James Hamilton's Disco Page

BEATS AND PIECES

‘HARDCORE UPROAR‘ by Together, massive mainly up north for those few who so far have found it, has been snapped up for wider release by ffrr . . . CBS apparently will soon be known worldwide as Columbia, the name of its US label which previously always clashed with a once famous UK logo owned by EMI . . . Yazz ‘Treat Me Good’ (118¼bpm) on commercial pressings is flipped by the jerkily shuffling ‘I Want Your Love‘ (109½bpm) and its instrumental, while Monie Love’s commercial 12-inch adds the appropriately titled ‘Roots’ (95/47½bpm), a jerkily booming real heavy reggae rap . . . Queen Latifah’s already twice reviewed though still only promoed ‘Come Into My House’ is confusingly labelled, in six mixes on 33⅓rpm pre-release since April but to little initial reaction, having a UK remixed Side 1 with Richie Rich’s Mix A (119½bpm), Orbital’s Mix B and a Richie Rich Dub Mix C (119¼bpm), plus a US remixed Side 2 with Julian Peres’ Mix D, Fast Eddie’s Mix E, and producer DJ Mark The 45 King’s Mix F (all 119¾bpm) . . . LFO ‘LFO’ on its fully labelled pressing turns out to be in The Leeds Warehouse Mix . . . Danny Madden’s previously white labelled seven inch, now that it too is out commercially, proves to be in Dancin’ Danny D’s Radio Edit and Carl McIntosh’s 7 inch Mix . . . LPs previously reviewed in full on import and now out here include The Chimes’ ‘The Chimes’ (CBS 466481-1) and Eric B & Rakim ‘Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em’ (MCA Records MCG 6097) . . . Tim Raidl has just started his own UK underground house label, Chill Records, and is updating his strictly underground-only DJ mailing list at Soundz Wicked, 163 Marsh Road, Leagrave, Luton, Bedfordshire LU3 2QQ (0582 493380) . . . Chris Johns is similarly specific about the jocks he wants, just indie/alternative, for the mailing list at Secret Promotions, Unit 132, Canalot Production Studios, 222 Kensal Road, London W10 . . . DJ Big H’s fortnightly Friday Harry’s House night at Windsor’s The Old Trout in Barry Avenue, after two and a half successful years, this Friday (July 6) changes name to The Strongroom and features The Brand New Heavies live . . . Ben & Andy the Boilerhouse boys start Reasons To Be Cheerful at Brixton’s Fridge this Saturday (7), replacing the Boom night . . . Monday (9) finds the monthly Muthaland female rap night at Wardour Street’s Brain (opposite the Swiss Centre) in Soho, starring the Cookie Crew and She Rockers along with DJs Miss Bliss, Wendy K, Vie Marshall and more . . . Sybil, a college qualified broadcaster who worked in radio for three years, has a cousin Maxine Jones who is a member of En Vogue, while her mother Willi Lynch (née Brown) was in Sixties girl group the Debutantes and her aunt Shelly Brown has just been singing at the Montreux Jazz Festival — shades of the Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick relationships? . . . Lance Ellington is the son of Fifties band leader/vocalist Ray Ellington, famous for supplying funny voices and, more importantly, the featured musical interludes (along with those of harmonica player Max Geldray) to radio’s legendary ‘Goon Show’ . . . Sharon Redd’s sister Pennye Ford, featured on Snap’s ‘Ooops Up’, is also to be heard on a currently promoed and pop aimed Mirage-like Soul II Soul medley, Rave ‘Soul On Soul‘ (Jive) . . . DJ/Massivo bassist Jon Jules was merely dropping off some records at an Our Price shop when he was recognised and mobbed by a crowd of female fans, only just escaping with his clothes intact! . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL

TRICKY DISCO ‘Tricky Disco’ (123¼bpm) (W.A.R.P./Outer Rhythm WAP 7, via Rhythm King)
Huge already on white label and in such great demand that it’ll really explode when released fully in a fortnight, this apparently Berlin originated ultra silly Newcleus-like smurfs punctuated, and indeed Tyrone Brunson ‘The Smurf’ era reviving, old fashioned bubbly electro bleeper (flipped on promo by a chanting monks washed Past Tricky’s Bedtime Mix) is so madly jaunty it might even cross over to the kids market and be massive… and then, if cleverly marketed as a cuddly cartoon character, say, Tricky could end up as another Jive Bunny. Wikki Wikki!

COLDJAM featuring GRACE ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ (Big Wave BWR T39)
Rush release here for the Rome recorded excellent less rigidly structured remake of lndeep’s 1982 disco classic, still as recently reviewed on import in its loosely shuffling The Groove Mix (110¼bpm), trotting House Mix (112bpm), and funky drummed ‘The Last Night‘ (112¼bpm) variation, but the BPMs now differ slightly for some reason.

COURTNEY PINE featuring Carroll Thompson ‘I’m Still Waiting’ (86½bpm) (Mango 12MNG 749)
Hard on the heels of the remixed Diana Ross original comes this timely Aswad co-produced chunkily jogging reggae-ish treatment sweetly wailed by Carroll around some weaving squeaky sax lines, flipped by the also reggae-ish Augustus ‘Gussie’ Clarke produced undulating attractive instrumental ‘Be Mine Tonight‘ (93bpm) and its jerkier dubwise Version. Continue reading “July 7, 1990: Tricky Disco, Coldjam featuring Grace, Courtney Pine featuring Carroll Thompson, Think Tank, Jungle Brothers”

BEATS AND PIECES

LAST MONDAY’S Creative Images/DJ Association of Ireland DJ Convention ’90, the first ever held on the Emerald Isle, attracted a huge number of jocks from both Southern and Northern Ireland (all of whom wanted record company mailing list recognition, unsurprisingly, during a long seminar debate that really was much better than most), and can only be considered a success despite many delays which pushed the night’s entertainment — local mixing champ DJ Mek, Cutmaster Swift, E-ZEE Possee, Tongue ‘n’ Cheek, Edwin Starr, Jaki Graham, Darryl Pandy, Hazell Dean, and bill topping Sybil — into such progressively late time slots that the midsummer dawn had broken spectacularly over the sea before it was over! . . . Danny Madden’s ‘Facts Of Life’, contrary to information given out with its seven inch promo, was only remixed by Dancin’ Danny D and in fact was produced by Carl McIntosh — who has alone also totally produced the upcoming new Loose Ends album, due on 10 Records in September with a single first in August . . . Everything But The Girl ‘Take Me (Remix)’, reviewed as a promo last week, is due commercially now (blanco y negro NEG44T), while Innocence ‘Silent Voice’ is not due until mid July . . . ‘Dream Come True’, hottest track on The Brand New Heavies’ album, is being 12-inched . . . Warren Cooper is starting up First Cut Promotions at 30 Florence Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8EL (mobile ‘phone 0860-773227), his DJ mailing list being serviced initially with the new Orange Hill label’s black dance music releases . . . Alix Edwards has set up a DJ mailing list at President Records, Broadmead House, 21 Panton Street, London SW1Y 4DR (071-839 4672), where she’s hoping soon to have signed some rather ‘harder’ hip hop and house releases, including a deal with a well known New York label . . . DJs, judging from last week’s Club Chart, seem to agree in preferring the Long Mix of Kicking Back with Taxman’s ‘Everything’ . . . London’s Brain club is organising another trip to Iceland from July 19-22 taking with them Beats International, Orbital, Mr Monday, If and Graeme Park amongst others. As well as the three club nights the Sugarcubes will be playing (071 437 7301 for details) . . . Liverpool goes to Brighton for Club Underground at the Zap on July 2 with DJs Harvey, Rev, Andy Carroll and guest PAs . . . The Shamen present Synergy this Friday June 29 at ULU in Malet St, London with special guests Coldcut.

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Jon Dasilva and James Hamilton

SOUL REBELLION ‘Simple Rhythm’
K-KLASS ‘Into The Night’
DOUBLE DEE Featuring Dany ‘Found Love’
RHYTHIM IS RHYTHIM ‘The Beginning’/’Drama’/’Salsa Life’
MASSONIX ‘Just A Little Bit More’
JOY ‘I’m Leaving (Anxious Mix)’
SLOW BONGO FLOYD ‘Open Up Your Heart’
AMOEBA ‘This Island Earth (Axel’s Assault Mix)’

KENNY THOMAS ‘Outstanding’ (101 bpm) (Cooltempo COOLX 215)
Yet another oldie revived in more than one current remake (Rich Nice & Jeff Redd’s having been recently reviewed), this 1983 Gap Band classic was a long enduring Fatback ‘I Found Lovin”-like club ‘sleeper’ which filled floors for years without crossing over into the pop chart, so that now it’s being greeted by today’s generation as a brand new song in this mournful tapping and thumping treatment, still remorselessly rumbling and pushing but to my mind only approaching the power of the original in the flip’s percussively jiggling sparse Macattack Mix (101¼bpm), which builds a really infectious nagging syncopation (Acappella too). Incidentally, the promo’s label introduces a redesigned Cooltempo logo.

LETA DAVIS ‘You’ll Never Get To Heaven (Club Mix)’ (95¼bpm) (Bass Records BSS 12-10, via Champion)
Another revived oldie in more than one current remake, sadly now stomping 54-46’s version into the subsoil, this also Soul II Soul-ishly tempoed though more winsomely cooed gentle rolling Smith & Mighty-type treatment of Dionne Warwick’s 1964 Bacharach & David penned ‘You’ll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart)’ is in a birds chirruped more sparsely sweet Jamaican Mix too, and a related stark ‘Joey’s Groove‘.

CLUBLAND feat QUARTZ ‘Let’s Get Busy (Pump It Up)’ (121¾bpm) (Supreme Records SUPET 171)
Produced originally for Swedish release by East London’s ‘Meltdown’ makers Quartz, this “move your body” moaning guy chanted sturdy bass driven Marshall Jefferson penned episodic pounder has been on an only single sided promo here for ages as the import flip’s Art Of Noise adapting ‘Beat’n The Art Summer Of Love’ was, unavailable for UK release, but now it’s out fully at last and selling fast, newly flipped instead by the Liberace quote introed and punctuated jiggly trotting ‘The World Of Music (Liberation Mix)‘ (119¾bpm). Continue reading “June 30, 1990: Kenny Thomas, Leta Davis, Clubland feat Quartz, Keith Sweat, Prince”

BEATS & PIECES

GRAHAM MEACHAM and his best friend, 19 years old Paul Brookman were the DJs on the ill fated Thames riverboat ‘Marchioness’ last August 20, when Paul was among the many who so sadly lost their lives: this year on that date, Graham is holding a memorial show at London’s Hippodrome, all money raised going to the Childline charity, and needs offers of PAs and auction items on 081-669 4633 . . . Digital Underground being currently big in the US, ‘Doowutchyalike’ has been newly remixed by DJ Mark The 45 King — he rather revealingly calls his effort the Just Throw A Breakbeat Up Under There Mix! — although the initially promoed BCM Records white label of this remix is mistakenly credited to Clark Kent, while a CJ Mackintosh remix of ‘Packet Man’ will follow . . . Pianonegro ‘Pianonegro’ has been rushed out here on Epic (656081 6), only the original import being promoed . . . Richard Rogers’ Can’t Stop Loving You’ is being remixed by Frankie Knuckles & David Morales, apparently the first time that Knuckles has been let loose on a Marshall Jefferson production . . . Patti Day’s upcoming ‘No-one‘ has been remixed for US Starway Records Inc by Alan Coulthard, working out of his home studio in Barry, South Glamorgan (0446 736600), where he needs South Wales based talent — singers, rappers, DJs, instrumentalists — for some productions designed to put South Wales on the dance music map now that there is so much regional activity elsewhere (he’s also after local mixing gigs to keep his DJing hand in) . . . Rome’s Max & Frank Minoia and Corrado Rizza — responsible already for producing such as Jam Machine ‘Everyday’, Strings Of Love ‘Nothing Has Been Proved’, Paradise Orchestra ‘Satisfy Your Dream’, and currently the sizzling Coldjam featuring Grace ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ — now call themselves Livexpress Productions and are branching out internationally . . . Pete Haigh hosts Bassix! Tuesdays at Blackpool’s Just Ji’s by the bus depot (sounds romantic!), with half price drinks and upfront noises . . . ‘Snap’ The Event next Monday (June 25) at Poole’s Tower Park features DJs Chad Jackson, Paul Anderson, Jon Jules, Carl Cox, Paul Gotel, Steve Aspey, DJ Warren plus PAs by Massivo featuring Tracy, Olimax & DJ Shapps, TDP, Boneshakers (ticket details on 0860 386473).

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Norman Cook and James Hamilton

JOCELYN BROWN ‘Freedom’
QUEEN LATIFAH ‘Come Into My House’
LIL LOUIS & THE WORLD ‘Nyce & Slo’ (Lovebug/R-Rated/Blow Horn mixes)
HORSES WITHOUT HEADS ‘What’s Your Name’
INNOCENCE ‘Silent Voice’
TIMMY THOMAS ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ (Remix)
DEPTH CHARGE ‘Goal’
SUGAR BULLET ‘World Peace’

G.T.O. ‘Pure’ (125¼bpm) (Dutch Go Bang! Records BANG 004)
From the label that gave us D-Shake, an actually more Bizz Nizz like bounding simple instrumental galloper with whistle blasts and other enthusiastic weekender-type crowd noises in its Pure Energy main treatment, causing instant excitement, or a gentler Arabic flavoured Journey Mix and shorter slow ambient Beautiful Mix (47/94bpm).

DANNY MADDEN ‘Facts Of Life’ (98¼bpm) (Eternal YZ473T)
Initially promoed only as a seven inch white label but spun regardless by all jocks lucky enough to have a copy, this Dancin’ Danny D produced tenderly anguished soulful jogging roller was in gentle drum and bass jiggled A-side (98¼bpm) or bassier and smoother mellow B-side (98½bpm) mixes, although now it has been 12-inched too (still on promo at this stage) elaborating on just the A-side in Dancin’ Danny D’s Mix With Acappella and confusingly differentiated but actually much longer Dancin’ Danny D’s Mix, plus Instrumental and Acappella versions, 12 inch variations on the seven inch B-side presumably being yet to come.

LFO ‘LFO’ (124½bpm) (W.A.R.P. Records WAP 5)
With initials standing for Low Frequency Oscillation, the latest and possibly hottest act on the Sheffield electro label has exploded thanks to this simple fluttering and bleeping instrumental, something like Guru Josh without the spacey saxophone but interspersed instead by bass bin rattling bursts of very low frequency oscillation indeed, flipped by the unlabelled throbbing ‘Track 4‘ (123¾bpm) and washing machine-type ‘Probe‘ (124bpm), all great if bleeps is what you like! Continue reading “June 23, 1990: G.T.O., Danny Madden, LFO, Darryl Pandy, Boneshakers”

BEATS & PIECES

SHARON REDD’s sister Pennye Ford, remembered for 1984’s ‘Dangerous’ and ‘Change Your Wicked Ways’ on Total Experience Records, is featured guest on Snap’s new ‘Ooops Up’ . . . Rumour Records have snapped up Dream In Goa ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, the remade Pink Floyd tune also recently used by Innocence . . . Ice Cube’s ‘AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted’ import album is being rushed out here by 4th + B’way, who have further fuelled the current carefully stoked controversy about N.W.A. by adding ‘**** Tha Police’ to their reissued 12-inch of ‘Express Yourself’ . . . Mark Summers’ better B-side ‘Wicked In Mombassa‘ has been remixed by No Smoke . . . Promised Land’s repetitively “revolution” chanting instrumental flip, nothing to do with ‘Something In The Air’, is called ‘No It U Lover (Mantra For A Revolution)’ (98bpm) . . . Wee Papa Girl Rappers’ Get In The Groove’ is flipped by the Teddy Riley produced, ‘Del’ Geoff Hunt remixed, ‘Faith (Contrabanned Mix)‘ (105bpm), plus the jerky raggamuffin ‘Step Up‘ (79½bpm) . . . Swansea’s Jeff Thomas has finally got onto radio after many attempts, presenting a Saturday morning 9am-noon dance show across the water on Bristol’s For The People 97.2FM, a 170 mile round trip but well worth it, he says . . . Southend-on-Sea’s Robbie Dee, still at the Zero Thurs/Fridays and Hollywood Wed/Saturdays, is even luckier being on his hometown’s Essex Radio 102.6/96.3FM weekdays 4-7pm and Saturdays 10am-2pm — nice work if you can get it . . . Ollie Dowling, resident jock at Dublin’s Pink Elephant, has organised a Dublin Funk Collective of DJs, rappers, dancers and others both interested in and keen to promote specialist black dance music, with all sorts of activities planned and two funky rap/rare groove club nights already running, Transmitting Live From Mars the first Wednesday of every month at Trinity College’s Buttery Bar (free admission), and DefCon every Saturday (plus Friday soon for Philly, northern and rare soul) in the basement of the Pembroke Bar off Baggot Street (£1.50), the DFC also contributing to two radio shows, Elaine Keogh’s on Horizon 94.9FM Saturday 8-10pm and David Hales’s on Radio Dublin 101FM/253AM Sunday 8-11am . . . Irish DJs, don’t forget the previously detailed first ever Irish DJ Convention is next Monday (June 18) at the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock, County Dublin, with an equipment exhibition and record fair during the day (£2 admission), followed in the evening by the seminar session, presentation of awards voted for by DJs during Simon Young’s weekend dance mix shows on 2FM (which will be broadcasting live), plus scratch mix demonstrations and PAs (£10 admission for whole event) — I’ll see you there, so make mine a Murphy’s, slainte! . . . Futureshock Promotions are following up their previous disco jaunts to Spain with a visit next Friday, June 22, to Barcelona’s 4,000 capacity club Zeleste, starring for the night London DJs Judge Jules and Steve Bicknell plus PAs by Boy George, MC Kinky of the E-ZEE Possee, and local Spanish acts — for full details of a Thursday to Sunday inclusive round trip, call Bud Nijjar on 081-533 3840 . . . DJ Morse and Nikky K start a hardbeat/techno/freestyle Go Bang! Wednesday rave this week (13) at Woodhall Country Club near Woodbridge (off the B 1083) . . . The Pure Organisation kick off a country touring Dance ’90 legal rave this Friday (15) at Tonbridge’s Angel Centre, with megawatts of sound, lighting and effects plus DJs Fabio, Trevor Fung, Colin Faver, Andy Nichols, G-Force, Grant Harper (over 18s only) — Trevor incidentally is now a consultant at Champion, assuming the mantle once worn there by his long time colleague Paul Oakenfold . . . DJs Bri. G, Rocky & Soul Pete’s latest Sweat Box night with “attitude” is at York’s Keatons in Fishergate also this Friday, when details of a Sweat Boat trip will be announced . . . Robbie Collins warns any prospective PAs (welcome on 081-506 1970) that they’d better know how to swim if they gig with him on Sunday nights around the open air swimming pool at Chigwell’s Epping Forest Country Club! . . . Old Gold in their 12 inch Gold label series have reissued back to back the bossa nova classics Astrud Gilberto ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ and Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd ‘Desafinado’ (OG 4177), nice for summer nights . . . Mike Carr has released only as an export a compilation CD of all the more mellow material by his jazz-funk group Cargo, ‘Cargo For Export Only‘ (Cargogold Productions CGCD 190), well worth finding on import for easy listening . . . Mike Stevens, now he’s no longer so closely involved with L.A. Mix, is the multi-instrumentalist behind the Cooltempo Unlimited Orchestra . . .

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Judge Jules

LL COOL J ‘To Da Break Of Dawn (Remix Version)’ (105bpm) (US Motown MOT-4729)
Remixed by producer Marley Marl and LL from the ‘House Party’ soundtrack album, which explains the temporary change of label, this funkily chugging and scratching sassy rap is rather better than much of his recent Def Jam material, flipped just by a good more sparsely syncopated Bug Out Mix (104¾bpm).

E-ZEE POSSEE ‘The Sun Machine (Master Mix)’ (116¼bpm) (More Protein PROT 412, via Virgin)
Breathily soulful MC Kinky (a girl) cooed and “na na na-na no” guys chanted (apparently borrowing from David Bowie’s ‘Memories Of A Free Festival’) breezily jiggling chugger with plenty of pop appeal, flipped by Tommy D’s more smoothly subdued Charlie Brown In-The-House and jittery Face-The-Bass Mixes.

MASSIVO featuring TRACY ‘Loving You (Summer Breeze Mix)’ (99¾bpm) (Debut DEBTXR 3097)
Not only remixed but also totally re-instrumentated by Steve Anderson, the Minnie Riperton revival now builds from piano and strings to a bassily jiggling new groove that seems pretty hot in its own right, flipped by a sweetly episodic Cascade Dub plus still the jazzily jogging instrumental ‘Half Will Do’ (95bpm). Continue reading “June 16, 1990: LL Cool J, E-ZEE Possee, Massivo featuring Tracy, Janet Jackson, Voice Of Africa”

BEATS & PIECES

IRELAND’S FIRST ever DJ Convention is on June 18 at the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock, County Dublin (full details from Jim Kenny there on 403635), with a disco equipment exhibition and record fair, a seminar featuring a dozen representatives of major radio stations, record companies, UK and Irish DJs, including our very own James Hamilton – after there’s awards, scratch mix demonstrations by Cutmaster Swift and local champ DJ Mek, and PAs by Sybil, Tongue ‘N’ Cheek, Hazell Dean, Darryl Pandy, Edwin Starr, Odyssey . . . CBS have snapped up the hot Pianonegro ‘Pianonegro’ for the UK . . . MXM ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, on its UK pressing is in a shorter Dove Edit (93bpm) and a chunkier new Remix (96¼bpm) — likewise, Calloway ‘I Wanna Be Rich’ on UK Epic proves to be only in its Dance Mix and Dance Dub, unfortunately not the catchiest of its treatments . . . ‘Child Of Love (Rock The House Mix)’ by New York’s Sweet Sensation, is out as flip to their US Hi-NRG revival of Diana Ross & The Supremes’ ‘Love Child’ (118½bpm) . . Cool Down Zone’s ‘Heaven Knows’ is 100¾bpm flipped by ‘Come Be My Lover‘ (104bpm) and ‘I Always Seem To Cry‘ (84bpm) . . . New Order’s four dance mixes, promoed across two separate 12-inchers, are only ever due commercially in fade shortened form all together on a single EP, no doubt making the full length promos of value for collectors . . . Bristol’s Fresh Connection have a different apparently “harder” remake due on Reachin’ Records of Rose Royce’s ‘Love Don’t Live Here Anymore‘, to rival the also current Double Trouble treatment . . . £2,000 donated by the Dance Aid Trust has kicked off the Disc Jockeys Kidney Machine Trust Fund to finance purchase of a kidney machine, for use by Barnard Castle’s previously mentioned Mark Watson while needed, and thereafter by South Cleveland Hospital . . . Jim Thompson spins upfront and import soul and house right through the day Monday to Saturday on Manchester’s in-store Radio Top Shop, then joins DJ Fatman Ritson on hardcore acid/indie Fridays at Liverpool’s The Queens, Waterloo, and MC Egghead on Saturdays upstairs at Bootle’s Quadrant Park . . . “Brum is biting back!”, shouts DJ Steve, who with DJ Mark does Dislocation techno/rap/indie/house Thursdays at Edgbaston’s XL’S (no dress restrictions) . . . Steve Hills, hosting ‘It’s Happening’ Fridays at Leytonstone’s The Cube, is pleased to see his old partner in crime Mark Summers doing so well since leaving the gig! . . . Mister ‘M’ (real name Maurice) has hot house/funk/rap/reggae Sunday evenings 8-10.30pm at Melksham’s Bear disco pub, the only venue in West Wiltshire to do so, he claims . . . ‘Big’ John Rodgers has returned to Great Yarmouth’s refurbished Monroes and is apparently packing the place with an upfront dance music policy, four nights a week . . . Swansea’s Plastic Sam is now “takin’ care of biz” at Central Park/Ritzy . . . Paul French, after six years’ residency at Gillingham’s recently sold The Avenue, despite being asked to stay, is looking for a change of upfront venue (on 0634-376834) . . . Bloomsbury brothers Richard & Sean Stewart, just back from a year’s jocking in Tenerife, tip that the hotspots for holidaymakers to check there are the Roxy Bar with DJ Ket Shah, the newly refurbished Paradise Lost with Simon Doward, and Bobbies Bar . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and DJ Streets Ahead

PAUL JACKSON, JR. ‘Out Of The Shadows’ (US Atlantic 82065-1)
Tucked away on this early George Benson-ish jazz guitarist’s pleasant instrumental album and just crying out for a 12 inch remix is the Hank Shocklee & Eric ‘Vietnam’ Sadler co-produced/mixed brilliant jiggly ‘The New Jazz Swing’ (111bpm), fusing swingbeat hip hop rhythms with bursts of lovely gentle jazz guitar to make possibly a ‘Rockit’ for the Nineties — c’mon, Atlantic, do yo’ stuff! — other tracks being the Kirk Whalum saxed jazz-funkily wriggling ‘Encino Shuffle‘ (100bpm), Luther Vandross chorused delicately picked ‘Make It Last Forever‘ (85¼bpm), Tim Owens crooned romantically rolling ‘This Love’s On Me‘ (88bpm), jogging ‘Days Gone By‘ (92bpm), swaying ‘I Want Jesus To Walk With Me‘ (98½bpm), too self consciously “funky” ‘My Thang‘ (112bpm), doodling ‘Road To Everlasting‘ (98/49bpm), slushy ‘All For You’ (69/34½bpm).

DIANA ROSS ‘I’m Still Waiting’ (remixes)
THE GRID ‘Floatation (Subsonic Grid Mix)’
FREESTYLE ORCHESTRA featuring D’BORAH ‘Keep On Pumpin’ It Up’
EVERYDAY PEOPLE ‘Inside Your Love’
MARK SUMMERS ‘Party Children’/‘Wicked In Mombassa’
SNAP ‘Ooops Up’
COCO ‘Saturday Night/Sunday Morning’
GARY CLAIL ON-U SOUND SYSTEM ‘Beef’
COOL BREEZE ‘A Cool Breeze’
TOGETHER ‘Hardcore Uproar’
MC HAMMER ‘U Can’t Touch This’
A CERTAIN RATIO ‘Won’t Stop Loving You (Norman Cook Remix)’

CRITICAL RHYTHM featuring Jango Thriller & Vandal ‘It Could Not Happen’ (85bpm) (Network NWKT 9)
Brooklyn Funk Essentials created EP, previously a short lived chart climber on Nugroove import (which suggests fashionability rather than actual substance), with this breathily sinuous reggae tinged slowie in its Essential Trance Hall Mix and Version, plus the not very danceable emptily pulsing Indian flavoured ‘Eastern Breeze (Authentic Mix)‘ (119bpm), flipped by the Angelique featuring perhaps more useable girl and guy muttered jiggly trotting ‘Fall Into A Trance (Brooklyn Funk Essential Mix)‘ (122bpm), and its virtually rhythmless Alternative Ambient Mix (61bpm). Meanwhile, a Q & Review created new more beefily rumbling and reggae boosted ‘It Could Not Happen (Dance Hall Daze Remix)‘ (96bpm) (NWKTR9) is flipped by its Dance Hall Daze Instrumental Mix and the above ‘Fall Into A Trance (Brooklyn Funk Essential Mix)’.

ICE CUBE ‘AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted’ (US Priority Records SL57 120)
Largely created with Public Enemy’s Eric Sadler and Keith Shocklee, the relentlessly foul mouthed N.W.A. rapper’s tracks and interludes crammed album has the exciting P’funkily chugging ‘The Nigga Ya Love To Hate’ (109¾bpm), similar more jerkily jolting already 12-inched ‘AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted‘ (107¾bpm), funkily rolling ‘Rollin’ Wit The Lench Mob‘ (103¼bpm), amusing jauntily jiggling ‘A Gangsta’s Fairytale‘ (110¼bpm), Chuck D co-shouted churning ‘Endangered Species (Tales From The Darkside)‘ (112bpm), plaintive female Yo-Yo duetted scratching introed (and James Brown cutting) bumpily jogging ‘It’s A Man’s World‘ (95½bpm), race riot report introed word spitting ‘The Bomb‘ (115½bpm), bland radio DJs sandwiched angry ‘Turn Off The Radio‘ (109bpm), JB’s based sombre ‘Who’s The Mack?‘ (91bpm), Stevie Wonder based Flavor Flav duetted rolling slow ‘I’m Only Out For One Thang‘ (92½bpm), stark wordy ‘You Can’t Fade Me‘ (87bpm) and ‘Once Upon A Time In The Projects‘ (77bpm), Average White Band based murky aggressive short ‘What They Hittin’ Foe?‘ (100bpm) and even shorter ‘Get Off My Dick And Tell Yo Bitch To Come Here‘ (94bpm). That about says it all. Continue reading “June 9, 1990: Paul Jackson Jr., Critical Rhythm, Ice Cube, Frazier Chorus, Sharon Dee Clarke”

BEATS & PIECES

SEDA 90, the South Eastern Discotheque Association’s latest annual disco equipment exhibition, is this Sunday (June 3) at Gravesend’s Woodville Halls between noon and 6pm, with the opening ceremony conducted by Stevie V — so don’t be late, if that’s who you want to see! . . . Eternal Records, just to be different, have reverted to the fast disappearing seven inch format for their initially very limited white label promos of the bass and drum jogged extremely soulful Danny Madden ‘Facts Of Life‘ (98bpm), produced and mixed by Dancin’ Danny D, one to look out for . . . Mahesh Bajaj is relaunching the ‘Upfront’ series of dance compilation albums that he started on Serious Records back in 1986, now through his Sarni Lange partnered new label Solid (Sound Of London’s Independent Dance), ‘Upfront One‘ being due on its subsidiary Upfront logo next week with 15 tracks including current UK and Continental releases by such as Don Pablo’s Animals, Pianonegro, Rhythmatic, Musto & Bones, and Critical Rhythm — future singles include a remake of Melba Moore’s ‘This Is It’ by Ruth, and the Italian Jackie Moore’s version of Phil Collins’ ‘I Wish It Would Rain Down’ (club and radio DJ mailing list applications to Solid Records Limited, Unit 30, Sheraton Business Centre, Wadsworth Road, Perivale, Middlesex UB6 7JB, telephone 081-566 7117) . . . Paul Gotel is updating the specialist hip hop/rap and alternative/indie dance DJ mailing lists at Power Promotions (081-746 1210), where the brand new press office is run by Cheryl Flynn . . . Logic’s currently hot ‘The Warning’ will soon be out here on Pacific’s new label Planet Pacific, specialising in the more underground type of dance material, while Vandal’s ‘Laws Of Chance’ EP, warm on import back in February/March mainly for ‘Amazing Grace’, has been picked up here by de/Construction Records . . . Fatman & Stella Mae ‘Release Me’ — whose mixes on the now fully labelled Cue Records pressing turn out to be called Gospel, Techno, and Beatstumental (sic) — has in fact been picked up for further release by ffrr . . . ‘K-Jee’ was promoed and reviewed as being by The Unlimited Orchestra, but finished commercial pressings credit the Cooltempo Unlimited Orchestra . . . Calloway ‘I Wanna Be Rich’, reviewed last week as a Solar import, is out here now on Epic (655515 6) . . . Mr Lee’s ‘Get Busy’ hip house album, reviewed on import three weeks ago, is also out here (Jive HIP 98) . . . Dutch remix wizard Ben Liebrand has a debut album released under his own name within the next month, on Epic . . . ‘La Passionara’, the track that’s really selling The Blow Monkeys’ EP, could well be more beefily remixed with added vocals — but not necessarily for release until incorporated into the follow-up . . . Electribe 101’s next single looks like being a revival of Odyssey’s ‘Inside Out’ . . . Digger presents this Wednesday (30), at his weekly specialist swingbeat and rap Bounced night in Mayfair’s Legends, PAs by Johnny Gill, Glen Goldsmith, Emma Haywoode, and the Licensed To Dance (LTD) dance troupe . . . Balearic DJs like Danny Rampling, Paul Oakenfold, Andy Weatherall, Terry Farley, Rocky & Diesel and Ben & Andy (amongst many) will be jocking on Ibiza at the Ku Club, Summum, Es Paradis, Pacha and Amnesia during the specially organised Ibiza 90 holiday package that runs for your choice of either one or two weeks from this Sunday (June 3), all inclusive (flights/accommodation/club passes) at £226 or £260 (club passes alone at £40 or £50), tickets and full details on 081-845 1695 . . . Rimini’s luxurious El Paradiso club, inspired by Italy’s hosting of the World Cup, is promoting a so-called Euro Club Tour ’90, inviting certain DJs from the competing nations to bring their own club crowds to party (separately, you may be relieved to hear!) on consecutive Thursdays through July, kicking off with Kid Batchelor and cohorts from London’s Confusion, Solaris, Stringfellows (?), and the Café De Paris as the representatives of Great Britain on July 5, followed on subsequent Thursdays by France, Spain and Germany — details of an inclusive £140 four day package for the above named clubs’ members and friends from Musika Inc, 7-8 Gosfield Street, London W I . . . Last week’s bubblers just outside the Club Chart Top 100 included Musto & Bones LP, Rubberman, Fluke, Man Machine featuring Zen, Klymaxx, The Blapps Posse, Frazier Chorus, The Wee Papa Girl Rappers, Tony! Toni! Toné! and Touch Of Soul.

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HOT VINYL

REBEL MC ‘Rebel Music’ (118bpm) (Desire WANTX 31)
Co-produced by the Rebel and Simon Law, this slow starting then cowbell and drums clonked hip house tempo nervily jiggling raggamuffin rap is counterpointed by smoothly moaning Jenni Evans, with jazzy piano and flute doodling through the beats, in Rebel-ism and looser sounding The Article Mixes, sure to be big.

D-SHAKE ‘Yaaaaaaaaaah (Freestyle Club Mix)’ (123bpm) (Cooltempo COOLX 213)
Here in fact abbreviated down to ‘Yaaah’, which isn’t such fun, this instantly kicking more loosely flurrying variation of the shouts prodded frantic Dutch double-sider’s excitingly galloping basic instrumental is now getting increased attention and probably is more ‘commercial’, but just as on import it’s still much less hot than the flip’s fiercer industrially driving ‘Techno Trance’ (123¼bpm), tempolessly starting and pausing in its original Paradise Is Now mix but also here in a useful new Revisited re-edit minus the midway pause.

PIANONEGRO ‘Pianonegro’ (93bpm) (Italian Dance-World Attack DWA 00.13)
In short supply at first although instantly hot for all who have managed to find it, this Robyx created gradually building afro chanted and piano plonked ‘Jingo’/’Going Back To My Roots’-ishly tinged slinkily grooving purposeful jogger (in Long Mix, Radio Edit and piano-less percussive Negro Groove versions) should be huge once it’s more readily available. Incidentally, ‘negro’ in this Italian context is the translation of ‘black’. Continue reading “June 2, 1990: Rebel MC, D-Shake, Pianonegro, Richard Rogers, Milira”

BEATS & PIECES

EASTWEST, better late than never, this week have finally got around to releasing Solid Gold Easy Amex featuring Red Box ‘Enjoy’, still in its Paul Oakenfold Future Mix and Golden Lay Original versions as reviewed nine weeks ago when first promoed! . . . Cooltempo, using original Dutch pressings as promos, have released D-Shake ‘Yaaaaaaaaaah’/’Techno Trance’ (COOLX 213) . . . Paula David is the now fully credited singer on Volume Ten’s ‘Pride’, commercial pressings reversing the order of its mixes, making More Than Special the A-side . . . ‘Missing You’, from their new album, is apparently scheduled as a future Soul II Soul single — its guest vocalist, Kym Mazelle will be touring the USA and Japan with them this summer and has been working with Jazzie B on tracks for her own next album . . . Greg Fenton, also DJ at Manchester’s Spice, is building a mailing list with a difference for the carefully targeted new club promotion company, Soft (1st Floor, St. Margaret’s Chambers, S Newton Street, Manchester M1 1HL, telephone 061-236 4138), only promoting self confessed “soul-less dance” — any form of dance music that does not come from a soul background, like new beat, hard beat, electronic body music, euro dance, electro rap — and needs convincing by DJs that their club music policy is appropriate before they qualify for inclusion . . . MC Rubber Ronski’s steadily chugging strange rap adaptation of its composer Jon Moss’s original version of Jesus Loves You’s ‘After The Love’, now about in a tidier remix by Terry Farley as Rubberman ‘Rubberman (Boys Own Mix)‘ (118bpm), is flipped by the busier original ‘Rubberman Rock Da House‘ (117½bpm) that was white labelled last winter on Crew-Cuts . . . Adam & Eve remixed the breathily crooned Ross & Demelza (84½bpm) A-side of The Beloved ‘Time After Time’, while the flip’s Leslie Lyrics toasted reggae dubwise Muffin Mix (87bpm) and lazily swirling instrumental Through The Round Window (86½bpm) were by The Little Sisters . . . Johnny Gill ‘Rub You The Right Way’ in its LP Version should be 111¾bpm (and Short Version 111½bpm) . . . Dream Frequency ‘Live The Dream‘ (123¾bpm) is also in an emptier more sinewy Dream The Dream Mix (124bpm) and a virtually tempoless ambient ‘Dreamscape 1‘ (31½bpm) version, with the girls chanted jauntily jumping hip house tempo ‘Feel It‘ (125bpm) too . . . Beats Per Minute that may be useful for pop jocks include Kylie Minogue ‘Better The Devil You Know (The Mad March Hare Mix)‘ (120bpm), New Kids On The Block ‘Cover Girl (12″ Remix)‘ (122bpm), Paula Abdul ‘Opposites Attract (Street Mix)‘ (117bpm), Depeche Mode ‘Policy Of Truth (Capitol Mix/Pavlov’s Dub)’ (114bpm), Natalie Cole ‘Wild Women Do (Power/Underground Wacko Mixes)’ (120½bpm), Talk Talk ‘It’s My Life (Tropical Love Forest Mix)‘ (127¼bpm), B52’s ‘Roam (12″ Remix)‘ (133bpm), Marc Almond ‘The Desperate Hours (Extended Flamenco Mix)‘ (121bpm), Propaganda ‘Heaven Give Me Words (Honey In Heaven)‘ (97bpm) . . . Jon Williams brings his upfront Euro sounds this Friday (25), and then the last Friday of every month, to the oddly named (but 1,800 capacity) Stroud Subscription Rooms in Stroud centre . . . DJ Kid ‘DFM’ Smurf plus guests jock at the new Meltdown Fridays in Leicester’s Reflections, St James Street off Humberstone Gate (wear what you like) . . . ‘Weight For The Bass’ hit makers Unique 3 and DJ Herbe-EE (The Rave DJ) host the fortnightly “Energy” starting this Saturday (26), 10pm-2am, in Bradford’s new look Palm Cove Club, Hollings Road . . . Yeovil has a soul, funk and jazz ‘Summer Fling’ this weekend with Chris Dinnis, Bob Smith and Jim Hedges jocking at Dukes Nightclub on Saturday night, before joining John C at The King’s Arms for Sunday lunchtime . . . BBG PA this Saturday at Brixton’s The Fridge, where the following evening (Sunday 6pm-midnight) Powerjam 90 features DJs Norman Jay, Johnny Walker, Dave Pearce, Madhatter Trevor, Chris Forbes, George K, DJ Digger, Alan Russell, and various personal appearances — however, the really hot night there is likely to be Bank Holiday Monday (28), when, following their Brixton Academy gig, Eazy-E and N.W.A. paartay with Tim Westwood, DJ Biznizz, Mark Anderson, Soul II Soul’s DJ Crazy, and “a number of extraordinarily special guests” (500 public tickets available on the door that night only at 10.30pm) . . . Eazy-E, N.W.A. and guests London Posse, Demon Boyz, MC Mell’o’ then head for Birmingham’s Hummingbird on Tuesday (29) . . . The Club Chart still having a high entry threshold (although the real log jam has moved to the Top 201), last week’s Bubblers that previously might have been expected to make the 100 included 4105, Rubberman, Fluke, Cool Down Zone, (New York’s) Sweet Sensation, Royal Orchestra, BBG featuring Dina Taylor, Frankie ‘Bones’ presents Bonesbreaks Volume 5, Jesus Loves You (Land Of Oz Mix), Moccasoul, My Bloody Valentine, Gaggia & Visona, Last Tango.

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Eddie Richards

JOVONN ‘Turn And Run Away (Colonnade Mix)’
THE WIZARD AND THE PRINCE ‘The Wiz Is A Genius’
PULSE 8 ‘Radio Morocco (Adrian Sherwood Mix)’
THE CURE ‘Pictures Of You’
BROTHER BEYOND ‘The Girl I Used To Know (Red Zone)’
HYPER ‘The Asylum’

SOUL II SOUL ‘Vol II-1990 A New Decade’ (10 Records DIX 90)
Much better and more consistent than ‘Club Classics’, this imminently massive album relies largely for its vocals on several featured female singers yet ironically its hottest tracks look like being the terrific compulsively clopping and lurching instrumental ‘Time (Untitled)’ (102bpm), and Fab 5 Freddy and Jamie B chatted lazily tapping drum rumbled ‘Our Time Has Now Come‘ (95¾bpm), the ladies contributing Lamya’s lovely piano plonked sweetly wriggling ‘In The Heat Of The Night‘ (101¾bpm) and birdsong washed steadily swaying ‘Love Come Through‘ (92bpm), Kym Mazelle’s soulfully jogging and ultimately mesmeric ‘Missing You‘ (93bpm), the girl group chorused percussively jiggling ‘1990 A New Decade‘ (105¼bpm), Marcia Lewis’s traffic effects introed snappily strutting ‘People‘ (115bpm) and kiddies chorused Christmas hit ‘Get A Life’ (101¼bpm), Victoria Wilson James’s current hit ‘A Dreams A Dream’ (103¼bpm), plus the Courtney Pine soprano saxed instrumental ‘Courtney Blows’ (92½bpm).

ERIC B. & RAKIM ‘Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em’ (110bpm) (US MCA Records MCA-24026)
So eagerly (and long) awaited that it has instantly exploded, their DJ Mark The 45 King remixed typically fast talking, swirling and churning gruff jiggler jolts bumpily through its 12″ Vocal Version Remix and perhaps more funkily rolling 45 King Club Mix (with an A Cappella too), the hottest hip hopper for quite a while!

GEORGIA JONES ‘Let The Music Play (Club Mix)’ (119¾bpm) (Mercury MERX 323)
Out fully in three weeks, Freddy Bastone’s brilliantly breezy house remake of Shannon’s influential (in the States) electro oldie is not ‘electro’ at all, more Electribe 101-ish, with skipping bass, synthetic strings and other bubbly elements all darting and dancing around the central lightly wailing and scatting Georgia, flipped by her scatted though otherwise basically lyricless Dub and Jazz Mixes. Continue reading “May 26, 1990: Soul II Soul, Eric B & Rakim, Georgia Jones, Yazz, The Chimes”

BEATS & PIECES

KISS-fm held a surprise birthday party for managing director Gordon Mac last week, where it became apparent that the long awaited London incremental station is now at last on schedule for a September 1 launch, with the easy to remember wavelength of 100FM! . . . ‘Sweet Dreams’ really did begin as a bootleg, not a scam, the new Angel version being a legal recreation by a guy genuinely called Dave Angel of that bootleg treatment, his already promoed version being out this week as flip to The Eurythmics’ ‘Angel’ (previously on commercial pressings without it) . . . Eden’s Paradise ‘The Dance (Revisited)’ has had to be withdrawn while its Orbital sample is completely recreated, full release now being due at the end of May — when Guru Josh ‘Who’s Law’ is out commercially with a different new A-side mix . . . Paul Dakeyne & Steve Anderson’s previously promo only remix of Doug Lazy ‘Let The Rhythm Pump’ is due commercially now (Atlantic A7919T) — Steve Anderson teamed this time with Dave Seaman who are the Brothers In Rhythm, responsible for ‘Peace And Harmony (ltalo’s Grand Finale)’ . . . The Blow Monkeys’ newie is in fact a four-track EP, with the hot ‘If You Love Somebody‘ (121¼bpm) — due for a Bones & Musto remix — and jerkily rambling Spanish guitar plucked ‘La Passionara‘ (112bpm) actually on the flip, while the A-side has the good delicately jittering pent up ‘The Other Side Of You‘ (100¼bpm) and, the lead track, sombre slow pop aimed ‘Springtime For The World‘ (81 bpm) . . . Frankie Bones & Lenny Dee’s multi-track ‘Looney Tunes II’ EP, reviewed in full on import only last week, has been rushed out here by XL Recordings (XLEP 104) . . . The Chimes ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’, apparently with mixes here that differ from the US version, is promoed in Louie Louie’s lushly swaying Street Mix (83bpm), Gil & Dill’s sparse bossy Boom Mix (84½bpm), and Scruff & Nick’s really soul drenched tapping Manasseh Mix (82¾bpm), to my mind the best . . . BHF Production’s delicately jiggling Edie Brickell/Soul II Soul-type Italian treatment of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U (Dove Mix)‘ (93¾bpm) by MXM is due here in fact on London, rather than the previously announced A.1. Records —this is now rivalled, incidentally, by a totally different guys sung chugging pop version from Germany by Chyp-Notic (119bpm) on Coconut . . . Emma Haywoode’s ‘Need Your Lovin” is being reissued next month in an apparently ‘Power’-ful German remix . . . NWA’s old ‘Express Yourself’ is being re-released in its original format (4th + B’way 12BRW 144) to coincide with their coming UK visit . . . Kim Lewis has set up PCP within the Pacific distribution set-up to handle both in-house and independent club promotion, for outside labels too, building a DJ mailing list at Pacific House, Vale Road, London N4 1QB (081-800 4465) . . . Andrew Skortis is building a DJ mailing list for the as yet little known record label Wing An’ A Prayer at 187 Charlemont Road, East Ham, London E6 4AG (081-472 9252) . . . Dambusters club plugger Jasper G puts his money where his mouth is and jocks on Klub Trick Saturdays at Mayfair’s Legends . . . Quartz, Paradox, Sunsonic, Audio One, Olimax & DJ Shapps plus jocks ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards, Carl Cox, Grooverider, Fabio and Wildchild whip up a Storm! in Brighton this Friday (18), credit card bookings on 0273-202881 . . . History’s ‘Afrika’ rapper Q-Tee PAs at Brixton’s The Fridge this Saturday (19) . . . DJ Kirsty B designs and makes personalised slipmats on 081-552 2928 . . . The Club Chart still having a high entry threshold, last week’s Bubblers that previously might have been expected to make the 100 included Last Tango, Mocca Soul, Kym Mazelle, Mellow Man Ace, Sinead O’Connor, Klymaxx, Frankie Bones & Lenny Dee ‘Looney Tunes II’, Sly & Lovechild, Ice Cube, The Unlimited Orchestra, The Beloved, The Blapps Posse, People People, BBG featuring Dina Taylor, Frazier Chorus, Guaranteed Raw, 4105, 2-Mad, Delusions Of Grandeur, Sybil, Fortran 5, Kate B . . . Irish jocks, look out for full details of Ireland’s first ever dance music/DJ seminar, to be held in Dublin on June 18 . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Jon Dasilva and James Hamilton

LISA STANSFIELD ‘You Can’t Deny It’ (US Arista AD-2025)
Timed to rival her UK newie — with possibly a more sympathetic tempo for the Soul II Soul dominated UK market, too, right now — this US release is her album’s gently jiggling attractive swayer remixed by Gail ‘Sky’ King in Extended Version (100½bpm), Sky King Mix (101bpm) and Single Version (100¾bpm), coupled by the current UK EP’s vigorously socking ‘Lay Me Down‘ (111¾bpm).

VOICE OF AFRICA ‘Hoomba Hoomba’
SWEET MERCY ‘Reach Out’
DREAM FREQUENCY ‘Live The Dream’
TRICKY DISCO ‘Tricky Disco’
THE BELOVED ‘Time After Time’
RUBBERMAN ‘Rubberman Rocks The House (Boys Own Remix)’

SAINT ETIENNE ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ (102¼bpm) (Heavenly HVN 212, via Revolver)
Neil Young’s 1970 US hit is the latest unlikely oldie to have a Soul II Soul-type rhythm grafted to it, backing however a rather painfully pitched deadpan female vocal that some I suppose might find “haunting”, thankfully flipped by a melodica doodled attractive more sinuous reggae-ish instrumental Version (100¾bpm).

970-CLUB ‘Ay Mas (Tell Me What You Want)’ (120¼bpm) (US Raw Records RAW-75005)
Chep Nunez & Louis Flores created breathy girls gasped and Eric Kupper synthed mellow boomy cantering groove, in pulsing ambient 970-Mood Mix, hollow 970-Club Dub, guy whispered 970-Rhythm Vocal Mix, urgently rattling 970-Club Beats, and bassily wriggling Original Concept Club Mix. Continue reading “May 19, 1990: Lisa Stansfield, Saint Etienne, 970-Club, The Shamen, The Unlimited Orchestra”

BEATS & PIECES

A&M RECORDS having closed down their separate Breakout logo, toyed with the idea of launching another label as a replacement but after studying the current dance music dominated pop market, have now decided (despite other reports to the contrary) there is no need for a separate identity so, if it’s dance, it’s on A&M! . . . Wot, no Funk A & Merica! . . . Fluke’s ‘Joni’, despite their earlier ‘Thumper!’ being on Mass Records, turns out to be a genuine white label, unaffiliated to any record company — and indeed up for grabs! . . . Oscar Engles is revamping the Recuts club promotion service’s DJ mailing list at Pinnacle Records, Electron House, Cray Avenue, St Mary Cray. Orpington, Kent 8RS 3PN — which reminds me, I began my DJ-ing career at the Kray Twins’ Knightsbridge club Esmerelda’s Barn, and could have told the makers of their current biopic a thing or two! . . . Warrior Records have not only a new area code, but also a whole new telephone number, 071-490 5475 . . . A1 Records have picked up MXM’s Italo version of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ . . . Ice Cube’s ‘Amerikkka’s Most Wanted’ is coupled by the similarly Public Enemy posse produced (and foul mouthed!) slowly lurching ‘Once Upon A Time In The Projects‘ . . . Stevie V PAs at Boom this Saturday (12) in Brixton’s The Fridge . . . Chris Brown, the veteran punk funk/salsoul/acid house DJ, starts reviving his famous lunchtime sessions (previously at Ascot’s Belvedere) this Sunday noon-4pm at Burnham Beeches’ Henry’s Nightclub in Hawthorne Lane, north of Slough, Bob ‘Hippy’ Jones and Carl Brown joining him in this “down to earth music” Gravity concept . . . Bruce Sandell, Chi-Keat Man and Chris Spearing mix Seventies and Eighties club classics on Bump ‘N’ Hustle Sunday evenings at Uxbridge High Street’s free admission The Villa wine bar (lager, wine and spirits ‘happy hour’ 8-9pm) . . . Miss Bliss, Wendy K, Hannah Ford, Christina Raven and Vie Marshall’s “non-sexist, non-violent and non-racist” Muthaland rap nights turn out to be only once a month with variable venues, the next one being Monday May 28 at Wardour Street’s The Brain, opposite London’s Swiss Centre . . . Jazzy M and Scully P, with big name guest DJs and PAs, on “real music for real people” AKWA Wednesdays are the latest to brave the low tide vertical gangplank of London’s floating Tattershall Castle pub, moored by the Victoria Embankment! . . . Donovan Smith has guest DJs on upfront Thursdays (no dress restrictions, only a quid) at Gloucester’s Crackers Nightclub, and joins Jazzy D on Saturdays at Swindon’s Brunel Rooms Ampitheatre . . . Kym Daniels hosts kickin’ and firin’ hip house Fridays at Swanley’s Hickorys nightclub . . . Jeff Thomas’ latest Swansea area gig is Urban Groove Sunday at Neptunes, just around the corner from The Mumbles lighthouse in Bracelet Bay . . . The Club Chart still having a high entry threshold, last week’s Bubblers that previously might have been expected to make the 100 included Man Machine featuring Zen, Musto & Bones LP, M.K., Fluke, MC Duke & DJ Leader 1, Lance Ellington, Adeva (Smack Mix), DAL, Last Tango, House Conductor, Malcolm McLaren ‘Call A Wave’, Klymaxx, Sly & Lovechild, Diana Brown & Barrie K Sharpe, Guaranteed Raw, Mass Order, X-Clan, The Blapps Posse, MXM, Brothers In Rhythm, BBG featuring Dina Taylor, Yin Yang, Eon.

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Streets Ahead

SINEAD O’CONNOR ‘I Am Stretched On Your Grave’ (93¾bpm) (Ensign GRAVE 1)
An instant collector’s item, only 650 promo 12-inch copies have been pressed of this appropriately gloomy haunting slow Celtic lament, starkly set to a tapping funky snare drum with Irish fiddles joining in just at the very end, apparently much played off her album and now (for the lucky few) made easier to use — though it’s primarily to boost the album as there are no plans, at present, for it to be a single.

DJ MINK ‘Hey Hey (Can You Relate)’
BROTHERS IN RHYTHM ‘Peace And Harmony’
PROMISED LAND ‘Something In The Air’
SMALLAGE ‘Together’
OVERLORD X ‘Powerhouse’
ONE VOICE ‘Soul Talk’
THE CHIMES ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’
MY BLOODY VALENTINE ‘Soon’ (Andy Weatherall mix)
FRAZIER CHORUS ‘Cloud 8’ (Paul Oakenfold mix)
COOL DOWN ZONE ‘Heaven Knows’
THE BLOW MONKEYS ‘If You Love Somebody’/’La Passionara’

EDEN’S PARADISE ‘The Dance (Revisited) (Musto Bones Remix)’ (119¾bpm) (de/Construction Records PT 43652)
Exploding out of the blue, this Frankie Bones & Tommy Musto created shuffling and rumbling burbler, a much altered beefier remix of ‘This Is The Dance’ still breathily intoned by Stacey Parris, now uses (composer credited) keyboard colourings from Orbital’s ‘Chime’ amongst other familiar punctuations, with a drier Killer Dub Mix, plus the previously just Stacey Parris credited cantering now more flowingly remixed ‘Feel It In My Heart (Club Remix)’ (119bpm).

COLLINA Featuring L.T.J. ‘Babe What’s Goin’ On’ (Supreme Records SUPET 169)
Rushed out here next week to counter Italian IRMA casadiprimordine imports, this ‘Roots’-ish piano and familiar quotations woven (‘Oops Up Side Your Head’ sticking out at the start) episodic rolling burbler chugs quite funkily through its sax climaxed Club and vibes climaxed Original Versions (111½bpm) and jazzily instrumental Night and Funkysax Versions (110bpm), a good example of how rapidly Italo house is adapting to the slowing of BPMs in Britain. Continue reading “May 12, 1990: Sinead O’Connor, Eden’s Paradise, Collina featuring L.T.J., Soho, 4105”

BEATS & PIECES

REISSUE OF the already promoed DJ Mark The 45 King’s ‘The 900 Number’ is being postponed because, as Chad Jackson went back to the original Marva Whitney ‘Unwind Yourself’ source for his included remixes rather than using DJ Mark’s version (of which a master tape was unavailable), Mark magnanimously has suggested that Chad should put out his much augmented new treatments under his own name — which is how they will appear, retitled ‘Hear The Drummer Get Wicked‘ with an additional new B-side track, in mid-May (Chad, incidentally, was one of the very first to pick up on ‘The 900 Number’ when in New York with DJ Pogo and Cutmaster Swift in July 1988, all three grabbing copies from the first shipment to arrive at Downstairs Records!) . . . Squire Sound & Light, the renowned 1972 established disco equipment suppliers, with stores in Glasgow, Manchester, West Bromwich and Guildford too, have moved their London base from Tufnell Park to a brand new megastore between Harlesden and the North Circular, just off Brentfield Road (by the Shell garage) at Unit 12, New Business Centre, Artesian Close, London NW10 8RW (081-451 5556) . . . Don Pablo’s Animals’ smash bound ‘Venus’ is slower now that it’s out here on Rumour Records (RUMAT 18), in not only The Piano Mix (125-124¼bpm) but also a UK-only new more ‘Din Da Da’-ish chugging The Bonus Mix (122¾-123¼bpm), flipped still by ‘Paranoia’ (115¾bpm) . . . Foremost Poets ‘Reasons To Be Dismal?’ (SBK.One 12SBK 7010) is also here slower than the import, in its Foresight (122¾-123½bpm), Beyond Sight and Insight (120½bpm) Versions . . . Fluke delicately pick the driving acoustic guitar instrumental ‘Joni‘ (110½bpm) (Mass Records FOO 2T, via Pinnacle), flipped by the similar though more chimingly picked jerkily jazzy ‘Taxi‘ (110¾-111bpm) . . . The Farm’s ‘Stepping Stone (Ghost Dance Mix)’ (107½bpm) was uninformatively labelled on promo and in fact is on Produce Records (MILK 101) . . . The Pasadenas ‘Love Thing’ proves to be remixed by Bruce Forest & Paul Wright, its commercial pressing (CBS PASA T4) being A-sided as on promo by their First Love Mix (108¼bpm) but coupled with a fractionally slower instrumental First Day Of Spring Mix, plus the lushly harmonised jerkily lurching ‘He’ll Give You All‘ (82bpm) . . . Blaze’s ‘So Special’ on its commercial pressing is A-sided by a now slow intro lacking, different longer So So Mix (119½bpm), conversely with a slow introed 12-inch Radio Edit and new Instrumental (both also 119½bpm), plus the unchanged ‘Mission’ . . . Lisa Stansfield’s unfashionably frantic ‘What Did I Do To You?’ — surely a stronger, more coherent, soulful and above all slower song than this would be better suited to the UK market right now? — is apparently due as part of an EP, which has not been promoed . . . Lisa Stansfield actually supplies backing vocals to a Blue Zone produced cover version of her own ‘Affection‘ by Liaz, the only act left with Big Life by the once again independent Kool Kat label — whose next releases, all from Detroit, will be newies by KAOS, Rhythim Is Rhythim, and Model 500, plus a ‘Retro Techno’ compilation album of original techno classics . . . Sunshine & Thunder Records and West Yorkshire’s local Events magazine are jointly releasing a Cut 90 series of compilation cassettes to promote the new wave of dance and indie talent emerging in Leeds, the first 40 minute, £3.99 edition called ‘Rize’ featuring EZE & Boy Wonder (aka Nightmares On Wax), Breaking The Illusion, Mad Love, N.M.T., Ictus, Mike Hirst, and the Bridewell Taxis (available from Snowshine Ltd, Unit 22b, 31 Aire Street, Leeds LS2 4HT) . . . Sleeping Bag Records’ rap acts EPMD, Just Ice, Stezo, Nice & Smooth, and Cash Money & Marvelous have a variety of their videos featured on a 50 minute, £9.99 ‘Video Rap Pack’ (Wienerworld WNR 1069, via Parkfield Entertainment) . . . Allan Campbell (keen to hear from pluggers on 031-343 3653) presents a new dance biased ‘The Duke’ show Sundays 7-10pm on Edinburgh’s Radio Forth RFM 97.3FM, interviewing all the stars too . . . No Way F.C. 90 hold their first Thursday of the month ‘hip soul and mellow beats’ night this week (May 3) at The Brain in London’s Wardour Street (opposite the Swiss Centre), with guest DJ Roy The Roach plus regulars Phil Asher, John Hines, ‘Young’ Paul  Williams . . . The Tribal Dance Organisation brings A Touch Of Summer to Bristol Studio this Friday (4) with Carl Cox, Dom T, DJ Sam, Easy Groove Shane and many other artistic attractions . . . Soul II Soul celebrate the first anniversary of their Friday residency at Brixton’s The Fridge this week . . . Craig & Marcus’s monthly Liberation, with big name DJ guests, is presumably at Northfleet’s Red Lion this Saturday . . . Decadence and Synergy combine for a 6pm-2am rave on Bank Holiday Monday (7) at Kentish Town’s Town & Country Club, featuring The Shamen and Orbital live plus DJs ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards, Kid Batchelor, Mr C, Steve Bicknell, Stika and other sound manipulators . . . Miss Bliss, Wendy K, Hannah Ford, Christina Raven and Vie Marshall are the muthas presenting Muthaland Mondays at Westbourne Green’s Woody’s in Woodfield Road, bringing a female sensibility to the presentation of rap in a “non-sexist, non-violent and non-racist environment” . . . Gary Marson has slowed down to bassy and beaty tempos for Below The Beat Wednesdays at the Hippo in Nottingham, where his and Paul O’Wain’s also slower Red Zone Tuesday has by now probably switched from Eden to Venus . . . Mr C and Barney B rave it up on Wednesdays at Daventry’s free admission Beach Comber, and Friday late nights (10pm-6am) at Coventry’s Vine St . . . Steve Briers’ Thursday is the upfront night at Haverfordwest’s Minnies, down by the riverside . . . DJ Jon and Urbania claim their Wild Life Thursday at Players is the best house night in Bath . . . Dave Downes and Martin Rayner reckon their “rampant rave” Tuesdays and soul/dance/house Thur/Fri/Sat/Sundays make Trax the hottest, most happenin’ venue in Basildon . . . Yin Yan’s Friday Dance Crazy rave, with weekly guests, is in the civilised surroundings of Bournemouth’s The Academy . . . Berlins in Derby’s Beckett Street features a Saturday lunchtime session with veteran soul DJ Den Mac spinning ‘modern soul’ to the accompaniment of sporting videos and cheap liquor (info courtesy of his mum!) . . . James Brown, now that he’s been released from jail, is working off a period of community service by counselling troubled teenagers . . . Martin Freeland, the secretive creator of ‘Way Out West’, has given up concealing his identity and is actually PA-ing as Man With No Name! . . . KICKIN’!

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RHYTHMATIC, comprised of familiar faces Mark Gamble (left) from Krush and Leroy Crawford from T-Cut-F, both early Midlands house pioneers, have added another new twist to the story about their hot ‘Take Me Back‘ electro instrumental, confessing they called the original promo’s label 0742 Records deliberately to create a scam, using the Sheffield telephone area code number as its name because of all the attention that city has been receiving as a music making centre. Apparently, the result was that major labels sent scouts to scour Sheffield for the non-existent label, when all along the single was scheduled for full release this week on Birmingham’s Network Records (NWKT 8) — now, ironically, with a new A-side re-edit of the original version by, in fact, FON Force’s Robert Gordon, from Sheffield!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Jay Strongman

JAZZ & THE BROTHERS GRIMM ‘Casanova (Raving Hell Mix)’ (124bpm) (Tam Tam Records TTT 024, via Savage)
Remixed yet again and out now for a third time, this infectiously squawked Coffee girl group oldie reviving hip house-ish bounder (with bursts of male rap) is more excitingly treated than ever, thunderously tumbling and charging, flipped by a more starkly wriggling Rocky Mix (123¾bpm) plus the De La Soul inspired ‘Yellow Can‘ (109½bpm). A likely smash this time!

EN VOGUE ‘Hold On (Extended Version)’ (97¼bpm) (Atlantic A7908T)
As pointed out last week, and borne out by its massive leap up all the dance charts, this Foster McElroy created excellent sultrily jogging purposeful SOS Band-like roller — grittily wailed, growled and cooed by the four girls who wowed Prestatyn and every other audience that have seen them — has suddenly exploded while still on import, and with perfect timing is now out here (Radio Version and 7″ Edit too).

MANTRONIX (Featuring Wondress) ‘Take Your Time’ (Capitol 12CL 573)
Wondress once again wails this specially recorded UK follow-up, a sinuous jiggly jogger funkily drummed in Eric B & Rakim’s ‘Paid In Full’ style through a lovely melodic lilt reminiscent of Leon Ware’s ‘That’s Why I Came To California’, in fadingly segued Club (107¼bpm) and drier Dub (108½bpm) versions, rapper Bryce Luvah alone fast talking the flip’s jerkily racing hip house ‘Don’t You Want More (Club Version)‘ (122bpm), much faster than the LP version. Continue reading “May 5, 1990: Jazz & The Brothers Grimm, En Vogue, Mantronix (featuring Wondress), Going Back To Basics EP, Exocet”