Although I'm not buying vinyl and shuffling around the dance floor any more, soul music has been a constant in my life over the decades. I got my first real exposure at The Cathedral Club in Northampton, longer ago than I care to remember. A function hall tapped onto one of the main Catholic places of worship in the town, a local crew (maybe the Inspiration FM founders?) used to hire it out, as they weren't getting well catered for in the town's commercial clubs. I used to go down on occasions in the hope of catching some of the early body popping and break dancing that was hitting the UK at the time. As a result I was exposed to the soulful sounds of the 80s and beyond, early electro, hip hop, house and although I don't actually remember, probably some Bobby Thurston.
So come back in time with me. It's 1981, disco had gotten too big for its commercial boots and ended up on a pyre in a sports stadium, but out of the ashes boogie was born. Drum machines and synths started making waves and the soul crew were as curious as anyone, although in the early days there were enough soul and funk musicians about to populate many a band, and Bobby Thurston had a full studio for his 1981 Main Attraction LP, where you can find the original. It also made in onto the B-side of a 12" for any DJs who want those wider grooves.
The groove is steady, the hand claps big, a funky arse bassline intertwines with stick and hand played percussion which is then joined by horns and guitar to usher Thurston's deeply soulful vocals through the speakers and into the hearts and minds of the local dancers. The lyrics aren't going to win any poetry awards, but who doesn't like some vocal encouragement to pluck up the courage and ask that girl you've had your eye on to have a dance with you.
Wind forward to 2024 and the track has come to the attention of The Reflex and KooKoo Records out of Canada, who've decided to give this, let's face it pretty much forgotten track, a second wind, and I applaud them both for the endeavour and the fine result.
The Reflex, Nicolas Laugier to his mum, has been delivering a non-stop stream of tasty edits, quality remixes and original boogie, disco and slower house cuts for a while now, so he was a wise choice by the label to give this tune a lick of paint.
Vocals and instruments are chopped and cleverly rearranged, some parts replayed, some even go missing, he's definitely made his mark on the track, but the essence is thankfully intact, and wisely so. The most obvious change (and improvement) is that the new version is sounding meatier and mightier, having benefited from today's studio advancements - it's going to sound dope on a big system. I don't know how the vinyl sounds, but the original cut available to stream as part of the EP sounds dull by comparison, and woefully inadequate for today's sound systems.
Just for good measure he also tackles "I Want Your Body" (there's definitely a theme with Thurston's lyrical content) as part of the package, bravely dispensing with the drums for most of the the cut, which accentuates the end of night, erection section vibe.
Take a trip through soul history and help start the revival, this is the real deal.
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