I still can’t believe its January. It’s a long month alright. If you’re feeling the mid-month or mid-week blues, then blast them away with the winning combination of Patti Labelle and Ron Hardy!

Lifted from Ms. Labelle’s 1980 album Released, ‘Get Ready (Looking For Love)’ was one of Chicago house legend Hardy’s favourite tunes. Compared to his trademark heavy and fast re-edits, this one is subtly re-constructed into a splendid post-disco joint.  If this one doesn’t get out leaping out of your chair and to your desk on this glum Wednesday morn, then nothing (I think) will. Please don’t leap out of your chair and onto your desk. Remember, Health and Safety.

Feeling disappointed and disheartened by the lacklustre start to the World Cup? Fear not dear readers, as this fun-filled cover of a Chic classic will get your World Cup lovin’ mojo back!

Charanga 76’s spaced-out Latin tribute to Nile Rodgers & crew’s finest track was released in 1979 and has a certain touch of class that separates it from your usual run-of-the-mill foreign language disco cover versions. With bustling Cuban percussion, striking strings and a lovely summery echo filled breakdown, this will blast away your thoughts of the Jubulani ball and most importantly, drown out those bloody vuvuzelas (topical!!).

Charanga 76 – Good Times

Classic bit of smooth 80s disco from Jacques Fred Petrus’ Change. Often derided as Chic copycats, Change in fact made some very good records (‘Paradise’, ‘Change Of Heart’.  This was the last single they released as Petrus died in 1986 and was later sampled by Jazzy M for his his hit single ‘Jazzin’ The Way You Know’ (in case you were wondering why it sounded a bit familiar).

Change – Lets Go Together

Ahhh, the summer. There’s nothing like the summer with a bit of Carly Simon. What’s Carly Simon got to do with the summer? I hear you ask. Well, my friends this timeless ‘Balearic’ classic will tell you ‘why’ (arf!).

Produced by the mighty Chic in 1982 for the flop movie ‘Soup For One’ (the soundtrack has been mentioned a few times on this website, notably here), it was considered a bit of late disco cash-in by the critics and the public alike (it reached a giddy #74 on the Billboard chart!). What did they know huh? ‘Why’ is by far one of the best pieces of work that Chic have ever done and the best song Carly Simon has ever done (it beats ‘You’re So Vain’ – who cares who it was written about? I still think its Warren Beatty btw Carly…). Tinged with melancholy, the song is an intriguing mix of reggae-lite disco and off-beat pop. Constantly enticing the listener with its bouncing rhythm and the simple vocal refrain of  ”la, di-da, di-da”, its clear why the record-buying public of 1982 didn’t get it. It was waaaay ahead of its time.

It was only in 1989 when the whole Hacienda/acid house/Ibiza/Balearic thing kicked off that the song started to get recognition. DJs such as Mike Pickering and Graeme Park reclaimed the song and turned into a Hacienda classic. Treating a generation of clubbers to the whole concept of mellow, feel-good sunny vibes.  When A Tribe Called Quest sampled the instrumental for ‘Bonita Applebum’, the tracks’ legacy across the emerging house and hip-hop scene were finally confirmed.

A bona-fide summer classic. Just don’t mention the 1999 Glamma Kid version…

Carly Simon- Why