Sunshine and new choons

RIP, Phil "The Collector" Swern, BBC radio producer for six decades, the man behind Ken Bruce's "Popmaster" quiz, and famously the owner of every single that entered the charts since they began in 1952...

On this beautifully warm and sunny late summer day, it seems fitting, methinks, for a wallow in some of the "newer" music that has caught my ear of late...

Let's open proceedings with something suitably sunshiney, its video featuring gorgeous young things cavorting in some exotic location, in various states of undress:

Disclosure - She’s Gone, Dance On

[the song samples Ennio Morricone - Dance On from the film Così Come Sei (aka: Stay As You Are) (1978), in case you were wondering]

By complete contrast - a holiday road trip much closer to home, to accompany another classic-in-the-making from one of our favourite bands:

Pet Shop Boys - Feel

Here's a faboo discovery - weird, indeed:

Allie X - Weird World

Next, the return of not just one, but two house favourites!

Bright Light Bright Light & Ultra Naté - Every Emotion

This track apparently took four years to get finished! It's good, but what took so long?

Clean Bandit, Anne-Marie, David Guetta – Cry Baby

To conclude, saving the best to last - when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, this happens. Love it!

The Blessed Madonna & Kylie Minogue - Edge Of Saturday Night

As ever, I welcome your thoughts, dear reader...

Duck and cover

Time, methinks, for another selection of the "newer" choons that have caught my ear of late...

As is my wont, this collection is again peppered with nostalgia and a few "comebacks" - such as that of the crazy duo who were responsible for that eternal earworm Barbra Streisand.

DUCK!

Duck Sauce - Nonchalant

Then there's the resurgence of a lady who's very close to our hearts, being one of the dance music gay icons of the 1990s [see here and here]...

Funk Cartel and Ultra Naté - Supernatural

We turn next to a singer who (to me, at least) actually bears the epithet of "new", the artiste formerly known as Louisa Rose Allen:

Foxes - Sister Ray

...and here's a chap who seems to have been "under the radar" for years as a DJ promoter, but whose penchant for 80s music led him this year to do a (rather good) update of a dearly-loved classic:

Martial Simon - You Keep Me Hangin' On

Speaking of remixes, I have featured this genius-of-the-mash-up previously, of course [see here, and more recently, here] - but now he's only gone and landed himself an MTV Award; for this slice of brilliance!

DJ Cummerbund - Shaxicula (Toxic x Love Shack x Dragula) [Britney Spears vs The B-52's vs Rob Zombie]

Finally... Never mind all that hoo-ha about "the great ABBA comeback". I'm foaming at the gash over the fact that none other than the Vengaboys have returned! [With a cover of a choon by "cool kid" Charli XCX, no less.]

Vengaboys - 1999 (I Wanna Go Back)

Absolutely fantabulosa!

As always dear reader, let me know what you think...

To get me through another day

Doing the "Social Isolation Shuffle"!

It's the final knockings at the end of a most peculiar week. For the first time I have been forced to work from home; a situation that's taking a lot of mental adjustment. On a more optimistic note today does mark a turning point in the seasons - it's the Vernal Equinox, in some quarters the First Day of Spring!

It also happens to be the birthday of one of our fave dance artistes of the late 90s (whose career, unfortunately, was not destined to get very much further than that) - the lovely Ultra Naté...

...and, in these troubled times of pandemics, social isolation and lock-downs, she may just have the solution - so let's Thank Disco It's Friday!

Ultra Naté - Found A Cure

I searched all over
Could not find
Someone to hold
Some peace of mind
Yesterday is gone
Nothing else to do
But let it go
Before I lose
All of my hopes
And my dreams
For something that ain't real
Things ain't always as they seem

Cause there's sunshine
After rain
And after the night comes morning
And in the spring the flowers bloom again
When I'm feeling down
Like there's no way out
I know the love I have inside will make it alright

And when it feels like I'm going crazy
When it feels like I'm going insane
When it feels like I'm going crazy
Found a cure
To get me through another day

Found a cure
To get me through another day

How many times before have you
Been left alone and you feel confused
Do you have the strength to keep trying
When the walls just keep on closing in
But you got everything that you need
Inside your heart
If you just believe
Things ain't always as they seem

Ultra Naté (born 20th March 1968)

It's your life - whatcha gonna do?

It's Gay Xmas Eve, peeps!

As is my wont at this time of year, I think back to all the many, many years I have taken part in this, the biggest date in the gay (indeed our entire social) calendar. As my regular reader may know (not least from yesterday's photo caption), I first came to Gay Pride in London way back in 1985, then attended every year from 1991 to date.

A particularly memorable occasion was the Pride March and Festival twenty years ago. I and a gang of friends from Plymouth travelled up (and slept) in a van, parked up in Streatham, before we headed into the centre of town for the march - then, armed with booze and poppers, it was back South to Clapham Common for the (then traditional) party in the park - and what a party!

On stage that memorable day (the last free Pride party for many years) were Sharleen from Texas, Dannii Minogue, Adeva, Peter Andre, Olive, the Shamen, Boy George, Gina G, Heaven 17, Erasure, Holly Johnson and the Pet Shop Boys!

And this lady. Here's the utterly faboo Ultra Naté and her enduring "gay anthem" - Free:

Ultra Naté - Free

When you're down and you're feeling bad
Everybody has left you sad
Feels like no one will pull you through
It's your life - whatcha gonna do?
Make that change, let's start today
Get outta bed, get on your way
Don't be scared your dream's right there
You want it (you want it), reach for it

'Cause you're free
To do what you want to do
You've got to live your life
Do what you want to do!

Thank Disco It's Gay Xmas Eve Friday!!

Ny popmusikk

It's cold, it's grey, it's depressing - it has to be a Bank Holiday weekend! Time to cheer ourselves up by playing some of my more recent musical divertissements...

When divas collide, #486 in a series... With a nod to Barbra and Donna here, and to the "funky happy house" sounds of the 90s there, the singer-turned-UK TV regular Michelle Williams (of Destiny's Child fame) has teamed up with one of our fave dance divas here at Dolores Delargo Towers, the powerhouse that is Ultra Naté! The result? The rather fabulous Waiting On You:

Michelle Williams & Ultra Naté - Waiting On You

On the last miserable Bank Holiday weekend (Easter), I recommended the Laidback Luke remix of the ever-wonderful Dragonette's new single Let it Go. Now it has an official release, here is the excellent video:

Dragonette - Let It Go

The peculiarly-named Mr Little Jeans (actually a Norwegian girl by the name of Monica Birkenes) has a corker of an electro-retro new single out, and I love it. Here's Runaway:

Mr Little Jeans - Runaway

Speaking of electropop - with its thumping Human League/Goldfrapp sound, strident Goth vocals and a healthy slab of Divine decadence, the new single Love Machine by Mollyhaus has a little bit of just about everything I love thrown together! The accompanying video featuring vintage smut is just perfect...

Mollyhaus - Love Machine

Just because I love it, here's the Offer Nissim remix of Queen Madge's brilliant current single Girl Gone Wild [Thanks, Henry!]:

Madonna - Girl Gone Wild (Offer Nissim mix)

And finally, eternal thanks to Mike over at Pop Trash Addicts, who introduced me to the supremely talented Valerio Pino - most famous for fucking Ricky Martin - and his brilliantly trashy new single GogoStar! I'm impressed (even if Mike is not):

Valerio Pino - GogoStar

As ever, enjoy - and let me know your thoughts...