In many respects, when Imagination Leee John, Ashley Ingram and Errol Kennedy - first appeared on Top Of The Pops in early 1981, their performance was as incendiary in its own way as David Bowie's arm-round- Mick-Ronson on the show nine years earlier. Before they had been seen, Body Talk, the ballad they breezed in with, was being taken very seriously, as a next step forward in the burgeoning Britfunk movement. Wearing spandex, togas, harem pants, and the only phrase for it-prancing around, they were offering something that had rarely been seen in Britain; a new kind of black sexuality. Released on R&B Records (its strapline: "It's got to be about the product"), an offshoot of the rather less glamorous PRT, Body Talk was sultry and steamy and, combined with their visuals, stunned UK audiences not yet fully aware of Rick James or Prince. The African-American "love men" who ruled in this area were usually either in bow-ties or behemoths of machismo; here was Leee John, equal parts sexual threat and camp vaudevillian, giving it his all.
Forty years later, he still throws himself wholeheartedly into everything he does. To celebrate the release of 40 Years, the 17-disc Imagination collection, John offers Record Collector, via Zoom, a Flashback to the Music and Lights of the early 80s.
"My focus has always been about the work," says the cat in the well-angled hat on RC's screen. "It's my St Lucian background." Work is something John has always done. From his breakthrough in 1981, he hasn't stopped: writing, singing, directing, collaborating. Within several minutes, he has reeled off a long list of what he's currently up to and all before we discuss the gigantic career retrospective he's just launching. Exhausted just by listening to his current activities, RC reflects on how it all began.
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Esta historia es de la edición March 2023 de Record Collector.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
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"Things can go very badly wrong"
But not too often. The Iron Maiden singer, aviator, business mogul and awardwinning everyman, Bruce Dickinson, returns with a new solo album, The Mandrake Project – Top 10 across the planet at the time of writing – and a ton of anecdotes about his extraordinarily successful career. Just don’t try and put him in a box. “I’m not a number, I’m a free man!” he warns Joel McIver.
Out Of The Darkness
Long-anticipated solo debut from Portishead singer is worth the wait
Clearing The Way
The end of an era for Bolan's glam-rock trailblazers.
SOCK IT TO ME DISC-ITS! WHEN TWO TRIBES VINYL AND CD (AND CASSETTE) WENT TO WAR
Dream, if you can, a courtyard. An ocean of violets in bloom. Alternatively, a 1984 record shop and all its pristine treasures. Close your eyes, let’s go there together. What do you see? From chest-level down – vinyl.
Steve Harley 1951-2024
As frontman for Cockney Rebel, the singer-songwriter crafted one of the glam rock era's greatest singles in Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me).
The Collector
Swiss-based Icelander Sunna Margrét is a rising force in experimental pop. Having begun her career as a teenager touring with electro-pop ensemble Bloodgroup, she is about to release her debut full-length solo LP, Finger on Tongue.
She'd only Just gun
With their rapturous harmonies, the Carpenters dominated the 70s’ airwaves, selling over 100 million records with hits like Close To You and Yesterday Once More. But by 1979, lead singer Karen was seeking a new direction… Biographer Lucy O’Brien recounts her attempts to move out of the restrictive environment of the family band that had made her a star
PNEUMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE
Forming in West Berlin in 1980 and achieving their greatest notoriety circa 1984, industrial noise-punks Einstürzende Neubauten have far e xceeded t he i r p ro jec ted l i fe expectancy. Founding frontman Blixa Bargeld traces the evolution of the metalbashing pioneers. Jeremy Allen is all (suitably protected) ears
FRUITS OF THEIR LABOUTES
Bananarama had their first Top 3 hit in 1984, Robert De Niro's Waiting. Rob Hughes meets lifelong friends and bandmates Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward as they look back on their career, album by album
Being Soaring.
In April 1984, the original, faster Bobby Oproduced version of West End Girls was released.