We had it all - thirteen inches!

Another dull, tedious week in work drags its sorry arse to a close... Thank gawd!

I think we deserve a paaaarty!

This is more often than not the traditional spot where I hanker after spangles, sequins and cheesy bells-and-whistles, and post something of that ilk - but how about on this occasion we ramp up the ante a little? I've been trawling through the archives, and stumbled across a choon that I loved twelve years ago - and, unsurprisingly, it got me "moving in a rhythmical fashion" [see Mr DeVice's recent post for the discussion on that] all over again!

Thank Disco House It's Friday!

Breach ft. Andreya Triana - Everything You Never Had (We Had It All)

Have a faboo weekend, dear reader!

---

FOOTNOTE:

It's Krampusnacht again!!

Let's revisit that thirteen-inch tongue...

Actually - Krampus Redux

[Click the "Krampus" label at the foot of this post for more on him.]

Dancing to rhythms that make us vibrate

This sort of thing always happens when we go to Wetherspoons...

Yay! The weekend's looming - and it's a busy one ahead. Tonight, Madam Arcati and I will be meeting in our local Wetherspoons for something to eat and then heading off to the lofty environs of "Ally Pally" (Alexandra Palace) for the BBC's Friday Night is Music Night tribute concert for Dame Julie Andrews, tomorrow it is The Last Night of the Proms on telly (so I need to dig the Union Jacks out!), and on Sunday we're off to the dinky Park Theatre for An Evening With Julian Clary!

I'll need a day off after all that excitement.

Meanwhile, let's get the party started - French House style - and Thank Disco It's Friday!

French Affair - My Heart Goes Boom (La Di Da Da)

Oh, mon amour, laisse to toucher
Caresser ta peau
Sa me fait rever
Danser sur des rythmes qui nous font vibrer
Je t'aime pour toujour et sa tu le sais

Apparently.

Have a great weekend, dear reader!

Never fade from my mind, yeah-ay

It's so simple, you sissy Marys!

Thank fuck for that! First weeks back after a lovely time off are always horrible, but this week has been a nightmare. I'll be glad to see the back of it, and the clock is ticking...

To cheer the mood, especially after all the yucky stormy autumnal weather we've been having this week, today and the rest of the weekend are forecast to see a return to warmer temperatures and sunshine. Yay! Here's something suitably sunny to get the party started - Thank Disco Vocal House It's Friday!

Solu Music ft. Kimblee - Fade

Great song, terrible video. I doubt that's the real vocalist, either.

Have a great weekend, dear reader!

I CAN stand it today, actually...

Clogs!!

...because at 4pm today, I will officially be on holiday - and won't be returning to the benighted office until September. Yay!

A bit late this year for our annual pilgrimage to our beloved Amsterdam (my birthday having passed last weekend, when we are usually there) - but there's a very good reason.

We fly out next Wednesday, for several event-filled days of fun and merriment as the 'Dam celebrates its 750th birthday - with the Grachtenfestival, the Tall Ships, a viewing platform on the roof of the Nieuwe Kerk, food festivals and much more besides!

To kick off the party mood, how about one of the cheesiest of cheesy Dutch Eurodance acts? As Mr DeVice commented last time I posted this, "Where on earth was that video shot - outside Fawlty Towers??"

Twenty 4 Seven feat. Captain Hollywood - I Can't Stand It

Thank Disco Eurodance It's Friday!

Have a great weeekend, folks!

I'm not sure, but I think he luvs his baby

I'm back, from outta space... [Well, Portsmouth, actually - on "family duties" with Mother.]

With my birthday looming this Sunday (and it was my sister's last weekend), tomorrow is a "gathering of the clans" in Regent's Park - for the Grand Annual Picnic! And for once, the weather looks utterly perfect.

With all that in mind - despite my weary bones after the past couple of days and all that travel - it's time to party!

Can it really be thirty years this month since this absolute classic choon was firing up our dancefloors? How time flies. Thank Disco Ibiza House It's Friday!

The Original - I Luv U Baby

I smell dry ice...

Have a good weekend, dear reader!

Sweet!

Yes! The weekend's almost here - so it's time to let our hair down...

With the sad news that DJ Eamon Downes has departed, much too soon, for the Great Rave Tent in the Sky - what better way to wave goodbye to another tedious week than with this, his most famous hit? An irresistible choon from the "Decade of Dance"...

Thank Disco Old-Skool It's Friday!

Liquid - Sweet Harmony

Ravin'! We're ravin'!
[We go to Wetherspoons, have a few drinks and a burger and go home, more like.]

Have a great weekend, peeps!

Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air

A long, grey, chilly week shivers to its conclusion - and it's time to celebrate!

In fact, let's make it a double celebration, for yesterday was the 85th birthday of the simply faboo Miss Candi Staton, one of the last presiding "Queens of Disco" -

Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free

- and, indeed, of House!

Source ft. Candi Staton - You Got The Love

Thank Disco Candi It's Friday - and have a great weekend, dear reader!

Feel the melody that's in the air

Waves of relief are beginning to wash over me, as the scent of a weekend wafts tantalisingly in the air. The forecast doesn't look too bad, either - temps in the low 60s F and, importantly, no rain! - so there's every chance I might be able to embark on "phase 1" of clearing autumnal clag off the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers ["phase 2" will be once the bastard weed trees shed all their leaves in a few weeks' time]...

Meanwhile, let's plan the party! How about a House ("yeah, you know House!") classic to warm us up nicely? Until it was on BBC Radio 2's Dance Sounds of the 90s recently, I hadn't heard this one in years...

Thank Disco Jack It's Friday!

N-Joi - Anthem

Have a good one, peeps!

Of peanut farmers, sperm and other bollocks

The longest-lived US president in history.

I like "snippets posts", so here's another...

• Birthday news: Many happy returns to centenarian Jimmy Carter, as well as former newsreader Sandy Gall (a mere whippersnapper at 97), Dame Julie Andrews (89), conductor André Rieu (75), Cyprus, Nigeria and Tuvalu...

  ...and Youssou N'Dour (65)! Any excuse (if one were needed) to play - again - one of my fave songs of all time:

Youssou N'Dour ft. Neneh Cherry - Seven Seconds

• Sperm shortage news: The UK fertility regulator has announced a shortage of sperm donors, and has raised its "expenses" payment to £45 per clinic visit. That's more than some rent boys earn! According to the Daily Mash: Nathan Muir, a regular donor, said: "My bollocks just got a 22 per cent pay rise. Beat that, junior doctors!"

• Fucking weird old British traditions news: Sexy ginger-minge film star Damien Lewis was just the latest in a long line of famous people who took part in the annual herding of sheep over the River Thames by the Freemen of the City of London last Sunday. I wonder who they'll get next year? After all, Dame Joan Collins, Henry Winkler, Luciano Pavarotti, Ed Sheeran, Dame Judi Dench, Stephen Sondheim, Dame Vera Lynn and Stephen Fry (among many others) have all done it!
• Cosmic news: A comet that has not been seen from Earth since Neanderthals were alive has reappeared in the sky, with astronomers saying it might be visible to the naked eye.
• Please save us from a 1970s home decor revival! news: Apparently "Avocado" bathroom suites are back in fashion. Bleuuurrrggh!
• I wonder if it's ripe? news: The world's oldest piece of cheese was found in a 3,600-year-old sarcophagus in China.
• And finally - Sports news: Premier League football club Blackburn Rovers began using a 90s rave track last month as their walk out song in the 2024-25 season. Despite the fact it was released 34 years ago in 1990, I only heard it myself for the first time on the radio fairly recently - but it's rather fab!

Together - Hardcore Uproar

And the weather? Absolute torrential-downpour-grey-miserable-shit!

Get down to the hiphop be-bop-a-lula

Almost there, folks. Almost there...

As another much-needed weekend of fun and frolics hoves into view [and we have another theatre trip to look forward to tomorrow - Jerry's Girls at the Menier Chocolate Factory], we need to get this party started!

Here's a little "blast from the past" - from thirty-three years ago, when House Music ruled the world...

Bassheads - Is There Anybody Out There?

Thank Disco It's Friday!

Have a great one, dear reader...

---

PS Yes, I have featured it before - as a recipe!

That hardbag hook!

Wheeee!

The end of another week is nigh...

...and we need to get this party started! How about a nostalgic trip back down memory lane to the summer of 1992, and the absolute #1 club hit of that season, courtesy of "Our Man in Chelmsford"?

Thank Disco Hardbag(?) It's Friday!

Felix - Don't You Want Me?

Thirty-two years ago?!!!!

Sob.

Jump wise! *

This has been an absolute bastard of a week, work-wise, and I can't wait for it to end so I can actually enjoy some of this ongoing heatwave the UK is experiencing...

To get us in the mood, I fancy something loud and shouty - and incredibly catchy - like this classic choon from [gulp!] twenty-six years ago:

Double 99 - RipGroove

Oh, yes!

Thank Disco "UK Garage" It's Friday!

Enjoy the hot weekend, dear reader!

[* or at least that's what I think he's saying through all that reverb...]

This is my church. This is where I heal my hurt

We've enjoyed listening to the fantabulosa Paul O'Grady back on the radio again. The (gulp!) King's Speech has been delivered. The dinner's starting to digest. We're swilling in a combination of sherry, port and gin.

Time for something a bit energetic to blow out all the cobwebs, and burn off a few of those roast spuds!

With the sad news of the death of the "godfather of hands-in-the-air trance anthems" Maxi Jazz, the charismatic lead singer of Faithless, what else can we do but turn the volume up to eleven - and rave on?!!

Faithless - Insomnia

Faithless - God is a DJ

This is my church
This is where I heal my hurt
It's a natural grace
Of watching young life shape
It's in minor keys
Solutions and remedies
Enemies becoming friends
When bitterness ends
This is my church

This is my church
This is where I heal my hurt
It's in the world I become
Content in the hum
Between voice and drum
It's in change
The poetic justice of cause and effect
Respect, love, compassion
This is my church
This is where I heal my hurt
For tonight
God is a DJ
This is my church

RIP, Maxi Jazz (born Maxwell Fraser, 14th June 1957 – 23rd December 2022)

I'm in love dancing

I could sit and watch this for hours... All over my face? Yes please.

Phew. Another very welcome weekend is on the horizon. Temperatures are getting more recognisable as what we should expect at this time of year, and the warm coat's being dusted-off from the cupboard under the stairs. Of course, no chilly air can prevent us getting into a party mood..!

So let's start with a genuine underground club number that regularly crops up on any list of "Best Disco Records of All Time":

Loose Joints - Is It All Over My Face?

The track, which was released way back in 1980, was never a commercial hit, but is widely acknowledged as being influential on the DJs behind the creation of what became known as House music later that same decade.

Its influence loomed large way into this century, too, when in 2012 Glasgow DJ JD Twitch released his own "tribute" version. This video reminds me - the season of the dreaded Xmas Office Parties is upon us!

Thank Disco It's Friday!

JD Twitch - Is It All Over The Place?

Have a faboo weekend, dear reader!

An EDM recipe

My kind of cookery!

Rylan just played a really catchy choon from 2018 on his Radio 2 show. I have heard it before, but I have always thought it sounded like something else - and that "something else" always eluded me. Now, with a little research, I think I may have solved it...

...take a pinch of this...

2 Unlimited - Get Ready For This

...and a dollop of this...

Faithless - Insomnia

...and you end up with this!

Europa (Jax Jones & Martin Solveig) with Madison Beer - All Day and Night

A delicious recipe, indeed.

A weekend recipe

The slow crawl towards the weekend begins - and for a change, the forecast is for temperatures to hit double figures by Sunday. Woo hoo - we need to get ourselves in the mood for a party!

But first, let's make the main course...

Take a little piece of this:

Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime

...a smattering of this...

Pink Floyd - Is There Anybody Out There?

...a pinch of this...

The Osmonds - Crazy Horses

...and a helluva lot of this...

Afrika Bambaataa - Just Get Up And Dance

...and you get this! How the hell can this choon be thirty years old?! How?!]

Bassheads - Is There Anybody Out There (1991)

Thank Disco The Bassheads It's Friday!

Have a great one, folks!

Now this is how it started

It's cold and miserable today, and there is a risk of frost this weekend. Brrr!

Nevertheless, it is "Le Weekend", and (for me) it's pay day - so let's take ourselves off to Ibiza (I wish)!

Pete Tong x Riton x Vula (feat. The Heritage Orchestra and Jules Buckley) - Love Can't Turn Around

...and by way of a memory jog, with its "no-expense-spent" video here is the (far superior) original from 1986, featuring what looks for all the world like "The Green Triangle" from a tin of Quality Street on legs...

Thank Disco House It's Friday!

Farley Jackmaster Funk featuring Darryl Pandy - Love Can't Turn Around

Have a great weekend, dear reader! Keep warm...

Recipe time!

Dinahmow is tutting again at all this "new-fangled stuff"...

Take a large dollop of this:

Vernon Burch - Get Up [1980]

...a pinch of this:

Herbie Hancock - Bring Down the Birds [Blow Up, 1966]

...mix together with a smattering of complete madness - and you get this!

Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart

This classic - a staple of house parties here at Dolores Delargo Towers - was the summer hit of 1990, and still sounds fresh today!

Woo! Yeah!

click to embiggen

Another tortuous week's work is almost over. It has been a slog!

Never mind, eh? Tomorrow we have a visit to London from The Mother, and my sis and I are taking her to see Princess Diana's frocks at Kensington Palace - that should be a glittering day out, I'm sure!

It's also a Bank Holiday weekend - yay! - [our last three-day weekend until Xmas] so despite the grim, cold weather, we have plenty to celebrate. Let's get the party started with a lady for whom the epithet "the higher the hair, the closer to god" might have been coined - the late, great Miss Lyn Collins...

...and Thank Disco It's Friday!

First up, a remix of her original (James Brown-produced) number:

Lyn Collins - Think (About It) [DJ Richie Rich Remix]

...and here is the great lady again, having (only slightly) toned-down the wiggage, with an equally funky number:

Lyn Collins - Rock Me Again & Again

Now that's an impressive set of tonsils.

Have a great weekend, dear reader!

---

Footnote:

Think (About It) is one of the most-sampled records ever - the Woo! Yeah! refrain alone was integral to the early days of House and Hip-Hop music...

Down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down

My first week of annual leave is reaching its end - at this very moment we should have been in Amsterdam, waking up to the sights and thrills of that great city, dammit! - and the weather continues to be crap. It's been windy, sunny, cloudy and pissing-down with rain in turn every day this week, and today and tomorrow we're forecast more thunderstorms, would you believe? The days are getting noticeably shorter and yet, apart from one or two sizzling hot moments it desn't feel as if we have actually had a summer at all...

Hey ho. Another weekend beckons, and it's time to plan some kind of party by way of a celebration! [I am actually off tonight with John-John to the first post-lockdown reunion of a gaggle of former colleagues we worked with at my last job, which might be a giggle.]

With the sad news this week that Chicago house DJ Paul Johnson has ascended the glittering pathway to Fabulon, it seems fitting that his most famous hit should be the one to get proceedings off with a flourish - and Thank Disco It's Friday!

Paul Johnson - Get Get Down

Odd video - but certainly very summery. Sigh.

Have a great weekend, dear reader!