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The most recent bootleg to hit the streets is this one and about time too. At least I think it's a bootleg as I can't see it being re-issued after all these years. I'd like an OG copy one day but until then this'll do. Being my second favourite track on the streetsounds LP, 'Crucial Electro 2' (second only to 'One For The Treble' by Davy DMX) I feel it's a welcome addition to my collection of golden oldies. Nothing more need be said about this true electro classic except I thought I knew all the lyrics but apparently not.
I was never the poppin' and lockin' sort. This tune is perfect for that kinda thing. A friend of a friend 'back in the day' used to cite this as being his all time favourite (and this was in '83). He was pretty decent at the old poppin' and lockin' thing but something always bothered me about him. He used to hang his keys on one of his belt loops on this jeans and he was fairly expressive shall we say whilst electric boogalooing and they used to jangle like hell and really irritate me. Not to mention actually hanging them there in the first place. And why do you need so many keys at your age? I had one key. I was about 13 or 14 and it was always in my pocket. This is the 7" promo version by the way which I got off ebay about 5 or 6 years back for a quid. Never had the 12" but it's probably the same tune only shorter. I have loads more keys now I'm a grown up so there's only one thing I can think of doing as an homage to someone I didn't really know. In fact let's all do it.
I think I mentioned in a previous post the after school club I went to when I was a wee boy to practice my b-boy moves. Well that's where I heard this for the first time. I had stopped going because in my mind I was approaching the end of my dancing 'career' and the music itself was becoming the most important thing. An obsession some might say. Some people did, (hi mom). Anyway I started going back 'cos there was a new guy in town, from the West Midlands I think 'cos we thought he talked funny. Absolutely no offence intended at all to any folk from the Midlands but it was the eighties, we had no cash and we never went anywhere except Skegness or Bridlington so I guess we were 'sheltered' somewhat. Anyway he had a tape. A different tape. Rubbish quality but new tunes on it all the same. I remember this one being a stand out track and also 'Don't Fess' by Sha-Quan. He had the whole of 'Don't Fess' on there, bonus beats and all which was great. My brother eventually got a copy of the tape off this new kid as he was in the year below me, as was my bro and I was obviously overjoyed. I then made it my life's mission to get this 12" and I did. For nowt. My house music loving mate let me have it 'cos he'd played it to death. He got it off Beat Street Records, (remember them) in the late eighties. I obviously went for it too but he beat me 'cos his postman delivered way before mine did. Still, not to worry, eh..
Another classic old school banger that I bought from Beat Street Records around 1987-88. I saw the excellent Mancunian b boy crew Broken Glass dancing to this on the telly, (I'm pretty sure it was the early evening news) when I was an aspiring breaker myself and wanted it so badly it almost hurt. Now you have to try and imagine a time, if you aren't as 'mature' as I, before the internet, before CDs and before I had enough money to even buy a record never mind travel to Manchester or London in order to get 'em. So when I saw Broken Glass's single in my local record store on Morgan Khan's Streetwave label I figured it had to be that tune so I bought it. Without listening to it first 'cos they didn't let you do that until later on. And I was gutted. No disrespect to Broken Glass intended in any way whatsoever because they were one of the best crews around at the time but their attempt at a hip hop tune paled in comparison to the The Boogie Boys' superior drum machine sound hammering the hell out of your eardrums and making you want to break. That's maybe why they chose it to dance to on TV. Rather than their own record. I don't have that one any more. I still have this one though.
When I first heard Streetsounds Electro 5 I couldn't decide whether I liked 'B Boys Breakdance' or this the best. Volume 5 is filled with classics and is arguably the greatest of the whole series. I had every one of those on the 12" vinyl format at one time or another but the aforementioned two beauties are the pick of the bunch for me. It's the B-side again too. The A-side track, 'Summer' is almost the same but has a bit of singing and is a bit less heavy. I didn't appreciate singing on hardcore b boy tunes in 1984. I'm not too bothered nowadays either but I've mellowed a little. We probably all have. It's these kinds of records that bring 1984 back though. Spinning around (not like Kylie) on a piece of cardboard on the side of the road while your 'JVC vibrated the concrete'. Everyone was into it and it was great. There's only me left now and you lot of course. Everyone else fell off and started listening to Boyzone or Elvis. I can't do that. Apart from wanting to stab myself in the eardrum I don't feel anything when I hear groups like that. This is a regular on my ipod along with all the early eighties classics and I never get tired of hearing them. It's in me all the time and I'm certain it'll never fade. Happy days.
I had to order this from the counter. I didn't know you could do that. My mate informed me when I was checking the import box in Virgin and there was nothing I wanted to buy. I went down the next weekend and the guy behind the counter, who was getting to know me a little as I was in there every Saturday, (usually when they had just opened for business), told me my record had come in. What, it only took a week? Sure I was surprised and maybe a little excited (I was about 15 or 16) and it was still sealed. I know the majority of records come factory sealed these days but when you bought them back then most of the time the seal had been broken already as folk wanted to hear a snippet before parting with their 6 quid because the internet hadn't been invented yet. Neither had hip hop radio, apart from Sir Jonathon Peel of course but he didn't have everything so you had to spin a few before purchase as you could end up missing the freshest slice of wax and it would be another week or maybe even two before you had enough for the next one and, well you get the picture. Times were hard. And my mate who I met every week outside the shop on the High Street never bought a damn thing. Ever. Except for a
Simple Minds tape. But I mentioned him before..
I got this mid last year and for a very reasonable price too. Been on my wants list for a heck of a long time after playing it to death on and old Mike Allen tape and I can't really afford to pay hiked up ridiculous 'random rap' prices so let it slide for some time until I got lucky. It's these kinds of records that you just couldn't get a hold of when they first dropped unless you lived in that London place or traveled there every week and there was no chance of that for me being an honest Northerner with limited cash available. There still isn't. So thank goodness the internet has made the world a smaller place and I don't have to get off my arse and go hunting for wax any more. And neither do you. I hope it's been worth the wait 'cos I think it's a dope slice of true hip hop that hasn't been shared much, if at all, in it's entirety and at the time of writing there's none on ebay but five on discogs, the cheapest being 40 euros which is about 30-35 English pounds that also being more than I can allow myself these days to spend on records per week. Anyway, happy new year, sorry it took me so long and I do hope it's not an anti-climax because it really shouldn't be. Long live real hip hop.
This is my personal fave of all Hardrock's releases, ('Elaweaser' being my least favourite; what the hell was that?). Nothing much more to add really except Max and Dave were the first UK hip hoppers who truly made some stompin' drum machine driven electro tunes in the early to mid eighties and if you've not heard this for a while the progressive intro complete with Monty Python scratch will make your Christmas. No, it really will. I've had it on heavy rotation since re-ripping it and it really bangs and also triggers memories of the time which a lot of this old wax does, for me anyway. The title alone says 1986 is the years we had some great slang that not many folk understood and once again I think we should bring some of these back 'cos some of the new ones are shite and my mom uses some of 'em. Anyway, have a good Christmas and I have something I think is quite special for the new year which I'll try and get up here by the 31st December.
