, my own fave cut being the lovely buoyantly slinky 0-84bpm ‘Wanna Be With You‘ which has a jazzy undertow, while ‘I’ve Had Enough‘ is a squeaky 117bpm smacker, ‘Lady Sun‘ a snappy brittle brassy 126bpm smacker, ‘Evolution Orange‘ a similar but more excitable 126-128bpm smacker, ‘Kalimba Tree/You Are A Winner‘ an oddly introed clapping 105(intro)-103-106bpm heavy judderer, ‘My Love’ a ticking 47bpm slowie, and ‘The Changing Times’ an overly frantic 133-134-135bpm jolter.

DIANA ROSS: ‘Mirror Mirror’ (LP ‘Why Do Fools Fall In Love’ Capitol EST 26733).
Self-produced debut set from her new label, dominated for discos by this chunkily jolting 103bpm steady plodder with yowling guitar and Randy Brecker brass, and by the snaredrum-introed catchily counting 110bpm ‘Work That Body‘ – which really seems to be a limbering-up exercise set to music! Other cuts are all pleasant but tend to be either too fast or slow, the attractively jogging 101bpm ‘Two Can Make It‘ hitting a happy medium.

GEORGE BENSON: ‘Turn Your Love Around’ (Warner Bros K 17877).
Lovely chunkily tripping 103bpm 7in jogging jittery throbber with brassy pent-up climaxes and nice background piano, great with Dukes, Dimples, Four Tops, etc.  Continue reading “October 31, 1981: Caister report, Earth Wind & Fire, Diana Ross, George Benson, Gayle Adams, Melba Moore”

October 24, 1981: Roger, The Quick, Rose Royce, Second Image, Earl Klugh

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

SHOWSTOPPER PROMOTIONS’ eighth soul weekender at Caister gets underway this Friday — remember to take plenty of dry clothes, towels, loo paper, soap, matches, food and an FM radio . . . Tom Holland says he’ll be ringing the Anglian Lodge to make sure it stays open late on Friday night, but in case he doesn’t for goodness sake someone please call ’em on Gt Yarmouth 3985 — tell ’em the Mafia are coming! . . . Chris Ellis’s Staines Fusion Few fanzine for Caister is indeed strongly orientated towards pussy — of the furry feline kind! . . . Diana Ross’s ‘Why Do Fools Fall In Love’ 7in won’t be of much interest to disco fans but don’t despair as her new Capitol LP, due this weekend, contains a disco killer and potential smash in ‘Mirror Mirror‘, a great sultry slow chunky lurcher with yowling guitar solos . . . George Benson, whose overdue album has been delayed reportedly until after Xmas, has, however, a new import 7in with just the A-side being new material . . . Linda Taylor’s ‘In The Pocket’, getting rave New York radio reaction, is being rushed out there by SAM in a new mix which will also be reissued here by Groove before too long . . . Billy Fury, now recording again for Polydor, these days looks remarkably like the aforementioned Linda Taylor — and oddly enough, Linda Taylor is the name given to a female singing star character in TV’s ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’! . . . Weapon Of Peace ‘Jah Love’, reviewed last week, is now on 3-track 12in (Safari SAFE L 39), while the three versions on Ann-Margret’s import 12in actually break down as 0-110bpm short ‘Pt.1’ A-side, 111bpm long ‘Pt.2’, 0-111bpm instrumental . . . GQ’s brand new single ‘Shake‘, due here next weekend, replaces their old distinctive style with a more Michael Jackson-ish sound on a Rod Temperton-type strings and vocal group-backed chugging slick 110-111-112bpm smacker . . . UK Players ‘Girl’ on 7in crazily cuts off just before that terrific long tape-loop vocal note, the whole hook of the 12in! . . . Arista, unless they change their mind, were about to release Phyllis Hyman ‘Tonight You and Me’ on 12in this week, evidently forgetting it was one of the cuts on her last 12in! . . . Rush Release have circulated an 8-track 12in of rock ‘n’ roll classics (all except ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’ the original recordings) introduced just at the start of each side by Kenny Everett and a 7-Up jingle, plus some of the titles are on flexi-disc singles . . . France’s disco equipment and entertainment exhibition Discom ’81 is next week from Monday (26) for four days at the Parc Des Expositions, Porte De Versailles, Paris (UK enquiries 01-499 2317) . . . Roger Tovell hosts ‘The Friday Funkshun’ 7-10pm Fridays, amongst other slots on the station, on Gloucester’s Severn Sound (368m/774khz MW, 95FM) . . . Wallabys opening at North Harrows Headstone in the Imperial Hotel has been put back to Tuesday November 10 . . . Le Kilt’s Jean Pierre has opened his own Disco 49 in Soho’s Greek Street right opposite Le Beat Route and almost next to Groove (on the site of ’60s folkies haunt Les Cousins), DJ being Terry Prince, while of real interest to London’s late nite apres-gig eaters will be the ground floor restaurant opening next month which will run from 2am as the ‘Breakfast Club’ until 6am seven nights a week . . . Fatman won’t have far to go! . . . Carrere now need specialist heavy metal rock jocks for a new mailing list — if any read this page, send your full work details to Geoff Scourfield, Carrere UK, 20-22 Queen Street, London W1X 7PJ . . . Sharon Davis — oops, sorry — Karen Spreadbury, ex-Motown press gal, has set up her own Eyes & Ears PR firm with her initial clients being Stax and Le Beat Route (which means she can combine business with pleasure every night!) . . . Mayfair’s Gullivers has added to its big screen video system a remote controlled camera which now relays the action as it actually happens so dancers can watch themselves dancing on TV — but why does it spend so much time pointing at Colin the barman? . . . Steve Day (Chingford) takes the Kent Walton route away from straight disco work — he’s been asked to MC at professional wrestling venues . . . Steve Jerome was actually a child star on TV in Los Angeles, singing on a kids show every morning for four years . . . Kool’s genial manager Buzz Willis explains that the Gang’s pic appears instead of girls on their new LP sleeve to give them a more visible identity following their worldwide mega-smash with ‘Celebration’ — which was of course the biggest selling single in the States over the last couple of years . . . Isley Brothers new import LP is what you might call dull . . . Luther Vandross in the US sings on commercials for Juicy Fruit Gum, Miller Beer, 7-Up, Mountain Dew, Gino’s, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and even the US Army . . . Pete Haigh (Blackpool Man Fridays – Mondays) reminds me that Richard ‘Dimples’ Fields was recording in the early ’70s, including for his own Dat Richfield Kat label on the ‘Spoiled Rotten’ LP a version of ‘Moody’s Mood For Love’ . . . Chris Britton (Watford Baileys) observes that pop and comedy cabarets always give him awkward hard-to-please customers, while soul show punters are better dressed, better behaved, more sophisticated, and easier to entertain — well I never! . . . New York Soul Connection’s recent controversial event at the Harrow Leisure Centre really did deliver less than it promised, as Cayenne (the only billed live act actually to appear) discovered after agreeing to help the promoter by being paid with a cheque . . . WEA’s Fred Dove has so many relatives entering dance competitions these days it’s a wonder he doesn’t take to the floor more often himself! . . . Kev Hill (Basildon Sweeneys) reports from Nassau that not only are Bahamian discos heavily into hard funk, soul and jazz (Roger’s LP being huge) but so too are all the shops, hotels and even taxis, while Cramond Perry (Edinburgh) reports from Barbados that the music is either calypso-ish or very George Benson-ish, Al Jarreau being huge on radio although the discos only play funk . . . London’s Rockafella’s late nite eaterie off Regent Street was playing a track off the Emotions new album on Sunday morning which gave us hysterics — they sounded just like chickens! . . . Rusty Egan relays the following exchange: Spandau Ballet “What do you think, we’ve gone funk?” — Ultravox’s Midge Ure “We’ve gone platinum” . . . RCA’s Rowdy Yeats was responsible for last week’s most widely circulated joke: “What’s the difference between (a certain well known London DJ) and the Pope? — The Pope’s getting better!” . . . Capital Radio’s Mike Allen was given a car window sticker reading “Happiness is Slough in my rear view window” . . . West Acton could be headed for a tropical Streetwave . . . MAKE IT FUNKY!

UK NEWIES

ROGER: ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ (Warner Bros K 17865T).
The two hottest monsters from Mr Troutman’s nevertheless still essential album here back-to-back on 12in, this sensational vocoder-sung bubbling 118bpm funk smacker and the superb jazzier instrumental 118bpm ‘A Chunk Of Sugar‘ with lovely Benson-ish guitar.

THE QUICK: ‘Zulu’ (Epic EPC A13-1739).
How it missed the national chart before is one of the year’s big mysteries, but now in a new John Luongo remix and following US smash disco success here comes the great coolly thudding atmosphere laden 118bpm 12in bounder again, with a long empty instrumental build up and completely instrumental 117bpm flip. My one reservation is that it may now lack the original’s well-proven MoR appeal.

ROSE ROYCE: ‘R.R. Express’ (Whitfield K 17875T).
Dynamite 116bpm chugger here edited for 12in to “make it easier for Wallys to programme”. Reckon us non-Wallys will stick with the full album version. Flip is 1979’s rhythmically similar but somewhat more bounding 113-114-115bpm ‘Lock It Down‘.  Continue reading “October 24, 1981: Roger, The Quick, Rose Royce, Second Image, Earl Klugh”

October 17, 1981: Arthur Adams, Kool & The Gang, The Frontline Orchestra, Bohannon, Jerry Carr

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

MORGAN KHAN, who single-handedly built Excaliber and now more significantly R&B (three hits with first three releases!) has had a difference of opinion with the labels backers Red Bus, but could soon be announcing an even more exciting new affiliation — meanwhile, Morgan and his staff are working from PRT, 132 Western Road, Mitcham, Surrey (01 648 7000) . . . Barry’s Disco Centre run their Discomart ’81 equipment exhibition this Sunday (18) in the Cambridge Suite at Gloucester Leisure Centre from noon to 5.30pm . . . Trevor Walters ‘Love Me Tonight’ is now on Magnet 12in (12MAG 198), the world class gorgeous 0-93/47-95bpm lovers rock smash having justified our initial faith in it by winning Capital Radio’s ‘People’s Choice’ vote this week . . . Arthur Adams ‘You Got The Floor’ has surfaced on import in some configurations with a dynamite instrumental “D-side”, so check which pressing you buy (unfortunately this is not the British RCA flip) . . . Spandau Ballet’s ‘Paint Me Down’, again with Beggar & Co backing, will reportedly be even more disco than their last one . . . The Quick’s US hit remix of ‘Zulu’ is due here imminently again . . . Dynasty ‘Love In The Fast Lane’ will indeed be their 12in . . . Linx’s new ‘Go Ahead’ album is due next week . . . Diana Ross debuts on US RCA 7in (Capitol here) with a revival of Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers’ Why Do Fools Fall In Love’ — not at all what one might have expected, huh? — the title track of her new album, due here in less than a fortnight, which also contains a revival of Brenda Lee’s ‘Sweet Nothin’s’ and a re-recording just by herself of ‘Endless Love’ . . . Roger ‘Grapevine’ (Warner Bros) and Lime ‘You’re My Magician (Remix)’ (Rams Horn) are now about on Dutch 12in . . . Malaco’s Motown/Stax oldies medley reviewed last week, Power ‘Play It Again Sam’, is due here imminently via Pinnacle and will doubtless show up in our chart as Rush Release will be servicing it to jocks . . . Stevie Wonder is readying a greatest hits album of ’70s/’80s material, including two as yet unheard new tunes — presumably for release as future singles . . . Rusty Egan climbs back into the news with the formation of his own Metropolis label for distribution via Island . . . Groove Weekly’s Debbie Gopie is now plugging disco product at DJM . . . Rose Royce have reportedly signed to CBS, but whether with or without Norman Whitfield as producer is not known . . . Alphonse Mouzon’s new set is being criticised by some jocks for having too much vocal . . . Rob Harknett (Harlow) reveals that his day job is with Schreiber Furniture, and a record of the firm’s radio TV jingle may be available to bona fide DJs who write to Mr Schreiber at Schreiber Furniture Centre, 9 Baker Street, London W1 . . . Paul Anthony (Walsall) kicks off our recommended import stockists listing by reporting that Ruby Red Records, Cleveland Street, Wolverhampton, have so far kept their prices down (LP £5.49, 12in £2.99 when he wrote) and Steve Fay (Darwen) recommends the renowned Spinn Inn, Cross Street, Manchester — keep ’em coming (unless imports really are dead outside London) . . . US import albums on WEA’s labels you may have noticed now feature a nasty little sticker covered with an encircled W logo stuck on the top right hand back side of the sleeve — this turns out to be an anti-counterfeit measure, the sticker revealing an additional white version of the logo when viewed by indirect torchlight (what next, watermarked vinyl?!) . . . Nick Davies (Watford New Penny / Reading Cavershams) reckons some jocks drop lots of good soul/funk singles as soon as they chart nationally because it’s unhip to play them — shame! — and yet if these jocks are going to support a particular record they should plug it all the way to the top . . . Davy King reports from Copenhagen that the disco scene there is flourishing, most clubs (he recommends Daddys) full to capacity every night . . . Gary Allan (Liverpool McMillan’s) has a couple of killer mixes: Jacksons ‘Walk Right Now’ (especially end drum breaks) into Evelyn Champagne King ‘Shame’ and Jimmy Ross ‘First True Love Affair’ into Change ‘Glow Of Love’ . . . John Dene (Dunstable Tiffany’s Mon/Wed/Sat) says MoR jocks could find a good evening kick-off segue is Detroit Spinners ‘Working My Way Back To You’, Bee Gees ‘You Should Be Dancing’ (to break), Detroit Spinners ‘Yesterday Once More’ (to break), Village People ‘YMCA’ (US remix version) . . . DJ and especially disco plugger reaction to our chart split has been very encouraging, but we still need more of the funk/soul/jazz/disco type of jock to send in regular Top 20/30 (40?) floor-filler listings, so support your music and send ’em to reach us by Wednesday as often as possible, addressed to James Hamilton, Disco Chart, Record Mirror, 40 Long Acre, London WC2E 9JT . . . MAKE IT FUNKY!

WHEELERS NIGHTCLUB opened a few weeks ago amidst much elegantly dressed revelry in Henley-on-Thames, where resident and guest DJs including Andy Gill, Sean French, Nigel Owen, Johnnie Walker, Marc Carter, Chris Brown were in attendance. Situated on Remenham Hill, the club has a jazzy policy as befits any venture run by Frenchies and Jacksons-founding Paul and Robin Wheeler.

UK NEWIES

ARTHUR ADAMS: ‘You Got The Floor’ (RCA RCAT 146).
The biggest import smash in ages, this Bernie (Capt. Dobey) Hamilton-produced slickly pulsating 113(intro)-116-117bpm 12in beauty has great Luther-like mellow vocal before sensational sax drives it on home with a backbeat smacking kick. Similar to Alphonse Mouzon ‘By All Means’, it mixes on into Linx, Change ‘Glow Of Love’, and — well, you probably already know.

KOOL & THE GANG: ‘Steppin’ Out’ (De-Lite DEX 4).
Like an emotionally detached retread of ‘Celebration’ but without any similar catchiness, this squeakily sung bass bumbled bland 0-119bpm 12in jiggly chugger is as you’re by now probably used to reading — not a patch on their US 7in-issued ‘Take My Heart‘ album track … which won’t prevent this reaching a certain level of acceptance here for a while.

THE FRONTLINE ORCHESTRA: ‘No Entry’ (Ice ICET-50).
Excellent jazzily loping 123-124-125bpm 12in instrumental skipper with good understated solos ending up with Latin piano behind tapping percussion, officially the flip to the jittery smacking 118-117bpm ‘Don’t Turn Your Back On Me‘ which despite other reasonable ingredients is ruined by a squawking lead vocal that grates on my ears at least.  Continue reading “October 17, 1981: Arthur Adams, Kool & The Gang, The Frontline Orchestra, Bohannon, Jerry Carr”

October 10, 1981: Lloyd Charmers, Four Tops, Rose Royce, Kool & The Gang, Conquest

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

TONY MONSON clarifies that although his Disc Empire shop is indeed currently winding down by selling stock cheap until it does actually close, his main business has transferred to his other Flyover Records shop which remains open at 15 Queen Caroline Street in Hammersmith W6, while his flourishing wholesale business is still servicing retailers as before . . . Rose Royce ‘RR Express’ is rumoured to be on Dutch Rams Horn 12in already . . . The Dukes as you’ve probably discovered are in fact Bugatti & Musker . . . Heatwave are in London to record their next album . . . Rod Temperton, Keith Wilder and Greg Phillinganes were at Mayfair Gullivers last Friday for Ronnie Laws PA, along with Radio West’s Ray Edwards, Phonogram’s expatriate Johnny Stainze, John Waller, Fred Dove, Les Spaine, Jane Evans . . . Les Spaine, once Liverpool’s Godfather DJ, has stayed at EMI as head of promotion for Capitol, Liberty UK and EMI America, rather than moving to RCA with Motown for whom he previously plugged . . . Shalamar’s Jeffrey Daniel and Stephanie Mills, only recently married, have sadly broken up . . . Phil Haslehurst at Whitehaven’s Whitehouse is looking for another knowledgeable DJ, with good voice and record collection, who won’t mind calling over very occasionally (he says!) – call Whitehaven 2215 or 3502 . . . Paul & Robin Wheeler’s eponymous Wheelers Nightclub in Henley on Thames (A423, Remenham Hill) has got off to a good start, attractions including Dave Collins & Nigel Owen jazz-funking Thursdays, John Phillips funking Fridays, Sean French & Andy Gill jazz-fusioning Saturdays, plus live jazz at Sunday lunchtime . . . Camberley Frenchies in the Cambridge Hotel, refurbished to include new bars and food service, reopens on Sunday 1st November, with Chris Brown & Johnnie Walker once again resident jocks . . . Wallabys opens (really!) on Tuesday 3rd November at North Harrow’s Headstone in the Imperial Hotel, to provide jazz and silliness only on the first Tuesday of every month with DJs Ken Gerou & Anthony Bernards (coaches from Dimlos are welcome) . . . Marshal King (Sunderland) is cut up ‘cos the Tyne & Wear Fire Department have cancelled roller disco sessions in the North-East as a fire hazard, even though at Marshal’s three venues he held evacuation drills each week and proved to the firemen he could get over 500 people out in a minute and a half, with skates removed . . . Sheffield DJ Jim Kershaw and musician chum Ben Wragg have invented an Audio Score Monitor which automatically transforms the sound signal from any record into a video screen readout as sheet music, but British backing has been unforthcoming and they’ve had to flog the idea to Japan – marvellous, innit? . . . Paul Rae & Ralph Randell are packing Manchester’s Legend every Thursday with futurist fans to such an extent it really has become something of a legend, and they’d welcome some PA visits by London-based bands to join the many Mancunian groups who regularly drop in . . . Soft Cell’s Marc Almond actually used to be Mike Wiand’s cloakroom attendant at Leeds Warehouse! . . . Duran Duran’s shutter-clicking camera intro sounds like it was nicked from Delores Hall ‘Snapshot’ (Capitol 12in) . . . Dave Evans has replaced Steve Allen as resident jock every Sunday at Peterborough’s Slickers in its new venue within the Cresset Centre . . . Ian Shaw jazz-funks Kingston-on-Thames Jesters every Wednesday, plus Saturdays when with the newly installed video gear he tends to film the dancers for screening the following week . . . John Mayoh is moving back to Bolton Rockerfellas from Rochdale Tiffanys . . . Steve Wiggins (Barry Freddie’s Bar), back from sunny Spain, says “hi” to Louie The Lip and Disco Danny at Palma’s Alexandra’s nitespot, and raves about the monstrous holiday hit Pino D’Angio ‘Ma Quelle Idea‘ (on RCA – Rowdy please note) . . . Alan Jewell’s reportedly being kept busy in one way or another at his Oslo Leopard residency, where the Scandinavian girls just love his mixing and give him a big clap . . . Owen Washington fills in for Alan Coulthard at Soho’s Le Beat Route now that university has started, but Alan still has enough energy to report Jermaine Jackson sings the word “girl” a total of 63 times during the course of his new LP – fascinating . . . Le Beat Route’s ’60s soul night on Tuesdays is worth visiting, Tony (ex-Cheapo Cheapo) spinning good sounds even if there are too many Northern speeders . . . Tony Cochrane, now back in Dundee organising another Scottish funk all-dayer on Sunday 25th October at Stonehaven’s Commodore Hotel, did the summer season at Douglas (Isle Of Man) Summerland, where the winners of a competition, Joanne Malton & Colin McGuiness, won a weekend in London – so, amongst other excitements, Tony brought ’em down to Mayfair Gullivers . . . Glenn J Simpson has evidently turned up plugging for Leamington Spa-based Magnum Associate Promotions, for whom Theo Loyla is now reportedly doing a little local radio promotion too . . . Martin Platts (Blackburn) joins a field of 7,000 in West Germany later this month to run in the Bliefeld marathon, provided he first hasn’t done himself an injury eight days earlier running to aid the blind in the Manchester marathon – phew! . . . Gary Andrews (Bawtry), re Massara’s ‘Margarita’, says Boney M do a faster and better version called ‘Felicidad (Margherita)‘ with a 10:20 version as part of the ‘Boney M For Dancing’ 12in twinpack on German Hansa (301.500.565) . . . Chris Britton (Watford Baileys) is offering his very good condition 1976 Audi 100GL automatic for £1,400 – call 0494-451797 . . . Alan Costa (Brighton Kings / Kings II reports from Venezuela that petrol there is 5p a litre – can he really mean it? . . . Martin Starr (Bristol Scamps) finds it cheaper to travel to London and shop at Groove than buy imports locally, where LPs cost £7.99 and 12in £4.99 – remember, we want to hear from you about your area’s recommended import stockists . . . psst, forget the fifth of November, remember ‘The Limp’! . . . Disco 90 and POD points combined would still have put Donald Byrd at number one . . . only a few months ago there were more soul hits than ever before in the national Top 75, so let’s turn this mother out, keep the faith one more time and MAKE IT FUNKY!

JOHN SACHS, Capital Radio’s nightcap jock, club-crawling man about town and son of dago Spanish waiter, obviously didn’t win a silver disc for ‘Going Back To My Roots’ but that wasn’t enough to stop him posing with Odyssey, who did. Amazingly, ‘Roots’ has failed to hit in the States, where it’s merely floundering around at the very bottom of the charts.

UK NEWIES

LLOYD CHARMERS: ‘If Leaving Me Is Easy’ (Radioactive RAD 3(12)).
Sensationally beautiful ultra soulful 0-67/33-68/34bpm 12in reggae treatment of the Phil Collins slowie ends up as a haunting emptily thudding dub with resonant noises washing between the beats, and deserves to be a smash.

FOUR TOPS: ‘When She Was My Girl’ (Casablanca CANS 1005).
Already hot on radio and heading for hitsville, this lovely lazily jogging 101-100bpm 12in swayer has Levi Stubbs right on old form, a twiddling melodica and some neat bass vocal “‘bum ba dum bums” all making it an aural delight.

ROSE ROYCE: ‘R.R. Express’ (LP ‘Jump Street’ Whitfield K 56958).
The UK 12in version will indeed be edited although here in its full 12 minute form this incredibly exciting 116bpm locomoting and shunting chugger is hardly too long, so get the album if you can afford it. A revamp of ‘Nytro Express‘, it is as you must by now know pure dynamite.  Continue reading “October 10, 1981: Lloyd Charmers, Four Tops, Rose Royce, Kool & The Gang, Conquest”

October 3, 1981: “Chart Changes” (DORC becomes POD), The Strikers, Jerome, Candy Bowman, Slave, Northend ft Michelle Wallace

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

No Odds ‘N’ Bods section this week, but the below listed was squeezed in at the bottom of the page and appears to be an abbreviated, untitled Odds ‘N’ Bods:

SHOWSTOPPER PROMOTIONS latest offer is ten days in St Tropez at the end of May with jazz-funk nightly in the 1,000 capacity Stella Artois tent, accommodation in caravans and large communal sleeping tents, travelling by bus from Southgate Royalty. Catering provided on site, though not included. Everything otherwise all included for just £109! . . . Caister in three weeks time meanwhile is likely to see racing camels on the sands and a boxing kangaroo! . . . I sadly won’t be able to make Perran Sands this week or the Birmingham Faces convention on November 1st as I’ve got mobile gigs to do then — drat (but the money’s good) . . . Light Of The World, minus Beggar & Co, is alive and well and signed to EMI . . . John Luongo is responsible for two hot American disco hit remixes, Jacksons ‘Walk Right Now’ (US Epic 12in) with added sirens and an extra earlier break, and the Quick ‘Zulu’ (US Pavillion 12in) which is now much tighter . . . Disconet will soon have a UK outlet here . . . Ze’s previously promo-only boxed set of the ‘Mutant Disco’ LP tracks coupled as three 12in double-siders is now available commercially for just £3.99, early buyers getting a T-Shirt too . . .

UK NEWIES

THE STRIKERS: ‘Inch By Inch’ (Epic EPC A13-1628).
Luckily last week’s review didn’t get printed as back then I thought the teasingly whispered new intro of this UK-only 12in remix totally dissipated the impact of this sparsely chugging 121bpm percussive bumper. I’m still unsure of the intro, but the actual mix is dynamite as gubbins me discovered when using it in conjunction with the Prelude LP version. Everyone else obviously agrees too, to judge from its chart leap. The slow starting instrumental flip is a bit lacklustre, though. I’m not sure how either side compares with a currently imported Rams Horn 12in from Holland.

JEROME: ‘You’re Supposed To Be My Friend’ (DJM DJR 10976).
Ladies man Steve Jerome looks set to score good and proper this time with his superb Pete Wingfield-produced mellow wailing comes and goes 108bpm 12in jittery swayer, which combines a Benson / Wonder feel with strong lyrics and as is already apparent lotsa radio appeal. Try it out of Freddie Hubbard and beware the cold end.

CANDY BOWMAN: ‘I Wanna Feel Your Love’ (RCA RCAT 148).
Chunkily jittering little 115(intro)-118-119bpm 12in Teena / Stacy-style smacker with repetitively wailed title line, rushed out here surprisingly fast.  Continue reading “October 3, 1981: “Chart Changes” (DORC becomes POD), The Strikers, Jerome, Candy Bowman, Slave, Northend ft Michelle Wallace”

September 26, 1981: Mike “T”, Savanna, Bob James, Geraldine Hunt, Candy Bowman

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

ORIN COZIER in a dramatic switch has left Phonogram to plug for Arista starting next week, and (starting mid-October) his place at Phonogram will be taken by — wait for this — Jeff Young! . . . Jeff the Boy Wonder, complete with new pixie haircut, is giving up his day job as a hospital laboratory technician (not a lot of people knew that!), while remaining at Dartford Flicks with Richard James as support jock every Thursday — Robbie Vincent now only doing Flicks once a month on a Friday with Colin Hudd . . . Central Line ‘Walking Into Sunshine’ (finally at number one) has for some reason been reissued (MERX 78) in an extended remix which mucks up the intro and emphasises the synth more starkly, to no great advantage that I can see . . . Kool & The Gang’s forthcoming new Deodato-produced album has been promoed on exclusive acetate by the somewhat bland and hookless 120bpm ‘Steppin’ Out‘ . . . Arthur Adams has been won for UK release by RCA, and Trevor Walters picked up by Magnet (despite a strong bid by DJM) . . . I gigged at a 50th birthday last Saturday in a marquee in gale lashed Hampshire, where before the dinner could even begin the wind ripped open and blew away half the tent — however, despite some hairy moments, my end held up and a great party then got going to the strains of ‘The Day The Rains Came’, ‘Just Walking In The Rain’, ‘Rhythm Of The Rain’, ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’, and — the biggie — Gene Kelly’s ‘Singing In The Rain’! . . . psst, Old Bond Street’s Embassy is the place to be this Monday (28), ask for Tony The Tycoon . . . Checquers Record Shops (Lewisham/Catford/Crystal Palace) promote a live show with Freeez, Morrissey-Mullen, Inversions and Cayenne next Friday (2) at Catford’s Lewisham Concert Hall in Rushey Green, details on 01-761 1109 . . . Paul Clark turns 23 next Wednesday (30) at Brighton Busby’s, hic! . . . Al Taylor (Rhyl) is organising a coach from North Wales to the DJ Convention at Birmingham Faces on Sunday, 1st November, so any jocks in the area needing a lift let him know on 0745-825111 (Ext 37) or 0745-36757 . . . Geoff Scourfield has scrubbed enough names from Carrere’s mailing list to have room for new applicants, so send him your full work details at Carrere UK, 22 Queen Street, London W1X 7PJ . . . Nicky MacKenzie, back downstairs at Gullivers after some spiffing hols, would love more gigs on Sun/Mon/Tuesdays (01-789 9673) . . . Rose Royce’s ‘R.R. Express’, which Mark Summers (Chadwell Heath) points out is merely a retread of Nytro’s 113-114bpm ‘Nytro Express‘, is rumoured to be in danger of having the great shunting intro edited off for UK 12in, so get the album instead if this proves to be true . . . Kev Hill, whose Southend Rascals venue apparently closed without warning, has finally encouraged Record Shack to sign Essex jazz-funkers Elixia, plus he recommends the very useable ‘Heartbeat Rap’ bootleg mixer which incorporates bits of Grace Jones, Gino Soccio, etc . . . Alan Coulthard (Soho Le Beat Route) synchs two copies of Donald Byrd’s 12in, one four beats behind the other to give “dynamite repetition of each line all the way through — even Froggy thought this mix was good” . . . Jim Kershaw (Sheffield) follows Soft Cell with Nashville Teens ‘Tobacco Road‘ (Decca) from ’64 . . . Evasions ‘Wikka Wrap’ has finally reached the US Soul Top 30, and Bits & Pieces ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ (Island 12in here) is now climbing below it . . . Richard ‘Dimples’ Fields on his next album revives King Pleasure’s ‘Moody’s Mood For Love’ and the Moonglows ‘Sincerely’ — I can’t wait! . . . Joe Sample and the Crusaders from being demi-gods a year and a half ago to their present status is quite an amazing fall from grace . . . Michael Jackson’s looking a little tubby these days, a real chubby cheeks . . . Sylvester and Jeanie Tracy are confirmed as the vocalists on Herbie Hancock’s ‘Magic Number’ . . . Chris Palmer’s Mercedes has a new number plate, 5 GPL — GPL becoming the new logo for Groove Productions Limited (there’s flash for you!) . . . The Quick’s albeit lowly disco chart entry shows what a plugger’s reminder can do, whereas the Dukes crash entry confirms the power of mystique created by a white label wind-up and Chris Hill’s peripheral involvement . . . Jeff Young couldn’t contact Kenny McCloud but says he can’t do the gig anyway (OK, Kenny?) . . . Chris Ellis intimates that a free “Gerbil Sleeping Bag” (lubricated) will be given away with the first fifty copies of the Staines Fusion Few’s Caister mag, the said scurrilous publication being slanted strongly towards pussy (what have cats got to do with Caister?) . . . Richard Hart (Wells-Next-To-Sea) leaves us with another of his awful jokes: two cannibals having an eating contest, one was disqualified because he had a head start . . . GOOD NIGHT!

RICHARD JONES, alias Big Dipper, looms large between Jean and Gareth behind the counter at Soho’s Groove Records. Situated at 52 Greek Street, London W1 (01-439 8231), Groove is, as must be obvious, where I do my own import shopping. Where do you do yours? Record Mirror has been getting many requests for info on current import stockists around the country, so in these changing times it would be useful to compile and publish a comprehensive list of good import shops. If you can recommend any in your neighbourhood, do please let me know their addresses.

UK NEWIES

MIKE “T”: ‘Do It Any Way You Wanna’ (Blue Inc INCD 13, via 01-723 6561).
A surefire floorfiller for all the funky jocks already on it, this dynamite infectiously bubbling and jiggling compulsive jazzy 118bpm 12in happy groove features Mike Thomas’s mellow good humoured rhythm-riding raps as A-side while the flip, exclusively to the UK pressing, spotlights the sax of Joe Thomas (no relation) — who despite information from the Floaters, obviously didn’t get murdered two years ago. This is worth buying again even if you’ve already got the 117bpm US copy so you can mix ’em both together (either side synchs sensationally between ‘Rapp Payback’ and ‘Running Away’).

SAVANNA: ‘I Can’t Turn Away’ (R&B RBL 203).
So sophisticated it almost seems too carefully contrived, this excellent gently pushing 57/115-116-117(incl vibes)-118-117bpm 12in smacking swayer gradually intensifies behind the distinctively deadpan Luther Vandross-ish vocal of Leroy Osbourne, which is so subtly catchy that on just your second hearing you could swear you’d known it for ages, while the superbly understated backing stands out on the largely instrumental flip. Already a monster on white label, there’ll be no stopping it now.

BOB JAMES: ‘Sign Of The Times’ (Tappan Zee CBS A13-1608).
The inspired teaming of composer Rod Temperton with jazz orchestrator Bob James has produced a sensationally strong sleazily jogging irresistible little steady 0-99-100bpm bouncy slow jiggler full of fantastic effects, piping calliope, scat contrabass and Dr Buzzard-ish harmonies, now on 3-track 12in with the older ‘Westchester Lady’ and ‘Tappan Zee’.  Continue reading “September 26, 1981: Mike “T”, Savanna, Bob James, Geraldine Hunt, Candy Bowman”

September 19, 1981: “Should we run two separate disco charts, one for black music and one for white?”

ODDS ‘N’ BODS

DISCOTEK ’81 looked much as usual – great if you’re into speaker stacks and flashing lights – although BADEM’s Jim St Pier said displays were slanted more towards club installations than mobile units this year . . . Froggy and Kelly won DJ awards at the Busby’s bash, Nicky Price and Norman Scott were cock-a-hoop at Lazers/Bolts winning the London club award, Steve Dennis and Alan Gibson got the regional club award for Edgbaston Faces (these awards decided by disco pluggers opinions), Fatman was as over-exhuberantly noisy as ever, and Busby’s jocks Greg Buccheri and Cino Berigliano played almost nothing but oldies all night . . . Style X ‘No Secret Affair‘ – about on white label, is a well conceived cheerfully bounding brassy fast 137-139bpm jazz instrumental with a raggedly sung vocal flip, similarly Buzzz ‘Tonight’s Alright’ sounds as if some futura-funkers heard ‘Masterblaster’ and came up with their own 133bpm reggae fusion . . . Modern Romance will be reissued soon here as an extended Disconet remix with much longer rap . . . Ronnie Laws could possibly visit the UK for PAs in the very near future – clubs with imaginative ideas should contact Capitol’s Debbie Bennett (01-488 4488) – and Maze may be here in November . . . Ernie Priestman, no longer with Whitehaven’s Whitehouse, plans opening a new de-luxe club in Allonby near Carlisle early next year and needs a DJ/manager with a feel for the disco business to handle day-to-day problems (call Lorton 280) . . . Soho’s Le Beat Route now has 25p booze all night on Tuesdays (a ’60s soul night from this week) as well as Wednesdays, and also between 6.30-9pm (when admission is only £1 every night Mon-Friday – hic! . . . CJ Carlos leaves Soho’s Hombres after this weekend to start next week confusingly on Tuesdays at Bracknell’s Wednesdays, and on Thurs/Fri/Saturdays at High Wycombe’s Tuesdays – hic hic! . . . Larry Foster now jocks most Wed/Thursdays at Terry Hooper’s Reflections Club in Bridge Road, Stratford (E15), where £35 membership of this sophisticated soul nitespot can be discussed on 01-519 2524 . . . Chorley Hospital Radio on 21st October start a sponsored attempt to break the Guinness record 208¼ hours non-stop broadcast by a DJ, money pledges for charity being welcomed by John Clarke, 65 Wilkinson Avenue, Little Lever, Bolton, Lancs (Farnworth 792459) . . . Derek Pierce (Bath Moles Club), offered Mondays to run ‘Moderne Music’ nights with live bands (amplification provided), wants to hear from the likes of Soft Cell, Funkapolitan, Blue Rondo A La Turk – or any similar! – on Bath 26277 . . . Mike Tobin invites futurist-slanted resident club jocks to write in for mailing list application forms from Magnum Associate Promotions, Vivian House, 2 Market Hill, Southam, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV33 OAJ . . . Alan Jewell jets off today to Oslo’s Leopard (which he thinks means “kiss” in Norwegian), where he’ll be mixing until 4 every morning for the next four months – what will Morgan Khan do without a chauffeur? . . . Rob Harknett was playing current hits at a club near the airport in Stansted when he was asked to play some “new” records – like ‘Rappers Delight’, ‘Shame’ etc: he says not even the Danes and Czech kids are that far behind! . . . Tom Wilson (Edinburgh Oscars) reports from Juan-Les-Pins that Al Jarreau is kinda big sur la Cote d’Azur . . . John Murray of the Freeway Stereo Disco at Kirkcaldy Ice Rink says the official roller disco crowds for the summer season was 19,014 – what, all at once? . . . Gary Allan (Liverpool McMillans) mixes Sylvester ‘Give It Up’ through the break bit of George Benson’s oldie so that the two locked together go “give me the night – BOOM – give me the night -BOOM”, the booms being Sylvester’s intro drum . . . Alan Gaskell (St Helen’s West Park Rugby Club on Sundays) finds the start of Carl Carlton runs together for ages over the first break in Gino Soccio ‘Try It Out’ . . . CBS’s Loraine Trent seems upset that despite DJ reactions to her, the Quick ‘Sharks Are Cool’ has even dropped out of our breakers (and she doesn’t know it yet but the Big Dipper’s slipping too) – maybe they’re spinning you a line, love? . . . Nolans ‘Chemistry‘ is actually rather good, and Abba’s latest sounds nice – hang on, that’s not Abba, it’s Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark! . . . Patti Austin’s album, dripping with class though it is, ain’t actually packed with another ‘Upside Down’ or ‘My Old Piano’ material-wise, so maybe Diana Ross wouldn’t have done so well produced by Quincy Jones . . . I walked into Mayfair’s Rockerfellas late nite eaterie on Saturday to be told “That other DJ is in at the back, you know, Big Ginger” – ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce Big Ginger, Steve Walsh! . . . Mark Clark (Bracknell) suggests running a poll amongst disco jocks to see who they consider the most pleasant to work with nationally known radio DJ – Mark’s vote is Simon Bates . . . I’m not saying who, but one well known London radio DJ was asked to do the closing session of a lavish private party last Saturday between 3 and 6 in the morning, and not exactly wanting the gig he quoted £500 an hour – “alright” they said, and so he copped £1,500 (which was worth staying up for)! . . . zzzz . . . STAY AWAKE!

PLAYING BY NUMBERS
Dire, Straits

THIS WEEK you’ll have to hock your furniture to afford all the hot newies now flooding disco record stores – in fact there’s dangerously too much product to choose from and much I fear will get lost undeservedly. (Also, there’s so much I had to spend a marathon eleven hours on Saturday just BPM-ing, and now my beat-counting thumb has seized up!). The danger is increased by the way in which many new imports are unlikely to spread outside the London area. Import retailer/wholesaler, Groove of Soho’s Tim Palmer theorizes that the recent drastic price hikes have discouraged provincial shops from stocking the imports that once they might have carried, and in fact the importers themselves have cut down on their own initial orders with the result that there are fewer records to go around even in London. Tony Monson’s Disc Empire in Chelsea is actually closing down, ending one imaginative source of import material (especially from Japan). Paul Anthony in Walsall had to close his disco record shop for reasons that might not be quite so keenly felt in London but which must mirror much of the country. At BADEM’s open forum, Paul explained that local unemployment is so high amongst the black kids who are really into their music that they obviously no longer not only don’t buy records but also don’t get out to clubs as much, meaning that clubs have closed, thus in turn putting the black DJs out of their gigs, meaning that they too no longer buy records. DJ custom at Paul’s shop dropped from sixty or so a week to less than twenty, and he closed. (Incidentally, attempts by the council to provide disco entertainment facilities have been wrecked by vandalism, so with some people you can’t win). More and more it becomes apparent from the DJ charts we get that provincial jocks are relying on the records they get sent for free, so unless material is mailed out promotionally by a UK company it’ll never break out of London, where imports still figure strongly. Now of course we’re experiencing the “white backlash” from people who go to discos but don’t like disco music – black disco music, that is. As forecast at the start of the, then largely misunderstood, futurist boom, the new white bands have caught on as they’re white kids making white disco music with an image which other white kids for the first time (since the Stones at any rate) find exciting to identify with . . . and oddly enough the population of Britain is largely white. Now that the bands have dropped futurism for funk there looks like no stopping ’em. This week for instance, had Soft Cell been included at number 5, the disco chart’s top five would have been completely white orientated – despite Central Line being easily the biggest request at black orientated clubs. Where does this leave the traditional disco fan, for whom in Britain the disco scene has always been synonymous with soul music, and its main outlet? Should we run two separate disco charts, one for black music (which still needs all the help it can get) and one for white? Let me know, and meanwhile keep struggling to keep the faith.

Hello, Betty?

‘DIMPLES’ FIELDS US hit ‘She’s Got Papers On Me‘ which ends with Betty Wright impassionedly nagging as his divorced wife, has sparked off what looks like being the biggest answer version craze since Shirley Brown’s ‘Woman To Woman’ – and like that “telephone call” record, the best of the new bunch starts with phone tones and a bit of rap before Jean Knight & Premium wail the great 20/40 bpm ‘You Got The Papers (But I Got The Man)‘ (US Cotillion 46020), on 7in. Now on 12in, Barbara Mason’s equally nice 31½-33½bpm ‘She Got The Papers (I Got The Man)‘ (US WMOT 4W9 62237) has been joined by Betty Wright herself and the Richard ‘Dimples’ Fields-penned/produced 38-39 bpm ‘Goodbye You Hello Him‘ (US Epic 4902521), which mentions “papers” before slightly leaving the theme of the others. Deep soul freaks will want them all, and more.

UK NEWIES

No UK Reviews this week.

IMPORTS

ROSE ROYCE: ‘R.R. Express’ (LP ‘Jump Street’ US Whitfield WHK 3620).
Oh boy, but they’re back with a bang! Borrowing from BT Express, this Norman Whitfield-produced marathon 116bpm powerhouse chugger starts out with shunting locomotive-type effects over the rhythm before Rose Royce return to a mid-’60s sound to take the long 12 minute track on home. Nothing else on the album can compare, but who cares as this is a monster!

ROGER: ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ (LP ‘The Many Facets Of Roger’ US Warner Bros BSK 3594).
In one of the most successful fusions of funk and jazz to date (although by no means “jazz-funk”) this unreservedly recommended set is that real rarity, an album that’s thoroughly funky yet so full of satisfying variety you listen to it with delight all the way through. With all vocals via vocoder, Roger Troutman of Zapp fame has made an easily flowing 0-118bpm funk tour-de-force out of the Gladys Knight/Marvin Gaye classic, the 111bpm ‘So Ruff So Tuff‘ being closest he gets to straight P’funk, while delightful jazzy guitar on the 118bpm ‘A Chunk Of Sugar‘ scatting instrumental and chunkily lolloping 0-27-108bpm ‘Do It Roger‘, and superb synth on the bubbly 0-112bpm ‘Maxx Axe‘ make a fabulously fresh fusion, leaving the amusingly introduced ‘Blue (A Tribute To The Blues)‘ as exactly that, an homage to the guitarists called King. Buy this album.

STANLEY TURRENTINE: ‘Hermanos’ (LP ‘Tender Togetherness’ US Elektra 5E-534).
Due here (K 52313), this excellent consistent set by the saxist is initially getting reaction for the accessible good-time 114-115bpm funk of ‘Havin’ Fun With Mr T‘, but I’m sure jazz-funk jocks will soon switch to this lovely pulsating 0-117-120-121bpm instrumental loper, while ‘I’ll Give You My Love‘ is a breathy chick-cooed then beefily blown fast 129bpm romper, ‘Tamarac‘ a brassy 114bpm bumper, ‘After The Love Is Gone’ a tender 0-15-30-65bpm smooching ‘Cherubim’ a lyrically played jogging 0-109/55bpm specialist swayer, and ‘World Chimes’ a throwaway 121bpm tootler.  Continue reading “September 19, 1981: “Should we run two separate disco charts, one for black music and one for white?””