Was "Up In A Puff Of Smoke" a disco record?

[Mario]

Hello Guys, The other day I was in one of my cardboard record boxes and I ran across a 45 that we used to like to dance to back in1975. Do you remember: "Up In A Puff Of Smoke" by Polly Brown? It seems to me that I never find that song on any disco compilation! I began to wonder: Was that song a disco song? Or was it just a pop record? I was also absolutely amazed how Polly Brown's vocals on that record had an uncanny and almost identical resemblance to Diana Ross'!!! And the irony behind that is that Polly Brown was/is white and British. Where Polly Brown is now...Good question... Take Care...Mario

[Bernie]

Polly Brown does appear on a Disco comp CD:
Disco Classics

[discosavvy]

Her "Up in a Puff of Smoke", which I listened to again just now, doesn't sound disco to me at all; it more resembles 1960s/early-1970s pop and Motown in its instrumentation and beat.

But her "Love Bug" (1976), "Bewitched" (1980), "Dance Little Lady, Dance" (1996), and "It's Me That You're Leaving" (1996) are definitely disco.

She has 3 songs from 1975 that might be disco but I don't know: "Special Delivery", "S.O.S.", and "You're My Number One".

[markydefad]

Yep, Polly Brown was a British white girl singer. Her "Up In A Puff Of Smoke" was more of a pop hit--BUT it IS on disco compilations & it IS on the Disco-o-la Fortune 500 reprinted in the back of Joe Cheren's book about his life at Paradise Garage. (like around #498, I'm guessing!!!)

I have a disco 12" import of her doing the old Rodgers & Hart standard, "Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered" from the early 1980s. Yeah, it's cheesy. But some folk do like their cheese.

[DiscoMan]

I vaguely remember the song "Up, Up, Up in a puff of smoke..." forgot the rest of it. I remember it as a catchy little tune and nothing more. Could be considered early Disco. Haven't heard it since it was released.

[DISCODISK]

polly brown is best known in england as the lead singer of pickettywitch who had a few pop hits the biggest 'that same old feeling' #5 pop in 1970 a so so pop dancer a couple of lesser hits followed the same year.
up in a puff of smoke #43 pop in 74 and thats what happened to her she went up in a puff of smoke, as she never had another sniff of the charts...but disco??? :-?

[QUINNY]

To reiterate what DD has written, Polly Brown was never Disco, although she may have been played in some. Pickettywitch was a pure pop band of the lowest, manufactured order, with as much street cred as a Mantovani record. They appealed to mums, dads and non pop music lovers only.

[JussiK]

The Puff track got included in the 1976 Ariola America sampler Big Dance Records in The Big Apple - along with The Atlanta disco Band, Jackie Robinson, Charlie Calello and Pretty Maid Company - so they must have danced to it in New York at least in theory.

[QUINNY]

Jussi: New York's kudos for being the hippest place on earth for Disco, is once more thrown into doubt. Look at the (Pretty Maid) company she kept! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Apparently, it was played on the Northern Soul scene.

Let's put it like this:

If Tina Charles (another anglo Disco babe) was first division, dear old Polly was in the minor leagues. That's the music snob in me coming out. :P

Or to quote a certain ex tennis star:-
"You cannot be serious!" :D :D :D

[JussiK]

Jussi: New York's kudos for being the hippest place on earth for Disco, is once more thrown into doubt. Look at the (Pretty Maid) company she kept! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Apparently, it was played on the Northern Soul scene.

If someone would have seriously suggested in 1976 that hey, let's skip New York and fly to LONDON for a fabulous party weekend one would have thought him mad. New York was the place, no contest whatsover. London meant grimy streets, rain, nothing special clubs and tired music as opposed to NY which was wall to wall glamour, incredible discotheques and hot and fun music, like say Jimmy Sabater AND The Pretty Maid Company! :P
That was then and this is now of course but isn't northern soul back in vogue?

[SandraDee]

I remember reading somewhere that the lead singer of Pickettywitch had a very rare disease that meant she was intolerant of the modern world & couldn't touch anything man-made or leave the house or she would go into a coma. :o

[SandraDee]

[Mario]

Hi Steely Dan...Your post was very interesting and very sad. I remember seeing Polly Brown on American Bandstand in 1975...She was extremely charming and polite. I'm sorry to hear that she may not be doing very well. Back then, she did indicate her beginning to Pickittywitch and I believe that she also said that her voice training was done by black vocal coach...Hence her uncanny resemblance to Diane Ross! Mr. Clark openly stated to her that he thought that she was black when he first heard the record: Up In A Puff Of Smoke. I just remember that song being a really fun record to dance to. It seems that most of the posters agree that this song was not disco....Hmmm...I tend to think that it was...Take Care....Mario 8)

[Stan]

JussiK, i don't think people who like Northern Soul care whether it's in vogue or not. We just love it in our own way and don't care what anyone else thinks.

And 1976 was the year of our barmy, hot, summer that went on & on & on & on & certainly not rain. We wouldn't want the rain to clean our dirty grimy streets now would we?

QUINNY As for Poly Brown being played on the Northern Soul Scene you may be right, on the fringes maybe, but to any true NS fan we had
Frank Wilson, Casualeers, Checkerboard Squares, Philip Mitchel, ETC ETC ETC. What true fan would give a **** for Polly Brown.

Anyway sorry to go off on one but just don't like to see the UK or Northern Soul taking a Hit :-?

Peace & Keep the Faith :D :D

[QUINNY]

Stan: I'm really puzzled. Well, actually I'm not, 'cos I've encountered the same attitude for 30 odd years.
As someone who is older and wiser now and able to think rationally, could you tell me? Why do Northern Soul guys get soooooo uptight at the slightest suggestion that their scene was less than perfect? It's almost like there's an 11th commandment with you guys, "outsiders shalt not taketh the name of Northern Soul in vain". I find it hard to understand that a scene like Northern Soul isn't big enough (30 years on) to be a little more honest about itself and less defensive/aggressive towards non believers. Why not just take the odd knock on the chin, like anyone else does?
What Jussi wrote was a valid point of view and to a majority of people largely true, of the mainstream Disco scene, something which Northern Soul was only fleetingly a part of. At that time, most Disco goers (including DJs) thought that New York was the happening place, didn't they?

Jussi: All I'll say is that for me London versus New York is something like the Tortoise and the Hare. London was maybe a tad slower, but ultimately won the race. The race being the eventual long term acceptance, on a worldwide basis, of Dance music. A lot of it may have been made in the USA, but it took us Brits (and Europeans) to spread the word.
Maybe history has shown us that dancing to Polly Brown and Pretty Maid & Co wasn't the absolute best thing to be doing in the summer of '76? The scene that loved those records died 3 years later.

[JussiK]

What I meant about northern soul being back in vogue was that now the music is being discovered by a new generation who genuinely appreciate it in a non-faddish kind of way. It's true that there's this constant need to always dig up something new/old with street credibility but nothing that's been re-discovered has been disregarded later by true music fans. Funk, groove or jazzy breaks will never be out of fashion. There'll always be disco nights. Good music will remain good. And maybe a bit of elitism isn't such a bad thing - would you really want to hear your fave tune in a tv ad?
"Bad" tracks like "Pretty Maid" by The Pretty Maid Company have of course remained totally underground ever since their brief moments of dancefloor acceptance. That's the way it's got to be, I'd hate to some day see some fabulously twisted, absurd gem that caused delirium in 1976 included in a sterile marketed cd comp for the masses!

[DISCODISK]

Maybe history has shown us that dancing to Polly Brown and Pretty Maid & Co wasn't the absolute best thing to be doing in the summer of '76? The scene that loved those records died 3 years later.

here you go again re-writing history the QUINNY way :lol: :roll:

[Stan]

JussiK & QUINNY

I may have gone off a bit the other night after a few too many shandys, so sorry :oops:

JussiK
I'd just like to say thanks for your considerate response, we all have our own opinions :D :D :D
Coming from up north i should have left the Londoners to stick up for themselves :-?

QUINNY
Are you really puzzled or perhaps not? :-?
My post did warrant a reponse & having taken it in i'm now a bit gobsmacked. I was just making the comment that i didn't think Polly James was really regarded as much of a N/S artist.
I'm sorry i like a bit of N/S but i also like lots of other types of music, be it dance, disco, reggae, tamla funk, et al.
As i'm older & wiser as you so rightly point out i'll try not to avoid saying things that may upset you in future.
Lets bury the hatchet :D hopefully not literally

[QUINNY]

Stan: I have no problem with that.

DD: Not re-writing history the Quinny way, just stating an alternative concept. The question did start with'maybe'. Hardly the sign of anyone asserting anything.


Yesterday I had to record a theological event and the speaker said something very profound. Apparently, over 90% of the population are unable to grasp conceptual ideas. I guess that makes me one of the 10% that's misunderstood.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Jussi: So your true colours have finally come out. Personally, I'd love to see more obscurities on CD. One, for the anticipation of better sound quality, two, so that some of them can finally be laid to rest and three, so that more of us could have the pleasure (dubious or otherwise) of owning such 'gems'.

[JussiK]

[quote
Personally, I'd love to see more obscurities on CD. One, for the anticipation of better sound quality, two, so that some of them can finally be laid to rest and three, so that more of us could have the pleasure (dubious or otherwise) of owning such 'gems'.[/quote]

Well, of course, where would we be without the Karminsky Brothers comps like Espresso Espresso, In-Flight Entertainment vols 1&2 or the Fantomas, Verve etc re-realeses of impossible to find on vinyl stuff. BUT once a dj always a dj and that means there must be certain sounds only the djs can provide when they choose, if they choose. Like most of my record collection...:-)

[CharmingBastard]

Or quite possibly an example of a I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Disco, but not pure disco, in the disco sense.........

But one damn fine pop gem........

Coulda been a helluva TLC cover come to think of it........

OCB 8)

[Mario]

Thanks for your response...I agree... Mario

[SandraDee]

I've just read the notes that go with 'Bewitched: The Polly Browne Story' & she didn't ever have an incurable disease, that was another singer who was in a later incarnation of Pickettywitch with a different name, so my facts were incorrect 5 years ago (mia culpa). Also, although this 'cheesy' (thanx Marky ) cover of 'Bewitched' came out in 1980, it was in fact recorded in 1978 which makes complete sense as it sounds so 1978 n'est pas? It was produced by the guy who arranged all of Biddu's stuff. I know this sort of thing was getting old-hat & tired by then but I do think it's rather good as 'camp revamps' go, especially when you consider it's British!

[SandraDee]

Polly also had a hit in '74 with this cover of an Abba song but under the name of Sweet Dreams & wearing dark makeup & dark wig as she wanted to do more 'soul' type material under her own name.