L'art De La Discothèque, Volume 1

A 90 minute master class in the art of the remix, courtesy of François Kevorkian. 

Monsieur K is now his sixth decade (!) as a remixer, producer and DJ and although his work rate is proportionately smaller than in preceding years, if you collected his credited work alone, you would have a pretty large music collection.

It would harder to list the artists that François hasn't worked with, than the other way around and, particularly in the 1980s, it seemed that no 12" single was complete without a Kevorkian remix.

So, where to start with a Dubhed selection? I've picked a dozen remixes, spanning 1982 to 2021, taking in Yazoo and Depeche Mode, Arthur Baker and Arthur Russell (as Dinosaur L), GusGus and Underworld, The Cure and Echo & The Bunnymen, Kraftwerk and Coldplay, Perry Farrell and Jimmy Cliff.

As eclectic as it sounds, what binds the music together is the man at the controls, a master at work, quality running through like writing in a stick of rock.

And yes, "Volume 1"...

1) Jumbo (Rob Rives & François Kevorkian Main Dish): Underworld (1999)

2) Lips Like Sugar (12" Mix By François Kevorkian & Michael Hutchinson): Echo & The Bunnymen (1987)

3) Enjoy The Silence (Bass Line) (Remix By François Kevorkian): Depeche Mode (1990)

4) On A Mission (FK 12" Mix By François Kevorkian): Arthur Baker & Rockers Revenge (2018)

5) Hot Hot Hot!!! (Extended Remix By François Kevorkian & Ron St. Germain): The Cure (1988)

6) Tour De France (Remix By François Kevorkian): Kraftwerk (1983)

7) #5 Go Bang! (Mixed By François Kevorkian): Dinosaur L (1982)

8) Roots Radical (12" Version By François Kevorkian): Jimmy Cliff (1983)

9) Very Important People (François K Vocal Mix By François Kevorkian & Rob Rives) (Full Length): GusGus (1999)

10) Talk (François Kevorkian Remix): Coldplay (2006)

11) The Solutionists (François K Brave Vocal Mix By François Kevorkian): Perry Farrell's Satellite Party (2021)

12) Situation (U.S. 12" Mix By François Kevorkian): Yazoo (1982)

L'art De La Discothèque, Volume 1 (1:30:06) (KF) (Mega)

What My Heart Yearns For Now

...is forty-five minutes of four to the floor from '84.

A cheat from the start as the official 12" single of The Ghost In You by The Psychedelic Furs contained the 4:17 album version. A bootleg extended version of indeterminate age and provenance opens this selection, welding a new rhythm track to the undercarriage and stretching out the intro and outro ever so slightly. Good enough for me, it's in!

You Can't Hold Me Down by Felix was written and mixed by Killer Whale, both pseudonyms for the multi-talented Arthur Russell, here in collaboration with NYC DJ and producer Nicky Siano. You Can't Hold Me Down was a double A-side 12" with Tiger Stripes, but Arthur apparently disliked the latter so much that he refused to be credited on the release, hence the alias(es).

On the other hand Billy Ocean was so certain he had a surefire hit, when European Queen failed to set the UK chart alight in June 1984, he rejigged, retitled and re-released the single four months later. By November 1984, Caribbean Queen enjoyed a 4-week stint in the Top 10, peaking at #6.

Similarly, it took two goes with Doc Marten despoilers King to have a hit with Love & Pride. Both the UK and USA 12" versions were produced by Richard James Burgess, better known at the time as frontperson with Landscape, who had a couple of hits with Einstein A-Go-Go and Norman Bates. Whether distracted by Paul King's mega mullet or other summer singles, this version entered the UK chart at #84 and it was downhill from there. Undeterred, King tried again in January 1985, achieving seven weeks in the Top 10, three at #2. There's nowt so weird as the record buying public.

Dancing With The Big Boys by David Bowie is the final track on his album Tonight and included as a B-side to Blue Jean. Not one of his best - or best-loved - songs, even Bowie shortly after dismissed Blue Jean as "a piece of sexist rock 'n roll. It's about picking up birds. It's not very cerebral, that piece". Dancing With The Big Boys was co-written with Carlos Alomar and Iggy Pop, who had turned up at the end of the recording sessions and helped Bowie get some unfinished songs over the line. For the 12" single, Bowie enlisted John 'Jellybean' Benitez to remix the A side; Arthur Baker supplied vocal and dub mixes of Dancing With The Big Boys.

 

Pete Shelley had previously worked with Martin Rushent, but here he goes it alone. Never Again may be a comment on their studio partnership, but more likely it tackles with aplomb Pete's usual theme about love and disappointment. Criminally, another non-hit in a solo career packed with pop perfection.

Also yesterday's news by 1984 were Visage. Despite reaching #13 with their self-titled debut (1981) and soaring to #6 with follow-up The Anvil (1982), third album Beat Boy managed 2 weeks in the Top 100, with a first week peak of #79. The title track didn't even crack the singles chart. Far from their finest moment, the absence of Midge Ure (who was enjoying greater success with Ultravox) was keenly felt...

 

1) The Ghost In You (12" Remix): The Psychedelic Furs

2) You Can't Hold Me Down (Extended Version By Killer Whale aka Arthur Russell): Felix

3) Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run) (New Extended Mix By Keith Diamond & Bryan 'Chuck' New): Billy Ocean

4) Dancing With The Big Boys (Extended Dance Mix By Arthur Baker): David Bowie

5) Love & Pride (USA Summer Mix By Richard James Burgess): King

6) Never Again (Extended Version): Pete Shelley

7) Beat Boy (Album Version): Visage 

 

What My Heart Yearns For Now (44:58) (KF) (Mega) 

Three x3 x3 x3

Somehow, I'm not quite sure how, Dubhed is three years old today. Not something I imagined writing when I first started this blog in 2020. 

 

A piffling amount of time if you visit any of the blogs linked to this site and see what dedication and long-term commitment really looks like, but it's without a doubt the most sustained period of activity for any 'creative venture' that I've ever been wholly responsible for. 

Will it change your life? No, of course not. But it has helped mine in some subtle and more obvious ways. Especially since moving to the discipline of a daily post, it's given me a structured mindfulness activity that's been more of a help with my mental health that I can fully appreciate, both as a preventative and a curative exercise.

The best bit though, and the inspiration for doing it in the first place, is the lovely blogging community that I discovered and have since felt a part of, a reminder when you are surrounded by news and stories to the contrary that there are many, many wonderful human beings out there. And we all share a passion for music. Not necessarily the same music all of the time, but an appreciation and respect for the sheer love of it regardless.

It's not just about the music, though, this sense of community. Whenever I can, I try to make some time on a Saturday morning to drop by at My Top Ten to join in with Rol's excellent - and teasingly, pleasingly difficult - Saturday Snapshots quiz. Every month in 2023, John's Are We There Yet? blog has hosted a gallery of themed photos, which I started contributing to (albeit generally always just under the deadline wire - sorry, John!) and enjoy a lot. SWC at No Badger Required has run regular countdowns, based on votes from a musical jury and I'm privileged to have been a member on quite a few of these. And it all started for me with guest contributions to The Vinyl Villain, specifically JC's epic and ongoing An Imaginary Compilation album series, which has pretty much been the template for the Dubhed selections that have regularly featured here. 

 

That's just scratching the surface: there are so many fantastic music blogs out there, all saying something different, all opening up my mind (and ears) to new experiences and not just music, of course. Every single one of the blogs in the "Other Head Music" roll call on your right (in web view, that is) are a continual inspiration.

 

I recently commented that Swiss Adam's Bagging Area "has always been more than a blog for music lovers, it’s a lesson in humanity." It's a humbling experience reading other people's raw and vulnerable thoughts and expressions - painful and inspiring often at the same time - and it's wonderful to see how people rally round, offer support and encouragement and just care.

Thank you all, you know who you are. Whether you have visited once or lots of times, left plenty of comments or none at all, have downloaded a Dubhed selection or had a glance through and moved on, thank you.

 

Anyhoo, before you start to wonder if you've stumbled on a Grammy award acceptance speech by accident, let's have some music.

If I've got my numbers right, today is my 970th post and my 654th Dubhed selection (if you count individual sides of a mixtape, which I am). No wonder my back up drive is looking full...!

I thought I'd struggle to find enough songs in my collection with 'three' in the title. No such trouble, as it happens, to the extent that I've left out some really obvious ones (apologies, De La Soul) and mix it up a little.

So, the name of this mix. Three multiplied by three three times is 81 so this selection is of course 81 minutes long (or as near as dammit). Each song contains 3 or three in the title. There are 20 tracks in total, which as you'll know is...not divisible by three. Well, you can overwork a theme sometimes, can't you?

 

Today's cover art is photo of Lagos - Resistance, Lagos Roads, a 1992 work by Otobong Nkanga, born in Nigeria, based in Belgium and whose exhibition was viewed and enjoyed by Clan K in Spain a few weeks ago. And yes, there's the 'three' theme again.

If you made it to the end of this post, an extra thank you. Rest assured, a return to the usual nonsense tomorrow.

 

1) 3 a.m. Eternal (Rankin' Club Version By Moody Boys & The Mad Professor): The KLF (1991)

2) Yeah x 3 (X-Press 2 Remix): David Holmes ft. Raven Violet (2023)

3) Three Card Trick: The Clash (1985)

4) #3 (In The Corn Belt) (Album Version By Arthur Russell): Dinosaur L (1981)

4.1) The Three Sneezes (Original Story by Roger Duvoisin) (Part 1): Martin Wallace (2006)

5) Three (Album Version By Massive Attack & Nellee Hooper): Massive Attack ft. Nicolette (1994)

6) Three MC's And One DJ (Album Version By Beastie Boys & Mario Caldato Jr.): Beastie Boys (1998)

7) Three Minute Hero: The Selecter (1980)

8) Three And Nine: Roxy Music (1974)

9) The Three Sisters: The Cure (1994)

9.1) The Three Sneezes (Original Story by Roger Duvoisin) (Part 2): Martin Wallace (2006)

10) 3 Gypsies In A Restaurant: Billy MacKenzie (1996)

11) Three Monkey Tango: Marc Almond (2006)

12) Spit Three Times (Album Version By Kieran Hebden): Neneh Cherry (2014)

13) Jltf 3 (Ambient): Moby ft. Melody Zimmer (2009)

14) 3 Of Us (4 Your Club Mix By Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero): Humpe Humpe (1985)

15) Three Wishes: Let It Come Down (Kramer & Xan Tyler) (2020)

16) The Three Shadows Pt.1: Bauhaus (1982)

16.1) The Three Sneezes (Original Story by Roger Duvoisin) (Part 3): Martin Wallace (2006)

17) We Three Kings Of Orient Aren't: Jamie Wednesday (1986)

18) Three Girl Rhumba (Cover of Wire): Bark Psychosis (1996)

19) 3 a.m. Eternal (Almighty Radio Edit): People Of 'K' ft. Crystal (2014)

20) The Three Sneezes (Original Story by Roger Duvoisin) (Part 4): Martin Wallace (2006)

Three x3 x3 x3 (1:20:59) (KF) (Mega)

Disco Demolition Night

On 12th July 1979, upwards of 50,000 people turned up at Comiskey Park baseball stadium, home of the Chicago White Sox. Not to watch a game per se but responding to a rallying call from a local DJ, an invitation to bring along a disco record to throw in a dumpster and watch the vinyl being blown up en masse.

The event didn't go as planned: what was partly intended as a hype for the headline match between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers went south as the pre-match event turned into a pitch invasion, rendering the field unusable and causing the White Sox to forfeit the game.

 

The event also spoke greatly about the mindset of those that attended. The records that ended up on the pyre were not limited to disco but encompassed funk, soul, R&B, that is, music created and inspired by women, black people, Latino culture, gay audiences, nightclubs, etc., and seen as a threat to WASP males of a certain age. 

 

The event had an immediate effect on record company investment, sales and association with disco music. Chic were one of the high profile casualties: on this day in 1979, Good Times achieved a peak of #12 in the UK and although they had a Top 20 and a Top 30 placing with their next two singles, that was it for them. 

 

Ironically, the biggest disco single in the UK on Disco Demolition Night was Light My Fire, a cover of The Doors song by Amii Stewart, also reaching a peak position of #5.

 

Thankfully, there wasn't a lasting impact and good music and common sense prevailed. Amii was back in the charts again with a remix of Light My Fire (a double A-Side with Knock On Wood) in 1985, reaching #7 this time around. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards continued as a production powerhouse, together and separately, and subsequent generations have quite rightly fallen in love with Chic.

The backlash against disco also arguably created some inspired new musical shapes and genres, not least the music of Arthur Russell, particularly as Dinosaur L, and the remixes of François Kevorkian, whose mammoth body of work has continued into this decade. I didn't discover Go Bang! - by Dinosaur L, remixed by Kevorkian - until the early 1990s but it's an absolute cracker. YouTube has offered up a retrospective video created by Aurora Halal for your viewing and listening pleasure.

 

Alex Petridis wrote an interesting reflection on Disco Demolition Night on the infamous event's 40th anniversary in 2019, which you can find here. A sad reminder that sexism, racism and homophobia have not been consigned to the dustbin of history.