Friday, December 14, 2007

DISCO DEATH (R.I.P. MEL CHEREN)













Mel Cheren launched West End Records, one of the great dance labels of the 1970s & 80s, home of Larry Levan and the source of a series of classic 12" disco tracks. I remember paying the hefty sum of £5.99 for some of these US imports in their pinky purple sleeves at Jumbo Records in the Merrion Centre in Leeds. Slices of the Paradise Garage were transported to Leeds clubs like The Warehouse almost every Friday and Saturday night from 1981-83. These were my early steps away from the orthodoxy of punk's (and some of post-punk's) hater attitude towards disco. It finally became OK to say that you liked records by Patrick Hernandez, Donna Summer and so on. West End took you into vast territories in long mixes by Levan, Francois Kervorkian, Todd Terry and others. This record by the Peech Boys with its machinic clap also opened up my listening to Kingston's Drummlie Avenue sounds and King Tubby, Jammy and Scientist at the controls of the dub engine.

New York Citi Peech Boys -- Don't make me wait (Larry Levan 12" mix)

No comments: