Panther Rex German Made italo disco

THE PANTHER ZIP

Stephan Slowik had two Italo disco hits using the moniker Panther Rex.  Both of them are classic examples of that Euro Synth Pop sound I love to go on about.

His debut single High or Low came out in 1985 while the follow-up Goodbye My Love was released in 1986.  1986 was the year that Italo Disco releases became few and far between.  The golden age of Italo was on it's way out though not completely gone yet.

Stephan is presently a composer and producer based out of Berlin.

TAKE ME TO THE TOP ADVANCE

Some italo disco is actually italo boogie.  A very hot trend in Italo that paved the way for some real soulful music that was not robotic.  Dario Raimondi and Alvaro Ugolini made one of the definitive italo boogie releases with Take Me To The Top.  One of the most memorable releases of it's kind in 1982. AN ADVANCE DOWNLOAD

Their later project Fun Fun was much more on the Hi NRG tip.  In it's earliest inception Ivana Spagna was even involved.

YOU GOT THE STUFF & LOVELY DAY bill withers classics

Bill Withers had phenomenal success in the seventies.  With huge hits like Use Me, Lean on Me and Lovely Day he was known throughout the world.  But what many people don't know is that he had a very solid jump on the disco bandwagon release.  LOVELY DAY  original version of lovely day

A LOVELY DAY ZIP  THE BEN LIEBRAND 1988 SUNSHINE REMIX

The incredibly funky, sexy and downtempo You Got the Stuff was released in in 1978 and is known considered a disco classic.  It's quite collectible and fetches a pretty penny on websites like discogs and ebay.  I have stores on both sites so feel free to cruise my wares.  Perhaps you could do so while enjoying these hot downloads.  THE INSTRUMENTAL and THE EXTENDED VERSION and the rarest of them all BLACK COCK EDIT

Computer (in my mind) AGO

Ago had a string of italo disco releases.  Computer from 1986 was one of the later ones.  

I personally would have called this song If you really wanna see the show or Come to the future.

The first Agostino Presta release from 1982 is still the best.  I love the whole album.

I won't forget this record because I sold it back when I was first starting on Ebay.  I wanted to get a lot for it and I knew I would so I put it's starting price at $24.99 just in case it did poorly but like a distracted numskull I wrote it in the buy it now column.  Wouldn't you know that record wasn't even up for 5 minutes!

What a laugh, Ago re-did Fancy's Chinese Eyes but look what a mess they did with the record cover!

Speaking of Fancy's Chinese Eyes how much did I love that song?  Almost as much as Come Inside.  Weren't they a double A side?  At least on the U.S. pressing, they were actually a German act.  In any case, it was a song that really didn't need a re-make particularly one so totally similar.

listen to Computer

What were they dancing to in 1982?

I consider 1982 the year of my disco initiation.  Freshly graduated from high school and down in D.C. for university I probably went out on average five nights a week that fall and winter.  The impact of new wave was heavy in the clubs, some HI NRG was being produced and the Brits were calling disco, boogie.

How about that Chaz,  7 weeks on top, no small feat.

The following year would be my favorite and my full stop initiation into Italo Disco.

I CAN'T GET ENOUGH IN THE PRIME TIME, GERMAN ITALO DISCO

Ralf Roder is Prime Time and he had three italo disco releases.  I Can't Get Enough was his third and it was released on the German label Chic in orange transparent vinyl.

GRAB IT

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HOT LINE PROMO 12" The Sylvers 1976

It was 1976 and I had just transferred to a new school, a more urban hip school.  Probably too urban for me and my up to then provincial nature, I lasted only a few months before transferring to Catholic school.  But I remember one thing.  In that middle school there was a student paper.  In the paper there was a page where you could vote for your favorite song.  The competition was between two songs Walk This Way by Aerosmith and Hot Line by The Sylvers.

Honestly do you even need to hesitate before guessing my choice?
Here's the PROMO ONLY TWELVE INCH VERSION.

The Sylvers started out in Memphis, TN. before moving to Harlem.  A lot of their earlier stuff is quite collectible.  I know they provided me with a lot of joy in the 70's.  The 80's were not so kind to them but some of the members went on to producing other acts and were very successful at that.

Michele and Chantal Curtis are the same disco diva

Tunisian singer Chantal Sitruk had a big disco hit with Get Another Love in 1979 on Key Records.  But an earlier project on West End in 1977 I loved even more.  What's interesting about this 4 song e.p. is that there is no filler.  Every song is great.   Michele l.p. including Masters at Work edit  And I'm not the only one who loved it, it peaked at #3 on the American Disco Charts in November 1977.

 betcha bottom dollar  THE WHOLE CHANTAL ALBUM WITH GET ANOTHER LOVE  

Apparently Michele lived a fast life and got hooked on drugs and spent some time in jail.  So that kind of explains why there is so little output in her discography.

As expected Tom Moulton's mixing is topnotch.  The 1978 remix of Disco Dance by Patrick Cowley is an expensive collectible.  ENJOY THE REMIX

Chantal was tragically murdered in Israel in 1985 by a bullet intended for Philipe, her drug-dealing boyfriend. 

Nega Do Obaluae by Wando

Not my typical post.  My 12" cover was the same as this other release by the same artist.  I sold mine years ago on ebay.  It's Brazilian bossanova disco and it's hot.

GET IT

This 1976 release still sounds great today!

Disco Bambina (a California girl who moved to Italy)

Heather Parisi was born in LA. in 1960 but she has been based in Italy since the seventies.  It used to be a big thing on Italian television to have an pretty American girl with pronunciation issues to be used as comic relief.  She took the role to it's highest power and was even able to translate it into a fairly successful recording career.  Disco Bambina/Blackout a double A side was actually a #1 hit in Italy and is even known in some other countries.  It has since become quite the collectible 12".

A HEATHER ZIP

Heather is still considered a successful showgirl and she also does choreography, working on Big Brother in addition to other projects.  As an Italian American living in Rome I guess I can relate to her a bit.  No matter how long I stay I will never speak Italian with the perfect Italian accent but I don't even try so I guess it doesn't matter.

I have not had the opportunity for this type of glamourous lifestyle.  I have settled for teaching Italians how to speak English.  It's not stressful and has allowed me to meet a lot of people in the past 15 years. I blog because I live in the past a lot, at least in my mind.  There was a time in the past when I was very clubby.  I've moved on and it's not necessarily a bad thing.