You were looking at me, I was looking at you

Bunny wins

OK - it's not a working day, but some traditions never fade. As the blue skies beckon in a long Easter weekend (and for me, the start of ten days off), it's time to get that party started in style - with one of the catchiest of 1970s dance classics and some show-off Soul Train dancers to boot!

Thank Disco It's Good Friday!

Edwin Starr - Contact [Soul Train]

Across the crowded disco room
Through a maze of dancing people
She sits so quiet and all alone
Wanting to get the disco fever

And then she raised her head
Her eyes caught mine
And that was all that I needed
In her eyes I saw the need for love
The warm, soft feeling
'Cause we made

Eye to eye contact
Eye to eye contact (Oh, oh, oh yeah)
Eye to eye contact
(We made) Eye to eye contact
You and me

Contact!
You were looking at me
I was looking at you
You were looking at me

Across the crowded disco room
Oh, your eyes told me the story
My heart was beating like the drum
As I fought my way over

I never took my eyes away from yours
Not even for a moment
What I saw in your eyes made me realise
(You I wanted) Yeah, yeah, yeah

Eye to eye contact
(We made) Eye to eye contact (Oh, oh, oh yeah)
Eye to eye contact
(We made) Eye to eye contact
You and me

I was looking at you
You were looking at me
I was looking at you
You were looking at me

Contact!
Girl don't you get uptight
Just dance
Everything gonna be alright
Just dance
Take a chance
Oh, and dance

I sure like what you got
You sho nuff looking hot (dance)
I sure like what you got
You sho nuff looking hot (dance)
Yeah, come on and dance

As for me, dear reader, I am winging my way to Tottenham Hale to catch my coach to Essex for a (hopefully) fruitful weekend's plant shopping!

"Normal" service should resume after I return on Monday.

Have a good one!!

---

PS - THIS!

It's traditional.

Tiger Lillies [with the Thirteen Jesuses] - Banging in the Nails

Happy Easter.

It's a musical, natural high

We're almost there, folks...

As another weekend looms, it's grey and murky again here in London, just in time for the big outdoor events: the finals of Wimbledon, the British Summer Time festival in Hyde Park (Stevie Nicks tonight, Our Princess Kylie tomorrow), the Wireless festival closer to us in Finsbury Park (Nicki Minaj tonight, Doja Cat on Sunday) - and the football final in Germany...

Us? We're going to Cadogan Hall again tomorrow, for William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast!

Meanwhile, let the celebrations with which we always greet the end of a week commence - starring the magnificent tonsils of Edwin Starr ["born in Tennessee, found fame in Detroit, died in Nottingham"], a pair of dead-eyed dancers with crispy flicks, and a song that was actually in our charts this week 45 years ago - and Thank Disco It's Friday!

Edwin Starr - H.A.P.P.Y Radio

Have a great weekend, dear reader!

That's What I Want

And so, farewell, then, Mr Barrett Strong. Who? I hear you ask...

In a long, long writing partnership with the late Norman Whitfield, Mr Strong was a powerhouse songwriter for Motown Records, and many of his creations remain beloved classics to this day. Including these:

Nick Kamen in 1985 Levi's Ad "Laundry Day" [Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through the Grapevine]

Temptations - Papa Was a Rollin' Stone

Paul Young - Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)

Flying Lizards - Money (That's What I Want)

Edwin Starr - War

Steps - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby

Tina Turner - Ball of Confusion

Temptations - Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)

The Northern Soul dancefloor in Fabulon is filling to the brim as we speak...

RIP, Barrett Strong (5th February 1941 - 29th January 2023)

I was looking at you! You were looking at me!

Born in Tennessee, found fame in Detroit, died in Nottingham. An unusual line of progression, one might think - unless you're referring to the life of the marvellous Edwin Starr, whose birthday it was yesterday. For, long after his major success in his homeland (with classics such as War and 25 Miles) had subsided, his career really took off over here in the glittering 1970s, and he remained a legend on the Northern Soul scene until his death.



We're heading for the weekend, and with it all the jollity and partying that may bring, so what better way to get us in the mood than to bop along in chiffon and hotpants with the combination of Mr Starr's superb dance hit Contact and the formidable talents of Legs & Co?

I think we should... and Thank Disco It's Friday!

Legs & Co - Edwin Starr - Contact

Edwin Starr (21st January 1942 – 2nd April 2003)

It's a musical, natural high

Ah, the weekend finally hoves into view.

To get the party started, let us squeeze into our boob-tubes, grab the Elnett and...

...get H.A.P.P.Y!

With Edwin Starr leading the line-dance, who could not?

Edwin Starr - H.A.P.P.Y Radio

Have a fab one!

Across the crowded disco room

Oh, how I need this weekend! It may have only been a short post-Easter week - but after a lovely break away from all that, the pain of being sat in a hideously stuffy office - while outside Spring is at its very best - is creeping through to my very bones...

Still, we have Imelda Staunton in Gypsy to look forward to tonight - and the inimitable Edwin Starr (ably accompanied by the suited-and-booted-wide-collared-and-flared dancers from Soul Train) to get us in the mood for a party - so thank heavens for small mercies, I say. Roll on 4.30!

Thank Disco It's Friday!

Edwin Starr - Contact [Soul Train]

Across the crowded disco room
Through a maze of dancing people
She sits so quiet and all alone
Wanting to get the disco fever

And then she raised her head
Her eyes caught mine
And that was all that I needed
In her eyes I saw the need for love
The warm, soft feeling
'Cause we made

Eye to eye contact
Eye to eye contact (Oh, oh, oh yeah)
Eye to eye contact
(We made) Eye to eye contact
You and me

Contact!
You were looking at me
I was looking at you
You were looking at me

Across the crowded disco room
Oh, your eyes told me the story
My heart was beating like the drum
As I fought my way over

I never took my eyes away from yours
Not even for a moment
What I saw in your eyes made me realise
(You I wanted) Yeah, yeah, yeah

Eye to eye contact
(We made) Eye to eye contact (Oh, oh, oh yeah)
Eye to eye contact
(We made) Eye to eye contact
You and me

I was looking at you
You were looking at me
I was looking at you
You were looking at me

Contact!
Girl don't you get uptight
Just dance
Everything gonna be alright
Just dance
Take a chance
Oh, and dance

I sure like what you got
You sho nuff looking hot (dance)
I sure like what you got
You sho nuff looking hot (dance)
Yeah, come on and dance

Oh, yes!

Have a good weekend, laydeez'n'gentlemen...

Happy weekend!

As we hurtle towards another weekend, I think we need something to lift our spirits against the backdrop of Arctic weather, student riots and the return of "Cold War" politics. How about this delightful little number from the Soul king himself, Mr Edwin Starr?

Get your boa on, hairspray your flicks 'till they're crispy, grab those glitter stillies, and boogie!! Thank Disco It's Friday!

Edwin Starr - H.A.P.P.Y Radio

Edwin Starr