YOU MUST FEEL THE DRIVE and TAKE A CHANCE BIZZY & Co.

Refreshed Links, Some new mixes added too

I've often said that 1983 was my favorite year for Italo Disco. 
uptown instrumental edit
BEN LIEBRAND'S SUPER LONG REMIX
cat instrumental
Frisco edit
FEEL THE DRIVE IS ITALO DISCO LEGENDARY

I had the fortune of being in the thick of it all with many many nights out at Roman clubs.

Feel the Drive by Doctor's Cat was also a big radio record.  A. Martinelli the writer, producer and mixer of this track has a prolific history in the genre.  As a matter of fact Aldo Michele Martinelli was involved with Cat Gang, Marinelli, Moon Ray, Raggio di Luna and Superbeat to name a few.

In this zip you can enjoy both sides of the 12" in .wav.

no bizzy import version
My favorite Martinelli is probably his collaboration with Tony Carrasco with Bizzy and Company's Take a Chance.
Kizzy
 This brilliant number was used as the theme for Amanda Lear's recent RAI t.v. show Cocktail D'amour.

original version by Material featuring Nona Hendryx

Nothing but Body Power

The Second release from Italo Disco act Body Power was a very catchy poppy number.

It was released on Italy's Out Records in 1986.  If this record label is a reference to the acts sexual proclivities that I can't say, but they do look a little light in the loafers.

But in Europe that doesn't mean anything.  Back in the day some of my favorite Italo artists that I was so sure about turned out not to be at all (Gary Low and Gazebo to name a couple).  I guess I was sort of thinking about how back in the 80's it was the kiss of death in most cases for your career to be "out."  Fortunately times have changed a lot in some ways.  Mika certainly has quite a career on television here in Italy.

NOTHING

Caroline Catharina Müller is C.C. Catch

To me C.C. Catch is not an Italo Disco artist.  It's what the genre sounds like when it's interpreted by German and Dutch artists like Modern Talking, Jessica, Bad Boys Blue and many others.

She was also late to the game with her first release being in 1986.  By then several years of great Italo Disco records had already come out in Italy.  When I have a specific frame of reference from time I spent in Italy I'm a bit more lenient in my labelling but to my knowledge C.C. Catch is not a known artist in Italy.

C.C. Catch

She does have quite an extensive catalog so here you have an opportunity to sample a few of her more successful singles in my zip.

She looks great right now too.  Finally a great looking mid 50's woman who looks like she has injected any botox and had any face lifting and she looks radiant and healthy. 

What a looker

More Than Ever by Glam

More than Ever by Glam is a 1985 italo disco release on Crash records which is associated to il Discotto one of the three or four most important labels of the genre.

It's a bit poppy and not particularly edgy but it's got a sweet sound to it.
FEELING GLAM, FEELING LIKE AN ORCHID

Lyrics and music More by Maria Chiara Perugini (Clio). 

Music for Us by Blackway & Helene obscure early italo disco

A super rare collectible from 1982.

Music for Us is definitely an unusual song.

Music for Us

Unusual pronunciation, infectious beat, hook-laden and spacey.  Kitchen sink Italo Disco.
So rare and in demand it was repressed and remastered in 2014.  A limited edition reserved to only 200 copies.

Roman DJ Carlo Favalli, who produced this record, died under mysterious circumstances in Estonia in 1998.  His releases came out on seminal italo labels like Jumbo and House of Music.

One of the writer arrangers, Stefano Galante, has appeared on quite a few of my favorite italo disco songs, for instance Mr. Master's Dog in the Night and B.W.H. Stop/Livin' Up (the best double A side Italo disco record ever).

ITALO DISCO CLASSIC REMAKE STAY Marx & Spencer

Refreshed Links

British singer Tracy Spencer had a few Italo Disco hits in the 80's.  First in the duo Marx and Spencer along with David Marx and later as a solo artist.

Interestingly the first two maxi singles by Marx and Spencer were remakes.  The first in 1983 Stay which has been covered by everyone and their cousin followed by the Genesis gem Follow You, Follow Me the following year.   A STAY ZIP another stay zip

Stay with it's perfect mix of cheese and italo disco brilliance became a favorite by the DeeJay's at WBMX in Chicago and was played in mix shows throughout the 80's.

Tracy went on to have a couple massive pop hits in Italy including the fun Run to Me in 1985.  RUN TO ME ZIP

Keep an eye on this space I might update it with the Follow You, Follow Me maxi single.  And here it  is CAMPY GENESIS OMG it doesn't disappoint.  Talk about cheesy it sounds like a 3 year old is playing the keyboards, and Tracy's vocals not only sound like a chipmunk but it seems like she's faking a bad accent to accompany David Marx who clearly is using an alias.  So bad it's good.  It just happens to be my favorite Genesis song to boot.

Fancy more then just Come Inside and Chinese Eyes

Manfred Alois Segieth is Fancy.  Based out of Munich he was a campy hi Nrg artist and producer who worked with many artists and under the alias Fancy for himself.  I don't usually write about songs that had a huge crossover success.  Though Fancy had hits in Europe and especially Germany, in 1985 his double A side of Chinese Eyes and Come Inside managed to have a huge impact on U.S. dance floors climbing all the way to #2.

HE's DESCRIBED AS A LIVING LEGEND ON HIS WEBSITE

One of the aliases he has used was Tess and that's the one that can be seen on the Psychic Interface single Tribal Stomp.

The first charted single was 1984's Slice Me Nice so it wasn't until his 3rd that he had his biggest and most well known hit.  I'd venture to say 1987's Raving Queen is one of the lesser known ones.  The single cover alone is a scream, you go Raving Queen.

Fancy Facebook

I've got a Blogspot, Fancy's got a Blogspot

Tess was even charting in the sixties

Huge Fancy Zip (sorry no Raving Queen)

Usually in my posts you can see that I'm super enthusiastic and raving.  As you noticed you're not getting much of that here.  I do like some of these songs and I really enjoyed the double A side in 1985 but I can't say that Fancy is one of my favorites.

There are Four Fancy Videos 

You Satisfy my lust
You do it til I bust and more
Got those Chinese Eyes

Electric Mind

Luciana Cirrillo and Michele Violante are Electric Mind.  A duo who have the honor of having one of the first records to be considered distinctly Italo Disco, 1982's Summing Up.

I think people who don't even necessarily like Italo Disco could appreciate Electric Mind.  Their tracks have a seriously funky groove.  This is not just frivolous music, this shit kicks!

Summing Up was one of those influential italo tracks that got played at WBMX in Chicago and on dance floors that would not have played most Italo.

What can I say? I love these songs a lot.  Two of their tracks that were released later in '84 and '85, I didn't even know until I checked them out on you tube.

ELECTRIC ZIP

They also have the distinction of being one of the few Italo Disco artists to have their tracks licensed and released in the states.

Mrs. Moon Kermesse

A little spacey, a little asian, a little campy, a lotta Italo.

You know right from the intro that this one is going to be fun.

LADIES AND GENTLEMAN I INTRODUCE YOU TO MRS. MOON

The writer Lucio Fois also wrote one of my all time favorites Cybernetic Love.  Both of these tunes are from 1983.  My absolute favorite year for the genre.

The first and only release on the obscure italo disco label Fingers.

Tapps....you knocked me down like a Hurricane

Toronto based Hi Nrg group Tapps are the epitome of the white Hi Nrg sound of the mid 80's.  A sound that almost seemed forced on us in D.C. when I was clubbing there as a teen, but in the end I'll have to admit that a lot of it holds a special place in my heart.

A sound that was decidedly Saint and Fire Island not Loft and Paradise Garage.  White queens ruled dance music in the 80's though so this niche sound had it's audience throughout the world.  Absolutely not urban but fun all the same.
Tapps

There first dance hit was My Forbidden Lover in 1983.  It's probably my favorite of theirs.  Though from 1983 to 1987 a danced to a few.  In 1987 there only album Turn it On was released and it served as sort of greatest hits.

I've also included a mix from 1985 which includes their single from that year Hurricane.  It included tasty morsels like Stacey Q and an alternate version of one of my favorite songs from the era The Night.

radio, radio, the rose of Tokyo was my radio

Just nonsensical enough to be the best thing ever.  Italo Disco in all it's splendor.

Hell it even has what seems like an attempt at a rap!

CITY-O' ROSE OF TOKYO

DiscoMagic had so many tricks up it's sleeve.  Sometimes I can't really tell if some of these songs were tongue-in-cheek or they were being absolutely serious.  All I know is that they bring me serious joy.