Electro funk roots by Michael Bech

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EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS

GREG’S TOP TUNES FROM BACK IN THE DAY The lists below contain the top tunes played at Wigan Pier and Legend in Manchester as well as The Stars Bar in Huddersfield, The Exit, Berties and The Haçienda in Manchester plus the many all-dayers throughout the north and the midlands. These records were obtained from three main sources. These were the two specialist black music shops where I bought most of my imports (mainly US but also European and Japanese), Spin Inn in Manchester and City Sounds in London. In addition to this I’d receive promotional copies from the UK record labels (plus a trio of US labels - Becket, Sunnyview and Sound Of New York). I’d generally opt for the dub / instrumental version whenever this type of mix was included as part of the 12”. Many of these tracks were featured in the regular mixes I did during 1982 and 1983 for “T.C.O.B” (“Taking Care Of Business”), the main Soul Show outside London, which was presented by Mike Shaft on Manchester’s Piccadilly Radio. Two further tracks worthy of mention, which achieved floorfiller status some time after their original release (following their revival during the Electro-Funk period) were Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Riot In Lagos” (1980) and “The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel”, by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (1981). I’ve tried to be as thorough as possible in compiling these lists, but I’ve no doubt missed a couple of tracks that should have been included. If anyone notices any glaring omissions, please email to let me know.

WIGAN PIER JAZZ-FUNK OLDIES – 1981

During 1981 oldies were a vital part of a Jazz-Funk night due to the lack of current releases of a similar quality. The list below was handed out at Wigan Pier and reflected the continued popularity of these classic tracks. Also worthy of special mention is Richie Cole’s “New York Afternoon”, undoubtedly the biggest JazzFunk oldie during the latter part of the year. LEE RITENOUR — Marketplace CHIC COREA — Central Park BENNY GOLSON — The New Killer Joe MONGO SANTAMARIA — Watermelon Man EARL KLUGH — Amazon LEON HUFF — Latin Spirit JUDY ROBERTS — Never Was Love B. BAKER CHOCOLATE CO — Snowblower BOB JAMES — Snowbird Fantasy WAR — The World Is A Ghetto LONNIE LISTON SMITH — Expansions MARK SOSKIN — Walk Tall / Caribbean Party Stomp EDDIE HENDERSON — Prance On RICHARD TEE — First Love JEFF LORBER FUSION — The Samba MASS PRODUCTION — Shante CEDAR WALTON — Latin America PAULHINO DA COSTA — Love ’til The End Of Time RONNIE LAWS — Youngchild HERBIE HANCOCK — I Thought It Was You ROY AYERS — Running Away ROY HAYNES — Vistalite DONALD BYRD — Dominoes AL DI MEOLA — Roller Jubilee BLACKBYRDS — Rock Creek Park CHICO HAMILTON — Strut RICHIE COLE — Hi-Fly WILTON FELDER — Let’s Dance Together GIL SCOTT HERON / BRIAN JACKSON — The Bottle HIROSHI FUKUMURA — Hunt Up Wind CANDIDO — Jingo AL JARREAU — Spain GEORGE DUKE — Brazilian Love Affair SADAO WATANABE — Samba do Marcos LONNIE LISTON SMITH — In The Park GEORGE BENSON — The World Is A Ghetto FRANCINE McGEE — Delerium LONNIE LISTON SMITH — Space Princess JOE SAMPLE — There Are Many Stops Along The Way FATBACK BAND — Spanish Hustle HIROSHIMA — Lion Dance CROWN HEIGHTS AFFAIR — Dreaming A Dream DAVID MATTHEWS ORCHESTRA — Mato Grosso DAVID VALENTINE — Blackbird RYO KAWASAKI — The Breeze And I RONNIE FOSTER — Argentina DAVE GRUSIN — Rag Bag RONNIE LAWS — Always There LAMONT DOZIER — Going Back To My Roots

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GEORGE BENSON — On Broadway 40 MORE CLASSIC PIER OLDIES AL HUDSON & THE SOUL PARTNERS — Spread Love AQUARIAN DREAM — You’re A Star ATMOSFEAR — Dancing In Outer Space AZYMUTH — Jazz Carnival / Dear Limmertz CAMEO — It’s Serious / The Sound Table CHARLES EARLAND — Let The Music Play CHICK COREA — Spain / 500 Miles High CRUSADERS — Street Life DAVID BENDETH — Feel The Real DENNIS COFFEY — Wings Of Fire DEXTER WANSEL — Life On Mars DEODATO — Whistle Bump DONALD BYRD — Change (Makes You Want To Hustle) SEA LEVEL — Fifty-four EARTH WIND & FIRE — Runnin’ EDDIE HENDERSON — Say You Will EDDIE RUSS — Zaius GEORGE DUKE — I Want You For Myself GILBERTO GIL — Maracatu Atomica GOODY GOODY — It Looks Like Love HARVEY MASON — ’Til You Take My Love IDRIS MUHAMMED — Could Heaven Ever Be Like This KAT MANDU — The Break LALO SCHIFRIN — Jaws LEO'S SUNSHIP — Give Me The Sunshine LOCKSMITH — Blackjack MANU DIBANGO — Big Blow / Soul Makossa MIROSLAV VITOUS — New York City MONGO SANTAMARIA — Sambita MYSTIC MERLIN — Just Can’t Give You Up NED DOHENY — To Prove My Love PAULINHO DA COSTA — Déjà Vu/Love ‘til The End Of Time RICHIE COLE — New York Afternoon RICHIE HAVENS — Going Back To My Roots ROY AYERS — Can’t You See Me? SPYRO GYRA — Shaker Song / Morning Dance STARSHIP ORCHESTRA — You’re A Star TOM BROWNE — Funkin’ For Jamaica WILBERT LONGMIRE — Black Is The Colour WILLIE BOBO — Always There

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30 FLOORFILLERS SEPT 1980 – JAN 1981

In September 1980 I took over the residency at Wigan Pier which included the weekly Jazz-Funk night held on Tuesday. This is a selection of the biggest tunes I was playing during my first four months. BILLY FRAZIER — Billy Who? COFFEE — Casanova DEODATO — Night Ccruiser FANTASY — You’re Too Late FRANKIE SMITH — Double Dutch Bus FREEEZ — Southern Freeez FUNK MASTERS — Love Money GERALDINE HUNT — Can’t Fake The Feeling GLEN ADAMS AFFAIR — Just A Groove HARRY THUMANN — Underwater KURTIS BLOW — The Breaks LEVEL 42 — (Flying On The) Wings Of Love LIGHT OF THE WORLD — London Town / Pete’s Crusade LINX — You’re Lying M.F.S.B — Mysteries Of The World MAIN INGREDIENT — Think Positive MAZE — Joy and Pain PATRICE RUSHEN — Never Gonna Give You Up RAH BAND — Falcon RJ’S LATEST ARRIVAL — Ultimate Masterpiece SKYY — Here’s To You SLAVE — Watching You TWENNYNINE WITH LENNY WHITE — Fancy Dancer UNLIMITED TOUCH — I Hear Music In The Streets WILLIAM DE VAUGHN — Be Thankful For What You Got WILLIE ‘BEAVER’ HALE — Groove On WILTON FELDER — Inherit The Wind YARBROUGH & PEOPLES — Don’t Stop The Music YOUNG & CO — I Like (What You’re Doing To Me) / Waiting On Your Love ZAPP — More Bounce To The Ounce

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75 FLOORFILLERS 1981

These tracks were played at Wigan Pier and later at Legend in Manchester from August 1981. They also featured at various all-dayers throughout the north and the midlands. Tracks by artists with more than one major floorfiller during these years are listed together. AL JARREAU — easy/roof garden ALPHONSE MOUZON — by all means ALTON EDWARDS — I just wanna (spend some time with you) ARTHUR ADAMS — you got the floor AURRA — are you single BB&Q BAND — on the beat BOB JAMES — sign of the times BOHANNON FEAT DR PERRI JOHNSON — lets start II dance again CANDY BOWMAN — I wanna feel your love CARL CARLTON — she’s a bad mama jama (she’s built, she’s stacked) CENTRAL LINE — walking into sunshine CHAKA KHAN — I know you, I live you D TRAIN — you’re the one for me DEBRA LAWS — on my own DENROY MORGAN — I’ll do anything for you DONALD BYRD — love has come around DR JECKYLL & MR HYDE — genius of love DR YORK — shake and skate EARL KLUGH — twinkle EARTH WIND & FIRE — I’ve had enough / let’s groove EAZY — project funk EIGHTIES LADIES — turned on to you EVELYN KING — I’m in love / if you want my lovin’ FINE QUALITY — ahh dance FIREFLY — love (is gonna be on your side) FUNK FUSION BAND — can you feel it GARFIELD FLEMMING — don’t send me away GINO SOCCIO — try it out GRAND GROOVE BUNCH — catch the groove HEAVEN & EARTH — I really love you INVERSIONS — loco-moto J. WALTER NEGRO — shoot the pump JIMMY ROSS — first true love affair JOE SAMPLE — burnin’ up the carnival JONES GIRLS — nights over egypt K.I.D — hupendi muziki wangu?! (you don’t like my music) KEITH DIAMOND BAND — the dip KENI BURKE — let somebody love you KLEEER — get tough KOOL & THE GANG — get down on it LEPRECHAUN — loc-it-up LETTE MBULU — kilamanjaro LEVEL 42 — turn it on / love games / starchild LINX — intuition MIKE T — do it anyway you wanna NORTHEND — tee’s happy POWERLINE — journey / double journey RAFAEL CAMERON — funtown usa / boogie’s gonna get ya RAHMLEE — think RAY CARLESS — tarantula walk

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RICK JAMES — give it to me baby ROGER — do it roger ROSE ROYCE — r.r express ROY AYERS — land of fruit and honey / there’s a masterplan SAVANNA — I can’t turn away SHARON REDD — can you handle it SKYY — let’s celebrate / call me SLAVE — snapshot / wait for me STRIKERS — body music / inch by inch SYLVIA STRIPLIN — give me your love T.S MONK — candidate for love / bon bon vie TEENA MARIE — it must be magic / square biz THELMA HOUSTON — if you feel it TOUCHDOWN — ease your mind TW FUNKMASTERS — love money (champagne mix) TWENNYNINE — the rap UNLIMITED TOUCH — searchin’ to find the one VAUGHAN MASON — rockin’ big guitar VICKY D — this beat is mine WANDA WALDEN — don’t you want my lovin’ WAR — cinco de mayo WEBSTER LEWIS — welcome aboard WEEKS & CO — rock your world WHISPERS — it’s a love thing WISH — nice and soft

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100 FLOORFILLERS 1982 Played at Wigan Pier and Legend in Manchester (also The Stars Bar in Huddersfield, The Exit in Manchester), plus various all-dayers throughout the north and midlands. Tracks by artists with more than one major floorfiller during the year are listed together. AFRIKA BAMBAATAA & THE SOUL SONIC FORCE — planet rock AL McCALL — hard times ARETHA FRANKLIN — jump to it ATLANTIS — keep on movin’ and groovin’ AURRA — make up your mind B.B.C.S & A BAND — rock shock B.T (BRENDA TAYLOR) — you can’t have your cake and eat it too BANG GANG — fill me up BB&Q BAND — imagination BLT — tighten it up BOOTSY COLLINS — body slam BRANDI WELLS — watch out BRASS CONSTRUCTION — can you see the light CANDELA — love you madly DAVID MORRIS — saturday night DEODATO — keep on movin’ / sweet magic DR JECKYLL & MR HYDE — the challenge DUNN & BRUCE STREET — shout for joy EDDIE MURPHY — boogie in your butt ELECTRA — feels good ELECTRIK FUNK — on a journey (I sing the funk electric) EVELYN KING — love come down EXTRA T’s — e.t boogie FAT LARRY'S BAND — act like you know FOREAL PEOPLE — love begins with you GARYS GANG — knock me out GEORGE CLINTON — loopzilla / atomic dog GOLDIE ALEXANDER — show you my love GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE — the message / scorpio / it’s a shame GUNCHBACK BOOGIE BAND — funn GWEN GUTHRIE — it should have been you GWEN McCRAE — keep the fire burning HIGH FASHION — feelin’ lucky lately HOWARD JOHNSON — so fine / keepin’ love new INDEEP — last night a dj saved my life JONZUN CREW — pack jam (look out for the ovc) KLEEER — taste the music / wall to wall KLIEN AND MBO — dirty talk KOMIKO — feel alright LARRY GRAHAM — sooner or later LINDA TAYLOR — you and me just started MALCOM McLAREN & THE WORLDS FAMOUS SUPREME TEAM — buffalo gals MAN PARRISH — hip hop be bop (don’t stop) / techno trax MARVIN GAYE — sexual healing MELBA MOORE — love’s comin’ at ya MICHAEL WYCOFF — lookin’ up to you MICHELLE WALLACE — tee’s right / jazzy rhythm MIKE & BRENDA TAYLOR — don’t let go of me (grip my hips and move me) MONTANA SEXTET — heavy vibes MYSTIC MERLIN — mr magician NAIROBI — soul makossa

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NEW JERSEY CONNECTION — love don’t come easy ODYSSEY — inside out ONENESS OF JUJU — every way but loose ORBIT — and the beat goes on PATRICE RUSHEN — forget me nots / number one PATRICK BOOTHE — dance all night PEECH BOYS — don’t make me wait P-FUNK ALL STARS — hydraulic pump pt III PLANET PATROL — rock at your own risk PRINCE CHARLES & THE CITY BEAT BAND — the jungle stomp Q the voice of q RAFAEL CAMERON — boogie’s gonna get ya (fk mix) RAW SILK do it to the music REGGIE GRIFFIN & TECHNOFUNK — mirda rock RICHARD JON SMITH — don’t go walkin’ out that door RICHIE FAMILY — I’ll do my best RICK JAMES — dance wit’ me ROCKERS REVENGE — walking on sunshine S.O.S BAND — high hopes SAVANNA — never let you go SECRET WEAPON — must be the music (mastermix) SHARON BROWN — I specialize in love SHARON REDD — beat the street SHOCK — electrophonic phunk SINNAMON — thanks to you SLYCK — bush beat (mixers de-lite) STEVE ARRINGTON’S HALL OF FAME — way out STONE — time / girl I like the way you move SUGARHILL GANG — the lover in you THE ARMED GANG — all I want THE BAND AKA — grace THE JAMMERS — and you know that THE SYSTEM — it’s passion / you are in my system THE TEMPTATIONS FEAT RICK JAMES — standing on the top TONEY LEE — reach up TOUCH — keep on TOUCHDOWN — ease your mind (us remix) TYRONE BRUNSON — the smurf UNIVERSAL ROBOT BAND — barely breaking even VANITY — 6 nasty girl WANDA WALDEN — I must be dreamin’ WAR — you got the power WARP 9 nunk WAS (NOT WAS) — tell me that I’m dreaming WHODINI — magic’s wand WILLIE HUTCH — in and out WRECKIN’ CREW — chance to dance XAVIER — work that sucker to death YVONNE GAGE — garden of eve FEATURED JAZZ SELECTION (ALBUM TRACKS) 1982 These were the biggest Jazz tunes of the year for me - all album tracks BAYA — a vegas kind of guy BOBBY McFERRIN — dance with me CHUCK RAINEY — born again COCONUTS CREW — sambolero DOM UM ROMAO — braun blek blu GENE HARRIS — meditation GILBERTO GIL — palco GROVER WASHINGTON JNR — little black samba

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LESSETTE WILSON — caveman boogie MANU DIBANGO — waka juju PAZ — ac/dc PETER MAGADINI — samba de rollins RAY BARRETTO — pastime paradise STUDIO TRIESTE — malaguena TOKI & SAMBA FRIENDS — brasil

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100 FLOORFILLERS 1983

Played at Wigan Pier and Legend in Manchester (also The Stars Bar in Huddersfield, The Exit, Berties and The Haçienda in Manchester), plus various all-dayers throughout the north and midlands. Tracks by artists with more than one major floorfiller during the year are listed together. ADVANCE take me to the top AFRIKA BAMBAATAA & THE SOUL SONIC FORCE — looking for the perfect beat ARKADE FUNK — search and destroy ART OF NOISE — beat box ATMOSPHERE — what do we do AURRA — baby love / such a feeling B BEAT GIRLS — for the same man B BOYS — two, three, break / cuttin’ herbie / rock the house BAR KAYS — she talks to me with her body BARBARA MASON — another man BOHANNON — let’s start the dance III BOOKER NEWBURY III — love town BRASS CONSTRUCTION — walkin’ the line BRIAN & ZAN — pump your body C.O.D — in the bottle (disconet mix) CANDIDO — jingo breakdown CAPTAIN RAPP — bad times (I can’t stand it) CAPTAIN ROCK — return of captain rock CASHMERE — do it anyway you wanna CENTRAL LINE — nature boy CHARADES — give up the funk CHOCOLATE MILK — who’s getting’ it now CLASS ACTION — weekend CONVERSION — sweet thing CURTIS HAIRSTON — I want you CYBOTRON — clear D TRAIN — music DAVID JOSEPH — you can’t hide (your love from me) DIMPLES D — sucker djs (I will survive) DJ DIVINE — get into the mix ELECTRIC POWER BAND — papa smurf EX TRAS — haven’t been funked enough FATBACK — is this the future FEARLESS FOUR — just rock 52nd STREET — twice as nice FREEEZE — I-dub-u G.L.O.B.E & WHIZ KID — play that beat mr dj GALAXXY — sexy style GAP BAND — outstanding GARY’S GANG — makin’ music GRANDMASTER & MELLE MEL — white lines (don’t don’t do it) HASHIM — al-naafiysh (the soul) HERBIE HANCOCK — rockit HOT STREAK — body work I LEVEL — give me (us remix) INGRAM — dj’s delight / smoothin’ groovin’ JAZZY DEE — get on up JOHNNY CHINGAS — phone home JONZUN CREW — we are the jonzun crew (disconet mix) / space is the place KASHIF — I just gotta have you

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KLIEN & MBO — wonderful LEROY BURGESS — heartbreaker LIQUID LIQUID — cavern MAJOR HARRIS — all my life MALCOLM X / KEITH LeBLANC — no sell out MARY JANE GIRLS — all night long MELLE MEL & DUKE BOOTEE — the message II (survival) MIDNIGHT STAR — freak-a-zoid MTUME — juicy fruit NEW ORDER — confused beats NEWCLEUS — jam on revenge (the wikki wikki song) NEWTRAMENT — london bridge is falling down PACKMAN — I’m the packman (eat everything I can) PROJECT FUTURE — ray gun omics PUMPKIN — king of the beat PURE ENERGY — spaced out R.P BAND — you are in my system RADIANCE — you’re my number RAMMELZEE Vs K-ROB — beat bop ROCK MASTER SCOTT — it’s life (you gotta think twice) ROD — just keep on walking (roch niangandoumou) RUFUS & CHAKA KHAN — ain’t nobody RUN DMC — it’s like that / sucker mc’s RUSSELL BROTHERS — the party scene S.O.S BAND — just be good to me SALSOUL ORCHESTRA — ooh, I love it (love break) SANDY KERR — thug rock SHANNON — let the music play SHARON REDD — love how you feel SHAWNE JACKSON — loveline SHIRLEY LITES — heat you up - meltdown mix SINNAMON — I need you now STEVE ARRINGTON — nobody can be you STOCKINGCAP — wave craze THE RAKE — street justice TIME ZONE — the wildstyle TOM BROWNE — rockin’ radio TONEY LEE — love so deep TWILIGHT 22 — electric kingdom TWO SISTERS — high noon / b boys beware UNIQUE — what I got is what you need VANITY 6 — nasty nasty girls (hot tracks mix) VISUAL — the music got me WARP 9 — light years away WEBBOES — under the wear WEEKS & CO — if you’re looking for fun WEST STREET MOB — break dancin’ - electric boogie WUF TICKET — the key XENA — on the upside X-RAY CONNECTION — replay

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JAZZ BREAK / FEATURED ALBUMS 1983

As was the case with the Jazz Breaks of the time, the selections listed are a mixture of new and old releases. ART BLAKEY — the jazz messenger / a night in tunisia ART PEPPER — today BOY KATINDIG — midnight lady BRAZILIA — brazilia CAYENNE — roberto who? CHICK COREA — return to forever GERRY MULLIGAN — little big horn LONNIE LISTON SMITH — dreams of tomorrow MASURU IMADA — andalusian breeze PAULHINO DA COSTA — agora RICHIE COLE — return to alto acres SWAMP CHILDREN — so hot TANIA MARIA — come with me VICTOR FELDMAN — secret of the andes WAR — the music band jazz

Greg Wilson, 2006. greg@electrofunkroots.co.uk

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ELECTRO-FUNK WHAT DID IT ALL MEAN ? Electro-Funk is undoubtedly the most misunderstood of all UK Dance genres, yet probably the most vital with regards to its overall influence. Central to the confusion is the term itself, which during 82/83 (before it was shortened to Electro) was specific to the UK. From a US perspective this music would come under a variety of headings (including Hip-Hop, Dance, Disco, Electric Boogie and Freestyle), arriving on import here in the UK mainly on New York labels like West End, Prelude, Sugarhill, Emergency, Profile, Tommy Boy, Streetwise, plus numerous others. Just as Northern Soul was a British term for a style (or group of styles) of American black music, so was Electro-Funk, and, like Northern, the roots of the scene are planted firmly in the North-West of England. Although this has been documented in a number of books and publications down the years, often with a fair degree of insight, the subject is rarely approached with any true depth and attention to detail, the information all in fragments. Perhaps the main reason that Electro-Funk remains a mystery to so many people is because its audience was predominantly black at a time when cutting-edge black music (and black culture in general) was very much marginalized in the UK, and as a result essentially underground. To keep up to date with what was happening on the British black music scene in 82/83 you’d have had to have been a reader of a specialist publication like Blues & Soul or Black Echoes. In the UK scheme of things Electro-Funk eventually took over from Jazz-Funk as the dominant force on the club scene, but not without major controversy and upheaval. The purists regarded electronic or electric (as they called it) with total contempt, rejecting its validity on the grounds that it was, in their opinion, not real music due to its technological nature (although Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” would put paid to that theory). However, as time went on and audience tastes began to change, even the most hostile DJs were forced to play at least some ElectroFunk. Despite all the resistance, the movement slowly but surely began to gain momentum, sweeping down from the North, through the Midlands and eventually into London and the South. The reason the Electro scene took so long to fully establish itself in the capital was down to the stranglehold the all-powerful Soul Mafia DJs held on the Southern scene. The Soul Mafia, with big names like Chris Hill, Robbie Vincent, Froggy, Jeff Young and Pete Tong, continued to concentrate on Jazz-Funk and Soul grooves (later referred to as “80s Groove”). It wouldn’t be until ‘84 that their virtual monopoly of the clubs, radio, and the black music press began to erode as a new order of music replaced the old, laying the foundations not only for Hip-Hop, but also the subsequent UK Techno and House scenes.

KRAFTWERK As has often been said, Electro is the missing link of Dance music. All roads lead back to New York where the level of musical innovation and experimentation throughout the early 80s period was quite staggering. It wasn’t one

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narrow style that never strayed from within the confides of an even narrower BPM range, Electro-Funk was anything goes! The diversity of records released during this period was what made it so magical, you never knew what was coming next. The tempo of these tracks ranged from under 100bpm to over 130, covering an entire rhythmic spectrum along the way. There was no set template for this new Dance direction, it just went wherever it went and took you grooving along with it. It was all about stretching the boundaries that had begun to stifle black music, and its influences lay not only with German Technopop wizards Kraftwerk, the acknowledged forefathers of pure Electro, plus British Futurist acts like the Human League and Gary Numan, but also with a number of pioneering black musicians. Major artists like Miles Davis, Sly Stone, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, legendary producer Norman Whitfield and, of course, George Clinton and his P Funk brigade, would all play their part in shaping this new sound via their innovative use of electronic instruments during the 70s (and as early as the late 60s in Miles Davis’ case). Once the next generation of black musicians finally got their hands on the available technology it was bound to lead to a musical revolution as they ripped up the rule book with their twisted Funk. Before Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force’s seminal Electro classic, “Planet Rock” (Tommy Boy) exploded on the scene in May 82, there had already been a handful of releases in the previous months that would help define this new genre. D Train’s “You’re The One For Me” (Prelude), which was massive during late 81, would set the tone, paving the way for “Time” by Stone (West End), “Feels Good” by Electra (Emergency) and two significant Eric Matthew / Darryl Payne productions, Sinnamon’s “Thanks To You” (Becket) and, once again courtesy of Prelude, “On A Journey (I Sing The Funk Electric)” by Electrik Funk (the term Electro-Funk originally deriving from this track, “electric-funk” being amended to Electro-Funk following the arrival of Shock’s “Electrophonic Phunk” on the Californian Fantasy label in June). However, the most significant of all the early releases was “Don’t Make Me Wait” by the Peech Boys (West End), for this was no longer hinting at a new direction, it was unmistakably the real deal. An extreme chunk of vinyl moulded by Paradise Garage DJ Larry Levan, “Don’t Make Me Wait” would quickly become a cult-classic, and eventually even manage to scrape into the top 50 of the British Pop chart, purely on the back of underground support (as would a number of subsequent Electro-Funk releases).

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As the first British DJ to fully embrace this new wave of black music, I came in for a lot of personal criticism. Having already become an established name on the Jazz-Funk scene I was seen as a heretic for playing these soulless records, especially those that were regarded as the more blatant ones (for example, the dreaded “Planet Rock” and the rest of the Tommy Boys stuff, Warp 9 “Nunk” (Prism), Extra T’s “ET Boogie” (Sunnyview), Man Parrish “Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don’t Stop)” (Importe/12), and Italian Zanza 12", “Dirty Talk” by Klien & MBO). I generally opted for the Dub or instrumental versions, mixing them in alongside the more orthodox Funk, Soul and Jazz-Funk releases of the time at my weekly residencies, Legend in Manchester and Wigan Pier, where the scene first took root. These venues, both state-of-the-art US styled clubs, would become central to the movement throughout the 82-84 period, attracting people from all over the country. The music would also gain further exposure via my regular mixes for Manchester’s Piccadilly Radio (beginning in May 82), and in August 83 I’d introduce Electro to a new audience, when I became the first Dance resident at the Haçienda club. Electro-Funk’s legacy is huge. It announced the computer age and seduced a generation with its drum machines, synthesizers and its sequencers, its rap, cut and scratch, its breaking and popping, its Dub mixes, its bonus beats and its innovative use of samples. Made to be mixed it inspired a new breed of British DJs to cut the chat and match the beats. Now legendary names like Grandmaster Flash, Tee Scott, Tony Humphries, Larry Levan, François Kevorkian, Shep Pettibone, John ‘Jellybean’ Benitez and Double Dee & Steinski became role-models for tuned-in DJs and would-be remixers, whilst pioneers of the new digital sampling technology, including New York producer Arthur Baker and his collaborator John Robie, British producer Trevor Horn (via “Buffalo Gals”) and, of course, the Herbie Hancock / Bill Laswell combination, with their Grammy winning “Rockit” (Columbia), not only revolutionized black music but instigated a whole new approach to popular music in general.

DJ HERC

Electro-Funk was the channel that finally brought the Hip-Hop movement, and all its various creative components, firmly into the UK mainstream, helping to spread its message throughout Europe and beyond. To all intents and purposes Electro-Funk pre-dates Hip-Hop in a British context, the term not coming into common use here until much later. We were more or less clueless when it came to Hip-Hop until late 82, when Charisma Records in the UK unleashed Malcolm McLaren & The World’s Famous Supreme Team’s “Buffalo Gals” video, which came as something of a culture-shock to say least, bringing the full force of NYC street-style out of The Bronx and into our living rooms, and inspiring a carnival of breakdancing in cities and towns throughout Britain during the summer of 83. Eventually we’d learn of its origins with Kool DJ Herc, spinning his famous merry-go-round of breaks for the b boys. Before this, most people had presumed that the break in breakdancing referred to the damage you might do to your bones Hentet fra:www.electrofunkroots.co.uk

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if you got the move wrong! Although the media gradually latched onto this new dance craze, the scene that surrounded it wouldn’t receive any serious attention here in the UK until 1984. This followed the runaway success of the Street Sounds “Electro” compilations (Volume 1 released in October 83), which would take the music to a much wider audience, and result in The Face announcing “Electro - The Beat That Won’t Be Beaten” across its entire front page in May 84, a full two years on from the US release of “Planet Rock”. This substantial delay in recognition went a long way towards obscuring Electro-Funk’s essential role in kick-starting the 80s dance boom, with many UK club historians bypassing the pivotal early 80s period and mistakenly citing Detroit Techno as the trigger. Even the track that gave birth to Techno, the Juan Atkins / Rick Davies 12" “Clear” by Cybotron (Fantasy), was regarded as an Electro classic here in 83, way before the Techno scene began to take shape, and would feature on the first Street Sounds “Crucial Electro” compilation the following year. Little mention is ever made of the fact that its remixer, Jose ‘Animal’ Diaz, was immersed in NY Electro, with previous mix credits including “We Are The Jonzun Crew” for Tommy Boy, and “Hip Hop Be Bop (Don’t Stop)”, which gained a new lease of life following his much sought-after limited edition mix for Disconet (the DJ Only format affiliated to Sugarscoop). Electro’s star burnt very brightly, initially on the underground and eventually with the club masses. In 1984 the London scene took off in a big way, both in the clubs and on the radio, with the emergence of DJs like Herbie from Mastermind (who mixed the Street Sounds albums), Paul Anderson, Tim Westwood and Mike Allen confirming a radical shift in power on the capital’s black music scene. With the substantial weight of London behind it, the Electro movement quickly went overground enticing an ever-increasing number of switched-on white kids in its on-going search for the perfect beat. With a significant proportion of the British youth, regardless of colour, now grounded in Hip-Hop culture, the new UK Dance era was well and truly under way and it wouldn’t be long before musicians and DJs here began to create their own hybrid styles, most notably in Bristol where Electro was fused with the Reggae vibes of Dub and Lovers Rock, to bring about a unique flavour that would later be known as Trip-Hop. By the end of the decade cities like Manchester and London had become major players on the now global Dance scene, with the UK a veritable hotbed of creativity both in the clubs and the recording studios. Electro-Funk was the prototype, and Hip-Hop, Techno, House, Jungle, Trip-Hop, Drum & Bass, UK Garage, plus countless other Dance derivatives, all owe their debts to its undoubted influence. Without it’s inspiration, it’s unlikely that British acts such as Coldcut, 808 State, A Guy Called Gerald, Soul To Soul, Massive Attack, The Prodigy, William Orbit, Goldie, the Chemical Brothers, Underworld and Fatboy Slim, to name but a few, would have emerged. When all’s said and done, Electro-Funk (or Electro or whatever people choose to call it) was the catalyst, the mutant strain that bridged the British Jazz-Funk underground to the Acid-House mainstream, Until this fact is fully recognized the UK Dance jigsaw will remain incomplete and confused, with countless clubbers, twenty years on, having no idea of the true roots of the music they’re dancing to.

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Huddersfield Crew, Stars Bar 1982.

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ESSENTIAL BEATS 82–83

ONE HUNDRED OF THE BIGGEST TUNES PLAYED AT LEGEND AND WIGAN PIER The tracks are listed in chronological order - the first three entries arriving on import in late '81. D TRAIN — You’re The One For Me (US Prelude) DR JECKYLL & MR HYDE — Genius Of Love (US Profile) STONE — Time (US West End) P–FUNK ALL STARS — Hydraulic Pump pt III (US Hump) ELECTRIK FUNK — On A Journey (I sing the funk electric) (US Prelude) PEECH BOYS — Don’t Make Me Wait (US West End) SINNAMON — Thanks To You (US Becket) AL McCALL — Hard Times (US West End) ELECTRA — Feels Good (US Emergency) ATLANTIS — Keep On Movin’ And Groovin’ (US Chaz Ro) AFRIKA BAMBAATAA & THE SOUL SONIC FORCE — Planet Rock (US Tommy Boy) SHOCK — Electrophonic Phunk (US Fantasy) SECRET WEAPON — Must Be The Music - remix (US Prelude - from the LP Kiss FM Mastermixes vol 1) GUNCHBACK BOOGIE BAND — Funn (US Prelude) THE SYSTEM — It’s Passion (US Mirage) ROCKERS REVENGE — Walking On Sunshine (US Streetwise) GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE — The Message (US Sugarhill) RAW SILK — Do It To The Music (US West End) THE JONZUN CREW — Pack Jam (Look Out For The OVC) (US Tommy Boy) SHARON REDD — Beat The Street - remix (US Prelude) KLIEN & MBO — Dirty Talk (Italian Zanza) Q — The Voice Of Q (US Philly World) EXTRA T’s — E.T Boogie (US Sunnyview) GEORGE CLINTON — Loopzilla (US Capitol) WARP 9 — Nunk (US Prism) TYRONE BRUNSON — The Smurf (US Believe In A Dream) PLANET PATROL — Rock At Your Own Risk (US Tommy Boy) WHODINI — Magic’s Wand (US Jive/Zomba) STONE — Girl I Like The Way That You Move (US West End) ORBIT — The Beat Goes On (Canadian Quality) DR JECKYLL & MR HYDE — The Challenge (US Profile) TONEY LEE — Reach Up (US Radar) GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE — Scorpio (US Sugarhill) MALCOLM McLAREN / WORLD’S FAMOUS SUPREME TEAM — Buffalo Gals (UK Charisma) NAIROBI & THE AWESOME FOURSOME — Funky Soul Makossa (US Streetwise) MAN PARRISH — Hip Hop Be Bop (Don’t Stop) (US Importe/12 - later on Disconet 12") INDEEP — Last Night A DJ Saved My Life (US Sound Of New York) REGGIE GRIFFIN & TECHNOFUNK — Mirda Rock (US Sweet Mountain) MELLE MEL & DUKE BOOTEE — Message II (survival) (US Sugarhill) PRINCE CHARLES & THE CITY BEAT BAND — The Jungle Stomp (US MJS) THE WEBBOES — Under The Wear (US Sam) THE JONZUN CREW — Space Is The Place (US Tommy Boy) SANDY KERR — Thug Rock (US Catawba)

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KLIEN & MBO — Wonderful (US Atlantic) EX TRAS — Haven’t Been Funked Enough (UK Excellent) VANITY 6 — Nasty Nasty Girls (US Hot Tracks - originally on Warner Brothers LP) AFRIKA BAMBAATAA & THE SOUL SONIC FORCE — Looking For The Perfect Beat (US Tommy Boy) JOHNNY CHINGAS — Phone Home (US Columbia) PURE ENERGY — Spaced Out (US Prism) VISUAL — The Music Got Me (US Prelude) C.O.D — In The Bottle (US Emergency - later on Disconet 12") THE JONZUN CREW — We Are The Jonzun Crew (US Disconet - later on Tommy Boy 12") RUN DMC — It’s Like That / Sucker MC’s (Krush-Groove 1) (US Profile) WARP 9 — Light Years Away (US Prism) D TRAIN — Music (US Prelude) SHIRLEY LITES — Heat You Up - Meltdown mix (US West End) WEEKS & CO — If You’re Looking For Fun (US Salsoul) FEARLESS FOUR — Just Rock (US Elektra) MIDNIGHT STAR — Freak-A-Zoid (US Solar) FREEEZE — I-Dub-U (US Streetwise) SINNAMON — I Need You Now (US Jive/Zomba) ROCK MASTER SCOTT & THE DYNAMIC THREE — It’s Life (You Gotta Think Twice) (US Reality) ELECTRIC POWER BAND — Papa Smurf (US Bee Pee) NEWTRAMENT — London Bridge Is Falling Down (UK Jive/Zomba) S.O.S BAND — Just Be Good To Me (US Tabu) TONEY LEE — Love So Deep (US Radar) NEWCLEUS — Jam On Revenge (The Wikki Wikki Song) (US Sunnyview - originally on US May Hew) HERBIE HANCOCK — Rockit (US Columbia) PROJECT FUTURE — Ray-gun-omics (US Capitol) TWO SISTERS — High Noon (US Sugarscoop) THE RAKE — Street Justice (US Profile) WUF TICKET — The Key (US Prelude) TIME ZONE — The Wildstyle (US Celluloid) CANDIDO — Jingo Breakdown (US Salsoul) UNIQUE — What I Got Is What You Need (US Prelude) THE PACKMAN — I’m The Packman (Eat Everything I Can) (US Enjoy) CYBOTRON — Clear (US Fantasy) PLANET PATROL — Cheap Thrills (US Tommy Boy) NEW ORDER — Confused Beats (UK Factory) HOT STREAK — Body Work (US Easy Street) WEST STREET MOB — Break Dancin’ - Electric Boogie (US Sugarhill) GARY’S GANG — Makin’ Music (US Radar) CAPTAIN ROCK — The Return Of Captain Rock (US NIA) B BOYS — Two, Three, Break (US Vintertainment) ARCADE FUNK — Search And Destroy (US D.E.T.T) DIMPLES D — Sucker DJs (I Will Survive) (US Partytime) G.L.O.B.E & WHIZ KID — Play That Beat MR DJ (US Tommy Boy) TOM BROWNE — Rockin’ Radio (US Arista) GRANDMASTER & MELLE MEL — White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) (US Sugarhill) CAPTAIN RAPP — Bad Times (I Can’t Stand It) (US Saturn) TWILIGHT 22 — Electric Kingdom (US Vanguard)

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RUSSELL BROTHERS — The Party Scene (US Portrait) SHANNON — Let The Music Play (US Emergency) DJ DIVINE — Get Into The Mix (US West End) THE ART OF NOISE — Beat Box (UK ZTT) HASHIM — Al-naafiysh (The Soul) (US Cutting) B BOYS — Cuttin’ Herbie / Rock The House (US Vintertainment) MALCOLM X / KEITH LeBLANC — No Sell Out (US Tommy Boy) XENA — On The Upside (US Emergency) PUMPKIN — King Of The Beat (US Profile)

Greg Wilson, November 2003. greg@electrofunkroots.co.uk

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