Nostalgic Dance Music

Lyris writes:

Da’Butt – E.U. came out on the School Daze soundtrack, one of the first movies I saw with my dad. It’s centered around HBCU life, and the scene features a go-go song. The makeup of the song is go-go, which is a DC sound. When you hear it, it’s the drums that make you move.

My Boo Hitman’s Club Mix – Ghost Town DJs is a track from 1992. At that time, I was a pre-teen. Atlanta was the spot, the music hub for black culture. We had LaFace Records, So So Def, and I grew up with acts like Kris Kross and TLC, who was my favorite group. Because of this music scene, I knew at nine years old that I was going to live in Atlanta.

If It Isn’t Love – New Edition – epitomizes that classic Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis sound. New Edition was our version of The Jackson Five, our boy band growing up.

The Hoof writes:

1989 before House music took over every club in the UK, the best music in the North East of England could be heard at Macmillans Sunday club, a club night before a school night ! (dangerous I know) you could excuse the sore head in the morning for the musical selection. 

You could say ‘this is where I learnt my onions’ as the expressions goes. Impressionable youth mixed with a two year history lesson by soul music connoisseurs, really made me the musicaly curious person I am today. The emerging sounds of House and rise of Rap, merged with pre release white label Soul / Funk, classic dancefloor Jazz, all stitched together with a discography of classic music right back to the 60’s. 

Three songs from the top of my head that reflect a typical night, I could pick 100’s, many I still listen to today.

Andrew writes:

So my first three tracks are more music that I was introduced to by older people – it was the classic dance music of the 70’s and while I loved it it was definitely selected for me rather than by me.  But with that said damn if they don’t bring back memories.  

I remember seeing Darts on Top of the Pops – would have been 1978 – I didn’t know it was a cover of The Ad Libs from 1965 – all I knew was that there were these three lunatic dudes with amazing vocals and even more amazing facial expressions who were backing up this astonishing singer with a stunning voice and even more stunning legs – not that I really understood that at the time ;-p  And while it all seems a little over the top nowadays – the sheer energy of the groove would have me on my feet emulating those cool dudes on the tele.

Even though CHIC’s Le Freak came out in the same year I was in a very different place when I heard it – we’d been skiing on a school trip to Europe – can’t remember where now – either Austria or France and this was the soundtrack of the season.  Cool European kids with long hair all dancing and touching and being very much the opposite of typical British reserve – definitely an eye – and an ear – opener.

it was the same European trip that I got addicted to Georgio Moroder’s groove – and sure – I didn’t know his name at the time but i was fascinated with how you could put what to my ears felt like a classic love song (remember I’m about 9 years old!) on top of such a beat.  While i was getting close to having my first girlfriend and first real kiss – I think my first love was the music.

Lyris writes:

A Night To Remember –Shalamar released this jam in 1982. The intro grabs your attention immediately, with a rhythmic guitar loop, signaling you that it’s time to hit the dance floor. Shalamar members Jeffrey Daniels and Jody Watley were former Soul Train dancers which fits the template of a classic dance track. This song lead by vocalist Howard Hewitt is a staple at any cookout or social gathering.

Don’t Stop The Music – Yarbrough & Peoples released in 1980. Another cookout classic that captures that 80s sounds of funk, soul, synths and drum machines. One-hit wonders but scored big with this tune, as today it can be heard in other forms of music.

Treat Her Like A Lady – The Temptations- captures the power of the 80s R&B sound, funk, soul, synths and drum machines. It has this classic soulful disco bounce that captured the adults in my life in 1984. I specifically remember my father being a huge Temptations fan always dancing to this song. To this day, it has an infectious effect on audiences when I hear it in public spaces. I personally cannot help but to two-step in some capacity. 

The Hoof writes:

Rewind a few years from the experience above at Macmillan’s Sunday Club, 1987 I was 15 years old, just started sneaking into pubs but never set foot in a nightclub, my Saturday afternoons were spent religiously listening to the ‘Adrian Allen Soul show’ upfront soul, modern funk, little bits of early house and rap sneaking in, pause button at the ready to create my own mixtape for the week ahead.

One afternoon an advert came on for the very first ‘Upnorth Soul Weekender’ 3 days of music in a holiday camp on the borders of Scotland at Berwick. Of course, I’m in, well I’ll have to ask my folks it is my first big night out and it is 100 miles away. No problem, a few months later me and two friends set off on our travels, early train to Berwick, so early I think we were to very first to check in at the site. That’s a little piece of history right there, as this event was the start of the famous ‘Southport Weekender’ it went on to become the biggest dance festival in the world for at least a decade, maybe more and me Paul and Clifford in our own kind of way kicked proceedings off, at least that’s how I like to think about it.

First night, into the main room where they will later play an amazing mix of house, hip hop, go go, funk and soul, a 1000 people going off it, it’s hard to describe what that felt like, the emotion of hearing the tunes you’d been listening to on the radio in a big club environment, bass pounding, the floor moving with amazing dancers twisting and turning, that musical mixture of hearing the likes of Adonis, followed by Eric B & Rakim, onto some classic Maze only lasted a few years and then all the scenes split apart and then in very few clubs (at least in the North East) would you hear that mix of music.

But early doors the above room was quiet, so we explored the ‘Soul Room’, this was the real eye, or ear opener, 100’s of die-hard soul fans listening to soul from the 1960’s right up to current releases, now I listened to Motown and had a bit of knowledge of northern soul, as my brother was a scooter boy. But he music I heard this night literally changed my musical direction, I hadn’t realised that soul music’s library was so vast, disco to me was Abba, modern soul was music released last week, not music from the 70’s, Motown was for old people and northern was just for the mods and scooter boys. Putting the music all together in this context with the dancers, you hear it in a different light, a moment once you experience you want do it again and again, every day, every week if I could.

Luckily for me, to preserve this memory, the site had a radio station for the weekend and I took up lots of spare tapes and a recorder, caught a show were a DJ played this sublime mix of soul and that tape recording was played over and over for the next few years, I’d taped it back together so many times eventually it had just had enough and it was no more, a sad day !  

Over the next decade I discovered the name of every song and artist on the tape and grew my knowledge of the genre, if you can call 30 years of soulful music in all it’s guises a genre.

Anyway, here’s three I heard on that memorable night, reflecting three different sounds of soul.  

Andrew writes:

As inevitably happens – age starts creeping up and things change – by the time I’m a teenager it’s about what I want to listen to and what was considered cool at the time.

The Jam were a fierce band – they had such an attitude and were most def on the Mod side of Mods and rockers – certainly their first 4 albums in the 70’s were hard charging in your face punk attitude and I loved it – but something happened to them in the 80’s – That’s Entertainment on 1980’s Sound Affects was just different and groovy and there was something going on and then – Beat Surrender – you couldn’t help but drop the scowl and get up and dance!

Where the Jam were a band I could evolve with – 99 Red Balloons was one of those classic smack you in face era defining tracks that just took over the world – and – even though it’s hard to remember now – it was a bloody terrifying world at the time.  While people remember the 80’s as this fabulous hedonistic time of synth beats and cocaine – what they forget was the legitimate fear we had that everything was going to end in a nuclear war.  From Ian Gillan’s ’81 Mutually Assured Destruction up to Sting’s 1985 release of Russians – many artists were putting our fears down on tape – and none more so 99 Luftballons.  But regardless of how strong the message was – and remember when it first broke it was in German so nobody had a clue what she was singing – the track wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for that chugging keytar riff and the frenetic beat that again just dragged you onto the dance floor

I think a lot of the 80’s excess was blowing off steam related to imminent annihilation – better to seize the moment before we run out of them.  By the time Fine Young Cannibals release their eponymous album in 1985 things were still pretty dark – “What is wrong in my life that I must get drunk every night” – yeah Roland – what is it?  Actually to be fair – I remember a hazy weekend in Glasgow dancing to this with my sister and her friends who on hearing that particular lyric declared “you’ve got too much bloody money – that’s what!” – alcohol’s expensive when you’re a student!

Lyris writes:

Let’s Get It Started –Off M.C. Hammer’s second studio album on September 28, 1988, this track was a classic dance record for our generation. Sampling George Clinton’s  “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof the Sucker this track has all the funk elements that always got a party started.

Treat ‘Em Right – My personal favorite growing up; an a1 house party track. The sampled track off First Choice’s “Love Thang ” is the backbone of this track; adding a repetitive go chant gives the listener the urge to move their body.

It Takes Two– A track that to this day will get a party going! Another track where the sample (Lyn Collin’s “Think creates a foundation to make it a true classic.

The Hoof writes:

Keeping with the nostalgia, taking you back to a time for a short period, where you could hear all kinds of dance music in UK clubs, before the explosion of house and rave. 

1988 and the same promoters who brought all the previous events I’ve talked about brought the first big acid house night to the north east, but I still recall two-stepping to ‘Teardrops – Womack and Womack’ and then soundtracked by ‘De La Soul – Jenifa’ watching a dance burn out (a kind of dance off between two dance crews) between Manchester’s legendary Foot Patrol dancers and a local crew called The Unknown Troopers, this as well as a varied music policy would soon be a thing of the past. 

Then a sign of things to come, getting lost in the hypnotic sound of house with the Todd Terry production ‘Black Riot – A Day In The Live’. Not six months later, house then rave took over the main dancefloors of the UK club scene and eclectic music policy was moved to the little back room.

Andrew writes:

I remember parts of this really well – some memories have clearly been lost to the chemicals ;-p

I’m bleeding out of Black Riot into the Happy Mondays – the whole druggy baggy shift – all enhanced by little white pills and heaving dance floors – even a clean cut boy like me could relate – there was something incredibly freeing about losing yourself on the dance floor – all you needed was that infectious beat and if there was a crazed up Bez banging a tambourine somewhere near you – well – that couldn’t hurt!

I spent the 90’s balancing between having a good time and a good career – by the middle of the decade I still wanted to party but the career and wives kept getting in the way.  I wasn’t out dancing in the clubs when The Prodigy was getting popular – with that said – The Fat of the Land was such an epic album you just couldn’t avoid it.    Tracks like Breathe and Smack My Bitch up were so good that they’ve become standards – so much so that I found myself a few weeks back pogoing at midnight to a Scottish cover band doing an amazing version of the latter!

It was when I checked out of my corporate career and headed off to America that I got re-acquainted with dance again.  A small visa issue had me working in and living above a pub in East London for several months.  I would descend into my “Andy the Barman” persona – winding up at 3 am in secret clubs that were only open to hospitality workers coming off their shifts.  There was just something about the opening to Born Slippy – you’d hear it come on and you’d have this magical moment of rest – standing in the middle of the dance floor, sweating like a lunatic, nodding your head and occasionally grinning at the person next to you as you both knew what was about to come.

Track Listing

• Da’ Butt – From The “School Daze” Soundtrack – E.U.
• My Boo – Hitman’s Club Mix – Ghost Town DJs
• If It Isn’t Love – New Edition
• Attack Me With Your Love – Cameo
• Outstanding – Kenny Thomas
• Thinking About Your Love – Original 12 Inch Version – Skipworth & Turner
• The Boy from New York City – Darts
• Le Freak – CHIC
• I Feel Love – Donna Summer
• A Night to Remember – Shalamar
• Don’t Stop The Music – Yarbrough & Peoples
• Treat Her Like A Lady – The Temptations
• Just Cant Live My Life – Linda Jones
• One on One – Remastered Version – Prince Phillip Mitchell
• Don’t Walk Away – Sweet Pea Atkinson & Was (Not Was)
• Beat Surrender – The Jam
• 99 Red Balloons – Nena
• Johnny Come Home – Fine Young Cannibals
• Let’s Get It Started – MC Hammer
• Treat ‘Em Right – Chubb Rock
• It Takes Two – Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock
• Teardrops – Womack & Womack
• Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin’s Revenge) – De La Soul
• A Day in the Life (Club Mix) – Black Riot
• Step On – 2007 Remaster – Happy Mondays
• Firestarter – The Prodigy
• Born Slippy (Nuxx) – Underworld

Playlist image GPT 4o

Lyris Greene - The Hybrid Specialist

Lyris Greene is a disk jockey (dj) hailing from Nashville, TN, now residing in Atlanta, Ga. Lyris’s name is derived from the word “lyric”, meaning words of a song. Lyris gravitated to music immediately as a child, influenced by her father’s passion for music. At nine years old, Lyris began collecting her own music collection, discovering and developing her connection with music. Now, Lyris is a full time dj and music curator, spending her days consuming and creating custom music experiences to connect people. Lyris feels her life’s purpose is pretty simple, “To spread love through the art of music.” DJ Lyris The Hybrid Specialist WLAG - Timeless Radio Soundcloud.com/DJ_Lyris

The Hoof

The Hoof has created a pedigree stable of soulful and funky thoroughbred playlists, from the stallion that is shake a hoof to 100's of young foals representing every breed of dance music.

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