Showing posts with label Disco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disco. Show all posts

Sunday, May 10, 2020

7_Songs: Jimmy Somerville

In 1984 the documentary Framed Youth: The Revenge of the Teenage Perverts was awarded with the Grierson Award for Best Documentary. The aim of this documentary was to raise awareness about homosexuality to wider audience. Jimmy Somerville was part of this project and his very emotional performance of "Screaming" in the documentary sure helped Somerville in further propelling his career in music. Richard Coles with whom he would form The Communards in the second half of the 80's was also part of this project and at this time, Jimmy already knew and used to hang out with Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek which will eventually turn into a Bronski Beat formation. A base and frame for Somerville's music career in the 80's was set. 
His body of work, counting in his international success with both Bronski Beat and the Communards, makes 9 studio albums and almost 30 singles. This includes some of the most selling singles of 1984, "Small Town Boy" and "Don't Leave Me This Way" from 1986.
On top of this, Jimmy Somerville remains as one of the early advocates for LGBT rights and freedoms of the 80's who proved that pop music is more than just for commercial selling and that it can be used as a vehicle to revolutionize certain ideas.



Small Town Boy (Bronski Beat) 
"Smalltown Boy" is Bronski Beat's signature song which gained huge success all over the world in 1984. Different than the usual trend with pop songs, this one had a profound meaning that meant an empowerment of gay liberation driven on the wings of seminal synth-pop instrumentation. In fact, the synth riff became a classic and has ever since the original release been borrowed and remixed in each decade, most notably by Groove Armada "History" in 2010 and Brandon Flowers "I Can Change" in 2015.


Why (Bronski Beat) 
"Why" was released as the second single and even though it could not follow the steps of its predecessor, it still managed to enter the charts in most of the countries in the world. Yet again, a song was dealing with anti gay sentiment feed even more by the growing anti AIDS hysteria and stigmatization. The music video was sort of a multi stage drama in a supermarket and portrays heroism against sentence and sin. Musically on the opposite, "Why" was even more energetic and among the dance floor killers in clubs across Europe.


Ain't Necessarily So (Bronski Beat) 
With the third single "Ain't Necessarily So", Bronski Beat took a different turn by covering a song that was originally written for George Gershwin's opera in 1935. Since its original release, the song has received many different treatments, mostly jazz or rock, but Bronski Beat’s was the first band to deliver a pop interpretation. The cover sleeve art was a parody of The Wizard Of Oz with Dorothy having the head of the devil.


Don't Leave Me This Way (The Communards) 
Jimmy Somerville, now under the Communards flag with Richard Coles, has had his second career peak in the 80’s with yet another cover version and their take of “Don’t Leave Me This Way”. Joined by the jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris, the band delivered a version that was more tuned to hiNrg dance pop. The song was again a huge success in Europe and even 30 years after its original release, it was voted by the British public as one of favorite 80's Number ones in UK history.


For A Friend (The Communards) 
The Communards' opus is mostly remembered by wider audiences for their hiNrg and synth pop hits. In 1987 however, the duo released “For a Friend” which was a real standout in tempo and form. The song was written in the memory of the gay activist Mark Ashton, a friend of Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles who died of AIDS aged 26. A following dedication appears on the album:

"Mark Ashton 1961-1987...it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."


Read My Lips (solo)
After Somerville and Cole parted their ways, Jimmy went on to pursue his solo career and released his debut solo album Read My Lips in 1989 and the single of the same name followed in 1990. It was not such a big chart success like the previous singles with the Communards, but again it was  call for action as the song discussed the need for increased funding to fight HIV/AIDS.


Some Wonder (solo)
In 2015, Jimmy Somerville returned with his sixth solo album titled Homage. It's probably Jimmy's best solo album in terms of musical production which pays tribute and goes back to the roots of disco music and celebrates the diversity of styles the genre had to offer. There was not an official single release, but Emanuel Franzel directed the official video for the song "Some Wonder".


For the complete Jimmy Somerville discography, as documented in music videos, please check the following the playlist below.

Jimmy Somerville / Bronski Beat / The Communrds Playlist

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Next Wave: Liste Noire

Liste Noire is a brand new incarnation of the art wave project Velvet Condom. Alice Gift and Obers T are joined by a new member Kalle on guitar and keyboards and they are playing what they call Disco Noir. Their debut EP 'Afire Afire' is expected to be released this spring and it is available as a free downloaded on their page. Two of the songs from the new EP have already been revealed on Youtube, "Afire Afire" and "Mother". 


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Patrick Cowley's Compilation School Daze out on Dark Entries

Dark Entries and Honey Soundsystem have teamed up to release the gay porn soundtrack work of San Francisco-based musician and producer, Patrick Cowley. Perhaps one of the most revolutionary and influential people in the cannon of disco music, Cowley created his own brand of Hi-NRG dance music coined “The San Francisco Sound.” 
Featuring over 80 minutes of music, this compilation contains soundtrack music from two Fox Studio films, “Muscle Up” and “School Daze”, never before released on vinyl. The tapes were restored and transferred using the same speed and pitch settings, then remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. The vinyl comes housed in a glossy dual pocket gatefold featuring classic gay porn imagery from the Fox Studio vaults plus an essay from Indoor Life vocalist, Jorge Soccarras. 
 For Patrick’s 63rd birthday, Dark Entries and Honey Soundsystem present a glimpse into the instrumental world of a young genius. These recordings shine a new light on the experimental side of a disco legend who was taken too soon. All proceeds from “School Daze” will be donated to Project Open Hand and the AIDS Housing Alliance. 

More info: www.darkentriesrecords.com/store/dark-entries/patrick-cowley-school-daze-2xlp



Friday, October 19, 2012

Instant Hit: Lisa- Rocket to Your Heart

The American singer Lisa who was mostly known for her Hi-NRG, Synth-pop and Disco style outputs, made her debut in 1982 with "Jump Shout". A year later in 1983, she released one of her biggest hits "Rocket To Your Heart". The song made it to number #2 in the American Billboard Dance/Disco top 80, was released in many countries around the world as an import and went platinum in Mexico, a country where Lisa's music was, and still remains, incredibly popular. 


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

New Giorgio Moroder Rarities Compilation Announced for September.

Repertoire Records have announced the release of a brand new Giorgio Moroder compilation entitled 'On The Groove Train Pop & Dance Rarities 1975 - 1993'. As the title says, this collection of songs features all the dance rarities released between the years 1975 and 1993 recorded Moroder’s Musicland Studios in Munich. Musicians featured include studio house band Munich Machine, Americans Marsha Hunt, Roberta Kelly and Paul Engemann, and Brit Keith Forsey. The compilation is due on September 24th. 

http://www.repertoirerecords.com
 

Sunday, August 5, 2012

WAW: Sensual Harassment - Disco Heart

The Brooklyn based Sensual Harassment are back with a new dose of beat driven psych pop. Their latest video for the song "Disco Heart" was directed by Joel Fernando and it was premiered on August 2, 2012 on 'Vice'. It features sex blogger and Vice TV star Slutever (Karley Sciortino). The song is available as a free download via their official page. The band is currently working on a new album. Follow them on twitter to get the latest updates.


Monday, February 2, 2009

Nancy Nova

Carol Holness, better known by her stage name Nancy Nova, is a singer songwriter from London, UK, largely active from 1978 to 1983. She is the daughter of Bob Holness and sister of Ros Holness of  Toto Coelo. She was a founder member of Toto Coelo, but left before they achieved popularity due to her signing a worldwide contract with EMI.

Nancy started her career at the age of fourteen playing guitar and singing in clubs in North London. She then studied for three years at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.She initially found success as a songwriter for Jesse Green, writing the single "Flip". She was a featured artist on Italian TV Show "Non Stop" for six weeks and her single "Akiri Non Stop" was used as the theme tune. She also wrote songs and sang on albums for other artists including Lena Zavaroni and Cleo Laine.

After working in theatre and television for a while Nancy committed herself full time to her recording career, signing to Ritz Records. She made a name for herself in Europe fronting a TV show for two months in Italy and appearing on Radio and TV promoting her album. Back in the UK she received massive radio play for her single, "The Force", which became a huge disco hit. More hits followed including "Made in Japan" and "No No No" before it became quiet for Nancy. 

In 2004 Nova released a compilation of her 80s songs on CD as 'The Force'. A year later an album of new material in the Jazz style called 'Nancy Sings Jazz'. The latest album "Blowout" is currently only available through iTunes. Now, after a long break from public appearances largely spent on her farm in Devon, Nancy continues to sing and still writes prolifically. She has a huge catalogue of self-penned songs and is recording a new album.

Source:
http://nancynova.com/biography.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Nova


Friday, September 12, 2008

Instant Hit: Gruppo Sportivo- Disco Really Made It

"Disco Really Made It" was a hit for the Hague based Dutch group back in 1979. The band name was inspired by a poster the they once saw and it was referring to the band as a team. Not really much disco sound here, more a story line, they provided a nice New wave gem at the crossroads between two decades. This was one of the first releases for Gruppo Sportivo on Ariola Benelux record label and the song also appeared on several single compilations during the 90's.


Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Instant Hit: Rah Band- Messages From the Stars

The fictional studio group orchestrated by Richard Hewson, known as Rah Band, dropped "Messages from The Stars" in 1983 under Catfish Records. This electro-funk journey featured enchanting female vocals and spacey dub elements, embodying the signature style of Rah Band. The track experienced a resurgence when it was reissued by Sonoptix in 2011, offering listeners eight different remixes to enjoy.

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