HI-NRG......WHAT IS THE CRAZE ABOUT???

**discokid1975** · September 19th, 2005, 02:08 PM

I am just curious and I am not knocking anyone's musical tastes....but where did this hi-nrg craze come from??? or has it always been there and I never got hooked..........all i know is that I had tons of these italo/hi-nrg 12"s in the 80's and couldnt give them away......now it seems like they might have been "buried" treasures???? Please someone enlighten me to the hi-nrg craze???? Being a 70's disco type of guy.....i have alot of the rare disco stuff from 1970's-1980's, but alot of the records I am reading about in these forums I never heard of and alot of them never charted.........
thanks and keep on listening to whatever makes you happy!!!!

**marmite7** · September 19th, 2005, 02:20 PM

Hey :)

If you didn't frequent gay clubs in the early - mid 80's then no wonder you haven't heard of them.

Hi-nrg (Boystown Disco before that - and Eurobeat later on), was the sound being played in every gay club across the world.

We were also lucky that club tunes from the straight clubs also got dropped, so one minute it was a Patrick Cowley or Bobby O produced 4x4 thumper, followed swiftly by Jocelyn Brown or Shannon :)

In my opinion the people buying these tunes now, were there at the time and are simply purchasing their memories, as do we all. I can't believe this genre is being snapped up by a younger crowd. (Why bother, when they have House or Trance and all its sub-genres.)

**Energyguy** · September 19th, 2005, 02:24 PM

Hey - thanks for showing an interest in this great sound from the 80s - It has always been my main musical passion !! Each hi-nrg track has a memory for me. Marmite is correct - alot of the guys buying this stuff are those of us who want to own all the fabulous tracks we used to dance to on those crazy nights out. Many of these records were limited and many were obscure imports...

**discokid1975** · September 19th, 2005, 02:34 PM

Originally Written by marmite7

Hey :)

If you didn't frequent gay clubs in the early - mid 80's then no wonder you haven't heard of them.

Hi-nrg (Boystown Disco before that - and Eurobeat later on), was the sound being played in every gay club across the world.

We were also lucky that club tunes from the straight clubs also got dropped, so one minute it was a Patrick Cowley or Bobby O produced 4x4 thumper, followed swiftly by Jocelyn Brown or Shannon :)

In my opinion the people buying these tunes now, were there at the time and are simply purchasing their memories, as do we all. I can't believe this genre is being snapped up by a younger crowd. (Why bother, when they have House or Trance and all its sub-genres.)

Well, I don't know exactly what is or what isnt considered hi-nrg, but I mean I remember playing cuts by Boystown gang, Bobby O, Divine, Lime, Miquel Brown, Evelyn Thomas, and stuff of that nature at the straight club I spun at (I am straight and did not frequent any gay clubs, so thats why I probably missed alot of these)....but I remember getting stuff from the 80's like the stuff released on Emergency, Streetwise, Tommy Boy and other labels that released alot of electro-hiphop.....thats the stuff I got in the pools and thats what I played in my area (Brooklyn NY)......I had mostly US releases and that was what I played in the club......I never bought Imports.....so thats probably why I never got most of these cuts......what were some major hi-nrg labels to look for??

**Energyguy** · September 19th, 2005, 02:38 PM

Originally Written by discokid1975

Originally Written by marmite7

Hey :)

If you didn't frequent gay clubs in the early - mid 80's then no wonder you haven't heard of them.

Hi-nrg (Boystown Disco before that - and Eurobeat later on), was the sound being played in every gay club across the world.

We were also lucky that club tunes from the straight clubs also got dropped, so one minute it was a Patrick Cowley or Bobby O produced 4x4 thumper, followed swiftly by Jocelyn Brown or Shannon :)

In my opinion the people buying these tunes now, were there at the time and are simply purchasing their memories, as do we all. I can't believe this genre is being snapped up by a younger crowd. (Why bother, when they have House or Trance and all its sub-genres.)

Well, I don't know exactly what is or what isnt considered hi-nrg, but I mean I remember playing cuts by Boystown gang, Bobby O, Divine, Lime, Miquel Brown, Evelyn Thomas, and stuff of that nature at the straight club I spun at (I am straight and did not frequent any gay clubs, so thats why I probably missed alot of these)....but I remember getting stuff from the 80's like the stuff released on Emergency, Streetwise, Tommy Boy and other labels that released alot of electro-hiphop.....thats the stuff I got in the pools and thats what I played in my area (Brooklyn NY)......I had mostly US releases and that was what I played in the club......I never bought Imports.....so thats probably why I never got most of these cuts......what were some major hi-nrg labels to look for??

Some of the major hi-nrg labels to look out for are - POWER (Canadian) RECORD SHACK (UK) PASSION (Uk) RAMS HORN (Dutch) MEGATONE (USA)

**marmite7** · September 19th, 2005, 02:41 PM

Hey Neil (msn?)

Not fogetting labels such as:

Break (Dutch)
Electricity (UK)
ERC (USA & UK)
ZYX (German)
TSR
Matra & Unidisc (Carol Jiani, Flirts & Bobby O)

**marmite7** · September 19th, 2005, 02:47 PM

Hi-nrg was different to disco, as you are probably aware, due to the nature of the repetative beats.

Many straight clubs refused to play it! (Queer music, much as they did when Chicago House first burst on the scene in 1985) :(

**discokid1975** · September 19th, 2005, 03:01 PM

Originally Written by marmite7

Hi-nrg was different to disco, as you are probably aware, due to the nature of the repetative beats.

Many straight clubs refused to play it! (Queer music, much as they did when Chicago House first burst on the scene in 1985) :(

Well I didnt refuse to play it because it was associated with any group......It just wasnt what was in at the time and place I was playing......
Also....now I remember getting boxes of unidisc classics with what seemed to be "strange" titles....from a local record distributor.....alot of Flirts, Bobby O, Claudja Barry.......I guess that was alot of the stuff you guys are talking about...I also had a few copies of a 12" on Passion of "Sun Palace", which I sold to someone who was over my place going through some boxes of extra 12"s and when he saw them it was like he found gold.......but other than that I never listened to another 12" on passion records......

**remicks** · September 20th, 2005, 10:52 AM

*****

Welcome to the board discokid75 !!

So you DJ'd in Brooklyn .... that must've been hot ....for how long?? What years ?? At a club?? ? You mentioned having disco from the 70's and 80's .....did you DJ in the 70's? How big's the collection?? ( I noticed you mention having " extra" boxes of 12"s!!! )

I've mentioned here before that sometimes when I review the HINRG board I feel like I'm visiting another planet ! :D I thought the 80's was Madonna and Whitney and Pet Shop Boys ... now I see there was this whole 'nother layer .... which is so cool. The mid eighties were a rough time .... I'm so glad this beacon of light shines through it !!! :D :D

*****

**discokid1975** · September 20th, 2005, 11:57 AM

Originally Written by remicks

*****

Welcome to the board discokid75 !!

So you DJ'd in Brooklyn .... that must've been hot ....for how long?? What years ?? At a club?? ? You mentioned having disco from the 70's and 80's .....did you DJ in the 70's? How big's the collection?? ( I noticed you mention having " extra" boxes of 12"s!!! )

I've mentioned here before that sometimes when I review the HINRG board I feel like I'm visiting another planet ! :D I thought the 80's was Madonna and Whitney and Pet Shop Boys ... now I see there was this whole 'nother layer .... which is so cool. The mid eighties were a rough time .... I'm so glad this beacon of light shines through it !!! :D :D

*****

Hi, well I spun at a small club in queens, ny.....I did some fill in work (I covered when the DJ was out of town) at another on Long Island......but mostly my DJ work was mobile in the 80s, I was very friendly with someone in the NY record pool & for the record.....and a few promotion guys...so I got alot of promo stuff even though I wasnt doing clubs regularly.....as far as the collection goes, I bought most of the 70's stuff (on ebay & other sources!!)........along with the 80's, 90's, up till 2004 i had about 15,000 12"......but i sold off most of the stuff from 1995-2005....and alot of junk dance stuff I never used.......80's.......i now have about 5,000 12" from 1975-1995.

**Energyguy** · September 20th, 2005, 12:22 PM

Originally Written by remicks

*****

Welcome to the board discokid75 !!

So you DJ'd in Brooklyn .... that must've been hot ....for how long?? What years ?? At a club?? ? You mentioned having disco from the 70's and 80's .....did you DJ in the 70's? How big's the collection?? ( I noticed you mention having " extra" boxes of 12"s!!! )

I've mentioned here before that sometimes when I review the HINRG board I feel like I'm visiting another planet ! :D I thought the 80's was Madonna and Whitney and Pet Shop Boys ... now I see there was this whole 'nother layer .... which is so cool. The mid eighties were a rough time .... I'm so glad this beacon of light shines through it !!! :D :D

*****

Hey Remicks.. It is great to hear that your forrays onto the hi-nrg board are opening new "musical doors" for you ! Its great to discover different types of music 8)

**Spellbound** · September 21st, 2005, 01:58 PM

but alot of the records I am reading about in these forums I never heard of and alot of them never charted.........

You are from NEW YORK CITY and are unfamiliar with HI-NRG?

I thought the 80's was Madonna and Whitney and Pet Shop Boys ... now I see there was this whole 'nother layer .... which is so cool.

You are kidding right? You cannot be serious. I think you are joking around with us.

**discokid1975** · September 21st, 2005, 02:06 PM

Originally Written by Spellbound

but alot of the records I am reading about in these forums I never heard of and alot of them never charted.........

You are from NEW YORK CITY and are unfamiliar with HI-NRG?

I thought the 80's was Madonna and Whitney and Pet Shop Boys ... now I see there was this whole 'nother layer .... which is so cool.

You are kidding right? You cannot be serious. I think you are joking around with us.

I am not saying I never heard of it and I am not totally unfamiliar with it.....in the early-mid 80's I played Disco/Hip Hop/Electro stuff.....Planet Patrol, Soulsonic Force, Freeez, Man Parrish, Teena Marie, John Rocca, Colonel Abrams......etc.....the stuff alot of the radio mix djs and radio stations were playing....not alot of the records I see in these forums.....was just wondering why, being in a major record pool in NY I never heard alot of these records.....must have been a whole other world out there I never knew....

**Ivana Tinkle** · September 21st, 2005, 06:31 PM

I think maybe the current resurgence of interest in HiNRG / and electronic era Italo stuff is because of its' obvious references in the basis of House (/ pretty much all modern club) music.
Like with Hip Hop in the 80's, that definitely got people in to the RnB and funk that it was based on.
Obviuosly House is based in the pre-electronic Disco era too but the club generation out there now have had a musical lifetime of electronic/sample based music.
Also, alot of these older tracks are more song based (even if you only play the dub) compared to alot of house trax...
... the older live and orchestral (Salsoul etc) music has gottta sound weird to young ears surely?
I 'm listening to the Automan bootleg mix of "Magnifqiue" now and defintely prefer it to the original.
If you ain't into it you should get your old stuff onto Ebay soon,
Italo now, HiNRG next big thing (at -4).

**discokid1975** · September 21st, 2005, 07:47 PM

Originally Written by Ivana Tinkle

I think maybe the current resurgence of interest in HiNRG / and electronic era Italo stuff is because of its' obvious references in the basis of House (/ pretty much all modern club) music.
Like with Hip Hop in the 80's, that definitely got people in to the RnB and funk that it was based on.
Obviuosly House is based in the pre-electronic Disco era too but the club generation out there now have had a musical lifetime of electronic/sample based music.
Also, alot of these older tracks are more song based (even if you only play the dub) compared to alot of house trax...
... the older live and orchestral (Salsoul etc) music has gottta sound weird to young ears surely?
I 'm listening to the Automan bootleg mix of "Magnifqiue" now and defintely prefer it to the original.
If you ain't into it you should get your old stuff onto Ebay soon,
Italo now, HiNRG next big thing (at -4).

When you speak of early house trax, there is no other music I dislike more than early house traxx.....I know I am going to catch alot of heat for this one, but to me the early house stuff (like the Chicago type of stuff released on Traxx records and the Fast Eddie stuff on DJ International in the USA and some of the stuff done by Armando, and Frankie Knuckles) is absolutely mind numbingly boring..........am I the only one who feels this way??? (somebody please come forward!!!)
As far as my records go...I would step on the house records to get to my disco records

**Spellbound** · September 21st, 2005, 11:15 PM

the older live and orchestral (Salsoul etc) music has gottta sound weird to young ears surely?

Not true. I am relatively young and have always been fascinated whenever I manage to see clips of old footage of Donna Summer, KC, Earth Wind & Fire, Barry White, Chic etc... performing their songs live and on stage with a full orchestra. I wish more of that kind of footage would be made available to the general public. It is one thing to hear the records but much more enjoyable to see them being performed live. That aspect of dance music is dead right now. Maybe not globally but here in the USA it is. Luckily I can watch the Dominicans on satellite performing their merengue live. Not as many instruments but a live orchestra none the less.

**remicks** · September 22nd, 2005, 01:33 AM

*****

Quote: (me)
I thought the 80's was Madonna and Whitney and Pet Shop Boys ... now I see there was this whole 'nother layer .... which is so cool.

Quote : (Spellbound) You are kidding right? You cannot be serious. I think you are joking around with us

The following is a chart posted by member
Charlie Windle. I have highlighted in purple the ones I am familiar with .

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.Popcorn M&H band (french family)
2.Who's leavin Hazell dean (Emi)
3.If you love somebody(remix) Barbara Doust (white)
4.No regrets Quartzlock (Reflection)
5.Back to you(remix) Crystal in the pink (white)
6.She freaks out on the floor Tavares (US jdc)
7.Heart(disco mix) Pet shop boys (emi)
8.Set it off (grey ink mix) Halequin 4 (Champion)
9.One look Jackson Moore (Megatone)
10.Just a mirage Jellybean (Chrysalis)
11.Suprise me tonight Norma Lewis (Nightmare)
12.Stop me now Midnight shift (Technique)
13.You only you (remix) Tasha (ARS)
14.Perfect love(remix) Linda jo Rizzo (white)
15.Cross my broken heart Sinitta (Fanfare) ( maybe? )
16.Dead or alive (remix) Claudia Barry (white)
17.Dance disco heat(Ultimix) Sylvester (Fantasy)
18.New york citybeat/swinging on a star Man 2 Man (Recca)
19.Naughty boy Macho gang (Nine o nine)
20.Youre the one Tapps (Boulevard)

I also do not know what date this chart represents .... or even the year . '87?

And I have no idea which are HINRG , HOUSE , ITALO , TRANCE , JUNGLE , VOODOO, LOUNGE, or NEW JACK WITH AN OLD TWIST :roll:

*****

**marmite7** · September 22nd, 2005, 03:46 AM

Remicks - I WAS part of the scene and still don't know half the records, so don't fret matey ;)

Mine are in red.

Most of them I'm assuming are hi-nrg tunes, although the Pet Shop Boys is more "pop" based and the less said about Sinitta the better.

Set It Off was an absolute cracker and I'm most surprised you're not familiar with it, although NOT Hi-nrg, or even close imho. Same applies to Just A Mirage, which for me is a diluted house track.

1.Popcorn M&H band (french family)
2.Who's leavin Hazell dean (Emi)
3.If you love somebody(remix) Barbara Doust (white)
4.No regrets Quartzlock (Reflection)
5.Back to you(remix) Crystal in the pink (white)
6.She freaks out on the floor Tavares (US jdc)
7.Heart(disco mix) Pet shop boys (emi)
8.Set it off (grey ink mix) Halequin 4 (Champion)
9.One look Jackson Moore (Megatone)
10.Just a mirage Jellybean (Chrysalis)
11.Suprise me tonight Norma Lewis (Nightmare)
12.Stop me now Midnight shift (Technique)
13.You only you (remix) Tasha (ARS)
14.Perfect love(remix) Linda jo Rizzo (white)
15.Cross my broken heart Sinitta (Fanfare)
16.Dead or alive (remix) Claudia Barry (white)
17.Dance disco heat(Ultimix) Sylvester (Fantasy)
18.New york citybeat/swinging on a star Man 2 Man (Recca)
19.Naughty boy Macho gang (Nine o nine)
20.Youre the one Tapps (Boulevard)

**Davicillo** · September 22nd, 2005, 07:46 AM

Basically, I think that because Hinrg and some Euro tracks crossed over nationally to the UK top 75 therefore opening up interest into the more unknown tracks.
eg; Male Sripper - Man 2 Man etc no.4 1987
Hazell Dean - Searching no.6 1984
Evelyn Thomas - High energy no.5 1984
Boystown Gang - Can't take..... no.4 1982
to name a few.
As it broke, hinrg or whatever you want to call it, broke from only being aired in gay clubs to nightclubs nationally.
SAW also brought the sound to teeny boppers like Kylie, Jason etc, but a lot of the classics still remain underground toons.
Please correct me if i'm wrong (LOL,I know you will) but it didn't cross over nationally in the states like it did in the UK.

Remicks, the year of the chart is 1988.

**remicks** · September 23rd, 2005, 02:59 PM

*****

Remicks - I WAS part of the scene and still don't know half the records, so don't fret matey

thanks Marmite .... I can't believe you don't know half the tracks though ??

15.Cross my broken heart Sinitta (Fanfare) ( maybe? )
I didn't know this song after all ....

The song I was thinking of was by The Jets

I was into HiNRG when I dropped out of the club scene ....just never termed it that. I liked the entire range of disco music of the early 80's.... the British synth sounds , much of the Tommy Boy /Def Jam releases .... and particularly the fast stuff. I think I would have really enjoyed the genre as it continued to develop .....

Sometime I'd like to figure the last records I bought as they were released new ... records like .... "HIS NAME IS CHARLEY" by Laser and Vivien Vee's "REMEMBER " and Nikki Lauren's
"AGAIN AND AGAIN"

( all 3 of which I bought from Aloha Records 8) :) ..... )

****