Record Mirror Disco Charts

Colin Curtis joins Greg WIlson and Mike Atkinson for a countdown of the first Disco Top 20 of 1983: a time when electro-funk was in the ascendant, and even long-established soul/funk acts were incorporating electronic elements. Scratching was this month's new thing; jazz-funk was on the wane, club hits weren't always guaranteed pop crossover hits, a superstar's follow-up was briefly struggling, and a couple of formative underground classics from the 1970s were being repurposed to new audiences. In the vanguard as ever, as he had been since starting his career in 1967, Colin was breaking new tunes at places like Manchester Ritz, Birmingham Powerhouse and Nottingham Rock Citty, and embracing the changes as eagerly as he had done at Blackpool Mecca with Ian Levine, before pivoting to jazz dance, electro and eventually early Chicago house. Always a tastemaker and never a follower, he casts an expert eye on a chart that reflects an ever-changing scene, at a particularly transitional time.To accompany this episode, you can listen to this entire Top 20 in full, or alternatively as a shorter medley of snippets.Further listening: other tracks mentioned in this episode (YouTube)Further reading:* James Hamilton's Dance Pages 1983-1989 (800 page hardback book)* James Hamilton's Disco Pages 1975-1982 (550 page hardback book)Mike also hosts the podcast Which Decade Is Tops For Pops? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having spent all of summer 1987 in Ibiza, dancing to Alfredo at Amnesia and experiencing an epiphany, Lisa Loud returned to London with a new-found determination to break into the music industry. By the time of this chart, she was DJ-ing at major venues and working in promotions for Virgin Records, where she was responsible for breaking acts such as Neneh Cherry, Massive Attack, Soul II Soul, and the act at Number One on this particular Club Chart. While the first wave of acid house was reaching its peak, Lisa was also travelling around the UK, delivering acetates to tastemaker DJs and generally "having the time of my life".Joining Greg Wilson and Mike Atkinson for our first episode based on the second volume of James Hamilton's columns, Lisa guides us through a pivotal time for UK club culture, where acid house, hip hop, soul, funk and Balearic beats intermingled, and sampling was rife, as yet unburdened by copyright concerns.To accompany this episode, you can listen to this entire Top 20 in full, or alternatively as a shorter medley of snippets.Further listening: other tracks mentioned in this episode (YouTube)Further reading:* James Hamilton's Dance Pages 1983-1989 (800 page hardback book)* James Hamilton's Disco Pages 1975-1982 (550 page hardback book)Mike also hosts the podcast Which Decade Is Tops For Pops? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Morales - remixer, producer, DJ, and best known in the 1980s for his M&M mixes with the late Sergio Munzibai - joins Greg Wilson and Mike Atkinson for a look at the Record Mirror Disco Chart of 12th April 1980.To accompany this episode, you can listen to this entire Top 20 in full, or alternatively as a shorter medley of snippets.Further listening: other tracks mentioned in this episode.Further reading:James Hamilton's Disco Pages 1975-1982 (550 page hardback book)Coming soon: James Hamilton's Dance Pages 1983-1989 (800 page hardback book)Mike also hosts the podcast Which Decade Is Tops For Pops? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our second visit to 1982, Greg Wilson and Mike Atkinson are joined by Arthur Baker: producer, remixer, songwriter, DJ, and one of the prime architects of electro-funk (Planet Rock, Walking On Sunshine, Play At Your Own Risk, Confusion, IOU etc). In this Top 20 countdown, we can see these electronic elements starting to emerge, with some well-established funk acts already embracing the changes. Elsewhere, jazz-funk and Britfunk rub shoulders with pop crossovers, in a typically diverse snapshot of the times. Along the way, Arthur shares memories of the Paradise Garage, Better Days, a pre-fame Madonna, and collaborations with Tee Scott, Leee John, New Order and many more key figures of the era.To accompany this episode, you can listen to this entire Top 20 in full, or alternatively as a shorter medley of snippets.Further listening: other tracks mentioned in this episode.Further reading:James Hamilton's Disco Pages 1975-1982 (550 page hardback book)Greg Wilson's interview with Arthur Baker (2022)Arthur Baker: Looking For The Perfect Beat (Faber, 2025)Mike also hosts the podcast Which Decade Is Tops For Pops? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irvine Welsh joins Greg Wilson and Mike Atkinson to take a look at a Disco Chart from September 1978: a time when, in the wake of Saturday Night Fever's enormous success, certain UK DJs were starting to plot a different way forwards, with jazz-funk in particular emerging as a significant new force. As we discover, many of these US tunes, although huge on British dancefloors, did not enjoy the same success in their home country.Dividing his time between London punk clubs and Saturday night discos, Irvine straddled both worlds, at ease with their supposed cultural contradictions. To accompany his new book Men In Love - which picks up where Trainspotting left off, charting its central characters' progress through the late 1980s - Irvine has released a soundtrack album, accompanied by his Sci-Fi Soul Orchestra, which sets the characters' stories to lushly orchestrated soulful disco, inspired by the classic sound of Chic and Philadelphia International. During the episode, you'll also get to hear more about how this musical project came together.To accompany our discussion, you can listen to this entire Top 20 in full, or alternatively as a shorter medley of snippets.Further listening: other tracks mentioned in this episode.(Spotify) Further reading: James Hamilton's Disco Pages 1975-1982.(550 page hardback book) Mike also hosts the podcast Which Decade Is Tops For Pops? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leee John joins Greg Wilson and Mike Atkinson for a Disco Chart Top 20 countdown from July 1981. Already a committed clubber and an active member of the Britfunk community, Leee had just started to find success with his band Imagination, who had been signed to Morgan Khan’s R&B label, and so he has vivid memories of this particular period: a transitional time, when the disco era had ended, the electronic era had yet to emerge, but the beat went on, with a focus on skilled musicianship and carefully crafted production. And as always, you'll also get to hear what Record Mirror's James Hamilton thought of each track that we discuss.To accompany this episode, you can listen to this entire Top 20 in full, or alternatively as a shorter medley of snippets.Further listening: other tracks mentioned in this episodeFurther reading: James Hamilton's Disco Pages 1975-1982 (550 page hardback book)Mike also hosts the podcast Which Decade Is Tops For Pops? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greg Wilson and Mike Atkinson are joined by Jeff Young: "funk mafia" DJ, presenter of BBC Radio One's first ever specialist dance music show, remixer, studio owner and music industry professional.To accompany this episode, you can listen to this entire Top 20 in full, or alternatively as a shorter medley of snippets.Further listening: other tracks mentioned in this episode.Further reading: James Hamilton's Disco Pages 1975-1982.Mike also hosts the podcast Which Decade Is Tops For Pops? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Norman Cook joins Greg Wilson and Mike Atkinson, as we take a detailed look at what was happening on UK dancefloors in August 1982: a time of significant change, as the dominant post-disco sounds (retrospectively known as "boogie") were starting to make way for groundbreaking - and divisive - electronic innovations. With underground import tracks rubbing shoulders with crossover pop hits, this particular Record Mirror Disco Top 20 offers a fascinating snapshot of the period.Along the way, you'll also hear about Norman's beginnings as a DJ, and about the early influences that shaped his future career as Fatboy Slim. Meanwhile, as someone who was playing these tunes at the time, at major venues such as Wigan Pier and Legend in Manchester, Greg draws on his own experience and knowledge to place this music in its proper historical context. You'll also hear how these records were reviewed in Record Mirror at the time by Mike's stepfather, the legendary James Hamilton, whose columns from this period have recently been published in book form as James Hamilton’s Disco Pages 1975-1982. .To accompany this episode, you can listen to this entire Top 20 in full, or alternatively as a shorter medley of snippets.Mike also hosts the podcast Which Decade Is Tops For Pops? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.