Pretty Poison from variation new wave to variation freestyle an Eighties success story

I just added even more to this blog post.
Philadelphia based Pretty Poison broke with Catch Me I'm Falling.  But they actually had a string of single releases and ep.'s before that.  NIGHTIME  NIGHTIME DUB  CATCH ME

There's download stuff sprinkles all throughout this post.
a pretty zip
More Pretty

I love Jade Starling's vocals, their look was very big hair 80's. Here's her MySpace

I'm enclosing a zip which features several versions of Nightime including the totally electrifying dub and the Shep Pettibone Mix and their huge #8 hit from 1987 Catch Me.  And another zip which contains a funky version of Nightime entitled In the Heat of the Night.   The original 12" release made it up to #14 dance in 1984.  Catch Me took it up to #1 and then the re-release with new mixes of Nightime peaked at #13 in 1988.  I didn't really follow their other releases though When I Look into Your Eyes squeaked out a Top 10 dance spot in 1988 too. 

Here are the lyrics to Nightime:

Come, feel the steady rhythm of the nightlife

And hear excitement in the air.
Baby, when the night comes down, 
You know where I can be found, 
Dancing in a midnight fantasy.

Chorus:
In the Nightime
Blame it on the Nightime.
In the Nightime
Baby, that's the right time.

I feel a strange desire in the moonlight
Dreams of another dance in my eyes.
Baby, when the stars shine bright, 
Dance with me all through the night.
Be my lover til the light of day.

Chorus:
In the Nightime, 
Blame it on the Nightime.
In the Nightime yeah, 
Baby, that's the right time.
Right time for me.

Nightime is the right time
Nightlife is for me.
Dancing til the break of day, 
No place I'd rather be.

Nightime is the right time; 
Nightlife is for me.
Dancing til the break of day, 
No place I'd rather be.

In the Nightime, blame it on the Nightime.
In the Nightime, baby, that's the right time.
In the Nightime, blame it on the Nightime.
In the Nightime, yeah, baby, that's the right time.
Right time for me.

Nightime is the right time
Nightlife is for me
Nightime is the right time
Nightlife is for me
Nightime
Nightlife is for me.

All in all it's a sound I can really appreciate.  Not quite freestyle, not quite electro and not really house either.  It's a unique record and is clearly influenced by many sounds at the same time.  When it was originally released on Svengali in 1983 it went pretty much unnoticed and under the radar.  It took the more commercial sounding Catch Me to give Nightime it's second life.  Here I've enclosed their entire Laced e.p. from 1983.  It's sort of new wave and not quite as straightforward dance as their later releases.  If  you click on the title of this blog you will be directed to my ebay listing for this collectible e.p.  LACED EP

A1		Seal It With A Kis	3:57
A2		Let Freedom Ring	6:15
B1		Expiration	3:59
B2		Tempest Nightmare	5:15

Their first single from 1981 is very rare and very new wave.  It's called Gimme Gimme (your autograph).  It was on the label Poison Pops and was only released as a 7" single.

NO TEARS

I'm adding their goth single from 1982 No Tears and it's b side.

super early pretty poison

And finally their goth single Expiration from 1983.  A real Kennel club Philadelphia classic.

Kroma Sexy Films

Enrica Maldini is Kroma. She had a one off Italo Disco/Synth Pop/New Wave hybrid release in 1984.

Sexy Films

Originally based out of Rome her release came out on DJ Claudio Casilina's label Jumbo.  Later she moved to the Cote d'Azur in France and became a fashion designer.

The Night Valerie Dore's signature italo disco single (including the Ben Liebrand remix)

Since this is my most popular blog post by far I've decided to put it back up to the top again.

The Night is my favorite Valerie Dore record.  She had a string of italo disco hits in the mid 80's.   But this is her debut single from 1984.  The download links are interspersed in the body of this blog.

THE NIGHT ORIGINAL MIX

Profile:
The Valerie Dore project was started with the voice of Dora Carofiglio, the vocalist of Novecento. She sang the hit "The Night". During the years of activity the team included also Monica Stucchi (who sang, with Dora Carofiglio, other hits like "Get Closer" and "It's So Easy"). Simona Zanini wrote the lyrics for the 2nd arc of the project, "The Legend" album and singles taken from it. Marco Tansini and Simona had been working with Merak Music (Monia, Diana Barton, John Ryel) and producer Roberto Gasparini decided to give them the job, which included Simona following Monica's singing and pronunciation, and recording background vocals too.

Monica Stucchi

2 by VAL

VALERIE DORE'S GREATEST

THE NIGHT

THE NIGHT DUB

Do You? Duke Lake

Antonello Gabelli was Duke Lake as well as Goomy and Guitar Duck.

There were three releases on the seminal Italo disco label Memory.  The first and arguably the best in 1983 Do You? followed by Satisfaction, Love and Passion in 1984 and Dance Tonight in 1985.

Do You?

Melba Moore

 How fantastic is Melba Moore?  What a career.  From gospel singer to Broadway actress to R and B star to disco diva.  This woman made her mark.  From 1970 to 1990 she churned out the hits in all genres.  Perhaps the U.S. pop charts were not one of her domains but she did manage to make it in the pop charts in the U.K.

Born Melba Hill in 1945 in Harlem.  Both of her parents were music artist themselves.  They certainly encouraged her acting career as well as her musical output.

Of course here I'm going to concentrate on the disco and the R and B hits.  The first big record was This is It in early 1976.  A Van McCoy written and produced show stopper that made the Top 10 on the U.S. dance charts as well as on the U.K. pop charts.

She even covered the early disco masterpieces by Patti Jo Ain't No Love Lost and Make me Believe in You.

Patti Jo

She next had disco hits with Standing Right Here (a personal favorite, one soulful disco number if there ever was one), "you promised to love me, you promised to love me,"Good Love Makes Everything Alright and her incredible interpretation of the Bee Gees You Stepped into My Life which she took all the way to #5 on the disco charts and almost cracked the American Top 40.  At this point Melba was truly one of the true disco diva stars.

Then another disco smash was released with Pick Me Up, I'll Dance and the delicious John Luongo mixes.  A disco classic if ever there was one.

1979's Burn album seemed to just have come out at the wrong time.  As disco was peaking and there was just too much great material out at the same time.  Miss Thing was not a hit for her.  But by 1980 and the Closer and What a Woman Needs releases she had some big R and B records.  1980's Everything so Good About You was heavily played in the clubs.  As were Take my Love and Let's Stand Together in 1981.

In 1982 she had the biggest hit of her career with Love's Comin' at Ya giving her a Top 5 R and B hit and a #2 dance record.  Not really one of my faves.

1983's Mind Up Tonight and Underlove (a funk record) were 2 of my all time favorite Melba songs.  1984's Livin' for Love from her Never Say Never l.p. was one of her biggest R and B hits. 1985's Read My Lips was big too.  Definitely not one of my favorites.  Then in 1986 she had 2 #1 R and B hits with Falling and A Little Bit More a duet with Freddie Jackson.  So I suppose that year could be considered her peak.

Melba 3

Melba

Melba 2

Melba 1

1987 and 1988 were also good to her on the R and B charts with songs like I'm in Love, It's been so Long and I Can't Complain (one of many of her records written by Gene McFadden.  Nothing came out in 1989 she had two more solid R and B Top 10 hits in 1990 and that was the year her chart run ended.

THE DEVIL MADE ME BUY THAT DRESS I.M.T. Octavia St. Laurent

In honor of the fabulous movie Saturday Church and renewed curiosity for ball culture I'm bringing back this post from a few years ago.  I distinctly remember seeing voguing to this madness at The Sound Factory back in 1993.

The Devil

I ordinarily don't honor house music on my blog. But I am going to break my rule for a few reasons. One being that Paris is Burning Jennie Livington's amazing documentary about the New York ball culture is among my favorite films of all time. Another reason is the passing of trans beauty Octavia St. Laurent of A.I.D.S. on May 17, 2009.



Some of her lines are simply the most delightful, repeatable and throw-shade-readable in the film. In fact one line was so particularly legendary that an entire house record was based around the sample.
"$559.00 dollars how's that for a simple dress?"
I.M.T.'s The Devil Made me Buy that Dress was an important moment in Junior Vasquez's Sound Factory legacy. 1993 also happened to be a peak year in the evolution of one of just a couple unforgettable moments in New York City Underground dance scene. The Sound Factory was just about the only club that really mattered for years. So what sounded fierce on that dance floor is just about what sounded fierce period. Junior Vasquez has had rabid fans ever since. Though most would say his moment of supremacy has long since passed.





In 2003 another documentary was released with a similar theme. It was called How Do I Look. By this time Octavia was calling herself Heavenly Angel Octavia St. Laurent Manolo Blahnik, try saying that ten time fast!

Here's a little something for the ball children, Ooh I Love it

This one goes out to all of you who love to KiKi.  The definitive voguing anthem, Shep Pettibones 1983 remix of Ooh, I Love It (Love Break).
OOH I LOVE IT
Perhaps some of you have even had the pleasure of hearing him spin it as his club in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Forever and a Day Superbowl

Another magical release from Disco Magic Records was and collaboration by Gianfranco Bortolotti and Roberto Arduini.

It's just 6 minutes and 15 seconds of pure happiness.  Anything you could want from an Italo Disco record is contained.

So my first blog for 2018 gets things off to a great start.

1985 release Forever and a Day