KLF and Shamen are shining examples that you can make quality dance music that was original AND pretty much devastated the charts. Not that I was much of a fan at the time... but I can more than appreciate their existance!

I did like the late 80s house track House Arrest by Krush. Other good ones are Theme From S-Express by S-Express, Jack Your Body by Steve "Silk" Hurley, Pump Up The Volume by M/A/R/R/S, Pump Up The Jam by Technotronic etc. I guess the most influencial KLF and The Shamen tracks came out early 90s, even thou Timelords (KLF) Doctor In The Tardis was late 80 and very good. And We Call It Aciid by D-Mob was good.

KLF and Shamen are shining examples that you can make quality dance music that was original AND pretty much devastated the charts. Not that I was much of a fan at the time... but I can more than appreciate their existance!

 

the shamens 'boss drum' was the first 'dance' album i ever bought and was pretty much my initiation into dance, and spiritual things.

'last train to transcentral' though isnt 'trance'... its just bog standard dance/rock cross.

 

The single version in 1991 wasn't trance, it was beefed up for the charts by The Beatmasters, but the original 1989 version was 'pure trance'.

 

Anyway's good to read so much love for The KLF in this thread!

‘The Shamen’ and ‘The KLF’ were also seen as quite ‘alternative’ at one point and so find their way onto my great ‘Beechwood Music’ Indie Top 20 hits compilation ('Volume 8'). They are on there alongside such great acts like ‘The Fatima Mansions’, ‘The Field Mice’, ‘The Kitchens Of Distinction’ and ‘Depeche Mode’. However the tracks on this album are ‘Omega Amigo’ and ‘Kylie Said To Jason’, both tracks of which missed the charts but I think you might know them as both tracks, I think, made it onto the old ‘Snub TV’ video compilations alongside 'Momus'.

Yup, I know both of them. 'Kylie Said to Jason' was a misguided attempt to combine PWL style production with the sound of Bill Drummond rapping nonsense about Antipodean soap stars turned singers.

the lyrics of 'boss drum' suggested that dancing to repetitive beats can induce an altered state of consciousness reavealing 'drug' like visions and sounds. it also suggests ancient pagan links, this appealed to me. pity the shamen failed to follow it up... however i started taking the ideal substitute, erm... shrooms... and i thoughroughly enjoyed the experience! the colours, patterns and repetitive beats were euphoric.

Yup, I know both of them. 'Kylie Said to Jason' was a misguided attempt to combine PWL style production with the sound of Bill Drummond rapping nonsense about Antipodean soap stars turned singers.

 

I would not say ‘misguided’ as I thought it was a good pop record and one that should be respected as much as ‘Pet Shop Boys’ ‘Left To My Own Devices’ or ‘I Want A Dog’. I think that record is a great track and I still get out the ‘Indie hits’ album to play it regularly. I suppose some people may have a different view of that record if they are looking back throughout history and considering all the great chart hits they released in the early 1990s, instead of than arriving at that same point in time from the ‘SAW’ produced ‘Brilliant’ album. Maybe ‘Kylie Said To Jason’ would have made more sense in the context of their film, but unlike ‘It Couldn’t Happen Here’ I doubt that we will ever see it released commercially. Like ‘The Timelords’ and ‘The K Foundation’ I regard that record as another interesting diversion that ‘the JAMMS’ took in their career. I never got round to buying their ‘ambient house’ ‘chill out’ record, nor did I manage to get a copy of the ‘Space’ album, though I guess I would have liked it as I liked ‘the Orb’ very much.

 

I suppose while we are on the subject of ‘WAU! Mr Modo’ / ‘Big Life Records’ / Youth, I wonder if everybody liked ‘Blue Pearl’. Wasn’t the singer called something like ‘Durga McBroom’? I remember we always thought that she sounded like she should have been a character in ‘Supergran’ with the ‘Scunner Campbell.’ I loved their ‘cover’ of ‘Playing With Knives’ (‘Can You Feel The Passion’) though I guess this would probably be seen as one of those ‘mash-up’ records now where you put a vocal over another tune. I think one of their records is on ‘Now Dance 902’. I had that album out of my collection as I wanted to listen to ‘Snappiness’ by ‘BBG’ over the weekend. Can anyone remember what ‘BBG’ stood for? Are they named after the Style Council’s ‘Big Boss Groove’ or was it something like GGM: ‘Groove Groove Melody’.

 

Yup, 'Naked in the Rain' was on Now Dance 902. I loved the Now Dance 90x compilations as they put the 12" mixes of songs on them for extended listening pleasure!

 

I said 'Kylie Said to Jason' was misguided because I think Drummond / Cauty were pretty certain of a massive hit with it and it just didn't happen at all. It's a great pop song, natch, but one I think they were too embarrassed with to include it on the final release of The White Room.

 

No idea what BBG stood for (except for making great dance records, 'Snappiness' I remember as being really good) - I suspect it was either one person's initials Barry Barry Grant for instance, or the initial letters of the surnames of three people like KWS did.

Yup, 'Naked in the Rain' was on Now Dance 902. I loved the Now Dance 90x compilations as they put the 12" mixes of songs on them for extended listening pleasure!

 

I said 'Kylie Said to Jason' was misguided because I think Drummond / Cauty were pretty certain of a massive hit with it and it just didn't happen at all. It's a great pop song, natch, but one I think they were too embarrassed with to include it on the final release of The White Room.

 

No idea what BBG stood for (except for making great dance records, 'Snappiness' I remember as being really good) - I suspect it was either one person's initials Barry Barry Grant for instance, or the initial letters of the surnames of three people like KWS did.

 

Do you remember the early ‘Now Dance’ music albums from the pre-‘Acid House’ music era (circa 1985 and 1986)? When ‘club’ tracks were either soul and funk ‘Weekender’ tracks or extended pop remixes which involved a lengthy repetitious drum beat being inserted into the middle of a three minute pop-rock song? I was looking at a tape from the mid 1980s a few days ago and that was of a similar concept, being mostly extended mixes of records by ‘Sly Fox’ and ‘The Power Station’.

 

Actually that alternative ‘BBG’ name you have provided has just reminded me of Garry ‘Gary’ Beers. I know most people will say that the nearest ‘INXS’ has got to being a ‘club music’ group is if they are seen as a Funky-pub rock band, but it is not too much of a diversion from the topic as their works have been endlessly remixed. There was a great trance record at the start of the 00s by ‘Tall Paul’, which sampled the iconic ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ and another remix of the stunning ‘Just Keep Walking’. Do you remember these records? I think ‘Just Keep Walking’ was remixed by an Italian group who were called either ‘Party Funk’ or ‘Partizan’, though it may have been ‘Planet Funk’, even though I remember that group working more with ‘Simple Minds’ at the time.

 

Talking of Italian groups, I think it was an Italian group that’ KWS’ ripped off for their number one ‘KC’ cover. I think the band who did it originally was ‘Double You?’ on a German label called ‘ZYX Records’. I think ‘KWS’ were on ‘Network Records’, who should have known better than to lower ‘themselves’ to this level. That cash-in rates as a ‘big black mark’ against that independent dance label, especially after their involvement with ‘Nexus 21’ (‘Altern8’), ‘Six6 Records’ and ‘Kevin Saunderson’. As there was a lot of that type of thing going on in dance music around that time I suppose you cannot completely blame them for wanting an easy hit. However, can anybody remember who released a version of ‘This Beat Is Technotronic’ and replaced ‘MC Eric Me One’ with a female rapper, so that the record sounded like it had ‘Ya Kid K / Felly’ on vocals.

 

No idea on the Technotronic, but you're spot on about Double You? / KWS. I think Double You? might have been German but he definitely had the original release in Europe including top 10 hits there. Mind you, the whole thing was very similar to East Side Beat's 'Ride Like the Wind' - taking an old song and putting it over a very basic backing.

 

KWS were actually a hardcore act on Network, the flip to 'Please Don't Go' was called 'Gameboy' and sounded like a very hard Altern 8 track. But they found a formula that worked and released rubbish dance-lite versions of 'Rock Your Baby' and 'Hold Back the Night' during 1992 before the public got royally sick of them.

 

Ha ha, yeah Barry Barry Grant was my take on Garry Beers - well spotted!

 

I'm a bit young for pre-Acid house, but I can imagine a full-length version of 'Let's Go All The Way' being good, especially with an extended intro...

I did not mind ‘East Side Beat’, but I found ‘Undercover’ annoying.

Oh god yes! A band made up of Geography teachers!

Sorry, but is that opinion to be taken sarcastically? I am unsure to whether you mean in the joking manner of ‘O.M.D.’ or in the true manner of ‘Sting’.

I did not mind ‘East Side Beat’, but I found ‘Undercover’ annoying.

 

Undercover... :puke2:

 

They were awful!

Sorry, but is that opinion to be taken sarcastically? I am unsure to whether you mean in the joking manner of ‘O.M.D.’ or in the true manner of ‘Sting’.

 

Not sarcasm really. The other two in the band were history teachers.

 

Were they your teachers from school?

Yes, yes they were. The jumper he wore on Top of the Pops was a present from the sixth form.

I cannot think of any famous dance people who may have come from my school as it was ‘Northern Uproar’ rather than ‘Hardcore Uproar’.

Ah, loads came from my school. As well as Undercover, Owen Paul was once a janitor for a fortnight and Rose from Strawberry Switchblade went to school with my older brother.