THE BIDDU ORCHESTRA/DEODATO GREAT DISCO...

[discodisco]

SUMMER OF 42' and super strut...great stuff!

[QUINNY]

Super Strut.......YES!!!! (but only for old heads I fear)
Summer Of 42........NO!!!!!!

[Mario]

Quinny...Don't tell us that you actually remember the actual "summer of -42"? Bad date that summer?
:lol: Just kidding...All in good fun! Take Care 8) Mario
(P.S. I seem to remember that that song just missed making the American Top 40 charts by a hair! And wasn't that song from a movie released around the same time...same title? Hmmm...(As Mario culls through his memory bank... :cry: )

[DiscoKidd]

Super Strut.......YES!!!! (but only for old heads I fear)
Summer Of 42........NO!!!!!!

All right - but how about Biddu Orchestra's version of "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon?"

That one is pretty good.

:D

[NickNack]

Boogiethon and Blue-Eyed Soul, two great dance tracks!

[JussiK]

Boogiethon

Was this great tune spinned in New York a lot? Someone in London complained at that time that the album was so badly pressed it was of no use. Is there an American 12" ?

There's an excellent Biddu production called "Phantasm", credited to Captain Zorro, one I never heard getting any play anywhere. This is prime time high energy stuff with pounding 132 bpm beats, mad congas in stereo , rattling synth effects, swirling strings, chanting girls and a vague resemblance to the movie theme. And it's "on blood splattered vinyl", too!

[QUINNY]

Boogiethon and Blue-Eyed Soul, two great dance tracks!

That's two I remember playing. They weren't quite as cheesy as some of his output. I always found it a little odd that he had hits producing other people, but never with his own name as he was, in many ways, just as classy as his American rivals. He was one of those guys who always seemed to be on the verge of hitting it big (in his own name) and he deserved to.

Summer of 42 was OK (but not great IMO) and did have its fans. It was released at a time when Disco was beginning to establish itself and at a time when reworkings of those old tunes was the rage.

Never realised that Zorro was one of his productions (probably never looked once I'd given it a spin......absolutely NOT to my taste :cry: :lol: ).

I expect a good few Bollywood comps have loads of his post Disco era stuff on them. Maybe one or two 'gems' amongst them?

[remicks]

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:-? :-? :-?

-------- Unless I've got something mis I.D. .... aren't BIDDU's SUMMER OF 42 and BLUE EYED SOUL just about the same song ?? Quick listenings of them ... and Blue Eyed Soul does feature some female back up going "DO DO DO DO DO DO DO ...ahhhh .. ahhhh " that SUMMER OF 42 does not .... and SUMMER OF 42 has the slow ballad intro .....

:-? :-? :-?

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[SandraDee]

I know it's way after the disco era but Biddu released a really good 'deep' house track in '87 (ahead of his time!) called 'Humanity' which I think shoulda done better. Whether u like him or not, he always seems to be at the cutting edge of musical tastes (or he's quick to jump on a lucrative bandwagon, however u want to see it! :D )

[QUINNY]

Rain Forest also went down for me, so far as I can remember (haven't really thought about him for nigh on 30 years, until now), but I have a nagging feeling there was another track that really did the business. I do remember that there was a period when he seemed to have another new record virtually every other week (an exaggeration).

[remicks]

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Well Quiinny ..... there was "I COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT " ..but even I have a hard time defending that one :P ......

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[NickNack]

Boogiethon

Was this great tune spinned in New York a lot? Someone in London complained at that time that the album was so badly pressed it was of no use. Is there an American 12" ?

Hi Jussi,

Yes, I think it received a good amount of play. I first heard it listening to Richie Rivera one night at The Anvil. Had it my possession the very next day. :D

Never had the lp. The US 12" is on Epic, 1977, cat # 28-50397, with "Boogiethon" running 5:45 and the flip side, "Funky Tropical", at 6:17. Both are credited as 'Special Disco Versions' from the album, Eastern Man, PE-34723. The artist credits read Biddu and The Orchestra.

[DISCODISK]

exodus was the big track on that l.p it was a big northern soul spin [well at station road but not at central drive ]
biddu 'thought' hed add 'northern dancer' to the album and it would cause a sensation :lol:
quinny you said the other week that bidus output was equal to anything that came out of the states heres your chance to explain :lol:
or am i misquoting again

[DiscoKidd]

Rain Forest also went down for me, so far as I can remember (haven't really thought about him for nigh on 30 years, until now), but I have a nagging feeling there was another track that really did the business. I do remember that there was a period when he seemed to have another new record virtually every other week (an exaggeration).

I don't think anyone mentioned this one, but what about Biddu's version of "I Could Have Danced All Night?" Cheesy in the same sense as "Summer of 42."

Of course, there were Biddu's productions of Tina Charles and Carl Douglas from around the same era.

[markydefad]

Hey, I already told my embarassing Biddu music in my car story elsewhere. :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :P
But his stuff doesn't hold up very well, IMHO.

There was also Jump For Joy & a cover of Neil Diamond's Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon

[thommy2458]

The LP with "Summer of 42"
WAS badly pressed-and
Biddu stuff always had this
kind of "tinny",hollow
echo with no real bottom-
however-Out here in Los
Angeles "jump for joy" played at a peak hour caused alot of mayhem.But
other thn that,the long mix of Tina Charles "you set my heart on fire" was
really big here."blue eyed
soul" was big in NY city
as an instrumental cut on
the Carl Douglas "kung fu"
LP.....
Thom

[QUINNY]

Today, mosty of the records mentioned above do sound dire....of that there can be no doubt, but way back when he definitely had his finger on the pulse of things for a while. Remember, there were a whole raft of ultra cheesy records around at the time that were remakes of old show tunes and the like. Disco Lucy anyone, Brazil, Baby Face? They all sound even more dire nowadays and there's a whole lot more where they came from.

Does his records sound any worse (production wise) than most other things that were around at the time of a similar ilk? Probably not.

Jimmy James and The Vagabond's - I'll Go Where The Music Takes Me was probably his finest Disco moment and that still sounds pretty good today.

[thommy2458]

Disco Lucy anyone, Brazil, Baby Face? They all sound even more dire nowadays and there's a whole lot more where they came from.

You're right Quinny-I had
all of these-Hah!

Does his records sound any worse (production wise) than most other things that were around at the time of a similar ilk? Probably not.



Jimmy James and The Vagabond's - I'll Go Where The Music Takes Me was probably his finest Disco moment and that still sounds pretty good today.[/quote]

I forgot this one! In fact
"I Am Somebody" sounded
great because it was pressed on a promo 12"-(besides being a great song
of course!)

[Mixmachine]

There is a commercial (US) for the new mini-Hummer that's using a different version of the 2001 theme, is it Deodato?

[remicks]

*****

I have to admit I'm pretty big on BIDDU ...save "I COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT "... but I don't fault BIDDU ...I don't think anyone coulda/shoulda turned that into a disco masterpiece ......

Marky ..I have to admit , the more I think of " I COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT " following at high volume from yoour car .... The Isley Bros. "FIGHT THE POWER" ... well that is pretty funny ....could there be two more polarized disco tunes .. (any DJ care to take on the mixing between those two .....??? )

I had no idea he went on to such heights of success .....


http://www.megspace.com/arts/naziazoheb/biddu.html

:D :D 8)


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[remicks]

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BIDDU's "KUNG FU FIGHTING"

the story :

"Kung Fu Fighting"
Carl Douglas
20th Century 2140
December 1974 • Billboard: #1

---------Biddu, an Indian-born producer living in London, was looking for a singer to record a tune by Brooklyn songwriter Larry Weiss (also the composer of Glen Campbell's 1975 number one smash "Rhinestone Cowboy") in the spring of 1974. Two years earlier, Biddu had composed the music for the film Embassy starring Richard (Shaft) Roundtree and through friends had met Jamaican singer Carl Douglas, whom he hired to sing the title song. Thinking that Douglas might be right for Weiss' "I Want to Give You My Everything," Biddu gave him a call.

The Weiss song was intended for the "A" side of a single, and Biddu needed something to record for the "B" side. "I asked Carl if he had any lyrics," Biddu recalls. "He rattled off about four or five songs that he had written... one of the songs... had the lyrics for 'Kung Fu Fighting.' Since it was going to be a 'B' side, I said, 'Fine, we'll have a song called 'Kung Fu Fighting.' So I started working out some melody for it. Nothing was taken seriously."

With only 10 minutes of studio time left, "Kung Fu Fighting" was recorded quickly. "We did a lot of 'hoos!' and 'haas!' like someone giving somebody a karate chop," Biddu explains. Carl Douglas' irreverently titled 1974 LP Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot 200 and spent a total of 17 weeks on the charts. In Oct. 2002, Sanctuary/Castle Records released the Douglas compilation Soul of the Kung Fu Fighter (above) on compact disc.

He presented the Weiss song to Pye Records' A&R chief, who liked it, but wanted to hear the flip side as well. "It's just a fun thing," Biddu warned, but the label didn't laugh. They thought it was good enough to release as an "A" side. Biddu responded, "If you really think so, although I think it's the kind of song that might sell 20,000 records."

The record company thought it would do better than that. Karate was fashionable in the '70s, but kung fu was even bigger -- Bruce Lee had popularized the ancient martial art at the box office. So Pye released the single in Britain and waited for the results.

"The first five weeks, we didn't get one play on radio," Biddu recollects. "It didn't sell one copy. **** And then suddenly, it just took off from the (dance) clubs and it went to number one. **** :D It went to number one all around the world. We sold nine million copies."

"Kung Fu Fighting" was picked up for American release by 20th Century Records. The week that it yielded the number one position in Britain to John Denver's "Annie's Song," it entered the Billboard chart at number 94. Eight weeks later it had battled its way to the top of the magazine's Hot 100 pop chart.

Douglas, a former engineering student, only managed one follow-up in America, the similarly-constructed "Dance the Kung Fu," number 48 in March, 1975. He continued to have hits in England, where "Run Back" made the Top 30 in 1977.

Biddu released several instrumental disco albums and produced another British number one hit, "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)" by Tina Charles. He returned home to India to compose music for films as well as recordings. Now living in London once more, he reflected on the international success of "Kung Fu Fighting." "If I had a theory why the record was a hit, I'd have more hits! You never know whey a record is a hit. It had street appeal, I think. It was a bit of a novelty, but... it was a hit all over the world. Maybe it was just a good pop record without us knowing about it."

- Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Billboard, 1988.
_______________________________________

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[discodisco]

Hey guys,
besides the best of...is anything by Biddu on cd?

[remicks]

*****

Here is The BIDDU ORCHESTRA's discography :

Biddu Orchestra

UK disco producer Biddu wrote for many British disco acts, including Carl Douglas, Tina Charles and Jimmy James - often exactly the same music would be used, with different vocals. ( ...i.e. "BLUE EYED SOUL " and "SUMMER OF '42" ???? ....)

Good stock early UK disco tracks include "Blue eyed soul", "Summer of '42" and "You don't stand a chance..." from Blue-Eyed Soul; "Chic-chica-chic-chica-chic" and "Laura" from Rain Forest; "Funky tropical" and "Boogiethon" from Eastern Man (both excellent); and the silly "James Bond disco theme" from Futuristic Journey.

The US-only 12" of "Rainforest" was one of the first ever 12" on the Epic label. "The Stud" is the discofied theme to the Joan Collins movie of the same name, and is available on Canadian-only 12".


Rainforest / (same) (Epic 12" AS 219, 1976)
Funky tropical / (same) (Epic 12" AS 348, 1977) - short version
Funky tropical / Boogiethon (Epic 12" 28-50397, 1977) - both long versions

Journey to the moon (Columbia 12" [Canada] 12C4-8235, 1977)
The stud (Columbia 12" [Canada] 12C4-8267, 1978)

Soul coaxing / Nirvana (Epic 12" [UK] S EPC 5416, 1977)
Journey to the moon / Journey in the rain (Epic 12" [UK] S EPC 5910, 1977)
Voodoo man (Epic 12" [UK] S EPC 13 7311, 1979)

Blue-eyed soul (Epic LP, 1975)
Rain Forest (Epic LP, 1976)
Eastern Man (Epic LP, 1977)
Futuristic Journey (Epic LP, 1978)

Summer of '42 (Epic 7", 1975)
I could have danced all night (Epic 7", 1975)

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[darrens]

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Here is The BIDDU ORCHESTRA's discography :

Biddu Orchestra

UK disco producer Biddu wrote for many British disco acts, including Carl Douglas, Tina Charles and Jimmy James - often exactly the same music would be used, with different vocals. ( ...
<snip>

The review above courtesy of Phil Hudson's disco-funk.co.uk:
http://www.disco-funk.co.uk/b/BIDDU.HTM

[remicks]

****

Quite right Darrens !! :) 8)

And here is that excellent site's breakdown of DEODATO :

http://www.disco-funk.co.uk/d/DEODATO.HTM


I did not know DEODATO wrote "CELEBRATION " for KOOL & the GANG .. ... most interesting .....

*****