The Dance Music Community has lost a great Mark Thomas DJ Extraordinaire and all around nice guy

I've added links to this post about 10 times, keep an eye on it for more.

An amazing D.J. and a true friend.  Mark Thomas passed away Monday, January 26th.  He was always so generous and kind to me.  I feel pretty awful right about now.  We last chatted in Facebook on the 21st and it was a lot longer then usual but most importantly I felt close to him and I'm glad we had a chance to share.

A fellow Gemini Mark was born May 31, 1959.  Way too freaking young to leave us already.  Up until this past summer he was still spinning the yearly event Sun Dance in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  And always up for sharing.  Whenever I wanted something from his collection all I had to do was ask and a .wav file would appear for me within hours.

In the coming days I would like to share some of his mixes.  I'd especially like to post some of his mixes from The Saint or The Saint at Large.  So keep your eyes on this space as it will be updated.

Download this one with the link below.

our boy in Mykonos 1989

Mark began spinning at The Hippo 1980 and went on to even more D.J. fame at The Saint during it's duration from 1980 to the closing party in 1988 in which he was one of the featured DJ's. He was one of the house D.J.'s at The Hippo and Cignel in Baltimore.  I was also present during that great night when he spun New Years Eve for the Saint at Large on December 31, 1990 at The Roxy.

SOME MORE MUSIC COMING VERY SOON

THE SAINT TONIGHT 1984 MARK THOMAS

THE SAINT ON FIRE MAY 26, 1985
HEARTS 4 20 1985

IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME MORALES, MUNZIBAI AND MARK THOMAS DISCONET MIX
PRIDE '94
RED PARTY ZIP
AFTER DARK

Saturday March 16, 1985
The Black Party | Rites VI
Music: Chuck Parsons
Lights: Richard Tucker


Sunday March 17, 1985
Sunday Tea
Music: Mark Thomas
LISTEN TO THE BLACK TEA

SUNDANCE 2006 REHOBOTH BEACH

SAINT AT LARGE NEW YEARS EVE AT THE ROXY 1990-1991

SUNDANCE AUCTION 2009

Don't miss the download for this party just above the invite.

This is from the 12 gods party in Mykonos September 1996.  I was there but we weren't friends yet.  So I even have a memory that I didn't even realize was a memory.

From Mandate magazine in the mid 80's.

With a girlfriend in Maryland in the 80's.

When he died the record on the turntable was Divine's Shoot Your Shot.  It was still spinning when he was found.  I'd like to think he went with a smile on his face if this tune was on.

Clubland Set Me Free

ENJOY SET ME FREE

So as to not get too predictable up in here I thought I'd post something that is not disco.

This 1992 release on Great Jones by Clubland brings back some great memories of N.Y. clubland.  Set me Free featuring the vocals of Zemya Hamilton.
But what can I say about it really?  It's just pleasurable commercial house music with a strong hook and a beat that really makes you want to shake your tail.  Who would have thought back in 1992 that 20 years later so much pop music would be totally dance oriented?  I remember when months would go by before a pure dance song like "Show me Love" would crossover onto the pop charts.  So many perfectly poppy dance songs never broke in the states.  It's a shame really cause most of these dance oriented songs that make it big now don't hold a candle to dance songs like "Set me Free."
One thing to note is the genius co-production of Eric Kupper.  He has of course had many more hits since this but his talent is undisputed.  And his sound is genuine and deep.