James Hamilton's Disco Page

Disco News

Graham Thornton, Tea Council Young DJ winner, is confirmed as the early hours 2 to 6am Sunday morning man on Manchester’s Piccadilly Radio from next weekend (Nov 5), but meanwhile jocks this Saturday (28) at Boroughbridge Hotel Cottages . . . Polydor have imported 15,000 of Alicia Bridges’s US 12in to sell here at £1.25 . . . Phonogram beat the opposition to get Rahni Harris and rush it on 12in as soon as possible! Others from them include Crown Heights Affair ‘Gonna Love You Forever’ / ‘Say A Prayer For Two’ on remixed 12in next week and Village People’s ultra-gay ‘YMCA’ out mid-month . . . more for November are Shalamar on 12in, War ‘Youngblood’ 12, Voyage ‘Souvenirs’ (from the up-coming ‘Fly Away’ LP) flipped by ‘Lady America’ on 12in, Aquarian Dream LP, Diana Ross/Michael Jackson ‘Ease On Down The Road’ 7in next week and James Brown ‘Nature, Parts 1 & 2’ 7in the week after . . . Pulse ‘The Warrior’ (Ipi Tombi IPT 1S), an exciting 12in to mix out of ‘British Hustle’ or Manu Dibango, is available via Spartan Distributors (01-903 4753) – so tell your local shop if you’ve been having trouble . . . somehow my idea of disco radio is not incessant repetition of Dan Hartman, Sylvester and Sugar Cane, interspersed with Gordon Lightfoot, Barry Aldias and ads for a Byrds compilation, is it yours?! . . . Yvonne Marvil needs specialist rock jocks for her mailing list at Shaboodle Promotions Ltd, 148 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0LH, so send details of your rock gigs, while Andrew Bunker (currently working on Chrysalis disco product) invites all jocks to send him their work details at Leapfrog Promotions, Priory House, Kingsgate Place, London NW6 . . . Strathclyde DJ Assn challenge various local showbiz teams to a double-headed charity Five-A-Side football tournament this Sunday (29) at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall, starting 3pm . . . later that night at 8pm the South Eastern Disco Assn meet in Wrotham’s Spring Tavern . . . Chris Archer, founding father of the East Anglian DJ Assn, has resigned for personal reasons as secretary, which role will now be handled temporarily by Peter May of 4 Aerodrome Road, Thorpe, Norwich, Norfolk (Norwich 35084) . . . The DJ Federation-affiliated association for the central south east coast is the Solent DJA, c/o, Ray Hewins, 29 Allens Road, Southsea, Portsmouth (0705 28291) – OK, Andy Desmond? . . . guess what, Brighton Metro’s Grease promotion has been cancelled – but not, as DJ John Lewis hastens to explain, because people in jeans would be barred! . . . the original backers of proposed new DJ World monthly magazine have dropped out, but guiding light Garrell Redfearn still plans to publish, eventually – OK, Ashley Woods? . . . Enri Yori of Peckham Red Bull fame keeps reporting disgraceful rip-offs by record shops who ignore the advertised price of 12in issues and sell them at way above the proper price – something else that unlimited 12in runs should put an end to!

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New Spins

PHIL HURTT: ‘Giving It Back’ (Fantasy 12FTC 161)
Lovely happy Philly flier with an infectious almost conga rhythm, already a disco monster on import and now finally out as limited 6:00 12in or 3:45 7in.

MANU DIBANGO: ‘Sun Explosion’ / ‘Big Blow’ (Decca GFR 13810)
Typical happy fast afro jumper on 8:05 12in or 3:52 7in, with for the first time on UK 12in last year’s similar disco smash as 8.00 flip.

QUARTZ: ‘Beyond The Clouds’ (Pye 7NL 25797-12) (BNDA debut 7/22/78)
Incredibly powerful but simple electronic pounder has some crashing piano chords which help make it a well-proven floor filler (for me anyway), on well-cut 12in. Try mixing out of Cerrone ‘Supernature’!  Continue reading “October 28, 1978: Phil Hurtt, Manu Dibango, Quartz, Stanley Turrentine, Brothers Johnson”

Disco News

Heatwave’s reggae remix of ‘Mind Blowing Decisions’ will now be B-side of their ‘Always And Forever’, due on 20,000 copy limited edition 12in this Friday (GTO GT 12 236)! . . . Sylvester ‘Dance (Disco Heat)’ is finally confirmed as his follow-up here on Nov 10, while a week earlier, Chaka Khan’s great ‘I’m Every Woman’ is set for 12in release . . . Commodores ‘Three Times A Lady’ is currently about on 6:31 Dutch 12in, with ‘Brick House’ as flip, and there’s evidently a Mick Jackson “extended” remix 12in on yellow vinyl . . . Parliafunkadelicment tour in early December with three nights at Hammersmith Odeon, which mean Funkadelic’s 11 minute remix 12in of ‘One Nation Under A Groove’ could be out here then . . . Thames Valley DJ Assn members meet at noon in the Tower Arms, Richings Park, Iver. Slough, to meet WEA’s Fred Dove and Phonogram’s John Waller, and learn about crime prevention – hmmmm, if I’m awake I could make it too!

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New Spins

Once again pressure of events have made me late with the deadline, so there was no time to listen to the newies – sorry! However, these look like being the week’s most interesting:

PHIL HURTT ‘Giving It Back’ (Fantasy 12 FTC 161) on full 12in remix or 3:45 7in; MANU DIBANGO ‘Sun Explosion’ / ‘Big Blow’ (Decca GFR 13810) on 12in at full 8:05 and 8:00; QUARTZ ‘Beyond The Clouds’ (Pye 7NL 25797-12) (BNDA debut 7/22/78) great electronic 12in goes well with Cerrone; VELVELETTES ‘Needle In A Haystack’ / ‘He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’’ (Motown TMG 1124) classic stompers; AFRO-CUBAN BAND ‘Rhythm Of Life’ (Arista ARIST 12-214) (BNDA debut 9/2/78) on 5:46 12in or 3:24 7in; BUNNY MALONEY ‘Baby I’ve Been Missing You’ (Gull GULS 65) great reggae; PETER TOSH & MICK JAGGER ‘(You Gotta Walk) Don’t Look Back’ (EMI 2859) pop-reggae; TIMMY THOMAS ‘Freak In Freak Out’ (TK TKR7505); RICK JAMES ‘Mary Jane’ (Motown TMG 1121) heavy funk; FINISHED TOUCH ‘Need To Know You Better’ LP (Motown STML 12095) mid-tempo title track remains most popular; PAUL JABARA ‘Keeping Time’ LP (Casablanca CAL 2029) (BNDA debut 8/26/78) includes original of ‘Last Dance’; EASTBOUND EXPRESSWAY ‘Never Let Go’ (Pye 7NL 25798) (BNDA debut 10/28/78) on 9:55 12in; STEVE KHAN ‘The Blue Man’ LP (CBS 83146) with jazz-funk ‘Some Down Time’; DONNA MCGHEE ‘Do As I Do’ (Anchor ANC 1061) on 12in and 7in; KRAFTWERK ‘Neon Lights’ (Capitol 12CL 15998) on luminous 12in; KEBEKELEKTRIK ‘Kebekelektrik’ LP (Epic EPC 83005) (BNDA debut 6/24/78) with 8:07 ‘War Dance’; CONSTELLATION ORCHESTRA ‘Perfect Love Affair’ LP (CBS 83004) (BNDA debut 7/1/78) with 7:20 ‘Perfect Love Affair’, 7:07 ‘Cosmic Melody’ and 6:40 ‘Funk Encounter’; INNER CITY EXPRESS ‘Spring Rain’ (Ebony EYE 15) cover of Silvetti; CLAUDJA BARRY ‘Down By The Water’ (Lollipop LOLLY 3) Boney M sound-alike; MADLEEN KANE ‘C’est Si Bon’ (Decca FR 13805); SWITCH ‘There’ll Never Be’ (Motown TMG 1123); TYRONE ASHLEY ‘Don’t Stop Dancing’ (UA UP 36431); M. J. WILLIAMS ‘Only Your Love Can Save Me Now’ (Ariola ARO 136); WEATHER REPORT ‘River People’ (CBS 6743); GIL SCOTT-HERON ‘Show Bizness’ (Arista ARIST 215); HARVEY MASON ‘Pack Up Your Bags’ (Arista ARIST 208); IN CROWD ‘A Little Bit Of Reggae’ (Cactus CT 114); VIVIAN WEATHERS ‘Hip Hug’ (Virgin Front Line FLS 114); ZAP POW ‘Let’s Fall In Love’ (Island WIP 6451). Full reviews next week, hopefully.  Continue reading “October 21, 1978: “Parliafunkadelicment tour in early December with three nights at Hammersmith Odeon””

Disco News

Manu Dibango ‘Sun Explosion’ is due on Decca 12in any day (GFR 13810), while La Bionda ‘One For You, One For Me’ is finally on full-length 12in now (Mercury 9199895) . . . following last week’s wail, Curtis Mayfield ‘No Goodbyes’ probably will be out here after all! . . . Grey & Hanks ‘You Fooled Me’ is on RCA 7in next week . . . Rumours confirmed, Radio Luxembourg is indeed broadcasting a Disco Format already, with Tony Prince’s Disco Top 30 going out on Sundays from 9-11pm and forming the playlist base – although other musical styles get plenty of slots too . . . Pinnacle Records needs new disco-type acts to record, so send audition tapes to Paul Lynton at Pinnacle, 62 Grosvenor Street, London W1 (that’s musical acts, not DJ’s, dummy!) . . . Roger Squire’s London Disco Centre at 176 Junction Road, Tufnell Park, is running a big clearance sale on certain equipment lines, so call Nigel Morris on 01-272 8463 for up-to-date details . . . Disco Power of Newport, South Wales, are expanding into larger factory premises so that their sound and lighting lines can be distributed in bulk by a larger dealer network, rather than just selling locally in their South Wales Disco Centre shop . . . also in that area, the South Wales DJ Assn application form is even more complicated than RCA’s Disco Direction booklet! . . . Martin Starr of Bristol has teamed up with fellow funk jocks Malc Haynes and Larry Speed to form the solidly funky US Soul Roadshow (Bristol 694156), with plans for a local soul club to open soon and also the need of a venue for a soul all-dayer – any offers? . . . I told you Crown Heights Affair would be good, and at Hammersmith their ‘Say A Prayer For Two’ was the most gospel-wailing, soul-searing thing I’ve heard for ages – but from that point on their energy level went into overkill and my mind went numb after a while! . . . In Brighton last week after the Crusaders gig, I tried visiting DJ John Lewis at Metro but was barred as my photographer was wearing denim jeans (pressed with knife-edge creases though!). I wonder how Metro will cope with the Grease promotion due there on the 25th! Would Travolta be barred too?

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New Spins

DAN HARTMAN: ‘Instant Replay’ (Blue Sky SKY 6706) (BNDA debut 8/19/78)
Rocket countdown to disco dynamite at its utmost with the ex-Edgar Winter rocker shrieking like Sylvester as the sax soars, however, the brilliant US 12in will ludicrously NOT be out here although it contains all the main power. Whatever you do, get the import if you can, as at 3:25 this is silly in comparison!

MUSIQUE: ‘In The Bush’ (from LP ‘Keep On Jumpin’’, CBS 83173) (BNDA debut 7/29/78)
Out here at last, the mindlessly metronomic import smash is a dead simple 8:20 girlie group jumper that builds into a catchy “push push, in the bush” chorus, with a rhythm that locks perfectly onto Dan Hartman. Zingier but similar title track is useful too.

SYLVESTER: ‘Dance (Disco Heat)’ (from LP ‘Step II’, Fantasy FT 549) (BNDA debut 7/8/78)
Exciting 5:50 stormer spurts into a series of short gaps containing freaky effects, but it and the 6:30 ‘You Make Me Feel’ are not the US 12in mix.  Continue reading “October 14, 1978: Dan Hartman, Musique, Sylvester, Ashford & Simpson, Teddy Pendergrass”

Disco News

Curtis Mayfield ‘No Goodbyes’ will – amazingly – NOT be out here in any form, despite it being his best disco dancer since 1971’s ‘Move On Up’, so you’ve gotta get it on import! . . . Sweet Thunder’s 12in remix will be issued here at last, but – wait for it – on unlimited 33 1/3 rpm 7in, as the 12in (i.e. LP) presses are all tied up with Xmas album product! . . . Brothers Johnson ‘Ride-O-Rocket’ will be on Funk A&Merica soon, with ‘Rocket Countdown’ as a bonus extra on the 12in version only – and Atlantic Starr ‘Stand Up’ will be on extended US remix form on Funk A&Merica too . . . Quint ‘9 To 5’ is also on 12in (RCA PC 5114) . . . Rus Phillips offers a half-price import LP to any DJ spending £25 at his disco department (open Friday evening & all day Saturday) at ‘Ere For Music in Manor Park Broadway – he also needs Passport and Slave on 12in, so any swapsies? . . . Heatwave ‘Always And Forever’ / ‘Ain’t No Half Steppin’’ will be on 20,000 12in and Stanley Turrentine on 10,000 12in, both within a fortnight! . . . London’s LODJ Assn meets this Sunday (8) at 4pm in Three Wheatsheaves, 52 Upper Street, Angel . . . East Anglia DJ Assn, with 80 members from Norfolk/Suffolk/Cambridge, plans to expand, so contact Chris Archer on Norfolk 860241 if interested . . . in answer to persistent doubters, Mick Jackson wrote and originated ‘Blame It On The Boogie’, NOT The Jacksons . . . United Artists’ new policy switch away from disco product means that Ian Levine stops his UA mailouts but is currently compiling a US-style segued LP that mixes imports and oldies . . . Frenchies’ Palm Beach restaurant in Worcester Park turns up the funk-jazz volume control and has star PA’s every Saturday from 11am until early next morning, making it what they call the only all-dayer in a restaurant! The Frenchies beach party is again on Christmas Day at Camberley’s Cambridge Hotel, and in fact all hotel accommodation has already been booked by funksters from Bournemouth and Tottenham . . . Dublin’s gay Le Spank club is in the process of moving premises.

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New Spins

Tough new deadlines (or actually the old ones kept to!) have not left me enough time to listen to any records for the last two weeks, for which many apologies.

Anyway, these are the most significant of the new disco releases:

SYLVESTER: ‘Step II’ LP (Fantasy FT 549), with full 6:39 ‘You Make Me Feel’ and 5:54 ‘Dance (Disco Heat)’; JOE THOMAS: ‘Plato’s Retreat’ (TK TKR 6049) (BNDA debut 8/12/78) on 4:46 7in only; TEDDY PENDREGRASS: ‘Only You’ (Philadelphia Int’l PIR 6713) on 7:58 remix 12in; OLYMPIC RUNNERS: ‘Get It While You Can’ (Polydor RUN 012) on longer 12in; ROY AYERS: ‘Get On Up, Get On Down’ (Polydor AYERS 12) finally out; ASHFORD & SIMPSON: ‘It Seems To Hang On’ (Warner Bros. K 17237) on 3:40 7in; GAP MANGIONE: ‘Time Of The Season’ / ‘Mellow Out’ (Funk A&Merica AMSP 7377) on 12in but minus ‘Sister Jo’; CAROL DOUGLAS: ‘Burnin’’ (Midsong BURN 12) (BNDA debut 9/9/78) on longer 12in; BONEY M.: ‘Rasputin’ (Atlantic K 11192) on 4:39 7in and 7:33 remix 12in; DONNA SUMMER: ‘MacArthur Park’ (Casablanca CAN 131) (BNDA debut 9/23/78); SUPREMES: ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ (Motown TMG 925); FOUR TOPS: ‘I Can’t Help Myself’ / ‘It’s The Same Old Song’ (Motown TMG 1120); SWITCH: ‘Switch’ LP (Motown STML 12096) with ‘We Like To Party . . . Come On’ and good slowies; AFRO-CUBAN BAND: ‘Rhythm Of Life’ (Arista ARIST 214) (BNDA debut 9/2/78) on 3:24 7in; LAURIN RINDER & W. MICHAEL LEWIS: ‘Envy (Animal Fire)’ / ‘Lust’ (Pye 7NL 25779) (BNDA debut 4/8/78) on 12in at 9:54 and 7:09; J.A.L.N. BAND: ‘Universal Love’ (Magnet MAG 131); MARSHA HUNT: ‘The Other Side Of Midnight’ (Magnet 12MAG 130) (BNDA debut 1/14/78) on 4:00 7in or 4:47 12in; QUINCY JONES: ‘Love I Never Had It So Good’ / ‘I Heard That’ / ‘Body Heat’ (Funk A&Merica AMSP 7385) on 7in and 12in with 3:20 or 5:14 A-side.

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Continue reading “October 7, 1978: “Tough new deadlines””

Disco News

Hot gossip of the moment suggests that Radio Luxembourg may adopt a disco-orientated programming format as an alternative to BBC Radio One when the latter begins its evening transmissions soon . . . Southgate Royalty’s promoters have had to postpone their Edmonton Picketts Lock funk all-nighter but promise that absolutely definite is the 1st International Soul Week-Ender – likely to be known as the Disco Olympics – at Caister Holiday Center near Gt Yarmouth on April 20-22 next year, with Chris Hill, Robbie Vincent, etc, in residence as your funky redcoats! . . . Magnet’s Joanna Kochen needs more gay club jocks from around the country for her mailing list: contact her at Magnet Records, 22 York Street, London W1H 1FD . . . Polydor’s Theo Loyla looked suspiciously at ease, dressed in full female drag for the Ilford Room At The Top fancy dress party (he’s even painted back his eyebrows), but why was he walking the High Street arm-in-arm with Phonogram’s John Waller?! . . . Thames Valley DJ Assn’s first charity soccer match kicks off at 4pm this Sunday (1) followed by a disco dance, all at the MG Sports & Social Club at Abingdon’s Caldecot Road – details from Phil Sheridan on Drayton 319 . . . Humberside Assn of DJ’s meets monthly on Sundays with 40 members so far, mostly from Hull/Driffield area – contact Rex Booth on Hull 441643 . . . D.C. LaRue ‘Let Them Dance’ is now on full 9:15 12in (Pye 7NL 25795) . . . Dan Hartman’s ultra-hot ‘Instant Replay’ comes forward to October 13 release, but possibly only on 7in (madness!), while Phil Hurtt, Stanley Turrentine and Luv You Madly Orchestra are set for 12in soon . . . Bob Marley’s next is a live 12in of ‘Exodus’ / ‘Jamming’ in a month, while Hi-Tension’s is ‘Autumn Love’ – a slowie from their upcoming LP . . . Charles Earland ‘Over And Over’ is on 8:45 remix US 12in.

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No New Spins this week.  Continue reading “September 30, 1978: “Radio Luxembourg may adopt a disco-orientated programming format””

Disco News

Caroline Roadshow’s stolen van was discovered on Monday abandoned in Stoke Newington, still containing some of their disco gear (not that they’re short of equipment!) . . . Thames Valley DJ Assn members meet this Sunday (24) at noon in Didcot’s Rio Discotheque on Hadden Hill, with a talk on insurance problems and guests including EMT LRD’s Steve Turner . . . Chris Hill’s beach party last Saturday at Canvey’s Goldmine was highlighted by a “butch” contest in which notorious Stevenage pee-pee drinker Tom, made up as the Man From Atlantis, ran across the road for a dip in the sea while an ally pissed into a pint glass on stage, ready for thirsty Tom’s naked return – when he downed the lot! Two girls were heard to remark “he’s very nice, but his breath smells like you could catch (CENSORED!! -Ed.)”. OK, I’ll drink to that! . . . Joe Thomas ‘Plato’s Retreat’ and a new Olympic Runners 12in are due next week, while Quartz ‘Beyond The Clouds’ (on 12in only) is set for Oct 13 and Dan Hartman ‘Instant Replay’ for Oct 27 . . . David Williams ‘Come On Down Boogie People’ will now NOT be out here, but Crown Heights Affair’s LP has been issued at normal UK prices and The Jacksons ‘Blame It On The Boogie’ cover is on same-as-7in-length 12in . . . Atlantic Starr ‘Stand Up’ is on 6:24 remix US 12in, Ashford & Simpson ‘It Seems To Hang On’ is on 6:57 remix promo US 12in, while Gato Barbieri ‘Poinciana’ is edited for 3:40 US 7in . . . Mick O’Shea’s new Yankee record import wholesale business in Chislehurst also services jocks like Chris Hill and Tricky Dicky on a personal basis, so could be worth a call on 01-857 1555/7117 for the hip amongst you . . . Arista’s Tony Berry has moved on to be marketing manager at Pinnacle, while Dougall DJ is standing down from his Strathclyde DJ Assn and DJF roles to concentrate on his career (and save money!), with hopes for a music biz job in London next year . . . Rob Harknett needs label info about a classical piece commonly known as the ‘Death March’ – any ideas?

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New Spins

EDDIE HENDERSON: ‘Prance On’ (Capitol 12-CL 16015)
Dynamite 5:16 jazz-funk trumpet jumper has already exploded on LP and is now on 12in, with last year’s great ‘Say You Will’ as double-value £4.98 flip – go get it while its hot!

ROY AYERS: ‘Get On Up, Get On Down’ (Polydor AYERS 12)
Repetitive happy rhythm-rattling leaper on special 4:25 12in with a “reprise cue” band so jocks can whip the stylus back to the last 1:38 for a quick repeat of the chanting title line break. Dealer demand is such that they’ve evidently pressed plenty!

WAYNE HENDERSON: ‘Hot Stuff’ (Polydor 2066947)
Long awaited instrumental jazz-funk jiggler by the Crusaders’ old trombonist hits a nagging mid-tempo groove but fades after 3:58.  Continue reading “September 23, 1978: Eddie Henderson, Roy Ayers, Wayne Henderson, Blackwell, Afro-Cuban Band”

Disco News

Eddie Henderson ‘Prance On’ has exploded as anticipated, but many jocks are also playing the LP’s ‘Cyclops’ at 45 rpm – making it a hot jazz-funk leaper! . . . Sam J Johnson could finally be out here soon, while for imminent release are Gap Mangione on Funk A&Merica 12in, Wayne Henderson (7in) . . . planned for early October are Teddy Pendergrass ‘Only You’ 7:18 remix 12in (with ‘Close The Door’ as plug side for radio), Carol Douglas ‘Burnin’’ on chocolate vinyl Polydor 12in, Independent Movement (possible 12in), Pockets . . . Jonathan King and Music Machine are now on 12in . . . Capitol’s much ballyhooed “luminous” vinyl Kraftwerk 12in and LP, due soon, have been beaten by Virgin’s luminous Yellow Dog ‘Little Gods’ (VS 224)! . . . Frenchies’ new Palm Beach restaurant in Worcester Park has an official music business opening on Monday (18), but served punters from last Saturday. There’s a special prize for spotting the most spelling mistakes in the menu, and a money-back offer if you throw up when Travolta’s ‘Summer Nights’ suddenly slips in between Stanley Turrentine and Sam J Johnson on the otherwise excellent music tape (come back Dave Simmons!) . . . Rus “12in” Phillips opens a new disco department this Saturday (16) at East London’s ‘Ere For Music store in Manor Park, Broadway, stocking imports, oldies and UK releases with discounts to bona fide DJ’s (take proof). Times are Friday evening till 6pm and all day Saturday . . . North-East Essex DJ Assn holds a fund-raising DJ Party Dance on Wednesday (20) at Colchester Embassy Suite.

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New Spins

ROY AYERS: ‘Can’t You See Me?’ (from LP ‘You Send Me’, Polydor 2391365)
Superb 6:07 jazzy bouncer with almost a conga rhythm and great scat ‘n vibes, huge in London, mixes perfectly out of Herbie Hancock’s slow bit (and then into Third World), while the more obvious repetitive fast 4:23 ‘Get On Up, Get On Down’ leaper will be on 12in soon.

ROSE ROYCE: ‘Strikes Again’ LP (Whitfield K 56527)
Generally laid-back “listening” LP with lotsa lovely slowies (worth using), so that only the 45’s ‘Do It Do It’ and a typically burbling ‘First Come First Serve’ 3:19 clapper are solidly uptempo.

IAN MATTHEWS: ‘Man In The Station’ (Rockburgh ROCS 206)
Excellent bouncily thudding 3:55 cool white disco jumper, worth checking cos it could be big.  Continue reading “September 16, 1978: Roy Ayers, Rose Royce, Ian Matthews, La Bionda, Gladys Knight & The Pips”

Disco News

Camberley’s Frenchies are opening a trendy new restaurant this Saturday (9) in the High Street, Worcester Park, South West London. Called the Palm Beach, it’ll feature lotsa palm trees, stuffed seagulls, waitresses in ultra-short shorts and beach shirts, a hamburger / lasagna / moussaka / pizza / malt liquor-type menu and – of course – the hottest jazz-funk. You’d better book on 01-330 1982 . . . Chris Brown and Graham Canter fill in for Robbie Vincent on Radio London’s Saturday morning soul show until next week . . . Although the South East has gone wild over ‘In The Bush’, Musique’s ‘Summer Love’ is now on 7:51 12in (CBS 12-6579) . . . Wilbert Longmire won’t be out here until November, but Teddy Pendergrass ‘Only You’ and Joe Thomas ‘Plato’s Retreat’ are due later this month, probably on 12in . . . Candi Staton ‘Victim’ (edited 7in) and Tony Orlando ‘Don’t Let Go’ (12in remix) are out next week, Ashford & Simpson (7in) and Boney M ‘Rasputin’ (12in) are due Sept. 22, Bettye LaVette (12in) and Linda Clifford ‘Gypsy Lady’ (12in probably) are set for Sept. 29 . . . The Roy Ayers track for UK 12in will be ‘Get On Up, Get On Down’, with a special “reprise cue” gimmick of a cueing band 1:38 from the disc’s end so that jocks can repeat it quickly if they want – huh? However, so far, ‘Can’t You See Me’ has three times the DJ support . . . Carrie Lucas ‘Street Corner Symphony’ / ‘Tic Toc’ is on 12in next week, while La Bionda ‘One For You, One For Me’ will be a Mercury 12in here Sept. 22 . . . Until the smallpox scare ends, all Birmingham jocks are excused sending reaction reports to Phonogram and WEA! . . . Dave Dee of Bebington (resident of Birkenhead Cabin) wants record companies to know that it’s an imposter who’s diverting his mail to a Manchester address.

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New Spins

EDDIE HENDERSON: ‘Prance On’ (from LP ‘Mahal’, Tower EST 11846)
Dynamite fast 5:16 flier by the jazz-funk trumpeter that’s set to explode – around the South East, anyway! It’s right in the sparse skipping Charles Earland groove, so you’ve been warned!

ROSE ROYCE: ‘Love Don’t Live Here Anymore’ / ‘Do It Do It’ (Whitfield K 17236)
Sensational delicate 3:56 smoocher, full of those trendy syn-drum noises, with a great brassily blasting herky-jerky 4:09 funky flip for extra double-sided value.

GAP MANGIONE: ‘Mellow Out’ (from LP ‘Suite Lady’, A&M AMLH 64694)
At last (though the 45’s still late!), the smash import exciting fast 5:39 funk-jazz jumper – amazingly like a squeaky synthesizer version of the Crusaders’ ‘Put It Where You Want It’ – has now been overtaken in the South East by the much more specialist 5:27 ‘Sister Jo/Time Of The Season’ medley, a trickily lurching jazzy builder that gets quite fast before subsiding again into quieter piano-backed thumps ‘n bumps.  Continue reading “September 9, 1978: Eddie Henderson, Rose Royce, Gap Mangione, El Coco, Solar Flare”

Disco News

Pye Records are now selling unlimited 12in pressings at £1.25 and are not just using the 12in format as a lever into the charts. New on 12in is Patrick Juvet, while next week sees Real Thing and El Coco with David Williams to follow soon . . . Gap Mangione’s LP is due now, but the 45 coupling goes back to Sept. 22 . . . Roy Ayers’s LP is out mid-month, Wayne Henderson’s ‘Hot Stuff’ will be on 45 only eventually . . . Nigel Martinez is now not on longer promo 12in, but even so is one of London’s hottest funky hits – try it if you haven’t, as it’s a great rhythmic pick-up segued out of anything! . . . WEA’s Fred Dove has some Detroit Spinners on US promo 12in, which should go well in the North West . . . Friday/Saturday/Sunday (1/2/3) Jim Kershaw and various Radio Hallam jocks demonstrate disco gear at the Sheffield Trades Fair in Hillsborough Park, open to the public and free on Sunday . . . London’s LODJ Assn meets 4pm on Sunday (3) in the Three Wheatsheaves pub, 52 Upper Street, Angel, N1, while over in Essex the Havering DJ Assn has been formed by some local mobiles and needs more (free) members. Contacts are: LODJ, Bill Forrester (01-348-3269), HDJA, Brian Mead (Romford 61129, day / Ingrebourne 49663, evening) . . . Pete Maxwell of Southsea’s new PM Entertainments disco agency is after good South Coast/Hampshire-based jocks for its books, so call 0705-751238 . . . finally, yes Michael Morgan (Chelmsford’s Confunktion Roadshow), Eumir Deodato is on UK 12in – but the hot US promo remix is a lot longer and better. It’s also worth a fortune as there are none left!

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New Spins

BROTHERS JOHNSON: ‘Ain’t We Funkin’ Now’ / ‘Strawberry Letter 23’ / ‘Get The Funk Out Ma Face’ (A&M Funk America AMSP 7379)
Flagship of the new 3-track 12in series has their current funky monster, last year’s lovely lurching slowie and the full 6:10 disco version (not on any LP) of their first boogie, which is edited for the 7in – the only cut in this debut trio that is. In fact, the scaled-down 7in versions are packaged exactly like the limited 12in editions . . . beautifully.

L.T.D.: ‘Holding On’ / ‘Back In Love Again’ / ‘Love Ballad’ (A&M Funk America AMSP 7378) (‘Back In Love Again’ BNDA debut 10/22/77)
Current funky hit (which segues perfectly in the sequence Bros Johnson/Sweet Thunder/L.T.D. – try it!), plus last year’s even better enduring jumper and a tender slowie.

ATLANTIC STARR: ‘Stand Up’ (from LP ‘Atlantic Starr’, A&M AMLH 64711) (BNDA debut 10/7/78)
Dynamite 4:29 funky stamper, already a smash on import – but amazingly not among their Funk America tracks (AMSH 7380), of which brightly romping ‘Don’t Abuse My Love’ is best but heavy US funk tempo ‘Gimme Your Luvin’’ is lead.  Continue reading “September 2, 1978: Brothers Johnson, L.T.D., Atlantic Starr, Third World, Cleveland Eaton”

Disco News

CBS Records and other labels they press like WEA and A&M are being effected by a go-slow at the CBS pressing plant . . . Barry Manilow is now on commercial 12in while Tyrone David ‘Mind Blowing Decisions’ scales down to 7in (D-Roy PF 009) . . . upcoming on 12in soon are Solar Flare, El Coco, Players’ Association, Carrie Lucas and a Gladys Knight newie, while LP’s include Michael Henderson and Renzo Fraiese . . . SEDA members meet at 8 pm on Sunday (27) in Tunbridge Wells’s Robin Hood, Sandhurst Road, to learn about record manufacturing while Clyde Coast DJ Assn members participate in an all-dayer at Ayr’s Darlington Hotel also on Sunday. Association secretaries are: South Eastern DA, Brian Davies (0342-832 559); Clyde Coast DJA, John Andrews (Darvel 21988) . . . Nikkie Peck and Roger Yarwood share a Disco Review spot on BBC Radio Medway’s Rod Lucas Show every Wednesday between 8:10-9:00pm, while one of our Edinburgh contributors broadcasts illegally as Martin Davis every Sunday on Radio Telstar International on 222m MW between 10:00pm-midnight!

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New Spins

STARGARD: ‘What You Waitin’ For’ (MCA 12MCA 382)
Absolutely dynamite Rose Royce-type funky bubbler, already exploding, on 3:37 7in or what I’m told is sensational six-minute 12in. I’ll believe it!

AL HUDSON & THE SOUL PARTNERS: ‘How Do You Do’ (ABC 4229)
Terrific thundering funky chugger with useful applause intro, huge on import, hits a James Brown-style groove that don’t quit for 5:49 of 12in!

LENNY WILLIAMS: ‘You Got Me Running’ (ABC 4228) (BNDA debut 7/29/78)
Great deceptively fast funky flier’s long been hitting on LP and now makes full 7:45 12in or edited 3:52 7in.  Continue reading “August 26, 1978: Stargard, Al Hudson, Lenny Williams, Brothers Johnson, Jeff Wayne”