GLAXO BABIES “MAXIMUM SEXUAL JOY” (1980)
JAMS TO THE MAX!
The Glaxo Babies are a long-time favorite…so much so that I secretly maintain (it’s been some time) the official Glaxo Babies MySpace page on behalf of vocalist Rob Chapman.
The Glaxo Babies were a Bristol band from the late 70s, probably best known for their song “Who Killed Bruce Lee?” and “Shake the Foundation” (later covered by the Pop Group, with Ari Up from the Slits). Rob Chapman left the band after the release of Put Me on the Guest List, and joined Sam Dodson’s Transmitters. The remaining members of the Glaxo Babies went on to form Maximum Joy with vocalist Janine Rainforth and a former member of the Pop Group. The Glaxos reformed in 1985 to make some recordings, most of which can be found on The Porlock Factor, a Cherry Red release from a few years back. “Maximum Sexual Joy” is probably one of the wildest cuts you will hear—from their more experimental debut full-length, Nine Months to the Disco.
—Jamillah
*this is my last post on 100 DAYS OF DISCO for some time. I hope folks have enjoyed my posts as much as I’ve enjoyed participating in this projects with friends and loved ones far afield. I will be continuing to maintain my covers blog, SECOND WAVE, in the meantime and will drop in here periodically. xoxo
If the album cover alone doesn’t slay you, prepare yourself for the tunes.
Scottish new wave/post-punk band The Associates are a largely underrated gem. The duo, fronted by outrageously gifted vocalist Billy MacKenzie, were active between 1979 and 1990. This is a cover of the number 1 song in America the week of my birth, “Love Hangover” by Diana Ross (or so I’m told).
I only discovered this cover tonight, sorting through LPs I’d purchased but had not given a listen. I’ve had a copy of The Associates’ debut, The Affectionate Punch (1979), for sometime, and “Tell Me Easter is on Friday” from their second record Fourth Drawer Down (1981) has been a fixture on many a mix CD I’ve made over the last two years. How I’ve overlooked Sulk to just this evening is a mystery. Suffice to say, it is a completely brilliant release, definitely their most danceable, party-ready album in all its theatrical glory.
Mackenzie also worked with Yello, Shirley Bassett, British Electric Foundation, and Paul Haig of fellow Scottish act Josef K. Alan Rankine, the other half of the Associates, works currently as a record producer. Robert Smith of the Cure, Martha Ladley from Martha and the Muffins, as well as members of SPK and the Mekons have contributed to Associates records or performances.
Billy Mackenzie’s suicide in 1997 has been eulogized in song famously by The Cure (“Cut Here”), Siouxsie Sioux (“Say”, as the Creatures), and Morrissey (“William, It Was Really Nothing”). In June of this year, a play entitled Balgay Hill was performed at the Dundee Rep Theatre in Mackenzie’s hometown celebrating his life and career.
Here is more Associates—a performance of “Club Country” on Top of the Pops. SO SO SICK!
**cross post from SECOND WAVE, another blog I maintain. —Jamillah
THE WALKER BROTHERS “SHUT OUT” (1978)
I’ve been tripping really hard over Scott Walker and his story after seeing the documentary 30 Century Man. His group, the Walker Brothers, had great success in the pop genre in the early 60s, but their popularity fizzled by the later part of the decade. After disbanding in 1968, embarking on solo careers (Scott Walker’s being the most successful, with a quartet of eponymous records, each with varying degrees of critical acclaim), then regrouping once more, Nite Flights is the result of that final reunion. The album is split into three parts, with each of the Walkers contributing their own distinctive tracks. “Shut Out” is the lead in track, oozing with Scott Walker (born Noel Scott Engel)’s patent baritone tremble and completely insane instrumentation. Engel’s tracks on Nite Flights are by and large the most stunning. Scott Walker is still very much active today, being a musical genius and whatnot.
ps. Scott Walker was (is?) a total fucking babe, is he not?
—JAMILLAH
Fingerprintz - “The Beat Escape” (1981)
THIS IS A SOLID SOLID SOLID JAM. GET INTO IT.
—Jamillah
Cristina “Jungle Love” (1980)
(Yes, I’m terribly predictable)
If you haven’t heard Cristina yet, you better ask somebody.
This offensive jam reminds me of “Knock on Wood” by Amii Stewart. Please don’t mind fake Africanese—IT’S RHYTHMIC!
From Wikipedia:
Cristina Monet-Palaci (really???) (b. 1959), known professionally as Cristina, is a singer and writer, best known for her No Wave recordings made for ZE Records around 1980 in New York.
A Harvard drop-out, and the daughter of a French psychoanalyst and an American illustrator-novelist-playwright, she was working as a writer for The Village Voice when she met Michael Zilkha, who later became her husband. A wealthy heir to England’s Mothercare retail empire, Zilkha was just starting ZE Records with Michel Esteban. Zilkha persuaded her to record a song called Disco Clone, an eccentric pastiche dance record which featured the uncredited Kevin Kline trying to seduce the breathy Cristina. According to some sources, the record was produced by John Cale and was the first to be issued on the ZE label.
“Disco Clone” was a cult success and encouraged ZE to release a full-length album in 1980, which was produced by August Darnell (aka Kid Creole). This contained the poker-faced cover of Peggy Lee’s “Is That All There Is?” with new lyrics which led its authors, Leiber and Stoller, to sue and get it withdrawn for many years. The album was later reissued as Doll in the Box. Cristina also released a single with a cover of the Beatles’ “Drive My Car”.
Cristina’s second album, Sleep It Off, was produced by Don Was and released in 1984 with a sleeve design by Jean-Paul Goude (a year before he used the same idea for Grace Jones). Her lyrics dryly detailed a world of urban decadence, but the record flopped, and Cristina retired to domestic life in Texas. She and Zilkha divorced in 1990 and she returned to New Yo. She has more recently contributed learned essays and reviews to publications such as London’s Times Literary Supplement, while battling a debilitating illness. Her two albums for ZE were reissued in 2005.
More Cristina:
DON’T BE GREEDY
DISCO CLONE (FEAT. KEVIN KLINE—YES THAT KEVIN KLINE!!!!)
TEMPORARILY YOURS
—Jamillah
Fehlfarben - “14 TAGE (12” version)” (1982)
How funky can one German band be?
Fehlfarben is a German post-punk band from Düsseldorf, Germany. Its founding members are Peter Hein (vocals, former Mittagspause (“lunch break”), Thomas Schwebel (guitar, former Mittagspause, S.Y.P.H.), Michael Kemner (bass, former 20 Colors, Mau Mau, DAF, YOU), Frank Fenstermacher (saxophone, later Der Plan), Markus Oehlen and Uwe Bauer (drums, former Mittagspause, Materialschlacht). Apparently, they are still active (!!!).
Fehlfarben were apart of the Neue Deutsche Welle (German New Wave) scene in Germany in the late 70s/early 80s. Other active bands included Palais Schaumburg, Grosse Freiheit, Die Radierer, Der Plan, Pyrolator, Mau Mau, among a zillion other completely AWESOME bands. Read more on Neue Deutsche Welle here. There are plenty of blogs online where you can hear more of Fehlfarben and their NDW contemporaries—Rho-Xs, Mutant Sounds, Happy New Wave. Amazing stuff, even if you don’t understand a lick of German. I certainly do not.
—Jamillah
SIMONETTI/PIGNATELLI/MORANTE - "TENEBRE" (1982)
Sorry for the late posting, y’all.
Anyone who knows me, and has heard me play records, knows that this song figures pretty high on my list of favorite jams of all time.
“Tenebre” is the title track from the 1982 Dario Argento film, and for my money, is still his finest work (NOT SUSPIRIA!). Three of the members of Goblin recorded this entire soundtrack, which mixes disco with early electronica to lend atmosphere in a way similar to their work for Suspiria (1977) and most especially Deep Red (1975). This song is used in at three points in the film, the most incredible being the murder scene of a young reporter and her girlfriend (see here). Beyond brilliant use of vocoder and digital rhythms.
“Tenebre” in the above embedded video runs until 4:21. Enjoy!
—Jamillah
JUDY NYLON (WITH CRUCIAL) - “SLEEPLESS NIGHT” (1981)
Judy Nylon’s Pal Judy record is a recent discovery, though I’ve known the name for years now. Hers was the last record I acquired of the no-wavers I’d read about—and was fascinated by—on Weasel Walter’s page chronicling the Downtown New York scene (the first being The Contortions’ Buy some 10 years ago, and waaaaaaay too late).
According to Wikipedia, she pioneered a sound mixing technique borrowed by BRIAN ENO (!!!), and was the inspiration behind “Back in Judy’s Jungle” from Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy and was an influence on his ambient work of the late 70s. What a gal!
Nylon also collaborated with Patti Palladin of The Flying Lizards in Snatch, another worthwhile listen. I’ve been listening to Pal Judy on repeat for a few weeks now, so now it’s time you do the same.
—Jamillah