Mutant Disco Special

80s music fanatic and record label MD Mark Jones goes Back To The Phuture for a mutant disco special.

Wednesday 5 May 2010

BBC 6 Music - Wednesday 5 May 2010 - The sound of New York in the early part of that decade, mutant disco - or "no wave" as it was also known - became popular in the clubs with labels like Ze Records cranking out a stream of big tunes. The mutant sound soon spread to the UK, with the Wag Club in London and Manchester's Hacienda embracing it and creating their own mutant bands such as Funkapolitan and A Certain Ratio.

In this show, Mark plays classic tracks from Was (Not Was), 23 Skidoo and Animal Nightlife, alongside current mutant-influenced music from Yaysayer, Lonelady and LCD Soundsystem.

In the second hour of the show Mark's joined by August Darnell - talismanic frontman of Kid Creole And The Coconuts, talking about the New York 'no wave' scene and life on Ze Records in the 1980s. Best known for hits Stool Pigeon and I'm A Wonderful Thing Baby, Darnell also picks music which influenced and inspired the band from Tito Puente, Cab Calloway and Sky Stone.

In the final hour the man behind London's infamous Wag Club, Chris Sullivan takes to the decks for a mutant disco set featuring forgotten gems from Blue Rondo A La Turk, Pig Bag and Yello.

Kid Creole and the Coconuts

Kid Creole and the Coconuts is an American musical group created and led by August Darnell. Their music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, in particular "American and Latin American, South American, Caribbean, Trinidadian, Calloway" and conceptually inspired by the big band era. The Coconuts are a glamorous trio of female backing vocalists whose lineup has changed throughout the years.

August Darnell

Thomas August Darnell Browder was born in The Bronx, New York City, USA on August 12, 1950, his mother was from South Carolina and his father from Savannah, Georgia. As an adult, Thomas Browder began going by his two middle names as August Darnell.

Growing up in the melting pot of the Bronx, Darnell was exposed early on to all kinds of music". Darnell began his musical career in a band named The In-Laws with his brother, Stony Browder Jr, in 1965, which disbanded so Darnell could pursue a career as an English teacher. Darnell obtained a masters degree in English, but in 1974 again formed a band with his brother Stony Browder Jr under the name Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. Their self-titled debut release was a Top 40-charting album which was certified gold and was nominated for a Grammy.

Together, the Browder boys defied convention to invent a new breed of music. Of convoluted and deliberately obfuscated racial heritage, the brothers decided to promote their pan-genetic Creole Creed: a better, brighter reality that ignores gender and colour restrictions.

Darnell began producing for other artists, such as Don Armando’s Second Avenue Rhumba Band and Gichy Dan’s Beachwood No.9, before adopting the name Kid Creole (adapted from the Elvis Presley film King Creole) in 1980.

Playlist:

Was (Not Was) — Out Come The Freaks
Yeaysayer — O.N.E
Kid Creole and the Coconuts — Stool Pigeon
Animal Nightlife — Love Is The Great Pretender
Funkapolitan — As Time Goes By
LCD Soundsystem — Drunk Girls
Time Zone — World Destruction
23 Skidoo — Coup
A Certain Ratio — Shack Up
LoneLady — Early The Haste Comes
New Order — Confusion
The Rapture — House Of Jealous Lovers
Tom Tom Club — Wordy Rappinghood
Kid Creole and the Coconuts — I'm A Wonderful Thing Baby
Patti Page — Old Cape Cod
Frank Sinatra — Only The Lonely
James Brown — Talking Loud And Saying Nothing
Sly Stone — Hot Fun In The Summertime
Cab Calloway — St James' Infirmary
The Beatles — I Am The Walrus
Tito Puente — Cundo Ta Ver
Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band — Deputy Of Love
Hercules and Love Affair — Blind
James White and The Blacks — Contort Yourself
Lizzy Mercier Descloux — Fire
Yello — Vicious Games
Material — Busting Out
Was (Not Was) — Wheel Me Out
Gichy Dan — On A Day Like Today
Sergio Mendes — Capoiera Du Brazil
Coati Mundi — Me No Popeye
Shriekback — My Spine if the Bassline
Jackson Jones — I Feel Good Put Your Pants In
Weirdo Police — Electronic Cretin
Unknown — Los Ninos del Parque (12" Mix)
Blue Rondo รก la Turk — Klacto instrumental
Brian Eno & David Byrne — Jezebel Spirit
Pigbag — Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag
James White — Almost Black

kidcreole.com