Thursday live at Rome's Auditorium (Renzo Piano's Italian Masterpiece)

My blog is dedicated to the past.  But sometimes the feelings from the present can bring me to the past.  I've been enjoying the Pet Shop Boys since I got out of high school.  So seeing them again brought back a lot of feelings.  This video snippet is from my favorite song on their last release Electric.  I can hardly believe it was a flop because it simply has everything one would love in a classic synth pop song.

My seats were only so-so but I hope this snippet done with my Iphone 5S is decent enough to transmit some of my joy.

As always I urge my readers to click on the ads.  It's a sure way to show appreciation for my blog.

The Pussy Cat Fans Club Cha Cha Italo Disco that purrs

An extremely rare and delicious specimen of the italo disco genre.  The Pussy Cat Fans Club was released in 1983 on the Discofamily label.

So many great italo records came out that luckily quite a few got overlooked back in the day.  That gives us the fortune of rediscovering them now.  MEOW!

CHA CHA

Here you can listen while your download is churning.

MY DOWNLOADS ARE ALL ON FILE FACTORY, WHY DON'T YOU JOIN TOO?

A Sharon Redd Retrospective….IN THE NAME OF LOVE….

In honor of the gay pride festivities around the world I've decided to post this gem again.
MY DOWNLOADS ARE ALL ON FILE FACTORY, WHY DON'T YOU JOIN TOO?
It's been a few years since I started this blog and I can't remember if I've ever done a proper Sharon Redd retrospective.  It would only be right as Sharon is probably the disco diva I hold closest to my heart.  Hhmm why might you ask?  Well in reality most of the other disco diva's were kinda before my time.  As much as I loved them I was too young to go to clubs.  But by the time Sharon was churning them out I was in the clubs dancing away night after night.  And Sharon was often there too doing a public appearance. I've probably seen her live five times.  Perhaps also because she was from Norfolk and I was going to university in D.C.

She started as a back-up singer for Bette Midler also known as The Harlettes.  In 1978 she was on an album with two other gals Ula Hedwig and Charlotte Crossley billed as formerly the Harlettes.  Then she was part of a group of people led by Luther Vandross on the album Soiree along with Fonzi Thornton, Jocelyn Brown, Yvonne Lewis and again Ula Hedwig.  They did a gorgeous remake of You Keep me Hanging On among other cuts.  Then in 1979 still not getting top billing her voice was the magic behind Love Insurance (hot edit) a #1 disco hit for Front Page.  SHAZZY ZIP 1  SHAZZY ZIP 2

redd zip

By this point she was very much on my radar.  So when Can you Handle It came out in late 1980 I was ready for the full on occupation of this disco diva.  Then when the Shep Pettibone WKYS master mix came out New York City was all about Sharon Redd and Can you Handle it.  I'd venture to say that it was one of the most satisfying remixes of an already fabulous record that I had ever heard at that point.  The sassiness of the track was pumped up deeply and the clubs like The Paradise Garage and Zanzibar had found a major anthem for the season.  In the U.K. even the downtempo Love is Gonna Get You saw a twelve inch release.

Shep is still brining them joy on a dance floor thirty years later!  

The next album Redd Hott seemed much more geared towards the gay crowd.  Now Sharon was more of a Saint disco diva then Zanzibar but in any case she had her first #1 on the Billboard disco charts and the album had several huge dance-floor anthems including Never Give You Up, Beat the Street and In the Name of Love (particularly adored by the gay crowds and subject to many remixes).  In the U.K. even the downtempo Takin' a Chance on Love was released on twelve inch.  

 

The 1983 album Love How You Feel was sort of Sharon's last hurrah.  It featured hits like the title song, You're a Winner and Liar on the Wire but they just weren't as big as her earlier dance floor stompers.  

 Many of Sharon's remixes were done by the genius Francois Kevorkian.  No doubt increasing their appeal on dance floors worldwide.

Her last twelve inch single for Prelude Undercover Girl came out in 1985 and was not that great it was followed up by 1988's Second to None which was sort of a weak attempt to cash in on the then popular freestyle sound and it remains pretty obscure though not bad really.  The vocals are distinctly Sharon and Sharon can SANG!  

On May 1, 1992 she succumbed to A.I.D.S. and I remember really feeling really sad that day.   It had been a minute since I had heard any Sharon but she had held a special place in my heart as she does now.  I hope you enjoy the two zips I have provided.  They include most of her hits and quite a few more recent edits that have been going around.