James Hamilton's Disco Page

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 Eden’s Paradise ‘The Dance (Revisited)’ has had to be withdrawn while its Orbital sample is completely recreated, full release now being due at the end of May — when Guru Josh ‘Who’s Law’ is out commercially with a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”

BEATS & PIECES

FRANKIE CROCKER, following the popularity of his previous visit, is back on London’s Capital FM next week (April 30-May 4) broadcasting his evening soul show simultaneously on New York City’s WBL “kickin'” S! . . . Soul II Soul’s imminent new album is much more consistently tempoed than their first, side two being especially strong with a brilliant instrumental called ‘Time‘ which I can’t stop replaying on cassette, and a future smash ‘Our Time Has Now Come‘ closing track . . . Light Of The World are about to return with a single mixed by Jazzie B, which can’t hurt — and Teena Marie is being produced by him, too . . . LiveWire Promotions’ seventh Prestatyn weekender possibly dragged on rather too long over four days at Easter but delivered most of what had been promised, there being just a few substitutions among the publicised PAs, while the huge main room (with improved atmospheric lighting) was totally surrounded by a stylised cityscape custom painted on banners, a gigantic inflatable fly hovering menacingly above the stage to complete the theme . . . Darryl Pandy so energetically performed his upcoming house revival of The O’Jays’ ‘I Love Music’ at Prestatyn, kicking his slippers high over the stage curtains before rolling around on the floor waggling his legs in the air, that he was taken away by stretcher with a bad back . . . Robert Owens, you would have thought legendary enough from his soulful vocal work with Fingers Inc, was met with bored indifference and actual boos by the Prestatyn crowd, suggesting that deep house is too subtle for today’s ravers (for whom, to judge from this South-East dominated weekender anyway, slower funky Soul II Soul/Snap/Family Stand-type tempos really do mean increasingly more now) . . . Chris Brown, the contemporary acid house rave DJ, really cracked it at Prestatyn however by reverting to his veteran soul roots for a set that drew not only applause after his every lesser known though excellent classy selection, but also spontaneous soul clapping through all the rhythm breaks, and massed formation dancing . . . Lisa Stansfield was so closely protected by bodyguards that not even the promoters could get close to her at Prestatyn (where Snowboy played percussion in her band), it being a real case of “Elvis has left the building” as immediately her live show was over she was whisked into a waiting coach and away . . . Flavor Flav, so enjoying himself that he stayed on the camp at Prestatyn, is not at all the rap fanatic one might suspect from Public Enemy, confessing to a love of doo wop (Fifties vocal groups) — but he knows what time it is, even if the clock around his neck has stopped! … George Ergatoudis, fresh from producing both a one hour documentary on remixing and a series on the history of hip hop for broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in July, is the new club promotions manager at 4th + B’way . . . Ann Matura is building a DJ mailing list at Desire Records, 97 Charlotte Street, London W1P 1LB (apply in writing) . . . Rumour Records are rush releasing Don Pablo’s Animals ‘Venus’, which should make it a lot easier to find here, Cooltempo are rushing D-Shake ‘Yaaaaaaaaaah’/’Techno Trance’, and BCM Records are rushing Richard Rogers ‘Can’t Stop Loving You’ . . . adventures of Stevie V ‘Dirty Cash (Money Talks) (Sold Out Mix)’, as last week’s review omitted, is on Mercury (MERXR 311) . . . Arthur Baker, amongst Breakout’s dropped acts, has indeed now signed to RCA . . . DJ Mark The 45 King’s remix (96½bpm) of David Bowie ‘Fame 90’, featuring Queen Latifah’s rap, turns out to be merely the seven inch B-side! . . . Chrysalis have labelled promos of a Colin Hudd remix of the Blue Aeroplanes’ ‘Lovers All Around’ as “Gangly Bootleg” . . . ‘Hotel California’, the Eagles’ AoR standard, is getting a ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ treatment from Jam On The Mother . . . Nicky Holloway has moved just over the lane beside London’s Charing Cross Road Astoria to the basement of 12 Sutton Row in which, using all white decor, he has created The Milk Bar, an intimate club open six nights a week where the “cream” of London’s DJs will play music “with bottle” to make the place “shake”, and although for instance Fridays feature himself plus Paul Oakenfold and Saturdays Dave Dorrell and Pete Tong, a music policy back to black roots is best exemplified by the start next Thursday of a nostalgic Full Circle night, starring Chris Hill (May 3), Greg Edwards (10), and Froggy (17), no less! . . . Skegness’s Life Weekender this Fri/Sat/Sunday (27/8/9) still has a few places so ring 0772-700282 in a hurry if you fancy seeing the likes of Candy Flip, Paradox, Ashley & Jackson, Stevie V, Mr Monday and a massive DJ line-up including ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards, Cohn Curtis, Colin Faver, Jonathan, Carl Cox, Soul Sam and many more . . . KICKIN’!

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EN VOGUE were the surprise sensation of Easter’s seventh Prestatyn weekender, reviving the classic girl group style of the Sixties with an appealingly choreographed powerful acappella intro to their current import, ‘Hold On‘, which consequently ended up easily the hottest hit to emerge from the four day event — if not just about the only hit ever really broken at Prestatyn so far!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Steve Procter and James Hamilton

DIANA BROWN & BARRIE K SHARPE ‘The Masterplan’
FLUKE ‘Joni’
MXM ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’
BLACK BOX ‘Fantasy’
CABARET VOLTAIRE ‘Keep On’
THE FARM ‘Stepping Stone’
DADA NADA ‘Deep Love’
JOVONN ‘Turn And Run Away’
BASSOMATIC ‘In The Realm Of The Senses’
TRUE LOVE EP (white label – includes the original ‘Your Love’/’You Got The Love’ bootleg)

BBG ‘Snappiness’ (106bpm) (Urban/Hoax Recordings URBX 54)
Originally white labelled as ‘Sn/appiness Mix’, Big Boss Groove’s Soul II Soul ‘Happiness’ inspired instrumental sets placidly plonking piano chords to a jittery driving rhythm that, coincidentally or not, now seems quite like the actual Snap style — did BBG know something that we didn’t back in February, just before ‘The Power’ first appeared? — flipped by new chunkier Happening and Impulse Mixes rather than the original GoGo Mix, with a female vocal version featuring Dina to follow.

LIQUID OXYGEN ‘The Planet Dance (Move Ya Body)’ (Champion CHAMP 12-242)
Huge even while just on import (½bpm faster!), this intriguing combination of various house elements including the piping synth from Unique 3’s ‘The Theme’ with the early electro style of ‘Planet Rock’ is in Club Dance (123bpm) and instrumental Dub Dance (120¾bpm) versions, flipped by the Madness “hey you” introed twittery burbling instrumental ‘You Have To Understand (Club Mix)‘ (123½bpm) and its short Beat Mix (123bpm).

YOUNG M.C. ‘I Come Off’ (95½bpm) (4th + B’way 12BRW 171)
Rightly A-sided here by Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh’s far superior Southern Comfort Mix, their jazz-funky Aaron Neville ‘Hercules’ rhythm jogged slinkily rolling treatment ideally cushions this gruffly bragging rap and also has a UK only instrumental Southern Comfort Dub, flipped by the US A-side’s different sharply jiggling staccato 12″ and 7″ Remixes. Continue reading “April 28, 1990: BBG, Liquid Oxygen, Young M.C., Shut Up And Dance, 2 In A Room”

BEATS & PIECES

AS UNWITTINGLY hinted in last week’s Lance Ellington review, the ‘dance’ label Breakout has in fact been dissolved, all its directly signed acts being dropped apart from L.A. Mix and Jazzi P, who will now be on the main A&M label — to which Steve Wolfe (from Cooltempo) and Bob Masters (from Sleeping Bag Records) are moving as of next Monday to run a revamped dance music division, under the guidance of Jeff Young . . . Arthur Baker and the Backbeat Disciples, amongst the defunct label’s dropped acts, are already talking to RCA . . . Wendy K takes over as head of club promotion at Sleeping Bag Records . . . L.A. Mix, incidentally, are preparing to record their second album and as before are talent scouting for singers and rappers to feature as guest vocalists — those interested in auditioning should first call their manager, Jimmy O’Reilly, on 071-372 1005 . . . Mantronix are again joined by Wondress for the April 30 released sinuous jiggly jogging ‘Take Your Time‘ (Capitol 12CL 573), in segued Club (107¼bpm) and Dub (108½bpm) versions, not so far included on their album (although this apparently is being rectified), flipped by the Bryce Luvah rapped jerkily racing hip house ‘Don’t You Want More (Club Version)‘ (122bpm) . . . DJ Mark The 45 King’s The 900 Number’ was recently deleted to build up a surge of demand after already selling about 50,000 copies here (its popularity since late 1988 as a dance craze tune having been spread slowly by word of mouth), so that it should finally storm the Top 40 (and then be killed stone dead?) when re-released on April 30 (Dance Trax DRXZ 912) including, as previously revealed, some brand new Chad Jackson remixes, currently promoed (though not all are due commercially) with his funkily drumming and James Brown grunts punctuated Numeric Breakdown, C.J. Breakdown (108bpm) and ‘For The Love Of Money’ bassed amongst other changes A Different Style (108½bpm), plus the slowed down Marva Whitney ‘Unwind Yourself’ intro looping Original Instrumental (107¼bpm) . . . CBS have postponed commercial release of The Chimes’ slinkily swaying ‘Stronger Together’ (94½bpm), promoed on white label in David Morales’ lushly drifting Red Zone and more immediately wailing Unified Mixes, as detailed last week by Dave Dorrell, rushing instead their version of U2’s ‘Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For‘ within the next fortnight to coincide with its US release (although apparently we’ll be getting some different mixes) . . . Soft House Company ‘What You Need…‘, an import ‘sleeper’ since last November, is due here soon on a new Phonogram label, Global Village . . . BCM Records have finally got around to releasing Wood Allen ‘Airport ’89’ here (BCM326X) . . . ‘House Party’, the US hit movie’s rap and swingbeat soundtrack album featuring Flavor Flav, LL Cool J & Marley Marl, Kid ‘N Play, Today, Force MD’s, Full Force Family and more, fully reviewed on import w/e March 24, is now out here (Motown ZL72699) . . . Public Enemy’s disappointing ‘911 Is A Joke‘ (103bpm) has been taking its time hitting The Club Chart but is flipped by the much better frenetically churning and jiggling ‘Revolutionary Generation‘ (113½bpm) . . . Cherrelle with Alexander O’Neal ‘Saturday Love’, a surprisingly brief flash in the pan once commercially released in Olimax & DJ Shapps’ invigorating remix, is also now out in a much more mundane Steve Anderson remix (116bpm) that sticks closer to the original (Tabu 655800 8) . . . Frankie Knuckles’ previously promo B-sided Frankie’s Favourite Garage Mix of Tongue ‘N’ Cheek ‘Tomorrow’ is due now commercially flipped by Frankie’s Def Dub plus ‘Encore (Slammin’ Mix)’ (Syncopate 12SYX 34) . . . Boney M featuring Liz Mitchell’s cryptically white labelled cover version of ‘Stories’ (Ariola 612 997) is flipped by not only what appears to be its Radio Mix (93¾bpm) but also the unrelated joltingly rolling instrumental ‘Rumours‘ (101¼bpm) ‘A Vinyl Junkie’ anonymously infos from Marlow that the girl group track on the ‘Take Sting Away On Acid EP’ bootleg’s B-side is ‘Take Me Away’ from the original Italian flip of The Mix Master’s ‘Grand Piano’ (of which I only ever had a Spanish pressing, with a much altered Raul Orellana remix of ‘Take Me Away’) —thanks, AVJ! . . . Rhythmatic are revealed as being Leroy Crawford and Mark Gamble, the guys from Krush — it seems they named the 0742 Records label (on which their now Network scheduled ‘Take Me Back’ first appeared) after the telephone area code for Sheffield merely as that is where they happened to be at the time! . . . Reachin’ Records have moved offices to Unit 302, Metrostore, Eastman Road, Acton, London W3 7QS (telephone 081-749 8619, fax 081-746 1209, the different exchange numbers being correct) . . . Lisa Farrar and Rupert Garricks will be handling respectively radio and club promotion under Marie Birch at Impact Record Promotions (071-602 8822) . . . Middlesbrough’s Blaises has a Murder Inc Monday next week (April 23) with DJ Naz, DJ Mad ‘A’, Jason Bushby, DJ Liam, MC Fox, plus raving keyboardist ‘Scoots’ live . . . Paul Campbell hosts house and hip hop Thursdays at Warrington’s Oliver’s pub . . . Steve Aspey is the new presenter of the Saturday 6-9pm ‘Dance Trax’ show on Severn Sound 102.4FM/774AM . . . BBC producer Nick Ware is currently working on a three part series for Radio 1 about the history of discotheques and disco music in the UK, which should be well worth hearing when eventually it’s aired . . . The Club Chart’s entry threshold was the highest it’s ever been last week, thanks to DJs’ concentration in strength on a narrower range of records (despite there being increasingly more dance product about) than in the past, the points needed to enter at 100= last week being enough normally to hit the upper 70s, the result being for instance that Larry Joseph & Science kept the same number of points as the previous week yet fell from 61 to 83 while a massive 30 breakers had enough points normally to hit the 100 . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL

MOVEMENT .98 (featuring Carroll Thompson) ‘Joy And Heartbreak’ (Circa Records YRTPRX 45)
Created by the Electra team of Rob Davis, Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne, this twinpack promoed (out separately next week) instantly massive Carroll cooed and naggingly familiar chimes accented sweetly swaying gorgeous — one hesitates to say, yet again, Soul II Soul-ish — drifter has Oakenfold & Osborne’s tightly tapping The Future Mix (96bpm) and gently weaving The Raid Mix (93½bpm) on one single, and on the other (with repetition of the latter) Smith & Mighty’s resonant though less fluid Mellow Mix (94bpm) and perhaps more atmospheric doodling Mellow Instrumental Mix (93¾bpm).

M.C. DUKE & D.J. LEADER 1 ‘The Final Conflict (Rap Version)’ (116¼bpm) (Music Of Life NOTE 35 DJ)
Introed like a trailer to ‘Omen III (The Final Conflict)’, this Simon ‘DJ Leader 1’ Harris mixed and co-produced angry rap jiggler is full of menace though lightened by some title line quotes from Peter Gabriel’s ‘Games Without Frontiers’, with its Instrumental too and coupled also on promo by The Buggen Haggen Mix, Bonus Beats and Percapella, but flipped commercially by a scratching jittery 1990 Remix (119-119¼bpm) of ‘I’m Riffin’ and its 1990 Instrumental (119¾-119½bpm).

MUSTO & BONES ‘All I Want Is To Get Away’ (121¾bpm) (CityBeat CBFT 5)
Only on (widely circulated) promo as a sampler plugging Tommy & Frankie’s ‘The Future Is Ours’ album, this jittery scurrying Italo house meets Todd Terry-type wriggler has a catchy though overly repeated title line chorus, flipped by (from just the CD version) the acidically churning ‘This Will Be Mine‘ (121¾bpm) and twittery ‘Tequiro‘ (122¾bpm), both in washing machine style. Continue reading “April 21, 1990: Movement .98 (featuring Carroll Thompson), M.C. Duke & D.J. Leader 1, Musto & Bones, Touch Of Soul, Don Pablo’s Animals”

BEATS & PIECES

BEATS INTERNATIONAL Snap, Innocence, Kicking Back, Candy Flip, Robert Owens, MC Wildski, Diana Brown & Barrie K Sharpe, Carlton, David Grant, Titiyo, En Vogue, Darryl Pandy, Light Of The World, Leila K, Buss The Move, possibly Redhead Kingpin, plus of course the Soul II Soul DJs and a full 90 minute live set by Lisa Stansfield (her first anywhere) make the impressive final line-up of attractions at this Easter weekend’s Prestatyn four-dayer, sold out long ago . . . 1990 World Mixing champion DJ David, for his debut BCM Records release, is collaborating with MC Eric (of ‘This Beat Is Technotronic’) on a megamix of current — indeed Technotronic type — European hits, based though largely around Twenty 4 Seven’s ‘I Can’t Stand It’ . . . Paul Oakenfold’s decision to switch the music policy at Land Of Oz (Mondays in Charing Cross’s Heaven) from house to the slower beats that once again prevail in London (hurrah!) has apparently upset some pastel clad ravers but he intends sticking to his guns, perhaps not least because his own current studio creations are at the slower tempo . . . eastwest have picked up Olimax & DJ Shapps’ remake of ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ . . . David Bowie ‘Fame 90’ turns out to be on commercial 12 inch just in the Arthur Baker and (as it proves) John Gass remixes reviewed off promo, so presumably the DJ Mark The 45 King remix featuring Queen Latifah must be due separately . . . Rhythmatic, despite both their 0742 Records telephone area code label name and their minimalist electro style suggesting a Sheffield origin, rather oddly appear to be from Birmingham, their ‘Take Me Back’ being due for full release on that city’s Network label . . . Janice Christie’s haunting slinkily cooed ‘Tell Me Who (Who’s Been Sleeping In My Bed)’ (Movement Soul MSOUL 003, via 01-968 0228), very classy garage, is apparently in mixes by both New Jersey’s Tony Humphries and London’s Noel Watson, but the label only lists an uncredited 6.40 Club Mix (110¾bpm) and tightly following Epiphenomenal Mix (111-110¾bpm) — whatever that means! — on one side and a less smooth 9.00 Club Mix (111¼bpm) on t’other . . . The Cool House Dub of 2 Guys On Acid ‘House Music (All Night Long)’ is indeed the A track on the ‘Take Sting Away On Acid EP’ bootleg’s flip — any further suggestions about the second, girl group, track? . . . Donna Allen’s ‘Serious’ may be one source of inspiration for Jill Jones’s maddeningly familiar vocal phrasing in Ryuichi Sakamoto’s You Do Me’, but I’m not entirely convinced it’s the main one . . . Motor City Techno Mob, whose ‘Ready To Roll’ (reviewed last week) is not in fact out commercially until April 30, prove to consist of main man/producer David McMurray, a past P’funk associate of George Clinton and Bootsy Collins who has toured with Was (Not Was), plus jazz trumpeter Rayse Biggs and percussionist Asiha Hill . . . Prince himself penned Kid Creole And The Coconuts’ The Sex Of It’, now out here (CBS 655698 6) presumably in the already detailed three mixes that were teasingly credited on UK promo to KC & TC . . . Caister Soul Weekend DJs Tim Westwood, Colin Hudd, Bob ‘Hippy’ Jones, Gary Dennis, Dave Malone and Ray Keith, plus The Jazz Bags live, hold a Hardcore Jam this Wednesday (11) at Colchester’s Hippodrome, while some of the above are also at Colchester’s The Venue for an Easter Sunday Deep half-dayer (6pm-midnight), with Jay Strongman, Gary Dennis, Dave Malone, Ray Keith, Ju, Gilly, Turbo and The Jazz Bags again . . . Graham Gold this Thursday (12) starts a new Roccoco night at London’s Camden Palace . . . Jason Bushby’s Fridays are still firin’ at Saltburn-by-the-Sea’s Philmore, with regular PAs and guest DJs, this special Good Friday’s including DJ Liam, DJ Naz, Davy D & MC Junkie D, Mike Shaw and Nugroove, plus a PA by local hip hop collective Murder Inc…. Good Friday also sees the return to Torquay’s Monroes of the monthly Humdinger “scream and shout-free” real soul/jazz/funk night, with a PA by Innocence and guest DJ Simon Dunmore joining Chris Dinnis — whose Saturday 8-10pm soul show is still on Plymouth Sound 97FM in Devon/Cornwall, while his Dorset/Avon/Somerset aimed Orchard FM 102.6FM Saturday 6-8pm soul show actually reaches Exeter, South Wales, Bristol, Southampton and Bournemouth . . . Black Box, Guru Josh, Adamski, and Musto & Bones are amongst the live acts this Saturday (14) at an Energy party in Docklands’ London Arena . . . Passion 9T Part 1 is an Easter Sunday 2pm-midnight alldayer at Brixton’s The Fridge, with Unique 3, The Forgemasters and Shut Up And Dance among the live acts plus DJs Jumping Jack Frost, Fabio, Bones, ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards, Grooverider, Bryan Gee, Dave Foster, G-Force (Eureka) . . . Jeff Thomas’s black music Monday has moved from Port Talbot back to Swansea at ExI’s (sic), suitably called Martha’s Mondays as the club is in the same building as Martha’s Vineyard where it all began (he’s also on Wednesdays at Swansea’s Sloanes) . . . Andrew Holmes is among the Trash DJs hosting Let’s Get Horny Fridays at Manchester’s Precinct 13, combining upfront US house and hip hop with early Eighties West End/Prelude-type “114bpm (!)” classics, their next bi-monthly legal allniter being on Friday, April 27 . . . DJ Twitch and ‘mega’ DJ Brainstorm run UFO Friday nights (midnight-4am) at Edinburgh’s The Venue, spinning hard beat, hard house and technodub, with live sampling by Ege Bam Yasi . . . Belgian hard beat also dominates Future Zone Fridays and Saturdays at Burnley’s Angels with Paul Taylor and resident DJ/promotion manager David Croft, the latter back from two years of club and radio work in Norway and Switzerland . . . DJs Tim, Matt and Mark, saying there’s more to South Yorkshire than Sheffield (yeah, how about Tickhill?!), front a new fortnightly house club in Rotherham, The Bass-Ment in Masbrough’s Prince Of Wales Cellar Bar every second Friday — to judge from the date this info was sent, that could mean next week . . . Cleveland DJ Mark Watson, well known locally from the Mad Mark’s and T.F.M. Roadshows, needs a kidney transplant to lead a fully normal life but is surviving through use of a hospital’s kidney machine, advice about proven fund raising disco ideas to help finance a machine of his own being welcomed by fellow DJ Graham Murray on 0642-226270 . . . The Club Chart’s entry threshold was back up almost higher than ever last week, leaving several bubblers doorstepping just outside when a week earlier they’d have been in it: A Tribe Called Quest, Starpoint, Ecstasy, Pandella, Boneshakers (‘Reachin’ 1′ LP), The Motor City Techno Mob, 808 State, Cry Sisco! (Hard Spell Mix), The Man With No Name, BBG, amongst others . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Dave Dorrell and James Hamilton

SATOSHI TOMIIE (FEATURING ARNOLD JARVIS) ‘And I Loved You’ (Dave Dorrell)

FOREMOST POETS ‘Reasons To Be Dismal’ (Dave Dorrell)

THE CHIMES ‘Stronger Together’ (Dave Dorrell) Continue reading “April 14, 1990: Soul II Soul, Madonna, Richard Rogers, D-Shake, Da Posse & Underground Crew, 3rd Bass”

BEATS & PIECES

CHILL ROB G’s funkily chugging ‘Let The Words Flow‘ (109bpm) was, as flip to the Afro flavoured ‘The Court Is Now In Session‘ (100bpm) (US Wild Pitch Records WP 1011), in The Club Chart right through February and March last year and is now attracting renewed attention as the inspiration for Snap’s ‘The Power’ — of which, our own Alan Jones was first to realise, the female “you got the power” title line copies Jocelyn Brown’s ‘Love Is Gonna Get You’ acappella . . . Arista’s UK pressing of ‘The Power’, it must be emphasised, is an also Germany issued re-recording without the contentious samples of the very first import version — meanwhile, out here also is the brand new Snap introducing Turbo B. ‘The Power (Remix)’ (Arista 613 134), revamped by Sven Väth of Off into a now ‘Greyskull’ soundtrack introed more sparsely chugging Transformer Mix and alternative very different disjointedly jiggling Generator Mix (both still around 108¾bpm) . . . I wasted several hours while writing last week’s Mellow Man Ace review trying to identify the naggingly familiar riff that prods most mixes of ‘Welcome To My Groove’, only to remember too late (and in an instant!) that of course it’s from the Nite-Liters’ ‘K-Jee’, a 1971 US hit probably better known here as by MFSB (their revival being on the ‘Saturday Night Fever’ movie soundtrack) . . . ‘House Music All Night Long’ was of course by Two Guys On Acid, and it seems that the track I identified from the use of their refrain on the flip of the ‘Take Sting Away On Acid EP’ is merely that whole tune, unrestructured — while, as several readers have similarly pointed out, the Bo Diddley-ish guitar in Soho’s ‘No Hippy Chick’ seems to be from The Smiths’ ‘How Soon Is Now’ . . . The 1990 UK Asian DJ Mixing Championship finals are this Friday afternoon (April 6), noon to 7pm, at Brixton’s The Fridge, where not only the eight Asian DJ finalists but also Micky D, DJ Terry, DJ Pogo and DJ Indy will be spinning sounds . . . Radio Luxembourg 208 (1440 kHz) has just launched an “all-dance” Saturday schedule with new recruit Chris Forbes sandwiched at I0pm-midnight between Mike Hollis and Tony Murrell . . . AK will be the name of Andrew ‘Komix’ Komis’s UK label, as opposed to New Jersey Sounds which appears only to be for use in America . . . Roxanne Shanté’s two separate commercial 12-inchers split up her previously reviewed promo twinpack’s tracks (without including all of them) to couple CJ Mackintosh’s Hip Hop Mix and Hip Hop Instrumental (now both 120bpm) of ‘Go On Girl’ with his Hip Hop Mix (115bpm) of ‘Live On Stage’ (Breakout USAT 689), or CJ’s House and Yarr Gyee Mixes (also now 120bpm) of ‘Go On Girl’ with Mackintosh & Dorrell’s House Mix (about 115¼bpm) of ‘Live On Stage’ (USAF 689) . . . Frankie’s Favourite Garage Mix on the promo B-side of Tongue ‘N’ Cheek ‘Tomorrow’ will be out commercially as a separate ‘remix’, to follow Frankie Knuckles’ Warehouse Mix (which was the promo A-side) . . . Jeff Redd’s previously reviewed import album ‘A Quiet Storm’ is out here now on MCA Records (MCG 6086), while Professor Griff And The Last Asiatic Disciples’ ‘Pawns In The Game’ is distributed here by Greyhound . . . Public Enemy’s long awaited and often announced ‘Fear Of The Black Planet’ album really is due for UK release on April 17 . . . Diana Brown having long since left her Brothers, her upcoming excellent ‘Masterplan‘ will be credited to Diana Brown & Barrie K. Sharpe . . . Gee Street are gearing up to rush release Queen Latifah’s currently US issued ‘Come Into My House‘ even though its import sales are negligible in comparison with her ‘Mamma Gave Birth To The Soul Children’ UK hit . . . Archway’s Pure Groove Records shop staff head across town from the Holloway Road to Westbourne Green’s Woody’s in Woodfield Road this Wednesday (April 4) to host a one-off night featuring Ziad & Roots and guests, plus a “unique” live set by Lovejoy . . . Ann Peebles and David Hudson with the Memphis Horns are the live soul stars of the four day Caister weekender over the May 4-7 bank holiday, Guru Josh, DJ Tim Westwood, and an on-site fairground complete with dodgems being further attractions (£59 ticket info on 01-367 9118) . . . Jay Caulfield’s Saturday night residency at Newtownards’ Mingles has been going six years now and is “still the place for people who take their dance music seriously!” . . . Kym Daniels “plays it harder than hard” Fri/Saturdays at Swanley’s Hickorys . . . John ‘Nick’ Osborne has moved after five years from Purley’s Cinderellas Rockerfellas (where he’s replaced by Terry Adams) to Mecca’s new smart dress Ritzy in Kingston upon Thames . . . Jamie Tee is desperate for his gigs to be namechecked, Wed/Thur/Fridays at Barnet’s The Dandy Lion and Saturdays at Milton Keynes’ ZaZoo . . . Elephant & Castle’s free admission Archduke Charles pub (in Heygate Street of the Walworth Road) has Mike Howard Thursdays, Terry James Fri/Saturdays, Noel H Sundays . . . Rick Robinson and Scott Ellis plus guests like Leigh Taylor, Scott Warren and Paul Doherty house it up at Hullabaloo! every Thursday in Steamer’s Nightclub aboard the floating Tattershall Castle pub, moored off London’s Victoria Embankment (from personal experience, I doubt if they enjoy lugging gear ashore when the tide is out, and the gangplank virtually vertical!) . . . KICKIN!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Streets Ahead

MIKI HOWARD ‘Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do) (Brixton Bass Mix)’ (97½bpm) (Atlantic A7935T, via EastWest Records)
Aretha Franklin’s lovely “I’m gonna rap on your door, tap on your window pane” Stevie Wonder penned 1974 classic, the hottest cut on Miki’s old import album (included also in its mellow 95½bpm LP Version), has been remixed here by Blacksmith with a much sharper episodic jiggle, and an added edge to the brief opening burst of now Miss C performed and MC Mello written rap, promoed well ahead of April 30 release and sure to be big by then.

JUNGLE BROTHERS ‘Because I Got It Like That (Ultimatum Vocal Mix)’ (Streets Ahead)

CARLTON ‘Do You Dream’ (Streets Ahead) Continue reading “April 7, 1990: Miki Howard, Technotronic, Jamie Principle, The Motor City Techno Mob, Fallout”

BEATS & PIECES

IN THE currently fast moving world of radio, events can overtake each other, and, since last week’s column was printed, at the conveniently timed annual general meeting of Manchester’s Sunset 102FM the shareholders demanded reinstatement of the station’s founder Mike Shaft, who is now back in charge, the only major change being temporary closure of the news room’s full service . . . London’s latest 24 hour incremental station, Choice FM starts up on 96.9FM at 10am this Saturday, promising category defying “good” music (though it has a line-up of soul, dance and reggae DJs) through the mornings before broadcasting specialist ethnic services after lunch . . . Viceroy will be marketing Andrew ‘Komix’ Komis’s own New Jersey Sounds label here, debuting as in the US with Pandella ‘Don’t Stop (Your Love)‘ . . . 808 State’s ‘The Extended Pleasure Of Dance’ EP, with its main two tracks already promoed, adds only the Jimi Hendrix wah-wah started abrasive spacey ‘Dr Who’-ish synth tones jolted ‘Cubik‘ (124bpm) to the jerkily churning twittery ‘Cobra Bora (Call The Cops Mix)’ (119¾bpm) and rambling slow jittery ‘Ancodia (Taters Deep Nit Funky Beat Mix)’ (106¼bpm) . . . Tongue ‘N’ Cheek’s commercial 12-inch of ‘Tomorrow’ (due next week) will couple Frankie Knuckles’ promoed Warehouse Mix with the new (unless it’s his Favourite Garage Mix retitled) Def Piano Dub, an Acappella, and ‘Encore (Recall Rap Mix)’ . . . Dee’ Moe ‘One Step At A Time’ is out commercially next week with a new slithery brass accented Horny Mix (98½bpm) as flip to the Nomad Mix (remixer Nomad Soul turns out to be no relation of Damon ‘Nomad’ Rochefort, but is Soul II Soul’s engineer Howie Bernstein) . . . Selly Oak’s Loading Bay Records Hi-NRG label (contact Duncan Finlayson on 021-472 2463, afternoons) is handling its own distribution now, along with Greyhound, and currently has on release the girls cooed Giorgio Moroder penned thumping Obsession ‘Never Ending Story‘ (121¾bpm) (LBAY-9), ‘West Side Story’ NRG-ising US hit Vicki Shepard ‘Somewhere (There’s A Place For Us)‘ (128bpm) (LBAY-8), Italian galloping Jayne & Jill ‘Lay, Lay, Baby, Lay‘ (129¾bpm) (LBAY-7), double-sided frisky Italian Dandy ‘Cassanova‘ (129¾bpm)/Maria Gomez ‘Hungry For Fame (I Am A Star)‘ (129¼bpm) (LBAY-6), also double-sided Italian Van Halen NRG-ising Eskimo ‘Jump‘ (129¾bpm)/Mark Farina ‘To My Heart‘ (119bpm) (LBAY-5), plus by now the unheard Ankie Bagger ‘Where Were You Last Night‘ (LBAY-10) . . . ‘Keep It Together‘, Madonna’s first ‘street cred’ club hit in yonks, will only be the UK B-side to ‘Vogue‘, the latter not from her LP (and hopefully nothing to do with that non-starter of a hyped dance craze) . . . Kicking Back with Taxman PA this Thursday (29) at Ladbroke Grove’s Sub Club (off the Portobello Road in Subterrania) . . . UK rappers dominate at Brixton’s The Fridge this weekend, with Stevie V PA-ing on Saturday, while Silver Bullet and Merlin guest at Sunday’s noon-11pm Chillin alldayer with DJs Cutmaster Jay, DJ Face, Grooverider, Fabio, Valentine, DJ Biznizz and DJ Bones — and the following Sunday (April 8) the normal evening session there has Ultramagnetic MC’s and Blade with DJ Pogo . . . DJs like Andy Weatherall, Paul Gotel, Spence, Chad Jackson and DJ Charles jock on two levels every Friday at Flesh in Bournemouth’s Madisons . . . Marie Birch’s new Impact Record Promotions will now be located at Concorde House, 1 Barb Mews, Brook Green, London W6 7PA (081-602 8822) . . . Diamond Time, makers of the excellent continuously segued DiscEyes video compilations, have moved to 16/26 Rosemont Road, London NW3 6NE (071-433 3355) . . . Denmark’s Kenneth Baker excuses the messy edits in his Dr Baker ‘Kaos’ by pointing out that the HIP-Side was created without any form of sequencing, all drums and samples being played by hand — Guru Josh, incidentally, is remixing it for UK release on Desire . . . Brian Carter was wearing a silly grin following the 1990 Technics World DJ Mixing Championship Final, as he’d only just recently signed to BCM Records the brilliant young German winner, Cologne’s DJ David! . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL

THE FAMILY STAND ‘Ghetto Heaven (The Remix)’ (104bpm) (Atlantic A7997T)
Already sizzling just on single-sided promo, this inevitably Soul II Soul-ish New York trio’s Sandra St. Victor agonised, V. Jeffrey Smith and producer Peter Lord crooned haunting slinky jogger is in fact mixed by Jazzie B & Nellee Hooper with James Brown grunts punctuated typical jiggling beats, smoothing out the group’s own actually similar though much rawer efforts as revealed now in the joltingly jittering Original Version and Dub (104¼bpm) on the commercial flip.

JODY WATLEY ‘Precious Love (Tongue In Groove Mix)’ (88¼bpm) (US MCA Records MCA-24010)
Breaking with her more usual style, this Dynamic Duo & Brian ‘Chuck’ New remixed sultry slow tugging jogger has delicately picked Spanish guitar and a useful Soul II Soul feel (Dub Instrumental flip, no other mixes), worth checking.

CHERRELLE with Alexander O’Neal ‘Saturday Love (Feelin’ Luv Extended Mix)’ (122½bpm) (Tabu 655800 6)
At last out legally after months on initially limited white label, when credited to its creators Olimax & Dj Shapps, this brilliantly synchs the original acappella vocals to a tubular bells plinky-plonked breezily bounding brand new backing (with, coincidentally, Pigbag ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag’ and Spandau Ballet ‘Chant No. I’ percussion breaks!), madly infectious, flipped by 1985’s now stodgy seeming Original Extended Mix (116¼-116bpm) plus Cherrelle’s solo jiggly jogging ‘Foolin’ Around’ (101 bpm). Continue reading “March 31, 1990: The Family Stand, Jody Watley, Cherrelle with Alexander O’Neal, Soho, Bizz Nizz”

BEATS & PIECES

BEATS INTERNATIONAL is only the commercial tip of the iceberg, all the signs are pointing (certainly in London, no doubt influenced by Bristol) towards an upsurge of interest in real reggae riddims, a logical progression for the Soul II Soul groove — and that indeed appears to be their own next direction! . . . Big Boss Groove, abbreviated for convenience to BBG, are releasing their white labelled ‘Sn/appiness‘ commercially soon via Polydor . . . Tim Raidl has set up the Chill Records label specifically for ‘raw underground’ UK house productions, and is looking for a few acts to complete his roster at Mix Connection & BritMix UK, 68 Sunningdale, Round Green, Luton LU2 7TE (0582 412460) . . . Paul Gotel’s new additions to Power Promotions’ existing DJ mailing list service are Power Press, handling dance music press promotion, and The Power Pool, a DJs’ record pool to be run by Frank Perkins, while other expansions to come include a full radio promotion service, a national shop strike force, and international promotion in Europe — where next, the World?! . . . Lisa Horan has replaced Paul Kindred as club plugger at Breakout/A&M . . . Linda Rogers has left BCM Records, leaving Ruth Rothwell and Record Mirror contributor Muff Fitzgerald as a caretaker UK staff . . . Edinburgh’s Dance Department promotion service (031-551 2477) intends to prove that there is more to Scottish dance taste than PWL and Hi-NRG! . . . Capital FM jocks Mick & Pat’s third annual Easter Help A London Child charity record will be a revival of Odyssey’s ‘Use It Up And Wear It Out‘, produced as usual by Stock Aitken Waterman . . . London’s KISS-fm seems likely to be gaining the services of a certain superstar reggae DJ when it comes on air in August . . . Mike Shaft sadly has left Sunset Radio, the black music Manchester incremental station that was his personal dream come true, resigning after a boardroom battle because apparently his otherwise successful programming policy had failed to attract enough national advertisers — it’s hard and cruel in the real world of radio, where idealism and love of music have to give way to commercial pressure . . . Jerry Hipkiss, sticking to his soul guns like Robbie Vincent in the face of the acid and now indie onslaught, has lost his Saturday Dancetrax show on Severn Sound (where he’s still music librarian), but continues jocking Mondays at Hereford’s Lovejoys . . . Peter Young has moved already from afternoons to 9am-noon weekday mornings on London’s new Jazz-FM (“102.2, the hottest number in town”), where an intended ‘touch screen’ control system was aborted just before the station went on air because, as he says, “The screen kept reverting to a normal TV picture, and every time I touched Peter Sissons’ nose a Muddy Waters record started”! . . . Sharon Redd, following her guest vocal for Larry Joseph & Science, has also been recording solo in London with Alan Cross & China Burton of What It Is! Productions . . . Benjamin Zephaniah is the correctly spelt name of the poet starting ‘The Poem’ by Bobby Konders’ House Rhythms . . . CJ Mackintosh has also remixed Janet Jackson’s ‘Escapade’ . . . ffrr’s pressing of the previously limited edition, shuffling acidic instrumental Orbital ‘Chime’ (Oh’Zone Records FX 135) is a faster 120½bpm, the flip’s hypnotist overlaid gently twittering ambient ‘Deeper’ being 120¾bpm now . . . ‘Where’s Your Head (12″ Mix)’ is on Shabazz’s commercial B-side, here 104¾bpm . . . Oleta Adams’ B-side ‘Don’t Look Too Closely’ is a slowly intensifying 37/74-76bpm . . . Ben Liebrand’s chunkily clonking though dated (due to the song) Extended Remix of Bill Withers’ hoarsely rasped ‘Harlem ’89’ is 112½-114½-114bpm, his alternative Street Mix 113-114¼bpm and 1971’s original Bobbie Gentry-ish ‘Harlem’ 112-114½bpm . . . Sweet Exorcist ‘Testone’ has been remixed (WARP/Outer Rhythm WAP 3R) as the still jerkily bleeping (and 125½bpm) ‘Testfour‘, ‘Testfive‘, and a short empty ‘Testsix‘! . . . Tongue ‘N’ Cheek appear this Wednesday (21) at Soho’s Jacqueline’s with DJ David RB and MC AW1 from the Trax Production Posse (this previously announced night having been postponed) . . . The Shamen PA next Monday (26) at the returned weekly Land Of Oz in Charing Cross’s Heaven, with DJs Paul Oakenfold, Alfredo, Fat Tony, Tony Wilson, Nancy Noise, The Orb and live rapper Ricky Light — jocks from a similar though expanded team are for the next three months taking the Land Of Oz concept on a one-niter tour of 25 UK clubs, featuring PAs by such as Adamski, Electra, Izit, Guru Josh, Jesus Loves You, E-Zee Posse, Cry Sisco, KLF and other popsters . . . DJ Jay joins Mike McGowan for the Friday raves at Torquay’s Claires Club, while his own Big Beat Sunday was so successful on Sunday it’s now moved to Saturday at Teignmouth’s Bugsy B’s . . . David C.L. Young (very formal!), newly appointed nightclub promotions manager for Stakis Leisure in Scotland, is with guest DJs updating Monday at Paisley’s Toledo Junction under the name Monsoon (“Where The Music Reigns“) . . . Whitstable’s Bob Le-Roi, retaining his roadshow, has given up club work to freelance for East Kent’s Invicta Radio . . . Bizz Nizz ‘Don’t Miss The Party‘, biggest initially in the North, has already been described by Hugh Bryder of Liverpool’s Mardi Gras Club as “the acid ted anthem of the year so far”! . . . David A. Stewart featuring Candy Dulfer’s hit has a perfectly danceable seven inch, so why did the 12 inch mixes have to be mucked up with that tempoless ambient break? . . . Diana Brown & The Brothers’ ‘Masterplan‘, due next month, sounded so strong on first radio hearing that I couldn’t leave my car until Tim Westwood had back-announced what it was — not many newies are that good! . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Norman Cook

ALISHA WARREN ‘Discover Me’ (100bpm) (RCA PT 43492)
Combining the feel of Lisa Stansfield and Soul II Soul, this superb sultrily soulful swaying jogger is obviously right on the button for today’s tastes and is likely to be huge, flipped by its starkly percussive Acappella and the fluidly bounding ‘Touch Me (The Amore Mix)‘ (122bpm). Now, what’s all this about the 49ers?!

NATION 12 ‘Listen To The Drummer’ (Norman Cook)

KEY III ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ (Norman Cook) Continue reading “March 24, 1990: Alisha Warren, Rebel MC, Solid Gold Easy Amex, Today, Tribal House”

BEATS & PIECES

NIGEL WILTON is definitely, as recently rumoured, leaving Island’s club plugging team at the end of the month to join Steve Ripley’s dance music marketing department at CBS/Epic – but their club promotion will still for the time being be handled independently … Simon Walsh is updating the club DJ mailing list at Music Enterprises Ltd, The Courtyard, 42 Colwith Road, London W6 9EY (01-741 5515), who coincidentally handle a certain amount of work for CBS/Epic … Paul Gotel, previously Andrew Woods’ assistant, has taken over Power Promotions (Unit 302, The Metrostore, 5/10 Eastman Road, London W3 7QS, 01-746 1210), who likewise handle much CBS/Epic product … Adamski has remixed The House Crew ‘All We Wanna Do Is Dance’, appropriately as it’s the anthem of the Freedom To Party (in muddy fields!) campaign … U.F.I. stands for the Universal Funk Industry, their recently reviewed ‘Understand This Groove’ being due also as a Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh remix … Olimpia is spelt that way because ‘You Want My Love’ was created by Italy’s Oli, Spinmaster MP, and DJ 1A … Cooltempo next week release the Belgian Bizz Nizz ‘Don’t Miss The Party Line’ … Tim Garbutt, about to make his vinyl debut as half of Trak 1, has successfully launched his own Hoof  house and hip hop night, with guest DJs and PAs, every second Monday (March 19 included) at Harrogate’s Legends, and every Thursday from this week (15) at Bradford’s Rio … Justin Robertson and Greg Fenton’s Euro-based Spice night has moved in Manchester to Richfields every Sunday … DJ Tegwen has started a specialist electronic beat/new beat/hard beat Sex Beat Wednesday at Brighton’s Savannah … Steve Stuart, switching after eight years from the kids downstairs to the over-25s upstairs at Boston’s Elizabethan Club, is also about to hit the road with his own Outside Broadcast Unit, complete with generator, radio mic and backup crew … Mr Slick is keeping rollerdisco alive at Forest Gate’s Uppercut Rollerdisco Club, Friday being the crucial night … D Mob and Blacksmith’s already reviewed newies aren’t out commercially for another fortnight yet … Kate B’s ‘Free’, reviewed last week, should have been 123½bpm (quoted in The Club Chart though), while MC B. featuring Daisy Dee’s ‘This Beat Is Technotronic’ is in fact a cheeky cover version of an actual Technotronic album track! … Boney M have covered Izit’s ‘Stories’ … Ruby Red Records, claimed to be Wolverhampton’s only dance music shop (in Cleveland Street), needs more independent labels to supply it with releases that upfront DJ customers are otherwise missing (contact Mick or Malcolm on 0902 771186) … The Club Chart’s entry threshold keeps getting higher, as do the number of dance music releases trying to scrape in at even 100=, leaving a real log lam of well supported ‘bubblers’ from which last week’s next 10 were Stacy Lattisaw. Bizz Nizz, Paradise 10, Silver Bullet (Norman Cook Remix), Goodbye F.B.I., Dee’ Moe, Ryo Kawasaki & “Satellites”, Snap (Arista), Liquid Oxygen, Equation … Ram Jam, Jam Jam, Jam Tronik, Jam Machine — does everything these days have to have jam on it? … KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Jon Dasilva (Hacienda)

TONGUE ‘N’ CHEEK ‘Tomorrow (Warehouse Mix)’ (120bpm) (Syncopate 12SY 14)
Frankie Knuckles remixed excellent smoothly thrumming timeless strider with a lovely soulful female lead, lush harmonies, cool male narration and slick orchestral noises, flipped by a sparser less vocal Frankie’s Favourite Garage Mix.

CASH CREW ‘One Decade’ (115bpm) (Vinyl Solution STORM 12, via SRD, 01-889 6555)
Fast talking Trim, Champain and DJ Loose from Ladbroke Grove are about to explode with this excellent jittery tumbling rap, the real thing, flipped by the bass, percussion, panting and giggling girls driven nervy instrumental ‘Amo‘ (123bpm), each refreshingly in only one mix.

FORCE LEGATO ‘System (Remix)’ (Jon Dasilva) Continue reading “March 17, 1990: Tongue ‘N’ Cheek, Cash Crew, Janet Jackson, Black Box, Salt-n-Pepa”