The 20 greatest pop songs

This blog has covered many types of music in its short life from Turkish disco to Australian funk. If one was going to be critical though you could argue that it isn’t always accessible to the occasional enjoyer of popular music. This week I seek to unashamedly redress that balance by presenting the top 20 pop records.

First though some rules. All the records selected are post 1980 – which for me is when the era of manufactured pop really began. OK so there were the Bay City Rollers, the Jackson 5 and the Osmonds but pop was really born out of synthesised pop and anyway I can’t really remember much pre Thatcher. Second, I’m only including acts that are undoubtedly pop acts – Charley by the Prodigy is a pop record but they can’t really be considered a pop act. See also Gnarls Barclay, Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx, Depeche Mode, Blur, Missy Elliott and Goldfrapp. Finally, every record has to be at least a top 10 UK hit – pop music is by its very nature popular and this is the measure of success I choose. That’s enough of the rules – let’s enjoy the music!

20. Don’t go – Yazoo

The combination of Vince Clarke’s synth melodies and Alison Moyet’s husky vocal provides an early 80’s classic. Famously championed by Diplo in recent years on his superb Fabric mix – it holds up well alongside full on electro.

19. Comfortably Numb – Scissor Sisters

It’s easy to forget that Scissor Sisters were born of the alternative New York scene and their arrival was genuinely championed by many in the music press. This was a real statement of intent – take perhaps Pink Floyd's most mind numbingly depressing song and turn it into a camp disco dancefloor number. The first thirty seconds at least are thrilling. I’ve often wanted to play this out but always lacked the guts!

18. Prince Charming – Adam and the Ants

Adam had a great image for a pop star. I remember getting a skull and crossbones earring free with Look In magazine and wanting to smear a white line across my nose. This was probably his finest moment.

17. Karma Chameleon – Culture Club

Another great 80’s star – Boy George had a voice to almost match the aforementioned Alyson Moyet. His voice had real soul and he was always too cool to fall into the sleazy soul singer trap which afflicted Mick Hucknall some years later. This was a genuinely subversive and ‘mature’ number 1. Church of the poisoned mind was another great track.

16. Move your feet – Junior Senior

So bad its good. Cheesy, camp and poppy but somehow infectious with a great chorus. Stamp-stamp-stamp-stamp-stamp your feet.....I remember one of these guys being pretty fat and the other very camp...

15. Sweet Dreams – Eurythmics

I overdosed on Eurythmics when I was a kid as my mother, like so many others, could relate to Annie as a ‘strong woman’ and played them to death. It was only when Coldcut played the opening synth riff at Bestival a few years ago that I realised that this was an absolute classic.

14. Toxic – Britney Spears

Catchy innit?! The rest of her career is pants though..(except Baby one more time). She went off the rails a bit once she met Justin...

13. Rock your body – Justin Timberlake

Talking of whom...His first album was probably the most exciting pop album since prime time Jacko. There were a number of highlights but I think this one edges it. The breakdown in the middle where he freestyles is great. Great beats too.

12. Holiday – Madonna

We had to have one from Madge. Hung Up was a recent highlight for sure but it’s essentially an ABBA song so instead I’ll go for this from the other end of her career. Great bassline (sampled by Avalanches). I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had an empty dancefloor early evening, played this and all the ladies hit the floor.

11. Stool Pigeon – Kid Creole and the Coconuts

Again, born from the New York underground but went global in 1982. Kid Creole and the Coconuts were from the Bronx and incorporated Caribbean sounds into their pop disco template. Pop perfection.

10. Don’t stop moving – S Club 7

Jo was my favourite. These guys had a good career at a time when pop had really lost its way (Westlife? Steps? Blue?). I’ve seen this one fill the dancefloor at many a wedding and seems to appeal across the generations.

9. Controversy – Prince

Another artist with many tunes which could be included. This is a personal favourite – I love its sense of urgency.

8. Freak like me – Sugarbabes

Essentially a mash up by Richard X who took Tubeway Army’s Are Friends Electric, put the babes over the top and took it to number 1. Who is in this band now?

7. Tally Ho – AR Rahman feat. Pussycat Dolls

Pussycat Dolls are rubbish really but this is an absolute killer. Essentially a bollywood tune and catchy as hell- a rare example of catchy pop music in the new millennium.

6. American Boy – Estelle feat. Kanye West

Another recent highlight. Oozes summer and perfectly illustrates the New York/London love in. Estelle is a real talent, I look forward to seeing where she goes next.

5. Bootylicious – Destiny’s Child

The obvious choice is Beyonce’s Crazy In Love but this is a bit of an overlooked gem. A great example of the introduction of Rn’B flavours being introduced to the pop mix. A top 5 hit in all the key ‘territories’ it sampled Stevie Nicks’ Edge of Seventeen. There was a great mash up of this with Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit.

4. Beat It – Michael Jackson

Thriller – too contrived. Billie Jean – Too clever and overplayed. I’ll plump for the Eddie Van Halen powered Beat It. I played this at a wedding the week Jacko died and the reaction almost ripped the roof off. A unique talent.

3. Groove is in the heart – Deelite

A real one hit wonder (in the UK at least). Maybe a bit too credible for this list but it is unashamedly pop. A mutli-national band (Croatia, Japan, US) drawn together in New York they sampled Donald Byrd’s Bring down the birds to create a wedding disco staple. Lyrics were written by Q-Tip and bass was provided by the mighty Bootsy Collins.

2. Sounds of the Underground – Girls Aloud

Pretty much everyone loves Girls Aloud and I’m no exception. In a world where pop music has become increasingly bland and ballad led Girls Aloud and their production team Xenomania are the masters of the up tempo dancefloor monster. This, the first of their 19 top 10 singles, has a spoonful of drum n bass, some dance guitars and five lovely voices – perfect pop indeed.

1. Can’t get you out of my head – Kylie Minogue

Just how good is this song? Brilliant- period. It manages to be cool and effortless yet catchy as hell. Co-written by Cathy Dennis it has hints of Kraftwerk lite and a wonderful video. Kylie is the perfect pop package. Confide in Me and Slow were great singles too but to not include this would be criminal. Disagree with this or any other choices? Leave your comments below...

Interview: Fresh Produce Collective

For all the talk of podcasts over the last few years there are few that bring a range of quality music from across the beat spectrum which are actually worth listening to. A notable exception is Fresh Produce. Broadcasting since 2008 Fresh Produce play everything from funk to Dubstep although there can be little doubt their hearts reside with variations on the theme of hip hop. I caught up with main men Daddy Like and AG...further down you can access their latest broadcast with features yours truly!

How did you guys meet?

AG: The original FP line-up consisted of Dr. Swerve On, Daddy Like and me. Swerve and DL knew each other. We met at a party, started talking music and they invited me to join them for an interview at the local radio station the next day. I got drunk, overslept and missed the interview – but they let me join them anyway. And we’ve been playing new tunes for and with each other ever since.

What sounds did you first get into that led to your current interest in hip hop, funk and dance?

Daddy Like: In the US, where I grew up, hip-hop is one of the musical forms that surrounds you; in particular, any time you dance – whether in a club, at a school dance, or a wedding, it’s mainly to hip-hop. Unfortunately there’s few other genres of dance music that break through the hip-hop miasma... every once in a while I would hear snippets of it, and wanted to know more -- but in the US they call dance music “electronica” and that superfluous “a” more than anything means that it’s something pretentious and snobby. So when I moved to the UK more than a dozen years ago, it was a revelation to find that dance music was as ubiquitous here as hip-hop was in the states. And ironically, they appreciate older forms of American music such as funk and rare groove much more in England than they ever did in the States. But perhaps we repay you the favour by respecting the British classic rock people over here sleep on!

AG: Growing up in Manchester, you can’t avoid its musical heritage: it’s a loud, proud and self-consciously brazen city. Liverpool had the Beatles? F--k that: we had the Buzzcocks, Factory Records, New Order, the Mondays… plus Oasis, of course, if you cared about lad-rock. But it was Manchester’s drum and bass scene that was my first real exposure to the world of beats; and from that to the jungle, hip hop and electro nights around the city. Always slightly full of itself, Manchester tends towards the insular: but sitting on the top deck of the 85, on the way to Electric Chair, it felt like all the music you ever wanted was here, somewhere, in the city.

How did you come to start Fresh Produce?

AG: Our radio debut was on the short lived Oxygen FM in the sleepy city of Oxford – Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10pm till 1am. Highlights included the weekly “FREE R KELLY” t-shirt giveaways, Daddy Like’s stand against the unjust incarceration of one of his musical heroes… Dr. Swerve-On returned to the States in 2004 to continue his career as an itinerant scholar of hope; when I moved down to London in 2007, DL and I resurrected the show as a podcast. And a new era was born…

What’s your music policy?

Daddy: In four words: anything with a beat

Where do your listeners come from? How many people tune in?

Daddy: It’s a surprisingly diverse bunch! For a while we were getting tons of listeners from China, but I always suspected that was some sort of spam crawler software rather than real people. Our podcast platform makes it easy to see where people listen from but difficult to see how many unique listeners there are. I’d guesstimate that there’s about 140 unique listeners per show.

Any plans to extend the brand into other media?

Daddy: Only live sets – wedding, bar mitzvahs and funerals.

Are you going to be doing a Guru tribute?

Daddy: I feel like we have to play some songs in honour of the man, even though our next show isn’t until about a month after his tragic demise. I think we’re going to play exclusively tracks we haven’t heard on any other tribute, which will be difficult because there’s so many great ones out there.

AG: ‘Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is/ I get more props and stunts than Bruce Willis’. Love it.

Which songs are doing it for you right now?

Daddy: In no particular order:
Strong Arm Steady feat. Phonte – Best of Time
Ty feat. Sway and Roses Gabor – Heart is Breakingz
Kylie Audlist – In A Week, In A Day (Ashely Beedle’s Streetsoul Edit)
Chemise – She Can’t Love You
Erykah Badu – 20 Feet Tall (Yoruba Soul Remix)

AG: RSD – Naked Mario Kart
Method Man & Redman – City Lights ft/ Bun B
Hackney Colliery Band – Money
Theophilus London – No Answers ft/ Jesse Boykins
Amanaz – Sunday Morning

What next for Fresh Produce?

Daddy: Hopefully we spread like a virus around the world... not a disappointing one like swine flu, but the real deal! Audio polio...

Any final shout outs?

AG: Manchester-based Sidestep Music (www.sidestepmusic.com) always bring the heat. And keep an eye out for FP Stateside from Swerve, appearing later this year.

Daddy: Also a shout out to all the labels that sustain us: BBE, Strut, Kindred Spirits, Soul Jazz, Tru Thoughts, Wah Wah 45s, Stones Throw and Ubiquity. And London pirate radio – is there anything cooler in this world than 15 year-olds risking ASBOs to bring us new music for free? Who needs “Big Society” when you’ve got that kind of public-mindedness amongst the young?

Thanks guys...

To subscribe to Fresh Produce or simply to have a listen, go to www.freshproduce.podbean.com.

If you’ve downloaded the podcast to your iPod, hit the centre button four times while playing to see the tracklisting

To get new FP mixes automatically downloaded to your iPod when they’re posted, just click on the “Add to iTunes” icon on their homepage

Ten songs to remember London by...

I hope you’ll forgive me a little self indulgence this week. After 14 years of living in the big smoke I leave London in the next couple of days to start a new life in the country. Fear not, the blog will continue to bring you the best music across the spectrum but this week I felt a reminiscence was in order. Below I select the ten tracks that will forever remind me of the greatest city on earth.

DJ Kool – Let me Clear my Throat

I moved to London in 1996 and was immediately drawn to the emerging (and now deeply unfashionable) big beat scene. In later years this became very formulaic - hip hop beats punctuated with big vocoder builds (think Propellorheads or Bentley Rhythm Ace) but this did big beat, as it was initially conceived, an injustice. The key club and the one I went to on a number of occasions was the Heavenly Jukebox at Turnmills. Resident DJs were Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers and (in my opinion the best of the lot) Jon Carter. The ethos of Heavenly was simply to mix it all up – hip hop next to indie next to techno next to dancehall. For a club scene which had been dominated previously by house and techno purists this was thrilling and (until the beer monsters moved in) created a unique atmosphere. Carter always played this track – essentially a call and response track over the top of the 45 King – and the place would explode.

Red Astaire – Follow me

If you are a Dj it goes without saying that you can’t play bangers all night. A good DJ takes the listener through a range of moods and as such there is a genre that will forever be known as ‘warm up’ records. The records you play as people arrive are crucial in setting the mood. This record has become my ultimate warm up record. It features what can only be described as a xylophone riff over the top of some funky beats but it has a certain loungy, cheesy listening quality which draws the listener in. Astaire has recorded under a number of guises including Freddie Creuger and his work is well worth a further listen.

John Holt – Ali Baba

The first night I put on in London was Shop Local. Myself and mate Will secured a residency at an old boozer in Stoke Newington in 2000 and we spent the next half a decade playing all over east London to anyone who would listen. The general consensus was that the Trolley Stop in Dalston was the best place we played. It was run by an Irish guy who didn’t give a shit what went on and as a result it would go off in there. Pitchers of Vodka and Red Bull were downed at a tenner a time and that was just the people who hadn’t taken something stronger! Our ethos was eclectic – everything from reggae to house and back again. We would love taking people up to a peak and then drop some reggae or soul later on to build the lovey vibe. Ali Baba was an example of the sort of track we would play at 2am with everyone boogying together before the inevitable after party back at someone’s flat. Happy times!

Jean De Kou Kou – Fela Kuti

One of the best things about Lnodon’s nightlife is the way it draws on influences from around the World to create something new. The Future World Funk guys were a real influence on me for a while – turning me onto Brazilian Drum n Bass, Afrobeat, African House and Balkan Reggae. I had a residency at a bar called District in Hackney where I would seek to play some of this stuff and this track has been a favourite ever since. It isn’t particularly typical of Kuti – you couldn’t really call it afrobeat as its much mellower but its 10 minutes of great instrumentation.

Da Funk – Daft Punk

In my humble opinion the best dance music record ever made. A huge club and chart hit and yet no vocal and, like the clash, completely uncompromising. If there was a word to describe this track its ‘dirty’ – it instantly takes you to a sweaty club at 3am with no-one thinking about anything but enjoying themselves. This track will never let you down.

Standing in the Rain – Don Ray

I couldn’t not include some disco which is without a doubt my favourite genre of recent years. The track starts with a wonderful floaty synth before a catchy vocal and an irresistible breakdown. I played this track many times at my Castle residency in Walthamstow in recent years.

Chi-ching Party – Lady Sovereign v’s Fred Wesley.
Bootlegs really hit London hard in the early part of the last decade. For me, this was one of the very best – taking Fred Wesley’s funk classic House Party and putting a Lady Sovereign accapella over the top. Again, well utilised in the Walthamstow years – I think it was put together by a producer from Bristol called Rhythm and Booze and is probably pretty difficult to pick up now.

London Calling – The Clash

I can’t really have a list of songs that remind me of London without having at least one that refers to it. For me, this is one of the best singles ever made – it has a great melody but isn’t in any way compromised. Strummer’s wolf howl is perhaps one of the most thrilling moments in popular music. If you don’t know the London Calling album seek it out as its brimming with ideas and an absolute classic.

Tarrantula – Zomby

London is always at the forefront of musical innovation and Dubstep is the latest of a number of genres to explode out of the capital since I’ve been here. This is a great example – quite melodic and accessible compared to much dubstep. It features on the excellent Hyperdub 5 compilation which has been on my CD player pretty much non stop over the last couple of years.

Les Fleur – Minnie Riperton

Mentioned on this blog a number of times already. If push came to shove my favourite song of all time and one which has ended many of my finest nights in London. The folky start gives way to a crescendo of joy and there is no feeling in the world better than punching the air, hugging mates and living for the moment. Goodbye London, I’ll never forget you but it’s time to move on...

Album review: Cosmogramma - Flying Lotus (Warp)

Every so often a record comes out that completely changes the rules, confounding expectations of what is possible. Think about the first time you heard 3 Feet High and Rising or Odelay or Entroducing. Albums so fundamentally fresh that they actually redefine what modern music is and create genres in their wake. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we might just have another…Cosmogramma is Los Angeles producer Steve Ellison’s third album as Flying Lotus following his debut 1983(which actually came out in 2006)and the excellent Los Angeles which came out two years later. It’s fair to say that it is his most realised record to date, bringing together a dizzying array of styles into a sound which, at first listen, is off kilter and confusing, but with time creates a rewarding tapestry which takes the listener on a drug induced trip into dubstep, free jazz, baroque soul techno and J-Dilla style hip hop.

The sound that Ellison and others bring to the party has, in fact, been emerging for a while now. Influenced by the UK dubstep movement the slow bassy dynamic has been taken into a new realm by producers such as Glasgow’s Hudson Mohawke, the excentric Gaslamp Killer and Lotus himself. These protagonists have moved on from the smooth electronic sounds of dubstep to create something more off-kilter or ‘wonky’ as the genre has become known in some circles. His other key influence is undoubtedly jazz, perhaps unsurprising when you consider that he is the nephew of Alice Coltrane(his cousin Ravi Coltrane plays tenor sax on the album).

The start of the record is suitably erratic - harp riffs give way to double bass all underpinned with heavy, jagged beats. Its five tracks in on Zodiac Shit that the hard beats give way to a mellow soundtracky vibe and the album shifts into a druggy dreamstate which is maintained throughout. If you are the sort of person who likes a good tune, this album is not for you. This is all about pushing boundaries, taking music onto the next level to create something truly new. That isn't to say it is necessarily difficult. There are a number of moments of beauty and even, in some sort of concession to commerciality, a number of guest vocalists including Thom Yorke and Thundercat. Its fair to say though that their vocals are used to drift in and out of the tapestry rather than to lead the charge. The Yorke track And the world laughs starts off as electro funk before giving way to the Radiohead man's claustrophobic vocal then heading off in a joyful direction at its close. This is sypmtomatic of the album as a whole - a range of emotions conveyed in quick succession - the sheer ambition of what Flying Lotus attempts here is astounding with just snatches of influences identified here and there (The Stepney-esque intro to Mmmmmm for example or the odd snippet of free jazz). The resulting take out is of one elongated piece of music which takes the listener on an otherworldly journey rather than individual songs .

Time will tell if this record is as significant as it sounds. We're only 5 months into a new decade but like Aphex Twin before him you can't help think that Ellison will spawn a host of imitaters who will spend the rest of the decade playing catch up while he leaps forward again to a new sound. If you want to know where music's future lies I suggest you buy this record. Patience will be required for it to reveal its depths but once identified this is a sonic adventure which will reward time and time again.

Interview: Tim Lawrence, author of Love Saves the Day

Given the widespread acknowlegement of the importance of the 1970's disco scene now its hard to beleive that a few years ago the influence of this genre was not really acknowledged. UK writers such as Bill Brewster have had a key role in ensuring that the legacy of Larry Levan, Francis Grasso and of course David Mancuso have been recognised for the massive impact they've had on the world of modern music. One of the most important writers is undoubtedly Tim Lawrence. His Love Saves the day is the definitive account of 1970's New York, featuring scores of interviews with anyone but anyone who mattered. I, like many others, have used this text not only to understand disco's cultural context but also to track down the key songs of the era. Tim has gone on to write a fantastic biography of Arthur Russell and has found time to co found the Lucky Cloud Sound System which even now hosts parties with David Mancuso in London three or four times a year. It is a huge pleasure therefore to have been able to track Tim down and get some insight into his work...

How did you first get into disco yourself?

I got into dance music during the "house music all night long" era, so came to disco vicariously through that. But I must admit that I didn't really get disco for quite a long time; the synthetic quality of house music was so compelling it made the live instrumentation of disco sound a bit weak. I started to hear more disco when I lived in New York between 1994-98, and it was during that period that I set out to write a history of house music. In the end I didn't get very far with that project; Stefan Prescott arranged for me to interview David Mancuso, and David quite correctly persuaded me to begin my history not in 1985, but in 1970. Initially I was unsure about the idea of having to write about a period I wasn't that into musically, but David, Steve D'Acquisto, Nicky Siano and many others introduced me to this extraordinary range of instrumental music that was recorded in the 1970s, and in the end I became so absorbed with the 1970s I had to wrap the book up in 1979. So that was my journey into disco, although I should probably note that I've always approached it as just one of a whole range of sounds that I'm into. I'm not really into hearing disco all night long, just as I'm no longer into the idea of hearing house music all night long, either. I like a sonic spectrum, and that's what David, Steve, Nicky and the rest set of the 1970s spinners were all about. When these guys were playing disco, it was new music, not nostalgic music, and it was always just one element.

Which club had the single biggest impact on your life?

I'd say the Loft, but the Loft is very specifically set up as a house party and not a club. David revealed the sonic and social possibilities of the dance floor, and that had a huge impact on my approach to partying, on the way I wrote Love Saves the Day, and on the way that I've become involved in helping put on parties with David in London. In terms of clubs, I'd have to say the most influential was Feel Real at the Gardening Club, which I went to every Friday for about three years before I moved to New York in 1994. The Rhythm Doctor, Evil Olive, Femi B and Rob Acteson were the DJs there, and I ended up buying records with Chris, the Rhythm Doctor, every week. I heard Louie Vega play for the first time at the Gardening Club, and that pretty much led me to decide to go and live in New York. Once I was there , I danced at Louie's Wednesday night parties at the Sound Factory Bar on a regular basis. Then I started going to the Loft in 1997...

Everyone has their own favourite disco DJ – Mancuso, Levan, Siano – who is your personal favourite?

I love David's range, his approach to programming, and his emphasis on sound and the centrality of the dance floor, but I probably shouldn't include him in this list because he's really not a DJ, and has never described himself as such; he's more of a musical host. I never got to hear Larry Levan play live, but I've managed to accumulate quite a few tapes, and they're special. As with David, I appreciate the way Larry prioritises programming over mixing. I used to be quite obsessed with mixing, and was very into the way Louie Vega would do these amazingly long and creative overlays. Beyond those guys, I really appreciate Danny Krivit's party sensibility; the celebratory atmosphere at 718 has a lot to do with his selections. For the longest time I've also been very taken with François Kevorkian's range and dynamism and philosophy. I should also add that Colleen Murphy played a tremendous set when she had to fill in for David Mancuso at the last minute at one of our Journey Through the Light parties in London. I'd always known that Colleen had a great record collection, but that was the night that she was able to play with fully expressivity. The experience confirmed something I think I've know for a while; that the crowd, the sound system and the room set-up are just as important if not more important than the actual DJ. It was because of the setting that Colleen was able to play such a great range of records. So while I'm happy to name DJs that I'm into, I think the question risks placing too much emphasis on the individual. Parties are social-technological settings, and DJs are people who engage in a musical conversation with dancers. The most effective DJs are the ones who appreciate this.

What single song to you best encapsulates the spirit of disco?

I don't really think of myself as being a "disco guy". I deliberately didn't use the word "disco'" in the title of Love Saves the Day because the book begins in 1970s, and disco didn't really get going as a recognisable genre until 1974, so there were four long and amazing years to cover before I even got to that point. It's also worth bearing in mind that the word "disco" initially referred to the music that would be played in a "discotheque" (or a private party), and therefore referred to the full range of music that early spinners were drawing on. A lot of great conventional disco music followed. I'm not sure I could pick out one song that encapsulates the spirit of disco, but I love the Walter Gibbons mix of Hit and Run, Larry Levan's mix of I Got My Mind Made Up, T-Connection's Do What You Wanna Do -- there are so many...

Why, of all the disco legends, did you choose to write a biography of Arthur Russell?

Because I wanted to find out more about the person who was the key influence behind Go Bang, which is one of my favourite dance records. (I'd have listed it above, but it's not really a conventional disco record.) I was also done with Love Saves the Day and wanted to find a way to continue to explore New York music culture in the 1970s and 1980s without becoming a train--or a historian who had to write a book about the 1980s and then the 1990s and then the 2000s just because my first one covered the 1970s. I knew I wanted to get on to write about the 1980s at some point, but I was also interested in the way that the rise of disco was paralleled by equally dramatic developments in hip hop, new wave and new music (or post-minimalist compositional music). All of these breakthroughs happened in New York during the 1970s and early 1980s, so I wanted to be able to write a book that reexamined disco not as an isolated phenomenon, but as a musical movement that was matched by other musical movements. I also wanted to get beyond the limitations of genre and see how these musical movements didn't just evolve separately, but also came to interact with each other. Go Bang was an example of that because it incoroporates disco, rock, dub and orchestral music. It soon became clear that Arthur Russell would be an amazing person to write about in this regard, because his itinerant sensibility led him to record not only disco but compositional music, new wave, pop, and folk, often with more than half-an-ear tuned towards developments in hip hop, dub and funk. Because Arthur operated in all of these scenes more or less simultaneously, it meant that a biography about him could also double up as a biography about New York during one of its most sonically and socially dynamic periods.

What’s your favourite Arthur tune?

It has to be "Go Bang", but there are so many others.

Disco has been ‘reclaimed’ as a credible genre in recent years – do you think your work and that of others like Bill Brewster has contributed to that?

Bill and Frank's "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" is definitely the most popular DJ book out there, and they brought some important and belated attention to the "disco" DJs by including two chapters on disco. I don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment on the impact of Love Saves the Day.

Do you still go out dancing yourself? What is your reflection on today’s scene?

I go to every party we put on with David Mancuso at the Light, of course. They happen four times a year and are so strong it can sometimes be quite difficult to go into a different environment. But when I went on a two-week research trip to New York at the beginning of 2009 I went out every other night and had an amazing time -- the Loft, Libation at the Sullivan Room, Deep Space at Cielo -- these were all great parties. I seem to have slowed down in terms of going out in London, so maybe it's a bit of a London thing. The fact I've got two young daughters doesn't make it easier to go out (and I was free from the responsibility of getting them to school when I went back to New York). Then again, I'm not that into a lot of the party settings in London, where there's too much emphasis on alcohol, multi-DJ platforms, and ear-ache sound. But I'm always asking people to advise me on good places to try out and have a couple of visits lined up.

What’s next for Tim Lawrence?

I'm writing a book on New York club culture 1980-84. In a way it's the continuation of Love Saves the Day, but through the prism of Arthur Russell. To put it another way, I'm continuing the narrative of the first book, but lots of different elements come into the New York dance/club scene in the early 1980s, so I'm having to write about rock, hip hop and dub as well as pursue the legacy of the venues I charted in Love Saves the Day. It's proving to be quite captivating.

For more on Tim's work go to www.timlawrence.info

For more info on David Mancuso's loft parties go to www.loftparty.org

Both Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Culture 1970-1979 and Hold on to Your Dreams:Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene 1973-1992 are available online at Amazon and elsewhere. If you have any interest in New York's music scene, buy these books - you won't regret it.

Sweet sixteen - what the kids are listening to...

As one gets older it’s a sad inevitability that you lose touch with the cutting edge sounds of the day. No matter how much you listen to music it’s inevitable that the loud and brash sounds that appealed when you were sixteen are a little too abrasive and so music with smoothed edges appeals that little bit more. That’s not to say that you can’t stomach experimentalism but simply some genres – (hardcore, thrash metal and trance to name but three) are best enjoyed young.

Having said all of that, I am determined for the purposes of research (and curiosity) to unearth the music that appeals to the current sixteen year old – not Lady Gaga or Tinchy Strider but the underground sounds that spearhead the tribes of the typical teenager. I’ve been out and spoken to the nation’s youth from Norwood to Norfolk to find out what is ticking their boxes right now...here are ten acts that are doing it for them...why not listen to at least one that takes your fancy and discover something new? (My particular favourite is Mount Eden).

RDX

This Duo’s somewhat unsubtle Bend Over video has had over 2.5 million hits on Youtube – perhaps unsurprisingly given the macho posturing and female booty shaking. Having said that, there is no doubt that Renegade X has a great dancehall voice and there is a good chance these guys will continue the Jamaican tradition of dancehall legends.

You might like this if you like: Barrington Levi, Beenie Man

www.myspace.com/rdxmusic

Bullet For My Valentine

South Wales Metallers just about to release their third album and play a key slot at this years Download (Donnington in our day) festival. Bullet combine orchestral arrangements and strong melodies with heads down thrash. To me they sound a bit retro but they’re absolutely massive with the youth...

You might like this if you like: Metallica, Iron Maiden

www.bulletformyvalentine.com

Sub Focus

Nick Douwma melds sounds of many of the best dance scenes of recent years into a coherent bass led whole. Combining drum n bass, house and techno to provide a blissed out festival dance vibe – the sort of music that you can imagine taking the roof off the dance tent at Glastonbury. He’s actually been recording for a few years but only released his debut album in 2009. Like a number of current dance acts he is clearly influenced by (and has remixed) the Prodigy and Dizzee Rascal.

You might like this if you like: Chemical Brothers

www.myspace.com/subfocus

Giggs

You don’t know where my people coming from cos you don’t go there!
Yeh, we’re jus tryna make doe here!

He’s controversial – having done time for weapons offences but Peckham born Gigg’s rhymes exhibit a maturity which could see him in for the long haul. He’s already worked with Mike Skinner and Don’t Go There even made ripples in the States – one to watch.

You might like this if you like: Jay Z, Roots Manuva

www.myspace.com/trapstargiggs

Mount Eden

New Zealand producer whose Sierra Leone track (see link below)has been massive on the web (4 million hits on Youtube alone). Eden has remixed the Prodigy, Sigor Ros and Burial and is likely to be a BIG name on the Dubstep scene in the next few years.

You might like this if you like: Hyperdub style dubstep

Enter Shikari

St Alban’s finest. Shikari are a thrilling melding of metal and happy hardcore and are reknowned for their shambolic but energy filled live shows. They’ve had considerable success, selling out London Astoria before they were even signed (eventually releasing their debut on their own label) and subsequently with two UK top 20 albums.

You might like this if you like: Prodigy, Rage against the Machine

www.entershikari.com

Professor Green

Foul mouthed UK rapper who recently scored a top 5 hit with Need you Tonight which sampled the INXS hit of the same name. He’s no overnight sensation however, having firstly been signed (and unceremoniously dropped from) Mike Skinner’s ‘Beats’ label then losing his father and getting stabbed with a glass outside London nightclub Cargo. Undeterred, he self-released single Upper Clapton Dance which, as anyone who has travelled on London’s 253 bus will tell you, is a pretty gritty but accurate account of the east end’s ‘murder mile’. Green isn’t one to pull his punches so it will be interesting to see how this pop phase of his career pans out.

You might like this if you like: Eminem, Plan B

www.professorgreen.co.uk

Trash Talk

The self-proclaimed ‘most dangerous band in the world’ (a title once bestowed on Gun’s n’ Roses). In truth, these Californians thrashers are closer in sound to US hardcore acts from the 1980’s or the similarly hardcore Gallows. This is mosh pit music at its very best and completely alien to anyone over 20 (although I must admit I quite like it!) Steve Albini produced their debut and they’re now on their third album –the live shows are, perhaps unsurprisingly, legendary.

You might like this if you like: Napalm Death, Black Flag, Mudhoney

www.myspace.com/trashtalkfu

Delorean

House influenced indie band currently causing a wave in the States following a series of shows at the South by Southwest music festival. The buzz has picked up on the fact that they manage to combine the euphoria of a rave with what is essentially guitar music. They boast Bill Murray as a fan and their debut album arrives in the summer.

You might like this if you like: Foals, LCD Soundsystem

Boy Better Know

A grime based boy band featuring Skepta (and once upon a time Wiley). Given the recent crossover success of Dizzee, Lethal Bizzle and Chipmunk there is no reason why they shouldn’t do very well indeed. To these ears they lack a bit of finesse but again there is raw potential here which could lead to better things later on. Their recent Too many men touched upon the important social issue of not having enough women in nightclubs...

You might like this if you like: Dizzee Rascal, Chipmunk

www.myspace.com/boybetterknow

Hidden Gem: Voodoo Party - James Last (1972)

James Last reminds me of my nan. We would visit her bungalow in the Forest of Dean and there was a formica sideboard with an old style record player on it. The small collection of vinyl LPs underneath were wholly unexciting – Mantiovani, Your 100 best Tunes and James Last. Born in 1929, Last has released over 190 albums in his career and has sold over 100 million albums so its no surprise that there are a few kicking around in the homes of pensioners up and down the country.

It caused me much bemusement therefore to discover that for some of the most committed vinyl diggers out there Last is a cause celebre. There are actually a number of Last tracks that feature funky breakbeats and, given the tendency of 70’s easy listening acts to do cover versions of the hits of the day there are a surprising number of Last tracks worthy of a second listen. Having said that, one needs to proceed with immense caution. I have been as guilty as many of randomly buying Last albums for up to £2 only to discover some of the most cloying dross ever committed to wax.

Amongst the recordings which are worth hearing are Beat In Sweet which features a number of counterculture hits of the day including Mr Tambourine Man, I got you Babe and a very passable Like a Rolling Stone. Another is his frankly superb version of Hawkwind’s Silver Machine – a version of which is provided on Youtube below.

There is little doubting the holy grail though. Voodoo Party was released on Polydor in 1972 and is a surprisingly coherent album. It features various covers including Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues and Sly Stone’s Sing a Simple song which lend it a certain funky respectability from the outset but as a whole the album is remarkably consistent and even the Last compositions add to an excellent listen.

The LP is loosely based on the concept of voodoo rhythms and as such features many bongos, congas and rattles which add to the grooviness and the whole thing sounds like it was recorded in an early 70’s drug haze (although I suspect it wasn’t). The references to ‘negros’ and the ‘coloured population’ in the sleeve notes betray the years that have passed since it was released but the tunes contained within sound amazingly similar to some of the more esoteric recordings of recent years.

Opening track Se a Cabo (a track imortalised on Carlos Santana’s classic Abraxas) sets the tone – driving funk underpinned with heavy bongo and guitar. It ends with a far out synth which mixes immediately into Sing a Simple Song which, like many of the covers on display, is celebratory in feel. Following track Jin-go-lo-ba meanwhile is typical of a number of latin tracks on the album (Heyah Masse Ga, U-Humbah) which use bongo rhythms to create a tribal feel but it is fourth track Mamy Blue where things get really interesting. This track takes the tempo right down to leave you with a gospelly track which wouldn’t be entirely out of place on a psych folk album! It really is a beautiful track and you would be staggered to know it is by James Last if you didn’t already know. Mr Giant Man, the track at the end of side 1 would also fit nicely on an early 70’s folk album – it is comical in style with an absurd lyric ‘Hi Ho, I’m the king of giant land, Ho ho, come along, we’ll have some fun’ – the ensemble vocal remind me of the Polyphonic Spree or perhaps the Flaming Lips. By the end of the first side you could be forgiven for feeling a little bewildered with the variety of styles on display and yet somehow it all hangs together – the bongo being used to join the tracks into one ongoing narrative.

Everybody’s Everything is a pretty straight psychedelic soul number at the beginning of side two. Following are two covers - Sly’s Everyday People and Marvin’s Inner City Blues, both of which feature ensemble vocals and heavy bongo percussion but stay faithful to the originals. Babalu is possibly the weakest track overall – the trumpet takes it slightly too far into easy cheesy territory but its not terribly bad. Final track Voodoo Lady’s Love rounds things off nicely though. Its anthemic in feel and features a crazy synth build halfway through.
The whole album is really good fun – its perfect for a mellow house party/dinner party where the guests want something familiar to hang on to but is weird enough to keep the musos happy. The good news is that it can be picked up fairly cheaply – expect to pay between £5 and £8 – although I must admit I’ve never seen it lurking in the charity shops as various web forums have picked up on this one some time ago.

James Last is unlikely to be regarded as one of the great musical innovators (nor should he) but Voodoo Party is proof that we all have one great album inside us...