The 1970s provided us with the golden age of disco, but by 1980 the genre was showing signs of passing its sell-by date. Jostled off the floor by danceable pop and electronica, with punk and indie sharpening their elbows as well. maybe, but cast aside those cheesy dance party playlists and go back to real disco, 80s style.
Words & Curation by Keith, artwork by Mick, design by Eva Forné (with kind permission from Rubik’s)
The 70s provided us with the golden age of disco, but by 1980 the genre was showing signs of passing its sell-by date. The now infamous ‘Disco Demolition’ demonstration that turned badly sour on the streets of Chicago in the summer of ’79 was not only a rubbish idea (and racist too) but wholly beside the point. Disco was beginning to fade all by itself. Having dominated much of the previous decade, disco was jostled off the floor by electronic British pop, punk and, as the 80s pushed on, the emergence of indie. We’ve explored the latter two phenomena in our first three 80s Rubik’s sides, but disco in the 80s? Surely not. Look up any ‘80s disco’ playlist on the streaming services and you will see what I mean – what they mostly represent is something more like school discos, usually containing Aha’s Take On Me and a classic Wham track from the era. Nothing wrong with Aha and Wham, but disco they are not, and they did not try to be either. George Michael payed homage to disco yes, but not until well into the 90s.
A few existing bands absolutely did try disco in the 80s and should have known better, Queen for one. The 80s brought Queen’s much maligned and most disrespected album ‘Hot Space’ in which Freddie clearly ruled the roost and got his way (aided and abetted as always, by cheeky Deacy) to the perturbation of Brian and Rog. Mostly though, if you are a rock band it’s best to avoid the notion of disco. That or risk the results sounding a bit like Body Language. Queen got closest to artistic success with the idea in 1980 with Another One Bites The Dust, but even then you wouldn’t have dared play that track at a club night until perhaps, very recently. I would argue that Back Chat was the next best thing to it (yep, Deacy again!) but its very minor status in the charts taught Queen a lesson never to go there again. Despite his enthusiasm, and bringing his best voice to it all, Freddie Mercury might just have played his part in finishing disco off. Phil Collins, on the other hand, pulled it off with aplomb with his 1982 hit You Can’t Hurry Love. The answer was simple Freddie – just do a cover, dear.
Perhaps the most startling evidence of the decline of disco was the fact that the Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards never had a proper smash hit again after the 70s – not as iconic outfit Chic anyhow. Indeed, their potent injection of disco magic into the floundering family band that was Sister Sledge – which produced four worldwide disco classics – was all achieved in 1979. The dynamic duo of course had hits in the 80s - plenty of ‘em, but they were channelled through others, from Diana Ross (the twisty bass of Upside Down might just be the best of Edwards) to Duran Duran.
Mostly, 80s disco was a community of artists who were brave enough to tough it out on Top Of The Pops alongside Sex Pistols, The Stranglers or Gary Numan and other artists du jour that would get the attention of the folks at home (even if the studio guests were nonplussed). If they were really unlucky, it might be Madonna they were up against – the living embodiment of the fact that disco was being replaced. As for the disco that made it to the charts, some of it was cheesy (Kool & The Gang’s Celebrate), a lot of it very poppy (Pointer Sisters I’m So Excited, Natalie Cole’s Pink Cadillac). Even more of it was rather lame and best forgotten (Ottawan’s D.I.S.C.O anybody?).
Some of it though, was just great.
It was Gwen Guthrie, a well-regarded backing singer (to Madonna among others), who pulled a rabbit out of disco’s hat with a banger of a hit in 1986 ‘Ain’t Nothing Going On but The Rent’. It encouraged gentle criticism for its materialistic lyrical theme of every ‘fly girl’ grabbing themselves a ‘man with money in his hand’. Of its time perhaps (after all, a mere J.O.B. would not be nearly enough these days to impress anyone male or female). But musically, it was and still is, mightily fresh, from the opening bells and Gwen’s remonstrating “Bill collectors at my door, what can you do for me”, followed by pulsing bass and shuffling rhythm, and the accompanying refrain of “no romance without finance”. It’s practically perfect in every way. It was no accident Guthrie wrote, performed and self-produced this smash, which charted at number one in a few countries, but was a major R&B hit in the USA and a number 5 chart hit in the UK. Gwen had previously written hits for among others, Ben E. King, Roberta Flack and…four years before Rogers and Edwards got into the studio with them, Sister Sledge. Even one hit wonders sometimes have the most intriguing back stories.
Once we get to Gwen at track three, we open up the space on this playlist for more pure classics. Rufus & Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody. Lionel Richie’s All Night Long. Womack & Womack, Gloria Gaynor, Odyssey, Evelyn King. And, because you’ve got to take some risks on the dance floor, Queen’s Back Chat. Does it stand up? You decide…
By the mid 80s disco had truly given way to dance floor pop – Whitney Houston, Madonna and the UK electronic scene. It has never dominated since in the same way it held a vicelike grip on the music industry in the late 70s. That hasn’t stopped Nile Rogers being the one of the most sought-after collaborators in the business. Modern incarnations of disco are prevalent, from Daft Punk to Tame Impala.
It’ll be interesting to see who brings it back in vogue next, but we had to close this vintage collection with a forgotten gem, again by our heroine Gwen Guthrie. Three years before she tore up the charts with ‘Rent’ she had already become a cult figure in the US clubs. She was dubbed ‘The First Lady of the Paradise Garage’ since some of her songs including Padlock, became anthems at the NYC venue where she gave spirited performances. You should do the same in your kitchen. Whether you are turning fifty or fifteen, have fun with this…crank up the volume and dance to the last days of disco.
This is by no means a completist selection, so we may well be back with a volume II on this one. Next up in the 80s series, we pay homage to John Hughes films and the soundtrack to our very own coming of age movie. It’s different.