The 'Soul-Aim' Road Show

09/08/2022

Dame Olivia Newton-John OBE, DBE

An accomplished career, the personal battles. Fulfilled with dignity and the respect of her peers. A fitting tribute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ertjWAzf18

Actor John Travolta has honoured the life and memory of Australian icon Olivia Newton-John Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John has passed away ...

08/08/2022

Grease - Frankie Valli

Iconic Song - Iconic Film

R.I.P Olivia Newton-John

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7smzKeXLmUA

Frankie Valli's first #1 hit was 1962's "Sherry" as recorded by the Four Seasons. The band had been at it since 1955 recruiting songwriters and producers Bob...

21/01/2021

18/12/2020

It's the Weekend!
Max it out with 4 of THE BEST EXTENDED PLAYS

https://haydnharrisblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/29/its-the-weekend/

This Old Heart of Mine - The Isley Brothers
I Can't Help Myself - The Four Tops
Stoned Love - The Supremes
Heaven Must Have Sent You - The Elgins

15/06/2020

Do It Again – Steely Dan - ABC 4075

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmdiKePVUy8

This is the original version of ‘Do It Again’ from the ‘Steely Dan’ Album ‘Can’t Buy A Thrill’, released in 1972 and that includes the organ solo, full intro and outro. The single was released in the States that year on the ABC Record label (Cat Number: ABC 1138) and it made the U.S Billboard Top 100 in November that year, peaking at Number 6 in 1973, making it Steely Dan’s biggest hit. It was then released in the UK in 1973 on the Probe Record label (Cat Number: PRO 75) but it did not chart.

‘Do It Again’ was re-released in 1975 on the ABC Record label in the UK (Cat Number: ABC 4075), charting at Number 48 on the 30th of August. Strangely, it peaked the following week at Number 39, dropping back to Number 40 the following week and then Number 42, spending just four weeks in the Hit Parade.

For a song that did not sell that well in the UK you might think that it would have faded but, it was a big favourite with Rock fans, remaining a cult number and it can still be heard on the Radio today.

'Do It Again' was composed by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen who went on to have a successful solo career. Fagen was lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of Steely Dan and he along with Walter Becker was co-founder of the band.

14/06/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQZBaJAngH8

Lido Shuffle – Boz Scaggs - S CBS 5136

The fourth single from the Album 'Silk Degrees' and released in 1977 'Lido Shuffle' by Boz Scaggs (Cat Number: S CBS 5136) was written by Boy Scaggs and David Paich. It made the Charts in the Spring, entering at Number 41 on the 14th May, peaking at Number 13 on the 18th June, spending seven weeks in the Top 20 and a total of nine weeks in the Top 50. 'Lido Shuffle' peaked at Number 11 in the States on the Billboard Top 100.

Members of the backup band on "Lido Shuffle" include David Paich, Jeff Porcaro and David Hungate who later formed Toto.

Scaggs recalled: ""Lido Shuffle" was a song that I'd been banging around. I took the idea of the shuffle from a song that Fats Domino did called "The Fat Man" that had a kind of driving shuffle beat that I used to play on the piano.

13/06/2020

Young Hearts Run Free - Candi Staton - K 16730

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsNzIVkkc90

Candi Staton's background was in Gospel and her first career moves after 1968 proclaimed her as a 'Southern Soul' singer. Many still call her 1976 hit 'Young Hearts Run Free' a soul number but I would call it contemporary, even 'Disco'. Released on the Warner Brothers Record label in the UK (Cat Number: K 16730) in 1976 this is yet another one of the hot Summer hits of the mid seventies that has proved its longevity.

'Young Hearts Run Free' by Candi Staton first charted in the UK on the 29th May 1976, entering the hit parade at Number 47, peaking in its seventh week at Number 2 on the 5th July on its third week in the Top Ten. 'Young hearts Run Free' went on to spend a total of ten weeks in the Top Ten that Summer and its charts run, before dropping away like a spent Summer bloom had just another two weeks in the Top 30 before exiting the Charts come the 28th August.

It reappeared ten years later, once again in the Summer but faded after peaking at Number 47 in just a five week run in the Top 100. If you thought that was it, no it was not. Another show in 1999 saw 'Young Hearts Run Free' back on the 7th of August at Number 29 but, falling back to Number 45 the following week it exited the Hit Parade after just 2 weeks.

If this proves anything it is that everything has its timeline and 'Young Hearts Run Free' by Candi Staton will always be of its time, part of the mid 1970's Summer blossoms, remaining classics that punctate that era.

"Young Hearts Run Free" was written by its producer David Crawford. According to Staton, the song's genesis was a conversation she had with Crawford over lunch in Los Angeles: Staton – she said "Dave Crawford was always asking me: 'What's happening in your life'...and I was with someone I shouldn't have been with and it was hard getting out of that...very abusive relationship"..."I saw that that he was taking notes, and he said, 'You know, I'm gonna write you a song. I'm gonna write you a song that's gonna last forever.'"

12/06/2020

You To Me Are Everything - The Real Thing - 7N 25709

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT1iDKkZNYU

Founded in 1972 by Chris Amoo, Dave Smith, Kenny Davis and Ray Lake, The Real Thing secured a record deal with EMI after performing live covers of American progressive soul hits but in spite of the high quality of releases between 1972 and 1973 such as 'Viscous Circle' success evaded them until a collaboration with David Essex and Pye Records. Kenny Davis had left before this collaboration when the band toured internationally with Essex and recorded with him but, none of the songs charted and it seemed as if that would never happen until they were then offered a song that hit the spot.

Written by Ken Gold and Michael Denne and produced by Ken Gold, 'You To Me Are Everything' by British Band 'The Real Thing' was another memorable Summer chart topper released by Pye International Records (Cat Number: 7N 25709) in the UK in 1976 and it first charted on the 5th June at Number 22 in the UK Singles Chart. Two weeks later it reached Number 2 before topping the Charts at Number 1 from 26th June, for three weeks. It spent a total of 11 weeks in the Top 40.

The song was reissued in 1986 on the PRT Record label (Cat Number: 7P349) as 'You To Me Are Everything (The Decade Remix) ten years later in 1986. This time it peaked at Number 5 on the 5th May, spending five weeks in the Top 10 and a total of seventeen weeks in the Hit Parade.

11/06/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeEfvZCqYzI

Fireflies – Fleetwood Mac - WBS 49660

Fireflies is a song written by Stevie Nicks and performed by her with Fleetwood Mac at a private concert for family and friends at the Civic Centre in Santa Monica, California in July 1980 and that recording was released on the Album ‘Fleetwood Mac Live’ later that year. It was then released in the USA as a single in 1981(Cat Number: WBS 49660) where it peaked at Number 60 on the Billboard Top 100.

"Fireflies" was Nicks' rumination on the tumultuous recording of the "Tusk" album and her observance that the band stayed intact nevertheless. Her lyrics referred to band members as the "five fireflies". I still have a rare copy of the ‘Fireflies’ single from 1981 and I think it is one of the great Fleetwood Mac songs of that time, alongside 'Gypsy' and 'Sara' although it is a not so well-known in the UK.

10/06/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLmolsADviE

Concrete and Clay - Randy Edelman – BTC 2261

Released by the band ‘Unit 4+2’ in 1965 and written by group members Tommy Moeller and Brian Parker, ‘Concrete and Clay’ became a Number 1 Hit that year in the UK, spending a total fifteen weeks in the Top 50 between March and June 1965. Many artists have since covered the song, as did Randy Edelman on his Album ‘Farewell Fairbanks’, when all other tracks on the Album were his own, original recordings.

Released on the 20th Century Record label in 1975, Randy Edelman’s version of ‘Concrete and Clay’ entered the UK Singles Chart on 6th March 1976 at Number 40, peaking at Number 11 on the 27th March, on its fourth week in the Hit Parade. Randy Edelman’s cover of ‘Concrete and Clay’ spent a total of seven weeks in the UK Top 40 and this evergreen contemporary version of the song remains popular to this day.

09/06/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5uMOOQ6MV0

Love Really Hurts Without You – Billy Ocean – GT 72

Billy Ocean is a British R&B singer who actually wrote ’Love Really Hurts Without You’ using his real name, Leslie Charles. The song was his tenth release and it is said that he was the most surprised person in the world when ‘Love Really Hurts Without You’ became a hit, having failed on the nine previous occasions!

Ocean had written the original version of "Love Really Hurts Without You" several years earlier while working as a pattern cutter at a fashion house on Savile Row. He was influenced by Motown and he admitted that his song's tune strongly resembled The Four Tops 1965 classic ‘I Can’t Help Myself’.

Released 23rd January 1976 on the GTO Record label ( Cat Number: GT 72) in the UK, ‘Love Really Hurts Without You’ entered the UK Singles Chart at Number 34 on 21st February that year. It peaked at Number 2 on the 28th March, claiming the Number 3 spot either side of this and with a total of ten weeks in the Top 40, six of those were spent in the Top 10. The song was re-released in 1986 but only managed three weeks in the Top 100, peaking in the first week at Number 81.

‘Love Really Hurts Without You’ ranks jointly as Ocean’s second biggest hit alongside ‘Red Light Spells Danger’. His biggest hit came in 1986 with ‘When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going’, that topped the Charts - spending four weeks at Number 1.

08/06/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NlOgacob8g

You Little Trustmaker – The Tymes – RCA 2456

Having covered some of the history of ‘The Tymes' with a look at ‘Ms Grace’, here I want to just concentrate on facts about ‘You Little Trustmaker’. Released in the UK in 1974 on the RCA Record label (Cat Number: RCA 2456), this song was the first single released by The Tymes that found any success, since ‘People’, that reached Number 16 in 1968. As we already know, prior to that you have to go back to 1963 when ‘So Much in Love’ peaked at Number 21.

The Tymes were definitely on the right track though, with their new Album ‘Trustmaker’ in 1974 when they released the title track ‘You Little Trustmaker’. It first charted on 21st September 1974 at Number 50, peaking at Number 18 on the 12th October and it spent a total of nine weeks in the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart.

Whilst the song did not enjoy the same success as ‘Ms Grace’, that followed it up and then topped the Charts, ‘You Little Trustmaker’ did, nevertheless pave the way and it was more a track for the dance floor. It has stood the test of time and is a classic.

07/06/2020

Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel - Tavares - CL15876

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J123lM0RvzM

The Tavares Brothers started performing in 1959 as 'Chubby and the Turnpikes' when the youngest brother was nine years old and they signed for Capitol Records in 1967. By 1973 they had changed their name to Tavares and In 1974 they had a No. 1 R&B Chart hit with the Daryl Hall & John Oates's "She's Gone", which also became a hit for Hall & Oates two years later.

Released in 1976 'Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel' was taken from the Album 'Sky High' and it was split into two parts: the first part (on Side A) was 3 minutes and 28 seconds in length, while the second part (on Side B) was 3 minutes and 10 seconds. It reached Number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in America.

First charting in the UK on the 10th July 1976 at Number 39, 'Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel' (Cat Number: CL15876) peaked at Number 4 on the UK Singles Chart on 14th August, spending five weeks in the Top 10 and a total of eleven weeks in the Top 40. Reissued in 1986 as 'Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel (1986) (Cat Number: TAV1) remarkably it entered the Charts once again at Number 39, on 22nd February and it peaked at Number 12 this time around, spending a total of nine weeks in the Top 75.

06/06/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeRfywfkd8o

Spacer – Sheila & B Devotion – CAR128

A very popular number both in the UK Disco and the European Club scene, this is the original recording of 'Spacer' the single from 1979, which is why I have chosen it.

Sheila was born Annie Chancel in Créteil, France on August 16, 1945 and she enjoyed a solo career in France during the 60’s and 70’s and it was Sheila’s success that helped her producer Claude Carrere to launch his own label, Carrere Records. In 1977 Sheila completely changed her public image, forming Sheila B Devotion in an attempt to convey a more mature style in her music. Three American back-up singers/dancers (Dany Mac Farlane, Freddy Stracham and Arthur Wilkins), who became known as B Devotion were hired to accompany her.

Sheila had managed to change what came to be called her ‘bubble-gum’ repertoire by performing Disco tracks sung in English. Her label, Polydor had insisted she release her first single ‘Love Me Baby’ anonymously as S B Devotion so as not to shock her loyal fan base at home but, after a favourable reception in France, all was revealed when it was then released in mainland Europe and attributed to Sheila B Devotion. The record became a hit in mainland Europe and so it was followed up by a cover of ‘Singin’ In the Rain’, that became a big success in the UK and a hit in the States where the 'Band's' name was changed to Sheila & B Devotion.

In 1979 Sheila collaborated with Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards on the Album ‘King of the World’ from which ‘Spacer’ was released as a single in the UK on Carrere Records (Cat Number: CAR 128) and it entered the UK Singles Chart on 24th November 1979 at Number 62, peaking at Number 18 on 2nd February 1980. It had taken eleven weeks for it to rise to its peak, spending just a further three weeks in the Charts after this. Although changed to Sheila & B Devotion in the USA (and universally on record labels), in the UK the group was still referred to by many, including myself, as Sheila B Devotion.

05/06/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7_h_r_8ELw

Hamilton Bohannon – Disco Stomp - BR19

Hamilton Frederick Bohannon passed away on 24th April this year, he was 78. He was a percussionist and as a youngster he used to play in local bands, one of which featured guitarist Jimi Hendrix. After studying for a music degree he was recruited in 1964 as drummer for 13 year old Stevie Wonder’s touring band and in 1967 he moved to Detroit to front Bohannon & The Motown Sound for who he was also a music arranger.

Employed by Motown he toured and provided backing not just for Stevie Wonder but also for Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations and other artists.

When Motown moved to Los Angeles Hamilton Bohannon stayed in Detroit, forming his own ensemble that included Ray Parker Junior, signing for Dakar Records in 1972. In 1974 he released 'South African Man' and although it had limited success in the States it became a hit in the U.K, released on the Brunswick label it peaked at Number 22 in the U.K Singles Chart.

Bohannon followed 'South African Man' up in 1975 with ‘Disco Stomp’, again distributed in the UK by EMI on the Brunswick Record label (Cat Number: BR 19), where it peaked at Number 6 in the U.K Singles Chart on 5th July 1975 after first entering the Chart at Number 44 0n 24th May that year. ‘Disco Stomp’ spent a total twelve weeks in the Top 50, five of those were in the Top 10.

04/06/2020

Never Knew Love Like This Before – Stephanie Mills – TC-2460

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LExCRKCS5SM

Released in 1980 ‘Never Knew Love Like This Before’ peaked at number 6, on the U.S Billboard Top 100 and Number 12 on the R & B Chart. Released on the 20th Century Fox label In the UK (Cat Number: TC-2460) it reached Number 4 on 29th November 1980 after entering the Chart at Number 68 on the 18th November. It spent four weeks in the Top 10 and a total of fourteen weeks in the Top 100.

Stephanie Mills first rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original Broadway run of the musical The Wiz (The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz") from 1975 to 1977. Mills scored five Number 1 hits on the R & B Chart during the 1980's, that included 'Home', from the show. She won a Grammy Award for 'Never Knew Love Like This Before' in 1981 for Best R & B Female Vocal Performance.

03/06/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS3SOwdxzII

Right Back Where We Started From – Maxine Nightingale – UP 36015

Pierre Tubbs invited J Vincent Edwards to co-write ‘Right Back Where We Started From’, a title he had come up with for Maxine Nightingale after he heard her sing on the session for Al Matthews ‘Fool’ that Tubbs produced. They utilised a tune that Edwards himself had come up with two years before and they wrote the song in about seven minutes, the song reflecting Edwards admiration for Motown writers Holland, Dozier and Holland. Having worked with Nightingale on the West End production of Hair, Edwards approached her with the offer to record the song.

A week later, four songs were recorded in a demo session at a small studio in Denmark Street, Camden, two of the songs were recorded by Maxine Nightingale and it is said that it was at a total cost of less than £100 for each song. ‘Right Back Where We Started From’ was then released in the UK by United Artists (Cat Number: UP 36015) within two weeks of its’s recording, using the original 'demo'.

The song was an instant success on the club circuits and it entered the UK Chart at Number 45 on 1st November 1975 and peaked at Number 8 on the 29th November, spending a total of eight weeks in the Top 50. After its success in the UK United Artists then released it in the States in January 1976 and ‘Right Back Where We Started From’ entered the Billboard Top 100 in February, peaking at Number 2 on 1st of May 1976 for two weeks, kept from the Number 1 spot by ‘Let Your Love Flow’ by The Bellamy Brothers. Following the single's U.S success, Nightingale completed a 'Right Back Where We Started From' album.

'Right Back Where We Started From' was a million best selling single. Not a bad result.

02/06/2020

The mid 1970's and those memorable Summers of 1975 and 1976 brought a raft of new music to punctuate the changing scene. Music is part of the fabric of time and through music it will live on.

The Hustle -Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - AVCO 6105 038

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj23_nDFSfE

The Hustle was inspired by a dance that Charles Kipps, writing partner of Van McCoy had watched in New York night club Adam's Apple. McCoy was in New York at the time to make a new Album and so fate dictated that 'The Hustle' became his 'signature' piece on the Album - 'Disco Baby' that would also be Avco's best seller.

Released on the Avco label in the Summer of 1975 (Cat Number: AVCO 6105 038) The Hustle went to Number 1 on the Billboard Top 100 in the USA and it entered the U.K chart on 31st May 1975 at Number 39, and spent a further 11 weeks in the Top 30, peaking at Number 3 on 3rd July after two weeks at Number 4. Dropping back to Number 4 again it had enjoyed five weeks in the Top 4 and remained in the Top 30 over the course of that hot Summer of 1975, and for many it will always be associated with it.

Hugo Peretti & Luigi Creatore, who owned the Avco label that originally released ‘The Hustle’ were also producers and according to them they met with Van McCoy in 1979 to discuss the possibility of releasing an extended version of The Hustle. It was the time of the Disco and the 12” single, European fans in the UK and Germany were eager for a longer version of the song. Sadly, however, McCoy died of a heart attack at the untimely age of just 39. A new version of 'The Hustle' was assembled posthumously at just under 6 and a half minutes in length.

Van McCoy was a Musician, Record Producer, Arranger, Songwriter, Singer and Orchestral Conductor and in spite of his short life he had approximately 700 copyrights to his name and had worked with many artists including Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklyn. He learned how to play piano at a very early age and he was a member of the Metropolitan Baptist Church choir. Van McCoy began writing his own songs at the age of just 12.

01/06/2020

How Long – Ace - ANC 1002

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo_GMMLULXw

Released in 1974 on the Anchor Records label (Cat Number: ANC 1002) 'How Long' by Ace entered the UK chart on 9th November 1974 at Number 46, peaking at Number 20 on the 7th of December for one week, spending ten weeks in the Top 100.

Lead vocalist Paul Carrack later became a solo artist but is best known as a member of Ace as well as later on being co-lead vocalist with Mike and the Mechanics, alongside Mike Rutherford of Genesis. ‘How Long’ had better success in the USA where it peaked at Number 3 in the Billboard Top 100 in 1975.

Paul Carrack re-released ‘How Long’ as a solo artist in 1996 but it did not achieve the same level of success than the original release with Ace, charting at Number 34 on the 6th April and peaking at Number 32 the following week when it spent a total of five weeks in the Top 100.

31/05/2020

Happy Birthday Clint Eastwood - 90 Today!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdLQf1Ef9Ns

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - A Classic

31/05/2020

Love On A Mountain Top - Robert Knight - MNT 1875

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU6oulzvIeU

Released in 1968 on Monument Records (Cat Number: M MNT 1875) 'Love On A Mountain Top' followed Robert Knight's hit from 1967, 'Everlasting Love'. Written by the same duo Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, unlike Knight's previous release this did not have the same impact and was only a regional hit in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas of the USA.

'Love On A Mountain Top' failed to chart in the UK on first release but, it was re-released in late 1973 thanks to air play by DJ's, entering the UK Chart on 24th November 1973 at Number 41. It was a slow burner with a gradual week on week rise, peaking at Number 10 in January 1974 on its tenth week in the Hit Parade, where it stayed for two weeks. 'Love On A Mountain Top' spent a total of 16 weeks in the UK chart, becoming a bigger hit than Robert Knight's first release 'Everlasting Love' in 1967, that had peaked at Number 40 on 23rd January 1968, spending just two weeks in the Top 100.

'Everlasting Love' though, was then also reissued after Knight's new found success with 'Love On A Mountain Top', it charted again in the UK on 9th March 1974 at Number 35, peaking at Number 19 on 31st March 1974, spending a total of eight weeks in the Top 50.

30/05/2020

Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse - Jimmy Helms - BUG 27

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VGbbTQShrg

Released on the Cube record label (Cat Number: Bug 73), 'Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse first charted in the UK on 24th February 1973, it peaked at Number 8 on the 15th March, spending two Weeks in the Top 10 and a total of ten weeks in the Top 50.

Despite being a prolific artist with Cube due to this hit, Jimmy Helms had no further chart success until he became part of Londonbeat in the 1990's, both in the US and UK with songs such as 'Ive Been Thinking About You'.

29/05/2020

It's the Weekend - Time to Max out on these Extended Classics!

https://haydnharrisblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/29/its-the-weekend/

29/05/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvRwR-hZDVY

Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours – Stevie Wonder – TMG 744

Berry Gordy signed Steveland Hardaway Judkins at the age of just 11, and giving him a new name, he then became known as ‘Little Stevie Wonder’.

The significance of ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours’ is that it was the first single that Stevie Wonder, at still just 20 years of age, had produced on his own and that it was also the first song to feature his own female backing group. Released in the States on Motown’s ‘Tamla’ label (Cat Number: T 54196) on 3rd June 1970, the intro to ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours’ features a distinctive ‘sitar guitar’ and the groovy bass line was, of course, weaved by James Jamerson.

The record spent six weeks at number one on the U.S R&B chart and it peaked at number three on the U.S Billboard Top 100. Later that same year the song was also released on the album ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

In the U.K ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours’ was released on Tamla Motown (Cat Number: TMG 744) and it entered the charts at Number 31 on 18th July 1970, peaking at Number 15 on the 8th August for 2 weeks, spending a total of 10 weeks in the Top 100. It is said that the title of the song were the actual words his Mother spoke after she first heard him singing it.

28/05/2020

A Man Like Me – Jimmy James - SS 2209

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwqMY079x8A

Jimmy James and the Vagabonds first took to the stage at ‘The Clouds’, London Road, Derby on Thursday 2nd February 1967. The Vagabonds originally formed in 1960 and Jimmy James teamed up with them under Canadian band manager Roger Smith and in April 1964, they relocated to the UK and within two weeks of their arrival as 'Jamaica's Own Vagabonds' they released "Ska-Time", one of the first examples of Jamaican Ska music to be recorded in the UK.

Jimmy James was born Michael James on 13th September 1940 in Jamaica but became known professionally as Jimmy James. The Vagabonds disbanded in 1970 but James, who owned the name, reformed the band with new members in 1973 when they went on to release their best known hits "Now Is the Time" and "I'll Go Where the Music Takes Me". However, during his solo career on 24th November 1972 Jimmy James released ‘A Man Like Me’ on the Stateside label (Cat Number: SS 2209) that remarkably, did not chart although it became an instant hit and familiar sound in clubs around the UK and it remains a firm Northern Soul favourite to this day.

Jimmy James and the Vagabonds were labelmates and rivals of Geno Washington & The Ramjam Band in the 60’s and they supported The Who and also Rod Stewart when he was with his group The Steampacket, at The Marquee Club in London. All of these artists have graced the stage of The Clouds Night Club in Derby, in one form or another.

27/05/2020

All that is missing is John Cleese with Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXDP3D1aLZ8

Monkey Spanner – Dave & Ansil Collins

Getting things in sync was the hardest bit about this :-)

27/05/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGU_4-5RaxU

Heart of Glass – Blondie – CHS 2275

An early version of "Heart of Glass" was called "Once I Had a Love", that was written by Debbie Harry and Chris Stein and recorded as a demo in 1975. It had a funky sound and the band referred to it as their ‘Disco Song’ that was in fact inspired by ‘Rock the Boat’ by The Hues Corporation and it also carried a slower tempo more in keeping with that song.

After performing potential songs for the ‘Parallel Lines’ Album in 1978 the producer asked if the band had anything else and so they sheepishly performed the song. Their producer was Mike Chapman and he liked it and so they upped the tempo and the title was changed to ‘Heart of Glass’. All but one of the ‘pain in the ass’ lines were changed for the UK 7" single release and the BBC still edited that out whenever they aired it on Radio.

The song reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the States and released on the Chrysalis Record Label (Cat Number: CHS 2275) in the UK it entered the Charts at Number 6 in its first week and topped the Charts the following week on 3rd February 1979, where it stayed for 4 weeks. ‘Heart of Glass’ spent a total of 8 weeks in the Top Ten and 15 weeks in the Top 100.

'Heart of Glass' was not a big hit in the traditional disco night club scene and it actually got a better reception at Rock club venues. The synthesizer and addition of electronic drums gave the song its New Wave vibe and broadened its appeal as more of a Disco-Rock song.

26/05/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvzNOgc3UXA

My Man, A Sweet Man – Millie Jackson - MOJO 2093-022

Co-written by Millie Jackson and released in 1972 on MOJO (Cat No: 2093-022) 'My Man, A Sweet Man" reached Number 42 on the Billboard Top 100 and Number 7 on the R&B Chart in the USA (Spring Records- Cat No:SPR-127) and although not a hit in the UK it was a very popular number in the clubs at that time, remaining popular with Northern Soul enthusiasts to this day.

25/05/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8-KQEWnVVk

Girls Are Out to Get You – The Fascinations – MOJO 2092-004

My instant recollection of this is how short it was at 1:58, no messing about – DJ’s had to be on their metal with this one. 'Girls Are Out to Get You' was released in the UK in 1968 on Sue Records (Cat Number: WI-4049) after a Promo release on Stateside in 1967 (Cat Number: SS594) but, it went under the radar.

It was, however, the 1971 release on Mojo (Cat Number: 2092-004) that finally hit the spot, although it’s highest chart position was only Number 32 on 7th July 1971 and it spent just six weeks in the Top 100. The very first issue was in 1967 on Mayfield Records (Cat Number:7714) that came after a DJ copy on Mayfield Records (M1001) 101 first issued in 1966. It was Curtis Mayfield’s own label, and he also wrote ‘Girls Are Out to Get You’ for ‘The Fascinations’. All versions had ‘You’ll Be Sorry’ on the ‘B’ side.