EPC 25564

mega-mixed by froggy (steve howlett) and probably used by a lot of semi-pro jocks in the early 80's who needed a "piss break" record. or maybe bought by people who wanted to pretend they were in a club when in fact they were at home. either way it's a great slice of club culture from 1983. mine's a white label copy with promo sheet (see above). it's not in the best condition but it plays perfect. froggy sadly passed away in 2008 and is an almost forgotten footnote in the history of deejays. there's a great interview with him on the djh website which is also printed in the dj revolutionaries book. i've never seen this record before and i doubt i'll see another. some bloke has one on discogs for 75p, which is 25p cheaper than my copy. once again i had to wade through loads of shit to find this. it's not a glamorous job being a vinyl junkie, but someone's got to do it.

14171714 - 1

this is a 1998 re-release of a 1983 cd which followed the 1977 lp version. i already have 2 copies on vinyl but couldn't pass on this cd version for £3. the title track still sounds like it's made tomorrow and, of course, carry on turn me on sounds gorgeous. stunning stuff.

9198 055

I've been searching for this since it was brought to my attention a few months back on djhistory. there are so many good records out there that i've never heard before and it was a joy to come across this beauty. it was in amongst a job lot of albums that came into a store. they had been owned by 4 brothers who pooled their money together to buy records and as they each left home the eldest was put in charge. the youngest brother ended up with everything and when he died his family sold all his stuff. the condition of the records was mind blowing. i suspect they bought a record, taped it and put the record back on the shelf. it was 99% rock music with a few bits of disco/funk. anyway, the record shop guy pointed at the pile and said, "there are some 12s in there". after 2 hours of searching through 3000 lps i found about 20 singles and bought 5. this, obviously, being the pick of the bunch. the soundclip in the link doesn't portray how rough this recording is, but that only adds to it's appeal because this track is pure magic.

PRESS-D-1003

wherever i go (with work or at the weekend) i'll always find time to have a little dig. many hours can be wasted for nothing or sometimes i can hit the jackpot. a few months ago mrs s wanted a new duvet, so we set off late on a saturday afternoon to trawl the department stores. i hate shopping at the best of times so when we got there i made my excuses and we agreed to meet up later. as i walked through the door of a chazzer this little beauty was staring me in the face! there was a load of 12"records on the floor and this was at the front. i recognised the label from images on discogs and youtube. i knew this to be a very special record and rare as hen's teeth. it was in excellent condition and i couldn't believe no one else had spotted it. unbelievably, this was the only decent thing in that pile of records. maybe the original owner bought the record and just didn't like it, which would explain the superb condition. intrigue had a few releases but this is the one you want. a truly stunning slice of brit funk. btw this isn't a stock photo off the internet. if you look at the centre hole you'll see the beige carpet upon which i lay all my records before photographing them.

K 50845

2 years ago i got a copy of try to find me vol.1 on the golf channel label. the a-side ("make dance") was an edit of a track called "flash back" off the above album. the rest of the lp is awful, which is a real shame because i love chic. i imagine the lp goes for peanuts everywhere because there are no "hits" on it. i'd say get it anyway because of "flash back". i checked discogs and it doesn't look like it was released as a single, so the album is the only way of getting it. another pound well spent.

SALT 104

okay, it's back to the £1 bins where i find this killer boogie tune from 1983. the whole track is superb, but just wait until the 4 minute mark. shep pettibone works his magic once again. the instrumental b-side (which still has some vocals) is ace too. the outro section has a mix tool allowing you to seamlessly blend into another record. which is great for people like me who can't mix!

JB 001

i traded four records i didn't like for this, but it was still cheap (£7.00) by discogs standards. the guy in the shop was happy to trade so everyone's a winner! it's been bootlegged with a red label but this is a stone cold first pressing. there were legitimate represses done in '84 with a more basic yellow or blue label after the record blew up in new york. if you look on the label you'll see it was "mixed with love by walter gibbons". he'd been away from the scene for a few years but came back with this incredible mix. the a-side is ace but the b-side is something else. i'd only ever heard the first few minutes of it, on i-f's mixed in the hague vol 2, not realising what else was on the record. it's an instrumental that breaks down into accapellas, percussion and effects. one can only imagine how it sounded at the paradise garage. there's been lots of cover versions but the original is the best.

MERX 28

hot double a-side action from crown heights affair. "you've been gone" is from 1980 and "far out" is from a few years earlier. i've got 4 or 5 records by this band and they're all ace, and i see them all the time. this, however, is the first time i've seen this one. it goes on discogs for a few quid and i can see/hear why. i can only assume they didn't have a b-side for this release and the record company put an earlier track (from the 1976 album "do it your way") in it's place. just glad they did. search this out and purchase on sight. there's a little 189 sticker on the top right corner of my copy, so the previous owner must have had a system for cataloging. they took great care of it as the vinyl is in pristine condition.

No.84/£1.75/$5 11-24 March 1993

probably one of the most influential things i've ever read. inside this issue was a 16 page disco supplement. interviews/profiles of walter gibbons, francois k, larry levan, david mancuso, jellybean and shep pettibone. a label profile of salsoul. dave lee/joey negro's guide to buying disco records. "doc" livingstone's top 20 disco records. i already had a few mainstream disco records but knew very little about the main players and labels. i read and re-read this supplement time and again. i've just read it again this week and it still fascinates me. a lot of the records dave lee and "doc" livingstone talk about i now have, but wouldn't if i'd never read this. if i can get my arse in gear i'll scan a few pages for you.

HWOT 26

just found a monster. the a-side is shite but "red light" is awesome. spotted it this afternoon and it had all the makings of a killer record (ie. someone i'd never heard of, daft picture, white vinyl and in the top right corner it says *recommended for professional d.j.'s* - everything about it screams rubbish). time and again records like this turn out to be ace. i prefer it slower than the version in the link and play it at -8. i don't know anything about david boydell and he didn't release much either (a few singles and an album). the sleeve is battered but the vinyl is in excellent condition. the original price sticker says £1.80 from record scene. 32 years later i find it 80 pence cheaper. bargain.

CRCD016

found this on friday afternoon, for £3, in a second hand shop. what a bargain. "soul, disco & rap from harlem's P&P records". P&P was a legendary new york label run by peter brown and patrick adams that had many sub-labels. a quick look around discogs/popsike showed me i could buy the original records on this cd for $2000! there's a sealed copy on discogs for £8 or you can get it new from amazon for £6!. all the tracks were selected by dj friendly himself, nick the record. it's hard to pick a stand out track from 12 outstanding tracks because this compilation is fucking brilliant.

SPSLP 190

okay...it's not as long as the u.s. promo version (by about 30 seconds), it has a different ending, it has a grubby mark from a previous sticker and it's only in VG condition. i did have a dimitri from paris triple cd with his own edit of this on it. unfortunately, i sold it without hearing it. that'll teach me. anyway, this copy plays fine and that's all that matters.

MAG 5011

are your eyes deceiving you? no, that is a pair of tits on a record cover. there'd be another pair on the right hand record too but someone saw fit to censor the picture. i can only assume one of the bigger record stores in the 1970's said "no boobs on our shelves" and magnet records obliged. i bought my first copy earlier this year and found the censored version yesterday. the back picture is also with/without boobs as well. silver convention are most famous for "fly robin fly" which is on the previous album to this (discotheque volume 1 - MAG 5010). the lady on that cover is also handcuffed and nude. the best track on volume 2 is a slo-mo beast called "you've turned me on (but you can't turn me off)". they are the entire lyrics of the song. can't find it on youtube so you'll just have to believe me when i say it's ace. if you want a better look at those tits just click on the picture.

WEND 124

i've never seen this before and was completely unaware of it's existence until i dropped into a chazza whilst on my lunch break today. there were quite a few other good records but they were all scratched. sybil thomas was a backing singer before she appeared with raw silk, and after just one solo record (this one) she seems to have disappeared. if you don't like her vocals there's a hot instrumental on the b-side. there's some fantastic guitar work on this too. west end records are normally a sign of quality and this is no exception. when you add production by nick martinelli and david todd you know you've picked up a belter. so for lunch i had a pie, a sausage roll and a bottle of pop. i was going to have some crisps but i got this instead. they're the sacrifices you have to make if you want some great records in your collection.

CANL 194

i came across a fantastic wedge of disco this week. got myself a few bits of house/techno i'd missed over the years as well. once again i had to trawl through about 1500 naff records to find the good ones. don't be thinking that i skive off work to do this. i sometimes rock up only an hour or less before these shops shut. i get stuck in straight away and hopefully my luck will be in. some of you may wonder when i'm going to show some real hard to find nuggets that are worth a small fortune. those records can wait, because i want to show you stuff that you may have missed. this record is a classic example of something that pops up all the time but is ignored. it goes for pennies everywhere because most people see the lipps inc track and dismiss it. there's 2 tracks on the b-side which aren't worth bothering about either. the gem is danielle's "let's have a party". there's horns, squelchy synths, strings and scream your head off vocals. maybe i've got no taste but i can't understand why this track isn't more popular. no one on discogs wants it and there are loads for sale. which means the next time you see it you'll probably be the only one who knows what it is. as for mick, i've no idea who he was.

LONX 25

when i see 2 copies of something i want (and they're cheap) i've got to have them. i know i should leave spare copies for other people but i'm the one who dug 'em out, so they're going home with me. this is some serious u.k. boogie action from steve harvey. there's an instrumental on the b-side if you don't like his singing, but either side is ace. i hope people don't think i'm showing off by saying i scored 2 copies of something. the whole point of this blog is to show what's out there if you're prepared to make some time for yourself and have a look. sure, you can trawl ebay/discogs all day and night but nothing beats the buzz of finding something you really want for next to nothing. you don't even have to pay postage or leave feedback! anyway, keep your eyes peeled for this killer record. you won't be disappointed.

VS 509-12

i went to the second hand shop on saturday and had a flick through this week's bits'n'bobs. some fella had dumped a load of 90's u.s. house (none of it good) and another had brought all his 80's 12"/7" singles in. i dived in and came up trumps. over at my other blog i posted about a baldelli compilation some time back. the b-side of the above record is on it. "murder rap trap" was a cosmic classic and, thankfully, is available for pennies compared to some of the tracks baldelli championed (eg. phil & friends "this man", which changes hands for £200). it's only when you have a copy of the culture club record you realise he had it pitched up around +4/+5. i was playing the cd and 12" together to find the right pitch (much to the annoyance of mrs s). once again, i've probably flicked past this so many times. how many other gems have i missed over the years? best not to think about it and just start catching up instead.

1-25123

from that caravan (see previous post) comes this 1984 effort by reggie griffin. like his suit, most of it is bloody awful. however, on side two is a real monster called "lock it up & rock it (the wild thing)". it's basically him talking about wanting to lock up his woman's love so she can't love anyone else, whilst also incorporating the basslines from "the message" and "cavern". an honourable mention should also go to "no humans allowed" on side one. apparently no humans are allowed but party animals and robots are. so there.

TKR 82514 & TKR 6009

double bubble time again. they were sitting in the same pile of records and had just come in from some old geezer who had about a thousand, in a caravan, in his garden! the album (on the left) and the 12" came out in 1977 on TK records. the album was originally released on the Drive label and called "a fantasy love affair", but when it was signed to TK they changed the name. some versions of the 12" have the dub version "burning love breakdown" (big at the paradise garage, apparently) on the b-side. my u.k. copy is the same as the album, a 9:13 version incorporating elements of both tracks. it starts off quite pleasant then it slips into "burning love breakdown" which is quite sleazy, and then back to how it started at the end. three quid for the pair can't be bad, except the b-side of the u.k. 12" is rubbish. so now i'm on the hunt for a copy with the dub version. wish me luck.

TENX 330

i've seen this record so many times over the years, but when i wanted it i couldn't find one. then, just like buses, two come along at once! i've been looking for it since i heard the excellent groove armada "AnotherLateNight" mix cd a few months ago. "feel the vibe" (b-side, track 2) is a fantastic downtempo chugger. the sort of thing you put on very late at night or very early in the morning. some fella says "play it on your radio, let the vibes flow through", the bass goes "bum bum", the cymbals go "tst tst", there's a james brown sample and...er...that's it. groove armada say it, "sounds like something they had hanging around on DAT; out of kilter bass and a strange little radio sample. that's why we love it."

PSLP 204

i originally found this record a few months ago but dismissed it. went home, checked on it and couldn't find it on my return the next day (serves me right!). a couple of weeks ago the vendor says have a look in his sale box. he's never had one before so i take a look. heh heh, all the more satisfying because this cat is quite a well known dealer and usually up on this sort of thing. either he's missed it or he thought it was rubbish. you can't blame him. mista charge is a shit name, the cover is shit because it's made of paper, it looks like a poorly drawn comic, a search on the internet only throws up a youtube of the b-side ("show me what you're made of") which is awful. so you can see why i dismissed it initially. the a-side, however, is funky as fuck. another pound well spent.

FLY 009

i found this sealed and had to open it to hear it (obviously). only one decent tune on it, the title track. it was released in 1976 on the butterfly label in the u.s. and canada. this lp is from 1978 and there was another single off it ("midnight madness"), but like i said only the title track is worth listening to. the 12" disco version is 13 seconds longer than the album version, but i don't care (it's ace as it is). it's funky as fuck, the lyrics are bloody awful , the cover picture is ace and the back picture is even better. seems like she wrote all her own material as well. once again, a great record i found after searching through piles of shit.

edit: 5th may 2010 - faze action have just released a version of this track.

PRL 32253

you wouldn't believe how many records i had to go through to find this. it's not as though i was looking for it, it's just that i couldn't find anything in the shop and, getting frustrated, dived into a pile of allsorts (about 1500 deep). all good things come to those that wait or are inclined to get on their hands and knees. the cover is a bit tatty but the contents came up near mint after a clean. it looks like a dog has chewed the top left corner but i'm not bothered. "hot mixes by francois kevorkian" is enough to satisfy me. it contains 6 tracks, and only 1 is rubbish (d train's "walk on by"). there's another d train track, 2 from sharon redd, 1 from the strikers and 1 from the nick straker band. not bad for a quid. it goes for about a fiver on discogs, but i'll be hanging on to it.

VS 542-12

i knew of "hangin' on a string" and "emergency (dial 999)" but not this, when i first came across it. i did a double take and dismissed it, only to find out later how good it was. yeah, i didn't buy it! next time around i bought it and have bought it on sight every time i've seen it since. it's got to be the only discosoulboogiefunk record i know with a banjo on it. the credits on the back make no mention of the banjo player, only the three people in the picture. carl mcintosh, jane eugene and steve nichol. this was their 2nd record, "in the sky" being the first. i'll cover that in another post. the picture is supposed to show them arriving but i'm sure they've just sneaked onto the airfield and ran in front of the nearest helicopter to get the shot. anyway, the mix engineer is mark berry who's been at the controls on loads of top 80's records. gwen guthrie's "ain't nothin' goin' on but the rent" being a prime example. there's currently a few for sale on discogs and cdandlp but the price seems a bit inflated. maybe more people are getting on to it but i struggled to sell a copy for £15 last november. it eventually went for a tenner. this copy has a tatty cover and the original price sticker on it (£1.99 from beggars banquet in hogarth road, earls court, london). fingers crossed i'll find another one soon...or will you get there first?

"a change is as good as a rest"