Brit-funk!

[buckaroo]

Forgive me if someone has allready brought up this topic. I'll reintroduce it. :D Towards the end of the height of disco, about 1978-79-ish, this fantastic genre came into being. A number of young Britons of all races created a vibrant sound for urban London (for the most part anyways) known as Brit-funk. It was made up of an amalgam of influences from our cousins in the U S of A, who indulged us with large helpings of funk and disco on some highly expensive imported albums :roll:
Nonetheless, these influences encouraged a burgeoning scene to develop. And a number of groups to flourish:

Level 42
Shakatak
Incognito
and my all time faves Light of the World

All of the above groups still exist in one form or another. Others however, were not so fortunate. Anyone recall these names?

Blue Feather
Funkapolitan
Cache
David Bendeth
Central Line
Beggar & Co.

Did anybody out there ever see any of these artists live?

[K-Bee]

Of the above artist I've only seen Ingocnito live. This was back when they had just released "100 degrees & rising" and the show was absolutely awesome.
Unfortunately they didn't have the faboulous Maysa Leak (this was around the time she went solo and did her album for Blue Thumb records) - but nevertheless Chris Ballin was there! Truly a great singer who deserves any kind of recognition. Unfortunately his own solo album went nowhere even though it was very good too.

I'm a big fan of Shakatak too and have everything they ever did up untill their 1989 LP. I believe they're still around releasing stuff in Japan.

BTW I had no idea David Bendeth was british. All I've ever heard by him is "Feel The Real". Check out the "Jazz 'n Groove Ultra Classic Mix" on the first "Lazy Dog" Ben Watt/Jay Hannan mix cd - highly recommendable (just as the original is, obviously)

[gvtaylor]

Remember seeing Level 42 at their debut performance at the Isle of Wight weekender, would have been around 79/80. The same time as their track "Love Meeting Love" was starting to blow up big for them.
I also managed to see Light of The World & Central Line 79/81 time, and Incognito in the mid 90s.

In the late 70s to early 80s I managed to check artists such as:
Earth, Wind & Fire 2x
Stevie Wonder (special guests Marvin Gaye & Dianna Ross)
Lonnie Liston Smith
Crown Heights Affair
Ronnie Laws
Spyro Gyro
Roy Ayers
Sylvester

All great shows...

Mark

[riddergeert]

I saw Shakatak performing about 4 tracks about 5 years ago at a package concert which also featured Kool & The Gang, Imagination and some other '80s bands. Not the right crowd for Shakatak but a nice performance anyway.

I don't think Blue Feather was English but as far as I know is (or was) Dutch. I only own one 12 inch of them but they recorded some funky tracks.

In the Brit funk genre I also very much liked Second Image. Anyone knows whatever became of them?

[Noman]

The first thing I did when I visited London back then was checking the small ads in the paper for Live performances of my favourite groups . I think I went to see Light of the world, I went to a gig with a group I can´t remember their name. They were very similar to Kool and the Gang but they were Brittish and had that Brit-Funk touch. I remember this because when I went there it was a club that was visited by almost only coloured people. I went there with my very blonde girfriend and she kind of stuck out in the crowd :-)
I also remember seeing Breakfast Band- Extremely energetic Jazz-Funk-Calypso-fusion. I think they were based in London although they were from all parts of the world.
Shakatak was one of my absolute favourites and I remember missing a performance that was the day after I went back home :-(.

[buckaroo]

Of the above artist I've only seen Ingocnito live. This was back when they had just released "100 degrees & rising" and the show was absolutely awesome.
Unfortunately they didn't have the faboulous Maysa Leak (this was around the time she went solo and did her album for Blue Thumb records) ...

I'm a big fan of Shakatak too and have everything they ever did up untill their 1989 LP. I believe they're still around releasing stuff in Japan.

BTW I had no idea David Bendeth was british. All I've ever heard by him is "Feel The Real".

Incognito are touring the world to this day, with Bluey Maunick still at the helm. Maysa Leak did a version of "In the Bottle" a while back which appeared on her album, but since then I've heard nothing about her.

Shakatak, much maligned because they were/are at the commercial end of the scene and had many hits, continue on also. I find it hard to believe that their two female members were once known as The UK Sluts. :o

David Bendeth is listed in a great book The Illustrated Incyclopeadia of Black Music (Salamandar 1982) as playing a minor but significant role in the Brit-funk scene. Grab a copy if you can find one.

...I think I went to see Light of the world, I went to a gig with a group I can´t remember their name. They were very similar to Kool and the Gang but they were Brittish and had that Brit-Funk touch. I remember this because when I went there it was a club that was visited by almost only coloured people. I went there with my very blonde girfriend and she kind of stuck out in the crowd...

Unfortunately, I have never seen any of the groups I mentioned perform live. :cry: But I know that Light of the World once did a P.A. in a night club I used to frequent called Gullivers. It closed about ten years ago.

A blonde in a black club wouldn't stick out so much these days. :D

In the Brit funk genre I also very much liked Second Image. Anyone knows whatever became of them?

Click here http://www.secondimage.org/
Some of the band members have set up their own studio, and as I recall, Mark Fisher had a minor club/pirate radio hit with a song "Love Situation" he cut with Dotty Green.

[K-Bee]

Oh yes...Incognito are still around. Their recent "Who Needs Love" CD on Dome records is great. I believe there's also a new remix album out but I haven't heard it yet.

on another note...I just found out I missed out on a Roy Ayers live concert over here last week :cry:
I think it's the first time he's ever been peforming in Denmark, but obviously I had to find out too damn late!! :x
Hate when that happens!

[Leatherman]

There was some good music coming out of the UK in the late 70's/early 80's.

Light of the World were good, especially "Time".

Lets not forget

Hi Tension - several classic tracks Brittish Hustle, Theres a Reason, Hi Tension, Funkified

Freeez - Southern Freeez and Keep in Touch, both with great busy basslines.

Atmosphere - maybe the best UK jazz funk act with classics like Motivation, Dancin in Outer Space, Invasion

There were many good one off 12" like Hudson People "Take a Trip to your Mind", Touchdown "Ease Your Mind", Stikki Stuff "The Wiggle", Funkmasters "Love Money"


Personally I always found the likes of Shakatak and Level 42 pretty bland. They make me think of naff Essex cocktail bars and guys in polyester T shirts. To be fair, some of the very early Level 42 stuff is ok, but Shakatak were the smooth jazz of brit funk.

[buckaroo]

Personally I always found the likes of Shakatak and Level 42 pretty bland. They make me think of naff Essex cocktail bars and guys in polyester T shirts. To be fair, some of the very early Level 42 stuff is ok, but Shakatak were the smooth jazz of brit funk.

:D :lol:
Okay okay...I know Shakatak aren't everyone's cuppa tea...But I liked 'em. "Night Birds" is me all time fave. "Living In The UK" is good too. I once heard Greg Edwards saying how much he hated their "...plinky plonky sound." Different strokes I guess. Bill Sharpe's duet with Gary Numan was an unexpected little cracker.
The main problem with Level 42 was, that they made too much money too quickly. Their first LP was excellent. Espesh, the track "43".

As far as Light of the World go, "London Town" is their best IMHO.

Hi-Tension you say? How about their brilliant "Autumn Love"? And "Peace on Earth"?. Later on in the '80s, they morphed into quite a decent pop/soul band, with a jolly version of Surface's "Happy" that springs to mind.

I'd almost forgotten about Freeez and their fantastic "Flying High". "Easy on the onions" from the LP, is a cracker also. I always thought they'd sold out when I first heard "AEIOU". But all they actually did, was move on musically.

I recall a few of those one-off 12inchers, like Touchdown's. Didn't one of the members, Steve Vincent, have a big dance hit with "Dirty Cash" a while back?
"Jazzing and Grooving" by Cache is a good 'un, if you're looking to collect any Brit-funk.

Remember some of the bandwagon jumpers like Spandau Ballet and their "Chant No.1"? Or Haircut 100 and "Favourite Shirts"? :roll:

[jazz_pilgrim]

Did anybody out there ever see any of these artists live?

I saw Light Of The World Live at the Best Disco In Town at the Lyceum. That was brilliant - the highlight for me being their versions of Time and Ronnie Laws' Always There.

I also recall (vaguely) seeing The Breakfast Band doing a PA at an All-Dayer. Probably would have been in Brighton.

But my favourite British artist from this era was the wonderful Morrissey-Mullen Band. Their big club hit from 1981 (which surprised them as much as us I seem to recall) was Slipstream. I first saw them in concert in 1981 on the day that Prince Charles and Diana got married - they were awesome. And when I moved up into London in 1984, I would go most Tuesday nights to their long-standing resident gig at the Half Moon in Putney. The best night of all was a charity night when Georgie Fame was the guest of honour - now that was a great night to remember!

Sadly Dick Morrissey has passed away, but Jim Mullen is still doing what he loves best I believe. Playing the guitar!

:)

[ladyboygrimsby]

Remember some of the bandwagon jumpers like Spandau Ballet and their "Chant No.1"? Or Haircut 100 and "Favourite Shirts"? :roll:

Well, they might have been bandwagon jumpers (a bit), but there's a tune of theirs, Ski Club of Great Britain, that's better than anything I've ever heard Shakatak do. And, to be fair to Spandau Ballet, they were hanging out in half-decent clubs before they ever made records, so it's not like they didn't know a good tune when they heard one (if they couldn't actually replicate it themselves).

Oh, and someone mentioned Funkapolitan, who were pretty rubbish, really. But I noticed in a Sunday magazine in the UK the other week that Tom Dixon, who is now the chief designer for the Conran chain, and a well known desinger here, used to be in Funkapolitan. You learn something every day.

[Leatherman]

I was lucky enough to see a few of brit funk acts live, in fact a couple that haven't been mentioned - Second Image and The Coolnotes. Though some of there records were quite poppy, they were both pretty funky live.

Anyone remember The Anitiles who did "Shake", signed to Eddy Grants Ice imprint. I remember hearng them when they supported Kool and the Gang.

I also saw Touchdown PA "Ease Your Mind"

[Greg Wilson]

Did anybody out there ever see any of these artists live?

Hi buckaroo: Saw most of the main UK black music acts of the late 70's / early 80's, either at All-Dayers I appeared at or clubs I went to. Others that I didn't see live made personal appearances at the clubs I worked in.

Not mentioned so far (including some who paved the way for the British Jazz-Funk acts):

Olympic Runners
Heatwave (kind of British)
The Real Thing
Gonzalez
Linx
Imagination
Savanna
Stop
Galaxy
52nd Street
Junior
I Level
Powerline
David Joseph (post Hi-Tension)
Ray Carless
Surface Noise
Inversions

No doubt a few others, but they're the ones that come to mind.

[SandraDee]

I have recordings by many of the above artists & enjoyed many including Freeez, LOTW, Loose Ends, Rah Band, etc.etc. but I always found Britfunk to be inferior to the US stuff of that era in general. British people could never make truly classy or innovative dance music IMO compared to US or mainland Europe; rock music was more what Brits were about at that time. I feel that British people only started to make good dance music when we entered the late 80s /early 90s & the music was all about electronic studio wizardry, sampling & the like; witness Soul 2 Soul or KLF or Massive Attack or Beatmasters for example. British people are brilliant at fun, quirky or edgy music but totally hopeless at music that has class, style & innovation. (IMO )

[K-Bee]

Just a question...how should we define the difference between brit funk and acid jazz stylistically? (not chronologically, since i get that part with acid jazz being more recent that brit funk)
Still, a lot ove it seems very similar to me. Wonder if the early Level 42 and Shakatak would have been labelled as Acid Jazz, had it come out say 5 years later than it did?

[Leatherman]

Just a question...how should we define the difference between brit funk and acid jazz stylistically? (not chronologically, since i get that part with acid jazz being more recent that brit funk)
Still, a lot ove it seems very similar to me. Wonder if the early Level 42 and Shakatak would have been labelled as Acid Jazz, had it come out say 5 years later than it did?

Acid Jazz was generally slower, it's roots being in the rare groove/ James Brown/Roy Ayers type material that was popular in the mid/late 80's. Where as most brit funk was faster, inspired by the comtempory American jazz funk acts like Earth Wind and Fire, Crown Heights Affair, Mass Production.

Though Brit Funk often lacked the musical pedigree and production of the best US stuff it sometimes made up for that with raw energy. It sounded like those who made it were genuinely in to what they were doing.

[buckaroo]

Remember some of the bandwagon jumpers like Spandau Ballet and their "Chant No.1"? Or Haircut 100 and "Favourite Shirts"? :roll:

Well, they might have been bandwagon jumpers (a bit), but there's a tune of theirs, Ski Club of Great Britain, that's better than anything I've ever heard Shakatak do. And, to be fair to Spandau Ballet, they were hanging out in half-decent clubs before they ever made records, so it's not like they didn't know a good tune when they heard one (if they couldn't actually replicate it themselves).

Oh, and someone mentioned Funkapolitan, who were pretty rubbish, really. But I noticed in a Sunday magazine in the UK the other week that Tom Dixon, who is now the chief designer for the Conran chain, and a well known desinger here, used to be in Funkapolitan. You learn something every day.

:lol:
Aaaah...My cunning plan worked! I wrote those things to stimulate you all...In a non-sexual way of course. I know Spandau used to frequent trendy clubs like the Wag and Beat Route back in the day as it were. They even had Beggar & Co. as their rhythm section on "Chant No.1". But they didn't however, continue the funk onto their subsequant LPs.

I heard once, that Funkapolitan's main claim to fame is that they once did a gig in a Wimpey bar in Leicester Square. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I have recordings by many of the above artists & enjoyed many including Freeez, LOTW, Loose Ends, Rah Band, etc.etc. but I always found Britfunk to be inferior to the US stuff of that era in general. British people could never make truly classy or innovative dance music IMO compared to US or mainland Europe...I feel that British people only started to make good dance music when we entered the late 80s /early 90s & the music was all about electronic studio wizardry, sampling & the like; witness Soul 2 Soul or KLF or Massive Attack or Beatmasters for example. British people are brilliant at fun, quirky or edgy music but totally hopeless at music that has class, style & innovation. (IMO )

:P
Gotta disagree with ya bub! What about the fantatic Loose Ends? They were making dents in the US charts when Soul ll Soul were still just DJing in Covent Garden. No disrespect meant to Jazzy & co. The mid '80s was quite a promising time for UK soul acts: 52nd Street, Cool Notes, I Level, and even Hi-Tension were still chugging along too. The post Brit-funk years produced some fine acts like Imagination, Total Contrast, and Paul Hardcastle. Although there was some cracking good dance and acid music emerging in around '88 and '89 (Pierre's Phantasy Club "Nightrain", "Acid Man" Jolly Roger etc.), there was a lot of crap too.

Some good '80s electro dance: (not acid or house)
Projection "Lovestruck"
Loose Ends "Dial 999"
Sahara "Love So Fine"

As far as the musicianship of the brit-funkers goes...well, remember that most of these guys were very young and not seasoned professionals honing their craft since the '60s, like the Commodores, or Fatback Band etc. "...totally hopeless..."? Come on now. I thought you knew a thing or two about music. :lol:

[Forrrce]

There was a very similar thread to this called 'Best Of British' around a year ago, but sadly it's no longer in the Discomusic archives.

As for the acid jazz/Brit Funk comparison, they're different things, really. For a start, the Brit Funk idiom then, was a contemporary one, whilst acid jazz was retro in its direction. On top of that, the acid scene has been responsible for some of the greatest musical crimes of the past decade and a half (think Galliano - I rest my case). It was also an essentailly style-led phenomenon and lacked sincerity for the most part - the Brand New Heavies were at least decent (and deservedly successful) but most acid jazz was complete bollocks.

Its current manifestation is the laughably ridiculous 'deep funk' genre, whereby middle class 'trustafarians' make 7" singles about grits and greasy chicken, in the basements of their daddies' mansions in Windsor. Irony is lost on these slummin' rich kids.

[K-Bee]

Its current manifestation is the laughably ridiculous 'deep funk' genre, whereby middle class 'trustafarians' make 7" singles about grits and greasy chicken, in the basements of their daddies' mansions in Windsor. Irony is lost on these slummin' rich kids.

Surely, these 7" singles haven't reached danish shores yet.
the whole concept of "Windsor-Funk" sounds rather laughable to me :lol:

Anyway..what is the deal with funk and food? The titles including various food items are countless!

[buckaroo]

As for the acid jazz/Brit Funk comparison, they're different things, really. For a start, the Brit Funk idiom then, was a contemporary one, whilst acid jazz was retro in its direction. On top of that, the acid scene has been responsible for some of the greatest musical crimes of the past decade and a half (think Galliano - I rest my case).

Yeah, the Brit-funkers wrote most of their songs, but the Acid Jazzers (that term is copyrighted to me :lol: ) sampled quite a bit: Galliano, for one. The musical crimes were not totally the fault of the bands or the musicians. Certain 'style mags' like The Face and it's ilk, dreamt up this Acid Jazz scene, in order to boost sales from certain friend's expensive clothes shops. And also because they want to be seen as setting trends for the youth.
You simply couldn't be seen without your skull cap, goatie, tight denim jacket, and walking cane :roll:

It was also an essentailly style-led phenomenon and lacked sincerity for the most part - the Brand New Heavies were at least decent (and deservedly successful) but most acid jazz was complete bollocks...

The Heavies are one of the genuine bands who still gig to this day. I can recall seeing one of the members of The Young Disciples on TV critisizing the whole Acid Jazz style nonsense, and mentioning some of the racism as far as a black man trying to gain entry to certain trendy bars and venues in the west end of London. Total hypocracy!!

Anyway..what is the deal with funk and food? The titles including various food items are countless!

Yup. "Chicken Lickin'", "Pass The Peas", "Breakin' Bread".
Funkers are hungry people.

[SandraDee]

I didn't word it correctly; I didn't mean that britfunk acts like Loose Ends weren't good, they were very good & I have all their records, but I just saw it all as derivative & slightly inferior to the US stuff.

[buckaroo]

We all know that a group like Atmosfere could never sound as good as Herbie Hancock for instance. But give credit where it's due, to all the men and women who made an attempt to create a vibrant sound of their own. The same criticism about inferiority compared to US acts was aimed at many UK rappers during the early '90s. The American groups were obviously far more polished because of their pedigree, and the fact that they had been playing their instruments longer. I partly feel that Brit-funk is a very underated genre and part of British music history, because many of it's exponents were very young second generation black Britons. The Punk movement is always lauded and celebrated, but yet you hardly hear some of the awful groups that were around, being criticized in retrospect. Sid Vicious murdered his girlfriend, then died of an overdose, but is still today seen as some sort of icon or genius. :roll:

There were quite a few musical movements emerging in England during the mid and late '70s, such as Lovers Rock, Roots Reggae, and Northern Soul. There was even a revival of '60s Ska. But these seem to have been consigned to history's bin. Unless, you are still a huge fan.

Acts like Loose Ends though not a Brit-funk group, definitely benefitted from the legacy of their predecessors. But at the same time, they experienced similar racism and record company politics.

[QUINNY]

Let me add my two cents worth.

To my ears most Brit Funk records simply weren't that good because they lacked one very simple ingredient. A decent, tight rhythm section. Just listen to Atmosfear's Dancing In Outta Space for instance. The rhythm section is lumpier than cold porridge. The drummer was just way too busy and incapable of what he was attempting. Youth and inexperience only go some of the way to explaining it.

For what was supposed to be a dance record, that seems to me like a pretty obvious fault to me. Once you release a record, you're up against the best. Maybe they should have waited until they were better musicians?

[efunk_adelic]

Well guess what Quinny,

I dunno any of these songs... I might get a kick out of listening to them... I'll have to wait a few more weeks once the thread dies and compile a list so that I may seek these songs... cool :D

[QUINNY]

BTW: I always had David Bendeth as being Canadian. Am I way off?