The recent heatwave has put me in mind of the now mythical ‘long hot summer of 1976’, half a century ago. I still remember it so well - what a time to be young!
The record that encapsulated that summer like no other was Candi Staton’s ‘Young Hearts Run Free’. The single would climb to its peak position of #2 in July, held off the top spot by another of that year’s defining records, ‘You To Me Are Everything’ by Liverpool’s The Real Thing. However, ‘Young Hearts’ was certainly the UK’s biggest club tune of ‘76, topping Record Mirror’s end of year listings.
The Guardian said the song “sounds blissful – as if specifically designed to waft out of radios during the sweltering summer of 1976 – but the lyrics are a rueful, downcast cautionary tale of ‘lost and lonely’ marital discord and years ‘filled with tears’.
It’s the melancholy in the track that gives it its special quality, setting it apart. It’s an up track that hits you in a deep spot and leaves something lingering.
‘Young Hearts Run Free’ was Staton’s biggest UK hit, although in 1991, and again in ‘97, another inspirational single, ‘You Got The Love’, credited to The Source Feat Candi Staton, twice reached the top 5. This combined Staton’s acappella performance of the song from 1986 with a re-recording of Jamie Principle’s ‘Your Love’, and followed a famous bootleg by the UK’s DJ Eren, which had mashed the tracks together.
That remarkable summer of ‘76 really was something else, the Met Office summarising that ‘the long hot summer of 1976 which eventually ended in September, was the culmination of a 16-month dry spell – the longest recorded over England and Wales since 1727’. One of the side-effects of this was an explosion in the ladybird population, and anyone who was around at the time may remember walls and bushes turned red and black as swarms of ladybirds covered them!
Written and produced by Dave Crawford, ‘Young Hearts Run Free’ remains a disco/soul masterpiece – the song would subsequently reach a younger generation when, twenty years on from its original release, it appeared in the 1996 movie ‘Romeo + Juliet’, covered by Kym Mazelle.
I started sending 10 track selections to Blues & Soul 50 years ago. Here are some early examples - the first from May ‘76, then June and July.
I’d just turned 16 and was working across a number of nights in two local New Brighton nightspots - the Chelsea Reach and The Penny Farthing. I’d been playing at these venues for around 6 months, starting out when I was 15.
The Chelsea was by far my favourite of the two, but the Penny had its moments. The first funk night I did was at the Penny on Mondays, a far cry from Legend and Wigan Pier, five years on, but nevertheless a start, where I set out my intention to play as much upfront black music as I possibly could, trying to avoid the more commercial/pop tracks that were part of the playlist outside of the specialist nights.
I was buying imports from the start of ‘76, via a shop in Birkenhead called Rox. My first import single was Parliament’s ‘P Funk’, with the inaugural Brass Construction LP my first import album. I’d come across these tracks on a record list, pinned on the wall, of the big tracks Liverpool DJ Les Spaine was playing at a club called The Timepiece. Later in the year I’d go there, meet Les, and see the promised land - a scene like what Les had going at The Timepiece was what I aspired to, an aim I was fortunately able to fulfill later down the line at Legend.
I felt I’d hit the big time when I saw my selections in print, alongside other DJs from across the country, including some esteemed names - Blues & Soul the key publication for the black music scene.
There’s a few duds in there, but overall I think the inclusions are pretty solid. I’d learn how important it was to list your latest, rather than your biggest records in B&S, for if you missed the publication date and your chart didn’t appear until the next edition, your selections could seem behind the times as other DJs listed tracks that had come in on import in the meantime - it was all about staying ahead of the pack, being the DJ, at least in your area, who was playing the new tunes first.
Really looking forward to a trio of summer dates at the three Freight Island spaces, all within just over a month, including two free events. Scroll for individual flyers.
LONDON @freightbrixton SOLD OUT – THIS SATURDAY For those of you who’ve got tickets, I’m going to be playing between 5.45-7.45pm – they’ve extended the day by an hour, concluding now at 8pm as they gear up for the England match at 10pm. The venue is open from midday onwards, with DJs @amyycutter and @chrishallidaypr playing beforehand.
MANCHESTER @freightislandmcr FREE ALL-DAY PARTY – SAT 18 JULY Crazy Wisdom takeover, which also features @che.wax, @sno_nongi, @rustymaunders and @dansoulsmith. It’s a 2pm kick off, running through until 11pm.
NEWCASTLE @freightislandnewcastle FREE É SOUL CULTURA PARTY - SAT 15 AUG @lukeuna takes his much-loved @esoulcultua party to the North-East, where he’ll be joined by @lasantaleticia, @hardwaybros (Alfos) and myself, between 5pm-1am.
Escape To Freight Island opened in Manchester in 2020, during lockdown. My first gig there was under covid restrictions. From this inauspicious beginning, the site has gone from strength to strength, leading to the expansion into to Brixton and Newcastle with Leeds soon to follow.
Really looking forward to a trio of summer dates at the three Freight Island spaces, all within just over a month, including two free events. Scroll for individual flyers.
LONDON @freightbrixton SOLD OUT – THIS SATURDAY For those of you who’ve got tickets, I’m going to be playing between 5.45-7.45pm – they’ve extended the day by an hour, concluding now at 8pm as they gear up for the England match at 10pm. The venue is open from midday onwards, with DJs @amyycutter and chrishallidaypr_ playing beforehand.
MANCHESTER @freightislandmcr FREE ALL-DAY PARTY – SAT 18 JULY Crazy Wisdom takeover, which also features @che.wax, @sno_nongi, @rustymaunders and @dansoulsmith. It’s a 2pm kick off, running through until 11pm.
NEWCASTLE @freightislandnewcastle FREE É SOUL CULTURA PARTY - SAT 15 AUG @lukeuna takes his much-loved @esoulcultua party to the North-East, where he’ll be joined by @lasantaleticia, @hardwaybros (Alfos) and myself, between 5pm-1am.
Escape To Freight Island opened in Manchester in 2020, during lockdown. My first gig there was under covid restrictions. From this inauspicious beginning, the site has gone from strength to strength, leading to the expansion into to Brixton and Newcastle with Leeds soon to follow.
A year and a half into our Record Mirror Disco Charts podcast series, we welcome a special guest for this month’s episode – DJ, producer and house music legend, @kerrichandler (link in bio).
We take Kerri back to February 1984, when, although still only 14, he was already immersed in dance music. His father was Joseph Chandler, a noted mobile DJ based in New Jersey with illustrious musical friends and associates – this fortuitous circumstance providing Kerri with his grounding in the industry.
DJing at the Rally Record Club in East Orange, accompanying his father on DJ gigs, and interning in recording studios, he set the course for a career which, later in the decade, would take him to behind the booth at Newark’s hallowed Club Zanzibar. He’d subsequently find himself in demand internationally, taking his place at the vanguard of house.
His recording career kicked off with 1990s ‘Super Lover/’Get It Off’, before he launched his own Madhouse label in 1992. In the decades between, he’s consistently issued quality house cuts, experiencing a surge in popularity during recent years, which has seen him connect with a younger audience.
Ever pioneering, he’s also renowned for his reel-to-reel sets, DJing directly from pre-recorded tapes.
As always, I’m joined for the podcast by Mike Atkinson, the editor of ‘James Hamilton’s Disco Pages 1975-1982’ & ‘Dance Pages 1983-1989’ (both linked in bio), from which the charts are sourced. Mike counts down from 20-1, complete with Hamilton’s reviews for each inclusion. He’s also added a playlist on Mixcloud (miketd), which features all the chart inclusions (both as full versions and snippets for quick reference).
A must for all disco lovers, trainspotters and trivia buffs – the RMDC podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon and Deezer, and can be accessed via: https://shows.acast.com/record-mirror-disco-charts.
Big thanks to @petefowler for the RMDC logo & @dansoulsmith for episode image.
RIP New York’s Toney Lee, the Radar recording artist who unleashed two big club cuts in 1982 - ‘Reach Up’ and ‘Love So Deep’. He died on Wednesday, aged 72.
Oddly, we were talking about Toney Lee on Wednesday evening when recording an upcoming podcast - in relation to the 1983 Status IV track, ‘You Ain’t Really Down’, also on Radar, on which he’s credited as co-writer and vocal arranger.
Producer, Eric Matthew was behind Radar and, apart from Lee, he produced (sometimes in collaboration with Darryl Payne) big early ‘80s tracks by Sharon Redd, Sinnamon, Electrik Funk, Dr Jeckyll & Hyde, and his own group, Gary’s Gang.
Lee would have a minor US R&B hit in 1985, whilst ‘My Baby Loves Me’ just missed the US Dance top 40 in 1987. The 1999 Phats & Small hit, ‘Turn Around’, famously sampled ‘Reach Up’, bringing the original back into focus....
Remembering James Hamilton, who died 30 years ago today, aged just 53, pictured here with legendary DJ/producer @djjellybeanbenitez, to whom he was presenting a gold disc for sales of his 1987 LP, ‘Just Visiting This Planet’.
Anyone who follows my posts will hopefully now be aware of James’ legacy, highlighted by two books that have been published in recent years, compiling his Record Mirror club columns – ‘Disco Pages 1975-1982’ and ‘Dance Pages 1983-1989’, both edited by Mike Atkinson.
The books have undoubtedly brought visibility to his pivotal contribution to UK dance culture, which had almost been forgotten in the post-rave fallout. Even now, I’d still figure that most DJs under a certain age remain oblivious to his influence.
Out of the books came the Record Mirror Disco Charts podcast, a monthly series that launched in January 2025, with a stellar line-up of special guests discussing random Disco Top 20s, punctuated with James’ original reviews from the time.
Must also give a shout out to @balearicmike, who’s been posting some great content inspired by James’ reviews in the books.
If you’re into dance history, or the music from the ‘70s and ‘80s, but haven’t come across James Hamilton, suffice to say he was the oracle when it came to UK club culture, both in reporting it and helping to shape it.
UPCOMING DJ DATES: Almost halfway through an already highly eventful 2026, and time to get outdoors with the summer parties and festivals now to the fore.
Next up for me is Saturday in Newcastle for a free party at Frate (not to be confused with Freight Island) for the Restoration takeover, which runs from 2pm-10pm, before June concludes with a trip to the south-westerly tip of England for the Golowan festival in Penzance.
In July, its Bristol, London, Dundee, where I’ll be hooking-up with my old mucker @dickytrisco, our nights in the Reading Rooms fondly remembered, and Manchester at Freight Island, which was originally advertised for July 25th, but has now been moved forward a week to July 18th – got something special lined-up on the day, going to make an announcement later in the week.
July concludes with festival appearance for Sancho Panza in Hertfordshire on the 26th, where I play the Middle Row, and Wilderness in Oxfordshire, for a return to @theriddle.
Lloyd Bradley’s new book, ‘Funk Is Its Own Reward’, is a groove odyssey, tracing funk from its late-‘60s roots until it hands over the baton to hip-hop with the release of ‘Rappers Delight’ in 1979.
Not a stranger to massive undertakings, Lloyd was the author of the classic reggae history, ‘Bass Culture’ (2001) and the hugely insightful ‘Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music In The Capital’ (2013). Both are absolutely essential for enthusiasts of black music, and now add a third, for ‘Funk Is Its Own Reward’, at approaching 700 pages, gets real deep.
It’s a book I’ve been eagerly awaiting since Lloyd told me it was in process. Having inherited a ‘60s soul singles collection from my older brother and sister, I was immersed in black music and was naturally drawn towards funk. Artists like James Brown, Ohio Players, Kool & The Gang, Rufus, The Fatback Band and Earth, Wind & Fire were constant throughout my teenage years, and I discovered Parliament when I was 15 via what I still regard to be one of the most otherworldly tracks cut to wax, 1975’s ‘P Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)’ – this would be my first import buy.
I aspired to be a funk DJ, like one of my big inspirations, Les Spaine, the DJ at The Timepiece in Liverpool, who played the latest funk imports to an largely black audience who really knew the score. He was described by Blues & Soul magazine as the country’s top funk DJ.
DJ Paulette and I were recently discussing how hardly any black people were writing about black music/culture here back then, but Lloyd was an exception to the rule, who having blagged his way into the Blues & Soul offices, mingling in when Parliament visited, as an unofficial part of the entourage, leading to Lloyd reviewing albums and gigs for the magazine, before he took on his first major interview, going right in at the deep end with James Brown.
This isn’t some detached analysis, Lloyd is writing from a lived experience - funk, along with soul and reggae, the soundtrack of his youth.
‘Funk Is Its Own Reward’ is published by Constable and is available via all the main book outlets....
Great to be back at @moovinfestival this coming Friday, where I’ll be playing the Mini Moo stage between 8.30-10.30pm - @che.wax, Soul Of Man, @herblifeandthings and, to round things off, @fish56octagon, will complete the Mini Moo bill.
With @groovearmada and @2manydj’s headlining, it’s a huge line-up, Mini Moo alone hosting the likes of Mike Pickering & @graemepark, @danshake_, @xpre552, @_jondasilva___, @djjagskills, @utahsaints. @wearekklass and @chadjackson1 over the weekend.
To echo the caption, looking forward, as always, to seeing lots of friends and familiar faces on site....
