The post-disco pre-house clubbing scene

The Berlin Metropol in 83-84, though... awesome. Dancing till dawn to repetitive electronic beats, we were...

updates!

1 Raw Silk Do It To The Music (Original 12'' Mix) (6:36)
2 Howard Johnson So Fine (Original 12'' Mix) (5:32)
3 Krystol After The Dance Is Through (Original 12'' Mix) (5:15)
4 Royalle Delite (I'll Be A) Freak For You (Original 12'' Mix) (6:15)
5 Shot Main Thing (Original 12'' Mix) (5:45)
6 Thelma Houston You Used To Hold Me So Tight (Original 12'' Mix) (5:37)
7 Meli'sa Morgan Fool's Paradise (Original 12'' Mix) (5:13)
8 Bernard Wright Who Do You Love (Original 12'' Mix) (5:20)
9 Loose Ends Hangin' On A String (Original 12'' Mix) (6:00)
10 Change Change Of Heart (Original 12'' Mix) (7:02)
11 Lillo Thomas Settle Down (Original 12'' Mix) (5:26)
12 Cheryl Lynn Encore (Original 12'' Mix) (8:18)

Volume 2 is:

1. I Am Somebody - Jones, Glenn
2. Serious - Serious Intention
3. She's Strange - Cameo
4. You Aint' Really Down - Status IV
5. I'm In Love - Thomas, Lillo
6. Twilight - Maze
7. Let's Groove - Earth Wind & Fire
8. I Wonder If I Take You Home - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam/Full Force
9. Thinking About Your Love - Skipworth & Turner
10. Stomp - Brothers Johnson
11. Breakin' Down - Julia & Co.
12. Act Like You Know - Fat Larry's Band

There's also "Classic Mix Mastercuts", which I love:
http://www.discogs.com/release/243077

House and Disco greatly overlap.

Not sure if my limited experience is relevant, but I began going to black roller-rinks outside of Detroit roughly around 1980. I remember tons of Zapp, Pre-1999 Prince, Paradise Garage, 80's Boogie ala Luther Vandross, and a handful of Hip-Hop tracks ala Kurtis Blow. Then Electro broke in 82 and shit changed dramatically overnight in my area.

X-postage

-- piscesboy (piscesxx...), March 15th, 2005

yes! let's!

D-Train - You're the One For Me
Evelyne Champagne King - Love Come Down
Luter Vandross - Never Too Much
Shannon - Let the Music Play
Lisa Lisa - If I take You Home
Will to Power - Dreaming

Right ON! Heard *Never Too Much* on one of Theo Parrish's mixes and had to quiz him to find out what it was. Fortunately I found a 12" of it.

I used to sing it to my girl... I shall do so again.

What, if any, UK clubs played acts from Made-Up Records in the 80s? I was a child during this time but listening to it now sounds like perfect nightclubbing music.

http://www.discogs.com/label/Made+Up+Records

Annoyingly my copy of Electro Mastercuts went missing - £40 to replace is accoring to Amaxon UK :-(

The first volume of Club Connection on Warners / Atlantic is good for this stuff. Second volume is more patchy tho

great lists, all.

Seeing Skipworth & Turner mentioned was like being young again!

I should really divide these up by club (Garage, Loft, Area, Funhouse, Studio 54, Roxy, Saint, Limelight, Danceteria, Medusa/Chi) but the big records round my way were:

Circuit "Release The Tension"
Visual "The Music Got Me" and "Somehow, Someway"
Anything and everything by Gwen Guthrie (but esp "Padlock")
Jocelyn Brown "Somebody Else's Guy"
Colonel Abrams "Music Is The Answer"
Loleatta Holloway "Crash Goes Love"
John Rocca "I Want It To Be Real"
Pamela Joy "Think Fast"
Anything by Gary's Gang esp "Making Music"
Status IV "You Ain't Really Down"
RIS "Love N Music" (Proto)
Ministry (!) "Everyday Is Halloween" (Medusa!!)
Lime "Angel Eyes"
52nd Street "Can't Afford"
Doctor Derelict "Undercover"

tired, (damn wet chiffon!!) loads more...

More lists please!

Saxby (or anyone), do you have any photos of how clubland looked around this time?

No one else have love for Made Up Records? Search Sheila Stewart 'It's You' and 'Tonight' and Sunbelt 'Spin It' for starters.

more lists please

1981: "I Hear Music In The Streets"

this is one of my very favorite periods of music and not just for sentimental reasons

More lists please! Saxby (or anyone), do you have any photos of how clubland looked around this time? No one else have love for Made Up Records?

I looked up that label to see what's up and I'm sorry but I don't really know anything about it. Will ask some friends... No photos really but maybe go on ebay and see if anyone is selling any Details or Interview magazines of the era and you will see loads (and many good DJ lists too!).
HTH...

I used to go out, back in the day

paradise garage -- went once or twice. fascinated by the sounds but I didn't really fit the demographic (500 gay guys on acid)

loft -- more of a private party? anyway I'd never even heard of it.

funhouse -- young latino crowd, electro sounds, lotsa kids in my neighborhood (chelsea) wore these t-shirts "jellybean rocks the house"

saint -- members only and tres gay, famous for light show and DJs. went to some record company thing there once off-hours. I always loved the fact it was on the same site as the fillmore east. sign o the times.

limelight -- ugh, the slime, poseur city. meet me in the vip room.

studio 54 -- missed the heyday, it reopened in the early 80s as more of a multi-purpose club. I went to a couple live gigs there.

roxy -- friday night hip hop partys w/kool lady blue bambaataa & co. ZULU NATION - COME IN PEACE. unprecedented mix of uptown kids and downtown bohos. just the best.

area -- famous for its monthly "theme" decorations and art installations. to me this place was kinda fucked, maybe the turning point in NY clubs where the emphasis went from watching a performance and/or dancing to JUST STANDING AROUND AND STARING AT PEOPLE BUT NOT TALKING TO ANYBODY. the 1 cool thing that ever happened to me there was seeing Andy Warhol one night but he looked pretty bored too.

danceteria -- three floors of dancing drinking n drugz. lots of cool bands played here though they weren't what the crowd mostly came for.

If I recall, Tim Lawrence's excellent Love Saves the Day book covers post-disco for a couple of chapters at the end.

I used to go out, back in the day

OTM mainly, except I don't think the Saint was private. I used to hang out there and I wasn't a member. I'm not even gay but I had some great times there. I also loved the fact that it was the old Fillmore.

I thought Area was a lot of fun. If you came with friends, it was fun to look at the installations. On the C or D scale, classic! (I still more or less somehow agree with your assessment of it though).

I think Limelight gets a bad rap because of how quickly it went downhill into a "B&T" slimepit (that's "Bridge and Tunnel" folks...) That was mainly on weekends, Sunday was the night to go there. But the early days were great I think. Very glamourous really. I once saw the Weather Girls there, which was awesome, and then like a million years later I saw Sonic Boom (Spectrum actually) play there.

I used to LIVE at Danceteria. There is a great site that has loads of great old club flyers from there.

Roxy was indeed the best club in Manhattan back then. I rarely missed a Friday there.

Great times!

I'm about the equivalent of 500 gay guys on acid.

I interviewed Brian Chin around the time Rhino's Give Your Body Up series came out. He told me that he honestly felt as if the entire disco subculture would disappear c. 1981 in America. And it wasn't just him - he used the word "we," after all. Apparently, many clubbers and dance music professionals felt disco's commercial death as a genre (and hence cultural) death. But two 12" singles released around the same time (maybe even the same week?) reversed that downward direction - The Strikers' "Body Music" (on Prelude) and Taana Gardner's "Heartbeat" (West End). So I'm surprised to see neither here on this thread.

Of course, Chin could be overly dramatic here. And we should wonder exactly how many subculturers he's speaking for. But it's an intriguing idea nonetheless, one that solidifies this era as my favorite too.

btw, people at the garage didn't take acid, that shit is crazy.

I get ticklish thinking of both "Body Music" and "Heartbeat" coming out right on top of each other.

is there a good comp of west end records?

you could do worse than this:

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Records-Remixes-Legendary-Paradise/dp/B00005QFLA/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/102-7338521-5818510?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1183607824&sr=8-3

Ooh, "Serious, Sirius, Space Party."

It's all just disco but it doesn't all sound the same to me. Discuss and/or define a cannon so it doesn't slip through the cracks and record stores can add a new label to push product. See the end of this thread for starters:

Taking Sides: Patrick Cowley vs Arthur Russell

I can't tell if you're being facetious here but "proto-house" or "early 1980s disco" have always worked fine for me.

You have to read the linked thread. I'm not suggesting another new name, those names work fine for me. Just helping define them for those that are new to them.

this was a great thread. thanks for reviving.

btw, people at the garage didn't take acid, that shit is crazy.

the punch was spiked

sometimes

In no particular order, here's what I was jiggling around to in my favourite period for dance music EVER: Summer 82 to Summer 84. Many of the Hi-NRG tunes were played on Saturday nights/Sunday mornings at the Metropol in Berlin, where one of the DJs was a young Westbam.loopzilla – george clinton
nipple to the bottle – grace jones
play at your own risk – planet patrol
planet rock – afrika bambaata & the soul sonic force
looking for the perfect beat – afrika bambaata & the soul sonic force
the message – grandmaster flash & the furious five
walking on sunshine – rockers revenge
soul makossa – nairobi
go deh yaka – monyaka
weekend – class action featuring chris wiltshire
body work – hot streak
heavy vibes – montana sextet
you can’t hide your love – david joseph
you’re the one for me – d-train
don’t make me wait – peech boys
pack jam – jonzun crew
space is the place – jonzun crew
space cowboy – jonzun crew
the razor’s edge – defunkt
work that sucker to death – xavier
double dutch bus – frankie smith
in the name of love – sharon redd
beat the street – sharon redd
we are the jonzun crew – jonzun crew
one more shot – c-bank
the smurf – tyrone brunson
jazzy rhythm – michelle wallace
this beat is mine – vicky "d"
buffalo gals – malcolm mclaren
situation (francois kevorkian mix) – yazoo
hip hop be bop (don’t stop) – man parrish
let the music play – shannon
give me tonight – shannon
atomic dog – george clinton
al-naafiysh (the soul) – hashim
the best part of breaking up – roni griffith
on the upside – xena
passion – the flirts
i’m so hot for you – bobby “o”
babe we’re gonna love tonight – lime
iou – freeez
love pains – yvonne elliman
do you wanna funk – sylvester & patrick cowley
megatron man – patrick cowley
menergy – patrick cowley
party – julius brown
i don’t wanna talk about it – pamela stanley
you – boytronic
rocket to your heart – lisa
so many men, so little time – miquel brown
rockin’ radio – tom browne
living on video – trans-x
zarah (ich weiss, es wird ein wunder gescheh'n) – nina hagen
hip hop bommi bop – the incredible t.h. scratchers starring freddie love
lesson one (the payoff mix) – double dee & steinski
beat box – art of noise
the dominatrix sleeps tonight – dominatrix
self control – laura branigan
all night long (all night) – lionel richie
who’s your boyfriend? – eric
flashdance (what a feeling) – irene cara
why me? – irene cara
danger – the flirts
not the loving kind – twins
candy girl – new edition
rockit – herbie hancock
crazy cuts – grandmixer dst
two, three, break – beat boys
b-boys beware – two sisters
rock the boat (high dynamic remix) – forrest
all night long – mary jane girls
sugar free – juicy
last night a dj saved my life – indeep
native love – divine
shoot your shot – divine
in the bottle – c.o.d.
(hey you) rocksteady crew – rocksteady crew
just be good to me – s.o.s. band
guilty – lime
angel eyes – lime
lies – thompson twins
feel me – blancmange
let’s go to bed – the cure
blue monday – new order
primitive desire – eastbound expressway
earthquake – the flirtations
searchin’ – hazell dean
holiday – madonna
i am what i am – gloria gaynor
it’s raining men – weather girls
the safety dance – men without hats
big in japan – alphaville
where is my man – eartha kitt
burn it up mr dj – risque
don’t stop – sylvester
the sound of music – dayton
i’m out of your life – arnie’s love
love reaction – divine
who needs enemies (with friends like you) – montana sextet
one for the treble – davy dmx
jam on revenge (the wikki wikki song) – newcleus
jam on it – newcleus
borderline – madonna
i want it to be real – john rocca
confusion – new order
e.t. boogie – extra t’s
dirty talk- klein & mbo
white lines (don’t do it) – grandmaster & melle mel
she has a way – bobby “o”
the beat goes on – orbit
it’s a shame (mt. airy groove) – grandmaster flash
scorpio – grandmaster flash
heatstroke – man parrish
giving up – bobby “o”
relax – frankie goes to hollywood
love lies fierce – thompson twins
emergency – laura pallas
street dance – break machine
minefield – i-level
high energy – evelyn thomas
heartbeat (new york remix) – psychedelic furs
blind vision – blancmange
somebody else’s guy – jocelyn brown
thinking of you – sister sledge
the boys come to town – earlene bentley
drums of fire – gazuzu
keep on – d-train
light years away – warp 9
it’s nasty (genius of love) – grandmaster flash
rock box – run dmc
wanna be startin' something - michael jackson
automatic - pointer sisters
it's my life - talk talk
you are in my system - the system
hey dj - world's famous supreme team
no sell out - malcolm x
colour my love - fun fun
happy station - fun fun
all night passion - alisha
beat it - michael jackson
double dutch - malcolm mclaren
1999 - prince
cheap thrills - planet patrol
yashar - cabaret voltaire
break dancin' - electric boogie - west st. mob
slippery people - staple singers
you think you're a man - divine
1984 - praxis
she's strange - cameo
ain't nobody - rufus & chaka khan
breaker's revenge - arthur baker
magic's wand - whodini
there it is - shalamar
i feel love (patrick cowley mega-mix) - donna summer
no g.d.m. - gina x
mirda rock - reggie griffin & technofunk
der kommissar - falco
let's dance - david bowie
temptation - heaven 17
din daa daa - george kranz

FP'd

Oh, nice to see this list again, glad you like. It’s a very honest snapshot of what I enjoyed most at the time.

Yeah, I started making a spotify playlist of it last night. It's a really cool blend of music I'm familiar with, music that I know is in my blindspots, and then music that I've never heard of but when I turn it on I love it. Thanks to mike for making the list and to breastcrawl for the threadbump!

link to playlists plz?!

why do people hate din daa daa so much?

Really into this track by a young Sven Vath:

OFF - Electrica Salsa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK6wglhklKg

Alsom this comp is decent, as I assume its predecessor is: https://www.phonicarecords.com/product/various-artists-life-death-on-a-new-york-dance-floor-1980-19-reappearing-records/157387

link to playlists plz?!

― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, April 27, 2021 8:31 AM (thirteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I'm only like 20% through mine.

I’m about two thirds myself here!

Also, in some cases, I'm not entirely sure that I've been getting the right versions. When in doubt, I've been opting for 12" edits or whatever, but sometimes Spotify has many versions and I haven't been carefully vetting them.

why do people hate din daa daa so much?

i thought everybody loved din daa daa. i heard it too many times when it first came out but love it again now.

"Din Daa Daa" has no low end whatsoever. That could be one thing people hate about it. (I admit to preferring The Roots' cover of it.)

The Beastie Boys mention Din Daa Daa in their recent book as a track that would get played in their early days on the NY scene that they didn't like.

i do find din daa daa annoying

really like this list tho!

A few years ago, I compiled a playlist from my original list (which is now nearly 20 years old in its own right), and I've just updated it (13 tracks missing, 147 present).

ah cool, thanx!

I did find two of the missing ones on your list during my compiling frenzy yesterday:

The Flirtations • Earthquake:
https://open.spotify.com/track/0GpJcBZRIZNw5vdoFUHM6a?si=B52naAyURZ-cBHvJ2oL8Xg

Beat Boys • 2,3 Break:
https://open.spotify.com/track/3waG6X4ohigm48mX63GFhy?si=DFGM1JuMQaagtLxGSay5oA

(differently labelled in the second case, and of course it could be a regional availability issue - I’m in NL)

there’s also a remix of Gazuzu’s “Drums Of Fire” - Spotify says it’s from 2008, but looking at Discogs, it appears to date back to at least 1988:
https://open.spotify.com/track/5FUZHiZxkPm83JE7jH0Oxg?si=u-mcMQMYQSCV_3DiHJ0V8A

Ah, thanks for those. The Beat Boys and Gazuzu tracks are right (Drums On, not Of,Fire!), but the Flirtations is a remake - I found various versions, but none of them sounded like the 1983 original.

(playing it right now, and time does indeed heal many wounds)

CP’d you

don’t you mean C-Bank’ed?

two out of three ain’t bad!

(wrong decade, wrong genre, but RIP Jim Steinman)

xp to m t-d

As mentioned upthread, Life & Death On The New York Dance Floor 1980-1983 is a 2-disc listening companion to Tim Lawrence's excellent book of the same name, and it's all streaming here:https://reappearingrecords.bandcamp.com/album/life-death-on-a-new-york-dance-floor-1980-1983
Also, Soul Jazz Records released double-disc The World of Keith Haring to synch with an exhibit, and it's prob still on YouTube. Both of these comps are pretty heady, I think.

(As I said at some length on prev. years' Rolling Reissues.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_tlhmcTZc4

(xps: meant Commend Post, but now enjoying listening to this C-Bank song that I may have never heard before)

just wanna say I'm listening to mike t-diva's Spotify mix and it it just non-stop bangers

same

Din daa daa is awesome. When it kicks in, it’s just fun on the dance floor. Have the haters danced to it enough?