..and give us a treat!
Sister Sledge were sublime in 1979 and He’s the Greatest Dancer is a guaranteed floorfiller at every senior disco in the land.
Soul Train, TOTP, Ready Steady Go….What floats your disco boat?
It’s Friday! It’s five o’ clock! It’s International Dance Day! So whip out your bangers..
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A little more shameless nostalgia from EWF.
And something a little more modern…
Jungle
And here are Handsworth Secondary dancing and singing Another day of sunshine from La La Land.
At my school we did Gilbert and Sullivan all time and all the younger boys had to dress up in frocks.. I doubt that would happen today!!
Pass the talcum Malcolm … Northern Soul Banger ahoy
Judy Street – What
Here’s another stomper for those in a Northern mood!
I stf heard that on the NME cassette set Start Dancing. It was on the beset tracks on it.
Dancing Master?
Sorry that was just filled with typos. Feet Start Dancing was the cassette I think.
Here’s another Northern killer ( from Brother Ray)
..and more of a shuffler while you get your breath back
@Arthur-Cowslip and his posting about Scottish wedding music and dancing reminded me of the time attending my girlfriend’s best friend’s wedding in Scotland where towards the end most people got up and started a synchronised dance routine.
“What are they doing?” I asked
“Why they’re sloshing, don’t you know it?”
This is what I used to dance to, imagine a dance impersonating bears finishing off banging your bottom on the floor. Happy days.
Good evening all –
Sweet!
Bangers you say?
Don’t get much more bangy than that.
I’m lost for words! Dukes and Lee are a very hard act to follow.
But Macklemore and Ryan Lewis spare no expense. Wolves, hairdressers, pirates, camels, mysterious arctic sages…
And it is one hell of a tune.
Bingo’s visit to Coachella reminded me that there is no better floorfiller than a driving, jangly guitar tune.
Surf Curse are one of my new faves.
In the same vein, let’s not forget The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
I could spend all evening with Mr Hannon down at the Indie Disco.
Nearly 9 minutes!
I`ve had a bad day at work today…
The Mael Brothers are always a tonic!
Here are FFS doing a fine funky version of one of my Sparks favourites.
When do I get to sing My Way`?
Franz Ferdinand and Sparks didn’t see such a great idea. How wrong I was!
Tis true – one can never have enough Sparks
Brucie gets all funky
Bruce Forsyth does a Blood Sweat and Tears cover! Unexpected!
That bassline…get down with your bad selves, so to speak…
And another – when the bassline gets in your head, it’ll be there all night…
Salsoul was one of the very best disco labels. Taking its name from the mixture of Salsa and Soul, it released some incredible Latin music in the 1970s. Santana fans will recognise this tune. It’s a fantastic fusion of Latin and disco.
Candido – Jingo
The perfect Ska floor filler for me – rough & ready & beautiful!
Disco, eh? Back in 77 I thought this was ace. Older brothers mocked, oh how they mocked.
I thought it was a fabulous record when it was first released & I still love it to this day.
Love a bit of Supernature.
Yes, an absolute classic. Didn’t Kenny Everett used to play it all the time as backing music on his TV show?
Classic…
What a sublime track.
Coincidentally, the first 12” single lots of people bought – copies of it seemed to be in every record shop in the land in ‘77/‘78 if memory serves. There must have been a huge over production of it at few pressing plants I’d guess.
Here’s a wonderful track from Brazilian diva Claudia.
And here’s what Marcelo D2 did with it..
Both splendid in my book.
Here’s a new discovery from Coachella 2022: Purple Disco Machine.
It must sound wonderful in a big festival tent in the middle of the night.
LCD Sound System certainly are remarkable live
Cor!
I like that Purple Disco Machine stuff, thanks for posting KFD!
Lots of great choices. Here’s something a little more recent:
If I go to a festival in Scotland, I’m now fully prepared for the Slosh Pit!
Q-What a wonderful selection of tracks you’ve all posted.
Here’s a cracker from Italy.
Banger? That’d be this:
Bravo! Just the kind of eclecticism I was hoping for!
Anyone got any ideas about Breton bangers? The kind of tunes that get @thecheshirecat out onto the dancefloor.
Back in the day, Khaled worked every time.
As did Rachid Taha
And Orchestre National de Barbes
I know, I know. Where have I been? Don’t I know I have duties?
Just running a bit ragged at the moment – even my family are sending out search parties. On early shift tomorrow; I’ll give consideration when I get home.
Please take your time, @thecheshirecat. There is no hurry at all.
We will happily wait a few days to hear your suggestions. Sometimes there is jut a bit too much happening.
I really do enjoy throwing a question out to the hivemind and then enjoying all the wonderfully varied suggestions that come in.
If we are talking about bangers, there are certain artists who just must be mentioned.
Dua Lipa
Credit to Elton for working with her and PNAU on this ridiculously catchy hit.
And then there’s Major Lazer who’ve made more bangers than Walls.
And do great videos
Are you kidding me? Where’s yo’ best badass soul diva banger baby? Here ya go:
And while we’re at it, the early 70s can serve up another stone classic:
Nice work Vulpes! Two solid gold bangers, as distinguished as a pair of Cumberland Sausage.
I’m very pleased you are making sure we don’t forget thee magnificent songs,
Another gold nugget from the vaults now from Jocelyn Brown.
In the words of a YT commentator: “She sang the shit out of this song.”
Jocelyn Brown sang vocals on one track on Manu Dibango’s Gone Clear LP, the one recorded in Jamaica which featured Reggae Makossa. Some people argue that the first disco record was Soul Makossa. The reason being that songs got in the charts through radio play. Soul Makossa was the first record to get in the Billboard 100 through plays only at New York discos And a banger it was too.
The stuff you know @Alias! Fascinating to hear Jocelyn had played with Manu.
She sung on the opening track which has has a pleasant sunny vibes.
And also of course how Manu’s banger had conquered the charts via the lofts and discos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Makossa
Timely coincidence really. I recently bought that LP in a charity shop and was surprised to see Jocelyn Brown and Gwen Guthrie on it. “Pleasant sunny vibes” accurately describes the whole album, but he has made much better albums.
Also, I have just read Turn The Beat Around: The Secret History Of Disco by Peter Shapiro and Love Saves The Day: A History Of American Dance Music Culture 1970 – 1979 by Tim Lawrence. All this stuff about NYC clubs is fresh in my mind. In a few months time it will be forgotten.
I definitely recommend the Love Is The Message: Dance Music and Counterculture podcast.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/love-is-the-message-dance-music-and-counterculture/id1559084429
Lots of discussions on American dance music, reggae and African music amongst other things.
The secret hIstory of disco sounds excellent.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/jun/11/highereducation.news1
John Peel introduces Shalamar! My Saturday evening can’t get any better!
See that guy sitting in the corner, barely visible in the shadows, taking notes? He’s staring at Jeffrey Daniel’s footwork, and he seems familiar somehow….
Yikes! It’s Jarvis Cocker! The depths to which these pop stars will sink!
and
Splendid stuff, Fitter And while we are chez Darrell, let’s listen to Rumer doing a magnificent version of this song.
One more from her.
I just love the atmosphere of joyous musicianship in his studio.
It’s a great series – and these are particularly fine performances…
Back to The Slosh!
Chris Welch wrote about in the Melody Maker and claimed it came from Wigan (via Finland!!) I’m fascinated how that happened.
https://chriswelchonline.com/do-the-slosh-in-memory-of-roy-carr/?fbclid=IwAR1na2jCTB3KBVJmYQdSxQYMJHgkAnlYSoViY_XE_jjoBTubrhFba0Lf-QI
..and still there’s more.
Twitch / Marathon Men – Blow Your Blues Away
…and the hits just keep on comin’…
Just insanely catchy hooks. Gloriously dumb
Oh what joy! All these splendid suggestions are jogging my memory.
Here’s a splendid track from Norman Cook.
The vocals are splendid but I’ve never before wondered who was singing.
Now I know.: Ashley Slater. He’s better known for his trombone playing. And being the narrator’s voice in Boo!
Here he is in a pub (in Brighton?).
The charismatic singer is called Kitten!
Unaccompanied singing for dance is a serious part of breton tradition. No robato or lingering on a choice note; keeping the beat is everything. For that reason, and the need to, you know, breathe occasionally, call and response is the necessary style. And you’ve got to have some pipes on you, to be heard over all those thundering feet. If you want to be a great singer, be a great dancer first, so that you know the needs of the dancefloor.
So here is what will go down as a banger in Plougoumelen, Questembert or Kernascleden of a Friday night. Just listen to the relentless beat, and the precision.
@thecheshirecat Stupendous stuff. I knew we could rely on you.
To my delight I discovered there is a whole album by that trio which is on YouTuba and Spotify. You’ve opened an exciting new door!
There are at least 20 very different versions of Rond de Saint Vincent on Spotify. A popular tune!
Ah, but it’s not the name of the tune; it’s the dance, for which there are many many suitable tunes and songs. The dance is everything.
Of course, there are plenty of other traditions of singing for dance.
Meanwhile in Granada …
Don’t know if this counts, but I have always loved this.
That most certainly counts, Jack! Definitely a floorfiller.
As is this gem from the Saw Doctors.
And this fine cajun stomper from Richard Thompson and Jo-El Sonnier.