JOHNNY BRISTOL - NOT A FACSIMILE

JOHNNY BRISTOL enjoyed a creative and successful period as a SONGWRITER / PRODUCER working for  TAMLA MOTOWN from the late 60's onward. He co-produced '' AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH '' for MARVIN GAYE and TAMMI TERREL and also co-wrote and produced '' MY WHOLE WORLD ENDED { THE MOMENT YOU LEFT ME } for DAVID RUFFIN, '' TWENTY FIVE MILES '' for EDWIN STARR,  SOMEDAY WE'LL BE TOGETHER '' for THE SUPREMES and '' WHAT DOES IT TAKE { TO WIN YOUR LOVE } for JNR WALKER. He left MOTOWN in '73 and continued to produce records for CBS. When the company were unwilling to back him as a solo artist, he struck a deal with MGM and they released his Debut LP '' HANG ON IN THERE BABY '' the following year. The title track reached the US top ten when it was released on 45 and was hugely successful on the dancefloor. Today it's seen as one of the key records of the EARLY DISCO ERA 

The LP included a number of great DISCO / FUNK and DEEP SOUL BALLADS, but BRISTOL choose the COUNTRY / SOUL number '' MEMORIES DONT LEAVE LIKE PEOPLE DO '' as the follow up. He clearly had great enthusiasm for the song as he had already produced a version for JERRY BUTLER and later did the same for JOHNNY MATHIS and TOM JONES .Unfortunately his his own version failed to register in the same way that '' HANG ON IN THERE '' had . The LP contained another COUNTRY / SOUL number that had an unusual BAROQUE feel: '' LOVE ME FOR A REASON ''. The track was placed at the end of the LP and it fades into a reprise of the opening cut '' WOMAN, WOMAN ''. That could have been the end of the story, but the song was given to another MGM act: THE OSMONDS. Producer MIKE CURB went for a more straightforward sound for their recording and dropped the harpsichord / flute feature which was reminiscent of '' I DON'T KNOW HOW TO LOVE HIM '' from the musical '' JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR ''. Two hit versions of that song had been recorded { one by cast member YVONNE ELLIMAN and another by HELEN REDDY } and to cloud things further: the melody was presumed to have been lifted from a violin concerto by ' Bach fanboy ' FELIX MENDELSSOHN

The OSMONDS were at the height of their success and the gifted song eased into the US top 10. In the UK it did even better, reaching the number 1 spot where it joined '' HANG ON IN THERE '' in the TOP 5. Ironically it's possibly still the only hit pop song to contain the word FACSIMILE!

TRAX ON WAX

TRAX were a LONDON based POP SOUL group who released a couple of 45's on FRESH AIR RECORDS during 1974. The label was run by REAL THING manager TONY HALL and put out a number of interesting soul related records during a three year period. London had a well established scene for live SOUL / FUNK bands by the mid 70's, but the record industry continually struggled in it's efforts to market them to the general public. The TRAX records were a case in point. The A and B sides of both records were self penned and display different facets of the bands sound. The A-Sides: '' WASN'T IT NICE '' and '' NUMBER ONE LOVER '' were both upfront and compelling numbers that built upon the work of two of the most successful LONDON POP / SOUL groups of the previous decade. The former appears to bear the influence of the CALYPSO / SOUL sound of THE EQUALS and the later the POP / MOTOWN derived melding of THE FOUNDATIONS. Both contained strong hooks, crisp harmonies and snappy brass arrangements, but despite their obvious merit and the bands unique and eye catching ORANGE HAIR / PVC CLOTHING combo, they failed to get the attention they clearly deserved. The B-Sides: '' BLACK BOY '' and '' HOUNDS '' are something else entirely and wonderful in their own right. Both are stylish CINEMATIC FUNK based numbers with lyrics that include a fair degree of SOCIAL COMMENTARY. Neither would sound out of place on the CURTIS MAYFIELD '' SUPERFLY '' soundtrack. Unfortunately there isn't much info about the band online apart from a brief bio here which names the lineup and tantalizingly mentions an unreleased 3rd single! Surprisingly they also failed to get a mention in the otherwise excellent '' SOUNDS LIKE LONDON - 100 YEARS OF BLACK MUSIC '' book by LLOYD BRADLEY. It's regrettable that such a quality act has barely been acknowledged - If anyone has more info on the band: Please leave a comment below or get in touch at: denimdisco@hotmail.co.uk

WALLY TAX - THIS GIRL IS MINE

Dutch singer/songwriter WALLY TAX was born in Amsterdam in 1948 and found fame as the vocalist in the 60's NEDERBEAT group THE OUTSIDERS. The band were highly regarded in Holland and were considered by many to be the Dutch ROLLING STONES. The live side of their DEBUT LP from 1967 captures the wildness of their act and the hysteria they generated in their audience

 



The group recorded a string of amazing songs as good as any in the era, but made little impact in the rest of the world. They split at the end of the decade and Tax put together another band TAX FREE, briefly moving to the US where an LP was recorded and released

Unfortunately the anticipated US breakthrough failed to materialize and Tax returned to Holland to embark on a solo career and write songs for others. His 70's material moved closer to the MOR field, string dominated and often reminiscent of BUDDY HOLLY'S later pop discs { ''MISS WONDERFUL'' from 1973 is a good example of this }




His biggest hit would come in 1977 with ''LET'S DANCE'' and the songs he wrote for CHAMPAGNE { one of which: ''ROCK n' ROLL STAR'' charted in the US }. ''THIS GIRL IS MINE'' from 1975 didn't fare as well but was an artistic high, driven by a DISCO HI HAT, SWEEPING STRINGS and WAH WAH GUITAR it stands as a perfect example of MID SEVENTIES PHILLY INSPIRED DANCE POP

THE MAJESTICS - VAMPIRA

                                                       ''Black You Know Is Beautiful,
                                                         Do You Go Along With That?
                                                         Coz When I Start To Do My Thing,
                                                         I Turn Into A Bat''


THE MAJESTICS were a UK based SOUL VOCAL GROUP, formed by the US stage actor CLARKE PETERS. They released a number of 45's for a variety of labels during the mid 70's, but failed to make any commercial impact. VAMPIRA was the title music for a 1974 UK COMEDY HORROR MOVIE that starred DAVID NIVEN and TERESA GRAVES. It came out on the B-Side of ''LITTLE BLACK PEARL'' a number which more closely reflected the rest of the groups recorded output

The US made BLACULA had been a box office success a couple of years earlier, so presumably a black American female vampire seemed like a winning idea at the time. The title theme was a funky tune in the 'BLAXPLOITATION' style of the day with humorous lyrics to match the camp action of the movie. The composer ANTHONY NEWLEY isn't a name associated with this musical style, but he did compose the lyrics to GOLDFINGER {with partner LESLIE BRICUSSE} and many of his numbers contain an element of humor. That sense of playfulness finds it's way into the songs lyrics {particularly in the RAP sections of the number}


                                                     ''Back In Transylvania,
                                                      They Found A Drink That's New,
                                                      If Someone Wants To Drink Your Health,
                                                      They Drink It Out Of You!''



Clarke Peters went onto have a long and varied career on stage and screen, appearing as David Essex companion in the movie SILVER DREAM RACER and in numerous WEST END THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS. He wrote the hugely successful stage musical Five Guys Named Moe, but is probably best known for playing the role of Detective Lester Freamon in TV crime drama The Wire

DOOLEY BOPPERS

THE DOOLEYS started out as a family showband in the late 60's and spent many years working in the VARIETY CLUBS of the UK. By 1975 they had added a couple of non family members, gained a recording contract and attracted some attention through performing the theme tune for the TV show ON THE MOVE.

The years of hard work finally paid off when they hooked up with the songwriting/production team of BEN FINDON and MIKE MYERS in 1977.Their breezy uplifting pop sound began to find it's way into the UK TOP 20 in the same year

The band were never a hip name to drop but it was odds on that their records would get the crowd bopping at DANCE HALLS and FUNCTION ROOMS back in the day. DENIM DISCO has four examples cued up, so roll back the rug and let the Dooley Hooley commence!

First up is ''THINK I'M GOING TO FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU''. Their first hit from the summer of 77'.A mid paced PHILLY DISCO styled shuffler with a catchy vocal melody, spot on harmonies and sweeping strings


''LOVE OF MY LIFE'' picked up where their first hit left off. Even more dizzy and exuberant than it's predecessor and their first TOP 10 entry in the same year


Their first 45 of 1978 ''DON'T TAKE IT LYIN' DOWN''. Even more DISCO punch was added to this one. It's an infectious dose of SUPER POP, but surprisingly it failed to shift units on the scale of the previous two


The band pulled out all the stops on ''WANTED''.A hook laden tour de force which sounds like ABBA mixing it up with ''THE SONG OF THE VOLGA BOATMEN''! They were rewarded with their highest chart placing when the record reached the number 3 spot in 1979

THE BAY CITY ROLLERS - YOU MADE ME BELIEVE IN MAGIC

Three years on from the first flush of 'ROLLERMAINIA' in the UK,THE BAY CITY ROLLERS were keen to build upon their NORTH AMERICAN success and enlisted producer HARRY HASLIN to work on their next LP ''THE GAME''.Haslin was born in PHILADELPHIA and had helped to swing DAVID BOWIE in the direction of SOUL/FUNK music when he worked on the song ''FAME'' {which became Bowie's first US hit}

The rollers had also dabbled in this direction with ''THE DISCO KID'' and ''DON'T STOP THE MUSIC'' that same year,but ''YOU MADE ME BELIEVE IN MAGIC'' would prove to be their but their big DISCO moment in 1977

Another figure from the Philly music scene LEN BOOTH was brought on board to provide the song which gave them a US #10 in Billboard in August of that year.





Len Booth was certainly a talented songwriter and released some worthy singles under his own name during the following couple of years.His 1978 release ''LOVE WON'T BE DENIED'' received a fair number of 'DISCO SPINS' in the UK and is still fondly remembered

EDDY GRANT - IT'S OUR TIME

IT'S OUR TIME is one of many great tracks from the LP MESSAGE MAN released in 1977 by the multi-talented EDDY GRANT.Mr Grant wrote,arranged and produced the record and also played the majority of the instruments on it.For the disc he created a unique mix of REGGAE,SOUL,ROCK
CALYPSO and HIGHLIFE,a blend that would form the basis of an extremely successful solo career for the singer who had previously hit big with his band THE EQUALS in the late 1960's.

He would have to wait a couple of years before the first of his many solo hits: LIVING ON THE FRONTLINE from the WALKING ON SUNSHINE LP.The MESSAGE MAN LP was subsequently
overlooked which I find a great shame as it contains some of Eddy's best work.




DON'T HAVE TO TAKE SECOND BEST NO MORE
DON'T HAVE TO WEAR A HOLIE VEST NO MORE

CAUSE IT'S OUR TIME
CAUSE IT'S OUR TIME
MY TIME,AND YOUR TIME