The Guardian had an interview this week with Bill Curtis and Gerry Thomas from the Fatback Band.

”They first met in 1967 while in a band playing “weddings, bar mitzvahs, parties” in Queens, says Thomas. “This was before the DJ era, so we played the hits that people liked to dance to.” And Fatback have been going strong on and off ever since. And they have a great relationship with their British fans.

”Thomas, then playing with the Jimmy Castor Bunch, was taken to a club after a performance in Liverpool in 1975, where he witnessed Fatback’s song Wicky Wacky (from Keep On Steppin’) pack the dancefloor. Thomas mentioned he played on Wicky Wacky and was mobbed. “I called Bill and said: organise some dates in England, they love Fatback.” So began a relationship that continues to this day. “We got in the van and played every pub, club and cowshed,” says Curtis, “and the people came to dance and have a good time. That built us a loyal following – Britain and Fatback, we got a good thing goin’ on!”

“In the US there’s a form of cultural amnesia,” adds Thomas. “People forget, and embrace the new. Over here » Continue Reading.