To explain this playlist.
We're just had a short holiday. Summer holidays are often associated with fun and good times - and so, the soundtrack is generally fun, uplifting party music.
Now, the trouble is, I'm not a great one for parties - I'm not so good at small talk - and I am also not one given to enjoying cheesy music (even after a few beverages).
But I have grown to like some music that could in some way pass for 'party music' - so this is my best attempt at a holiday / party playlist!
1. Chic: Le Freak
A dance floor classic propelled by Nile Rodger's interstellar funky guitar playing and Bernard Edwards groovy bass lines. Not much I can say about this that hasn't already been said.
2. B52's: Rock Lobster
File under quirky! This, for me, is an awesome classic party track - I could have gone with a number of their songs (Love Shack, 52 Girls etc.) - but this probably just about pips it as the best of them.
3. Curtis Mayfield: Move On Up
From the epic opening blast of horns, this song moves like an exocet, everything in perfect synch and harmony. The percussion underneath it all, just blows my mind.
4. James Brown: Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine
Probably the raciest track on the list - quite how this went down in many circles in the late 60s, I'm not too sure. James Brown never lacked in confidence and this song epitomised everything you love (or hate) about him. Classic horns, driving rhythms, grunted lyrics - all his hallmarks - I defy you not to tap a toe to this, at the very least!
5. Public Practice: Compromised
A much newer, and less well known track on the list. This tune, from 2020, would definitely (if I was that way inclined, which I'm not) get me up on the dancefloor. Classic dance-pop, with a clinical, clipped New York accent, that maybe ties it back to some CBGB's era bands.
6. The Specials: Rat Race
The first of three songs that take me back to my childhood, where Top Of The Pops was a weekly fiesta of post-punk, mod, new romantics and lots of this.... Late 70s / early 80s UK was a hotbed for mixing up reggae, dub, punk and ska and The Specials were one of the best at it. Rat Race is fantastic and even if you won't dance to it, you will want to sing along.
7. Madness: Baggy Trousers
Another band where I could have picked any one of half a dozen classics for the list. Another of the great ska influenced bands (their name comes from a Prince Buster tune) that came from post-punk Britain, Madness came bursting out of Camden with attitude and more than a twinkle in their eye. Baggy Trousers was one of the schoolboy epics - full of humour and catchy hooks - I don't remember anyone my age not loving this tune!
8. Bad Manners: Lip Up Fatty
Perhaps not getting the same recognition as the last two acts, Bad Manners nonetheless ripped up dancefloors across the country for several years, with a range of bangers including this one. I had the pleasure of being side of stage when they played a gig at my college, watching Buster Bloodvessel and co almost bending the stage in half through their sheer exuberance (and collective mass).
9. Stevie Wonder: Master Blaster
I think the song doesn't need much explanation!
10. Gloria : Tainted Love
Unbeknownst to me for many years - almost two decades before Soft Cell hit #1 with Tainted Love, in what still holds up as synth pop classic itself - Gloria Jones recorded the original, and I think better, version of this song. A Northern Soul classic - play loud!