Three weeks at number one from 27th February 1988
I was absolutely fascinated by that reaction when this record first came out. To me, “Beat Dis” was exciting but hardly felt radical at the time – since “Pump Up The Volume” topped the charts in 1987, the floodgates opened for House records featuring bold and hyperactive samples to not only get released, but actually sell in huge quantities. There was an urgency and propulsion to this record which seemed thrilling at the time, but didn’t actually feel odd or alienating; rather, it seemed like a continuation of a busy, current trend.
If you were of an older generation who hadn’t been paying close attention to the charts, though, and had your dial permanently glued to Radio Two, I now realise that this entering the national charts at number five must have felt inexplicable; even with punk rock and the artier edges of glam, hit singles prior to this still had a logic and a flow which didn’t depart hugely from the golden rules of pop – namely, that choruses must at least try to be memorable and verses must flow obviously and make logical sense. The arrival of synth-pop at the tail end of the seventies did push these boundaries a little further (for instance, “O Superman” really upsets the apple cart) but in general, proper hit singles, and even cult hit singles, adhered to some fairly basic structural rules.
One reason I found the late eighties House uprising so fascinating as a teen is that it had no time for Denmark Street or Tin Pan Alley melodies (unless it was sampling them in five second bites). The groove was everything. What you did on top of that groove was up to you. It could be not much at all, and that’s the option many DJs and artists took, favouring stark minimalism with a gentle seasoning of samples and airy synth washes. Others, however, didn’t know when to stop and loaded the sample gun with everything they’d heard that week and pressed “fire” over the beat, blasting in with a series of tenuously related soundbites and hooks.
“Beat Dis” is firmly in the latter camp. It interrupts constantly with source material as wide as Thunderbirds, Bob Prescott’s absurd “Cartoons In Stereo” album, stereo sound test records, Jayne Mansfield giggling, Disney stories, as well as the obvious candidates – Public Enemy, Kurtis Blow, Afrikaa Bambaataa, Indeep’s “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life”. In common with “Pump Up The Volume”, each sampled snatch eventually etches itself so much into your brain that it feels like a strange hook in itself; I can’t hear Bob Prescott saying “You play Russian Roulette this way” in my mind without hearing a twittering, chattering rhythm beneath it.
Nonetheless, on first listen it’s pretty overwhelming, a riot of speech, scratching, jittery melodies and impatient, forceful dustbin lid rhythms smacking you in the face. My mother was right. It is – kind of – like playing an arcade game on Southend seafront in 1988 and trying to hear the music and noise of the machine you’re focusing on against the attention seeking clarion calls of the others. As a teen, I found that idea thrilling, though.
What’s also fascinating about “Beat Dis” is that for all its freshness, the choice of samples was unbelievably antiquated. I suspect part of this was due to ease of use; it’s much more straightforward to drop in a speech sample from an old sound effects record than it is to isolate vocals from another piece of music, and these discs could very easily be found in stores like Music and Video Exchange for very little money. It was also partly due to the fetishisation of sixties and seventies ideas in clubland at this point too, which might (arguably!) have bled over from the psychedelic Alice In Wonderland events people like Richard Norris were involved with before moving to Shoom.
“Beat Dis” therefore becomes this sweet and sour cocktail of the old and the new, the furiously modern and the old; a black and white land of perfect on-mic pronunciation being thieved, pulled out of context and buried beneath noise. To older generations, it may even have sounded like sacrilege – the fondly remembered past being combined with a present sound they barely understood. I personally loved its pure energy at the time but don’t tend to gravitate towards it as much now; it has the formula of “Pump Up The Volume” but none of the space, grace and patience. In short, I have to be in the right mood.
As for Bomb The Bass themselves, they were at this point DJ Tim Simenon being augmented by Pascal Gabriel and other friends and record company employees. In 1988, Adele Nozedar, who had previously been the lead singer of group Indians in Moscow, found herself working at Rhythm King records and was given the job of miming to key bits of this record on Top of the Pops – hence, for the first time since 1984 when “Naughty Miranda” reached number six on the NME indie chart, she found herself cavorting around fronting a (very different sounding) record. When I saw her performance at the time I just assumed she was a Shoom attendee Simenon had picked out of the crowd, so she did a superb job of metamorphosing from quirky post-punk singer to “club face” (these days, of course, she’s a widely published author of books about foraging for wild food, as opposed to foraging second-hand record stores for samples. Some people really have had enviably varied careers.)
Simenon himself would go from strength to strength, never quite having as sizeable a hit as “Beat Dis” again, but continuing to maintain a presence, eventually as a respected producer as well as DJ and remixer. We will keep on bumping into him in one guise or another.
New Entries Elsewhere In The Charts
Week One
13. Buzzcocks – The Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit)
Peak position: 7
14. The Wild Flowers - Broken Chains (Chapter 22)
Peak position: 14
Wolverhampton’s Wild Flowers had been going since 1984 to limited cult interest, label hopping like billy-o from Reflex to Big Life to Chapter 22 here, who were their last indie bosses before disappearing off to the London-affiliated Slash Records.
Despite their limited success prior to this point, “Broken Chains” gives hints about why they may have appealed to a major label; this sounds like contemporary American alternative rock with a clear mainstream influence – any fury or disappointment is delivered through strained vocalisations, intense vowels and big guitar twangs rather than any kind of thrash and scream.
They never would achieve mainstream success, but they damn well sounded as if they could have done.
17. The Bachelor Pad - Do It For Fun (Warhola Sound)
Peak position: 17
When we bumped into Bachelor Pad last year, I was delighted to discover their incredibly realistic approximation of a psychedelic sixties sound in “The Albums Of Jack”. “Do It For Fun” is nothing like that, however, sounding like an onslaught of jackhammers colliding into an otherwise pleasant indiepop melody.
It’s not what I was expecting but you’re left with the distinct impression that it’s still psychedelia of a kind.
20. Groove - Submit To The Beat (Submisson)
Peak position: 20
Much more minimal than “Beat Dis”, "Submit To The Beat" is considered to be something of a cult dancefloor classic of its era. And no wonder - it's created by Graeme Parke, a Hacienda DJ and future producer, Radio DJ, and all-round general legend.
The repetitive and effective bassline here is the driving force, the foundation of the track, and the little flourishes that emerge over the top periodically are pleasingly subtle rather than intrusive - this is spacey House with lots of room to breathe rather than hyper, trigger-happy material.
21. Asher D & Daddy Freddy - Brutality (Music of Life)
Peak position: 21
23. Bastard Kestrel - Cor Trance EP (Kestrel)
Peak position: 23
The brilliantly named Bastard Kestrel were proud lo-fi noise rockers who made Big Black sound over-produced, most of their tracks being a raw, untreated cacophony. Every time you think a teasing fragment of melody pokes its head out of the melee, it’s promptly whacked over the head with the force of a twenty stone man throwing all his body weight behind the arm of a guitar.
Obviously, John Peel was a fan, booking the band for two Peel Sessions and playing their singles enthusiastically – although this may have partially been because he appeared to derive a lot of pleasure from saying the words “Bastard Kestrel” in his deep Liverpudlian tones.
29. Syd Barrett – The Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit)
Peak position: 13
I don’t generally comment on Peel Sessions EPs here unless there's a good reason to do so – as I’ve mentioned before, I think talking about the business of old recordings breaks the topical flow of the blog. I couldn’t resist the temptation to highlight this one, though, which besides seeing the post-Floyd Syd recording some perfectly “together”, if very threadbare, versions of his latest songs, also sees the exclusive “Two Of A Kind” tacked on the tail end.
The songwriting for this was misleadingly credited to Barrett himself, despite actually being authored by Richard Wright. Apparently a confused Barrett believed he was responsible for the song, and had to be dissuaded by the rest of the group from including it on his first solo album, “The Madcap Laughs”. In the end, this Peel Session version was the only one released, many long years after the event.
If you’re in any doubt about whether Syd did actually write this and Wright or other members were the deluded ones, a quick listen should put you in little doubt. “Two Of A Kind” is a jolly toe-tapping ditty, the kind Barrett did occasionally pen, but without any strange wordplay or deviations from the catchy pop path. The idea Barrett would ever be capable of penning anything as plain as “I've got to say this, I hope you don't mind/ I love you, we're two of a kind” does stretch credibility. Even in a love song, he would normally have thrown in a random aquatic animal or peculiar sensation into the mix (sometimes in the same song, as was the case with “Terrapin”).
Still, this didn’t stop the equally confused Soup Dragons from covering this one on the “Beyond The Wildwood” Syd Barrett tribute album issued later. I would say “I hope Richard Wright got his royalty cheque eventually”, but I’m sure he manages just fine.
Meanwhile, this Peel Sessions EP was one of the most talked-about of the series, offering different versions of Syd songs long after he had left the studio never to return. Its reception possibly smoothed the path for EMI to release the album “Opel” later on in 1988, which included more alternative versions and fresh tracks which had previously only been available on rough bootlegs.
14. World Domination Enterprises - I Can't Live Without My Radio (Product Inc.)
Peak position: 8
Possibly one of the most straightforward World Domination Enterprises singles, “I Can’t Live…” is a cover of the LL Cool J track with all the relevant scratch mixing aspects instead being replaced by distorted, feedbacking and squawling guitars.
It was hugely popular among the alternative kids at the time, which is a baffling one – it’s really a faintly lazy cover which takes Cool J’s original record as the template, deletes the groove, then doesn’t add much beyond minimal noise. As a hip-hop/indie crossover record, though, it probably seemed newsworthy and innovative. We were easily pleased in those days.
Peak position: 8
Possibly one of the most straightforward World Domination Enterprises singles, “I Can’t Live…” is a cover of the LL Cool J track with all the relevant scratch mixing aspects instead being replaced by distorted, feedbacking and squawling guitars.
It was hugely popular among the alternative kids at the time, which is a baffling one – it’s really a faintly lazy cover which takes Cool J’s original record as the template, deletes the groove, then doesn’t add much beyond minimal noise. As a hip-hop/indie crossover record, though, it probably seemed newsworthy and innovative. We were easily pleased in those days.
17. W.A.S.P. – Live...Animal (Music for Nations)
Peak position: 14
18. The Shamen - Knature of a Girl (Moksha)
Peak position: 13
The sledgehammer beatbox rhythms are still intact since we last met them for “Christopher Mayhew Says”, and the shimmering effects (this time with added sitar styled noises) add a kaleidoscopic feel, but some poppiness is beginning to rear its head.
"Knature of a Girl" is still a long, long way from "Ebeneezer Goode" - so far it's almost mind-boggling, in fact - but the chorus here sounds close to the soon-to-be-born Jesus Jones, and you're left with the impression that the emerging wave of faintly rebellious but nonetheless commercial alt-pop groups probably owed The Shamen a debt. A debt, obviously, that neither side was keen to acknowledge by the time The Shamen were Boss Drummed up to the hilt.
19. CUD – The Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit)
Peak position: 12
Week Three
9. Derek B - Good Groove (Music of Life)
Peak position: 6
Derek Bolam re-enters the indie charts again with another piece of amiable, carefree hip-hop, this time sampling the Jackson Five’s “ABC” as the central hook and assuring himself some commercial traction. If anything, it sounds unbelievably lightweight by current day standards, with its shuffling rhythms and Derek’s confident but merry persona feeling odd to hear again.
It was his first major British hit, reaching number 16 in the national charts. Following this he would ink a major label deal and kept the flame alive for a while before eventually being superseded by rougher, tougher styles. Tragically, he died of a heart attack in 2009 at only 44 years of age.
22. The Very Things – The Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit)
Peak position: 22
27. Mirage - Jack Mix VII (Debut)
Peak position: 27
More megamix action, this time opening with “Jingo”, before taking on seemingly every single hit Dance record of the last few months, like one of those Now Dance albums condensed down into a mere few minutes.
In some ways Mirage’s records are interesting snapshots of periods of time. “Jack Mix VII” manages to build bridges between the New York scene, Stock Aitken Waterman, FON Studios and Janet Jackson literally without missing a beat. A quick listen takes you on a spin down memory lane but while it may be surprisingly well crafted for a cash-in (particularly compared to either Jive Bunny or Starsound) the end experience is a little a bit hollow, frankly. It probably sounded great blasting from an XR3i car on the A12 at the time, though.
Peak position: 22
27. Mirage - Jack Mix VII (Debut)
Peak position: 27
More megamix action, this time opening with “Jingo”, before taking on seemingly every single hit Dance record of the last few months, like one of those Now Dance albums condensed down into a mere few minutes.
In some ways Mirage’s records are interesting snapshots of periods of time. “Jack Mix VII” manages to build bridges between the New York scene, Stock Aitken Waterman, FON Studios and Janet Jackson literally without missing a beat. A quick listen takes you on a spin down memory lane but while it may be surprisingly well crafted for a cash-in (particularly compared to either Jive Bunny or Starsound) the end experience is a little a bit hollow, frankly. It probably sounded great blasting from an XR3i car on the A12 at the time, though.
30. King Kurt - Bye Bye Baby (GWR)
Peak position: 30
In which those old psychobilly heroes return with a cover of a Bay City Rollers hit for reasons known only to themselves. Not that it belonged to the Rollers either, strictly speaking – it was written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio and The Four Seasons first had success with it in 1965, a fact which is often overlooked due to the sheer ubiquity of the tartan-coated shoreline conurbation residents effort.
King Kurt certainly sound as if they based their version on Rollers one, as the beats, vocals and performance is almost a carbon copy; a huge missed opportunity, and yet another release to file under “ironic indie cover versions of hit songs which add nothing new to the originals apart from roughness”.
For the complete charts, please go to the UKMix Forums
Number One In The National Charts
Kylie Minogue - "I Should Be So Lucky" (PWL)
No comments:
Post a Comment