Reply With QuoteThanks for posting those charts Simon. Some great tracks listed :icon_mrgreen:
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I only have a few of these...this is the earliest one.
Platinum Record [Level 8]
Thanks for posting those charts Simon. Some great tracks listed :icon_mrgreen:
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Wow, interesting charts Simone. I remember that summer of '77 with all those electronic sounds like Magic Fly, From Here To Eternity & Oxygene. I'm surprised that Roberta Kelly's 'Zodiacs' went down so well as I don't think it's that good but I s'pose it's camp isn't it? I really really wish I could've gone clubbing in the late 70s but I was only 12 at the time!:icon_mrgreen: Also interestingto see the differences between the regions with the north favouring camp or electronic stuff & the south preferring slightly blacker sounds. I love the term 'camp revamp'!
...ya gotta beat the street......
Chart Hit [Level 6]
Good to know that Nellie The Elephant still did the damage on the dance floor
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Originally Written by Andy Farley
Good to know that Nellie The Elephant still did the damage on the dance floor
LOL Andy !
I think a few quick word of explanation might be in order. These 1977 charts really come just as the classic 120 -130 bpm thing that prevailed in the Gay discos was about to take over, the sounds that led directly to the specifically 'Gay' aimed HI NRG sound. 'Dicks Inn' and 'Bangs' were London based Discos. 'Dicks Inn' was kind of a travelling disco and was run by Tricky Dicky who had already DJ'd for some by time then (and who still runs the record shop 'Trax' in London) and they were slightly more commercial and fun. "Bangs' was the first big Gay disco in London and was at the 'Sundown' in Charing Cross Rd and was more serious about it's music, although still not as serious as 'Heaven' which was up and running by 1979. It's pretty fair to say that (like anywhere) the out of London discos would be slightly less upfront with their playlists and like Sandra says little more 'camp'. But who knows what these charts were based on? I definately never heard 'Nellie The Elephant' and I suspect it was either put in as a joke or was the record used to clear everyone out at the end of the night !
Here are two more charts from later, November 1979. You can see how the music has changed, whats being played is more hardcore 'disco' if you like, and some of these records were either being played in the non gay or mainstream clubs while some stayed purely in the gay clubs. The 'Dick's Inn' chart is less commercial by now, and the inclusion of 'Rappers Delight' on the 'Bangs' chart is a real move away from the classic Gay disco sounds like The Simon Orchestra and 'No More Tears' and is I think the kind of thing that led to people making specific HI NG records.
There's a new chart, the 'Femme' top ten which was as the name suggests a Lesbian disco. It can't have been that big (The Sols Arms was a pub) and they played slower records by the look of it and that Suzi Quatro record must be there because of the title and Dusty Springfeild was there because...welll...she was Dusty Springfield I guess !.
Last edited by Simon White; June 25th, 2007 at 03:15 PM.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
These are a great read, and interesting to see the variation in tracks around the country. Interesting that the Huddersfield chart lists John Davis - Love Magic as number one, whereas the others have Streisand/Summer as the top one
Gold Record [Level 7]
Thanks for posting these charts.
I just love it ; isn't it amazing that just reading a few titles on a list and BAM
suddenly you're there in your mind.
Great memories ; takes me back to the days when I was 16 !!
KRIS
Gold Record [Level 7]
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
I'm so enjoying these charts Simone. I'm currently recording my own CDR's to play in the car & I'm doing '79 as we speak so these are so familiar to me at the moment. Each chart has it's own good tracks e.g. 'Deputy Of Love', Cognac, Musique, Marlena Shaw, Kathmandu, Dynasty, Dusty- I'd be in heaven (literally!) if these came on when I was clubbing!. There's just a couple of tracks I'm unfamiliar with - Toni Washington & David Hudson on the Bang chart; are they any good?
...ya gotta beat the street......
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
*****
Yes these are most interesting charts Simon ! ....
.
Imports were universally an important music source for djs all over the world it seems ... .... ..
On the Bang chart .... 9 of the 11 listed songs are imports ... The Ritchie Family and Donna Summer being the two that were pressed domestically.
And someone's got to ask ..... so it might as well be me :icon_rolleyes:.....
.... what the heck is Petula Clark's THE SHOW IS OVER doing at No. 5 at the Gemini Club ???????
*****
Petula Clark .... there's no esacping her ....
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
*** Forum Leader / Moderator ***
Maybe it was the closing track of the night, a signal that it was time to go home and people liked it so it became very popular. You know the last dance, the last kiss???? Just guessing (thinking about the thread that handled the slows being played at Disco's)
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Sandra, I don't know either of those tracks at all...anyone?
I think I have a David Hudon 45 somewhere tho
..I'll dig that out.
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Imports were always important to UK clubs for a few obvious reasons...number one, all the really good earlier disco came from the US and two...the home grown product was pretty dire in the main. But its surprising what DID get released on UK labels. I've been posting things up in the 'Vinyl Records" for a while, a lot of which are British releases of US product.*****
Yes these are most interesting charts Simon ! ....
.
Imports were universally an important music source for djs all over the world it seems ... .... ..
On the Bang chart .... 9 of the 11 listed songs are imports ... The Ritchie Family and Donna Summer being the two that were pressed domestically.
And someone's got to ask ..... so it might as well be me :icon_rolleyes:.....
.... what the heck is Petula Clark's THE SHOW IS OVER doing at No. 5 at the Gemini Club ???
*****
Petula Clark .... there's no esacping her ....
Last edited by Simon White; June 26th, 2007 at 04:00 PM.
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I think that must have been it Videoskooter (they used it to clear out my local pub actually and I do have a copy !) although why it's at number five is a mystery ! But then Denice Williams is not exactly a disco record either.
But if you compare the two charts, the 'Bangs' chart is much more upfront and full on disco. Interesting to note how many tracks were being played from album at Bangs, presumably before the 12" versions came out.
I don't know how big the other club was - it may have been quite small whereas know 'Bangs' was big.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
*****
Also worthy of note ...
on the '79 charts ......two ABBA sightings !! :icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen:
*****
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
It just occurred to me that Freddie James & Kathmandu are the only Canadian acts on the '79 charts. I thought that the gay clubs always played alot of Canadian stuff & was surprised by the absence of acts like Gino Soccio, Nightlife Unlimited, Bob-a-rela, THP & Alma Faye. I know that in the 80s Canadian acts like Lime & Carol Jiani were huge in gay clubs in the UK. Maybe some of these acts were in the top 10s earlier in the year? Actually, besides Abba (& possibly Simon Orchestra?) there aren't many Euro acts either which is also surprising. You'd think Cerrone, Space, Patrick Hernandez, Telex, Michele Freeman, Munich Machine or Chantal Curtis would've had some representation wouldn't you? Maybe the end of '79 was a good time for US records in particular. I'm just pondering as I didn't go clubbing back then but I've read alot about that time & know many of the records of that time quite well.
...ya gotta beat the street......
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More 'Gay News' charts to come which may give a bit more insight. Remmber Sanrd, these charts are top tens... and more than ten records got played in a night ! Certainly Lime and of course Ms Jiani were played a LOT at 'Bangs'. I heard Carol's version of 'Ask Me' in a Northern Soul club once. It didn't go down well......
Somewhere I'm sure I have a Blues & Soul from around '74/'75 which has a 'Gay' Disco chart. I'll post it up too when I find it.
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Ok..taking it back further, here are two clippings from Blues and Soul, from Dec 1973 and April 1974. The magazine recently closed btw after forty years of publication.
Does anyone know anything about 'Erasmus Chorum' ? The minute I see or hear the words 'Black Rock Group' I lose interest, but the picture makes me wonder what they sounded like !!
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
B & S no more?! That's very sad news; I thought it would always be around; that's even sadder than Record Mirror finishing.:icon_cry:
...ya gotta beat the street......
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Theres a bit more here Sandy...
http://www.discomusic.com/forums/sho...Blues-and-Soul
Here's another couple of Gay News charts - September 1980 this time...............
Last edited by Bernie; September 20th, 2011 at 07:09 AM. Reason: spelling
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OK, this is a jump forward a couple of years to October 82 , January 83 , March '83 and March '84.
These are from Record Mirror. The '82 chart shows how it had all gone electronic by then...there are some real HI - NRG classics in these three charts but the chart wasn't YET called that....they were calling it 'Boystown' and indeed there's the Boys Town Gang at numbers 10 & 12 in the '82 chart with Sylvester at # 1 and The Weather Girls as a new entry !
Lots of Sharon Redd, lots of Carol Jiani and lots of Bobby O and Ian Levine productions.
By March '84 the chart has been renamed 'Hi NRG Disco' and Evelyn Thomas' 'High Energy' is there as a new entry at number 7.
Hopefully these charts are of interest. Who knows how accurate they are or manipulated they were?
On a personal note, they really do reflect how much of the music I didn't like at the time and how much has dated badly. At the same time, they reflect the that whole Hi Energy period very well. Some of these tracks have stuck very firmly in my mind as huge records in the clubs I went to but of course I didn't go everywhere. Others I honestly don't remember hearing out at the time.
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Interesting charts. In '82 and '83 many of the records played were in the mainstream, whereas by '84 it would appear a sea-change had occured. Perhaps the charts were compiled from more hard- edged venues by then.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
I s'pose it's badly dated 'cos basically hi-nrg was always a tad 'retro' (not that that's necessarily a bad thing
...ya gotta beat the street......
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Notice how most of the '82 stuff is European or Canadian 'disco', pure pop or US 'NY funky' disco 'cos there was hardly any US pure 'disco' any more thanks to the backlash over there. By '84 the UK 'hi-nrg' 'scene' was in full swing with lots of UK producers churning the stuff out (usually ex-Northern soul DJs like Ian Levine) & as a consequence dominated the chart 'til about '87 when house was unleashed on the gay clubs.
...ya gotta beat the street......
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