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PRELUDE TO A DAZZLING DISCO RIDE
PRELUDE TO A DAZZLING DISCO RIDE
Fred Petrus traveled a long road to achieve recognition in the United States and the global music industry. He was a Frenchman, though lived a major part of his life in Italy and the United States where he established an international career in music production. Fred Petrus was born in the French archipelago of Guadeloupe, located in the eastern Caribbean Sea and belonging to the Lesser Antilles group of islands. In the beautiful seaside town of Sainte-Anne on Grande-Terre Island he spent a happy childhood surrounded by four brothers and one sister: Frantz (Joachim) Petrus (°1945), Jean (José) Petrus (°1952), Lucien Petrus (°1957), Alex (Maximin) Middleton (°1961) and Evelyne (Félix) Middleton (°1959). They lived in Rue du Stade in the area called Cité Valette (photo below). A nice neighborhood near the omnisports stadium Valette and close to some of the the most magnificent beaches in the world (photo below: Caravelle Beach or Plage de la Caravelle in Sainte-Anne).
From an early age onwards Fred Petrus was hooked on music. He used to collect records and developed a fascination with funk, Rhythm & Blues and soul music, a passion that would determine his professional life journey. After finishing technical school in 1963, at the age of 15, Fred Petrus worked as a qualified diesel-engine mechanic on a cargo ship for a spell. In 1965, as a very young man of 17, he relocated to Paris and moved in with relatives. While residing in the French capital, he developed friendships with people involved in importing American pop music to France. Already looking smartly to his future, he took up courses of business administration and also bravely pursued his dream of becoming a celebrated deejay.
Plage de la Caravelle and Rue du Stade (Cité Valette), Sainte-Anne
One of his first significant gigs in Paris was at the legendary Club Saint-Hilaire ran by François-Patrice, a chic venue situated in Rue de Rennes. The club was frequented by the rich and famous of that time like Aristoteles Onassis, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner and many French stars and starlets. His next stop in the Paris nightlife was the White Chapel club at Place Mabillon. During summertime in 1969 and 1970 he performed as a deejay in Spanish discotheques like Club Pilote or Tiffany’s in Marbella, alternating with Paris according to the season. Paris was only home for a short time however, and before long Petrus was drawn to Italy, permanently. In 1971 Fred was hired by a discotheque in Messina, Sicily, where he acquired contacts that led to new opportunities in Rome during wintertime. In Rome Fred Petrus handled the turntables at the Staco Matto jet set club, callig himself "DJ Petrus". Later he would become resident deejay at the Good Mood in Milan until 1977. It wasn't unusual that he showed up at the Good Mood in a Bentley. Fred Petrus had always been an exhibitionist and liked to be seen as important. So travelling around in expensive cars was obvious. The prosperous city of Milan with its sophisticated fashion appeal and exuberant nightlife was the ideal place for Petrus to settle down in 1972 and spread his wings. Incidentally, Milan, the economic and financial heart of Italy, would become the capital of Italian dance music production later on. In this industrious Italian metropolis, there were importers, exporters, record shops, offices, studios, labels, and businesses.
To make a decent living, Fred Petrus also used to work during the daytime. And not surprisingly, he landed a job as a shop assistant in a mondaine Fiorucci fashion store in Milan. The Fiorucci company was aware of the impact of Disco culture and would hybridize with this sophisticated and escapist life style by means of targetted marketing campaigns. In 1977 the exclusive fashion brand embraced the Disco momentum and organized the grand opening of what was to become another Manhattan and global Disco landmark: Studio 54. So it occurred that Disco retailer Jacques Fred Petrus and his associate Franco Donato got the opportunity to set up a Goody Music outlet inside two of the Fiorucci stores in Milano.
Original Fiorucci fashion store at Piazza San Babila in Milano during 1970s where Goody Music Import had an outlet
The posh discotheque Jackie O' in Rome, No.11 Via Boncompagni
Club William's le Roi, formerly the Club Good Mood, Via Filippo Turati No.29, Milano
Fred Petrus achieved an established reputation as top resident DJ at trendy clubs and eventually began to import music as he quickly understood how to respond to the needs of his Milanese fellow DJ’s. He also realised he couldn’t keep on doing the job of a DJ for the rest of his life. The entrepreneurial spirit awoke resolutely. "When I first came to Italy in 1972," Petrus recalled, "I immediately saw that the market for American music there was wide open, virgin territory. Nobody in Italy was importing dance records and I stepped into that vacuum."
In the early days Petrus used to order two packages a week. The demand as well as his funds were limited. He mainly sold imports to his deejay friends spinning at discotheques like the Primadonna, Nepentha and the Charly Max in Milan and furthermore Rome's Easy Going, Bella Blu, Jackie O' and Number One clubs. Wishing to further his links within the disco community, he slowly began importing records from America on a larger scale, starting a widely used but expensive service for discotheques across the country. He also supplied music to the huge clubs on the touristic Adriatic coast, like the glamorous Baia Degli Angeli –capable of holding 2.000 people– and L'Altromondo Club; as well as exclusive clubs such as Il Paradiso.
During the 1970s, the Goody Music Import warehouse and the early offices were located behind these storefronts on Via Comelico/Via Friuli No.51, Milano.
His commerce gradually increased as also snobbish club-goers got interested in buying fancy and exclusive dance music that only the coolest DJs had access to. At one of the high society venues where Petrus was deejaying he met a regular nightclub customer in late 1974 who helped him start up his first record shop in 1976, situated on Via Francesco Carrara No.19 in Rome. This sponsor was Franco Donato and the place where they bumped into each other was the club Good Mood in Milan. Due to his close ties with the discotheque Good Mood, Freddie baptized the business "Goody Music". With the unconditional help of his Maecenas and business partner Franco Donato, Goody Music would later bloom into a production company and record label.
The origin of the Goody Music logo
The legendary record store Champs-Disques in Paris inspired Jacques Fred Petrus. He wanted to set up a record store in Italy with the same appeal. Champs-Disques was located in Galerie des Champs on the Champs-Élysées Avenue n° 84 and was created by Marcel Benbassat. It was undoubtedly the most crucial record shop in Paris during the 70s Disco era and the 80s. Marcel Benbassat specialised in imports. Vinyls came from New York, Los Angeles, London and sometimes Italy. Among his clients were all the DJs from the best clubs like The Queen, Le Palace, Le Sept, L'Élysées Matignon, Le Bus Palladium, Castel's... As star customers he welcomed Michel Polnareff, Elton John, Henri Belolo, Karl Lagerfeld, princess Stéphanie Grimaldi of Monaco and even Michael Jackson. Fred Petrus and his business partner Franco Donato copied the concept and opened a similarly styled import store in Rome in 1976. Franco Donato was a professional interior decorator and would design four more Goody Music retail points. Even the logo of Goody Music imitated the brand of Champs-Disques. And in turn, the logo of Champs-Disques was a perfect copy of the trademark of the American pop duo The Carpenters, first used in 1971.
The US import store Goody Music was a so called Italian division of the American leading music retailer Sam Goody. But this wasn't the case at all. Just a pinch of Petrus' crookedness to magnify his trade. There were already two music importers in Italy: Carù Import Srl in Gallarate and Ronchini Import Srl in Parma. But they were only interested in selling music from England and American crossovers and stuck to long players and 7 inch singles. Goody Music Import thrived because just Petrus specialised in Dance music like soul, funk and disco from the USA. From 1975 onwards the 12 inch single made its appearance and Petrus embraced the new format, conceived specifically for discotheques. The other music retailers weren't excited because in te mid-seventies you could count the deejays in Milan on the fingers of one hand, and the fame of a disc jockey was of someone who would "set up" the records more than anything else. In those days the DJ, with rare exceptions, had no technological knowledge or skills of sound mixing as is the case now.
The disco market was a very specific and dynamic branch that required a constant awareness of the trends and the demands. In a short time Jacques Fred Petrus owned the monopoly and supplied dance records to radio stations and discotheques all over Italy.
In a March 1980 interview for Billboard Magazine Freddie Petrus explained it the following way, "When I first started out in Italy in 1972, I was importing product from the U.S., mostly disco hits and general dance items. At that time, interest in R&B and black music here was small, so discotheques were my main customers, mostly with modest orders. Once I discovered that Italians were keen on dancing, my business grew to take in mail-order. Next step was a retail outlet in Milan –which is still going strong at Via Marghera– which began to pull in business from all over the country."
His company was doing so well that Petrus and co-owner Franco Donato needed assistance. Petrus asked his cousin Claude Petrus to join him in Milan. Unfortunately the mutual understanding between the two quickly deteriorated as Claude couldn't cope with Petrus' sometimes harsh nature. After a couple of months Claude Petrus shut the door of the Goody Music store behind him for good and flew back to the Caribbean. Claude Petrus recollected: "After my bad experience at his record commerce in Milan I tried to avoid him. But I must admit that Fred was very charismatic. He also had great capacities for foreign languages. He spoke Italian, French, English and Spanish, even if the vocabulary and the pronunciation were sometimes horrible. But then again, this could have been one of his powerful charming and seducing instruments...businesswise as well." Hence Fred called up his three brothers but it didn't work out. Only Alex Middleton, his youngest brother, succeeded in collaborating with the hot-tempered "Little Macho". They had a good brother relationship and apparently shared the same business instinct and musical interests. Alex would remain one of the few confidants in Fred's life until the producer's tragic death in 1987.
Franco Donato was a close friend and the initial business partner of Jacques Fred Petrus, who helped developing the Goody Music company.
Goody Music Records in Rome, a legendary meeting point for deejays since 1995 and a household name in the club scene since 1976
The success of Goody Music allowed him to expand the music trade and set up a chain of record stores in Italy, all managed by his friend and financier Franco Donato. The original import shop was situated in Rome at Via Francesco Carrara n°19. In 1995 this historic record shop moved to a building on the corner of Via Cesare Beccaria No.2 and Via Flaminia No.23 and is still in the hands of the Donato brothers today. Since 2022 the Goody Music record store has been turned into the hip bar & restaurant "Goody 1976". Still adjoined in the same building on Via Flaminia N°25/27 is the downsized historic Goody Music DJ and record store. Two more shop locations in Milan would quickly follow. There was one Goody Music cornershop at Via Marghera No.1 and another import store at Viale Premuda No.2. All stores had been furnished by Franco Donato who happened to be a professinal interior decorator. At one time, there were even outlets at two Fiorucci fashion stores in Milan. Fiorucci’s first big stores at Piazza San Babila and on Via Torino expanded from fashion to offer books, music, furniture, and makeup. It also boasted a performance space, vintage clothing area, and restaurant. The shopping centers became focal points for youth and alternative culture, places for people to hang out. The stores offered free espresso and on the first floor there was a music shop with vinyl boxes and a resident DJ would play dance music at a high volume – it became known as the daytime Studio 54 because of the disco crowd that gathered there. The Goody Music retail points were called “Goody Music For DJs”.
Result of all this meant that Petrus had to move into wholesale trading, installing a distribution warehouse and offices on the corner of Via Comelico/Via Friuli No.51 in Milan. Former Little Macho Music staff member Steve Bogen recalled: "I met Freddie in the 1970s when he had the Goody Music record stores in Italy. I was the buyer for one of the leading retailers of import disco in N.Y.C. and he would regularly fly to the US and come in to see me at Record Haven Imports at 233 W 42nd Street. Record Haven was a prime source for disco record product from Europe and Canada. I would sit with him, play him the newest hottest US disco songs, he would buy them and I would then ship the vinyl records to him in Italy. I started working directly with Fred Petrus in like 1981 until 1984. Just before, I was running the record label RPM Assoc., an indie promotion company specializing in American rock ‘n’ roll bands that was pretty well known."
When private radio stations were legalized in 1975, Goody Music sponsored a radio program on the first private station: Radio Milano International, which later changed to 101 Network and now is called Radio 101 or R101. Soon every private station was hosting a disco show and disco music became really huge by 1976. It appears that Petrus was even one of the first radio DJ's of Radio Milano International but he was fired after a dispute with the head of the radio station.
Fred Petrus deejaying in Spain at Club Pilote in 1969 (Photo courtesy of Claude Petrus)
GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION & LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO.
While Franco Donato took care of the music stores and the distribution network, Fred Petrus focused on his new role as a music producer and publisher. He attracted young talented musicians from the region of Emilia-Romagna (Bologna, Ferrara, Modena, Rimini, …) who orbited Bologna's Fonoprint Studios and who were often conservatory-trained. With partner Mauro Malavasi he started recording music.
According to Freddie Petrus, the transition from retailing to producing was a logical one. He explained, "When someone does well in retailing, he gets familiar with the music and with what will sell. In addition to running the stores, I was also supplying the Italian deejays with their records, like a record pool, so I had a pretty good idea of what was popular". And Fred Petrus continued, "I had met many musicians who were looking for a producer, including the artist Marsius from Bologna who would become the singer of Macho. I was prepared to risk everything for that project." And Petrus continued, "The first Macho album was recorded in Italy and France; the result was international appeal. It was mixed in the U.S., and sold well there. That was when I set up the Goody Music label in Italy."
Former location of the Goody Music Import store at Via Marghera No.1, Milano
Former location of the Goody Music Import store at Viale Premuda No.2, Milano
The story goes that the music retailer had a crucial conversation in 1976 with a singer who sometimes ended up at the Goody Music shop in Milan to stock up on fresh vinyl. Musician Marzio Vincenzi aka artist Marsius led a ballroom orchestra and went around the dance halls and clubs of Emilia-Romagna and the Italian Riviera with his band. In that period the discotheques still had a stage where bands would play successful songs, from Rhythm & Blues to Rock, from James Brown to Santana. During a visit to Freddie's office on Via Friuli, he came up with a proposal. Vincenzi brought an audio cassette and made Fred Petrus and Franco Donato listen to a demo he had recorded with his friend Mauro Malavasi. They had created a disco re-work of a 1967 song by The Spencer Davis Group and transformed the song "I'm A Man" into a stretched-out disco stomper, as the trend of the moment required. Evening after evening, Marzio had noticed that the audience went wild on the dance floor whenever his band performed that song. And that moreover, it was the song that fit his voice the best. In short, his "hit song". Petrus really liked the idea but needed an arranger/producer who could accomplish the task in a professional recording studio. Marzio, who was from Bologna –home of the Music Conservatory Giovanni Battista Martini (see photo)
and the Fonoprint recording studio– believed Malavasi was the right man for the job. Marzio's Bolognese friend Mauro Malavasi was an extremely talented musician who was planning a career as a symphony conductor. They were already teaming up on several of Marzio's disco projects, Malavasi being the composer and arranger of several songs that would be released in 1977. Mauro Malavasi was actually still studying music when retailer Petrus eagerly approached the young trumpeteer and arranger upon the warm recommendation of Marzio. Them meeting turned out to be pivotal. Fred Petrus and Malavasi quickly realized they were on a same wavelength and the experiment was born. Marzio's idea came to fruition in the Macho disco project. Malavasi arranged and produced the definitive disco version of "I'm A Man" and Marzio got to sing lead on his favourite song that reached the US Top 10 in the Billboard Dance chart in October 1978. As a result of their disco connection in 1976, it seems that Jacques Fred Petrus even decided to help his young friend graduate at the conservatories of Rome and Bologna through some financial backing. Mauro succeeded in obtaining no less than five degrees. The meeting of the two opened up a new chapter of the Italian music industry.
Jacques Fred Petrus and partner Mauro Malavasi at their basement office in Milano in 1979 [photo Billboard Magazine Jan. 26, 1980]
N.Y.C. Disco King Jacques Fred Petrus [Photo courtesy of Michiel van der Kuij]
Jacques Fred Petrus would order a song from Malavasi every three months. Initially, Malavasi would do this "homework" just for fun, without any guarantee of success. However, Petrus was so excited about the young musician composing the songs so effortless, that he started making big plans. Franco Donato revealed in an interview that when Mauro was fulfilling his military service, he went to Rome and paid 20 million Lire so Mauro could stay home and concentrate on writing and arranging songs. Eventually Petrus and Malavasi extended Goody Music into a production company and record label with the aim of becoming the Italian Gamble and Huff. They saw in each other the opportunity to realise their ambitions to become major players in the dance and disco scenes of Europe and America. Their vision was to create a sound that was melodic and decidedly smooth in delivery that would appeal to both markets. The Italian connection became experts at packaging studio concepts that paired American vocalists and lyricists with Italian musicians and arrangers.
expense. Petrus supplied studio facilities so that the talent he gathered could be creative. And then the company took over to establish their productions right round the world. He hired Alan Taylor, a sidekick of Celso Valli who was that other prodigious musician and arranger in Bologna, to write disco song lyrics. He enlisted the best studio engineers in Italy and brought American top studio singers on board. The mixing and (vocal) recordings occured in the best disco music studios in the world: Sigma Sound studios, Power Station studios and Media Sound studios in New York City. The mastering of the recordings was done at Sterling Sound studios, “THE” mastering studio in New York. The corporate ambition was to to change the aura, rules and approach of the Italian record business; to take national product and make it essentially international. Goody Music Production and its independent label had to put Italian music on an ever-stronger basis, not just to feed material through to the multi-nationals but to depend on its own strengths to control a substantial part of the market. An essential asset was Petrus' personal ability to analyse the international music industry flawlessly and understand its appetites. The Italian connection seeked to anticipate and predict trends. Working deep into the U.K. market made it easier to introduce its product into the U.S. marketplace. At the beginning the Italian territory would be emphasized. An endless output of fresh talent and new sounds was distributed to make a breakthrough in Italy. Even Italian-singing acts and licensed disco music from abroad were released in swift succession by the Goody Music record label.
Fred Petrus also had an eye for good album artwork and engaged the finest art directors and graphic designers available. Throughout his career he showed that the packaging of his products should be as stylish as the music inside the record sleeves. He was acquainted with 'Milano chic & fashion', so he cherished the look of his concepts for a very good reason. But one odd thing would become clear also. Despite available funds, Freddie Petrus seemed completely numb to the rapidly emerging medium of music videos, which added a revolutionary dimension to the promotion of music. The Little Macho Music hit records would hardly ever get professional and attractive exposure on TV or on cable channels like Music Television (MTV) and Cable Music Channel (CMC). This was partly due to the fact that many of Little Macho Music's acts were studio creations. Their image to the outside world consisted essentially of a facade of models and dancers who could therefore never perform live shows with live instrumentation. This certainly affected the commercial potential of the productions. For example, the Italian disco group La Bionda of the brothers Michelangelo and Carmelo La Bionda was more successful in Europe than Macho, Revanche or Peter Jacques Band in those days because they sang, wrote and produced the songs themselves and they could play all their music live. La Bionda was able to do a lot of gigs and live TV performances and climb the disco music charts fast. The acts of Little Macho Music were much more limited in this respect. The few poor music videos that are available were the ones shot in Italy and Tunisia, mainly during TV shows (Peter Jacques Band, Revanche, Change). The big names on Freddie Petrus' artist roster like High Fashion, The B.B.&Q. Band or Change were even absent from the TV screens in the USA.
The later offices of Goody Music Production were located in this building at No.15 Via Pietro Mascagni, Milano
The Goody Music Productions firm was based in Milan, Via Comelico/Via Friuli No.51 and later moved to Via Pietro Mascagni No.15 where they had modern offices in the heart of industrial Milan. Among the staff there were initially a publishing manager, two label managers, an artistic director from France and a marketing team. Fred Petrus was the CEO of Goody Music Production. Mauro Malavasi was president, A&R representative and musician/producer. Among the team of the album designers were fashion photographer Gianni Spinazzola and art director Jean Bernard Edwige. Jean Bernard Edwige was a Parisian who lived in Italy. He was also in charge of the music promotion at Goody Music. His former colleague Franco Donato remembers him well: "Jean was a very elegant and tasteful person. He lived and still lives in Turin and came to Milan almost every day. He trusted me very much and always asked me for advice. I was his confidant and we liked each other a lot". Donato continued: "What few people know is that while Jean Bernard was still working with us at Goody Music he produced one of the biggest Italian club hits ever, "Maracaibo" by artist Luisa 'Lu' Colombo. Goody Music Records nor Full Time Records could beat this success.
Claude Ismael was the label director at Goody Music Production. He used to work as a label manager for Polydor Records in Paris. Just like Jacques Fred Petrus he had Caribbean roots. Ismael was born on the French island Martinique. When Little Macho Music was created in the US he moved to New York with Fred Petrus. Franco Donato recalled: "Claude was one of the best and kindest people among the Goody Music staff. I met him at the Polydor office in Paris. He arrived in Milan from Paris with his wife and small child. I remember helping him find a house in via Padova, Milano. After the New York experience and his rupture with Freddie he returned to Paris and worked for the very popular French-Italian singer and songwriter Riccardo Cocciante".
Olive green Range Rover Classic 4x4: the company van of Goody Music SRL.
Managing director of Goody Music Records was Franco Donato (photo right above), one of Jacques Fred Petrus' earliest and most loyal friends since they had acquainted at the Good Mood club in 1974. The Calabrian entrepreneur Franco Donato is highly respected in the Italian record business (he would later be elected president of the Italian Phonographic Association AFI). The younger brother of Franco, Claudio Donato, often frequented the offices of Goody Music at Via Friuli, fascinated with the world of disco music production. The business liaison between Petrus and partner Donato lasted for seven years. When the megalomaniac conduct of Fred Petrus began undermining the Goody Music company in 1980, Franco Donato decided to cease the cooperation with his friend. The DJ's exuberant lifestyle eventually became incompatible with managing and developing a healthy enterprise. The Milanese Godfather of Disco dragged his very promising music company into bankruptcy. Without any doubt the reason why he left for America. Personnel changes and professional ruptures would become an alarming pattern in the organisations and in the career of executive Jacques Fred Petrus. But Franco and Fred would always remain best friends. The split-up would only be business related.
Two of Fred Petrus' favourite 1970s company cars: Citroën GS Pallas and Bentley T
Together with his brother Claudio Donato, Franco formed the legendary Italian dance label Full Time Records in 1980. In the following years the Donato brothers would produce and/or release a string of immortal Italian boogie-funk and Italo dance classics with international allure. Acts on their artist roster included Selection, Tom Hooker, Peter Richard, Ago, Vin zee, Orlando Johnson, Jimmy Ross, George Aaron, Kano, Rainbow Team, Dr. Felix, Electric Mind, Jago, etc.. In 1981 Fred Petrus sold the brands "Goody Music Records" and "Goody Music Production" to Franco Donato. Earlier in 1980 he had already sold the lucrative Goody Music record store in Rome to the Donato brothers. The music catalog of Goody Music Records however remained with Fred Petrus and for the non-Italian territory would end up in the hands of a foreign company after his death. Without exaggerating, Fred Petrus and Franco Donato embodied the best that could ever have happened to Italy's dance music industry of the 1980s. They were brilliant, brave and ambitious individuals who owed a lot to each other. Donato and Petrus shared a similar successful trajectory in the recording industry that turned out to be game-changing, and which would never have occured if the two hadn't met at the Good Mood disco back in 1974.
Fred Petrus wasn't the first in the Seventies to create a Disco bridge between Europe and the U.S.A.. He went overseas seaking success, following in the footsteps of the legendary French disco producers Henri Belolo & Jacques Morali (Village People, Patrick Juvet, Ritchie Family, Break Machine), the Italian/English duo Giorgio Moroder & Pete Bellotte (Giorgio, Donna Summer, Roberta Kelly, Three Degrees), Marc Cerrone (Kongas, Don Ray, Revelacion, Cerrone), Nicolas Skorsky (Santa Esmeralda), Alec R. Costandinos (Love & Kisses, Alec R. Costandinos & The Syncophonic Orchestra) and French music impresario Christian Michel Carbaza (Space, M'Bamina, Geraldine Hunt, Machel Montano, Tabou Combo, Candela).
In America he forged music business connections, signed his acts and brokered record and license deals with Atlantic Records, Prelude Records, Polydor and people like Ray Francis Caviano of RFC Records. Ray Caviano's label would hit early gold with Change's monster debut LP The Glow Of Love. Change was the band on which he would build his disco empire.
The building on Avenue Marceau No.1 in Paris where Christian Carbaza had his residence.
Informal business meetings occured at Bar & Cantina Alma, Rue Mandar No. 10 in Paris
Jacques Fred Petrus loved the exclusive nightclub Élysées Matignon. It opened in 1976 and was the place to be for the Parisian upper class.
As a music impresario and an A&R executive at Universal Music Europe, Christian Carbaza († 7th April, 2012) had lots of contacts in the entertainment industry worldwide. "A great man with a great mind and a nose that could smell a hit from 100 miles away..." as associates would describe him.
The frenchman was owner of the N.Y.C. disco label Red Rock Records and the Afro-Funk label Carbaza Records, and became famous as a successful promoter of Trinidad & Tobago's Soca music and Caribbean fashion modeling. Jacques Fred Petrus and Franco Donato were acquainted with Carbaza who initiated his friends into the music business in Paris. He very likely introduced Jacques Fred Petrus to the New York Disco scene and its music industry personalities as well. Mic Murphy who was a staff member of the Little Macho Music Co. during the early 80's remembered that he first met Jacques Fred Petrus at a hotel lobby in NYC –now the Sofitel Hotel– in 1979 where Petrus was in the presence of Christian Carbaza. At that time Fred Petrus was enjoying an international disco hit with Peter Jacques Band. Both Fred Petrus and Christian Carbaza originated from the Caribbeans and had similar connections with Paris, the U.S.A. and Italy. And both were making the same kind of electro/synth Disco with live instrument overdubs during that era. It's also believable that Petrus benefited from Carbaza's connections in the fashion world to enlist international models for his disco projects.
Christian Carbaza owned a residence in Paris on Avenue Marceau, No. 1. Freddie and Franco were regularly invited to the "Parisian bachelor weekends" at Carbaza's place. These community events were frequented by entertainment professionals like label boss Francis Dreyfus of Dreyfus Records and the Canadian producer Joe Vannelli, who was the brother of rock singer Gino Vannelli. Most guests would be people working for French record companies like Disques Carrere, Vogue, Barclay, Ariola and Clever Records. On these occasions Franco Donato enjoyed preparing spaghetti with tomatoes and basilico for the crowd. The French were crazy about his "Italian style" cooking.
The Parisian jet set discotheque Élysées Matignon was located in this building on Av. Matignon N° 2
Franco Donato and Carbaza used to do business at Bar & Cantina Alma in Rue Mandar No. 10 in Paris. Producer and label owner Claude Carrere, label executive Philippe Renaux of Clever Records, music publisher Georges Mary, A&R executive Nanou Lamblin (Carrere, Hansa Records, BMG, PolyGram, United European Publishers), Francis Dreyfus and a few times Jacques Fred Petrus too would be there. In the evening hours there was that other informal place where Freddie Petrus and Franco Donato would meet with Carbaza for business matters: Club Élysées Matignon, an exclusive private club in the same league as the glamorous Chez Castel. The fancy venue was situated on Avenue Matignon N°2 near the busy Champs Elysées roundabout. The location included a chic restaurant overlooking the gardens of Square Marigny on Avenue Gabriel, a bar and an iconic club in the basement. L'Élysées Matignon opened in 1976 and was ran by Jean Yves Bouvier. The owners were actor Armel Issartel and his wife Sophie Rochas, heiress to the Rochas perfume and luxury dynasty. This jet-set spot was nicknamed "Chez M'as-tu vu?" and was one of Fred’s favourite private clubs on the Parisian nightlife scene and attracted many film stars, singers, fashion designers, models, artists and other celebrities. The nightclub impressed Fred Petrus so much that he opened a discotheque later on in Guadeloupe with the same name. In the late 1980s, the curtain fell on this unique Parisian high society establishment. Since 2010 there's a new exclusive Club Matignon at Av. Matignon N°3, close to the old location.
Entertainment executive and Elite Caribbean project producer Christian Carbaza (†) with Elite Caribbean project manager Nadine Kanhai
The very first original (non-licensed) artists that Petrus published on his Goody Music label in 1978 were Bob Eaven, Random, Silvio and the French singer Elvin Shaad. None of this music was musically produced by Goody Music Production yet. The Elvin Shaad mini album Live For Love was produced by Shaad and Florida for Goody Music Production, Shaad and Fred Petrus being the executive producers of the project. The LP was recorded at the Florida Studio in Paris where parts of the first Macho record would be recorded as well. The mixing and remixing was carried out in London and New York. Hot NYC deejay Tom Savarese mixed the record at Sigma Sound. The next production on Goody Music Records was the crucial Macho project, recorded in Italy with his in-house musician staff and remixed by Tom Savarese in New York.
Paolo Gianolio
Davide Romani (bass) and Amos Amaranti (guitar) during Macho-gig in 1979
The instant success of the Macho record provided direct inspiration for a new business name, Little Macho Music, Fred's great brand of quality dance music and tribute to his very first hit production. And it was just as much an amusing reference to his intense masculine ego. Little Macho Music became Fred Petrus' production label and international publishing company from 1979 onwards. Soon the activities of the Little Macho Music Co., Inc outclassed the domestic Goody Music Production enterprise in Milano as Jacques Fred Petrus relocated his main business activities to the
headquarters in New York City in 1979. The first office of Little Macho Music was situated in Manhattan at 233 West 26th Street and was staffed by Fred Petrus, Claude Ismael, Leslie Dwelle Simpson, Steve Bogen and Mic Murphy. This was actually quite an interesting building. Many artists lived there including Robin Clark, Lani Groves and Gordon Grody. Not surprisingly, singers Clark and Grody would often collaborate on Fred Petrus' productions. Even David Bowie was a tenant! Steve Bogen recalled that his colleague Mic Murphy looked after Bowies' Mercedes. Freddie Petrus was said to have been friends with the British rock star as well... Leslie Dwelle Simpson recalled: "The office was downstairs on the left, a beautiful duplex housed in a building where David Bowie had an apartment at the time. I was Claude’s assistant and I was a part of the success with Change when their two first records hit the Billboard charts. This was one of my favorite jobs. I was in the studio often with Mauro and Davide. Luther Vandross too! And I did a bus tour with Change." Leslie also shared: "Mic Murphy was my replacement. He started working at that same location. I didn’t see Fred Petrus a lot. He wasn't my favorite person by far. However, I saw Claude Ismael every day. Claude is a very nice guy. We lost contact a few years ago. I believe he might be in Atlanta."
Former staff member Steve Bogen recollected: "Yes, I worked at 233 W 26th. Fred had the duplex on the ground floor, in fact that's where I started to work for him. He had his apartment in the same building. I don't remember which floor but it was a great apartment. Singer Gordon Grody had the apartment right across the hall from his. I think it was only two apartments on each floor. I'm not sure when we moved to Broadway 1775. Can't remember, sorry, it was a long time ago. Mic Murphy may remember when that move happened, as he also worked at 233 West 26th, so did Claude Ismael, at that time my friend."
The International Fan Club details on the record sleeves are clear: In 1983 Little Macho Music moved to 1775 Broadway, in the former General Motors/Newsweek Building, an iconic architecture that was originally called the Columbus Tower. Now it has become the 3 Columbus Circle Building. Steve Bogen remembered: "Exactly, that was the building we later moved into, at the intersection of two of the city's major streets, Broadway and West 57th Street. This was the place where most of what happened, happened... We had office space there on the 7th floor. The 7th floor was a long corridor that had small offices off to the right. We rented our space from the famous Bert Padell. Bert was our accounting firm, 'Padell, Nadell, Fine & Wineburg', accountant to so many music icons. Bert had his office on that same floor, a huge space, way at the other end of Fred's office. It was crazy, everyone came by! Padell moved out of that building a number of years ago. There were lots of music biz types that rented space. For example Michael Lang, one of the guys that did Woodstock, had an office on the floor. Great building for music!" Steve Bogen continued: "We had two offices, a small one I used, and Freddie had a large corner office. I remember Fred had this huge desk. We also had a desk I sometimes used just outside the door to Fred's office, so that no one could get to Fred without getting past me. All nice Italian office furniture, very modern and very cool but then again that was Freddie. There were three of us in the office, Fred's friend and right-hand man Claude Ismael, Mic Murphy and me. However, Claude and Freddie had a falling out...but then he did that with most of us who worked for him!"
The early Little Macho Music office was located at 233 West 26th Street, Suite 1W in Manhattan, N.Y.C.
Petrus managed to fix very profitable deals with European labels like Polydor, Ariola, Flarenasch, Carrere or London Records; strong indie labels as Prelude Records and large internationa record companies.
Such American majors and their foreign divisions were Atlantic/RFC, Epic/CBS, Portrait/CBS, Capitol/EMI, RCA, Warner Bros./RFC and WEA. These agreements guaranteed a worldwide distribution of his music. So, he felt no longer the need to maintain his own Italian record labels Goody Music and the sublabels Avangarde and Nocedicoco. Accordingly all activities of Goody Music Records ceased in the course of 1981 and the name of Goody Music Production was dropped as well. Fred Petrus put it this way in a talk with Billboard, "Apart from the musicians in Bologna, at that particular time, there was just myself, my secretary and someone looking after the graphic design. In fact, the label ceased to exist every time I went abroad. While it was achieving international recognition, Goody Music had no kind of image in Italy at all." The Goody Music brands and record store in Rome were sold to former partner and record executive Franco Donato who had founded the indie Full Time Records a little earlier in 1980, as a result of them splitting up and putting an end to Goody Music Production in 1980. After 1980 Full Time Records hosted Freddie's Goody Music Records at the old office on Via Friuli No. 51 for a short time. Only the small record label Memory Records went on pressing new products of Little Macho Music in Italy between 1982 and 1983 (Zinc, Change, Silence). Memory Records was a New Italia company, distributed by Durium S.p.A. from Milan.During six years executive producer Petrus and fellow producer Malavasi would represent the perfect symbiosis between project manager and sound architect, before they parted ways in decidedly uncomradely circumstances. The power duo split up in 1983 due to severe financial troubles, overseas work overload and an unbearable professional relationship between the two partners.
Billboard Magazine August 1978
THE ULTIMATE DISCO MACHINERY
Rudy Trevisi
In Italy Petrus and Malavasi enlisted the musicians Fabbri Giorgino, George Aghedo (see photo percussionist), Gabriele Melotti, Celso Valli, Marco Tansini, Paolo Gianolio, Rudy Trevisi († 31 March 2018), Luca Orioli and foremostly Davide Romani for their composing and arranging skills. Petrus understood the importance and the talent of those young eclectic musicians. Therefore he decided to engage them exclusively, paying them a monthly salary.
Together they formed the Goody Music Orchestra and became key contributors to the "Bologna Sound" or the "Tortellini Sound" of Goody Music Production during the Seventies.
Promotional photo of Jacques Fred "Little Macho" Petrus, 1979 (Photo courtesy of Michiel van der Kuij)
Note that Jacques Fred Petrus in most cases wasn’t the actual producer of the music, even though he credited himself in that way on just about every record that was released on the Goody Music record label or realised by his staff at Little Macho Music. As an executive producer, Petrus primarily took control of the business end of the music. He wasn’t the artistic leader or creative catalyst in the studio. Nor was he a competent arranger and composer like Malavasi and Romani were. Even though he did interfere with the creative process in a directing and supervising way. He would often be present in the studio during recording sessions. Fred Petrus provided artistic input such as hiring the right artists, picking the right songs and deciding about the final cut of each album project. Petrus was blessed with a great vision for disco music and he wanted things to be carried out according to his ideas. He was also notorious for his weird methods. Musician Kevin Jenkins explained: "He bought a song (High Fashion “You’re The Winner”) I co-wrote once with Meli’sa Morgan, paid us in cash and only ever used the bassline. He was a very different kind of cat.".
On the other hand the role of the very talented bassist Davide Romani was much more instrumental than assumed. But Romani not quite received the recognition for his undeniable production capacities. Also the very much involved musician Rudy Trevisi played a bigger part than generally known.
Davide Romani
Gabriele 'Lele' Melotti
Avangarde Records: A Goody Music Rock & Wave Line
Nocedicoco Records: A Goody Music Reggae Line
GOODY MUSIC RECORDS AND MEMORY RECORDS MUSIC CATALOG
Apart from the bigger names on the Goody Music talent roster such as Change or Peter Jacques Band, Goody Music Production also released music from groups and singers that were not produced by the Goody Music Production staff. Such acts were: Theo Vaness, Caprice, NH3 Band, Geraldine Hunt, Pacific Blue, Akka B, Bob Eaven, San Juan, The Royal Rasses, Sheila Hylton, Blood Sisters, Ras Midas, Elvin Shaad, The Eros, Jo Lemaire & Flouze, Silvio, Bob Eaven, Carlo Lena, Gianni Indino and Random. These were often anonymous bands or starlets that only lasted for a single release. About his Goody Music label Petrus told, "We have the advantages of a small label, where communication is fast and easy, but we work at international level with a professional approach."
Deleted Goody Music Production album project: Sharon Max - Mon Amour (1980)
One-off disco singer Elvin Shaad was one of those early Jacques Fred Petrus disco projects for Goody Music Production. The LP Elvin Shaad – Live For Love was released on Goody Music Records in 1978. All songs were composed, arranged and directed by Shaad in collaboration with French producer Florida. Recording, mixing and remixing occured in Paris, London and New York City. In NYC Jacques Fred Petrus hired the trendy disco remixer Tom Savarese. The sensual album track "Love Me Now" is still a hidden classic among Disco devotees today. Shaad was a French artist of Tunisian origin. He had a bunch of aliases like Nanou Belhacine, Naoufel Belhassine, Naoufel Jouini, Neil Bellucci, Neilo and Neilo-Feel. Elvin Shaad was the son of the Tunisian singer/composer Hédi Jouini (1909-1990). He went on singing, composing and producing synth-pop music in France and Italy until the late 1980s under various guises.
A little mystery occured in a Goody Music promotion ad in Billboard Magazine in 1980. The curious album project Sharon Max - Mon Amour was printed on a promo poster centerfold, together with covers of Change, Peter Jacques Band and Macho. But the record never saw the light of day. The catalog number was probably the deleted code GOM30015.
In 1980 Fred Petrus introduced two parent labels of Goody Music Records to better market some of these (licensed) records. The Avangarde label dealt with Rock and Wave acts like The Jumpers and NH3 Band. The Nocedicoco label dealt with reggae productions like Ras Midas and Sheila Hylton. His third imprint Memory Records was also launched in 1980 and released Little Macho Music productions meant for Italian domestic distribution. Releases on Memory Records included Change, Gianni Indino, Surf Riders, Zinc and Silence.
Goody Music 7 INCH Singles (except Cube single)
GOODY MUSIC RECORDS (GOM) - ALBUMS
Incl. Nocedicoco Records (NOC) / Avangarde Records (AVA)
GOM 30001 ELVIN SHAAD - LIVE FOR LOVE
GOM 30002 MACHO - I’M A MAN
GOM 30003 PETER JACQUES BAND - FIRE NIGHT DANCE
GOM 30004 THEO VANESS - BAD BAD BOY
GOM 30005 REVANCHE - MUSIC MAN
GOM 30006 RUDY - JUST TAKE MY BODY
GOM 30007 MIDNIGHT GANG - LOVE IS MAGIC
GOM 30008 MACHO - ROLL
GOM 30009 PETER JACQUES BAND - WELCOME BACK
GOM 30010 CHANGE - THE GLOW OF LOVE
GOM 30011 CAPRICE - RUSSIA
AVA 30012 NH3 BAND - LET’S HAVE A GOOD TIME
AVA 30013 JO LEMAIRE + FLOUZE - JO LEMAIRE + FLOUZE
NOC 30014 THE ROYAL RASSES - HUMANITY
GOM 30015 NOT ATTRIBUTED
GOM 30016 GOODY MUSIC ORCHESTRA - HITS OF THE WORLD VOL.1
GOM 30017 GERALDINE HUNT - NO WAY
GOM 30018 CHANGE - MIRACLES
Released under license: 004 / 012 / 013 / 014 / 017
Produced for Goody Music Production without involvement of in-house musicians: 001 / 011
promo poster (courtesy of Michiel van der Kuij)
GOODY MUSIC RECORDS (GOM) - 12 INCH SINGLES
Incl. Nocedicoco Records (NOC) / Avangarde Records (AVA)
GOM 77001 PACIFIC BLUE - ARGENTINA FOREVER
GOM 77002 MACHO - I’M A MAN
GOM 77003 PETER JACQUES BAND - WALKING ON MUSIC
GOM 77004 THEO VANESS - I’M A BAD BAD BOY
GOM 77005 REVANCHE - NEW YORK CITY / MUSIC MAN
GOM 77006 MACHO / PETER JACQUES BAND - MOTHER’S LOVE / IS IT IT?
GOM 77007 ANTI ROCK - D.I.S.C.O.
NOC 77008 THE ROYAL RASSES - UNCONVENTIONAL PEOPLE
NOC 77009 RAS MIDAS - CAN’T STOP RASTA NOW
NOC 77010 BLOODSISTERS - RING MY BELL
NOC 77011 SHEILA HILTON - DISCO REGGAE BEAT
AVA 77012 THE JUMPERS - COKE AND ROLL
GOM 77013 PETER JACQUES BAND - IS IT IT? / COUNTING ON LOVE
Released under license: 001 / 004 / 008 / 009 / 010 / 011
Produced for Goody Music Production without involvement of in-house musicians: 007
GOODY MUSIC RECORDS (GOM/WN) - 7 INCH SINGLES
Incl. Nocedicoco Records (NOC) / Avangarde Records (AVA)
GOM 7001 BOB EAVEN - I LIKE THE WAY YOU LOVE ME / I WAS A FOOL
GOM 7002 LADY BUTTERFLY - MISTER MAN / NIGHT IN THE CITY
GOM 7003 RANDOM - RONDO'M
GOM 7004 AKKA B - QUEENS OF SPACE
GOM 7005 SILVIO - ADESSO / SWING DISCO
GOM 7006 ELVIN SHAAD - LIVE FOR LOVE
GOM 7007 GIANNI INDINO - PER ELISA / PER QUESTO TI AMO
GOM 7008 PACIFIC BLUE - ARGENTINA FOREVER / YOU GOTTA DANCE
GOM 7009 MACHO - IM A MAN / CAUSE THERE’S MUSIC IN THE AIR
GOM 7010 PETER JACQUES BAND - WALKING ON MUSIC / FLY WITH THE WIND
GOM 7011 NO INFO
GOM 7012 THEO VANESS - I'M A BAD BAD BOY / AS LONG AS IT?S LOVE
GOM 7013 REVANCHE - NEW YORK CITY / REVANGE
GOM 7014 REVANCHE - MUSIC MAN / 1979, IT'S DANCING TIME
GOM 7015 RUDY - JUST TAKE MY BODY / WHITE ROOM
GOM 7016 PETER JACQUES BAND - IS IT IT? / EXOTICALLY
GOM 7017 MACHO - NOT TONIGHT / YOU GOT ME RUNNING
GOM 7018 MACHO - MOTHER'S LOVE "MAMA MIA" / MONTREAL
GOM 7019 PETER JACQUES BAND - WELCOME BACK / THE LOUDER
GOM 7020 SAN JUAN - EVERYBODY DO THE ROCK
GOM 7021 ANTI-ROCK - D.I.S.C.O.
GOM 7022 CHANGE - THE GLOW OF LOVE
GOM 7023 NO INFO
GOM 7024 NO INFO
GOM 7025 MIDNIGHT GANG - LOVE IS MAGIC / THE WHOLE WORLD'S SINGIN'
AVA 7026 NH3 BAND - ROCK’ IN CH / NEED YOU
AVA 7027 JO LEMAIRE + FLOUZE - FAT RATS / RUMOURS SAID
GOM 7028 NO INFO
AVA 7029 THE EROS - MAL D’AMORE
GOM 7030 CARLO LENA - LA MANO IL SEGNO, L'AMORE / ITALIA
GOM 7031 NO INFO
GOM 7032 NO INFO
GOM 7033 GIANNI RISO - DISCO SHY / BO?
AVA 7034 THE JUMPERS - ROCK AND ROLL BOOGIE / COKE AND ROLL
NOC 7035 BLOODSISTERS - RING MY BELL
NOC 7036 SHEILA HILTON - DISCO REGGAE BEAT / BREAKFAST IN BED
NOC 7037 RAS MIDAS - CAN’T STOP RASTA NOW / RAIN AND FIRE
GOM 7038 GERALDINE HUNT - CAN'T FAKE THE FEELING / LOOK ALL AROUND 7
GOM 7039 CHANGE - PARADISE / YOUR MOVE
WN 331 LIME - YOUR LOVE
Released under license: 002 / 003 / 004 / 008 / 012 / 026 / 027 / 035 / 036 / 037 / 038 / 331
Produced for Goody Music Production without involvement of in-house musicians: 001 / 003 / 005 / 006 / 007 / 020 / 021 / 029 / 030
MEMORY RECORDS (PTL) - ALBUMS
PTL 66001 CHANGE - SHARING YOUR LOVE
MEMORY RECORDS (PTX) - 12 INCH SINGLES
PTX 61 CHANGE - KEEP ON IT
MM 571 GIANNI INDINO - VOGLIO TE / DOMANI SE LO VUOI
MEMORY RECORDS (PTL) - ALBUMS
PTL 66001 CHANGE - SHARING YOUR LOVE
PTL 66002 SILENCE - GOODTIME BABY
PTL 66003 ZINC - STREET LEVEL
PTL 66004 CHANGE - THIS IS YOUR TIMEPTX 61 CHANGE - KEEP ON IT
PTX 62 CHANGE - MAGICAL NIGHT
MEMORY RECORDS (PTS/MM) - 7 INCH SINGLESMM 571 GIANNI INDINO - VOGLIO TE / DOMANI SE LO VUOI
MM 572 SURF RIDERS - MAL D'AMORE
PTS 661 CHANGE - MAGICAL NIGHT
Billboard Magazine January 1979
MAURO MALAVASI: PRIME ARCHITECT OF ITALIAN DISCO
With a bunch of friends Malavasi formed a jazz orchestra and played at big events like Umbria Jazz and the Bologna Jazz Festival. Bologna has always been very active in the field of jazz music and annually welcomes this important jazz happening since 1938. Mauro Malavasi was one of the musicians on the jazz album Now by clarinettist Henghel Gualdi, released in 1976. His idols were the hard bop jazz musicians Clifford Brown and Bud Powell. Malavasi also loved the music of Miles Davis. Around that time he started to write some pieces and direct the arrangements.In 1982 he married Elisabetta Paselli, a piano teacher whom he met at the music conservatory when she was 24. Paselli co-wrote several songs amongst which Steve Allen's Italo-hit "Letter From My Heart" and "Love's Taboo" by Cube. Today she runs Clock Music S.r.l. together with Malavasi. Their publishing company is situated on the Piazza Della Mercanzia in Bologna.
Producer Mauro Malavasi at Bologna home studio in 1987 (Photos courtesy of Yves LePage)
Malavasi was the musical genius who created with ease a sensational disco sound assisted by the staff musicians at Goody Music Production/Little Macho Music. He was the actual producer and musical director. The credits on the albumsleeves of Macho, Peter Jacques Band, Change and the many other creations, reveal that Mauro Malavasi was the ubiquitous musical force within Little Macho Music. He was omnipresent as an allround keyboardist and synthesizer wizard during recording sessions. Not to mention the musician’s essential role as a composer, arranger and conductor.
Mauro's classical background seemed no obstacle for a career as a disco producer. His incredible gift for classical orchestration and his vivid jazz culture brought about a brilliant concept for dance music. From a production standpoint, he was very attuned to the dance music sounds coming out of the U.S.A.. Malavasi was particularly impressed with Barry White and his Love Unlimited Orchestra, the Chic productions and the Philly Sound. This music had it all. It was sophisticated, richly orchestrated, greatly structured and funky as hell. But you must realize that before running into record retailer Fred Petrus, Malavasi wasn't exactly deep into disco music. Fred would spin piles of disco records in order to introduce Malavasi to that energetic music scene and make his intentions clear to the jazz trumpeteer. Petrus saw the American independent labels Casablanca Records and Salsoul Records as influences and guides. 
The early stages of Italian disco already featured Mauro Malavasi as the coming force. Mauro's early career as a disco composer took off even before graduating from conservatory. A year previous to the release of the successful Macho project in 1978, Malavasi was exploring Disco territory with fellow musicians from Bologna. Along with Deborah Kooperman, an American musician living in Bologna, he wrote the disco song "Sweet Soul" for Judy Kaine, released in 1977. Deborah Kooperman released her own folk album in 1977 with Mauro on trumpet. Still in 1977 he teamed up with singer Marzio Vincenzi (a.k.a. Marzio Vincenti) to create disco act Marsius. Their first album Save The Tiger was recorded in Italy and mixed in Munich (Germany) which was the center of Eurodisco music in those days. The album was released in Italy on Harmony-SAAR Records in 1977 and had Mauro Malavasi on songwriting and arrangements. "Chiricahua"/"Save The Tiger" and "Suite For Lovers" were the two singles off that album. Several tracks were co-written by Deborah Kooperman. The song "Suite for lovers" has a duration of approximately 11 minutes. The funky instrumental "A Summertime Souvenirs" reflects the orchestral style and arranging capacities, if not the composing skills of master Malavasi. During that same year Mauro also realized the single “Marsius” for another Marsius project called Marsius & The Fantastic Soul Invention. These first trials were anything but commercial successes but showed a great potential. Also bear in mind that Malavasi's commitment at that time wasn't focused on obtaining the golden ticket for Discoland. He was just doing a favour and enjoying the challenge.
But the seeds of triumph were already planted in 1976, when the 18 years old Malavasi and “mentor” Petrus joined forces through the catalysing factor of his friend Marzio Vincenzi. This led to the production of the Macho project during 1977-1978 and the release of the album in October 1978. The record featured Marzio on lead vocals, and the project led to the setting up of Goody Music Records and Goody Music Production. Mauro Malavasi was only 20 years old when this success befell him. The legendary disco label Prelude Records obtained the American rights to Macho's LP I'm A Man and immediately the song hit the US disco charts. This first victory became the starting shot of a tremendous musical adventure that would bring wealth, glory and successes. From Mirandola to Manhattan, straight to the top of Disco Mountain...
Mauro Malavasi & Celso Valli at Fonoprint Studios, Bologna
THE BIRTH OF THE TORTELLINI DISCO SOUND OF BOLOGNA
During the late seventies Petrus & Malavasi were responsible for the first wave of Italian disco. They engaged in a kind of careful counterfeiting of American disco productions, of which they copy the sound and the style, yet incorporating the Italian element. That Italian style boiled down to melodic sophistication. Their ability to mix the Italian sense of melody and the soul attitude of black American singers led to a string of electrifying self-produced disco acts like Macho, Peter Jacques Band, Revanche, Midnight Gang and Rudy that often verged into Hi-NRG territory. The music Petrus and Malavasi initially fabricated was based on the kind of disco that was in vogue at that time: energetic, percussive Euro-Disco typified by an explicit synthsound, pulsating rhythms and funky elements. The sound they created was a synthetic fusion of European and American styles with a very clear Italian taste for catchy melodies. An idiosyncratic attempt to hybridise the glamour of USA production with emerging electronic pop. Whether they knew it or not, the duo were creating a kind of early "Italo-Disco". But "Italo Disco" or simply "Italo" was a tag only introduced in 1983 by Bernhard Mikulski, the owner of ZYX Records. Italo Disco stood for characteristic Italian dance music also called "Spaghetti Dance" which was the second wave of Italian dance music that hit internationally. Italo was used to define a dance/pop sound from early- to mid 1980s, characterised by the use of synthesisers, drum machines and vocoders, with insanely playful melodies.
Petrus & Malavasi were the primary proponents of the Italian Disco within the Euro-Disco movement labeled “Tortellini Music”. The term "Euro-Disco" was first used during the mid-1970s to describe the non-UK based disco productions and artists such as ABBA, Boney M, Silver Convention, Ottawan, Amanda Lear, Luv' and Supermax. Eurodisco's inventors were the Munich-based duo Giorgio Moroder (see photo) and Pete Bellotte whose groundbreaking electrobeat-driven disco textures, high-energy impact and cold, synthetic arrangements revolutionized dance music in the second half of the seventies Some of their wicked disco creations were Donna Summer, Munich Machine, Giorgio Moroder, Roberta Kelly and Sparks. They turned Euro-Disco into an art form.Representatives of the French Euro-Disco sound were producers Jacques Morali & Henri Belolo (The Village People, The Ritchie Family, Patrick Juvet) and Jean-Marc Cerrone (Don Ray, Kongas, Cerrone).
Euro-Disco had established itself as a force to be reckoned with. Built around a thudding four-four beat, futuristic synthesizers, and a penchant for grandiose conceptual themes, the genre had its own aesthetic, and it also looked like it sold more records than any other strand of disco.
MACHO
Petrus' and Malavasi's first collective project was the Macho mini album I'm A Man (#6 Billboard’s Disco/Dance Chart), released in September of 1978 on Prelude records and several European labels including Ariola, Flarenash and Goody Music records. The record would remain on the Billboard USA Dance/Disco chart during 11 weeks and would climb as high as number 6 and settle for two weeks. The album front cover emanated pure machismo, black leather being the gay dress code in those days. The sweaty torso on the back sustained the homoerotic appeal, ensuring large exposure on the gay disco scene. Gianni Spinazzola and Jean Bernard Edwige were responsible for the cover design.
To an idea of a customer Petrus decided to produce a dynamic disco remake of the Steve Winwood song "I'm A Man", originally released in 1967 by Winwood’s band The Spencer Davis Group. Bolognese singer and bandleader Marzio Vincenzi –who eventually became the singer of Macho– suggested this idea in 1976 by means of a demo recording and disco retailer Petrus embraced it. He instructed Mauro Malavasi to recreate an atmosphere which had to be similar to that of Kongas' Africanism album produced by Cerrone in 1977. The mood of the song was definitely reminiscent of Konga's song "Gimme Some
Lovin'" which also happened to be a song of the Spencer Davis Group!Malavasi wrote all the arrangements and searched for every single sound that gave it a truly international appeal. He had been listening carefully to lots of classic disco records by Cerrone, The Village People, Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder. The use of powerful guitar, propulsive keyboards and punchy brass figures added to the strenghth of the cut's driving Cerrone-like percussion break.
"I'm A Man" was an epic disco performance, definitely club oriented and it had a great groove to it. Really the most impressive aspect was the music itself. It went through many changes and interludes much like Giorgio Moroder's epic disco numbers for Donna Summer, it always ended up winding back to something familiar making it seem really well assembled. It was based in the electronic disco with a minor in funk style. This iconic disco song, fleshed out with masculine chant, perfectly captured the exuberance of the late seventies. In an interview Fred Petrus expressed his awe for Malavasi's talent: "Macho is an achievement by Mauro Malavasi, a true musical genius, if you consider that he is only 20 years old and plays eight instruments to perfection."
Malavasi was lucky because he could cooperate with very young and skilled session musicians living in Emilia-Romagna such as bass player Davide Romani, guitarist Paolo Gianolio, keyboardist Luca Orioli, drummer Gabriele 'Lele' Melotti, saxophonist Rudy Trevisi, percussionist George Aghedo and trombonists Sandro Comini and Marco Pellacani. Romani's aggressive bass playing was an essential contribution, creating one of the characteristics of the powerful title track that rocketed the LP to the top of the disco charts.
The featured lead vocalist was Marzio Vincenzi (see photo), a friend of Malavasi who used to be a ballroom singer on the Italian Riviera (Rimini) where lots of discotheques were located. Together they had formed the band Marsius, named after Marzio, and released their one and only disco influenced album Save The Tiger in 1977, without any notable success. Marzio only sang on the first Macho album, and went on to record the disco-rock album Smoke On The Volcano as Marzio in 1980, and furthermore the Italo-disco single “Living” in 1982. According to sources, Marzio Vincenzi died in 1998.
The Macho LP was recorded at the first Fonoprint Studio in Bologna with a small group of extraordinary young musicians that gravitated around Malavasi: Davide Romani, Gabriele Melotti, Luca Orioli, Rudy Trevisi, Paolo Gianolio and Sandro Comini. Then Fonoprint was situated at #1 Via Schiavonia. Vocal parts were recorded at the Florida Studio (owned by the French producer Florida) in Paris. Trombone player Sandro Comini has a good recollection of these early days at the small Fonoprint Studio: "I was still very young back then, 18/19 years old". Comini continues: “We recorded on a Studer A80 MK2 16-track (2-inch) recorder with a Livio Argentini 24-channel console. There were Two JBL Studio Monitors (I don’t remember the model) with two Phase Linear like final amplifiers. We recorded brass on Neumann U 87 and Sennheiser MD 441-U studio microphones. The brass section was me on trombone, Rudy Trevisi on saxes and Mauro Malavasi on trumpets. Maurizio Biancani was the audio engineer in those days.”
Once the job was finished in Italy, Petrus flew to the U.S. to record the choirs. Arthur Simms was a credited background singer. At the Sigma Sound Studios in New York the record was mixed by the famous deejay and remix expert Tom Savarese (see photo). He carried
out an interminable mix of the ferociously pounding single "I'm A Man" lasting 17 minutes and 45 seconds and taking up the entire A-side of the record! The mini album I'm A Man included two more tracks: "Hear Me Calling" and "Because There's Music In The Air", both composed by Mauro Malavasi. These songs were unquestionably inferior to the title track, but still had a cool breakdown and they absolutely fit in the album. The songwriter Alan Taylor, who would collaborate on most early Petrus projects, provided the lyrics.The rights of the Macho record were bought by the disco label Prelude and instantly the record entered the American disco charts. Just three weeks after its release Macho had reached the sixth position on the U.S. disco charts in October 1978! The success of the hit "I'm A Man" was almost immediately copied by the American disco project Star City, which released a new version of the song on the Marlin/T.K. Disco record labels, both subsidiaries of the Miami based T.K. Records. Coincidentally, record guys Ray Caviano and Bob Siegel were involved in this release. A few years later, both gentlemen from RFC Records would become crucial in promoting the group Change in the U.S..
In an unprecedented action at the time, deejay Tom Savarese filed a $1 million damage suit against Prelude Records and its president Marvin Schlachter for failing to list his name among the credits for the Macho album. Savarese allegedly mixed the three tunes on the album under an agreement with producer Jacques Fred Petrus. Prelude subsequently picked up U.S. and Canadian distribution rights to the record. In seeking to enjoin Prelude and Schlachter from selling, distributing "or otherwise exploiting" the record, Savarese and his manager, Marilyn Green-Fisher, argued that defendants failed to live up to an agreement to credit Savarese with the words "Mix by Savarese" on the album cover and the disk label of the product in contention. Tom Savarese claimed that the omission of his credits was willful and deliberate and had caused him "irreparable harm". In addition to $ 500.000 in actual damages, and another $ 500.000 in punitive damages, he also asked the court to enjoin the label from further selling, distributing or advertising for sale any copies of I'm A Man by Macho until reparation had been made.
Peter Jacques Band 1979PETER JACQUES BAND
Jacques Fred Petrus was aware that the collaboration with Mauro Malavasi was turning out to be winning and decided to undertake a second studio project: the Peter Jacques Band. The name was a clear pun on the full birth name of Fred Petrus which was actually "Jacques Fred Peter Percio Petrus". Worried about becoming a one-hit wonder, Petrus recorded the Fire Night Dance long player hot on the heels of Macho. This disco record also sold well worldwide, particularly in Latin American territories, Japan and the U.S..
Peter Jacques Band's 4 track-album Fire Night Dance (#6 Billboard’s Disco/Dance Chart) was published in February of 1979, during disco's dizzying peak. The LP was listed on the Billboard USA Disco/Dance Chart for 13 weeks and held the 6th position during one week. Recording sessions took place at the Fonoprint Studio in Via Schiavonia with engineer Maurizio Biancani behind the mixing desk. Leroy Burgess, a member of the Black Ivory group, was engaged as a studio lead vocalist. He was introduced to Fred Petrus by disco producer Patrick Adams. Other credited session singers were Arthur Simms, Joe Scott, Sammy Gaha, Ann Calvert, Gloria Turner, Claudia
Polley, Hilda Harris, Lavelle Duggan and Maerethia Stewart. It was typically of the disco era that the “live act” was just a variable lip-sync group of nameless American, Italian and Guadeloupean models and dancers who performed on TV shows and in video clips. The act was a "band" in name only as all the music was handled by studio musicians.Petrus found most of these artists in the entertainment and fashion world of Rome and Paris. They were often Americans living in Europe. Serge Noel was the lead dancer and "fake singer" of the band. He was a friend of Franco Donato and Jacques Fred Petrus and he was born in Guadeloupe as well. Serge would later become the dancer of group Kano, one of the famous acts of Franco Donato's company Full Time Records. Serge Noel is also the dancing male model in sports outfit on the cover of the album Fire Night Dance. One of the girls that Petrus hired was the beautiful Joëlle Ursull. She was elected Miss Guadeloupe in 1979 and worked as a model and television actress in Paris. Later she became one of the three founding members of the successful group Zouk Machine. Other unknown performers with the Peter Jacques Band were Jon, David, Haron, Katherine, Michelle, Marcelaine, Francesca and Giuliana. Changing line-ups would be contracted for different TV appearances.
Fire Night Dance included the smash hit "Walking On Music", "Devil's Run" and "Fire
Night Dance". Also memorable was Mauro Malavasi’s spacy disco journey on the fantastic track "Fly With The Wind" that melted a cool electronic base and warm choirs with classical airs, in a similar way to "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer".Again the Prelude label obtained the publishing rights for the U.S.. On the original Prelude release the front cover misspelled the band name by Peter Jaeques Band instead of Peter Jacques Band. If you own this American version you have a copy with a little story. In Europe the record was released on the Ariola and the Goody Music labels. The original album artwork by British designers Keith Ramsden and Ted Franklin portrayed the ultimate Disco Angel fantasia but their sexy Disco butterfly was banned in the U.S.. Prelude Records replaced the frivolous European artwork with a photo taken by fashion photographer Gianni Spinazzola. A less naughty picture of fancy nightclubbers, cavorting behind shattered glass. When disco hits! The model on both album covers was the then wife of Italian fashion designer Elio Fiorucci. Franco Donato explained that the photo on the back cover is not a composite image but the result of one photo shoot in which he had to throw a stone at a glass surface in front of the model. She was protected by a second sheet of plexiglass.
Fire Night Dance should have become an across the board classic. But competing with absolute Disco icons like Donna Summer, ABBA, Diana Ross, Chic and Earth, Wind & Fire was a tall order in the winter of 1979. Instead this brilliant release became somewhat of a cult classic with an impressive Billboard disco chart history.
REVANCHE
In 1979 the productions went on and the third studio act that Petrus & Malavasi presented was Revanche. Italian disco, packaged for an American audience with a Village People-styled cover but still pretty great in the end. Again the team of Gianni Spinazzola and Jean Bernard Edwige took care of the album artwork. Despite its Italian origins, the use of lots of horns and conga rhythms took this away from the cookie cutter Eurodisco mold and gave it character. The mix was smoother than most, and there was a tendency toward soul
throughout.Revanche is a French word that means revenge in English. French seemed quite hip during the hey-days of disco. Disco act Chic introduced French albumtitles and songtitles. It gave the music an air of sophisticated elegance, something Petrus must have liked when he picked this name for a new concept. Besides, Petrus originated from French overseas territory himself.
The gay disco themed LP Music Man (#13 Billboard’s Disco/Dance Chart) was licensed to Atlantic Records and also released on Goody Music. But the international sales were surprisingly stronger than in Italy. Music Man was a set of four lengthy Hi-NRG cuts. The sort of long-building numbers that the European scene really helped put forward in the late 1970s. The song "Revanche" recalled Macho's style. The three other cuts on the record somewhat cloned the popular disco styles of that era: “1979 It’s Dancing Time” sounded Chic-like, the hit single “You Get High In N.Y.C.” reminded of The Village People and "Music Man" was similar to the arrangement of "Hold Your Horses" by First Choice. It was Petrus’ policy to create music that matched with the taste of the moment. Thanks to his long-time involvement with disco music as a specialised retailer and a seasoned DJ, he exactly knew what the dance audience was looking for and he made it.
trombone player Sandro Comini
Once again all the songs were composed, arranged and conducted by
Malavasi, assisted by Rudy Trevisi. For the vocals parts some prestigious session singers from New York were engaged. Among them were Jocelyn Shaw (a.k.a. Jocelyn Brown), Christine Wiltshire and Yvonne Lewis. The other singers were Bobby Douglas, Steve Daniels, Skipp Ingram and Robin Corley who were all members of the Motown funkband Platinum Hook (see photo). Platinum Hook was one of the house bands at the NYC club The Cellar, home of Kinky Foxx (Johnny Kemp, Kevin Robinson, Timmy Allen, Chieli Minucci, Mike Campbell) and The Jack Sass Band (Mic Murphy, LaLa). Fred Petrus saw Platinum Hook play at The Cellar and hired them to sing on the Revanche project. But again these singers weren’t the artists and dancers you could watch perform on TV shows in Europe. Italian disco was known for being a genre full of ghost singers; models were often asked to give bands a face, but the songs were sung by professional singers. The Revanche record was an archetypal disco achievement but commercially didn’t hit like Peter Jacques Band, and consequently the story of the faceless studio project reached an early end.
promo posters (courtesy of Michiel van der Kuij)
RUDY
The fourth Petrus project was the album Just Take My Body by Rudy, a one-off project by Italian sax player Rudy Trevisi that was published on the Polydor label in 1979. Paolo Gianolio, Luca Orioli (see photo below right) and especially Rudy Trevisi arranged and conducted the music.
While Malavasi concentrated on the main productions, Petrus tried to exploit at the most the talent of the other musicians around him, inventing new concepts like Gianni Riso, Midnight Gang or Rudy.
The long-player comprised five songs, among which the highlights “Thank You Baby”, "Just Take My Body" and "White Room". The latter was a disco remake of the rock classic “White Room” by '60s group Cream. A dominating brass section was backed with perky guitar and a hard handclapping backbeat on this rock flavoured LP. The vigorous single “Thank You Baby”, composed by Trevisi, showed a glimmer of the new Italian R&B/disco-blueprint, with arrangements pointing towards the glorious Change productions.
This
album was chiefly a showcase for Rudy Trevisi’s skills as composer, arranger, conductor and musician within the Goody Music Production entity. Trevisi (born in Mirandola near Modena, like Mauro Malavasi) had worked extensively as a musician on the ’70s projects of Peter Jacques Band, Revanche and Macho and would remain a key musician at Little Macho Music during the early ’80s as well.Platinum Hook provided the vocals, strengthened by the studio singers Krystal Davis, Yvonne Lewis and Christine Wiltshire.
Even if the record wasn't bad, it didn't stand out in the steady stream of disco releases and couldn't compete with the success of some of the bigger productions of the Goody Music stable. Artist Rudy Trevisi died in Bologna in 2018.
Rudy Trevisi playing sax with the Bologna Jazz Ensemble in 1979 [Rudy Trevisi - tenor sax, Guido Guidoboni - trumpet, Jimmy Villotti - guitar and Renzo Corti - electric bass.]
Rudy Trevisi, Serse May and Paul Griffiths formed pop group Cube [discotheque Colosseum in Marmirolo, 1983]
OTHER EARLY PROJECTS
A lesser known record on the home-label Goody Music Records and financed by Jacques Fred Petrus was Midnight Gang's album Love Is Magic. A fine dance track off that record was the disco stomper “Love Is Magic”. The long player was composed and arranged by Marco Tansini and Gianni Grecchi in 1979 under guidance of Mauro Malavasi. The arrangements and the songs were modeled in the tradition of the Goody Music sound of Peter Jacques Band, but less effective and refined. The music was recorded in Milan and the mixing occured at the Power Station studios in New York City. This record was distributed in Italy and even in Venezuela, without great sales.
The album Russia by Caprice was released in 1980 on Goody Music records as an Italian import. Candelario Sanchez composed and arranged the 6 tracks including "Russia" and "Stay Tonight". The compositions have the last touch of Euro-disco from this period. It was a time where arrangements with actual players was becoming a bit extinct in Disco music. This may have been due to the popularity dwelling down and the funds for recording were limited to musicians and left many keyboards as the last option. Russia was recorded in France and mixed at Power Station in NYC. But this Paris-based project didn't hit either.
promo poster (courtesy of Michiel van der Kuij)
The Malavasi/Petrus-produced single “D.I.S.C.O.” by A.N.T.I. Rock was an Italian remake of Ottawan’s Eurodisco hit “D.I.S.C.O.” written by the French-Belgian producer team Daniel Vangarde and Jean Kluger (Claude François, Dalida, The Gibson Brothers, La Compagnie Créole, Sheila). The song was released in 1980 and has become very rare.
Other obscure and collectable Goody Music releases in 1980 were Carlo Lena with the Italo-Disco song "Italia" (arranged by Celso Valli and Luca Orioli), The Jumpers with their single “Coke And Roll”/“Rock And Roll Boogie” (composed/arranged by Marco Tansini) and Gianni Riso’s nicely arranged funky single “Disco Shy”, composed by deejay Gianni Riso, Marco Tansini and Mauro Malavasi. The catchy song sounded like a cross between the disco-funk of UK group Delegation and Pino D’Angiò's disco success "Ma Quale Idea". The B-side "Bo?" was probably one of the first European disco songs to incorporate a rap and was released way before Pino D'Angiò's hit "Ma Quale Idea". Both sides are relentless boogie productions, signed Mauro Malavasi.
MACHO II: A TOUCH OF ROCK
In 1980 Goody Music Production released the rock-flavoured Macho II concept, featuring the renowned NY session singer Gordon Grody (see photo) on lead vocals. The album Roll was mainly a Celso Valli vehicle with very little Malavasi input, recorded at the
Fonoprint Studios (Bologna) and the Stone Castle Studios (Carimate, Milan).Celso Valli was a young composer and arranger whose success began with such Italian disco records as "Hills Of Katmandu" by Tantra and "San Salvador" by Azoto. Just like his friend Mauro Malavasi he studied at the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna. Petrus, sure of his international success, was trying to put all the young Italian talents together.
In 1980 the new hybrid music style 'Rosco', a mix of rock and disco, was in fashion for a short while and the 2nd Macho album aimed for that specific market. The songs, which differed from the usual slick and polished disco of Goody Music Production, weaved an agressive hard-edged rock sound with synths and dance beats. Especially the muscular “Roll” (#78 Billboard’s Disco/Dance Chart) was a smoker and “Montreal” and “You Got Me Running” were enjoyable too but did perhaps not appeal to those who were keen on Malavasi’s smoother Italian R&B-disco. Roll had little success and this was also due to the failure of Rosco music.
FROM MILANO'S EURODISCO TO U.S.A. DANCE FUNK
Malavasi's somewhat futuristic and ultra-melodic disco had similarities with the music of the 'great masters' of American disco and producers like Gino Soccio, Cerrone and Giorgio Moroder who all favoured stacks of synthesizers. Most of the small disco albums that Petrus & Malavasi released in those days contained merely four extended tracks, a typical disco phenomenon. The Macho monstergroove “I’m A Man” covered a complete album A-side, surpassing 17 minutes of dancefloor delight! The accessible Hi-NRG dance music easily reached the international disco crowd. In fact it was tailor-made for
the booming discotheques with their almost extraterrestrial atmosphere: flashing dancefloors, glittering mirror balls, colourful light sequencers and hypnotising laserbeams.Freddie Petrus was thrilled with his initial success and expressed it this way in an interview: "Our first two products Macho and Peter Jacques Band rose immediately to the top of the Billboard Disco charts. Macho was an unbelievable phenomenon. Just three weeks after release, the record reached the sixth position, while for example Donna Summer only hit #1 after six weeks! In Europe, Argentina, Brazil and Japan the song was a n°1 disco smash hit. The skeptical American record distributors were shocked to see two hot disco records in the charts that were produced by Italians! Peter Jacques Band proved that Macho wasn't a lucky break but the result of a precise and serious musical policy."
Partner Mauro Malavasi had a more lyrical interpretation of the success of his "Fellini Music", as the Americans at Power Station studios used to call it: "Doing Italian disco is a matter of knowing how to put the moustache to Mona Lisa and getting away with it marketwise!"
Petrus & Malavasi’s early work possibly never achieved the classic status of for example Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor or Sylvester. Nevertheless it yielded some huge disco hits with “I’m A Man” by Macho and “Walking On Music” by Peter Jacques Band. Eurodisco however, remained a critically ignored and disrespected musical tradition that was rather associated with kitschness than soundness. But this perhaps ephemeral stage of transition in the career of Petrus & Malavasi was a crucial laboratory for the development of their promising Italian R&B/disco-funk...
promo posters (courtesy of Michiel van der Kuij)
While Celso Valli was carrying out the 2nd Macho project, Malavasi was in the U.S. working on the 2nd Peter Jacques Band album (photos below: Peter Jacques Band 1980) and at the same time preparing a new concept called Change. By 1980 Petrus & Malavasi decided to "change" direction and completely revamped their sound. They had cleverly taken notice of the dying disco market. Disco had become a dirty word in the music industry. Their new "post disco" dance productions focussed much more on the R&B/dance-soul market than the disco clichés. Their goal was to blend the funky, soulful, R&B-derived elements of American disco-funk with the harder-edged Eurodisco stylings.
Disco music was in a continuous evolution. Acts as Michael Jackson, Ray Parker Jr., Delegation, The Brothers Johnson, Cheryl Lynn, Diana Ross, The Whispers and Earth Wind & Fire marked a return to the funkier side of dance music, allowing a slower BPM tempo on the dancefloor as well. The clean, crisp and advanced production values promoted by Narada Michael Walden, Quincy Jones, James Mtume & Reggie Lucas, Leon F. Sylvers III, Eumir Deodato or Randy Muller shifted the sound genre to soulful boogie and dance funk. The advent of new technology, while still in its infancy, was also starting to shape the emerging new sound of American R&B production. The basslines were still at the core of the music, but the addition of jazzy, funk and R&B elements created the original sound of "80's Groove" or "Boogie" that has kept fresh over the years.
During the 1980s decade, 'Made in Italy' become a worldwide brand. The country opened up to foreign influences while foreigners discovered Italian culture and lifestyle. Drawing a parallel with the booming design and fashion industries of the time, we could say that a certain 'artisanal' expertise was at work there, in which conservatory-trained musicians brought their own to copying the maestros of American disco. But The so-called Italian melodic tradition –a fluid term often used by musicologists to speak of the influence of Neapolitan folk song on 20th century Italian pop– remained undoubtedly discernible in their dance creations.
PETER JACQUES BAND: WELCOME BACK
The second Peter Jacques Band project introduced Malavasi's new Chic-influenced style on the Welcome Back set in 1980 (#57 Billboard’s
Disco/Dance Chart), a vein similar to the R&B-disco production of Change. The featured tracks “Mighty Fine”, “The Louder” and “Is It It” displayed a warmer, soulful, less robotic discosound than their previous selections. Only the single "Counting On Love (One, Two, Three)" reminded of the frantic sequencer-driven disco beat of the earlier productions. In Europe, the record appeared on the labels Goody Music Records, RCA Records and Ariola/Arabella Records and in the U.S. the album was only available via import.Welcome Back and its single “Is It It” were released in the spring of 1980 and launched an all-new band line-up. The four-man act, whose American members all met by chance in the fashion scene of Paris, comprised Sandi Bass, Dianne Washington, Von Gretchen Shepard (see photo right) and lead singer Jacob Wheeler (photo below) . Chicago native Jacob Wheeler was the catalyst who put the act together for Fred Petrus while working in the fashion and entertainment industry of Paris and Rome. The Disco quartet was cynically modelled on Boney M and even beat their extravagant collection of Lurex, satin and glitter outfits. Despite being presented as a "band" on the album cover they had nothing to do with the creative aspect of the music itself. No one of the group had entered a recording studio for this album and they weren’t qualified musicians either. Their role was simply to embody the act and everybody seized that opportunity. Franco Donato, who worked at Goody Music Production in these days, confirmed that the procedure for the second album was identical to the first Peter Jacques Band, and yes, none of the four groupmembers sang on the record, despite having singing talent. The Italian musician crew of Goody Music Production laid down the musical tracks at the Fonoprint Studio in Bologna. The vocals were taped at Mediasound studios in New York City where session singers did the vocal sections. But this time they did it anonymously, in line with common practices in the world of disco production. The record occasionally featured vocals by Luther Vandross who also wrote some of the lyrics but the other studio singers involved remain unknown and uncredited. Jacob Wheeler did practise the songs afterwards to sing during live shows. However contracted for their looks, all of them had more to offer than just that. In fact they all had really versatile and interesting backgrounds. The foursome shared common interests in acting, singing and dancing and all worked as fashion models in Europe. Von Gretchen Shepard was even
elected Miss Black America in 1975 and she soon reached supermodel status. Von Gretchen later also became an actress, appearing in musicals, films and TV-series as different as “Chiefs”, "Baywatch", "A Different World", "King's Ransom" and “Le Guignolo” with French movie star Jean-Paul Belmondo. While Petrus' simultaneous album with Change went straight to the top of the Billboard Dance Chart, Welcome Back went quite unnoticed and even failed to gain a release in the U.S. (the album was published in Canada, Latin America and Europe), and Petrus dropped the project. Jacob Wheeler, who speaks fluent French and Italian, continued singing for various Italian artists like Tony Esposito and Enzo Avitabile during the eighties and he even cut a few disco/dance singles on the French Carrere label under his own artist name and as the duo Vivian Reed & Jacob Wheeler.
Peter Jacques Band photoshoot 1980 (Photos courtesy of Yves LePage)
Peter Jacques Band songs and samples appear on:
* The Dells: "Is It It" (song: Is It It) from Whatever Turns You On, Chi-Sound/20th Century Fox, 1981.
* Def Jef: "Just A Poet (It Feels Mighty Fine)" (sample: Mighty Fine), 12", Delicious Vinyl, 1988.
* Soul Power vs. PJB: "I Was Made For Lovin' You" (sample: Mighty Fine), 12", One Trybal, 2000.
* Soul Power vs. PJB: "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" (sample: The Louder), 12", One Trybal, 2000. (unreleased)
Change touring band line-up 1982
Top: Rick Gallwey, Larry McRae, Vince Henry,
John Adams, Mike Campbell, Lino Reyes, Jeff Bova
Bottom: Debbie Cooper, James ‘Crabbe’ Robinson, Carole
Sylvan, Mary Seymour
CHANGE
The breakthrough of their change of style came with the creation of studio group Change, led by self-taught bassist and keyboardist Davide Romani and the classically trained guitar player Paolo Gianolio (see photo). Gianolio studied music at the "Scuola Jazz Di Parma" from 1974 to 1977. Change was originally conceived as an outlet for their writing, arranging, playing and conducting talents. They were the first pair from a Bologna based pool of musicians to be given an airing.
In November and December 1979 producer Mauro Malavasi finished the rhythm tracks for the first Change album at Fonoprint in Italy. At that Bologna studio located at #1 in Via Schiavonia they had a 24-channel Livio Argentini console and recorded on an analog 16-track Studer A80 recorder. The 2-inch reel tapes were then packed and flown to the U.S. where Fred Petrus and Malavasi would hire the right American soulful voices to sing over the
funky R&B/disco tracks and then complete the project. In N.Y. Petrus & Malavasi met up with the experienced session and background singers Luther Vandross and Jocelyn Brown. The team would then work out the vocal mix at the Media Sound and Power Station studios.
In November and December 1979 producer Mauro Malavasi finished the rhythm tracks for the first Change album at Fonoprint in Italy. At that Bologna studio located at #1 in Via Schiavonia they had a 24-channel Livio Argentini console and recorded on an analog 16-track Studer A80 recorder. The 2-inch reel tapes were then packed and flown to the U.S. where Fred Petrus and Malavasi would hire the right American soulful voices to sing over the
funky R&B/disco tracks and then complete the project. In N.Y. Petrus & Malavasi met up with the experienced session and background singers Luther Vandross and Jocelyn Brown. The team would then work out the vocal mix at the Media Sound and Power Station studios.With Change Petrus and Malavasi reached their goal of world wide success. The innovative, classy disco-soul on Change’s 1980 smash debut album The Glow Of Love stirred U.S. and European dance floors and heralded the second generation of disco acts. In fact, you couldn’t swing at any club without hearing at some point “A Lover’s Holiday” or the Luther Vandross-powered “Searching” and “The Glow Of Love”.
Fred Petrus was convinced that the record would be a hit in America. There was undeniably a substantial musical resemblance with that other legendary discogroup Chic. Things were modeled after Chic, specifically. The thing was that Change’s “A Lover's Holiday” was still disco when Chic was moving away from the genre (only less than a year after “Good Times”). Ironically, “Holiday” struck a bigger nerve with mainstream listeners than any of Chic’s 1980 singles and even managed to make the pop top 40 at a time when Chic could no longer do it. The Italian producers also sought out the singers who were on the Chic albums. They enlisted Fonzi Thornton, a key contributor to the CHIC Organization, for background work on several records of Change. Moreover Thornton sang and arranged backings for The B.B.&Q. Band, Zinc, High Fashion and Ritchie Family. His writing collaborations can be found on music by Change, Ritchie Family (“I’ll Do My Best”), High Fashion (“Feelin’ Lucky Lately”), The B.B.&Q. Band and Zinc.
Nonetheless, Change had an energy of its own and wasn’t a carbon copy of Chic any more than jazz great Chet Baker was a clone of Miles Davis. The Eurodisco influence and a fair portion of Italian finesse and disco flair was what put them apart from the funky American R&B-disco acts like Sister Sledge, Kool & The Gang, Stephanie Mills, The Jacksons, Atlantic Starr, Dazz Band, Shalamar or Skyy.
Fred Petrus was convinced that the record would be a hit in America. There was undeniably a substantial musical resemblance with that other legendary discogroup Chic. Things were modeled after Chic, specifically. The thing was that Change’s “A Lover's Holiday” was still disco when Chic was moving away from the genre (only less than a year after “Good Times”). Ironically, “Holiday” struck a bigger nerve with mainstream listeners than any of Chic’s 1980 singles and even managed to make the pop top 40 at a time when Chic could no longer do it. The Italian producers also sought out the singers who were on the Chic albums. They enlisted Fonzi Thornton, a key contributor to the CHIC Organization, for background work on several records of Change. Moreover Thornton sang and arranged backings for The B.B.&Q. Band, Zinc, High Fashion and Ritchie Family. His writing collaborations can be found on music by Change, Ritchie Family (“I’ll Do My Best”), High Fashion (“Feelin’ Lucky Lately”), The B.B.&Q. Band and Zinc.
Nonetheless, Change had an energy of its own and wasn’t a carbon copy of Chic any more than jazz great Chet Baker was a clone of Miles Davis. The Eurodisco influence and a fair portion of Italian finesse and disco flair was what put them apart from the funky American R&B-disco acts like Sister Sledge, Kool & The Gang, Stephanie Mills, The Jacksons, Atlantic Starr, Dazz Band, Shalamar or Skyy.
disco star Cerrone and French disco promotion force Gérard Gély
Impeccable smooth harmonies, dynamic basslines, subtle piano chords, lush strings, irresistible hooks, explicit synths, multiple breaks and an overall funky sound characterized the Petrus & Malavasi productions. All the pieces fit! It was infectious joyous dance music of the highest quality leading people to the
dancefloor. Petrus and Malavasi created a new, Italian sound that was a fusion of American Disco-Funk and synthesizer-driven Euro Disco.Italo-Funk sounds very much like American Disco music. However, Italian tracks were easily identifiable by their catchy melodies. Emphasis on melody was a conscious choice made by Petrus and Malavasi, and became the most significant trait of the Italian sound. In 1981 Fred Petrus made an interesting point explaining his philosophy: "The X-factor in Italian music is having too much melody. Today you require more than just a disco rhythm to be successful. The market has been in a continuous development and an incredible amount of records have been released. Just mind that Billboard has stretched the disco charts with 20 positions because the disco output is too numerous. There's a need for differentiation. Now the people want nice songs with great melodies as well, catchy tunes they can whistle in the shower. Words and melodies that get stuck in the mind! These ingredients make the hits!" Petrus and his team mastered all the elements that made a dance production exceed the average disco output by far.
For the promotional push of his records Petrus was in constant touch with the French music scene and Gérard Gély was among his closest friends. Every time a Goody Music record was released he would ask the record company involved to entrust Gély with the disco promotion. Because he knew the Gérard Gély Organisation (GGO) would do a good job. Their service was known to be expensive but highly efficient. As Petrus was in constant contact with him anyway, he got a continuous feedback on any promotion move and on consumer reaction and disc jockey acceptance. In France Gély was considered a dance hit maker for countless artists like Barry White, Space, Cerrone, Patrick Juvet, Kool & The Gang, Sheila, Abba, Boney M, Claude François, Village People or Michel Polnareff. Fred Petrus saw Gérard Gély as someone who had a complete understanding of disco clubs. Besides being specialist in the disco scene, Gély aka "Monsieur Club" had a remarkably constant link with the leading DJ’s in Paris. If he wasn't on a plane to L.A., Gérard Gély could always be found at the Parisian high society clubs Elysées Matignon and Castel's.
Centerfold promo poster published in Billboard Magazine 1980, incl. deleted album Sharon Max "Mon Amour"
(Photo courtesy of Toru Matsumoto)
(Photo courtesy of Toru Matsumoto)
NEW YORK CITY: DISCO CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
Due to the success, Fred Petrus operated in increasing circles and set up offices in New York City, “Disco Capital of the World”, in 1979. In Manhattan CEO Petrus had a small team of confidants running the business.
Barbara Clarke was the account representative who worked for accountant and business manager Bert Padell, who handled the accounting of Little Macho Music. Steve Bogen recalled: "Barbara was a very lovely lady. She paid the bills and knew where the money went or didn't go...or as Fred would do...Barbara where is the money??". Attorney Stephen L. Kopitko (photo right below) handled the legal matters.
Then there was the Little Macho Music office staff consisting of three staff members. New Yorker Leslie Dwelle Simpson was the administrator and director assistant in the hot early days of the company. She was later replaced by Mic Murphy who would create the successful R&B group The System with partner David Frank in 1982. Fred's French buddy Claude Ismael was appointed General Manager of Little Macho Music. Claude was already a Goody Music Production collaborator who worked at the office in Milan. He had been active as a label project manager at Polydor Records France previously. Jacques Fred Petrus was able to convince his trustee to follow him to America to set up Little Macho Music in New York City. Mic Murphy and manager Steve Bogen were the American project coordinators and administrators. The curriculum vitae of Steve Bogen nicely describes the range of responsibilities at that time: "Directed all daily administration activities. Production manager: appointed liaison between artists and the major record labels to which acts were signed. Counseled the promotion & publicity departments of major labels. Coordinated booking with concert promoters or the recording artists signed to the Little Macho Music production company. Artists signed and developed by Little Macho Music included: Change (signed to Atlantic Records), B.B. & Q. Band (signed to Capitol Records), High Fashion (signed to Capitol Records) and Zinc feat. Gordon Grody (signed to Jive Records). Coordinated production on these albums with producers/songwriters such as Mauro Malavasi & Davide Romani, Terry Lewis & Jimmy Jam and Kashif".
Assistant Manager Leslie Dwelle Simpson of Little Macho Music NYC
The staffers at Little Macho Music all have become influential names in the entertainment industry. In 1983 Mic Murphy formed the very successful R&B band The System and the innovative music company Science Lab Productions with partner David Frank. Steve Bogen carried on making his mark in the music industry as an expert in music management, music licensing, artist development & promotion, music distribution and sales & marketing for various companies such as Midnight Fantasy Records, Summit Entertainment Company and March On Music Publishing Company. Claude Ismael continued expanding his management, marketing and A&R skills as a record executive for several music companies like EMI, Wagram Music, BMG, Sony, Arcade/CNR Music, Polydor, Arrow or Vogue Records where he often became head of their international departments. Artists in his portfolio have included Youssou N'Dour, JoJo, The Stranglers, Ava Cherry, Jeanne Mas, Rita Marley, Jeane Manson, Toni Braxton, Aaliyah, Frank Zappa, Barry White and Art Garfunkel. In 1993 Claude Ismael was the executive producer of the Ava Cherry single “Gimme, Gimme” which happened to be composed and produced by his friend Mauro Malavasi.
Claude Ismael, General Manager of Little Macho Music NYC
1981 was the most important year for Petrus & Malavasi. They had invented a very appreciated sound that distinguished their productions from all the other ones. An Italian producer and his Italian musician crew had actually succeeded in imposing themselves with their music in the U.S. which was quite an exploit! In 1981 they were in the studio for a long time preparing Change's 2nd album Miracles and the new project Brooklyn Bronx & Queens Band which are among their best achievements.
The producers also decided to involve American session musicians, and later on American composers as well, to give more strength to the projects. In 1981, for a week, a team of American studio musicians worked in a recording studio in Bologna, Italy, playing on new songs under the production and arranging direction of Mauro Malavasi, assisted by bassist Davide Romani. Songs that would appear on the new Change LP later that year. Among these people flown in from New York City were drummer Terry Silverlight, sound engineer Michael Brauer, guitarist Doc Powell and keyboardist Onaje Allan Gumbs. They helped recording the rhythm tracks, which were then taken back to New York's Media Sound studio where a group of session singers including Fonzi Thornton, Diva Gray, Luther Vandross, Jocelyn Brown, Gordon Grody and James "Crab" Robinson overdubbed vocals.
In NYC Jacques Fred Petrus had an American musician crew cutting demos with engineer Matthew Noble at an 8-track studio at Northcott Productions. Petrus enrolled talented but relatively unknown American black session singers and musicians to work on his various transatlantic projects. Most of the musicians were members of local bands performing gigs in the New York State club circuit: Chieli Minucci, Kevin Robinson, Johnny Kemp, Timmy Allen, Paris ‘PeeWee’ Ford, Wayne Garfield, Vincent Henry, Deborah Cooper, Bernard Davis, William ‘Doc’ Powell, Mike Campbell, Steve Skinner, Alyson Williams, Tanyayette Willoughby, Meli'sa Morgan, Jeff Bova, etcetera. They all knew each other and belonged to a tight clique of N.Y.C. musicians often playing together at Manhattan's hottest clubs like Bogard’s, Sweetwater, Justine’s, Leviticus, Under The Stairs, Brody, The Cellar and Mikell's. This pool of talent made it rather easy for Petrus to recruit his artists. He must have felt like a little boy in a candy store. It circulated among upcoming musicians dwelling in Jamaica, Queens or Brooklyn that Freddie approached virtually every young talent to be part of his grand plans. Eventually they became the B.B.&Q. Band, Change, High Fashion and Zinc. The fabrication of the Little Macho Music signature sound bore a strong resemblance to George Clinton's P-Funk production concept, in which a tight association of like-minded people made the same style of music for a number of interchangeable groups and acts on different record labels: Parliament, Funkadelic, Brides Of Funkenstein, Bootsy's Rubber Band, Mutiny, Parlet.
In 1982 the Italians even worked permanently in the U.S., recording great material together with the finest studio artists present in The Big Apple. The sounding names printed on the album back covers reflected the N.Y.C. Who's Who of R&B studio aces at the time: Fonzi Thornton, Kashif Saleem, Jocelyn Brown, Barry Eastmond, Yogi Horton, Michael Barbiero, Tawatha Agee, Randy Brecker, Gordon Grody, Leroy Burgess, Dennis Coffey or Ira Siegel. Freddie's burning ambition and absolute determination dripped from the records. In the Boss's ideal plan, different projects coming out of the Little Macho Music sound lab would be sold to different labels and would be competing in the R&B charts for the number one spot. New productions for Change and The B.B.&Q. Band, a collaboration with the Ritchie Family and other creations like Zinc and High Fashion further established the fashionable, proven sound and even retained space for experimentation. Since disco was virtually dead by 1982, the music of Little Macho Music naturally developed into urban contemporary R&B and club-funk, staying original and thrilling yet. The dream of Jacques Fred Petrus seemed closer than ever to becoming a reality.
Musician and Little Macho Music staff member Mic Murphy
Steve Bogen, Project Manager at Little Macho Music NYC
Little Macho Music, 1775 Broadway, 7th Floor, NYC, NY 10019 - former Newsweek Building
CHANGE: THE GLOW OF LITTLE MACHO MUSIC
The American debut of Italy's Change concept came during a challenging, transitional period for disco music. After Chic’s Risqué and Donna Summer’s Bad Girls in 1979, there appeared to be nothing left for disco but absorption into the pop mainstream. In 1980 dance music was in a state of upheaval. Disco was experiencing a serious backlash. Elements of rock, jazz and reggae were added to the music, giving it credibility and sophistication but at the same time taking away much of the music’s identity, to the point where the term disco almost became absolete. Everyone from Blondie to The Rolling Stones had made a disco record. These puerile attempts at dance music not only appalled popular music purists, but they also made the ultrahip dance community feel invaded by mainstream attempts to capitalize on their sound. Mainstay disco artists were abandoning the genre. Chic was leaning toward R&B while Donna Summer’s music became more pop-oriented in the ’80s. Clubland was searching for a new musical tempo. They wanted a sound they could call their own again.
Davide Romani
And the answer came in Change, a group who seamlessly picked up the disco mirror ball where Chic dropped it - right in the middle of the neon-lit dancefloor. The achievements of masters such as Maurice White, Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards, Rod Temperton and Giorgio Moroder could be heard, but at the same time Change recaptured a distinctive identity for dance music.
Petrus struck a gold mine with Change... Change was mainly conceptualized in 1979 to produce USA disco and get it on the market rapidly to have a fast cash in. The concept was never intended to become a live act, nor was it the aim to market the singers who were on the record. Yet it remains the most successful and enduring project of Petrus & Malavasi. The debut record The Glow Of Love is a varied, adventurous fusion of American and European sounds and has the unmistakable ring of a hit. The project was mainly the brainchild of in-house musicians Davide Romani and Paolo Gianolio (see photo left). Romani’s role was crucial in the Change story. Together with Malavasi and Paolo Gianolio he propulsed Change straight into the disco annals by means of smart funky dance productions and outstanding soul/R&B compositions. Sleeve credits never mentioned the name of Romani as producer but his importance as producer of Petrus-projects throughout the early eighties is beyond any doubt.
The group was originally an Italian studio creation. The band's dual Italian and American identity was a result of a production system in which the music, excepting the vocals, were written and recorded by Italian collaborators in studios such as Fonoprint Studios, Bologna, Italy. The backing tracks were then taken to the USA where vocals were added by hand-picked New York session performers, before being mixed into finalized versions in major studios such as the Power Station in New York City. Change delivered five strong albums in line (and a moderate sixth release) on the Atlantic subsidiary RFC, spawning many international hits and dance classics.
promo poster (courtesy of Michiel van der Kuij)
Like many other artists who were influenced by Chic, Change was “classy disco”. A band clad in fashionable designer clothing, lots of strings, a slappy bass, high musicianship, strong melodies and smooth vocals were always evident on their records. The music Change made remained true to the origins of dance music, namely R&B. Their fusion of soulful rhythm & blues and the harder-edged Eurodisco was exactly what the people on the dance floor wanted.
Change would become the Italian flank of the new European invasion of the American dominated dance market of which Junior, Level 42, Shakatak, Linx, Central Line and Imagination were the British representatives.
'Change on tour' at Charts record store (Phoenix, AZ) in Summer 1981 - Lino Reyes, James "Crab" Robinson, Timmy Allen, Jeff Bova, Rick Gallwey, Carole Sylvan, Mary Seymour, Jeff Young, John Adams and Debbie CooperThe Glow Of Love
The first album The Glow Of Love, released in April 1980 on RFC-Warner Bros. Records, was perfect, unpressured springtime music. The record featured the distinguished vocals of a pre-stardom Luther Vandross (see photo) and Jocelyn Shaw, a.k.a. Jocelyn Brown (see photo). Jacques Fred Petrus recalled, "I tried five singers for "Searching" and everybody sang it in their own way, but it wasn't the interpretation I had in mind." Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken advertising jingles brought Luther Vandross to the attention of Fred Petrus who persistently kept looking for a soulful crooner to match his R&B/disco music! And of course the Italians were aware that Luther was a credited singer on the Chic albums. Luther Vandross recalled: "The Italians heard me in the context of being a commercial jingle and background singer and said, 'Oh, can we get you to sing lead vocal on a song?' And I said, 'As long as two things are understood.' See, I was making a lot of money as a jingle and backing vocalist. So to take me out of that, you had to be talking some mighty, mighty stuff! I told them if I didn't like my performance, I was to be able to stand there and erase it myself. And Fred and Mauro said fine. And I said also that my name is printed as lead vocalist. Well radio, particularly black radio, took to Change and started calling my name...'That was Luther Vandross with Change...Gosh, does this guy need to make an album!'" Singer Bobby Douglas testified: "I sang the demo for "The Glow Of Love", then saw Luther 30 minutes later...I knew it was a wrap! That happened a lot but I still loved the brother. lol". Producer Kashif remembered attending a concert in N.Y.C. of Change featuring Luther Vandross: "People were very curious to see who this Luther Vandross was, the amazing voice behind 'The Glow Of Love'". Vandross performed just a couple of times with Change, such as the live gig at the legendary nightclub Emerald City in Cherry Hill (New Jersey, USA) on July 3, 1980. Among the participating musicians on stage were Yogi Horton and Doc Powell. Luther helped promoting Change's debut album The Glow Of Love but this is where his contractual involvement as a hired gun ended.
Concert ads of Change performing live at the Emerald City nightclub on Thursday, July 03, 1980 in Cherry Hill (New Jersey, US).
Vandross had previously recorded under a variety of guises, cutting two albums for the Cotillion label under the name Luther and recording as a featured vocalist with session groups ranging from the likes of Quincy Jones, The Good Vibrations, Lemon, Charme, The Charlie Calello Orchestra, Roundtree, Mascara, Soirée, Michael Zager Band, The New York City Band and Gregg Diamond Bionic
Boogie. He also was a background singer and vocal arranger on songs by Chic, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Odyssey, Sister Sledge, Chaka Khan, Kleeer, Donna Summer, Bette Midler, David Bowie, Roberta Flack, Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand and Melba Moore. Vandross also wrote “A Brand New Day (Everybody Rejoice)" for the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz and he appeared as a choir member in the movie in 1978 in which his song was sung by The Wiz Stars featuring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.Luther Vandross could have toured with Change, but decided instead to tour with Roberta Flack who had just recorded his song "You Stopped Lovin' Me" from the movie soundtrack album Bustin' Loose. He wouldn't sing lead on any of the other Change projects because he had issues contract-wise with Petrus. Musician Kevin Robinson of B.B.&Q. Band remarked in an interview: "Fred Petrus could have got Luther on the contract but Freddie was cheap with money, really cheap!". By that time, Vandross was also actively seeking a solo deal.
Luther Vandross at his piano with the first Change RIAA Gold Record hanging on the wall behind
During the disco era Jocelyn Brown was hot on the New York session circuit and her talent was easily tracked down by scout Fred Petrus. She sang with Dazzle, B. Baker Chocolate Co., Kleeer, Machine, Disco Tex & the Sex-O-Lettes, Joe Thomas, Dan Hartman, Candido, Gregg Diamond Bionic Boogie, Manu Dibango, The Charlie Calello Orchestra, Michael Zager Band, George Benson (wrongly credited as Jocelyn Allen in the Give Me The Night album!), Musique and Inner Life. She also was a featured vocalist on Revanche's Music Man, an earlier product of the Little Macho Music company. Petrus called Artists Service, the hotline for backup singers. The girls at Artists Service knew who to call and that's how Zachary Sanders, Yvonne Lewis, Dennis Collins, Krystal Davis and Alyson Williams rounded out the vocals for what became a historic session.
Guitarist Paolo Gianolio and bass-player and keyboardist Davide Romani formed the original European nucleus of Change. Together with Lele Melotti (drums), Luca Orioli (keyboards), Rudy Trevisi (piano, sax) and Mauro Malavasi (producer, keyboards) they entered the initial Fonoprint studio in Bologna at Via Schiavonia #1. Their debut album was received very well and got several Grammy Award nominations. The instrumental tracks were recorded at Bologna's Fonoprint Studios in Italy. The vocals were recorded and mixed at Power Station Studios and Media Sound in New York City.
Malavasi, Colombo and Romani with the Change Gold Record for 500.000 sold copies in the USA of The Glow Of Love
The Glow Of Love opened with Change's best-known song
and massive dance hit “A Lover’s Holiday” (#1 Billboard’s Disco/Dance Chart; #5 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart). This remarkable debut single —incredibly fluid, intricately structured, and irresistibly melodic—was a stunningly gorgeous and fitting hit for the year’s warmer weather. Breaking from the scalding energy of disco’s most famous four-on-the-floor successes of the late '70s, this artful track, mixed by Jim Burgess, was noticeably soulful and more modestly paced, yet irresistible both to those drawn to the dance floor and those who sought soulful, radio-friendly pop satisfaction. It was also a well-timed release, initially gaining attention in the spring (when it went to #1 on Billboard's Disco Chart) and staying strong throughout the summer, along with its companion tracks, “Searching” and “The Glow Of Love.” The playful opener became an instant dancefloor classic and Romani's and Gianolio's tight interplay at the core of a spare sound often suggests Chic's Rodgers and Edwards. Their version though, is much more melodic and energized. "A Lover's Holiday" reveals an unexpected and successful turnabout of style. Petrus trades hectic Euro-synthesizer disco for a subtler, American flavoured sound, also heavily shaded with influences from Gregg Diamond and Gino Soccio. Economically produced, each part of the arrangement stands out cleanly in Jim Burgess' mix, especially the guitars and voices: Soccio-style high-unison female singing plus hot Diamond-style ad-libbing (sounds like Zach Sanders, the soloist on several Bionic Boogie sides). It was Change's only Top 40 hit on the Hot 100 and benefited of Jocelyn Brown's vocal capacities and disco experience. The song appeared in the 2009 comedy movie Couples Retreat.
Luther Vandross was featured on the quiet storm favourite "The Glow Of Love" (#49 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart) which offers a startling introduction to the singer's jazzier and swingier style. His effortless vocals front an unforgettable mix of catchy plucked guitar, key stabs and breezy synths. The considerable vocal strength of Luther Vandross can also be heard on the seductively pulsing electro groove of "Searching". Percussives and a brief horn interlude highlight this unique dancer. (#23 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart). Vandross had yet to secure a solo career in 1980, although many of the people who heard his performances on those two gems agreed that a solo career was inevitable. Davide Romani had to convince Malavasi to include the beat-heavy synthesizer ride "Searching" on the Change album. Therefore the song "Starlette" was removed from the final album cut and retained for a next project which would be called the B.B.&Q. Band.
The three remaining tracks were the passionate cult disco hit “Angel In My Pocket”, the sassy "It's A Girl's Affair" and the fascinating galactic instrumental “The End” which was inspired by the electro vibes of Kraftwerk and the futuristic disco of Cerrone, Space, Automat, Kano, Giorgio Moroder and Gino Soccio. On the two vocal tracks, "It's A Girl's Affair" and "Angel In My Pocket", Jocelyn Shaw (who sang lead on Inner Life's "I'm Caught Up") is featured vocalist. The two cuts are notable particularly because they prove that it's still possible to discover new synthesizer arrangements. "It's A Girl's Affair" is a buzz with lead guitar and abruptly ending hums, and "Angel In My Pocket" poses a tortured, vibrant Brown in front of a synthesizer and percussion section.
Acetate demo disc of A Lover's Holiday cut at the Sterling Sound audio mastering studio
Change's originality is indisputable. Throughout The Glow Of Love, Change achieves just the right proportion of power and subtlety: it's a mass-appeal record rich and inventive enough to fascinate disco and R&B connoisseurs. The Glow Of Love LP has been widely hailed by classic disco fans and critics alike as one of the most “artistic” albums ever delivered in the genre. On May 3, 1980, Cash Box approached it less loftily but with equal enthusiasm, reviewing, “Anyone who doesn't feel like getting up and shaking their booty to the opening track “A Lover's Holiday” is in serious need of a shot of Vitamin B12.” Still, first generation disco music was more or less on the way out (in the US anyway and ever so briefly), and this collection squeaked in just under the wire. However, given the Italo disco wave was heating up Italy in Europe and a more funky sound was gaining momentum in North America, it’s quite likely this inspired production would have inevitably found its way forward through any headwinds. RFC label boss Ray Caviano explained that the producers wanted to have a balanced LP with various different sounds. Mission accomplished.
The Glow Of Love spent 9 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Disco Album Chart and shot to the top in just six weeks, enough to make it the #1 Disco album of the year and a million seller in the US. The record reached #29 on the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart and #10 on the US Billboard Black Albums Chart.
Ray Caviano (photo right) was the disco scene’s number-one record executive who signed and promoted Change in the US. It took a miracle to get the album released by a major label because disco-related music had become very unpopular with the recording industry. The dance label RFC Records, aligned with Warner Bros. at this time (Quality and Atlantic Records later in its revered lifespan), oversaw the American release of this production. Ray Francis Caviano founded and ran RFC, his customized label subdivision created after his placement as president of Warner Bros.' disco division in December 1978. Releases on the label were jointly released with larger labels such as Atlantic Records or Warner Bros. Records. When the album was just out, Ray Caviano could be found in a record store on New York's lower East Side. "I grew up there", he explained. "I know the place. I watched for several hours to see who was buying the Change LP. When I know that, I know where to sell it and how to sell it".
"The Glow of Love" is one of the most popular, covered and sampled dance songs with over 40 licensed uses to date, according to The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) in the US. In fact, "The Glow of Love" is the #3 all-time greatest dance/club hit recording, according to Billboard's 100th Anniversary issue. Wayne Garfield, who wrote the lyrics for "The Glow Of Love" recalled Luther's recording session testimony of “The Glow Of Love” as, "Wayne, this is the most beautiful song I've ever sung in my life....".
In Los Angeles, June 2002, Mauro Malavasi and Davide Romani received several prestigious ASCAP Awards: an ASCAP Pop Music Award, an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Award and an ASCAP Grammy Award. All this for their composition “The Glow Of Love” which has been prominently sampled on Janet Jackson's No. 1 pop hit “All For You”. (ASCAP is the abbreviation of American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.)
Jimmy Jam on sampling (at Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal, Dec. 2016): "And the other thing people always use to say was like on the sampling thing: "I know y'all don't like sampling huh, because that's like cheating..." Well no, not really. I love sampling. I love doing a record like All For You [Janet Jackson] that samples The Glow Of Love by Change & Luther Vandross and have the writer of The Glow Of Love [Davide Romani] come up to me and go: "Man, you bought me my house!". You know, because I'm not into stealing. I'm not into taking something illegally and using it. But if people get credit for it, the idea of introducing people to new music through old music and the music I grew up with, I'm like OK, cool! I'm so happy to be able to do it. I love sampling. I love the technology. But don't let the technology use you. Use it the way that it works for you."
Paolo Gianolio
The cover artwork of The Glow Of Love displayed an abstract geometric design of black and orange shapes on a white background, created by artist Greg Porto. Porto would draw many covers for Change projects, including six albums (U.K.-only cover artwork of Turn On The Radio included) and a Greatest Hits compilation. (Greg Porto also designed the cover of Gino Soccio’s first disco album Outline, released in 1979, and the compilation album Danceland, compiled and mixed by Mauro Malavasi for Casablanca Records in 1983.)
Among the many background voices on The Glow Of Love were also Deborah Cooper, Mic Murphy (co-founder of The System) and LaForrest Cope, better known as LaLa (who became a Kashif-protégé later on).
LaLa and Murphy (see photo) both played in the local NYC band Jack Sass. Murphy had been approached in 1979 by Jacques Fred Petrus who proposed Murphy and his band a touring contract to front the Peter Jacques Band project. But the deal didn’t go through as the money they would earn appeared to be ridiculously low. Still Petrus invited Murphy and LaLa to come sing and play in the studio for an album project which ended up being the first Change record The Glow Of Love.In a recent interview LaLa recalled the vicious modus operandi of "shark" Petrus: "Oh yeah. An astute con artist. But some of the best dance music ever recorded without signing an act. Jocelyn Brown and I did the alto leads together with Deborah Cooper on "Lover's Holiday" and "The Glow of Love." The guy handed me an envelope filled with $1.000 in cash to sign a release form. Little did my teenage brain know I was signing away not only my performance rights but also my first gold album credits. What a smooth operator!".
Petrus & Malavasi also enlisted Wayne Garfield (Roy Ayers, Candi Staton) and Tanyayette Willoughby (Twennynine) (who were also part of the NYC clique of singers, musicians and songwriters) to write "NY Soul"-style lyrics. Tanya Willoughby was Garfield's student at the Institute of New Cinema Artists (INCA). Tanya even sang lead on "Angel In My Pocket", a song she also wrote. The British singer/songwriter Paul Slade wrote the lyrics for "Searching".
The record
became a smash hit in the U.S. and Petrus continued to call and ask Murphy’s advise about local musicians, and if Murphy could fix him meetings. Fred Petrus didn't want to pay the prices studio artists like Luther Vandross and Jocelyn Brown were asking and wanted to mix and match the talents of Mauro Malavasi, Davide Romani and Paolo Gianolio with some of NYC finest upcoming musicians and vocalists. He was aware that Murphy knew almost all the local players. On top of that Mic Murphy had management skills since he worked as a road manager for the group Kleeer. Eventually Petrus asked Murphy if he would help run his NY office together with Claude Ismael. New Yorker Steve Bogen would join later.Petrus and Malavasi had achieved their dream - a hit in America. But what next?
Change performing twice playback at the Italian RAI TV show Discoring in 1980.
Rudy Trevisi (electric piano), Lele Melotti (drums), Davide Romani (bass), Paolo Gianolio (guitar) and Luca Orioli (keyboards); singers were stand-ins for Luther and Jocelyn Brown.
(Photos courtesy of Andrea Anzola, Luca Sacchi and Yves Saïd Le Page)
(Photos courtesy of Andrea Anzola, Luca Sacchi and Yves Saïd Le Page)
Miracles
The formula worked once, so Petrus & Malavasi retraced their footsteps and issued the strong follow-up set Miracles in April 1981 on Atlantic-RFC Records. Change remained dedicated to a unique brand of European-influenced, hi-tech disco and maintained the celebratory tone of its debut. The set even had a stronger contemporary R&B feel than its more disco-oriented predecessor. This time, after the recording sessions in Italy and New York were completed, Fred Petrus assembled a touring band of American musicians, proving that the talent of Change didn't end in the studio. In the Summer of 1981 a 10-piece Change group supported Rick James on his Street Songs tour in the US, along with Frankie Smith and Teena Marie. There were shows at the James Brown Arena in Augusta (Georgia) on Sat. July 11, at the Albuquerque Civic Auditorium in Albuquerque (New Mexico) on Thur. July 23 and at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino (California) on Sat. July 25. Change was also on the bill with R&B group Atlantic Starr. Still in 1981, Change participated in a unique African concert together with The Brothers Johnson, Fatback Band and Miriam Makeba in Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria.
Fronting the band were two experienced vocalists whose backgrounds read like entries of a musical Who's Who: James 'Crab' Robinson and Diva Gray (see photo below). Male leads were handled by James 'Crab' Robinson. Following Vandross' departure, Petrus & Malavasi sought out a similar-sounding vocalist.
James 'Crab' Robinson was a reputed singer in the NYC session scene with a distinctive church-testifying tenor, suitable for the Change concept. Robinson happened to be the cousin of Paris 'Peewee' Ford, the frontman/bassist on the initial B.B.&Q. Band release. His previous credits included work with Norman Connors and Lonnie Liston Smith.
James' history in music dates back to a stint as roadie with Norman Connors. One night when the male vocalist travelling with Norman failed to show up, James took his place –with no rehearsal! From then on, he stayed with Norman for a couple of years and appeared on his This Is Your Life album (1977). The great-voiced Robinson was the featured lead singer on the soulful ballad “Listen” off that album. After this, James worked with Lonnie Liston Smith as a lead vocalist and occasional guitarist on the albums A Song For The Children (1979) and Love Is The Answer (1980), and subsequently did sessions with Melba Moore, Michael Urbaniak, Jean Carn and Phyllis Hyman amongst others. Robinson is also the featured male vocalist on Jagg's single "Take Time", released on Delirium Records in 1982.
Change 1981 - promo line-up
Top: John Adams, Rick Gallwey, Diva Gray, James "Crab" Robinson, Debbie Cooper, Doc Powell
Bottom: Lino Reyes, Carole Sylvan, Mary Seymour, Jeff Young, Larry McRae
Top: John Adams, Rick Gallwey, Diva Gray, James "Crab" Robinson, Debbie Cooper, Doc Powell
Bottom: Lino Reyes, Carole Sylvan, Mary Seymour, Jeff Young, Larry McRae
Record World Magazine, May 23, 1981
It was through session ace Doc Powell (photo below), bandleader of the freshly-assembled Change group, that James "Crab" Robinson found out about the Change sessions at the end of 1980. They grew up together and both played in the group of Lonnie Liston Smith. "They had a lot of people try out at Media Sound", James remembered. "I was kind of the last one to go, so I got a chance to learn the melody. Mauro sat down at the piano and started teaching me the song. Then they put up "Heaven Of My Life". When I got up and hit those notes, that was it, Fred immediately stopped the recording." They called James in and started negotiating with him to finish the male vocal lead spots on the album. Robinson was adopted into the fold as lead singer of Change and subsequently began touring with the group. James recalled, "After Fred heard me sing, he told me he wanted to be sure that I would be willing to have Change become a reality, not just a studio group. I told him I was ready, so I went ahead." Fred felt that since the
first album had done so well, they had something to build on and this proved to be true, from the success of the Miracles album. James said: "I had listened to Luther's work on the Glow Of Love record, never knowing that I would end up singing on the follow-up album, and I really appreciated his style and technique. I had to make sure that when I did my vocals, they wouldn't end up as copies of Luther's, so I was conscious of the need for me to be myself."The distaff side of Change was represented by the classically trained opera singer and actress Diva Gray whose name had adorned more than a few album covers! She was brought in to replace Jocelyn Brown. The well-traveled New York session singer had lent her warm expressive vocals to several noteworthy disco projects like B. Baker Chocolate Co., The Love Symphony Orchestra, Samba Soul, Lemon, Gregg Diamond, Meco and The New York City Band. Diva's credits also included work with Harry Belafonte, Bette Midler (she can be seen in the movie "Divine Madness") and had sung on sessions by a host of folks including George Benson, Chic, Norma Jean, Sister Sledge, Major Harris, Joe Thomas, Herbie Mann, Jimmy Ponder, Wilbert Longmire, Steely Dan, etc. Diva was originally a member of Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band before the group made records. Her voice could also be heard on many US radio and TV top commercials. In 1979 she already had released her own disco-funk album Hotel Paradise as Diva Gray & Oyster on CBS. But aside from this project, Diva's vocalising on the Change album was one of the first times she could be heard singing up front.
The maturity and professionalism that had made Diva Gray one of the New York top studio vocalists can be heard on Change's album to full advantage. During the ‘80s and ‘90s she continued singing backing vocals for many artists like Talking Heads, George Benson, Steely Dan, Garland Jeffreys, High Fashion, B.B.&Q. Band, David Bowie, Scritti Politti, Debbie Gibson, Grace Jones and Céline Dion.
Change backstage at the Beacon Theatre in NYC. Top row: singer Debbie Cooper, producer Jacques Fred Petrus, singer James "Crabbe" Robinson and record executives Everett Smith, Bob Siegel and Ray Caviano. Below: backing singers Mary Seymour and Carole Sylvan.
Other members of the newly-formed loose live aggregation included: Lino Reyes (drums), John F. Adams (keyboards), Jeff Bova (keyboards, synths), Rick Gallwey (percussion), Larry McRae (bass) (see photo below), Timmy Allen (bass) and Jeff Young (synths). Aiding James and Diva on vocals were Mary Seymour Williams and Carole Sylvan, both former members of Musique, and Deborah Cooper who came from The Fatback Band.
Former lead singer Luther Vandross was tied up with his inevitable first solo project but was, interestingly, credited as a background vocalist. In fact Luther Vandross was also originally intended to perform as a lead vocalist on this second album, but declined the offer as Petrus didn't pay enough money and then signed a solo artist deal with Epic Records, using his success with Change as a springboard. Davide Romani told that he had composed "Hold Tight" with Luther Vandross in mind as the interpreter of the song. Jocelyn Brown was still in the game too, as a backing singer and vocal arranger.
Miracles spent 5 weeks at the #1 position of Billboard’s Disco Album Chart and was ranked as the #3 Disco Album and the # 9 R&B Album of 1981! Again Malavasi and Romani proved their mastery of disco songwriting and production. Quite a performance if you realise that Malavasi only was 23 years old at the time and his young friend Romani just 22.
The music was recorded at Fonoprint Studios located in
downtown Bologna, within the walls of an ancient monastery. The superb 13th century building, which has a preservation order on it, was specially refurbished to house the studio without altering its original structure.Rhythmic, uptempo tracks, led by riveting guitar, dominate the LP. Musically all have a feverish pace with effective horn and strong arrangements. Key tracks on Miracles were the chugging and thumping single “Paradise” with the biting bass line and uplifting chorus refrain (#1 Billboard’s Disco/Dance Chart; #7 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart), the pleasantly unstated groover and 2nd single “Hold Tight” that owes more to boogie than disco and intentionally crafted with Chic's "Good Times" in mind (#40 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart), the irresistible soulful dancer “On Top”, the smooth radio-aired “Your Move”, the slick title track “Miracles” which is another mellow ride featuring the Vandross-like vocals of James Robinson and the powerful “Heaven Of My Life” again typified by that gyrating bassline and soaring female lead vocal. James "Crab" Robinson recalled: "As we traveled across the country, a lot of musicians would come to hear "Heaven Of My Life" to hear that bass line and to hear if we could replicate that onstage. When we did, they would go wild. They'd say, Yeah that's the song!". Vincent Henry agreed: "That's the tune we always looked most forward and anxiously toward playing...bassist Davide Romani who composed the song and who taught us how to play it, is one of the most funky earthlings! He and Doc Powell showed me how to play this song properly on guitar. Not only notes played...syllables, spoken... at Lenny Shillingford's new acoustically designed Rocket Rehearsal Studio in the Spring of 1981."
a drumstick to play the first notes on the strings of the bass guitar: the intro of "Paradise" was born. He also used a little nail instead of a guitar pick, starting from bass line before melody and harmony. "For good attack", as he uses to call it. "Paradise" was released on the British market in a softer remix. The beautifully sung and orchestrated “Stop For Love” was a sensitive soul ballad that showed how versatile the Italian musicians were. Perhaps the wide-ranging vocals lack a bit the emotional appeal of Vandross here. Similar romance-themed gems occured more frequently on the third Change set.Several American musicians were hired to extend the Italian staff during the studio recordings. Noted sidemen were William ‘Doc’ Powell (guitar) (see B/W photo), Terry Silverlight (drums), Onaje Allan Gumbs (keyboards), Victor Paz (trumpet), Earl Gardner (trumpet) and Bob Alexander (trombone). Producer Fred Petrus spotted the musicians performing in the NYC clubs and invited them to record in Italy. William ‘Doc’ Powell was appointed as musical director of Change as well as for another Petrus project called The B.B.&Q. Band.
Petrus understood that “God was in the details”, so he didn’t neglect the chorus part either and engaged the best backing vocalists available: Gordon Grody, Jocelyn Brown, Crystal Davis, Ullanda McCullough, Luther Vandross, Fonzi Thornton, Benny Diggs and Dennis Collins.
Davide Romani in the control room at RCA Studios in Rome in 1985, recording the Mike Francis album Features
The songwriters Tanyayette Willoughby (see photo) and Paul Slade were contracted to wrap swinging and catchy lyrics around the divine disco compositions. Willoughby had come to the attention of
Petrus as a fresh-faced 18 year-old via her college instructor Wayne Garfield, who had written the lyrics of "The Glow Of Love" and "It's A Girl's Affair" for the first album of Change. Yet when Petrus had fallen out with Garfield, Willoughby was granted the privilege of writing five of the seven tracks on Miracles, including its R&B Top 10 slap bass juggernaut "Paradise". She said, "To harass Wayne, Fred Petrus let me contribute to the lion's share of the songs on the album." Despite the runaway success of Change's 1981 sophomore album, singer-songwriter Willoughby could sense that her days with Jacques Fred Petrus and his burgeoning Little Macho Productions empire were coming to a certain end. As a prolific and integral contributor to the Change sound, Tanyayette Willoughby had written two of the tunes on their 1980 gold-certified Grammy-nominated debut The Glow Of Love, including its R&B hit "A Lover's Holiday". But as the tides of praise for Willoughby's songwriting on the Change albums began to roll in, their adversarial working relationship between them began to sour. "I made so much money off the Miracles album that Fred was done with me. He got tired of people saying my name to him", Willoughby told. Her exit forecasted a series of defections from the core architects of Change's riveting sound and signaled a pivotal turning point in the group's modus operandi.
Change performing at Grand Circus Theater, Detroit, Michigan (US) in July 1982
(Photos courtesy of Dana Marie Wesley-Goodwyn)
(Photos courtesy of Dana Marie Wesley-Goodwyn)
Jocelyn B. Smith, Michael Campbell, Vincent Henry, Rick Gallwey
Debbie Cooper, Lisa Fischer, Vincent Henry
Michael Campbell, Deborah Cooper, Jocelyn B. Smith
Jocelyn B. Smith, Timmy Allen, Debbie Cooper, Mike Campbell, Vince Henry, James 'Crabbe' Robinson, Lisa Fischer, Rick Gallwey
Lisa Fischer, Jocelyn B. Smith, Mike Campbell, Deborah Cooper, Jeff Bova
Deborah Cooper, James 'Crabbe' Robinson, Lisa Fischer, Timmy Allen
Vincent Henry, Timmy Allen
Deborah Cooper, Lisa Fischer, Michael Campbell, Jocelyn B. Smith, Jeff Bova
Jocelyn B. Smith, Vincent Henry, Rick Gallwey and (invisible) drummer Toby Johnson
The Sharing Your Love record was released in April of 1982 with the fanfare of a full-page ad in Billboard magazine flamboyantly announcing its arrival. Billing the set as "A funky, soulful, and simply sensational new sound for the '80s", the ad boasted titles such as "Hard Times (It's Gonna Be Alright)", "Sharing Your Love", "You're My Number 1" and "Everything And More."
For the record Sharing Your Love in 1982 a real band appeared on the coverphoto of the album. With mounting pressure from Atlantic Records, Petrus was forced to conceive an actual group with visible members to congeal the concept of Change for a discerning record-buying public and an industry increasingly concerned with a marketable image. A permanent American group was put together and based in NYC. All the musicians were looked for and selected by Davide Romani in the New York inns and clubs. Some of them had already joined the touring outfit several months before. When bass player Larry McRae left, Vincent Henry asked Timmy Allen to be in the group because he loved his playing. The line-up settled as James ‘Crab’ Robinson (lead vocals), Jeff Bova (keyboards), Timmy Allen (bass), Michael Campbell (guitar), Rick Gallwey (percussion) and Vincent Henry (guitar, saxophone). Timmy Allen,
Michael Campbell and Vincent Henry played in the local NYC group Der Kinky Foxx. Drummer Toby Johnson remembered when he joined the band in 1982, as a live musician initially. Their former drummer Lino Reyes had left and bassist Timmy Allen introduced his Philly buddy Toby "Tobe" Johnson, "the baddest drummer in Philly" as he used to call him. "I went to NYC to grab the opportunity and try to reach that next level" Toby said. "I came in and I heard the group. The band was astounding and I fell in love with it right there. "I'm in!" I said." "I loved them and they loved me. It all worked out." He also vividly recalled the touring dates. "People loved the group and I was really taken. I didn't know people all over the world knew these songs, singing the songs, singing the lyrics!" He remembered the times when the group was performing while other acts like Cameo, Rick James or The whispers were standing on the side of the stage watching them. "We were tight, crazy tight! Our band was real! Great harmonies, choreographies and all that and these guys knew that they had a serious contender onstage."
Though Miracles had established vocalist Diva Gray as the primary female lead, it would prove to be a short-lived affair. "In keeping with that whole studio orientation of the band, a lot of the singers were come and go", said Vince Henry. "I didn't get the impression that Diva's intent was to make a career out of being in Change. But Debbie (Deborah) Cooper was there singing lead with the group on tour for a year by the time Sharing Your Love came around." As far as Petrus was concerned, Cooper fit the bill. The very gifted Deborah Cooper, who started as female vocalist for the Fatback Band, replaced Diva Gray as lead singer and remained until the group disbanded.
Another featured female lead was Broadway artist Roz Ryan, who has also recorded with Butch Ingram (“Boy Where Have You Been”, 1983) and Skipworth & Turner. Sharing Your Love is the only Change album that was entirely recorded in a U.S. studio.
During 1982 all Petrus' Italian musicians resided permanently in the U.S. to facilitate the production process. The recording sessions took place at Media Sound Studios (see photo), located at 311 West 57th Street at the corner of 8th Avenue in Manhattan. Situated directly across the street from
publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst's mighty Hearst Tower, the studio was previously home to Manhattan Baptist Church. The ornate archway and the cathedral-like rafters gave clues to its former pious existence. Petrus entered the cavernous Media Sound with Malavasi, songwriter/bassist Davide Romani, and his newly minted group in late 1981 following a summer gigging as the opening act for Rick James' wildly successful Street Songs tour. Though the plan for the revamped group was to appear as a solid unit, the sessions that ensued could be described as disjointed at best. "It still wasn't a group where we were sitting around writing with each other", recalled Henry. "Basically, they would just call you in when they needed you to play something. We rarely saw each other at the same time."
Davide Romani's business card
In the absence of Willoughby's golden pen, Petrus decided to roll the dice by soliciting material from a bevy of outside songwriters for the first time. "I think it was just them being overwhelmed because there were more groups in the fold", surmised Vincent Henry. "They had High Fashion, Zinc, Ritchie Family and B.B.&Q. Band by that time. Maybe they didn't have enough energy to be writing for all these groups." Petrus exclusively brought in dozens of additional New York-based vocalists, songwriters and musicians to play on the sessions for his increasing Little Macho Music projects. Among the studio musicians involved were A-list names such as Kashif (keyboards), Barry Eastmond (keyboards), Terry Silverlight (drums), Kae Williams Jr. (keyboards), Herb Smith (guitar),Yogi Horton (drums), Hiram Bullock (guitar), Fareed Abdul Haqq (guitar), Ira Siegel (guitar), Randy Brecker (trumpet) and Jon Faddis (trumpet). Also featured on this record was the future U.S. Grammy Award winner Johnny Kemp who sang backgrounds and co-wrote "Take You To Heaven" together with Romani. Even Mic Murphy, who at the time was working as office assistant in the Little Macho Music office, sang lead parts on "Hard Times (It's Gonna Be Alright)" but he wasn't credited.
A dazzling all-star choir of the best session vocalists handled the backings: Fonzi Thornton, Norma Jean Wright, Jocelyn Brown, Robin Clarke, Gordon Grody, Bobby Douglas, Michelle Cobbs, Leroy Burgess and Phillip Ballou among others.
Jeff Bova, Vince Henry, Debbie Cooper, Mike Campbell, Rick Gallwey, James "Crab" Robinson and Timmy Allen
Change 1982 - album cover photo of Sharing Your Love
The set opens with the lead single "The Very Best In You", composed by Malavasi and Herb Smith (see photo) and bridging
the R&B/disco gap extremely well. By the time Petrus came knocking, Philly-based guitarist and songwriter Herb Smith's resume was already festooned with contributions to albums by stellar P.I.R. artists Patti LaBelle, Dexter Wansel and The Jones Girls. Robinson's earnest vocals embellish Smith's selfcelebratory tune just right, backed with a pulsing bass line and subtle string arrangement. In contrast, "Hard Times (It's Gonna Be Alright)" sports a more sparse arrangement relying heavily on a thumping funk bass. Penned in part by Luther Vandross affiliate Fonzi Thornton, the song serves as encouragement during the riptide of the early '80s in hopes of better financial days.
Petrus and Malavasi opted to include a first of firsts on Sharing Your Love: a cover tune. Featuring the lead vocals of Roz Ryan (later of the popular NBC sitcom Amen), the inclusion of "Oh What a Night", a remake of a hit by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, downright bewildered some. "I couldn't understand why we were doing it, to be honest", admitted Henry, "That's a song that you can turn on the radio any given day and hear. It's a poppy, cutesy type of tune."
One of the album's gems comes in the form of "Promise Your Love", a twinkling twilight slow jam gliding on a magic carpet of a gentle string arrangement. Robinson drives his point home, making it without question one of Change's finest moments below 80 bpm.
Robinson teams up with Deborah Cooper on the pristine ballad "Everything And More". Fortified with an ardent piano accompaniment, the duet showcases the duo's ability to allow each other the space to shine with remarkable results. These tender ballads demonstrate that not everything Change recorded was aimed at the dancefloor. The uptempo tunes clicked in the clubs while the slow songs got urban contemporary airplay.
James "Crab" Robinson's (see photo) first lyrical contribution to the group had the grand honor of being the set's title track. "He wrote 'Sharing Your Love' while we were on tour with Rick James", recalled Henry. "I remember he played it for us on the bus. It's a very intricate song". Set against soaring strings
and buttressed with passionate backing vocals, "Sharing Your Love" finds Robinson crooning about the rapture of being enraptured with the object of his affections. "It took me maybe three months to finish the song", said Robinson. "We had a 20-piece string section on that. It was inspired by how I felt about my relationship. The inception began in Detroit. My girlfriend was with me in the hotel. We eventually broke up before that album was finished. It took me from starting that song in Detroit and then going to Chattanooga and being inspired by the beautiful women who were there to continue the song. That last chorus came to me as I was driving into New York on the West Side Highway. The original way I wrote the song was kind of gothic. Then I presented it to Freddie for the album and he fell in love with it". Petrus included the tune on the album, but not without a few minor adjustments. "It's like when you write a report and submit it, then people want to make changes", lamented Robinson. "When you change anything in someone's song, it can change the whole flavor. I had problems and struggled doing the vocals, because they changed the bass line. Timmy incorporated a more modern sounding bass line. I wasn't in love with the song afterwards. It's a great song, but the bass line took away from the power of it."
Preceding his success with The B.B.&Q. Band's hit "Imagination" the following summer, former Breakwater keyboardist Kae Williams, Jr. (see photo) contributed the bouncy dance nugget "Keep On It". An anthem of inspiration encouraging listeners to hold fast to dreams. Robinson and crew ride
through this track, that reminds of Patti Austin's song "The Genie", with the greatest of ease. Robinson shines on the sparkling "You're My Number 1", composed by the heralded rhythm section of bassist James Calloway, drummer Sonny Davenport and former Black Ivory vocalist Leroy Burgess. Sandwiched between the successes of Logg's "I Know You Will", Universal Robot Band's "Barely Breaking Even", and Fonda Rae's "Over like A Fat Rat", the trio was a welcomed addition to the new Change album. Being that Leroy Burgess had already contributed lead vocals to one of Petrus' earlier musical entities, Peter Jacques Band's 1979 album Fire Night Dance, he came to the table with a working knowledge of Petrus' work ethic and expectations. "He would allow the collaborator the space that they needed to create", said Burgess. "We constructed a song that had the feel of other Change records". With his cohorts Campbell and Davenport, Burgess (see photo) constructed an infectious dance number infused with his patented boogie sound. Because Petrus insisted on using the talents of the group's members when possible, Calloway assisted Allen in his attempts to learn the bass parts for the tune. In addition, Petrus asked Burgess to embellish his song with supplementary string and
horn arrangements. "It was a really great session", remembered Henry. "Leroy did a horn arrangement for that song that was awesome! Leroy's a great arranger. Self taught. He just nailed it!". However glorious the arrangements were, they would never see the light of day. "As soon as we finished the session, Mauro was Iike, 'Nah, we 're not going to use that'", said Henry. Burgess has his own thoughts as to the nature of Mauro's decision. "I agonized over the arrangements and came up with something fantastic", he stated. "But when Mauro heard it and realized what it did for the record, it kind of challenged his authority as Fred's primary arranger. It was a matter of sour grapes and a little bit of jealousy, if you ask me." The set closes with "You're My Girl", another Romani & Malavasi cut co-written with Fonzi Thornton. Robinson tells the time-tested tale of his special lady, "a glimpse of heaven" that comes into his lonely world.
The album was considered to be an experimental project and was received to mixed reviews. In this record the sound was more R&B than disco/dance. Davide Romani wanted to stick to the disco/dance style that had brought them success, whereas Mauro Malavasi preferred to develop the project, looking for a different direction. These conflicting points of view penalized the record's hit potential and made it less effective than the previous Change records. Discerning the shift in sound direction, Billboard columnist Brian Chin remarked that the album "tips the group's Euro-American balance decidedly toward the latter, with some heavy New York session help".
Billboard Magazine, April 1982
With Sharing Your Love, Change had effectively debunked allegations of pilfering from label mates Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards' proprietary Chic sound. However, their current offering clearly outlined that there was definitely a wane in the group's popularity. Something was definitely amiss. "By the time we'd done Sharing Your Love, people were moving away from that The first single "The Very Best In You" reached #16 on the R&B singles chart; #30 on Billboard’s Disco/Dance chart an also managed to climb to #84 on Billboard's Hot 100. As one of their Top Album Picks in the soul category, Billboard called the "dashing disco single" a "tasty 
international blend of music and vocals ... to please both the dancer and the listener". The follow-up single "Hard Times (It's Gonna Be Alright)" peaked at #71 on the R&B singles chart. Atlantic released the final single in the form of the title track, backed with "Promise Your Love". Though "Oh What A Night" and "Keep On It" were released as singles in European markets, both the album and the singles failed to make a significant impact. Ultimately, the album peaked 20 places below Miracles at #66 on the US pop chart and five places below it on the R&B albums chart at # 14. Ultimately, the album peaked 20 places below Miracles at #66 on the US pop chart and five places below it on the R&B albums chart at #14.
Back row: Timmy Allen, Rick Gallwey, Vincent Henry, Debbie Cooper, Rob Aries, James "Crabbe" Robinson, Mike Campbell, Toby Johnson. In front: Lisa Fischer, Jocelyn Cooper and Jeff Bova
Change members, Little Macho Music staff and Atlantic Records/RFC Records staff after Change concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall in 1982.
sound", said Henry. "Music was getting harder. People had moved out of disco into more of an edgy thing. MTV had jumped off and Michael Jackson was thrilling. All these things were going on at the same time we recorded that album. It was a little off the radar. You're in a cloistered environment when you're making a record sometimes." In a period of electrifying Jheri curl soul, Sharing Your Love was a sputtering power outage. "I can't say that that album has a consistent, steady thread that runs through it", Henry posited. "With the songs on The Glow Of Love and Miracles, those pearls have a string through them. Sharing Your Love is more like a charm bracelet."Though the album evidenced Change sliding further away from its glory days, outside interest in an aspect of Little Macho Music's lucrative business components was a glowing beacon of light in the aftermath of Sharing Your Love. Benny Ashburn (see photo), revered manager of Motown group The Commodores, approached Petrus with intentions to purchase the management portion of Little Macho Music. "All the people that were in the Little Macho groups were happy about it", said Henry. Growing weary of the management end of his business, Petrus was
seriously entertaining Ashburn's offer. However, the deal came to a halt upon Ashburn's untimely passing in the summer of 1982. "I think it would have been a different story if Freddie would have made that deal. Benny would have put a different spin on things", said Henry.Despite this disappointing turn of events, a slight modification in Little Macho Music's practices left something to be celebrated. "During Sharing Your Love, we had more creative input", said James "Crab" Robinson. "Everybody that wrote a song came in and co-produced the song with Mauro Malavasi." That withstanding, Petrus still had a glitch or two in his business acumen that could have used a bit of finetuning. "But the reason he didn't give us production credit was because he didn't really want to pay us for it."
With Change's decline in sales at hand in 1982, Petrus was understandably under tremendous pressure to pick up the pieces and recreate the magic of yesteryear. But his unsavory practices would soon lead to the departure of yet another one of his coveted musical contributors [Romani], making it all the more difficult for Petrus to scale his way back to the top of the charts.
The Purple Chapter
Change musician Vincent Henry shared the story behind the cover photo of the ‘Sharing Your Love’ album: “Denise Matthews, aka singer Vanity and frontwoman of Vanity 6, was standing next to the famous rock photographer Jim Houghton when the album cover photo was taken back in 1982. Can’t believe she has passed away already… a very nice person. When we did this photo shoot Denise was a young print model from Toronto CA working in NYC. She had come to pick up her portfolio from the photographer and was standing next to him while he did our shots. She started cracking jokes, and we were all laughing like crazy! The watery eyes in the photo are from that.
Timmy Allen reacted: “I remember that! The whole photo shoot was on her…that's how we got this nice Change picture...lookin’ at HER!”
Timmy Allen reacted: “I remember that! The whole photo shoot was on her…that's how we got this nice Change picture...lookin’ at HER!”
Flyte Tyme: Terry Lewis (left), Cynthia Johnson (center), Jellybean Johnson (drums) and Sue Ann Carwell (right) [Elks Club 1980, New Westminster, Canada]
Vince Henry continued: "That Summer we played in Minneapolis at a notorious club called Duffy's. It was a great time and people really came out and supported. Minneapolis singer and early Prince protégé Sue Ann Carwell also performed with her band. It was where we would meet Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, who eventually produced our Change Of Heart album. Sue Ann had a party at her house afterwards. Terry let me hear a cassette of The Time's new unreleased single in his car in front of her house...it was called "777-9311"...I was blown away by what came out of the speakers!
Then he drove me to a club I wanted to pass by, that was managed by the brother of Marcia, the spouse of my recently departed friend Olmon Hairston. Terry said he knew the spot because they used to play there when they were coming up. When we got there, everybody was sitting around this table... Morris Day, Jellybean, Monte Moir, the whole bunch. A voice from across the table exclaimed, "I know you! You're in that group Change."...I asked, "Were you at the show?" ... she said, "No, I was at your photo shoot."...She leaned forward, into the light, and I recognized her....I said, "Yeah, you're the crazy lady with all the jokes. What are you doing here?”... she said, "I'm here recording an album.” [That album would eventually be Vanity 6, recorded with Prince and the boys of The Time.] It wasn't raining that night... if it had been, the drops would have been purple... RIP Ms. Matthews."
Then he drove me to a club I wanted to pass by, that was managed by the brother of Marcia, the spouse of my recently departed friend Olmon Hairston. Terry said he knew the spot because they used to play there when they were coming up. When we got there, everybody was sitting around this table... Morris Day, Jellybean, Monte Moir, the whole bunch. A voice from across the table exclaimed, "I know you! You're in that group Change."...I asked, "Were you at the show?" ... she said, "No, I was at your photo shoot."...She leaned forward, into the light, and I recognized her....I said, "Yeah, you're the crazy lady with all the jokes. What are you doing here?”... she said, "I'm here recording an album.” [That album would eventually be Vanity 6, recorded with Prince and the boys of The Time.] It wasn't raining that night... if it had been, the drops would have been purple... RIP Ms. Matthews."
Duffy's Club, Minneapolis
DJ booth at Duffy's, Minneapolis
Denise Matthews aka Vanity of Vanity 6
Timmy Allen, Vince Henry, Jeff Bova, Debbie Cooper, James Robinson, Rick Brennan, Mike Campbell and Toby Johnson
This Is Your Time
By the fall of 1982, the winds of Change had begun to blow with gale force. Petrus and Malavasi headed back to Modena, Italy, to start the recording process of the 4th Change album.
By that time Romani was no longer a keystone of the production team. It was apparent that the group's name functioned as much as a moniker as it did a metaphor for the game of musical chairs going on within the group. Strained relations had finally taken their toll on the Little Macho
Productions nucleus of svengali and entrepreneur Jacques Fred Petrus, songwriter Davide Romani, and producer Mauro Malavasi. After three successful years as a production entity, Romani decided to cut back his contributions drastically and defect from the Italian alliance ultimately, as had done Paolo Gianolio a year earlier. Romani didn't even contribute to the fourth album. He only turned up at the studio for a few Little Macho Music sessions that ended up on the High Fashion and B.B.&Q. Band albums in 1983. A decision directly linked to the ongoing financial disputes with his boss Fred Petrus.Malavasi was alone now and had to take all responsibilities of the whole production. But he too didn’t share the same ideas with Petrus and couldn't consolidate Change's initial success. The departure of Davide certainly created an opening for bassist Timmy Allen to work with Mauro on arrangements. The record This Is Your Time, released in 1983, was certainly not a bad album, the music continued to sound like Change. But the album possibly wasn't as hit-worthy as some of their previous efforts. Yet one that still had the group very much at the top of their game. This Is Your Time was very rich of particular sounds and comprised innovative ideas. Bassbits and beats drove most of the rhythms, but there was still a nice degree of warmth. With Malavasi at the helm, This Is Your Time was an attempt to balance a sonic return to form with the changes in contemporary production styles. The musical landscape of the time was rife with prominent synth sounds and drum machine modules, which Malavasi made a concerted effort to embellish the new Change album with. Clocking in at just under 45 minutes, This Is Your Time is decidedly more dance-friendly than its predecessor.
In late 1982 Petrus & Malavasi decided to retreat back to Italy with the newcomers Rick Brennan and Toby Johnson aboard, and the remaining 1982 Change line-up in tow: bassist Timmy Allen, co-lead vocalist Deborah Cooper, saxophonist/guitarist Vincent Henry, keyboardist Jeff Bova, and guitarist Mike Campbell. Percussionist/lead singer Brennan (see photo) and
drummer Johnson who strengthened the band were both from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where Timmy Allen was from. The timing of Brennan's arrival was impeccable, being that Change was preparing to enter the studio to start work on its fourth album This Is Your Time without a proper male lead vocalist. Initially Rick Brennan was meant to be the new lead vocalist of the B.B.&Q. Band but Petrus changed his plans. Transferred to Change that same year, Brennan supplanted percussionist Rick Galwey and lead vocalist James "Crab" Robinson in one fell swoop. "James wanted to go solo", recalled Brennan. "There were so many male R&B solo projects blowing up at the time, so he wasn't interested in singing on the Change album." While this presented a golden opportunity for Brennan, there was some trepidation on his behalf in terms of filling Robinson's shoes. "I was scared to follow him up", he admits with a laugh. "Luther Vandross, now this guy. What am I going to do? I was definitely third on the totem pole in the history of male singers in that group. Them boys can sing!"
The tracks for the This Is Your Time album were recorded at the picturesque Umbi Studios "Maison Blanche" (see photos) located in Modena, northeastern Italy. "That was a big mansion out in the
vineyard", recalled Brennan. Run by a matronly hostess dubbed 'Mama Discos', Umbi Studios was a recording complex implanted into the acreage of a sprawling estate. "She had a fabulous crib. She had the living room converted into a recording studio. When we stayed there, she fed us three meals a day while we recorded the tracks."After the sessions in Italy were completed, the group headed back to the U.S. to await the mixing and mastering of the final album. However after hearing the finished collection of songs, Petrus had a momentary change of heart. Brennan was called into Petrus' New York office shortly after the sessions wrapped. "He said that my voice was too different from James' and Luther's", Brennan recalled of Petrus' decision.
"He wasn't sure that the group's fans would accept it in the same way. I told him it was his record to do with as he pleased". Once again, Brennan found himself at the mercy of a last minute adjustment in plans. Being that Robinson had cemented himself as the new male lead vocalist of Change in Vandross' wake, Petrus rationalized that Robinson's voice, robust and soulful, was a safer bet with the group's core audience. "Fred Iiked what Rick was doing. He was raw", said Robinson. "So I was moving on. Then all of a sudden I get a call from Freddie saying he needed me to come sing on the album", Petrus solicited Robinson's vocal prowess to re-record the leads on five of the album's eight tracks. Petrus and Malavasi also employed backing vocals from the likes of future R&B songstress extraordinaire Lisa Fischer and High Fashion's own Eric McClinton.
Billboard Magazine, March of 1983 (courtesy of Vincent Captain Funk)
Change Of Heart
The year was 1983 and Mauro Malavasi had had enough of Fred Petrus' harsh management. Mounting financial disputes between the two had become virtually irreconcilable. As a significant contributor to the patented Change sound, the Italian producer had experienced his fill of the erratic behavior of svengali Jacques Fred Petrus and decided to quit as well. Coming just a year after the departure of key songwriter Davide Romani, it was apparent that the Little Macho
Music Productions trinity had definitely been broken.
Complicating matters further, Change's 1983 album This Is Your Time marked the group's lowest chart performance to date, progressing in a trend of a steady decline in sales since their 1980 debut. It seemed that Petrus was in the midst of a full-scale mutiny. Yet aside from the recent final departure of lead vocalist James “Crab” Robinson, who was adamant about nurturing a solo career, Change's line-up had been pretty much stabilized since 1982's Sharing Your Love: bassist Timmy Allen, lead singer/percussionist Rick Brennan, co-lead vocalist Deborah Cooper, guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Jeff Bova, drummer Toby Johnson and guitarist/saxophonist Vincent Henry. That withstanding, Petrus still had to fulfill his obligation to Atlantic by delivering another Change album under the contract. He was faced with the challenge of finding the right producer to steer the ship of Change into prosperous waters. At one point, Ray Caviano of RFC Records was in talks with Chicago-based producer, arranger and songwriter Donald Burnside (Captain Sky, Superior Movement, First Love, Ocie III, Yvonne Gage) to help Change out with new material. Filling Malavasi's shoes would not be an easy task.
That same year, a spanner was thrown in the works of yet another fruitful musical alliance. Minneapolis-based musicians Jimmy Jam (James Harris III) and Terry Lewis had just embarked on their maiden voyage as a songwriting/production outfit in 1982. The duo had already written and/or
produced material for Dynasty, The S.O.S. Band, Vanity 6, Klymaxx, Real To Reel, The Time and Gladys Knight & The Pips ("When You're Far Away"). With Cheryl Lynn's # 1 R&B smash "Encore" under their belts as well as the The S.O.S. Band hits "High Hopes" (songwriters), "Just Be Good To Me" and "Tell Me If You Still Care”, it looked as if 1983 was shaping up to be a good year for Jam & Lewis' newly minted Flyte Tyme Productions. Though they were off to a great start, the duo faced the daunting task of balancing this fledgling career with a demanding recording and touring schedule as members of the Prince-conceived band The Time. As folklore has it, Jam & Lewis found themselves stranded in Atlanta by a snowstorm in attempts to leave wrapped recording sessions with The S.O.S. Band. The unexpected snafu caused the pair to miss a scheduled tour date with The Time. The purple wunderkind responded by handing the duo their walking papers, effectively ending their tenure with the band. Jam & Lewis were now officially free agents.
In september 1983, with the future of Change in jeopardy, Petrus took action. Always keen enough to seize an opportune moment, Petrus quickly rendered the services of the recently liberated Jam & Lewis to helm the upcoming Change sessions. Album coordinator Steve Bogen recalls: "Fred Petrus hired Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis after much haggling, with them. He got them at a much cheaper price than they normally charged. Fred was "cheap". Also Change bassist Timmy Allen was involved in getting them I do believe. He spoke to them as well. They took less because it was Change. Jam & Lewis cut the record at Media Sound Studios in NYC, on 57th Street, right around the corner from the Little Macho Music office on Broadway. In the end Fred Petrus didn't fully pay the sessions at Media Sound and they sued him for the balance, which I do believe he never paid either. Mix engineer Michael Brauer spent a lot of time on the project and never saw a penny. I used to go to the studio when they were cutting the album Change Of Heart. What a time this was! Fred was a REAL TRIP..." When lead vocalist Rick Brennan got the news, he was anything but reticent on his views about the changing of the guard. "Because of what the This Is Your Time album did, I didn't care whether Malavasi and Petrus split or not”, he confessed. "Timmy and I were funkateers. So when you said 'Jam & Lewis' to me, it was time to roll! I knew they were going to throw down some funky tracks." Bassist Timmy Allen echoed Brennan's sentiments wholeheartedly. "When I heard that they were producing the next album, I was ecstatic", he exclaimed "Personally, that was more my style of music. I Iiked what Mauro and Davide had done but I loved what Jam & Lewis brought to the table". Along with the Minneapolis maestros, Petrus
rounded up Allen, Brennan, Cooper, Campbell and Henry and shuttled them back to Umbi Studios "Maison Blanche" in Modena for about three months of recording. The Umbi studios were owned by the Ferrero company that produces Nutella. As the sessions for the album commenced, Brennan noticed a familiar face hanging around the studio. "The entire time we were recording Change Of Heart, James Robinson was there working on solo material with Mauro Malavasi”, he says. When Robinson peeked in to check on the progress of the Change sessions, he jested with Brennan and Allen about Jam & Lewis' chops. "He was doubting their musicianship because he'd been watching them using simple three and four fingered chords”, laughed Brennan. But Allen and Brennan remained staunch advocates of the flourishing Minneapolis sound in the face of all criticism. "We weren't worried about how many fingers they used in a chord. All we knew is that Jam & Lewis had a strong vibe in their music. Those boys were bad!" Timmy Allen was very clear about the collaboration with Jam & Lewis. "Fred was essentially a better businessman than a producer. We were under a lot less pressure working with Jam & Lewis and they understood our direction a lot better", he shared.
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Credited as pioneers in the transition from the usage of the LinnDrum drum machine to Roland's TR-808 Rhythm Composer in black music, Jam & Lewis embellished Change's perpetually evolving repertoire with a profoundly urban groove. Coupled with their unmistakable synth bass lines, Jam & Lewis' unprecedented production techniques both informed and appealed to a burgeoning new sensibility in R&B that was undeniably infectious and influential. "The amazing part was getting in the studio with them”, recalled Allen. "When I witnessed them start a song from scratch, put the beat up, the bass, the keyboards, that was the joy of it”. Jam & Lewis also left no time to burn, proving to be just as efficient as they were effective in the creative process. "Jimmy & Terry would go up to their room at Umbi Studios and write songs”, said Brennan. "They'd come downstairs after a while and tell us that the song was ready and get started on the track”.
After a stint recording in ltaly, Change and Jam & Lewis headed to Media Sound Studios in New York to finish up the tracks and begin laying vocals. However, there would soon be an alteration in these seemingly benign plans. "Jimmy & Terry didn't like the studio in NYC because people kept dropping in and disturbing them from working”, said Brennan. "So that's when they told Freddie they were moving to Minneapolis with the band". With the lion's share of the tracks primed and ready to go, Jam & Lewis packed up the reels along with Cooper, Allen, Brennan, Campbell, and Henry and hopped on a plane to Creation Studios in Minneapolis. With engineer Steve Weise behind the boards at the small basement studio, the group went to work on the remainder of the tracks. In addition to having carte blanche to two of the funkiest young producers on the market, Allen scored an additional coup during the sessions that would serve as the springboard for his own career as a serious producer and songwriter. "I remember so vividly Jam & Lewis were planning to do the entire album", remembers Allen. "Fred had given them a bunch of tapes of potential songs for the album. Fred asked them if they liked any of the songs that he'd given them. They held up my tape, but they didn't know it was mine. That's how I got to write half of the album”. In addition to writing four of the album's eight songs, Allen also got the rare opportunity to co-produce three songs alongside Jam & Lewis. "That's how my career really got started as a writer within Change. I was happy and gratified, especially to be co-producing with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. That carried me through my career".
The result of their collective efforts is a remarkably slick opus much greater than the sum of its marvelous parts. Change Of Heart is a perfect blend of the emerging cool and elegant style of Jam & Lewis with the characteristic vocals and harmonies of Change. The serene opening cut "Say You Love Me Again" finds Brennan and Cooper
playing the role of distant lovers exchanging impassioned verses over a piano-driven mid-tempo track. "My leads for 'Say You Love Me Again' were done in one take;' recalled Brennan. He revealed that Jam & Lewis encouraged him to channel his R&B influences while in the booth. "When you listen to my vocals, that's me thinking about Michael Henderson. Freddie was so afraid of my voice because I was a funk singer, but Jimmy & Terry understood it”.
The title cut "Change Of Heart" showcases Jam & Lewis' adeptness at laying down a funk groove using the Oberheim OB-S synthesizer for their patented bass lines. Sporting a percolating, in-the-pocket TR-808 beat, it's particularly difficult to stay glued to your seat when this jam invades your space. One can easily notice an evident similarity between Change's "Paradise" and their "Change Of Heart", a sort of tribute of Jam & Lewis to the Mauro Malavasi and Davide Romani style. "With 'Change Of Heart’, we knew that was a hit," assured Allen.
Cooper is granted the solo spotlight on the sparkling number "Warm”. Replete with guitar licks and savory bass slaps, Cooper's vocals caress the Iyrics of a woman who admonishes and forgives her wayward lover with open arms. Written and co-produced by Allen, "True Love" brings a synth-based approach to swing time reigned in at 108 bpm. On the song, Brennan intensely croons his testimony about the bliss of being with his ideal girl.
Though the sessions gave reason for much celebration, they were not without their share of interruptions. "Freddie was having a fit because he wasn't in Minneapolis to watch us and see
what we were doing”, laughed Brennan. "He was always calling Jam & Lewis, bothering them to death. Trying to figure out what we were doing and what was taking us so long”.
With the phone off the hook, the group commenced with the jubilation of their task. And while there was plenty of excitement to go around, Brennan would be put to the test on one session in particular. "When I did 'You Are My Melody', Jimmy and I worked on that lead vocal for like 12 hours”, Brennan explained. "I was cursing him out by the end of the day!" But after Jam brought Brennan into the control room and contrasted his first and last vocal takes, it became clear that his efforts during the laborious session were not in vain. "After that, I understood. He was bad!" The Allen-penned tune "Lovely Lady" finds Brennan channeling his inner Steve Arrington, while Allen's "Got My Eyes On You" seems to give a subtle nod to the Gap Band's trademark drum fills
and polyrhythmic romps. The set closes out with Allen's final contribution, the sly 'n' funky single "It Burns Me Up" that reached position #61 on Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart. Cooper takes center stage once again on a groove that primps and preens like the would-be progenitor of "I Betcha", a 1984 tune by another group that would soon benefit again from Jam & Lewis' midas touch: Klymaxx.
With the sessions wrapped in Minneapolis, Change headed back to New York to bask in the glow of their freshly squeezed juicy jams. But it would soon be revealed that not all parties were particularly pleased. "I was told that by the time Freddie heard the finished album, he was pissed”, revealed Brennan. He surmised that Petrus' disdain stemmed from his inability to exert his iron-fisted creative control over the sessions underway in Minneapolis. He wasn’t used to take a back seat. "Freddie didn't have a final say over Jam & Lewis because they told him they were taking us out to Minneapolis. So Freddie was having a fit because he couldn't control them. He couldn't tell them what they could write”.
However, Petrus hastily changed his tune once the album began to take flight on the charts. Released on April 23, 1984, Change Of Heart turned out to be Change and Petrus' saving grace, a glittering showcase of advanced contemporary upbeat soul. Following the formula for 1983's This Is Your Time, Atlantic Records released the title track as the lead single. The unforgettable.jpg)
opener reached #17 on Billboard’s Dance Chart and #7 on Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart. "Change Of Heart", which virtually borrowed Davide Romani's melody of "Paradise", was a brilliant slice of accurate, sophisticated synth-funk and scaled the UK singles chart all the way to #17. In Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland, the title track reached the Top 20. "Change Of Heart" was typically Jam & Lewis - the stacatto drum program, the keyboard run at the beginning of the song, the chunky synth-bass, the multiple vocal parts and that ability for crafting a catchy melody and chorus were all present. This was as good as any of the hit cuts they did with Cheryl Lynn and the S.O.S. Band. The album peaked at #102 on Billboard's pop albums chart, 59 places higher than their previous offering. The set reached the top 20 on Billboard's R&B albums chart, spiking at #15 - more than twice as high as the peak of This Is Your Time. Change Of Heart made an even stronger impact in the UK, reaching #34 on UK Album chart with a 17-week stay.
But her first task was to bring their slightly inflated egos back down to earth. "Timmy and I came into Sylvia's office wearing sunglasses. She told us, 'Take your sunglasses off and sit down. You're not Michael Jackson!'" With bruised egos in check, Allen and Brennan took the unique opportunity in stride. "We had never been to Atlantic Records. But if that record wasn't doing anything, they wouldn't have asked us to come to the label that day".
Their astonishing chart performance withstanding, it was virtually no match for an increasingly popular new promotional medium that Change had yet to take advantage of. "Change didn't do videos", lamented Brennan. "When music video channels BET or MTV were starting to get hot, you could turn them on and see SOS Band, Atlantic Starr and other groups. But you could never see Change”. Though Atlantic remitted funds for music video production, Allen suggested that Petrus' questionable accounting practices and lack of concern for the group's visual/performance component factored heavily into the equation. "Whatever he was doing with that money, it wasn't going into the group”, he said. "Fred didn't take the performance side as seriously as the recording side. Change started out as a studio group and the main focus of that group was Malavasi and Romani."
While the US reception was a refreshing change of pace, the UK experience was nothing short of astonishing. "The album promotion in Europe was off the chain! We got off the plane of Virgin Airlines in the UK and it was nuts!", Brennan exclaimed. "They even had our songs on the playlist of the plane!". "When we performed at the Hammersmith in the UK during that album, you would have thought we were The Jacksons”, gleamed Brennan. "Culture Club was sitting in the fourth
row watching our show, and this is when they were huge! Everywhere we went was sold out”. In Europe Change also performed at Festivalbar 1984 which was a very popular Italian televised summer festival, touring some main squares and arenas. At Festivalbar '84 Change played 4 songs in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the impressive Verona amphitheatre: "Paradise", "Change Of Heart", "Say You Love Me Again" and "You Are My Melody". Other international artists at the festival that year were Rockwell, Phil Fearon & Galaxy, Billy Idol, Talk Talk, Alison Moyet and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Change was also a guest that year on several Italian TV shows such as La Notte Della Disco Music and Musica E'.
While Atlantic issued "It Burns Me Up" as a follow-up single in the US, the label's UK counterpart issued "You Are My Melody" in the summer of 1984. "Say You Love Me Again" was issued the following February. Though the single didn't perform exceedingly well, the radio support in the UK was intact. Yet the same couldn't be said for the US. "Radio stations in the states didn't even play the song”, said a bewildered Brennan. "But the UK did. Even the pirate stations did!". "I wish they had done a better album promotion on the side of Atlantic Records in the US. Change Of Heart could have been bigger in America", Brennan complained.
By this time, the fanfare for one of the group's most successful albums began to die down. And though the cash registers from the US to the UK had been chiming the sweet song of success for the past year, it appeared that there were some outstanding debts that had yet to be paid. "I told Freddie that since Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis got a hit for us that we should stick with them, but Freddie didn't pay them for the job”, revealed Brennan. "That's why they refused to do the next album”. It seems they even were stuck in Italy for a moment, while the Change band had left for a brief tour in the UK. The producers were forced to sell their flight tickets to the US in order to pay the hotel bill! Petrus' dubious business acumen had effectively terminated yet another lucrative working relationship. Furthermore, his infamous reputation in the industry was beginning to precede him. Because of this, his once enviable Little Macho Music franchise was bordering on collapse. If there were any viable methods of saving his largely thriving enterprise, he would have to engage them expeditiously. The sands of time were slipping through his hands...
The innovative Change Of Heart album redefined soul and R&B music, creating a high-tech groove for the eighties and beyond. Utilising modern technology
and banks of layered synthesizers, married to the soulful vocals of Rick Brennan and Deborah Cooper, the prodigious team of Jam & Lewis produced an entire collection of epic soundscapes and memorable music.
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis went on to become the most successful production duo in contemporary music history. The longtime friends have had a hand in over 100 albums that have exceeded gold, platinum and multi-platinum status and they have worked with the best in the business from Mary J. Blige, Alexander O'Neal, Usher, Janet Jackson, Patti LaBelle, Johnny Gill, Thelma Houston, Cherrelle to Prince, Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, Bryan Adams, Human League, Earth Wind & Fire, Luther Vandross, Barry White, Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson.
Change lead vocalist and percussionist Rick Brennan on stage
Turn On Your Radio
The last album turned out to be more of a record on demand. Petrus had to finish his obligation towards Atlantic Records, delivering a last album. There were actually a couple more scheduled but due to the lack of success of Turn On Your Radio and the creative crisis within Little Macho Music, this didn't happen. "I left before the record even got finished. I already knew at that time that I was leaving the group". Guitarist/saxophonist Vincent Henry had a premonition of his imminent departure from the Jacques Fred Petrus concept group Change. "Even though my photo is on that record, my actual involvement with it is minimal at best". It was a dark period. Henry and other members were growing increasingly restless and perplexed about the uncertainty of the group's artistic direction and Petrus' convoluted effect on the group dynamic. Coming off a much-needed career high with the success of 1984's Change Of Heart, the group had regained a much-needed sense of confidence. Yet with this recent success in hand, it was important for the group to stage an even more impressive rebound to sustain their place on the charts and in the record bins of the world.
After a three-week UK tour for the album, Petrus took the group back to Italy's Stone Castle Studios to begin recording material for the follow-up album Turn On Your Radio in the fall of 1984. Located 15 miles outside of Milan in the Carimate suburb, Stone Castle Studios - also known as Morning Studios - was ensconced in the edifice of the mid 14th century Carimate Castle. Retrofitted with the latest
in audio/visual technology of the period, the studio opened for business in 1977. Situated amongst lush woodland acreage, the repurposed fortress boasted illustrious frescos, 4-star lodging, a cavernous concert hall, and a full gymnasium. The new recording environs were unlike anything the group had ever seen. "It was a real castle with a drawbridge and a moat and everything”, exclaimed lead vocalist Rick Brennan. "If you didn't put down the drawbridge, you couldn't leave!"
It would have seemed a logical move for Petrus to go back to the golden ears of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the pair that steered the group back to success with Change Of Heart. Unfortunately, his penchant for business shenanigans had once again soured another fruitful working relationship. "It was such a disappointment that he didn't pay Jimmy & Terry”, said Brennan. With the departure of Petrus' long time partner producer/songwriter Mauro Malavasi and the damaged relationship with Jam & Lewis, Petrus was once again faced with the task of finding a new captain for Change's ship. "Freddie stepped to Mauro about being involved with Turn On Your Radio, but he refused”, said Brennan. The disappointment of Petrus' decisions hung heavily in the atmosphere. "Freddie didn't say it, but you could tell that he was upset that some of us were anxious to leave”, said guitarist/saxophonist Vincent Henry.
Yet the ultimate disappointment would greet the group in surprise fashion upon walking into Stone Castle Studios. "But when we got to ltaly and I saw Davide, I was surprised”, said Henry. "I didn't really get it. Change Of Heart was very defined and almost reinvented the group. I couldn't understand going backwards. It was confusing to me”. Brennan echoed Henry's sentiments. "When we see Davide Romani in the studio, I'm pissed”, he vented. "I was already pissed that we weren't using Jam & Lewis again. These guys got us a hit, why are we going back to Davide? I'm thinking to myself, this is maddening. I actually argued with Freddie about it. I felt like we were going backwards”. Though Malavasi rejected Petrus' olive branch, Romani reluctantly accepted. "They had already been through it with the Sharing Your Love album", told Henry. "Now they were trying to get together and work again. Davide was watching it the whole time like, 'If you try to do me man, I'm not going for it. I've been through this already!'''
In addition to Romani's inclusion on the project, Petrus turned over "co-production" and writing duties to bassist Timmy Allen. He definitely looked inward for talent instead of outward. Timmy Allen ostensibly produced the set. The
bulk of the album was written by Allen as well. Petrus co-wrote two songs which was highly unusual. "Timmy was always going in that direction", said Vincent Henry. "That was something that was in his vision: to be a writer-producer. He really had his sights set on doing that side of things and became really good at it." During the post-Romani/Gianolio era, keyboardist/bassist Timmy Allen occupied a prominent role within Change, composing and co-producing tracks on This Is Your Time, Change Of Heart and Turn On Your Radio. "Fred felt like I was the only one that was close to him at the time”, said Allen of the opportunity. "Nobody really wanted to work with Fred Petrus anymore. People were uninterested and weren't being properly taken care of for their work”. Allen notes that despite Petrus' best efforts, he was well aware that the disintegration of the group was looming closer. "We were all pretty much going our separate ways. Freddie got us all back together to piece this album together. We were in the studio trying to get through these songs to make it sound like something".
Though Allen ended up writing five and co-writing one of the cuts on Turn On Your Radio, the album features a sprinkling of contributions from other familiar faces. English guitarist/songwriter Paul Slade had contributed to the The Glow Of Love, Miracles and This is Your Time albums. Along with Allen and lead vocalist Deborah Cooper, Slade wrote "Oh What A Feeling”. In attempts to retain the groove factor of Jam & Lewis' productions, Allen's production unabashedly mirrored the guitar licks, synth stabs, and drum programming of Jam & Lewis' contribution to Change Of Heart.
This was in direct contrast from the pop synth ditty "Turn On Your Radio”. Written by Italian songwriter Alessandro "Alex" Bagnoli, the song finds Brennan resorting to the airwaves of his local station to "get his message through" to an old flame he has lost contact with. Given free range over his solo creations, Allen's material ranged from commendable to cliché. On "Examination", Allen attempts to use a medical checkup as a tawdry metaphor to gage a lover's intentions. Allen returns to the Jam & Lewis trough with the ballad "You'll Always Be Part Of Me”, inspired by The S.O.S. Band’s “Weekend Girl”. Brennan and Cooper keep the tune afloat, with respectable results. "Love The Way You Love Me" incorporates juicy guitar licks and a reverb-heavy drum track, complementing Brennan's phased vocal swoops and falsetto dips. A lyrical show-and-prove jaunt interspersed with a proverbial rock guitar solo, "If You Want My Love" snags familiar keyboard stabs from the Minneapolis sound treasure chest as Cooper takes the reins with her more robust vocal alter ego. The seductive gem "Mutual Attraction" is one of Allen's finer moments. He gives himself ample room on the track to shine doing exactly what he does best: spankin' the bass. With Cooper in the role of the coy chanteuse, the song serves as one of the exhilarating glimmers of hope on Turn On Your Radio.
But there was one track in specific that would cause an unforeseen level of excitement. In collaboration with song author Paul Slade, Davide Romani (photo above) delivered the album's lead single "Let's Go Together". Timmy Allen: "Fred and Davide's relationship went back and forth. I guess it was one of those times where he convinced Davide to bring a song in, to try and get back that real Change style." With a stark synth bass line, the pulsing rhythm rides under an ode to the joys of sharing life's journey with a significant other. Despite the amorous overtones of the song, the tumultuous event that ensued nearly ensured that the track would never see the light of day. After a bitter dispute with Petrus, Romani absconded with the tape reels containing the recently recorded tune. "I see Freddie in this panic and he tells me he has to find Davide because he stole the tape for 'Let's Go Together,'" said Brennan. "So Davide is running down the highway and Freddie is chasing him trying to get the master tape back”.
This episode was the death knell of the working relationship between Romani and Petrus. Romani severed ties with Petrus' Little Macho Music production company and its various affiliates and never looked back. "I liked Davide a lot”, mentioned Henry. "He's a very forthright person. Sometimes he's very emotional. I don't know what kind of discrepancies him and Freddie had, but when he saw something wasn't going right he would speak on it”.
During the same period, songwriter/keyboardist Kae Williams, Jr. was laying down the foundation for the next B.B.&Q. Band album entitled Genie at Sound Castle Studios. "Those songs were better than the songs Change was recording for Turn On Your Radio”, told Brennan. After popping in to hear how Williams' sessions were progressing, Brennan decided to seize an opportunity that had eluded him a few years earlier. Originally brought in as the new lead singer for Petrus' B.B.&Q. Band, Brennan contributed his leads to their 1982 Williams-penned hit single "Imagination”. Though he was eventually shuffled into Change as James "Crab" Robinson's replacement that year, he was more impressed with William's compositions and production style. "I sang all the demos for the Genie material and was supposed to sing the lead on that album. But when we get to the castle, Timmy threw a monkey wrench in the plan. He reasoned that I couldn't sing on the B.B.&Q. Band and Change albums at the same time”. Though Brennan felt swindled out of this opportunity, there was no bitterness in his cup. He maintained that Allen's material should have been substituted with Williams', being that B.B.&Q. Band had recently lost its deal with Capitol Records. "B.B.&Q. Band didn't even have a deal at the time, so they could have just used Kae's songs on the Change album instead of signing a deal with Elektra for the US release of the B.B.&Q. Band album."
Begrudgingly complying with Atlantic Records' wishes, Petrus used photos of the group on the
cover of the album. However, they were the same photos used on the back cover of 1983's This Is Your Time. Musically Turn On Your Radio wasn’t Change’s most memorable set and displayed an R&B group that got somewhat lost, struggling with dance-pop. A syndrome unluckily reflected by Greg Porto's uninspired cover artwork. "It was really lame", laughed Brennan. "It was politics. Freddie never really wanted people to know the group as individuals. He just wanted you to know the word 'Change'. In his mind, the members could change anytime he wanted them to".
Released in April of 1985, Turn On Your Radio was met with little fanfare. It failed to impact the Billboard Top 200, languishing at #208 on its peripheral Bubbling Under Top Pop Albums chart. It entered the Top Black Albums chart at #65 and peaked at #64, 49 places below 1984's Change Of Heart. These numbers proved to be the group's poorest album chart performance to date. The album was better received in the UK however, where it returned the group to the Top 40 of both the album and singles charts. The executives at Atlantic Records even feared that the 6th Change record wouldn’t be strong enough for the U.S. market. Accordingly the album was released by Atlantic's UK affiliate first, with a different cover and with the slightly different album title Turn On The Radio. Billboard columnist Brian Chin remarked in his Dance Trax column that the lead single "recaptures a lot of the Euro feel of their celebrated first album, though they've receded into the pack of self-contained U.S. R&B bands". Not exactly a shining compliment for a group striving to maintain a distinct identity and sound aesthetic. "Let's Go Together" entered the Hot Black Singles chart at #83 and peaked at #56, also earning a spot at #33 on the U.S. Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart. In the UK, the single peaked at #37. The British follow-up single "Oh What A Feeling" charted at #56, helped by a remix via 80s dance synth wizard Paul Hardcastle. The second U.S. single "Mutual Attraction”, didn't chart at home but reached a respectable #60 when released as the album's final UK single, remixed by the legendary Nick Martinelli.
"I was a young, up-and-coming producer at the time trying to get through it", says Allen of his material. "I wouldn't say that was my better stuff. I think that was the last album under the contract and it was a matter of Freddie just trying to get that album done, turn it into Atlantic, and fulfill the contract." Between the Change Of Heart summer tour and the fall recording sessions for Turn On Your Radio, Allen, Henry, and Brennan along with drummer Danny Atherton, keyboardist Regis Branson, B.B.&Q. Band guitarist/vocalist Kevin Robinson, and guitarist Fritz Cadet formed a funk
cover band calling themselves Flique. Performing regularly at New York's legendary Cellar venue during down time from Little Macho Music endeavors, the band had amassed a citywide reputation and attracted funk connoisseurs far and wide. "We were so bad that when Larry Blackmon heard us doing Cameo stuff he had to sit up and take notice", said Brennan. "He kept saying he was going to steal Timmy Allen and put him in Cameo". Their repute went as far as attracting the attention of another very influential audience member: Solar Records president Dick Griffey. "Between sets, he told us he wanted to sign the band", said Brennan.
But in a flash, Petrus swooped down to protect his straying flock. "Somehow, Freddie got word and zoomed down to the Cellar", recalled Henry. "He went straight up to Dick Griffey and told him, 'You cannot sign them. They all belong te me!'" Though he harbors no regrets about the past, Henry ponders how things would have turned out had Flique evolved past their sweaty jam sessions in the Cellar. "If Dick Griffey would have pursued it, he could have squashed that whole thing. It would have been great to see that come to fruition. It is kind of sad, because we'll never know what would have happened with that group”, Brennan concurred. "Dick Griffey was just as crazy as Fred, but I would have loved to do a Flique album."
Change didn't officially part ways after the dismal performance of Turn On Your Radio. In 1986
Petrus was accused by the US government of tax evasion. Consequently all Little Macho Music activities in the States came to a halt. Petrus was forced to leave the States and went back to Guadeloupe. Unfortunately a little while later, during the spring of 1987, a gunman murdered Petrus in his native country. Many attribute his fateful downfall to his abrasive persona and questionable business reputation. The killer was arrested by the French Police a few months later but the true murder motive remains a mystery.
"I was sad", said Henry. "Even with the reputation that he had, on a one-on-one level I was good with Fred”. Allen, who had grown very close to Petrus near the end, has nothing but fond memories of his former boss. "He was a fun-loving guy”, said Allen. "He loved music. But there was another side of Fred that I heard about, but don't really know about. I've seen how stern he can be on the business side. But I never got on that side of him". And while Brennan was not in shock upon hearing the news, he reacted emotionally just the same. "It breaks my heart to know he died like that", mused Brennan. "But he was doing a lot of dirt. He lived on the edge. He didn't listen to anybody. Whenever I travel to Europe, I think about him a lot. I could be looking out the window and I’ll just start thinking of Freddie".
In March 1986 Change played Studio 54's closing party in Manhattan, New York City. After this gig the official Change band never performed again.
IS CHANGE STILL ALIVE?
In 2001 Davide Romani already stated that a comeback of Change was not unreal. For years he had been working on new material. Finally in 2018 a brandnew Change album was released in Italy. However, no original American members were involved.
Surprisingly, non-Italian artists are also performing under the moniker of Change.
A Change tribute band, bluntly called "Change", did a live gig at The Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts in Philadelphia on May 26, 2011. Also former Change vocalist Rick Brennan (aka Derrick Brennan) appropriated the name of Change and was one of the guests at a 'Tribute To The Funk' concert in Paris (Bercy) in 2003. A year later the brand new Change song “You Miss My Love” and a new version of the Change hit
"You Are My Melody" appeared on the compilation CD Tribute To The Disco Funk, released by Sony Music-France/Yanis Records. The Nu R&B-styled “You Miss My Love” was written by Rick Brennan, Sloan Maxine Glenda, Olalekan Olujimi, Fathi Barkati, Faouze Barkati and Snouci Benyekkou. The lead singer on the song is Rick Brennan. This French production was handled by Faouze Barkati, Krem Barkati and Wallid Barkati in a rather good attempt to update the music formula of Change. Besides "You Miss My Love", the Barkati's also produced a new version of "You Are My Melody", also included in the Tribute To The Disco Funk CD.
There were however no associations with the Italian founders of Change and that's why there was a lot of confusion about this unofficial Change project. The Italian "legitimate" owners of Change were not happy with the situation. They didn't want previous American Change artists to perform as Change without their permission. In the meantime they took legal action in order to put things right. The question remains however: who owns the legal rights to the band's name outside of Italy. It's very likely that an American band can perform legitimately under the name of Change in the US.
In a rare reaction to some of the stories circulating, Rick Brennan ventilated his objections as follows: "Before Petrus died he asked me to keep Change going on and that’s what I've been doing ever since." "For many years I've been listening to people (sic Davide Romani, Peewee Ford) talk about Fred Petrus who weren't there to the end like me and Timmy Allen were, so they shouldn't be talking like they know everything! They weren't there but me and Timmy were! We both have deep emotions about Freddie but I'm not going to let anybody lie about him anymore. I'm going to tell the facts. I have a lot to say about him and those so called truth sayers who talk bullsh*t about my boss! Anything that has to be discussed, will be talked about between me and Timmy and the lawyer in New York."
Apparently the unofficial Change outfit led by Brennan is still regularly performing in Europe. On Friday 12th November 2010 'Change featuring Rick Brennan' was in concert during The Ultimate Boogie Night show at the IndigO2 theatre (O2 Arena) in London together with Brass Construction and GQ.
In 2023 Rick Brennan did several live gigs in the UK, playing songs of Change. Rick's act featured the singers Hazel Fernandes (Zuice, The Affair) and Valerie Etienne (Galliano) and was announced as Change but it was obviously not in an official capacity. His band performed twice at the Jazz Cafe in London, on Saturday December 2 and on Friday December 8. A third UK show occurred at the Electric Brixton venue in London on Friday December 1 and a fourth concert took place on Sunday December 10 at The Blues Kitchen in Manchester. Apparently there's more to come by the end of 2024: "The 40th Year Of The Change Of Heart Tour". One concert will take place at The Blues Kitchen in Manchester on December 8th. A further series of concerts is planned at the Jazz Cafe in London on Friday 13th en Saturday 14th of December 2024. Again Rick Brennan & friends hijacking the Change moniker? Or finally the real deal: a genuine Change experience with all the original cats?
A lot of fans and promoters want Change to get back together, with the lasting original members. The consensus being that everybody should be on board and on the same page. It's no solo stars because the group Change as a whole should be the star and not just singer Rick Brennan. Some of the so-called Change gigs that Rick did with his wife in the past were described as follows: "Embarrassing! Rick is still stuck in 1984, meaning he still thinks he's just as popular as he was when the group was hot. Those shows and attitude near buried the group. They sounded horrible. It gave Change such a bad name."
Dyana Williams of the popular TV series "Unsung" asked the band several times to feature in a Unsung-documentary but Rick Brennan wouldn't consent to it. The producers of Unsung wanted all the original members, or none of them. Unsung is an hour-long music documentary program that originally aired on the TV One network in the US and which premiered on November 27, 2008. Unsung uncovers the stories behind well-known R&B and hip-hop music artists or groups which were ranked on the Billboard music charts with a string of hits, only to have their career derailed by a major crisis that caused them to be essentially unappreciated by later generations of contemporary R&B and soul music listeners. The show features interviews with the musicians, as well as performances of their hit songs. The series is produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions and is still ongoing. But until today no broadcast could be devoted to Change because of the disagreement. A spotlight Change truly deserves.
A reunion tour in the US with most of the original band members has been announced on the YouTube channel "Truth In Rhythm" hosted by Scott Goldfine on April 22, 2022. In June 2024 the group is planning European concerts in France and the UK. So far that group will consist of Mauro Malavasi, Davide Romani, Timmy Allen, Rick Brennan, James Robinson and singer Yvonne Gage, who was never a part of the Change line-up. This will be the first time since the 80s that an official Change band hits the stage.
Funk band 'Flique' incl. Kevin Robinson, Vince Henry, Rick Brennan & Timmy Allen (1984-1985)
The eight-member outfit remained absolutely instep with the R&B/dance trends of 1983. The opening number "Got To Get Up" is a pulverizing groove featuring the lead vocals of Rick Brennan. Timmy Allen recalled: "We were trying to represent the changing of Change. Change is known for dancing and uptempo music so we always wanted to keep Change in that genre of dance. We figured "Got To Get Up" was the one. Synthesizers were getting more advanced. We turned towards bringing more synthesized music in because synths brought more creative sounds". Attempting to capitalize on the fitness craze of the early 1980s, the Timmy Allen-penned aerobofunk of "Stay 'N Fit" tore a page from Olivia Newton-John's hit song "Physical". Featuring Brennan on lead vocals, the song urges female fans to utilize a "sexy way to staying fit". While the tune was an obvious attempt to stay in step with popular culture, Brennan was none too happy to record it. "When I heard the song, I thought it was filler material", he laughs. "They kept giving me sucky songs to sing!". Timmy Allen concurred. "These were some of my first songs as a writer", he said. "They weren't my best".
Though "Stay 'N Fit" may not have been Allen's most stellar moment, he redeemed himself by collaborating with Mike Campbell and
guitarist/songwriter Larry Lafalce (see photo) on the catchy "Tell Me Why". Robinson croons earnestly about the bewilderment of finding his perfect mate after a lifetime of being a self-described ladies' man.
Slowing down the pace with composer Celso Valli's beautiful "Angel", Robinson transformed the tender ballad into a vocal tour de force, rivaling the crème de la crème of torch songs that year. Likewise, "You'll Never Realize" echoes the passionate sentiments of a devoted lover unable to put the terms of his endearment to words. Upon first listen, it's clear that Robinson, buttressed by swooning backing vocals, has constructed the perfect quiet storm slow jam here.
Petrus and Malavasi enlisted the talents of B.B.&Q. Band guitarist Chieli Minucci and lyricist Bobby Matthews for the closing tune "Don't Wait Another Night", reaching #89 on Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart and one of the album's highlights. Showcasing Allen's masterful bass chops, the tune reverberates with a diffusive funk vibe that allows Robinson and Cooper ample room to stretch out vocally.
Malavasi engaged the tried and true counter rhythmic synth groove of Change's 1980 cut "Searching" on "Magical Night", featuring the soaring saxophone of Rudy Trevisi . With Cooper
on lead vocals, "Magical Night" spins into a wondrous web of romantic phantasmagoria and starry-eyed splendor.
The title track "This Is Your Time", composed by Len Boone and writing partner Larry LaFalce, is a driving ode to the ultimate elixir: shaking off the troubles by shaking your derriere at the world at your local nightclub. While lines like "you owe it to yourself/let the music medication bring you back to health" may seem somewhat hokey, the swarming synth line and guitar licks reign in all detracting elements resulting in the makings of a funky good time. The track reminds of The System's edgy synth-funk style.
Atlantic Records had previously asserted their demand for Petrus to fashion Change into the image of a discernible group for the sake of the record buying public, which resulted in the first photo of Change as a group on the cover of 1982's Sharing Your Love. For This Is Your Time however, Petrus eschewed this - choosing to revert back to a cubist design. The album artwork returned to a stark white cover with a geometric figure designed by Greg Porto who also
illustrated the covers for Change's first two albums. To appease the label, Petrus opted to include headshots of the group on the back cover instead.
Released in March of 1983, the album made its Billboard debut on the Bubbling Under The Top LPs chart at #202. The title track and lead single "This Is Your Time" reached #39 on Billboard's Disco/Dance Chart and #33 on the Black Singles Chart. Billboard columnist Brian Chin remarked that the single embodied a "much harder attack than their most recent stuff". Atlantic then released "Don't Wait Another Night," which reached #89 on Billboard's Black Singles chart. The label also serviced promo singles of what had been the album's first European single release, "Magical Night", and later, "Got To Get Up" to Club DJ's. The latter was also issued to radio as a proposed third American single. Despite a glowing quote in Billboard from WHUR FM's music director Oscar Fields, citing "Angel" as "powerfully moody with piano riffs that come straight from the church", the song was never issued as a single. Ultimately, the album proved to be the group's lowest charting album to date. This Is Your Time peaked at #34 on the Black Albums chart and
eventually entered Billboard's Top 200, peaking at #161.
Reflecting on the album's poor chart performance, Allen surmised that the internal fracturing of Romani, Malavasi, and Petrus affected the output of the group. "It was fun, but it wasn't our best", he recalled. "Change was gone after Malavasi and Romani left." The sonic safety net for Change had indeed come unraveled. Shortly after This Is Your Time was released, Malavasi left the fold due to a rumored financial dispute with Petrus who didn't pay their due fees. "Mauro was a great musician", said Brennan. "He was a great keyboard player. I liked the early songs that Mauro wrote, especially the stuff with Luther. The first two albums were great. But I could feel when we were working on This Is Your Time that his heart wasn't in it".
While This Is Your Time was their latest, it was by no means Change's greatest performing album. It was actually their poorest selling album so far. With Romani and Malavasi's departure at hand, Petrus was now the sole captain at the helm of Change's ship. Their destiny was in his hands. His next move would either spell the revisited success or demise of the group. With mounting record label pressure for hit songs and strong selling albums, there was no question that Petrus would have to make 1984 a year to remember.
Though "Stay 'N Fit" may not have been Allen's most stellar moment, he redeemed himself by collaborating with Mike Campbell and
guitarist/songwriter Larry Lafalce (see photo) on the catchy "Tell Me Why". Robinson croons earnestly about the bewilderment of finding his perfect mate after a lifetime of being a self-described ladies' man.
Slowing down the pace with composer Celso Valli's beautiful "Angel", Robinson transformed the tender ballad into a vocal tour de force, rivaling the crème de la crème of torch songs that year. Likewise, "You'll Never Realize" echoes the passionate sentiments of a devoted lover unable to put the terms of his endearment to words. Upon first listen, it's clear that Robinson, buttressed by swooning backing vocals, has constructed the perfect quiet storm slow jam here.
Petrus and Malavasi enlisted the talents of B.B.&Q. Band guitarist Chieli Minucci and lyricist Bobby Matthews for the closing tune "Don't Wait Another Night", reaching #89 on Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart and one of the album's highlights. Showcasing Allen's masterful bass chops, the tune reverberates with a diffusive funk vibe that allows Robinson and Cooper ample room to stretch out vocally.
Malavasi engaged the tried and true counter rhythmic synth groove of Change's 1980 cut "Searching" on "Magical Night", featuring the soaring saxophone of Rudy Trevisi . With Cooper
on lead vocals, "Magical Night" spins into a wondrous web of romantic phantasmagoria and starry-eyed splendor.The title track "This Is Your Time", composed by Len Boone and writing partner Larry LaFalce, is a driving ode to the ultimate elixir: shaking off the troubles by shaking your derriere at the world at your local nightclub. While lines like "you owe it to yourself/let the music medication bring you back to health" may seem somewhat hokey, the swarming synth line and guitar licks reign in all detracting elements resulting in the makings of a funky good time. The track reminds of The System's edgy synth-funk style.
Atlantic Records had previously asserted their demand for Petrus to fashion Change into the image of a discernible group for the sake of the record buying public, which resulted in the first photo of Change as a group on the cover of 1982's Sharing Your Love. For This Is Your Time however, Petrus eschewed this - choosing to revert back to a cubist design. The album artwork returned to a stark white cover with a geometric figure designed by Greg Porto who also
illustrated the covers for Change's first two albums. To appease the label, Petrus opted to include headshots of the group on the back cover instead.Released in March of 1983, the album made its Billboard debut on the Bubbling Under The Top LPs chart at #202. The title track and lead single "This Is Your Time" reached #39 on Billboard's Disco/Dance Chart and #33 on the Black Singles Chart. Billboard columnist Brian Chin remarked that the single embodied a "much harder attack than their most recent stuff". Atlantic then released "Don't Wait Another Night," which reached #89 on Billboard's Black Singles chart. The label also serviced promo singles of what had been the album's first European single release, "Magical Night", and later, "Got To Get Up" to Club DJ's. The latter was also issued to radio as a proposed third American single. Despite a glowing quote in Billboard from WHUR FM's music director Oscar Fields, citing "Angel" as "powerfully moody with piano riffs that come straight from the church", the song was never issued as a single. Ultimately, the album proved to be the group's lowest charting album to date. This Is Your Time peaked at #34 on the Black Albums chart and
eventually entered Billboard's Top 200, peaking at #161.Reflecting on the album's poor chart performance, Allen surmised that the internal fracturing of Romani, Malavasi, and Petrus affected the output of the group. "It was fun, but it wasn't our best", he recalled. "Change was gone after Malavasi and Romani left." The sonic safety net for Change had indeed come unraveled. Shortly after This Is Your Time was released, Malavasi left the fold due to a rumored financial dispute with Petrus who didn't pay their due fees. "Mauro was a great musician", said Brennan. "He was a great keyboard player. I liked the early songs that Mauro wrote, especially the stuff with Luther. The first two albums were great. But I could feel when we were working on This Is Your Time that his heart wasn't in it".
While This Is Your Time was their latest, it was by no means Change's greatest performing album. It was actually their poorest selling album so far. With Romani and Malavasi's departure at hand, Petrus was now the sole captain at the helm of Change's ship. Their destiny was in his hands. His next move would either spell the revisited success or demise of the group. With mounting record label pressure for hit songs and strong selling albums, there was no question that Petrus would have to make 1984 a year to remember.
Timmy Allen, Vince Henry, Jeff Bova, Debbie Cooper, James Robinson, Mike Campbell, Rick Brennan and Toby Johnson
Change 1983
Change 1983
Change Of Heart
The year was 1983 and Mauro Malavasi had had enough of Fred Petrus' harsh management. Mounting financial disputes between the two had become virtually irreconcilable. As a significant contributor to the patented Change sound, the Italian producer had experienced his fill of the erratic behavior of svengali Jacques Fred Petrus and decided to quit as well. Coming just a year after the departure of key songwriter Davide Romani, it was apparent that the Little Macho
Music Productions trinity had definitely been broken.Complicating matters further, Change's 1983 album This Is Your Time marked the group's lowest chart performance to date, progressing in a trend of a steady decline in sales since their 1980 debut. It seemed that Petrus was in the midst of a full-scale mutiny. Yet aside from the recent final departure of lead vocalist James “Crab” Robinson, who was adamant about nurturing a solo career, Change's line-up had been pretty much stabilized since 1982's Sharing Your Love: bassist Timmy Allen, lead singer/percussionist Rick Brennan, co-lead vocalist Deborah Cooper, guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Jeff Bova, drummer Toby Johnson and guitarist/saxophonist Vincent Henry. That withstanding, Petrus still had to fulfill his obligation to Atlantic by delivering another Change album under the contract. He was faced with the challenge of finding the right producer to steer the ship of Change into prosperous waters. At one point, Ray Caviano of RFC Records was in talks with Chicago-based producer, arranger and songwriter Donald Burnside (Captain Sky, Superior Movement, First Love, Ocie III, Yvonne Gage) to help Change out with new material. Filling Malavasi's shoes would not be an easy task.
That same year, a spanner was thrown in the works of yet another fruitful musical alliance. Minneapolis-based musicians Jimmy Jam (James Harris III) and Terry Lewis had just embarked on their maiden voyage as a songwriting/production outfit in 1982. The duo had already written and/or
produced material for Dynasty, The S.O.S. Band, Vanity 6, Klymaxx, Real To Reel, The Time and Gladys Knight & The Pips ("When You're Far Away"). With Cheryl Lynn's # 1 R&B smash "Encore" under their belts as well as the The S.O.S. Band hits "High Hopes" (songwriters), "Just Be Good To Me" and "Tell Me If You Still Care”, it looked as if 1983 was shaping up to be a good year for Jam & Lewis' newly minted Flyte Tyme Productions. Though they were off to a great start, the duo faced the daunting task of balancing this fledgling career with a demanding recording and touring schedule as members of the Prince-conceived band The Time. As folklore has it, Jam & Lewis found themselves stranded in Atlanta by a snowstorm in attempts to leave wrapped recording sessions with The S.O.S. Band. The unexpected snafu caused the pair to miss a scheduled tour date with The Time. The purple wunderkind responded by handing the duo their walking papers, effectively ending their tenure with the band. Jam & Lewis were now officially free agents.
In september 1983, with the future of Change in jeopardy, Petrus took action. Always keen enough to seize an opportune moment, Petrus quickly rendered the services of the recently liberated Jam & Lewis to helm the upcoming Change sessions. Album coordinator Steve Bogen recalls: "Fred Petrus hired Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis after much haggling, with them. He got them at a much cheaper price than they normally charged. Fred was "cheap". Also Change bassist Timmy Allen was involved in getting them I do believe. He spoke to them as well. They took less because it was Change. Jam & Lewis cut the record at Media Sound Studios in NYC, on 57th Street, right around the corner from the Little Macho Music office on Broadway. In the end Fred Petrus didn't fully pay the sessions at Media Sound and they sued him for the balance, which I do believe he never paid either. Mix engineer Michael Brauer spent a lot of time on the project and never saw a penny. I used to go to the studio when they were cutting the album Change Of Heart. What a time this was! Fred was a REAL TRIP..." When lead vocalist Rick Brennan got the news, he was anything but reticent on his views about the changing of the guard. "Because of what the This Is Your Time album did, I didn't care whether Malavasi and Petrus split or not”, he confessed. "Timmy and I were funkateers. So when you said 'Jam & Lewis' to me, it was time to roll! I knew they were going to throw down some funky tracks." Bassist Timmy Allen echoed Brennan's sentiments wholeheartedly. "When I heard that they were producing the next album, I was ecstatic", he exclaimed "Personally, that was more my style of music. I Iiked what Mauro and Davide had done but I loved what Jam & Lewis brought to the table". Along with the Minneapolis maestros, Petrus
rounded up Allen, Brennan, Cooper, Campbell and Henry and shuttled them back to Umbi Studios "Maison Blanche" in Modena for about three months of recording. The Umbi studios were owned by the Ferrero company that produces Nutella. As the sessions for the album commenced, Brennan noticed a familiar face hanging around the studio. "The entire time we were recording Change Of Heart, James Robinson was there working on solo material with Mauro Malavasi”, he says. When Robinson peeked in to check on the progress of the Change sessions, he jested with Brennan and Allen about Jam & Lewis' chops. "He was doubting their musicianship because he'd been watching them using simple three and four fingered chords”, laughed Brennan. But Allen and Brennan remained staunch advocates of the flourishing Minneapolis sound in the face of all criticism. "We weren't worried about how many fingers they used in a chord. All we knew is that Jam & Lewis had a strong vibe in their music. Those boys were bad!" Timmy Allen was very clear about the collaboration with Jam & Lewis. "Fred was essentially a better businessman than a producer. We were under a lot less pressure working with Jam & Lewis and they understood our direction a lot better", he shared..jpg)
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
Credited as pioneers in the transition from the usage of the LinnDrum drum machine to Roland's TR-808 Rhythm Composer in black music, Jam & Lewis embellished Change's perpetually evolving repertoire with a profoundly urban groove. Coupled with their unmistakable synth bass lines, Jam & Lewis' unprecedented production techniques both informed and appealed to a burgeoning new sensibility in R&B that was undeniably infectious and influential. "The amazing part was getting in the studio with them”, recalled Allen. "When I witnessed them start a song from scratch, put the beat up, the bass, the keyboards, that was the joy of it”. Jam & Lewis also left no time to burn, proving to be just as efficient as they were effective in the creative process. "Jimmy & Terry would go up to their room at Umbi Studios and write songs”, said Brennan. "They'd come downstairs after a while and tell us that the song was ready and get started on the track”.
After a stint recording in ltaly, Change and Jam & Lewis headed to Media Sound Studios in New York to finish up the tracks and begin laying vocals. However, there would soon be an alteration in these seemingly benign plans. "Jimmy & Terry didn't like the studio in NYC because people kept dropping in and disturbing them from working”, said Brennan. "So that's when they told Freddie they were moving to Minneapolis with the band". With the lion's share of the tracks primed and ready to go, Jam & Lewis packed up the reels along with Cooper, Allen, Brennan, Campbell, and Henry and hopped on a plane to Creation Studios in Minneapolis. With engineer Steve Weise behind the boards at the small basement studio, the group went to work on the remainder of the tracks. In addition to having carte blanche to two of the funkiest young producers on the market, Allen scored an additional coup during the sessions that would serve as the springboard for his own career as a serious producer and songwriter. "I remember so vividly Jam & Lewis were planning to do the entire album", remembers Allen. "Fred had given them a bunch of tapes of potential songs for the album. Fred asked them if they liked any of the songs that he'd given them. They held up my tape, but they didn't know it was mine. That's how I got to write half of the album”. In addition to writing four of the album's eight songs, Allen also got the rare opportunity to co-produce three songs alongside Jam & Lewis. "That's how my career really got started as a writer within Change. I was happy and gratified, especially to be co-producing with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. That carried me through my career".
Change jacket - UK Tour 1984
The result of their collective efforts is a remarkably slick opus much greater than the sum of its marvelous parts. Change Of Heart is a perfect blend of the emerging cool and elegant style of Jam & Lewis with the characteristic vocals and harmonies of Change. The serene opening cut "Say You Love Me Again" finds Brennan and Cooper
playing the role of distant lovers exchanging impassioned verses over a piano-driven mid-tempo track. "My leads for 'Say You Love Me Again' were done in one take;' recalled Brennan. He revealed that Jam & Lewis encouraged him to channel his R&B influences while in the booth. "When you listen to my vocals, that's me thinking about Michael Henderson. Freddie was so afraid of my voice because I was a funk singer, but Jimmy & Terry understood it”. The title cut "Change Of Heart" showcases Jam & Lewis' adeptness at laying down a funk groove using the Oberheim OB-S synthesizer for their patented bass lines. Sporting a percolating, in-the-pocket TR-808 beat, it's particularly difficult to stay glued to your seat when this jam invades your space. One can easily notice an evident similarity between Change's "Paradise" and their "Change Of Heart", a sort of tribute of Jam & Lewis to the Mauro Malavasi and Davide Romani style. "With 'Change Of Heart’, we knew that was a hit," assured Allen.
Cooper is granted the solo spotlight on the sparkling number "Warm”. Replete with guitar licks and savory bass slaps, Cooper's vocals caress the Iyrics of a woman who admonishes and forgives her wayward lover with open arms. Written and co-produced by Allen, "True Love" brings a synth-based approach to swing time reigned in at 108 bpm. On the song, Brennan intensely croons his testimony about the bliss of being with his ideal girl.
Though the sessions gave reason for much celebration, they were not without their share of interruptions. "Freddie was having a fit because he wasn't in Minneapolis to watch us and see
what we were doing”, laughed Brennan. "He was always calling Jam & Lewis, bothering them to death. Trying to figure out what we were doing and what was taking us so long”. With the phone off the hook, the group commenced with the jubilation of their task. And while there was plenty of excitement to go around, Brennan would be put to the test on one session in particular. "When I did 'You Are My Melody', Jimmy and I worked on that lead vocal for like 12 hours”, Brennan explained. "I was cursing him out by the end of the day!" But after Jam brought Brennan into the control room and contrasted his first and last vocal takes, it became clear that his efforts during the laborious session were not in vain. "After that, I understood. He was bad!" The Allen-penned tune "Lovely Lady" finds Brennan channeling his inner Steve Arrington, while Allen's "Got My Eyes On You" seems to give a subtle nod to the Gap Band's trademark drum fills
and polyrhythmic romps. The set closes out with Allen's final contribution, the sly 'n' funky single "It Burns Me Up" that reached position #61 on Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart. Cooper takes center stage once again on a groove that primps and preens like the would-be progenitor of "I Betcha", a 1984 tune by another group that would soon benefit again from Jam & Lewis' midas touch: Klymaxx.With the sessions wrapped in Minneapolis, Change headed back to New York to bask in the glow of their freshly squeezed juicy jams. But it would soon be revealed that not all parties were particularly pleased. "I was told that by the time Freddie heard the finished album, he was pissed”, revealed Brennan. He surmised that Petrus' disdain stemmed from his inability to exert his iron-fisted creative control over the sessions underway in Minneapolis. He wasn’t used to take a back seat. "Freddie didn't have a final say over Jam & Lewis because they told him they were taking us out to Minneapolis. So Freddie was having a fit because he couldn't control them. He couldn't tell them what they could write”.
However, Petrus hastily changed his tune once the album began to take flight on the charts. Released on April 23, 1984, Change Of Heart turned out to be Change and Petrus' saving grace, a glittering showcase of advanced contemporary upbeat soul. Following the formula for 1983's This Is Your Time, Atlantic Records released the title track as the lead single. The unforgettable
opener reached #17 on Billboard’s Dance Chart and #7 on Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart. "Change Of Heart", which virtually borrowed Davide Romani's melody of "Paradise", was a brilliant slice of accurate, sophisticated synth-funk and scaled the UK singles chart all the way to #17. In Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland, the title track reached the Top 20. "Change Of Heart" was typically Jam & Lewis - the stacatto drum program, the keyboard run at the beginning of the song, the chunky synth-bass, the multiple vocal parts and that ability for crafting a catchy melody and chorus were all present. This was as good as any of the hit cuts they did with Cheryl Lynn and the S.O.S. Band. The album peaked at #102 on Billboard's pop albums chart, 59 places higher than their previous offering. The set reached the top 20 on Billboard's R&B albums chart, spiking at #15 - more than twice as high as the peak of This Is Your Time. Change Of Heart made an even stronger impact in the UK, reaching #34 on UK Album chart with a 17-week stay.
It was clear that Change had successfully regained its stride.
To capitalize on the revitalized interest in the band, the label went to work soliciting much needed attention for the group. "As a matter of fact, Sylvia Rhone asked us to come to her office when Change Of Heart blew up”, recalled Brennan. The future industry mogul, then a director of marketing at Atlantic Records, saw the potential to bolster the group's recent breakout success.
But her first task was to bring their slightly inflated egos back down to earth. "Timmy and I came into Sylvia's office wearing sunglasses. She told us, 'Take your sunglasses off and sit down. You're not Michael Jackson!'" With bruised egos in check, Allen and Brennan took the unique opportunity in stride. "We had never been to Atlantic Records. But if that record wasn't doing anything, they wouldn't have asked us to come to the label that day".Their astonishing chart performance withstanding, it was virtually no match for an increasingly popular new promotional medium that Change had yet to take advantage of. "Change didn't do videos", lamented Brennan. "When music video channels BET or MTV were starting to get hot, you could turn them on and see SOS Band, Atlantic Starr and other groups. But you could never see Change”. Though Atlantic remitted funds for music video production, Allen suggested that Petrus' questionable accounting practices and lack of concern for the group's visual/performance component factored heavily into the equation. "Whatever he was doing with that money, it wasn't going into the group”, he said. "Fred didn't take the performance side as seriously as the recording side. Change started out as a studio group and the main focus of that group was Malavasi and Romani."
While the US reception was a refreshing change of pace, the UK experience was nothing short of astonishing. "The album promotion in Europe was off the chain! We got off the plane of Virgin Airlines in the UK and it was nuts!", Brennan exclaimed. "They even had our songs on the playlist of the plane!". "When we performed at the Hammersmith in the UK during that album, you would have thought we were The Jacksons”, gleamed Brennan. "Culture Club was sitting in the fourth
row watching our show, and this is when they were huge! Everywhere we went was sold out”. In Europe Change also performed at Festivalbar 1984 which was a very popular Italian televised summer festival, touring some main squares and arenas. At Festivalbar '84 Change played 4 songs in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the impressive Verona amphitheatre: "Paradise", "Change Of Heart", "Say You Love Me Again" and "You Are My Melody". Other international artists at the festival that year were Rockwell, Phil Fearon & Galaxy, Billy Idol, Talk Talk, Alison Moyet and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Change was also a guest that year on several Italian TV shows such as La Notte Della Disco Music and Musica E'. While Atlantic issued "It Burns Me Up" as a follow-up single in the US, the label's UK counterpart issued "You Are My Melody" in the summer of 1984. "Say You Love Me Again" was issued the following February. Though the single didn't perform exceedingly well, the radio support in the UK was intact. Yet the same couldn't be said for the US. "Radio stations in the states didn't even play the song”, said a bewildered Brennan. "But the UK did. Even the pirate stations did!". "I wish they had done a better album promotion on the side of Atlantic Records in the US. Change Of Heart could have been bigger in America", Brennan complained.
By this time, the fanfare for one of the group's most successful albums began to die down. And though the cash registers from the US to the UK had been chiming the sweet song of success for the past year, it appeared that there were some outstanding debts that had yet to be paid. "I told Freddie that since Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis got a hit for us that we should stick with them, but Freddie didn't pay them for the job”, revealed Brennan. "That's why they refused to do the next album”. It seems they even were stuck in Italy for a moment, while the Change band had left for a brief tour in the UK. The producers were forced to sell their flight tickets to the US in order to pay the hotel bill! Petrus' dubious business acumen had effectively terminated yet another lucrative working relationship. Furthermore, his infamous reputation in the industry was beginning to precede him. Because of this, his once enviable Little Macho Music franchise was bordering on collapse. If there were any viable methods of saving his largely thriving enterprise, he would have to engage them expeditiously. The sands of time were slipping through his hands...
The innovative Change Of Heart album redefined soul and R&B music, creating a high-tech groove for the eighties and beyond. Utilising modern technology
and banks of layered synthesizers, married to the soulful vocals of Rick Brennan and Deborah Cooper, the prodigious team of Jam & Lewis produced an entire collection of epic soundscapes and memorable music.
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis went on to become the most successful production duo in contemporary music history. The longtime friends have had a hand in over 100 albums that have exceeded gold, platinum and multi-platinum status and they have worked with the best in the business from Mary J. Blige, Alexander O'Neal, Usher, Janet Jackson, Patti LaBelle, Johnny Gill, Thelma Houston, Cherrelle to Prince, Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, Bryan Adams, Human League, Earth Wind & Fire, Luther Vandross, Barry White, Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson.
Change lead vocalist and percussionist Rick Brennan on stageTurn On Your Radio
The last album turned out to be more of a record on demand. Petrus had to finish his obligation towards Atlantic Records, delivering a last album. There were actually a couple more scheduled but due to the lack of success of Turn On Your Radio and the creative crisis within Little Macho Music, this didn't happen. "I left before the record even got finished. I already knew at that time that I was leaving the group". Guitarist/saxophonist Vincent Henry had a premonition of his imminent departure from the Jacques Fred Petrus concept group Change. "Even though my photo is on that record, my actual involvement with it is minimal at best". It was a dark period. Henry and other members were growing increasingly restless and perplexed about the uncertainty of the group's artistic direction and Petrus' convoluted effect on the group dynamic. Coming off a much-needed career high with the success of 1984's Change Of Heart, the group had regained a much-needed sense of confidence. Yet with this recent success in hand, it was important for the group to stage an even more impressive rebound to sustain their place on the charts and in the record bins of the world.
After a three-week UK tour for the album, Petrus took the group back to Italy's Stone Castle Studios to begin recording material for the follow-up album Turn On Your Radio in the fall of 1984. Located 15 miles outside of Milan in the Carimate suburb, Stone Castle Studios - also known as Morning Studios - was ensconced in the edifice of the mid 14th century Carimate Castle. Retrofitted with the latest
in audio/visual technology of the period, the studio opened for business in 1977. Situated amongst lush woodland acreage, the repurposed fortress boasted illustrious frescos, 4-star lodging, a cavernous concert hall, and a full gymnasium. The new recording environs were unlike anything the group had ever seen. "It was a real castle with a drawbridge and a moat and everything”, exclaimed lead vocalist Rick Brennan. "If you didn't put down the drawbridge, you couldn't leave!"It would have seemed a logical move for Petrus to go back to the golden ears of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the pair that steered the group back to success with Change Of Heart. Unfortunately, his penchant for business shenanigans had once again soured another fruitful working relationship. "It was such a disappointment that he didn't pay Jimmy & Terry”, said Brennan. With the departure of Petrus' long time partner producer/songwriter Mauro Malavasi and the damaged relationship with Jam & Lewis, Petrus was once again faced with the task of finding a new captain for Change's ship. "Freddie stepped to Mauro about being involved with Turn On Your Radio, but he refused”, said Brennan. The disappointment of Petrus' decisions hung heavily in the atmosphere. "Freddie didn't say it, but you could tell that he was upset that some of us were anxious to leave”, said guitarist/saxophonist Vincent Henry.
Blues & Soul Magazine, April 1985
Yet the ultimate disappointment would greet the group in surprise fashion upon walking into Stone Castle Studios. "But when we got to ltaly and I saw Davide, I was surprised”, said Henry. "I didn't really get it. Change Of Heart was very defined and almost reinvented the group. I couldn't understand going backwards. It was confusing to me”. Brennan echoed Henry's sentiments. "When we see Davide Romani in the studio, I'm pissed”, he vented. "I was already pissed that we weren't using Jam & Lewis again. These guys got us a hit, why are we going back to Davide? I'm thinking to myself, this is maddening. I actually argued with Freddie about it. I felt like we were going backwards”. Though Malavasi rejected Petrus' olive branch, Romani reluctantly accepted. "They had already been through it with the Sharing Your Love album", told Henry. "Now they were trying to get together and work again. Davide was watching it the whole time like, 'If you try to do me man, I'm not going for it. I've been through this already!'''
In addition to Romani's inclusion on the project, Petrus turned over "co-production" and writing duties to bassist Timmy Allen. He definitely looked inward for talent instead of outward. Timmy Allen ostensibly produced the set. The
bulk of the album was written by Allen as well. Petrus co-wrote two songs which was highly unusual. "Timmy was always going in that direction", said Vincent Henry. "That was something that was in his vision: to be a writer-producer. He really had his sights set on doing that side of things and became really good at it." During the post-Romani/Gianolio era, keyboardist/bassist Timmy Allen occupied a prominent role within Change, composing and co-producing tracks on This Is Your Time, Change Of Heart and Turn On Your Radio. "Fred felt like I was the only one that was close to him at the time”, said Allen of the opportunity. "Nobody really wanted to work with Fred Petrus anymore. People were uninterested and weren't being properly taken care of for their work”. Allen notes that despite Petrus' best efforts, he was well aware that the disintegration of the group was looming closer. "We were all pretty much going our separate ways. Freddie got us all back together to piece this album together. We were in the studio trying to get through these songs to make it sound like something".Though Allen ended up writing five and co-writing one of the cuts on Turn On Your Radio, the album features a sprinkling of contributions from other familiar faces. English guitarist/songwriter Paul Slade had contributed to the The Glow Of Love, Miracles and This is Your Time albums. Along with Allen and lead vocalist Deborah Cooper, Slade wrote "Oh What A Feeling”. In attempts to retain the groove factor of Jam & Lewis' productions, Allen's production unabashedly mirrored the guitar licks, synth stabs, and drum programming of Jam & Lewis' contribution to Change Of Heart.
This was in direct contrast from the pop synth ditty "Turn On Your Radio”. Written by Italian songwriter Alessandro "Alex" Bagnoli, the song finds Brennan resorting to the airwaves of his local station to "get his message through" to an old flame he has lost contact with. Given free range over his solo creations, Allen's material ranged from commendable to cliché. On "Examination", Allen attempts to use a medical checkup as a tawdry metaphor to gage a lover's intentions. Allen returns to the Jam & Lewis trough with the ballad "You'll Always Be Part Of Me”, inspired by The S.O.S. Band’s “Weekend Girl”. Brennan and Cooper keep the tune afloat, with respectable results. "Love The Way You Love Me" incorporates juicy guitar licks and a reverb-heavy drum track, complementing Brennan's phased vocal swoops and falsetto dips. A lyrical show-and-prove jaunt interspersed with a proverbial rock guitar solo, "If You Want My Love" snags familiar keyboard stabs from the Minneapolis sound treasure chest as Cooper takes the reins with her more robust vocal alter ego. The seductive gem "Mutual Attraction" is one of Allen's finer moments. He gives himself ample room on the track to shine doing exactly what he does best: spankin' the bass. With Cooper in the role of the coy chanteuse, the song serves as one of the exhilarating glimmers of hope on Turn On Your Radio.
Original Change multitrack master tapes [Atlantic Studios, 1985]
But there was one track in specific that would cause an unforeseen level of excitement. In collaboration with song author Paul Slade, Davide Romani (photo above) delivered the album's lead single "Let's Go Together". Timmy Allen: "Fred and Davide's relationship went back and forth. I guess it was one of those times where he convinced Davide to bring a song in, to try and get back that real Change style." With a stark synth bass line, the pulsing rhythm rides under an ode to the joys of sharing life's journey with a significant other. Despite the amorous overtones of the song, the tumultuous event that ensued nearly ensured that the track would never see the light of day. After a bitter dispute with Petrus, Romani absconded with the tape reels containing the recently recorded tune. "I see Freddie in this panic and he tells me he has to find Davide because he stole the tape for 'Let's Go Together,'" said Brennan. "So Davide is running down the highway and Freddie is chasing him trying to get the master tape back”.
This episode was the death knell of the working relationship between Romani and Petrus. Romani severed ties with Petrus' Little Macho Music production company and its various affiliates and never looked back. "I liked Davide a lot”, mentioned Henry. "He's a very forthright person. Sometimes he's very emotional. I don't know what kind of discrepancies him and Freddie had, but when he saw something wasn't going right he would speak on it”.During the same period, songwriter/keyboardist Kae Williams, Jr. was laying down the foundation for the next B.B.&Q. Band album entitled Genie at Sound Castle Studios. "Those songs were better than the songs Change was recording for Turn On Your Radio”, told Brennan. After popping in to hear how Williams' sessions were progressing, Brennan decided to seize an opportunity that had eluded him a few years earlier. Originally brought in as the new lead singer for Petrus' B.B.&Q. Band, Brennan contributed his leads to their 1982 Williams-penned hit single "Imagination”. Though he was eventually shuffled into Change as James "Crab" Robinson's replacement that year, he was more impressed with William's compositions and production style. "I sang all the demos for the Genie material and was supposed to sing the lead on that album. But when we get to the castle, Timmy threw a monkey wrench in the plan. He reasoned that I couldn't sing on the B.B.&Q. Band and Change albums at the same time”. Though Brennan felt swindled out of this opportunity, there was no bitterness in his cup. He maintained that Allen's material should have been substituted with Williams', being that B.B.&Q. Band had recently lost its deal with Capitol Records. "B.B.&Q. Band didn't even have a deal at the time, so they could have just used Kae's songs on the Change album instead of signing a deal with Elektra for the US release of the B.B.&Q. Band album."
Change and friends in 1985 after a show at Radio City Music Hall N.Y.C.
Begrudgingly complying with Atlantic Records' wishes, Petrus used photos of the group on the
cover of the album. However, they were the same photos used on the back cover of 1983's This Is Your Time. Musically Turn On Your Radio wasn’t Change’s most memorable set and displayed an R&B group that got somewhat lost, struggling with dance-pop. A syndrome unluckily reflected by Greg Porto's uninspired cover artwork. "It was really lame", laughed Brennan. "It was politics. Freddie never really wanted people to know the group as individuals. He just wanted you to know the word 'Change'. In his mind, the members could change anytime he wanted them to".Released in April of 1985, Turn On Your Radio was met with little fanfare. It failed to impact the Billboard Top 200, languishing at #208 on its peripheral Bubbling Under Top Pop Albums chart. It entered the Top Black Albums chart at #65 and peaked at #64, 49 places below 1984's Change Of Heart. These numbers proved to be the group's poorest album chart performance to date. The album was better received in the UK however, where it returned the group to the Top 40 of both the album and singles charts. The executives at Atlantic Records even feared that the 6th Change record wouldn’t be strong enough for the U.S. market. Accordingly the album was released by Atlantic's UK affiliate first, with a different cover and with the slightly different album title Turn On The Radio. Billboard columnist Brian Chin remarked in his Dance Trax column that the lead single "recaptures a lot of the Euro feel of their celebrated first album, though they've receded into the pack of self-contained U.S. R&B bands". Not exactly a shining compliment for a group striving to maintain a distinct identity and sound aesthetic. "Let's Go Together" entered the Hot Black Singles chart at #83 and peaked at #56, also earning a spot at #33 on the U.S. Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart. In the UK, the single peaked at #37. The British follow-up single "Oh What A Feeling" charted at #56, helped by a remix via 80s dance synth wizard Paul Hardcastle. The second U.S. single "Mutual Attraction”, didn't chart at home but reached a respectable #60 when released as the album's final UK single, remixed by the legendary Nick Martinelli.
"I was a young, up-and-coming producer at the time trying to get through it", says Allen of his material. "I wouldn't say that was my better stuff. I think that was the last album under the contract and it was a matter of Freddie just trying to get that album done, turn it into Atlantic, and fulfill the contract." Between the Change Of Heart summer tour and the fall recording sessions for Turn On Your Radio, Allen, Henry, and Brennan along with drummer Danny Atherton, keyboardist Regis Branson, B.B.&Q. Band guitarist/vocalist Kevin Robinson, and guitarist Fritz Cadet formed a funk
cover band calling themselves Flique. Performing regularly at New York's legendary Cellar venue during down time from Little Macho Music endeavors, the band had amassed a citywide reputation and attracted funk connoisseurs far and wide. "We were so bad that when Larry Blackmon heard us doing Cameo stuff he had to sit up and take notice", said Brennan. "He kept saying he was going to steal Timmy Allen and put him in Cameo". Their repute went as far as attracting the attention of another very influential audience member: Solar Records president Dick Griffey. "Between sets, he told us he wanted to sign the band", said Brennan.
But in a flash, Petrus swooped down to protect his straying flock. "Somehow, Freddie got word and zoomed down to the Cellar", recalled Henry. "He went straight up to Dick Griffey and told him, 'You cannot sign them. They all belong te me!'" Though he harbors no regrets about the past, Henry ponders how things would have turned out had Flique evolved past their sweaty jam sessions in the Cellar. "If Dick Griffey would have pursued it, he could have squashed that whole thing. It would have been great to see that come to fruition. It is kind of sad, because we'll never know what would have happened with that group”, Brennan concurred. "Dick Griffey was just as crazy as Fred, but I would have loved to do a Flique album."Change didn't officially part ways after the dismal performance of Turn On Your Radio. In 1986
Petrus was accused by the US government of tax evasion. Consequently all Little Macho Music activities in the States came to a halt. Petrus was forced to leave the States and went back to Guadeloupe. Unfortunately a little while later, during the spring of 1987, a gunman murdered Petrus in his native country. Many attribute his fateful downfall to his abrasive persona and questionable business reputation. The killer was arrested by the French Police a few months later but the true murder motive remains a mystery."I was sad", said Henry. "Even with the reputation that he had, on a one-on-one level I was good with Fred”. Allen, who had grown very close to Petrus near the end, has nothing but fond memories of his former boss. "He was a fun-loving guy”, said Allen. "He loved music. But there was another side of Fred that I heard about, but don't really know about. I've seen how stern he can be on the business side. But I never got on that side of him". And while Brennan was not in shock upon hearing the news, he reacted emotionally just the same. "It breaks my heart to know he died like that", mused Brennan. "But he was doing a lot of dirt. He lived on the edge. He didn't listen to anybody. Whenever I travel to Europe, I think about him a lot. I could be looking out the window and I’ll just start thinking of Freddie".
In March 1986 Change played Studio 54's closing party in Manhattan, New York City. After this gig the official Change band never performed again.
Radio & Records Magazine, March 8, 1985
IS CHANGE STILL ALIVE?
In 2001 Davide Romani already stated that a comeback of Change was not unreal. For years he had been working on new material. Finally in 2018 a brandnew Change album was released in Italy. However, no original American members were involved.
Surprisingly, non-Italian artists are also performing under the moniker of Change.
A Change tribute band, bluntly called "Change", did a live gig at The Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts in Philadelphia on May 26, 2011. Also former Change vocalist Rick Brennan (aka Derrick Brennan) appropriated the name of Change and was one of the guests at a 'Tribute To The Funk' concert in Paris (Bercy) in 2003. A year later the brand new Change song “You Miss My Love” and a new version of the Change hit
"You Are My Melody" appeared on the compilation CD Tribute To The Disco Funk, released by Sony Music-France/Yanis Records. The Nu R&B-styled “You Miss My Love” was written by Rick Brennan, Sloan Maxine Glenda, Olalekan Olujimi, Fathi Barkati, Faouze Barkati and Snouci Benyekkou. The lead singer on the song is Rick Brennan. This French production was handled by Faouze Barkati, Krem Barkati and Wallid Barkati in a rather good attempt to update the music formula of Change. Besides "You Miss My Love", the Barkati's also produced a new version of "You Are My Melody", also included in the Tribute To The Disco Funk CD. There were however no associations with the Italian founders of Change and that's why there was a lot of confusion about this unofficial Change project. The Italian "legitimate" owners of Change were not happy with the situation. They didn't want previous American Change artists to perform as Change without their permission. In the meantime they took legal action in order to put things right. The question remains however: who owns the legal rights to the band's name outside of Italy. It's very likely that an American band can perform legitimately under the name of Change in the US.
In a rare reaction to some of the stories circulating, Rick Brennan ventilated his objections as follows: "Before Petrus died he asked me to keep Change going on and that’s what I've been doing ever since." "For many years I've been listening to people (sic Davide Romani, Peewee Ford) talk about Fred Petrus who weren't there to the end like me and Timmy Allen were, so they shouldn't be talking like they know everything! They weren't there but me and Timmy were! We both have deep emotions about Freddie but I'm not going to let anybody lie about him anymore. I'm going to tell the facts. I have a lot to say about him and those so called truth sayers who talk bullsh*t about my boss! Anything that has to be discussed, will be talked about between me and Timmy and the lawyer in New York."
Apparently the unofficial Change outfit led by Brennan is still regularly performing in Europe. On Friday 12th November 2010 'Change featuring Rick Brennan' was in concert during The Ultimate Boogie Night show at the IndigO2 theatre (O2 Arena) in London together with Brass Construction and GQ.
In 2023 Rick Brennan did several live gigs in the UK, playing songs of Change. Rick's act featured the singers Hazel Fernandes (Zuice, The Affair) and Valerie Etienne (Galliano) and was announced as Change but it was obviously not in an official capacity. His band performed twice at the Jazz Cafe in London, on Saturday December 2 and on Friday December 8. A third UK show occurred at the Electric Brixton venue in London on Friday December 1 and a fourth concert took place on Sunday December 10 at The Blues Kitchen in Manchester. Apparently there's more to come by the end of 2024: "The 40th Year Of The Change Of Heart Tour". One concert will take place at The Blues Kitchen in Manchester on December 8th. A further series of concerts is planned at the Jazz Cafe in London on Friday 13th en Saturday 14th of December 2024. Again Rick Brennan & friends hijacking the Change moniker? Or finally the real deal: a genuine Change experience with all the original cats?
A lot of fans and promoters want Change to get back together, with the lasting original members. The consensus being that everybody should be on board and on the same page. It's no solo stars because the group Change as a whole should be the star and not just singer Rick Brennan. Some of the so-called Change gigs that Rick did with his wife in the past were described as follows: "Embarrassing! Rick is still stuck in 1984, meaning he still thinks he's just as popular as he was when the group was hot. Those shows and attitude near buried the group. They sounded horrible. It gave Change such a bad name."
Dyana Williams of the popular TV series "Unsung" asked the band several times to feature in a Unsung-documentary but Rick Brennan wouldn't consent to it. The producers of Unsung wanted all the original members, or none of them. Unsung is an hour-long music documentary program that originally aired on the TV One network in the US and which premiered on November 27, 2008. Unsung uncovers the stories behind well-known R&B and hip-hop music artists or groups which were ranked on the Billboard music charts with a string of hits, only to have their career derailed by a major crisis that caused them to be essentially unappreciated by later generations of contemporary R&B and soul music listeners. The show features interviews with the musicians, as well as performances of their hit songs. The series is produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions and is still ongoing. But until today no broadcast could be devoted to Change because of the disagreement. A spotlight Change truly deserves.
A reunion tour in the US with most of the original band members has been announced on the YouTube channel "Truth In Rhythm" hosted by Scott Goldfine on April 22, 2022. In June 2024 the group is planning European concerts in France and the UK. So far that group will consist of Mauro Malavasi, Davide Romani, Timmy Allen, Rick Brennan, James Robinson and singer Yvonne Gage, who was never a part of the Change line-up. This will be the first time since the 80s that an official Change band hits the stage.
Funk band 'Flique' incl. Kevin Robinson, Vince Henry, Rick Brennan & Timmy Allen (1984-1985)
CHANGE YOUR MIND: ROMANI REANIMATES CHANGE
Finally after 25 years a "new" Change CD album entitled Change Your Mind was released in april 2010 on the Italian label Fonte Records/One Trybal. But the music was already available in late 2009 on iTunes.
This fifteen track album consists of slow jams and down/mid tempo songs
expanded with four former Change hits. The new material has quite a different touch from the original Change signature but with a little of the old vocal pattern that gives a softer and gentler funk. Some of the tracks are remakes of '70s and '80s songs. The romantic cut "Friends" for instance was previously released. Album co-producer Mike Francis composed and arranged this hit song for Amii Stewart back in 1984. Another reprise is Stevie Wonder's funky 70's stomper "Superstition" which received a Hip-Hop treatment for this album (bonus track only available online). The music was originally arranged, conducted and produced in 1990 by Davide Romani (see photo) and the late Francesco Puccioni a.k.a. recording artist Mike Francis (1961-2009). But the record company BMG declined to release the album. Mike Francis was also founding member of the Lounge/Ambient group Mystic Diversions. The smooth sound he developed as a solo artist and with his group Mystic Diversions, especially on keyboards, clearly influenced this Change production. The polished but outstanding production carries a typical early '90s R'n'B sound, more related to the UK style than the US variant. The classic Change music formula has drastically developed in a new direction and can hardly be compared with the grittier, bass-heavy dance floor productions of the '80s when Timmy Allen was still on board.
At first the project was called X-Change instead of Change and probably not even meant to be a new Change album until the current release. And this could explain why the concept is not "old style Change" but a compromise between the visions of the two producers.
Mike Francis revealed in autumn 1992 that the X-Change album was finished and soon to be released. Leading music industry executive Clive Davis, then CEO of BMG North America, had signed an album deal with Patrick Boothe, Davide Romani and the late Mike Francis. But just the X-Change single "The Way You Want Me" got released on the BMG label in 1993. It’s unknown why the album project remained on the shelves all that time. The reason why the album still got published a decade later could be related to the passing away of Mike Francis in 2009, aged 47. Also the unconditional enthusiasm of Italo Disco fan Stefano Colombo was crucial. He's owner of Nuova Fresca Music Publishing and was prepared to release the mothballed music on his Italian label Fonte Records. Davide Romani who was executive producer of this project dedicated the album to the memory of Mike Francis.
The album was recorded at White Studio Recording in Ferrara and mixed in London at the Sarm Studios, formerly known as Sarm West Studios located in Notting Hill. It's interesting to know that one of the mix engineers was Trevor Horn, owner of the Sarm Studios. Horn has written and produced commercially successful songs and albums for numerous British and international artists like Seal, Propaganda, ABC, Robbie Williams, Yes, Grace Jones, Tina Turner, Pet Shop Boys, Lisa Stansfield, Simple Minds, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Art Of Noise among others.
The musicians involved were Mike Francis (keyboards), Andrea Cucchia (saxophone), Leo Carboni (trumpet), Marco Rinalduzzi (guitar) and the original Change players Davide Romani (bass, keyboards, synthesizer, drum programming), Rudy Trevisi (saxophone)
and Paolo Gianolio (guitar).
Featured vocalists are lead singer Patrick Boothe (photo below) and background vocalists Dee Lewis, Paul Lewis, Monique, Mike Francis and Patrick Boothe. Many songs were co-written by Davide Romani, Mike Francis and Patrick Boothe. UK session singer Patrick Boothe had worked with Mike Francis earlier in Rome as a vocalist on one of his albums and they had become friends since. It was after Francis had chosen a couple of Boothe's songs to sing on his album that he decided they should record an album. On this album they sing together on the tender song "Time For Us". Davide Romani and Mike Francis (photo below) were longtime friends also. Romani co-wrote and/or co-produced several Mike Francis albums during the '80s and '90s and he played in the band of Mike Francis.
The idea of labeling this fine song collection as a new Change album remains very arguable though. The sound of Change hasn't been updated succesfully, hardly a tribute to the glorious past of the band. The main ingredients that made the Change concept so irresistible are missing here and no members of the original American group were involved. But of course the creative effort of Davide Romani is still worthy and in the end he has the right to call his baby "Change". It's an enjoyable album though that resonates more the Soul of Mike Francis than the heartbeat of Change... So, forget all you know about Change and listen to the set with an open mind and you'll discover Romani's and Mike Francis' genuine and charming 90's R'n'B legacy.
Mike Francis a.k.a. Francesco Puccioni (1961-2009)LOVE 4 LOVE: THE 2018 COMEBACK ALBUM
In 2016 Davide Romani started the preparations for a new Change studio album. During 2016 and 2017 recordings have been made at the Village Studio in Parma, at Animal House Studio in Ferrara and at the Blue Spirit Studio and Substrate Studio in Milan. The album was expected to be released through Original Disco Culture Records end of 2017, however, it was delayed until the Summer of 2018.
Finally the comeback album Love 4 Love was released on August 31st and includes 9 brandnew songs mainly composed by Davide Romani and some titles with his longtime friend Mauro Malavasi. Since most tracks are rather short, it was obvious that commissioned extended remixes would swiftly follow. If you're looking for something closer to the 80's Boogie mode of Change, then check out the remixes by Skalp, Joey Negro, Soulpersona and Opolopo. They offer a magical flashback journey to the Change era we're familiar with. For the record, French artist Skalp (aka Pascal Lemaire) gave an interesting reaction regarding his Good Vibes remixes of "Too Late" and "Make Me (Go Crazy)": "For the making of these remixes I just took the vocals, replayed and rearranged everything else. Also Davide Romani assigned his name to the remixes, but he didn't participate in the production, just gave his approval. It's a misunderstanding at the launch... He liked my rework so much that he wanted to boost it and asked if he could add his name as well. I thought he meant in relation to the press, but it was for the credits of the remix. Once started, it was too much trouble to correct. Anyway, I'm used to the fact that many of my remixes are associated with the artists for whom I worked, while I am the actual, sole composer and arranger of the titles."
In addition a bunch of Change classics have been revamped or even completely re-recorded by remixer Figo Sound aka artist/arranger/producer and label executive Stefano Colombo who was heavily involved in the making of the new album. Any reluctance towards the "revisited" part is groundless. The Change hits "Oh What A Feeling", "Searching" or "Let's Go Together" sound as vigorous as ever and are worthy of inclusion if only to give new listeners a more modern twist on old favourites.
In addition a bunch of Change classics have been revamped or even completely re-recorded by remixer Figo Sound aka artist/arranger/producer and label executive Stefano Colombo who was heavily involved in the making of the new album. Any reluctance towards the "revisited" part is groundless. The Change hits "Oh What A Feeling", "Searching" or "Let's Go Together" sound as vigorous as ever and are worthy of inclusion if only to give new listeners a more modern twist on old favourites.
Alessandro Magri and Davide Romani at Audio Engine Music
The cover artwork reminds of Change's first album The Glow Of Love. It's a tribute to the iconic graphic style of designer Greg Porto who died of AIDS in New York City in 1992.
Black singer Tanya Michelle Smith was hired to handle the lead vocals. She has established a music career in France and in Italy as a session and live singer and even sang at the wedding of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin in Venice in 2014. Smith originates from Toronto in Canada and has Jamaican roots. Currently the talented singer and songwriter lives in Paris after a stint in the Caribbean. Her energetic presence and power voice add tons of soul to the project. She is also credited for co-writing two songs on the album.
Yet, there's no black male lead singer involved, which is rather unusual for a Change project.
Backing singers are Marco Evans, Massimo "Maci" Cavallari, Melody Castellari and Annalisa Vassalli. Contributing musicians are Davide Romani, Mauro Malavasi, Elio Baldi Cantù, Tommaso Baldi Cantù, Claudio Salvatore, Ruggero Marchesi, Monia Ziliani, Roberto Ilacqua and Paolo Manfrin. Also Maurizio "Sangy" Sangineto of Firefly joined the project as a guest guitarist.
Love 4 Love is Change 4.0 and offers genuine pop/soul/funk music with only minor influences of the present US R&B music format. But don’t expect a blueprint of Miracles or an update in the vein of Cool Million or Tuxedo. This would mean that gear from the 80s like keyboards, synths and drum machines have been dusted off or that similar arranging techniques have been applied in order to reproduce a smooth disco/funk sound. It’s not the case. The current Change isn’t aiming for a copy/paste of “Paradise” or "Change Of Heart". Also, there are no American musicians involved, which immediately affects the original R&B texture of the project. Furthermore –presumably due to economic motives as well– the backing vocals lack the punch and soul exuberance of previous realizations. The harder edged (European) sonority of the production could make it tougher to reach the black American public. But a proper R&B remix of some of the key tracks could be a door opener. Obviously there are echoes from the past and Romani’s and Malavasi's songwriting are still the spine. And let's not forget to mention Romani's slappy bass licks that sparkle on some of the tracks as in the past. The old school formula hasn't been abandoned completely...
The contemporary and homogenous production sound is spot on and the well-crafted songs and arrangements really stick in your mind after a few spins. It's clear that Romani has succeeded in reviving the Change project. Especially the percussive and CHIC-ish "Make Me (Go Crazy)", the Jamiroquai inspired "Love 4 Love" and the radio friendly tunes "Living In Your Love" –with its sophisticated Trevor Horn-like acoustics and trumpet sparkles– and "Living Monday" are pretty instantaneous and have hit potential. The classy opener "Hit Or Miss", first single off the album, definitely leans toward Brit Soul and Acid Jazz. "How Will We" that awakens the devastating impact of hurricane Irma in the Caribbean in 2017 and the moralizing "Too Late" are equally standouts with more of an experimental pop feel. The catchy synth track "Make Me (Go Crazy)", the title track "Love 4 Love" and the smooth yet funky "All My Life" are perhaps the few tunes that reflect some of the classic Change brand. There are hardly songs that are prominently propelled by one of Romani's intoxicating bass lines, but these are. You will even detect a Roland TR-808 sample taken from "You Are My Melody" when listening to "Make Me (Go Crazy)".
This authentic collection of soulful tracks rather relies on present-day song structures and keenly engineered beats and sounds than on dominant bass grooves and sweet disco melodies/arrangements. The Italian crew cooked a balanced set including pop elements, jazzy touches, lounge vibes, soul heat, funky fire and dance beats that will appeal to both pop audiences and party crowds. Quite a weapon in the music industry today. Conditioned minds will scantly discern the Change trademark sound. The open minds and those who haven’t been raised with Change's vintage signature, will experience an exciting set of fresh and contemporary black gems, arranged and produced with love by veteran Davide Romani. Overall a clever concept introducing the group's reincarnation. Change is dead, long live Change...
Black singer Tanya Michelle Smith was hired to handle the lead vocals. She has established a music career in France and in Italy as a session and live singer and even sang at the wedding of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin in Venice in 2014. Smith originates from Toronto in Canada and has Jamaican roots. Currently the talented singer and songwriter lives in Paris after a stint in the Caribbean. Her energetic presence and power voice add tons of soul to the project. She is also credited for co-writing two songs on the album.
Yet, there's no black male lead singer involved, which is rather unusual for a Change project.
Backing singers are Marco Evans, Massimo "Maci" Cavallari, Melody Castellari and Annalisa Vassalli. Contributing musicians are Davide Romani, Mauro Malavasi, Elio Baldi Cantù, Tommaso Baldi Cantù, Claudio Salvatore, Ruggero Marchesi, Monia Ziliani, Roberto Ilacqua and Paolo Manfrin. Also Maurizio "Sangy" Sangineto of Firefly joined the project as a guest guitarist.
Love 4 Love is Change 4.0 and offers genuine pop/soul/funk music with only minor influences of the present US R&B music format. But don’t expect a blueprint of Miracles or an update in the vein of Cool Million or Tuxedo. This would mean that gear from the 80s like keyboards, synths and drum machines have been dusted off or that similar arranging techniques have been applied in order to reproduce a smooth disco/funk sound. It’s not the case. The current Change isn’t aiming for a copy/paste of “Paradise” or "Change Of Heart". Also, there are no American musicians involved, which immediately affects the original R&B texture of the project. Furthermore –presumably due to economic motives as well– the backing vocals lack the punch and soul exuberance of previous realizations. The harder edged (European) sonority of the production could make it tougher to reach the black American public. But a proper R&B remix of some of the key tracks could be a door opener. Obviously there are echoes from the past and Romani’s and Malavasi's songwriting are still the spine. And let's not forget to mention Romani's slappy bass licks that sparkle on some of the tracks as in the past. The old school formula hasn't been abandoned completely...
This authentic collection of soulful tracks rather relies on present-day song structures and keenly engineered beats and sounds than on dominant bass grooves and sweet disco melodies/arrangements. The Italian crew cooked a balanced set including pop elements, jazzy touches, lounge vibes, soul heat, funky fire and dance beats that will appeal to both pop audiences and party crowds. Quite a weapon in the music industry today. Conditioned minds will scantly discern the Change trademark sound. The open minds and those who haven’t been raised with Change's vintage signature, will experience an exciting set of fresh and contemporary black gems, arranged and produced with love by veteran Davide Romani. Overall a clever concept introducing the group's reincarnation. Change is dead, long live Change...
Davide Romani and Mauro Malavasi preparing new music for Change at Davide's home studio
musician crew, singers and label boss Stefano Colombo working on the new Change project
Maurizio "Sangy" Sangineto and Davide Romani at Village Studio in Parma
Maurizio "Sangy" Sangineto, Davide Romani, Stefano Colombo and Mauro Malavasi
Davide Romani and Mauro Malavasi making music at Mauro's Clock Music SRL in Bologna
Mauro Malavasi
Davide Romani
Mauro Malavasi, Davide Romani and Stefano Colombo presenting the new Change album at Clock Music SRL
Davide Romani composing new tracks
Elio Baldi Cantù, Tanya Michelle Smith, Davide Romani and Stefano Colombo at Village Studio
LIFE AFTER CHANGE
In the wake of Petrus' demise and the eventual fragmentation of Change, the members of the group picked up the pieces and began moving on to new horizons. Survival modus as the use to call it. Utilizing their experience in the group as a springboard, their subsequent individual achievements would serve as a testament to Petrus' legacy as a keen talent scout and a remarkable architect of golden grooves. The quality of his productions was consistent because he tapped into all the right people to give him what it was that he wanted.
Timmy Allen, Jeff Bova, Vince Henry and Michael Campbell (+ April 5, 2014) (see photo right below) went on to become very indemand top session musicians.
Timmy Allen had a long tenure as an A&R rep at Jive Records and has written and produced for various soul acts as Stephanie Mills, Lillo Thomas, Joe, Christopher Williams, Mike Davis, Hi-Five, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Alyson Williams, Jeff Redd, Backstreet Boys, Millie Jackson, Omar Chandler, Jonathan Butler and Glenn Jones. He played bass on albums of Howard Johnson, Freddie Jackson, James Ingram, R. Kelly, Billy Ocean, Tom Jones, Jennifer Holliday, Michael Bolton, Audrey Wheeler, Paul Laurence, Melba Moore, Aaliyah,...
Jeff Bova (see photo right) has worked as musician and producer for a myriad of pop and R&B stars: Cher, Millie Jackson, Michael Bolton, Yoko Ono, Kurtis Blow, Nona Hendryx, Cyndi Lauper, Robert Palmer, Jody Watley, Michael Jackson, Jonathan Butler, Bee Gees, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Meat Loaf, Michael McDonald, Herbie Hancock, R. Kelly, Chaka Khan, Bill Laswell & Material, Vanessa Williams, Tina Turner and Robbie Williams, to name a few. Bova achieved his greatest commercial success in 1996 as a producer of Celine Dion's Grammy Award-winning album Falling into You.
Vincent Henry has written songs for artists like Roy Ayers, Mike Davis and Johnny Kemp; recorded a solo album for Jive Records, and his multi-instrumental talents have been featured on projects by a diverse group of artists such as Mary J. Blige, Jeffrey Osborne, Mtume, Will Downing, Milira, Usher, Millie Jackson, Whitney Houston, Kashif, Aleem, Nas, Ice-Cube, Tashan, Howard Hewett, Glenn Jones, Tom Waits, Jennifer Hudson and the late Amy Winehouse.
Former lead singer James Robinson signed to Tabu Records in 1987 for his one solo album Guilty, which was produced by guitarist Fareed Abdul Haqq. The liner notes to an Alexander O'Neal expanded album reissue (debut album 1985) reveal that the songs were originally intended for James Robinson, but for whatever reason he wasn't getting along with producers Jam & Lewis...and the rest is history. Earlier, in 1983 he was a featured vocalist on the track “You Bring Out The Best In Me” off Lenny White’s Attitude album. Robinson also masterly sang lead on "When You Gonna Come Back Home", "It Takes A Woman" and "Every Woman Needs It" from Jeff Lorber's album Step B
y Step. He’s been regularly guesting since on smooth jazz albums as a vocalist. In 1995, Robinson teamed up with Mark Johnson for the track “Daydream” taken from the album Daydream and with another jazz keyboard artist, Bob Baldwin, for his album City Sketches in 2001. He has also been continuously involved with his cousin Paris Ford as a featured vocalist on his songs "Be My Girl" (1982), "Keep Dancin'" (1983), "2 Far" (1989) and "Chocolate Swirl" (2007). More sweet Robinson vocals can be heard on albums by Nicki Richards, Takeshi Itoh, Heather Mullen, Doc Powell and Jaguar Wright. Deborah Cooper (see photo) was a part of C+C Music Factory during the ‘90s as both a lead and back up vocalist, resulting with several # 1 hits including "A Deeper Love", "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" and "Keep It Comin’ (Dance Till You Can’t Dance No More)”. Cooper is lead singer on the track "A Deeper Love". She continued to lend her vocals to house music tracks by other record producers, as well as release her own solo tracks (“Real Love”, “Live You All Over”, “Are You Satisfied”, “Do It Properly”, “Whisper”). As a backup and session singer she has worked with Samantha Fox, Heather Mullen, Jessica Simpson, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Jon Secada, Amber, Diana Ross, Craig T. Cooper, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Natalie Cole and Eartha Kitt. For several years Deborah Cooper was a featured singer for Mariah Carey in both recording sessions as well as live appearances internationally.
Change display at Tower Records Tokyo, Dec. 2015
The artist who benefited most from the Change exposure was certainly Luther Vandross (see photo) who embarked upon a huge solo career in soul music in 1981, scoring a multi-platinum
album with each release. In R&B music he ranked with Prince, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson as one of the most successful singer/songwriters and producers of the eighties. Vandross wrote and/or produced for many black acts like The Temptations, Roberta Flack, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Cheryl Lynn, Dionne Warwick, Gregory Hines, Teddy Pendergrass, Lisa Fisher and Diana Ross. Unfortunately, Luther Vandross died 1st July 2005 at the JFK Medical Centre, New Jersey, USA. He was 54 years old. The original Change vocalist Jocelyn Brown (see photo) remained very active in the N.Y. session circuit and sang backgrounds for Luther Vandross, Bernard Edwards, Michael Jackson, Culture Club, Steve Winwood, Patti Austin, Weeks & Co., Curtis Hairston, Grace Jones, Arthur Baker, Alyson Williams and many others. She was also lead singer with Cerrone and the disco groups Inner Life and Salsoul Orchestra. In 1984 she launched her solo career with the instant smash hit “Somebody Else’s Guy”. The Vinyl Dreams label issued the album Somebody Else’s Guy that year that collected Inner Life
material with her recent solo work. An album for Warner Bros., One From the Heart, was released in 1987 but didn't perform commercially and got her bumped from the label. More solo singles followed in 1986 and 1987 that charted but didn't fare nearly as well as her earlier success. The big voiced diva continued to work steadily throughout the 90s and early 2000s with groups, artists and producer/DJ’s like Nuyorican Soul, Todd Terry, Incognito, Kamasutra, Melodie MC, Jestofunk, Jamestown, Brown & Brown, David Morales, DJ Bobo, A.K. Soul, Da Mob, Ministers De-La-Funk, Stitch, Paul Weller, Cassius, Motiv 8, Roni Size, Masters At Work and several others. In 1990, Jocelyn Brown became a victim of the sampling craze when the line "I've got the power!" was unauthorizedly sampled from her 1986 dance hit “Love's Gonna Get You” by dance group Snap! for their worldwide hit “The Power”. A solo album, Diva, was released in 1996 on the Black Tiger label with contributions of Heatwave and Oliver Cheatham. This, coupled with the multitude of industry acknowledgements and accomplishments, is further evidence of the sheer brilliance of a shapeshifting group of supremely talented individuals that Change was. A group that for five short years delivered a splendid body of work that has made a remarkably indelible impression upon the world.
Today Rick Brennan is still performing his favorite Change songs all over the world. But his ultimate dream is touring again with the original NYC line-up as an official representation of the American group. A European reunion tour with all the initial cats of Change is scheduled for 2024. The fire is still burning in all the members, that's clear. Especially since the renaissance of their legacy, interesting opportunities arise. Young DJ's and producers are discovering their catalog. Also several upcoming audiovisual media projects emphasize that renewed intrest.
Davide Romani in his natural environment
Change songs and samples appear on:
* Dave Baker: "Glow Of Love" (covered song: The Glow Of Love) 12", Black Jack, 1980.
* Faces: “Searching” (covered song: Searching) 12”, Make Them Dance! Records, 1986.
* Luther Vandross: "The Glow Of Love", "Searching" (original Change versions) from The Best Of Luther Vandross...The Best Of Love, Epic, 1989.
* Happy Mondays: "Holiday" (sample: A Lover's Holiday) from Pills 'N' Thrills And Bellyaches, Factory, 1990.
* Black Sheep: "Strobelite Honey (Remix)" (sample: The Glow Of Love) 12", Mercury, 1991.
* Grace Under Pressure: “The Glow Of Love” (covered song: The Glow Of Love) from Grace Under Pressure, ARS, 1993.
* Randy Crawford: “The Glow Of Love” (covered song: The Glow Of Love) from Naked And True, WEA, 1995.
* Cold World Hustlers: "Straight Doin' It" (sample: The Glow Of Love) from Iceland, Black Market, 1995.
* Billy Lawrence: "Up And Down" (sample: The Glow Of Love) 12", Elektra, 1997.
* Fatha Dom: "Pimp Life" (sample: The Glow Of Love) from Oaktown's Finest, Paradise, 1997.
* 50 Cent: "The Glow" (sample: The Glow Of Love) 12”, JMJ, 1997.
* AZ: “Just Because” (sample: The Glow Of Love) from Pieces Of A Man, Noo Trybe/Virgin, 1998.
* Aretha Franklin: “Here We Go Again” (sample: The Glow Of Love) from A Rose Is Still A Rose, Arista, 1998.
* R. Kelly: “Spendin’ Money” (sample: A Lover’s Holiday) from R., Jive, 1998.
* LFO: "Can't Have You" (sample: The Glow Of Love) from LFO, Arista, 1999.
* Naughty By Nature & Phinesse: "Holiday" (sample: A Lover's Holiday) from Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature's Fury, Arista, 1999.
* Phats & Small: "Turn Around" (sample: The Glow Of Love) 12”, La Belle Noire, 1999.
* Funky Green Dogs: “Just A Little Luck” (sample: Paradise) from Star, Twisted/MCA, 1999.
* Le Knight Club: "Hysteria II" (sample: Miracles) 12", Crydamoure, 1999.
* Alcazar: "Paris In The Rain" (sample: The Glow Of Love) from Casino, BMG, 2000.
* Jazzy M: "Jazzin' The Way You Know (Illicit Mix)" (sample: Let’s Go Together) 12”, Perfecto, 2000.
* Johnny Corporate: "Groove Me" (sample: Miracles) 12", 4th Floor, 2000.
* Klubfilter: "Journal Intime" (sample: Don't Wait Another Night) from Some Love, Royal Flush, 2000.
* Nobody's Angel: "Next Stop Heaven" (sample: Paradise) from Nobody's Angel, Hollywood Records, 2000.
* Phunky Data: "You" (sample: Miracles) from 38, Sekence, 2000.
* Snow Monkeys: "Reachin'" (sample: The Glow Of Love) 12", NuLife, 2000.
* Superfunk feat. Ron Carroll: "Lucky Star" (sample: The Glow Of Love), 12", Virgin, 2000.
* Bobby Summer: "Pretty Queen" (sample: Miracles) 12", Papersleeve, 2001.
* Janet Jackson: “All For You” (sample: The Glow Of Love) from All For You, Virgin, 2001.
* Ricky J: "Loot" (sample: The Glow Of Love) from Lose Control, Warner Music Canada, 2001.
* Madji'k: "Sunshine" (sample: You're My Number 1) from Seekin' Love, VOX, 2001.
* Luther Vandross: “Can I Take U” (Remix of “Take You Out”) (sample: Hold Tight) 12”, LV, 2001.
* The Altered Beast: "Wonder Wheel" (sample: You're My Number 1) from Coney Island, 20000st, 2000.
* Full Intention: "Soul Power (Main Mix)" (sample: You Are My Melody) 12", Peppermint Jam, 2002.
* Discofunk 002: "Glow Of Love" (sample: The Glow Of Love) 12", Discofunk, 2003.
* Pete Rock: "Glowing" (sample: Hold Tight) from The Surviving Elements, Rapster, 2005.
* Hott 22: "Make Up Your Mind" (sample: Miracles) 12", Gossip, 2005.
* Steve Angello: "Play It Loud" (sample: Change Of Heart) 12", System, 2005.
* Pierre De La Touche: "Real Love" (sample: Angel In My Pocket) from French Winter Sampler 2005, Disco Galaxy, 2005.
* Pierre De La Touche: "You Are My Number One" (sample: You're My Number 1) from French Winter Sampler 2005, Disco Galaxy, 2005.
* Nutritious Wax: "Lovers Holidays" (sample: A Lover's Holiday) from Tribal House 5, Quadrophon, 2005.
* Hott 22: "Make Up Your Mind" (sample: Miracles) from I Feel Love, Gossip, 2005.
* Soul Corporation: “Let’s Go Together” (sample: Let’s Go Together) 12”, Net’s Work International, 2006.
* Luther Vandross: "Searching" (original Change version) from The Ultimate Luther Vandross, Sony, 2006.
* Wayman Tisdale: "The Glow Of Love" (covered song: The Glow Of Love) from Forever, For Always, For Luther Volume II, Rendezvous Entertainment, 2006.
* Zeebra feat. Sphere Of Influence And May J.: "Shinin' Like A Diamond" (sample: The glow Of Love) from World Of Music, Pony Canyon 2007.
* Full Flava feat. Donna Gardier: "The Glow Of Love", Dôme Records, 2007.
* Roman Salzger: "Alpha Centauri" (sample: Let’s Go Together) unreleased, available as MP3-file, 2008.
* The Tabledancers: "Party On" (sample: It's A Girl's Affair) 12", Disco Galaxy, 2008.
* Olav Basoki: "I Feel So" (sample: You're My Number 1), Work, 2009.
* Washed Out: "Get Up" (sample: Got To Get Up) from Life Of Leisure, Mexican Summer, 2009.
* Bit Funk: "9 Iron" (sample: Your Move) from Millenium Disco, Shiny Disco Club, 2010.
* La Zebra: "When In Rome" (sample: Miracles), Mozzarella, 2010.
* Onra: "Moving" (sample: Got To Get Up) from Long Distance, All City, 2010.
* Breakbot feat. Irfane: "Baby I'm Yours" (sample: You're My Number 1) from Baby I'm Yours, Ed Banger, 2010.
* Cinnamon Chasers: "So Hard To Say" (sample: Hold Tight) from So Hard To Say, Modus, 2010.
* Chromeo: "Don't Walk Away" (sample: A Lover's Holiday) from Business Casual, Atlantic, 2010.
* Madlib: "The Induction Of Hypnosis" (sample: Heaven Of My Life) from Medicine Show No. 10: Black Soul, Madlib Invazion, 2010.
* Slum Village feat. Q-Tip: "Hold Tight" (covered song: Hold Tight) from Fantastic Volume 2.10, Ne'Astra Music Group, 2010.
* Vanguard: "Apollo" (sample: You Are My Melody) 12", Shiny Disco Club, 2010.
* Vatska: "You'll Still Be Mine" (sample: You're My Number 1) from First Date, Phantom, 2010.
* Cajemere & Gene Farris: "Coconuts" (sample: Paradise) from White Label EP, Cajual, 2011.
* La Fine Equipe feat. Hoosky: "Cupcake" (sample: It Burns Me Up) from La Boulangerie 2, Nowadays, 2011.
* Shook: "Hold Tight" (sample: Hold Tight) from The Rise And Fall EP, Epicenter, 2011.
* Gramophonedzie: "Number One" (sample: Youre My Number 1), Guesthouse Music, 2011.
* Onra: "Change Of Heart" (sample: Change Of Heart) from Edits, All City, 2011.
* Shook: "Hold Tight" (sample: Hold Tight) from The Rise And Fall EP, Epicenter, 2011.
* Patryk Molinari: "No Dilemma" (sample: The Glow Of Love") from Black Jukebox 05, Exploited, 2012.
* Tyler Touché: "Musique de Coeur" (sample: Hold Tight) from Night Dance, Champagne, 2012.
* Yoshika: “The Glow Of Love” (covered song: The Glow Of Love) from My Anthem, Crown Japan, 2013.
* Majid Jordan: "Hold Tight" (sample: Hold Tight) from After Hours, White, 2013.
* U-Nam: "Starlight Lover" (sample: Hold Tight) from C'est Le Funk, Skytown, 2014.
* The Stuyvesants: “Ice Breaker” (sample: You'll Never Realize) from Fine, SD, 2014.
* The R&R Soul Orchestra: "The Luckiest Man In The World" (sample: Searching) from The R&R Soul Orchestra, The American R&B Co., 2015.
* Joe Stone: “Let's Go Together” (sample: Let's Go Together), Spinnin' Records, 2017.
* DreamWorks: “Babar's Mom Memorial Jungle” (sample: Angel) from 1989 Celesteville Tourists Guide, 2017.
* Ramirez: “94.6 Kys FM” (sample: Mutual Attraction), G*59 Records, 2018.
* Xman feat. Maestro: "Heaven Of My Life" (sample: Heaven Of My Life), 24Beats/IBeat Music, 2018.
* Jasper Street Co.: "Paradise" (sample: Paradise) from Rejoicing, Nervous Records/Basement Boys Records, 2019.
* Full Flava feat. Donna Gardier: "The Glow Of Love (Full Flava 2.0 Mix)" (covered song: The Glow Of Love), Dôme Records, 2020.
* Full Flava feat. Donna Gardier: "The Glow Of Love (Rob Hardt Remix)" (covered song: The Glow Of Love), Dôme Records, 2020.
* Jussie Smollett: "Some Things" (sample: Hold Tight), Music Of Sound, 2022.
* Camp: “Summerbaby” (sample: Hold Tight), INVS, 2023.
* Dj "S" & Andre Espeut: "The Glow Of Love" (covered song: The Glow Of Love), Streetheat Music, 2023.
* Janet Jackson: “All For You” (sample: The Glow Of Love) from All For You, Virgin, 2001.
* Ricky J: "Loot" (sample: The Glow Of Love) from Lose Control, Warner Music Canada, 2001.
* Madji'k: "Sunshine" (sample: You're My Number 1) from Seekin' Love, VOX, 2001.
* Luther Vandross: “Can I Take U” (Remix of “Take You Out”) (sample: Hold Tight) 12”, LV, 2001.
* The Altered Beast: "Wonder Wheel" (sample: You're My Number 1) from Coney Island, 20000st, 2000.
* Full Intention: "Soul Power (Main Mix)" (sample: You Are My Melody) 12", Peppermint Jam, 2002.
* Discofunk 002: "Glow Of Love" (sample: The Glow Of Love) 12", Discofunk, 2003.
* Pete Rock: "Glowing" (sample: Hold Tight) from The Surviving Elements, Rapster, 2005.
* Hott 22: "Make Up Your Mind" (sample: Miracles) 12", Gossip, 2005.
* Steve Angello: "Play It Loud" (sample: Change Of Heart) 12", System, 2005.
* Pierre De La Touche: "Real Love" (sample: Angel In My Pocket) from French Winter Sampler 2005, Disco Galaxy, 2005.
* Pierre De La Touche: "You Are My Number One" (sample: You're My Number 1) from French Winter Sampler 2005, Disco Galaxy, 2005.
* Nutritious Wax: "Lovers Holidays" (sample: A Lover's Holiday) from Tribal House 5, Quadrophon, 2005.
* Hott 22: "Make Up Your Mind" (sample: Miracles) from I Feel Love, Gossip, 2005.
* Soul Corporation: “Let’s Go Together” (sample: Let’s Go Together) 12”, Net’s Work International, 2006.
* Luther Vandross: "Searching" (original Change version) from The Ultimate Luther Vandross, Sony, 2006.
* Wayman Tisdale: "The Glow Of Love" (covered song: The Glow Of Love) from Forever, For Always, For Luther Volume II, Rendezvous Entertainment, 2006.
* Zeebra feat. Sphere Of Influence And May J.: "Shinin' Like A Diamond" (sample: The glow Of Love) from World Of Music, Pony Canyon 2007.
* Full Flava feat. Donna Gardier: "The Glow Of Love", Dôme Records, 2007.
* Roman Salzger: "Alpha Centauri" (sample: Let’s Go Together) unreleased, available as MP3-file, 2008.
* The Tabledancers: "Party On" (sample: It's A Girl's Affair) 12", Disco Galaxy, 2008.
* Olav Basoki: "I Feel So" (sample: You're My Number 1), Work, 2009.
* Washed Out: "Get Up" (sample: Got To Get Up) from Life Of Leisure, Mexican Summer, 2009.
* Bit Funk: "9 Iron" (sample: Your Move) from Millenium Disco, Shiny Disco Club, 2010.
* La Zebra: "When In Rome" (sample: Miracles), Mozzarella, 2010.
* Onra: "Moving" (sample: Got To Get Up) from Long Distance, All City, 2010.
* Breakbot feat. Irfane: "Baby I'm Yours" (sample: You're My Number 1) from Baby I'm Yours, Ed Banger, 2010.
* Cinnamon Chasers: "So Hard To Say" (sample: Hold Tight) from So Hard To Say, Modus, 2010.
* Chromeo: "Don't Walk Away" (sample: A Lover's Holiday) from Business Casual, Atlantic, 2010.
* Madlib: "The Induction Of Hypnosis" (sample: Heaven Of My Life) from Medicine Show No. 10: Black Soul, Madlib Invazion, 2010.
* Slum Village feat. Q-Tip: "Hold Tight" (covered song: Hold Tight) from Fantastic Volume 2.10, Ne'Astra Music Group, 2010.
* Vanguard: "Apollo" (sample: You Are My Melody) 12", Shiny Disco Club, 2010.
* Vatska: "You'll Still Be Mine" (sample: You're My Number 1) from First Date, Phantom, 2010.
* Cajemere & Gene Farris: "Coconuts" (sample: Paradise) from White Label EP, Cajual, 2011.
* La Fine Equipe feat. Hoosky: "Cupcake" (sample: It Burns Me Up) from La Boulangerie 2, Nowadays, 2011.
* Shook: "Hold Tight" (sample: Hold Tight) from The Rise And Fall EP, Epicenter, 2011.
* Gramophonedzie: "Number One" (sample: Youre My Number 1), Guesthouse Music, 2011.
* Onra: "Change Of Heart" (sample: Change Of Heart) from Edits, All City, 2011.
* Shook: "Hold Tight" (sample: Hold Tight) from The Rise And Fall EP, Epicenter, 2011.
* Patryk Molinari: "No Dilemma" (sample: The Glow Of Love") from Black Jukebox 05, Exploited, 2012.
* Tyler Touché: "Musique de Coeur" (sample: Hold Tight) from Night Dance, Champagne, 2012.
* Yoshika: “The Glow Of Love” (covered song: The Glow Of Love) from My Anthem, Crown Japan, 2013.
* Majid Jordan: "Hold Tight" (sample: Hold Tight) from After Hours, White, 2013.
* U-Nam: "Starlight Lover" (sample: Hold Tight) from C'est Le Funk, Skytown, 2014.
* The Stuyvesants: “Ice Breaker” (sample: You'll Never Realize) from Fine, SD, 2014.
* The R&R Soul Orchestra: "The Luckiest Man In The World" (sample: Searching) from The R&R Soul Orchestra, The American R&B Co., 2015.
* Joe Stone: “Let's Go Together” (sample: Let's Go Together), Spinnin' Records, 2017.
* DreamWorks: “Babar's Mom Memorial Jungle” (sample: Angel) from 1989 Celesteville Tourists Guide, 2017.
* Ramirez: “94.6 Kys FM” (sample: Mutual Attraction), G*59 Records, 2018.
* Xman feat. Maestro: "Heaven Of My Life" (sample: Heaven Of My Life), 24Beats/IBeat Music, 2018.
* Jasper Street Co.: "Paradise" (sample: Paradise) from Rejoicing, Nervous Records/Basement Boys Records, 2019.
* Full Flava feat. Donna Gardier: "The Glow Of Love (Full Flava 2.0 Mix)" (covered song: The Glow Of Love), Dôme Records, 2020.
* Full Flava feat. Donna Gardier: "The Glow Of Love (Rob Hardt Remix)" (covered song: The Glow Of Love), Dôme Records, 2020.
* Jussie Smollett: "Some Things" (sample: Hold Tight), Music Of Sound, 2022.
* Camp: “Summerbaby” (sample: Hold Tight), INVS, 2023.
* Dj "S" & Andre Espeut: "The Glow Of Love" (covered song: The Glow Of Love), Streetheat Music, 2023.
Toby Johnson, Rick Brennan, Mike Campbell, James Robinson, Debbie Cooper, Jeff Bova, Vince Henry and Timmy AllenChange 1983
Greg Porto Art Gallery
John Cougar Mellencamp / Chestnut Street Incident / Mainman Records (P) 1976
Various Artists / Disco Party / TK Records (P) 1978
Queen Samantha / The Letter / Marlin Records (P) 1978
Fantasia Feat. Peggy Santiglia / Sweet, Sweet City Rhythm / Amazon Records (P) 1978
Brandye / Crossover To Brandye / Kayvette Records (P) 1978
Black Sun / Disco Heat / Buddah Records (P) 1978
Venus Dodson / Night Rider / RFC Records (P) 1979
Mighty Pope / Sway / Quality Records (P) 1979
Gino Soccio / Outline / RFC Records (P) 1979
Love De-Luxe With Hawkshaw's Discophonia / Here Comes That Sound / W.B. (P) 1979
Change / The Glow Of Love / RFC Records (P) 1980
Gino Soccio / S-Beat / RFC Records (P) 1980
Change / Miracles / RFC Records (P) 1981
Silence / Goodtime Baby / Memory Records (P) 1982
Change / Sharing Your Love / RFC Records (P) 1982
Attitude / Pump The Nation / RFC Records (P) 1983
Various Artists / Danceland / Casablanca Records (P) 1983
Change / This Is Your Time / RFC Records (P) 1983
Silence Feat. Gordon Grody / The Beast In Me / Five Records (P) 1984
Change / Change Of Heart / RFC Records (P) 1984
Change / Greatest Hits / Five Records (P) 1984
Grace Jones / Slave To The Rhythm / Manhattan Records (P) 1985
Change / Turn On Your Radio / Atlantic Records (P) 1985
Change / Turn On The Radio / Cooltempo Records (P) 1985
Change / 12 INCH / Mutual Attraction (Remix) / Cooltempo Records (P) 1985
Grace Jones / Island Life / Island Records (P) 1985
Gino Soccio / 12 INCH / Human Nature / Priority Records (P) 1985
Manfriday / 12 INCH / Winners / Warner Bros. Records (P) 1986
Debbie Gibson / Out Of The Blue / Atlantic Records (P) 1987
Lance Hayward / Killing Me Softly / Island Records (P) 1987
Gwen Guthrie / 12 INCH / Can't Love You Tonight / Warner Bros. Records (P) 1988
Debbie Gibson / Electric Youth / Atlantic Records (P) 1989
B.B.&Q. BAND
After the tremendous hype with Change other studio concepts emerged from the Little Macho Music factory such as The B.B.&Q. Band. Their debut album The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band continued in the tradition of Change, and not surprisingly, often
sounded like a Change album. Most of the songs were composed, arranged and conducted by Change co-producer Mauro Malavasi and many of the players and background singers also appeared on Change albums. And like Change, the B.B.& Q. Band made dance music that captivated in a forcible, unaffected manner.
The band was a standard faceless aggregation of Little Macho Music staff musicians and American sessioneers. The informal groupmembers depicted on the first album were the American studio musicians Kevin Nance (keyboards), Dwayne Perdue (drums) (see photo right below), Paris 'PeeWee' Ford (bass) (see photo left below), Abdul Wali Mohammed (guitar) and lead singer Ike Floyd. Guitarist William ‘Doc’ Powell turned bassist Paris Ford on to producer Petrus who was looking
for musicians for a new project. In November 1980 a live band was put together by Paris Ford on Petrus’ request and got signed to Capitol Records a little later. The acronym B.B.&Q. stands for the New York suburbs Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens, which were the areas where the original members of the group came from. The truth is that the band on the back cover Polaroid was just a facade used to fool the executives of Capitol into thinking that there was actually a marketable band; and not a studio production project like many acts during that period in music history. None of them had really played on the record since all the instrumental sections had been taped entirely in Italy with the exception of a few guitar licks added to the mix in NYC. All great and skillful musicians nevertheless! A trick by Jacques Fred Petrus to meet record company demands. Just the vocal parts of singer Ike Floyd and the background choruses were recorded in NYC. So, besides the photo shoot with photographer Brian Hagiwara, some press and radio promotion, and a few gigs as a supporting act, there wasn’t much happening with the B.B.&Q. Band. And this is the reason why the "promo band" rapidly dissolved. They all comprehensibly opted for secure session work and lucrative touring engagements with well-known R&B artists.
Paris Ford for instance took his place as one of the most enduring
and groundbreaking session-bassists during the 80s and 90s, playing for lots of R&B stars as Rick James, Glenn Jones, Johnny Gill, Stacy Lattisaw, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Marcus Miller, Norman Connors and Lenny White.
As of 1982 the B.B.&Q. Band “stabilized” into a self-contained group for two subsequent albums. Only Kevin Nance of the original line-up would remain. At this stage the musicians in the band became the actual musicians and writers performing on the band’s recordings. The new B.B.& Q. Band studio entity comprised frontman Kevin Robinson (guitarist), Kevin Nance (keyboards), Bernard Davis (drums), Tony Bridges (bass) and Chieli Minucci (guitarist). Kevin Robinson met Fred Petrus in 1980 when he was in the band Kinky Fox together with bassist Timmy Allen. Petrus wanted to manage Kinky Fox, but the band didn't feel that he possessed the required management skill-set. In 1981 Kevin Robinson and Timmy Allen left Kinky Fox. It was at that time that Fred asked Kevin to join the B.B.&Q. Band and Timmy to join Change. The link between Robinson and bassist Tony Bridges is another friendship that goes back to their school days when they both attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art in Manhattan, colloquially known as "The Castle on the Hill". Some of their classmates were: Marcus Miller, Omar Hakim, Steve Jordan and Zane Mark to name but a few. [In 1984 this school merged with the High School of Performing Arts (on which the TV series Fame was based) to become the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.] The album sleeves don't show all of the five members, which indicates that the band was a rather loose formation of rotating sessioneers, typical for most of the projects of Little Macho Music. Unlike Change, the B.B.& Q. Band actually never got to the stage of a real enduring band. They even didn't do any live gigs or promotional tours to support their 2nd and third album because it seems the group was stopped dead by a glitch in the touring budget.
In the early to mid eighties frontman Kevin Robinson (see photo above and right) also worked as a session musician and singer with Change, The Spinners, Stephanie Mills, The Strangers, High Fashion, Lillo Thomas and Mtume. Besides he was a musician with funkgroup Network 
and co-produced their rare electro-funk album I Need You in 1984. He was likewise producer for Freddie Jackson, B.T. Express, Melba Moore, Patti LaBelle, Sarah Dash, Sweet Obession and the Bar-Kays. In 1984, together with Howard King, he produced the Macho III single “Kalimba De Luna” for Jacques Fred Petrus. Robinson is also known as the recording artist Chad on the RCA label (album Fast Music, Love & Promises, 1987).
Chieli Minucci formed the well-known fusion group Special EFX in 1982 and has since been a major force in the world of smooth jazz. Besides Special EFX, he has seven solo albums to his credit and has played, recorded with, or produced a number of artists including Dave Grusin, Lionel Richie, Anastacia, Mark Anthony, Jewel, Roberta Flack, Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Noel Pointer, Angela Bofill and Chuck Loeb. He also writes music for TV.
The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band
The B.B.& Q. Band are best remembered for Malavasi’s hypnotic floorfiller “On The Beat” (#3 Billboard’s Disco/Dance Chart; #8 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart), a joyous dance groove driven by funky rhythm guitars and slick percussion, and utilizing multi-vocal overlays. It was the opening track on the spectacularly good debut release The
Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band, released in August of 1981. Though critically acclaimed by disco freaks, their first album never exploded in the US. In 1982 the B.B.& Band toured in the US in support of their debut album. The touring band comprised 9 members including Kevin Nance (keyboards), Wali Ali Muhammad a.k.a. Abdul Wali (guitar), Ethel Beatty (background vocals), Skip Anderson (keyboards), Ike Floyd (lead vocals), Meli'sa Morgan (background vocals), Paris Ford a.k.a. Peewee Ford (bass), Kevin Robinson (guitar, vocals) and Dwayne Perdue (drums) (see photo below). The band were opening act for Teddy Pendergrass and The Commodores and toured with Patti LaBelle and Parliament/Funkadelic.
The unpretentious excitement of “On The Beat” made the song the best dance anthem of 1981 and a Top Ten R&B hit. The magic of this street-party song is that the beat is never heard –it is felt– so that listeners’ feet are kept moving while their ears are free to concentrate on other parts of the song. A punctuated, Chicesque melody leads into a call-and-response pattern in which the lead singer answers the background vocalists, much like the bridge on Temperton’s “Boogie Nights”. And the lyric, like Temperton’s “Give Me The Night”, celebrates the virtues of music and dancing: “Nobody has a care/’Cause there’s music in the air/It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before”. There is no yearning for strobe lights or gold chains here. Instead, when the vocalists sing “Are you ready or not/It’s only up the street/Everybody’s dancing/And everybody’s on the beat”, they seem to be talking about an all-night party going on under the
nearest lamppost. To support the single an inevitable video clip was shot but oddly enough rejected by the label executives at Capitol Records.
This album also included “Starlette” which carries the common “treasure the ordinary things in life” theme too, but sounds fresh thanks to some dazzling vocal interplay. The song has two choruses with the vocals perky on one and aggressive on the other, and they converge at the end of the song to create overwhelming exhilaration.
Engaging vocals also makes the swift and elegant “Mistakes” hard to resist. The chorus carries an ABA rhyme scheme, but it is so catchy and the singers so inseparable from each note that the second line sounds like it rhymes with the first and third anyway. The melody changes at the end of the song and the chorus turns into a rap, but the song is so cohesively crafted that when the original chorus returns, it never seems to have left.
In contrast to the immediate appeal of the former three songs, the subtleness of the classy mid-tempo “Time For Love” (#72 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart) takes several listens to become accustomed to. The title is sung and followed by another spare guitar riff, and then not much seems to happen. But like Change’s “Hold Tight”, “Time For Love” weaves its way in listeners’ minds so that by the fifth or sixth listen, the song becomes permanently embedded.
The whole set of The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band is filled with lots of hard-stepping guitar, bass, and keyboard bits that propel the tunes with snappingly catchy rhythms throughout.
The tempo slows on the graceful ballads “Don’t Say Goodbye” and “Lovin’s What We Should Do”, all composed by Petrus' Italian musicians Malavasi, Romani, Tansini and Trevisi. Especially “Don’t Say Goodbye” is not a token ballad thrown in just to give dancers a chance to catch their breath. A foreboding piano permeates the song, and when lead singer Ike Floyd (see photo) sings “And I don’t know what
I’m gonna do/Next time I see you”, the listener can feel the fear and confusion. A synthesizer break melts into a pleading saxophone solo, which further succeeds in the almost impossible task of bringing the listener down from the incredible high of “On The Beat”. There’s even a reggae tune, “I’ll Cut You Loose”, which is a change of pace
and pleasant surprise.
The compelling and clever lyrics written by Tanyayette Willoughby and Paul Slade raised the music to the highest level of disco songcraft. A host of American top session singers handled backup, among them: Luther Vandross, Gordon Grody, Fonzi Thornton, Bobby Douglas, Diva Gray and Robin Clark. Petrus, Malavasi and
company came up with another wonderful album, targeted both for the dancefloor and pop and R&B radio, devoid of mechanized garishness and bursting with vigor, proving once again that music for the feet and music for the mind do not have to be separate entities.
B.B.& Q. Band's immortal dance anthem "On The Beat" generated a second moment of radio and club interest in 1987 when the subtle remix "On The Beat - 87 Bronx Mix" was released on the Streetheat label. An updated version that stayed very close to the original.
All Night Long
sounded like a Change album. Most of the songs were composed, arranged and conducted by Change co-producer Mauro Malavasi and many of the players and background singers also appeared on Change albums. And like Change, the B.B.& Q. Band made dance music that captivated in a forcible, unaffected manner. The band was a standard faceless aggregation of Little Macho Music staff musicians and American sessioneers. The informal groupmembers depicted on the first album were the American studio musicians Kevin Nance (keyboards), Dwayne Perdue (drums) (see photo right below), Paris 'PeeWee' Ford (bass) (see photo left below), Abdul Wali Mohammed (guitar) and lead singer Ike Floyd. Guitarist William ‘Doc’ Powell turned bassist Paris Ford on to producer Petrus who was looking
for musicians for a new project. In November 1980 a live band was put together by Paris Ford on Petrus’ request and got signed to Capitol Records a little later. The acronym B.B.&Q. stands for the New York suburbs Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens, which were the areas where the original members of the group came from. The truth is that the band on the back cover Polaroid was just a facade used to fool the executives of Capitol into thinking that there was actually a marketable band; and not a studio production project like many acts during that period in music history. None of them had really played on the record since all the instrumental sections had been taped entirely in Italy with the exception of a few guitar licks added to the mix in NYC. All great and skillful musicians nevertheless! A trick by Jacques Fred Petrus to meet record company demands. Just the vocal parts of singer Ike Floyd and the background choruses were recorded in NYC. So, besides the photo shoot with photographer Brian Hagiwara, some press and radio promotion, and a few gigs as a supporting act, there wasn’t much happening with the B.B.&Q. Band. And this is the reason why the "promo band" rapidly dissolved. They all comprehensibly opted for secure session work and lucrative touring engagements with well-known R&B artists.
Paris Ford for instance took his place as one of the most enduring
and groundbreaking session-bassists during the 80s and 90s, playing for lots of R&B stars as Rick James, Glenn Jones, Johnny Gill, Stacy Lattisaw, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Marcus Miller, Norman Connors and Lenny White. As of 1982 the B.B.&Q. Band “stabilized” into a self-contained group for two subsequent albums. Only Kevin Nance of the original line-up would remain. At this stage the musicians in the band became the actual musicians and writers performing on the band’s recordings. The new B.B.& Q. Band studio entity comprised frontman Kevin Robinson (guitarist), Kevin Nance (keyboards), Bernard Davis (drums), Tony Bridges (bass) and Chieli Minucci (guitarist). Kevin Robinson met Fred Petrus in 1980 when he was in the band Kinky Fox together with bassist Timmy Allen. Petrus wanted to manage Kinky Fox, but the band didn't feel that he possessed the required management skill-set. In 1981 Kevin Robinson and Timmy Allen left Kinky Fox. It was at that time that Fred asked Kevin to join the B.B.&Q. Band and Timmy to join Change. The link between Robinson and bassist Tony Bridges is another friendship that goes back to their school days when they both attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art in Manhattan, colloquially known as "The Castle on the Hill". Some of their classmates were: Marcus Miller, Omar Hakim, Steve Jordan and Zane Mark to name but a few. [In 1984 this school merged with the High School of Performing Arts (on which the TV series Fame was based) to become the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.] The album sleeves don't show all of the five members, which indicates that the band was a rather loose formation of rotating sessioneers, typical for most of the projects of Little Macho Music. Unlike Change, the B.B.& Q. Band actually never got to the stage of a real enduring band. They even didn't do any live gigs or promotional tours to support their 2nd and third album because it seems the group was stopped dead by a glitch in the touring budget.
and co-produced their rare electro-funk album I Need You in 1984. He was likewise producer for Freddie Jackson, B.T. Express, Melba Moore, Patti LaBelle, Sarah Dash, Sweet Obession and the Bar-Kays. In 1984, together with Howard King, he produced the Macho III single “Kalimba De Luna” for Jacques Fred Petrus. Robinson is also known as the recording artist Chad on the RCA label (album Fast Music, Love & Promises, 1987). Chieli Minucci formed the well-known fusion group Special EFX in 1982 and has since been a major force in the world of smooth jazz. Besides Special EFX, he has seven solo albums to his credit and has played, recorded with, or produced a number of artists including Dave Grusin, Lionel Richie, Anastacia, Mark Anthony, Jewel, Roberta Flack, Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Noel Pointer, Angela Bofill and Chuck Loeb. He also writes music for TV.
The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band
The B.B.& Q. Band are best remembered for Malavasi’s hypnotic floorfiller “On The Beat” (#3 Billboard’s Disco/Dance Chart; #8 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart), a joyous dance groove driven by funky rhythm guitars and slick percussion, and utilizing multi-vocal overlays. It was the opening track on the spectacularly good debut release The
Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band, released in August of 1981. Though critically acclaimed by disco freaks, their first album never exploded in the US. In 1982 the B.B.& Band toured in the US in support of their debut album. The touring band comprised 9 members including Kevin Nance (keyboards), Wali Ali Muhammad a.k.a. Abdul Wali (guitar), Ethel Beatty (background vocals), Skip Anderson (keyboards), Ike Floyd (lead vocals), Meli'sa Morgan (background vocals), Paris Ford a.k.a. Peewee Ford (bass), Kevin Robinson (guitar, vocals) and Dwayne Perdue (drums) (see photo below). The band were opening act for Teddy Pendergrass and The Commodores and toured with Patti LaBelle and Parliament/Funkadelic.
On tour: Kevin Nance, Wali Ali Muhammad, Ethel Beatty, Skip Anderson, Ike Floyd, Meli'sa Morgan, Paris (Peewee) Ford, Kevin Robinson
B.B.&Q. Band 1981
B.B.&Q. Band 1981
Record World Magazine, July 25, 1981
A possible source of inspiration for the cover artwork by graphic designers Don Battershall and Roland Young: The 1940 issue of the annual book "Photographie", published by Arts et Métiers Graphiques magazine, Paris.
The unpretentious excitement of “On The Beat” made the song the best dance anthem of 1981 and a Top Ten R&B hit. The magic of this street-party song is that the beat is never heard –it is felt– so that listeners’ feet are kept moving while their ears are free to concentrate on other parts of the song. A punctuated, Chicesque melody leads into a call-and-response pattern in which the lead singer answers the background vocalists, much like the bridge on Temperton’s “Boogie Nights”. And the lyric, like Temperton’s “Give Me The Night”, celebrates the virtues of music and dancing: “Nobody has a care/’Cause there’s music in the air/It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before”. There is no yearning for strobe lights or gold chains here. Instead, when the vocalists sing “Are you ready or not/It’s only up the street/Everybody’s dancing/And everybody’s on the beat”, they seem to be talking about an all-night party going on under the
nearest lamppost. To support the single an inevitable video clip was shot but oddly enough rejected by the label executives at Capitol Records.This album also included “Starlette” which carries the common “treasure the ordinary things in life” theme too, but sounds fresh thanks to some dazzling vocal interplay. The song has two choruses with the vocals perky on one and aggressive on the other, and they converge at the end of the song to create overwhelming exhilaration.
Engaging vocals also makes the swift and elegant “Mistakes” hard to resist. The chorus carries an ABA rhyme scheme, but it is so catchy and the singers so inseparable from each note that the second line sounds like it rhymes with the first and third anyway. The melody changes at the end of the song and the chorus turns into a rap, but the song is so cohesively crafted that when the original chorus returns, it never seems to have left.
In contrast to the immediate appeal of the former three songs, the subtleness of the classy mid-tempo “Time For Love” (#72 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart) takes several listens to become accustomed to. The title is sung and followed by another spare guitar riff, and then not much seems to happen. But like Change’s “Hold Tight”, “Time For Love” weaves its way in listeners’ minds so that by the fifth or sixth listen, the song becomes permanently embedded.The whole set of The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band is filled with lots of hard-stepping guitar, bass, and keyboard bits that propel the tunes with snappingly catchy rhythms throughout.
The tempo slows on the graceful ballads “Don’t Say Goodbye” and “Lovin’s What We Should Do”, all composed by Petrus' Italian musicians Malavasi, Romani, Tansini and Trevisi. Especially “Don’t Say Goodbye” is not a token ballad thrown in just to give dancers a chance to catch their breath. A foreboding piano permeates the song, and when lead singer Ike Floyd (see photo) sings “And I don’t know what
I’m gonna do/Next time I see you”, the listener can feel the fear and confusion. A synthesizer break melts into a pleading saxophone solo, which further succeeds in the almost impossible task of bringing the listener down from the incredible high of “On The Beat”. There’s even a reggae tune, “I’ll Cut You Loose”, which is a change of pace
and pleasant surprise.The compelling and clever lyrics written by Tanyayette Willoughby and Paul Slade raised the music to the highest level of disco songcraft. A host of American top session singers handled backup, among them: Luther Vandross, Gordon Grody, Fonzi Thornton, Bobby Douglas, Diva Gray and Robin Clark. Petrus, Malavasi and
company came up with another wonderful album, targeted both for the dancefloor and pop and R&B radio, devoid of mechanized garishness and bursting with vigor, proving once again that music for the feet and music for the mind do not have to be separate entities.B.B.& Q. Band's immortal dance anthem "On The Beat" generated a second moment of radio and club interest in 1987 when the subtle remix "On The Beat - 87 Bronx Mix" was released on the Streetheat label. An updated version that stayed very close to the original.
Kevin Nance, Ike Floyd, Paris 'PeeWee' Ford, Abdul Wali Mohammed and Dwayne Perdue
B.B.&Q. Band 1981
B.B.&Q. Band 1981
All Night Long
The group's sophomore set All Night Long, released in September of 1982, was a good follow-up brimming with pop potential on "Imagination", "All Night Long" and "The Things We Do In Love". The record featured guitar-player Kevin Robinson on steady lead vocals. The album mixed up some nice keyboards with a spacey early breakdance sound, sounding great over the group's tight rhythm, and surprisingly soulful vocals. All Night Long was a richly-varied, multi-textured vocal/instrumental showcase but lacked an instant smash hit single to propel the record.
Chieli Minucci and the late Johnny Kemp Jr.
Six Million Times
After two enjoyable albums, it seemed as if the producers had run out of ideas and inspiration. To Petrus & Malavasi standards Six Million Times was a disappointing shot. This project, co-produced by groupmember Kevin Robinson, obviously lacked decent songmaterial and creative direction. Did Petrus & Malavasi hold back the quality songs for their other projects? The reality was that Petrus' Italian musicians stopped supplying successfull compositions as the good understanding with their boss was completely missing. As soon as Fred Petrus started using a lot of songs by outside writers, the quality of the music really suffered.
Petrus faced serious economical problems in 1983 and Six Million Times was produced with a tiny budget during five weeks at the Umbi-Maison Blanche studios in the countryside of Modena. The quartet of B.B.&Q. Band (photo right) incuded Chieli Minucci, Kevin Robinson, Tony Bridges and Bernard Davis who was absent during the photoshoot of the former album. Most of the album's songs came from the American groupmember Kevin Robinson, who co-wrote several tracks with NYC top musician Howard King (D-Train, Stephanie Mills, Mtume, The Strangers, Candy Bowman, Karin Jones, Network). Both Robinson and King played in the band of Mtume. They would also join forces to produce the Network project in 1984. Fred gave Kevin Robinson a great deal of freedom to experiment with his creativity and bring up new contemporary ideas.
The long-player didn't yield any real highlights though. "Keep It Hot" and the totally redundant Beatles tune “She’s A Woman” were the only singles off the album. “Keep It Hot” was composed by Malavasi and reminisced the techno-funk floorfiller "Let It Whip" by the Dazz Band. In its tight electronic rhythm track and choppy vocals it beared the stylistic approach of their 1982 hit "Imagination". Also "Six Million Times" was influenced by the electro-funk of Dazz Band and Midnight Star. “Stay” represented
yet another enjoyable moment on a weak album otherwise. Cuts like "We've Got To Do It" or “Downtowne” offered an upbeat contemporary R&B sound with lots of bass and synths in the instrumentation, but they couldn’t excite. "She's A Passionate Lover" heavily flirted with the Minneapolis funk of Prince and The Time. The boys of the B.B.&Q. Band were wild about this hybrid sound that combined funk, rock, pop, synthpop and New Wave. Producing an R&B/funk hit seemed not achievable however.
Whereas the initial B.B.& Q. productions benefited of strong disco compositions and irresistible melodies, Six Million Times suffered of average songs dipped in the heavier kind of electro-funk arrangements that marked many of the dancefloor productions of 1983 and after. But unlike their contemporaries Midnight Star, The Time, D-Train, S.O.S. Band, The System or Kashif, the B.B.&Q. Band scored no hits in 1983 and the group was subsequently dropped from the Capitol roster.
Genie
B.B.& Q. Band songs and samples appear on:
* Rufige Cru: "Killa Muffin (The Band Dog Mix)" (sample: Dreamer) 12", Reinforced 1992.
* Jeff Redd: “Dreamer” (song: Dreamer) from Down Low, MCA, 1994.
* Nitebreeds: “Everybody's On The Beat” (sample: On The Beat) 12", Lightning Records, 1998.
* Seduced: “On Da Beat” (sample: On The Beat) 12", ARS Productions, 2004.
* The Alchemist: “Strength Of Pain (feat. Chinky)” (sample: Lovin's What We Should Do) from 1st Infantry, Koch, 2004.
* DJ Mehdi: “Tunisia Bambaata” (sample: Imagination) 12", Ed Banger, 2008.
* Messangers and Son Of Ran: "What Matters" (sample: Lovin's What We Should Do) from Incoming Message, Not On Label, 2008.
* Love & Mind: "Nightlounge" (sample: On The Beat) from French House Maid, 4 disco, 2010.
* Abelard: "Cheap Talk" (sample: On The Beat) from Meta Valley, 2015.
* Payroll Giovanni And Cardo Got Wings: "Where I'm" (sample: Genie) from Big Bossin' Vol. 1, BYLUG Entertainment, 2016.
* NxWorries: "Scared Money" (sample: (I Could Never Say) It's Over) from Yes Lawd!, Stones Throw, 2016.
* Le$: "Do You Feel Me" (sample: Genie) from Original Playa, SxS, 2019.
* Mere Notilde: "Love Again" (sample: Imagination) from Black One, 2019.
* Denzel Curry feat. Kiddo Marv: "Wish" (sample: Genie) from ZUU, Loma Vista, 2019.
* Bronx Cheer Feat. Anna M and Matt Cannon: "Ready Or Not" (cover: On The Beat) 12", Tall House, 2021.
HIGH FASHION
High Fashion was another of Jacques Fred Petrus bands alongside Change and B.B.&Q. Band. It was a Chic-like concept fronted by the young vocalists Meli’sa Morgan, Alyson Williams —two future urban contemporary stars— and the older Eric McClinton, all from New York. Michael Murphy, who was co-running Petrus' Little Macho office in NYC from 1980 until 1983, came up with the suitable name High Fashion.
The blend of relative youthfulness with seasoned experience worked very well. Alyson Williams was a sought-after session vocalist who had worked on a long list of projects including The B.B.&Q. Band, Melba Moore and Unlimited Touch. She was the daughter of bandleader/trumpeter Bobby Booker. Meli'sa Morgan also was a renowned backing singer on the New York soul scene and had recorded with Kleeer, Weeks & Co. and Leroy Burgess. She was part of the New York female group Shades Of Love, best known for the popular club hit “Keep In Touch (Body To Body)”, recorded in 1982 and produced/written by Patrick Adams. The girls knew each other from Under The Stairs, Mikell's or The Cellar, all famous clubs in uptown Manhattan on Columbus Avenue, where they sang in funk groups comprising musicians like Mike Campbell, Johnny Kemp, Timmy Allen and Kevin Robinson. The link to Freddie Petrus and his Little Macho Music production company was self-evident... Meli'sa Morgan was even a backing vocalist with the B.B.&Q. Band live group in 1982. Eric McClinton, whose smooth soulful masculine vocals accented High Fashion's sound, first hit the music scene in the mid-sixties as Eric & The Vikings and recorded with his group for various labels until 1973. In the mid-seventies he turned up as a part of the one-time duo Eryke & Arronette. In 1979 he worked together with Mike Theodore –co-producer of High Fashion’s first album– as a singer with the Mike Theodore Orchestra. McClinton also recorded with Jimi Hendrix, Gladys Knight, George Duke and Flora Purim.
High Fashion 1982
Feelin' Lucky
High Fashion's highly acclaimed first album Feelin’ Lucky was released on Capitol records in June of 1982. The High Fashion trio tastefully delivered the musical plan of producers Petrus & Malavasi, with the creative aid of the immensely talented Kashif, Mike Theodore, Dennis Coffey and Fonzi Thornton. The result was a vocal vitality with the music to back it up. Feelin’ Lucky offers sublime dancefloor material steeped in the quality tradition of eighties groove with flair, finesse and panache. The high gloss vocals by trio members Eric McClinton, Alyson Williams and Meli'sa Morgan, worked extremely well as they complemented the mostly uptempo arrangements. The sound of the album was slick but rarely was it soulless.
Killer track on Feelin’ Lucky was the irresistible feel-good single “Feelin’ Lucky Lately” (#32 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart). This awesome synth-laden disco hit, written by
Malavasi, Davide Romani and Fonzi Thornton, perfectly illustrates the elegant and sophisticated dance music of the Italians. The song interestingly features on the exciting soundtrack to "Pose [Season 1]" (2018). Pose is an American television drama series about New York ball culture, an LGBTQ subculture in the African-American and Latino communities, throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Kashif composed three songs, among which the infectious, upbeat “Hold On” and “Next To You”. Perfectly in line with Petrus' wicked style, Kashif revealed he was never compensated for his songwriting, backing vocals, playing and duties as assistant producer. Meli’sa Morgan co-wrote the track “You’re The Winner” together with bassist Kevin Jenkins. Jenkins explained that Fred Petrus bought the song, paid them in cash and only ever used the bassline. Other tracks of interest included the soulful gems “When The Lover Strikes” and “I Want To Be Your Everything” —another strong Kashif song— which made the album complete.
The brilliant keyboardist and co-producer Kashif developed a complete new synth-based music style that revolutionized R&B music. Around that same time he was already a very in demand musician, songwriter, arranger and producer who could be heard on releases by Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Tavares, Geraldine Hunt, Pleasure, Average White Band, Passion, Howard Johnson and Melba Moore. In 1983 Kashif went on to fame and fortune as a solo artist and remained ubiquitous as a songwriter and producer throughout the '80s and early '90s (George Benson, Kenny G, Meli’sa Morgan, Lillo Thomas, Fonzi Thornton, Nona Hendryx, Stacy Lattisw, Giorge Pettus, Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston, Johnny Kemp, etc.).
On Sat. April 27th, 2024, High Fashion did a concert in Lyon (Vienne), France. The organiser was La Grande Nuit De La Funk A Lyon. The two original R&B divas of High Fashion, Alyson Williams and Meli'sa Morgan, were joined by 80s veteran Cliff Dawson who replaced the actual singer Eric McClinton. This was the very first time that High Fashion performed all their songs of the Feelin' Lucky album. Meli'sa Morgan reacted on Facebook: "The first album produced the hits “Feelin' Lucky Lately" and “You're The Winner", which I am a co-songwriter on. Well, even with those hits, I kinda felt the group was not for me. In 1982 High Fashion did not tour or do any shows or music videos. So, I left the group because I wanted to be an artist who toured and did gigs, TV appearances, etc. I always felt that we never did justice to the group High Fashion. We had songs in the Billboard charts but nobody ever saw us perform the hits or any song of that debut album as a matter of fact! Well, we got a chance to change that in Lyon! We finally grabbed the opportunity to be on stage with a live band as the group… High Fashion!".
Make Up Your Mind
High Fashion released a second album Make Up Your Mind in 1983, featuring the singles "Make Up Your Mind" and “Break Up”, the fat electro-funk groove “Pump On The Pipe”, the gentle and soulful “Just A Little More Love”, “You Satisfy My Needs”, "A Little More Time" and “Show Me”. Title track "Make Up Your Mind" finds its male lead mostly in the low register, laying down the line to a lover with another. The production is sparing, with percussive keyboard and moaning lead guitar cries infrequently flitting through a fuzzy bass-led electronic beat. Steady female backup voices on the chorus hold down pent-up emotions as the tune proceeds. But only a few of the album tracks, including "Just A Little More Love" that was written by Timmy Allen and Kevin Robinson, "Show Me", co-written by Mtume’s Tawatha Agee and the Brass Construction-like “Pump On The Pipe”, matched the quality of their outstanding previous release. The set had electro-soul arrangements very similar to Change but the overall song collection was of lesser quality than the debut record. Background singer Marcella Allen was brought in to replace Mel’isa Morgan. This production was backed up by the members of the B.B.&Q. Band. The sales of Make Up Your Mind were however embarrassing and the group was dissolved.
High Fashion 1983
After the High Fashion projects Meli’sa Morgan and Alyson Williams enjoyed personal success as solo artists. Meli’sa Morgan released her co-written debut Do Me Baby in 1986 on Capitol records. A remake of Prince's "Do Me Baby" yielded a number one R&B hit. Morgan notched two more Top Ten R&B singles: "Do You Still Love Me?" and "If You Can Do It, I Can Too" before moving on to Arista Records in 1987 and hitting with a duet with Kashif ("Love Changes") that reached the number two spot on the R&B charts. After Arista she went with Pendulum Records. Alyson Williams fronted the act The Affair feat. Alyson after her time with High Fashion, a session group including Gwen Guthrie. The Affair released the single "Please Don't Break My Heart" on Easy Street in 1985. In 1989 she signed with Def Jam and delivered Raw including "Sleep Talk" (#3 Billboard R&B Charts). But her solo career ran out of gas in the late '90s. On the Def Jam label, in addition to solo work, she paired with Chuck Stanley on "Make You Mine Tonight" and Oran "Juice" Jones on "How to Love Again." Eric McClinton contributed backing vocals to other Little Macho Music projects, including the B.B.& Q. Band's Six Million Times record and Change's This Is Your Time set. After High Fashion split he turned up twice on Atlantic, in the incarnations of Ze-Brass ("Feels So Good") in 1983 and Deep (“A Good Thing Is So Hard To Find”) in 1985. Both projects were produced by Nicky Kalliongis who had worked as an engineer at the Media Sound studios on several Change and B.B.& Q. Band recording sessions.
ZINC
During the prolific summer of 1982 the powerhouse team of Jacques Fred Petrus & Mauro Malavasi released a string of premium productions. Five hot R&B albums by Change, Ritchie Family, B.B.&Q. Band, High Fashion and Zinc hit the streets, along with a straight pop LP by Silence. Zinc’s Street Level was the final record to leave the Little Macho Music factory that year and a bit of an oddity in the catalogue. Actually it became their last achievement to be entirely fabricated in NYC, before stormy weather would afflict the very Italian soul of Little Macho Music.
With
the Zinc concept, Petrus & Malavasi explored new musical territory and
attempted to infiltrate a radically changing dance music scene with a revamped
“street level” sound. They noticed that pop music had taken the gravity center
of radio programming and DJ culture. Party people danced to the beats of Men At Work, Tom Tom Club, Robert Palmer, Talking Heads, Simple Minds, B-52’s and Yazoo. Even if the funky Little Macho Music signature sound was all over the album,
the music style was still pretty
avant-garde. Zinc belonged to the heavier, more idiosyncratic productions of Little Macho Music. Several tracks on Street Level demonstrated the impact of standard pop and new wave
music in those days, flirting with a colder rock sonority. One album cut was
even entitled “Punkulation”! Zinc was probably one of the most curious records of the Little Macho Music catalog. In an interview lead singer Gordon Grody admitted the significance of ‘80s pop back then: “One major influence for Zinc
was the British superstar band The Police. Their effect is obvious
on the Malavasi-Gianolio song “Livin’ In The Boogie Now", mixing white reggae with new wave and funk." The popular American duo Hall & Oates, who combined the best of both rock and R&B, and the funky synth-pop of the British twosome The Quick more than probably provided inspiration as well.
Zinc wasn’t a real band but just the façade for yet another tasty studio creation instigated by the Italian duo Jacques Fred Petrus & Mauro Malavasi. The cover artwork –designed by Howard Fritzson– displayed a glamorous NYC street scene, with the group’s firm metallic name tagged in quicksilver lettering. Zinc was an experimental fusion of glossy uptown R&B and cool rebellious rock: where the beat meets the street, as the cover subtly hinted at. The studio group was composed of American and Italian session musicians led by the inevitable Malavasi. The producing and arranging abilities of Mauro Malavasi and the great musicianship of Little Macho Music core member Davide Romani once more shone through on this record. Petrus enlisted the old acquaintances Tanya Willoughby and Fonzi Thornton to provide the song lyrics. Acclaimed singer Gordon Grody (see photo right) fronted Zinc. His more neutral voice seemed adequate for the experiment. He was actually a white male vocalist with the looks of a young rock God and this again emphasized the radical nature of the project from previous Petrus-Malavasi efforts. Grody was a busy studio cat, whose reputation arose in the NYC session scene during the ’70s disco craze. Vocal contributions can be heard on albums by Vicki Sue Robinson, T. Life, Meco, Lemon, Gregg Diamond …. His one solo album Exclusively Yours was released in 1977 on the RCA label. Subsequently the vocal chameleon recorded with heavyweights David Bowie, Debbie Harry, George Benson, Steely Dan, Patti Austin, Change, Sting, Phil Collins, Cyndi Lauper, Carly Simon and Talking Heads among others. Gordon Grody happened to live in the same building in Manhattan Petrus did, right across the hall. No wonder his talent was easily spotted by the Italian clique. Grody’s involvement with Little Macho Music went back to 1980 when he provided leads for Macho II. Jacques Fred Petrus also hired him as the singer of the pop outfit Silence for two albums. Today Grody is a much solicited and experienced voice/songwriting/performance coach who has worked with Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga and many more. “Livin’ In The Boogie Now” featured lead vocalist Steve Daniels who formerly appeared on records of Revanche, Rudy and Change. He also was the drummer and one of the lead singers of the band Platinum Hook.
Despite the suitable Jive label and a line-up of top musicians delivering a brilliant product, the Zinc effort was not the anticipated winner and proved that the poppy target market didn't bite. During a recent interview, background singer Bobby Douglas reflected on the album's lack of commercial appeal: “Zinc was so ahead of its time that I knew this wasn't going to be well received, because it was so much better than the schlock that was playing on the radio at the time.” And he added: “It was popularly believed that Zinc would be a kick off boost for the underrated Gordon Grody…Petrus talked about having Grody do the tour or lead the act when the record hit…But no such luck...”
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Ritchie Family
RITCHIE FAMILY
The Ritchie Family consisted of the disco diva trio Vera Brown, Jacqueline Smith-Lee and Theodosia ‘Dodie’ Draher. They were in fact the second line up of this iconic disco act. Vera Brown formerly sang in the group of the Philly soul singer David Simmons and recorded with producer Butch Ingram.
Their famous disco producers Jacques Morali & Henri Belolo (Ritchie Family, The Village People, Patrick Juvet) left the comforts of Casablanca Records in 1982, around the time when label founder Neil Bogart had passed away from cancer. They took The Ritchie Family to RCA Records for their next album I'll Do My Best. RCA promoted the group well but remember that The Ritchie Family had been really spoiled by Casablanca Records. Morali & Belolo submitted their act to the successful sound of Little Macho Music in favor of Brazilian producer Eumir Deodato (Kool & The Gang, Con Funk Shun, Kleeer, One Way, Juicy) who had been approached originally.
Ritchie Familiy singer Dodie Draher recalled memories: "I remember meeting the label executives and different songwriters, like the fabulous Eumir Deodato. He was a Brazilian pianist, composer, record producer and arranger most famous for his work with Kool & The Gang. Initially we spent some time with him, going through music, conceptualizing a new sound and such. We thought he was going to be the primary writer for this RCA venture, so we were very, very excited about the possibility of working with such an incredible, succesful musician. But then that never came to fruition."
Instead Jacques Fred Petrus was brought in to produce The Ritchie Family's excellent top 40 R&B album I’ll Do My Best for the Morali & Belolo company Can’t Stop Productions. Both Jacques Fred Petrus and the team of Jacques Morali & Henri Belolo were French and this made the agreement pretty easy. Fred Petrus utilized his longtime writing companion Mauro Malavasi and Little Macho Music associated writers like Herb Smith to compose the songs on the RCA album. Fonzi Thornton, an up- and-coming funk artist on the label, co-produced the vocal tracks. Dodie Drager recollected: "We were very excited by the material they eventually came up with because now we got to do something different. We were able to use our abilities in another area, in another genre –and that made us extremely happy. I really love that album. The single "I'll Do My Best (For You Baby)" crossed us over more into pop and R&B territory and we enjoyed having the chance to expand our audience. Had we stayed with the pure disco sound –that would have been fine too, trust me– we would have made it work! But then the business heads didn't want to gamble on disco."
This Ritchie Family project
surprised because it wasn’t fluffy or too over the top but very funky and substantial which wasn’t in line with their previous disco output. Their sound changed to more of a dance/R&B style to reflect the times. That was for survival because of the post-disco backlash effect. To keep up with the trends in Black music it was necessary to adopt a contemporary mode and a more soulful perception.
Mauro Malavasi supervised the project and the Italian-born Philadelphia arranger/producer Giuliano Salerni took care of the artistic production. Salerni had previously composed, arranged and produced the disco projects Ultimate and Hi-Gloss. The Hi-Gloss group comprised incidentally Timmy Allen (of group Change) on bass and Kae Williams (B.B.&Q. Band) on keyboards. Salerni also successfully arranged and mixed for Geraldine Hunt ("Can't Fake The Feeling") and France Joli (album Now!).
The first single was the brilliant title track “I’ll Do My Best (For You Baby)” (#27 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart; #17 Billboard’s Disco/Dance Chart). The song was co-written by Fonzi Thornton, Malavasi and Salerni and carried the recognizable Malavasi signature sound. The club hit "I'll Do My Best (For You Baby)" was the first time The Ritchie Family enjoyed R&B airplay and clubplay simultaneously in several years. The other tracks were "This Love's On Me", the very melodious “One And Only”, the sweet ballad "You Can Always Count On Me", the smooth cover “Walk With Me” which was originally released by Valerie Horton-Brown in 1981, the irresistible floorshaker “Alright On The Night”, "Tonight I Need To Have Your Love" and "You've Got Me Dancin'".
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The heavy workload for Little Macho Music in 1982 forced Fred Petrus to outsource a great deal of the project's songwritings. Unfamiliar but seasoned names like Zenobia Conkerite, David Rose, Jerry Marcellino, Winston Gay, Trevor Veitch and Greg Mathieson were enlisted to compose tracks. Besides “I’ll Do My Best (For You Baby)”, none of the songs were written by inside components of Little Macho Music. Just four tracks were published by Little Macho Music, three of which were supplied by the American guitar player Herb Smith who also co-wrote "The Very Best In You" for Change.
Petrus' musicians —including Mauro Malavasi and Timmy Allen of Change— and a handful of session professionals like Ira Siegel, Herb Smith, Yogi Horton, Kae Williams Jr. and Terry Silverlight simply carried out the songs, providing them with the characteristic texture and elegant style of the Little Macho Music productions.
SILENCE
During the early 80s, Italo-disco pioneer Celso Valli was involved in several rock oriented but commercially less successful Little Macho Music projects. When disco was definitely on the wane, Fred Petrus attempted to cash in on dance-pop and new wave styles that were invading the music market and the clubs. MTV, which was launched in 1981, heavily promoted new wave and synth-pop music, boosting the genre's popularity in the United States. That format moved closer to dance music and included acts like Yazoo, The Police, Duran Duran, The Human League, Depeche Mode, The Cure and Wham!. Not to mention that other "purple" phenomenon, called Prince, who revolutionised the laws of the dance floor on his own during the young 80s.
Two years after the second Macho record, Jacques Fred Petrus engaged Valli again to compose and produce the Silence album Goodtime Baby, which was released in 1982. Earlier Celso Valli had written, arranged and directed Italo bombs as Tantra, Azoto, Passengers, Elite, Nuggets and V.I.S.A. which helped secure his reputation as master producer of the Euro-synthdisco genre.
The music Valli created for Silence was no dancefloor material however, but solid radio pop with straight rock arrangements sometimes. The only track that benefited from Celso Valli’s distinctive Italo synth-touch was the interesting
single cut “Midnight Visitors (Silence)”. Just like on the Macho II project the vocals were provided by the NYC-top session singer Gordon Grody.
The record was taped at the Fonoprint studios where the whole Little Macho Music musician family contributed: Davide Romani, Paolo Gianolio, Doc Powell, Terry Silverlight, Gabriele Melotti, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Maurizio Biancani and Rudy Trevisi. The N.Y.C. studio singers Diva Gray, Robin Clark, David L. Byron, Tom Bernfeld and Kurt Yagian provided the background vocals. All vocals were recorded and mixed at Media Sound in New York City. For the English lyrics Petrus relied on the songwriters Paul Slade and Carlotta McKee. The album producers were Jacques Fred Petrus, Mauro Malavasi and Celso Valli. But Petrus had trouble selling the album to labels. It only got a release on the Italian label Memory Records and the Mexican label Peerless. As the vital distribution mechanism failed, the record came and went unnoticed. For the cover artwork Petrus hired artist Greg Porto who designed a sober square geometric concept.
former Power Station Studios NYC - Studio C
RECORDING STUDIOS
From 1978 until 1981 the material for the studio groups was generally recorded at the Fonoprint Studios in Bologna (Italy) and occasionally at the Stone Castle Studios near Milan (Italy). In 1983 and 1984 several productions were recorded in Modena at the Umbi Studio "Maison Blanche". The 1985 recordings took place in Carimate (Milan) at the Morning
Studios (formerly the Stone Castle Studios) and in Modena at the Umbi Studios "Maison Blanche".
In 1982 New York was the place of action for the entire recording process. All the vocals of Petrus' various projects and the 1982 sessions were recorded and mixed in New York at the infamous Sigma Sound, Media Sound, Power Station and Sorcerer Sound Studios. Sigma Sound is well known for the many recordings for Philadelphia International Records, Salsoul Records and Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra. The mastering occurred at Sterling Sound, Atlantic Studios and Masterdisk in NYC. The vocals for Change’s Change Of Heart set were exceptionally recorded at Creation Audio Studio in Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis' home town Minneapolis in 1984.
The main recording engineers involved were Maurizio Biancani and the New York-based mixer Michael H. Brauer. Biancani saw the biggest Italian stars pass by in his Fonoprint studio: Vasco Rossi, Lucio Dalla, F.R. David, Miguel Bosé, Fun Fun, Loredana Berté, Matia Bazar, Stadio, Luca Carboni, Ron, Zucchero, Laura Pausini, Angelo Branduardi, Mario Biondi, Paolo Conte,… Brauer's credits encompass a wide range of genres, and include The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Ben Folds, John Mayer, Jeff Lorber, The Kooks, Sade, Terence Trent D'Arby, Regina Belle, Bruce Springsteen, Roxette, Pet Shop Boys, Phil Collins, Madness, Evelyn King, Luther Vandross, Level 42, Aerosmith, ...
During the early Eighties American musicians cut demos for Little Macho Music at the facilities of Northcott Productions Ltd. on Broadway in NYC with engineer Matthew Noble.
Matt Noble recalled: "I was the engineer for many of the demos that were cut at Northcott from 1981-1983 with many of the Little Macho Music-associated musicians. The de facto producers for most of the songs were Timmy Allen and Kevin Robinson. It was quite an education for me. They were very influenced by Prince's songwriting and production during that period. We were working with very crude studio tools at the time...a Tascam 8 track half inch recorder with a Tascam 8 channel mixer, a few Shure SM 57 microphones and one piece of outboard gear...a stereo Soundcraftsman 12 band graphic equalizer. This was before the dawn of MIDI but most of the tracks were cut with a click track and drum parts were often done over many times. The studio didn't have any synths or drum machines but someone left an Oberheim OBX synthesizer behind that we used a lot. The level of songwriting and musicianship was extremely high in that group of people working for J.F. Petrus. Mike Campbell was mainly on board for the funky rhythm guitar parts. Bernard Davies played on quite a few of the tracks but there was at least one other drummer that they used. Jeff Bova and Steve Skinner were both on the cutting edge of synths and could also really play. The stand out guitarist was Chieli Minucci...we later cut some demos there that got him his record deal for his group "Special FX". There were some great singers in there as well, such as Lisa Fischer and James 'Crab' Robinson."
Also Kevin Robinson remembered the sessions at Northcott: "We used Northcott in those days to work on song ideas and develop a presentation for Fred, who needed to hear things as close to finished as possible because he wasn't a musician like many of us, who could image a finished product. There were no Italian musicians working with us, that was only during the first Change and B.B.&Q. Band albums. Davide and Mauro would come to NY to participate in the production of some of the albums and at times bring tracks that they had prepared. These were not collaborations, other than Americans writing lyrics for tracks that Mauro or Davide wrote and produced."
Michael H. Brauer
STUDIO MUSICIANS & STUDIO SINGERS
1982 was a very busy and productive year for the Italians who recorded five outstanding albums in New York. The Goody
Music Production stable used the services of the cream of America's studio musicians, composers and lyricists.
Steady contributors at that time were Timmy Allen (bass, vocals, songwriting), Michael Campbell (guitar), Kevin Robinson (guitar, vocals, songwriting), Kashif (keyboards, synthesizers, songwriting) (see photo), Steve Robin (keyboards, synthesizers), Jeff Bova (keyboards, synthesizers), Ira Siegel (guitar), Kae Williams (keyboards, synthesizers, songwriting), Alfonso ‘Fonzi’ Thornton (vocal-arranger, songwriter),
Terry Silverlight (drums) (see B/W photo), Yogi Horton (drums), Buddy Williams (drums), Bernard Davis (drums), Barry Eastmond (keyboards, synthesizers), Herb Smith (guitar, songwriting) and Hiram Bullock (guitar).
The hired musicians and backing vocalists did their jobs but had no idea on which album their work was going to end up. When they played on tracks it was usually before vocals were done, so many times they didn't know who ultimately the track would be for. They were in total darkness playing their small, but important role within certain directions by Petrus, Malavasi and Romani who always had the last word about the final result. They could be working on three different projects at once without knowing. As the songs took shape the producers began to get a sense of who it might suit best and crafted it to suit who it was being pitched to. Only the Italians saw the whole picture. It was several months later that the artists would hear their contributions when the songs finally hit the stores and dancefloors on different albums. "Not knowing what song was for what project was a pain because you never knew if you would get the credit for your work", singer Bobby Douglas reminded.
The soulful background harmonies for the Petrus & Malavasi productions were performed by a trusty crew of the
finest New York session singers including Norma Jean Wright, Jocelyn Brown, Luther Vandross, Diva Gray, Robin Clark, Bobby Douglas (see photo), Gordon Grody, Tawatha Agee, Ullanda McCullough, Michelle Cobbs, Eric McClinton, Alfonso ‘Fonzi’ Thornton, Johnny Kemp and Leroy Burgess. Many of them also happened to be core background vocalists on numerous Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers productions (Chic, Sister Sledge, Diana Ross) and some achieved remarkable solo careers.
Jacques Fred Petrus & Mauro Malavasi can be considered as the Godfathers of the NY sound. Expertly crafted background vocals were one of the essential elements of the unique NY sound.
Norma Jean Wright
COMPOSERS AND LYRICISTS
First-class productions require great songs. Driving force Mauro Malavasi took the lion’s share of the composing credits. The number of disco gems he realised is amazing and encompasses all the projects he instigated together with Petrus.
Goody Music/Little Macho Music staff musician, writer and arranger Davide Romani also provided most valuable contributions as composer (Change, High Fashion, B.B.&Q. Band, Zinc, Peter Jacques Band). Other credited composers were Rudy Trevisi (Rudy, Change, B.B.&Q. Band, Zinc, High Fashion), Paolo Gianolio (Rudy, Change, Zinc), Marco Tansini (Midnight Gang, B.B.&Q.
Band, The Jumpers, Silence 2, Tato, Peter Jacques Band, Gianni Riso), Celso Valli (Silence, Silence 2, Macho II, Change), Jacques Fred Petrus (Change, High Fashion, Revanche, Peter Jacques Band), Kashif (High Fashion, Zinc) (picture), Kevin Robinson (B.B.&Q. Band, High Fashion), Herb Smith (Change, Ritchie Family), Kae Williams (B.B.&Q. Band, Change), Len Boone (see photo) & Larry La Falce (Change), Chieli Minucci (High Fashion, Change), Timmy Allen (Change, B.B.&Q. Band, High Fashion) and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (Change).
Paul A. Slade
The English lyrics were provided by talented British and American song authors such as Alan Taylor and Paul Slade.
Taylor was an English
musician (bass), songwriter, music arranger and producer, born in Halifax (UK) on 28th February 1947 (photo right). He was Petrus’ solid lyricist during the 70's (Rudy, Revanche, Macho, Peter Jacques Band). Alan Taylor came to Italy with the beat band The Casuals during the '60s and was involved in countless Italian Seventies pop and disco projects like Tantra, Niky Bibesco And The Studios, Bingo, Cassandra, Barbados Climax, Chatelaine, Passengers, Paciugo, Ping Pong, The Yorkshire, Nuggets, Vasco Rossi, Bulldog, V.I.S.A. 
and Elizabeth. He often collaborated with Celso Valli who lived in Emilia-Romagna as he did. They worked together on Taylor's solo pop single "Song For Magdalena", released in 1977.
Petrus' prolific ’80s lyricist was the British musician and singer/songwriter Paul A. Slade (see interview section), born in Guildford, Surrey (UK) on 27th May 1950 (Peter Jacques Band, B.B.&Q. Band, Change, High Fashion, Silence, Silence 2, Macho II). Other credited songwriters were Wayne Garfield (Change) (see photo left), Frank Floyd (Peter Jacques Band, Macho, The Jumpers), Timmy Allen (Change, High Fashion), Tanyayette Willoughby (B.B.&Q. Band, Zinc, Change), Alfonso ‘Fonzi’ Thornton (Zinc, Change, High Fashion), Johnny Kemp (B.B.&Q. Band, Change) and Leroy Burgess (Change).
THE DECLINE OF LITTLE MACHO MUSIC
During the period 1978-1981 the Petrus & Malavasi productions charted consistently. Acclaimed but commercially less successful releases in 1982 and especially 1983 showed that the hit pattern became difficult to maintain. Petrus' fortune was built on the exciting tail end of disco music but this era was rapidly melting down into the days of dance pop, a style of music which holded completely different
elements from black music.
The warm and melodic sound didn't have its usual appeal in the clubs where synthpop, new wave and colder electronic music were preferred. People danced to the sounds of The Cure, Thompson Twins, New Order, O.M.D., Kajagoogoo, Spandau Ballet, Captain Sensible, Soft Cell, Culture Club and Billy Idol.
Other contestants who took the stage were fresh superstars like Madonna, Prince, Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson who started ruling the Billboard dance charts. In Europe Italo-dance productions became very popular on the dancefloor as well: Ryan Paris, Righeira, Gary Low, Gazebo, P. Lion, Valerie Dore, Ken Laszlo, My Mine, Steve Allen, Baltimora, etcetera.
Many disco artists and black musicians lost their focal point and were left at the mercy of the whims of pop music. This shift in the music industry influenced the quality of black popular music drastically and announced the era of pop-dominated dance music. Sale figures dropped and many musicians of Petrus’ Italian staff decided to leave as a result of an increasing economic commotion. Musicians didn't get paid anymore by Petrus who was clearly struggling the recession at his Little Macho Music company. He took the whole earnings away just for him and was less and less generous towards his production team whose enthusiasm waned accordingly. In the end none of his Italian co-workers proposed him any song material. Petrus could no more rely on the creative nerve of his Italian musicians. His well of success dried up! The only songs they carried out came from the American inside components of the various groups like Change, High Fashion or The B.B.&Q. Band, that were not able to write hits. The quality was often scarce and this trend penalized the productions always more. The once efficient trident Jacques Fred Petrus - Mauro Malavasi - Davide Romani came under intense pressure.
The chain production dynamic that Petrus liked so much began to take its toll. Malavasi and Romani spent long exhausting months locked up in recording studios in N.Y.C. during 1982. In the long run it was no surprise that Malavasi didn’t want to go on with Petrus in these circumstances. He quit due to disagreements about the musical direction and above all due to the financial conflict he had with his business partner. Homesickness might also have played a part in the story, since he got married in 1982... Malavasi already decided to leave the U.S. in late 1982, preferring recording at home to New York City. In the course of 1983 Mauro finally left Little
Macho Music to center on songwriting and production work for various Italian pop artists. His long-time associate Davide Romani even didn't participate in the fourth Change recording. Too worn-out by the economic debacle and the professional frictions with Petrus, he gave up his job at Little Macho Music and started a very productive career as an independent musician, arranger and producer in Italy.
Strangely enough Davide Romani never broke completely with Jacques Fred Petrus as did his friends Mauro Malavasi, Paolo Gianolio and Rudy Trevisi. Romani co-arranged the Italo-pop single "Sunlight" by M Like Moon for Petrus in 1984. He then wrote, arranged and produced the fine Italo instrumental "Living" by Island And Holiday for Little Macho Music. The last Peter Jacques Band project again reunited Romani and Petrus in the studio in 1985. Davide Romani played an integral role as composer, arranger and musician on their album Dancing In The Street. He also delivered the song “Let’s Go Together” for the last Change record, which was actually the same song as "All Right Let's Go" that he did for the Peter Jacques Band.
Businessman Petrus stayed behind and was forced to turn his gaze again to the dance music industry of Italy and France. In 1983, he insisted that the then 23 year old French producer/composer Serge Michael Bijaoui manages a label for France that he was planning to create, "Majestic Records". Bijaoui had been mentored by French Eurodisco producer Alec Constandinos who taught him everything about the record industry. But Petrus' new record label never saw the light of day...
He somehow managed to revive his flagging US company. In september 1983 he called up Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis to work on the next Change project. He clearly needed a fresh sound and made a smart move by teaming up with the ultra-hot American producer team. They had just scored huge R&B hits with The S.O.S. Band’s “Just Be Good To Me” and Cheryl Lynn’s “Encore”. The cooperation resulted in an exciting Change album in 1984, applicably entitled Change Of Heart. Jam & Lewis’s “Midas touch” very briefly compensated the loss of Malavasi and Romani.
This success proved difficult to emulate on later Little Macho Music recordings though. With the exception of the American productions for Change and B.B.&Q. Band, the output increasingly gave the impression of desperate recycling and poor artistic drive.
Petrus was well aware that pop music had taken the airwaves and he attempted to reach that segment in the music market. In 1984 he set up the second Silence project Silence 2 featuring Gordon Grody and dropped the Eurodance-pop album The Beast In Me published on the French
Flarenasch and the Italian Five Records and Speed Records labels. The record included amongst others the single “The Beast In Me”, “Angel”, “Midnite Visitor”, “Moonlight Shadow” and “So Much For Love". The tracks were recorded in Bologna (Fonoprint 
Studios) and Modena (Umbi Studios) with Celso Valli as the main force behind the music. Paolo Gianolio, Davide Romani and Gabriele 'Lele' Melotti collaborated too. It seemed as if the Goody Music Orchestra had resurrected but the truth was that the sessions had been recorded earlier in 1982 when the Little Macho Music company was still running at a brisk cruising speed. Celso Valli finished the project later on. Three of the eight songs were recycled from the first Silence album. The title track "The Beast In Me" wasn't original either and was a reprise of a song by Bonnie Pointer featured on the American dance movie soundtrack Heavenly Bodies that same year. The song "Angel" had been recorded by Change in 1983 and "Moonlight Shadow" was of course a hit by Mike Oldfield. With only two new songs on offer, it was clear that Little Macho Music wasn't going through a creative phase. The record made little impression, despite some fine revisited pop tunes and the powerful vocals of the American lead singer Gordon Grody. Gordon Grody was also featured as a vocalist on the first Silence album and the Zinc project in 1982. Petrus contracted his regular graphic designer Greg Porto to take care of the sleek geometric cover art.
Also during 1984 Petrus meagerly reintroduced the Macho concept on
the record labels Flarenasch and Five Records. He hired Kevin Robinson (B.B.& Q. Band) and Howard King to produce a new Italo-disco version of the Malavasi song “Kalimba De Luna” for his Macho III project. The track was carried out at Sound Labs in New York with familiar names like Johnny Kemp, Vincent Henry and Steve Skinner. The lead singer on Macho's "Kalimba De Luna" was a singer called Sherwin who also happened to feature on the song "State Of The Nation", produced by Little Macho Music.
Another studio moniker, Midnight Gang, from 1980 also had their name revived in 1984 for the single "Hollywood City". Besides "Hollywood City", Marco Tansini also produced the Italo-disco singles Kevin Johnson "Video Night / Child Of Tomorrow" and Sherwin “State Of The Nation” for Little Macho Music on Speed Records. "State Of The Nation" wasn't an original composition but a cover of a song by the American synth-pop group Industry, released in 1983 on Capitol Records.
“Hollywood City” and "Video Night / Child Of Tomorrow" were co-written by Simona Zanini and Marco Tansini. For an unknown reason Little Macho music published “Hollywood City” under a different name in France, as Zinc feat. Sherwin on Sneak Preview Records. This release was identical to the Italian Midnight Gang single though. Again in France the single “State Of The Nation” was released on the Sneak Preview label under the slightly different name Zinc feat. Sherwin. The song "Sunlight" by M Like Moon was a further obscure Petrus co-production in 1984 reaching minor success. Also published by Little Macho Music in 1984 on the labels Five Records and Speed Records was the 12 inch single Island And Holiday "In The Summer Time (Love Of The Common People / Living". Especially the flipside instrumental "Living" is superb Italo dance music written, arranged and produced by Davide Romani.
The Little Macho Music company shut down after the last Change album due to severe troubles with the US taxman. The decline of Petrus’ empire was irreversible. In 1985 the reanimated Peter Jacques Band and B.B.& Q. Band were housed in a new short-lived production company called Renaissance International. Fred Petrus' new publishing company in N.Y.C. was baptized Vedette International and was located at 233 West 26th Street in Manhattan.
In Italy Petrus released all his new productions on the Renaissance International record label.
Besides Change, B.B.& Q. Band and Peter Jacques Band, the Renaissance International label also released the Italo-disco singles “Crazy Boy” by Tato, a remake of the Change song "Turn On Your Radio" by Nobel, “So Decide” by Persuader and “Sunlight” by M Like Moon. The project M Like Moon had been previously released on the Ariola and Flarenash record labels in 1984. All these titles were (co-)produced by Jacques Fred Petrus. Like many Italo-disco releases they sounded stereotyped and immensely synthesized. But that cheapness and simplicity was the appeal of Italo-disco records since they were a bit like punk records: a raw and exciting energy of the most banal sounds and rhythms.
Petrus appointed the experienced Luigi 'Luis' Figini as artistic director of his new Renaissance International label. Figini was together with Malavasi one of the first Italian producers to have reached success in the U.S. and the man behind the Kano hits "I'm ready” (1979) and "Dance school" (1983) as well as Dr. Togo’s soulgem “Be Free” (1983). It was an attempt to bring back the magic of the good old days but it didn’t work out. The Renaissance company couldn't fulfill its symbolic appellation.
Surprisingly, Peter Jacques Band emerged after a five year hiatus. The album cover showed four new faces, none related to the original members of the Peter Jacques Band in 1980. The act comprised Ilto Sampaio, Betty Lami, Carin McDonald and Carmen Björnald. In analogy with the previous Peter Jacques Band line-ups, these four performers were merely the entertainment mask for a dance project and didn't sing on the album and actually never set foot in the recording studio. They were in fact models and dancers picked by Jacques Fred Petrus for the packaging of his studio act.
Their Dancing In The Street set was recorded in Milan at Carimate Castle simultaneously with the sixth album of Change. Dancing In The Street was published first and faired better in sales and clubplay than
Change’s Turn On Your Radio. Dancing In The Street was a moderate success presenting Italo-dance tunes like “Drives Me Crazy”, “This Night”, “Going Dancing Down The Street” and “Hightime”. The set also included the soul/R&B cut "All Right Let's Go" sung by Ullanda McCullough.
Ullanda’s vocal class and professionalism were to such an extent that musical director Luis Figini still recalls her performance at the Morning Studio in 1985: “She walked into the studio one day coming from New York, did the song “All Right Let’s Go” a first time to warm up her voice and the second take she did was the final, perfect version as published on the album! The recording session lasted just 20 minutes! After this impressive vocal blow she greeted everyone and went shopping in Milan...” Oddly enough this track, written by Davide Romani and Paul Slade, also appeared on the Change album as the single “Let’s Go Together” but with a different vocalist. Jacques Fred Petrus seemingly didn’t have an abundance of new material at his disposal.
Most of the tracks were composed by Jacques Fred Petrus and Davide Romani. Giovanni "Nino" Lelli and Marco Tansini each contributed a song. Tansini was a prolific songwriter and had collaborated with Jacques Fred Petrus since the early days. He composed music for Gianni Riso, Peter Jacques Band, The Jumpers, Midnight Gang, B.B.&Q. Band, Kevin Johnson, Silence, Sherwin, Tato and Nobel. Davide Romani was the prominent musician who played all the tracks and who was the actual producer of the music. Group Change performed the backing vocals together with lyricist Paul Slade. Song author Slade happened to be a good singer. He even sang lead on 4 of the published songs, uncredited and unrewarded. Paul Slade was supposed to coach the singers in the studio in Italy but found out later that his vocal parts were kept for the final cut of the album. Again a glimpse of Fred Petrus' dark side. Paul Slade's clear reaction on Facebook (30 dec. 2011) after watching a Peter Jacques Band videoclip of "Drives me Crazy" on YouTube: "Here's one of the reasons that I put a distance between the music business and myself. Who the hell are these clowns miming to my voice?? And who gave them permission to do it?? I didn't even know about the song having the rough voice that I put down in the studio to show the group how to sing my lyrics! On top of it all I have never been paid a penny for all the work I did. Fake and daylight robbery."
PJB member Carmen Björnald about Petrus in June 2011: "If you really want my personal opinion... he was definitly a genious in his way of working but the human part of him... loyalty, honesty and passion was not included in his qualities. I prefer simple people with more space for humanity!"
Petrus’ last projects for Change and Peter Jacques Band did rather poor on the charts in 1985. His mid-80s style of music only vaguely echoed R&B. The fresh, soulful vibe that once blessed his productions had made way for plastic consumer pop blended with a touch of Italo-disco.
Jacques Fred Petrus’ music business regained some of its original musical glow with the release of the 4th B.B.& Q. Band project in 1985 through his European company Vedette International. Genie offered a collection of strong and varied R&B songs, beautifully produced and arranged in an urban synth-funk mode.
But unfortunately this modest revival was of a brief duration as Petrus was forced to put his music biz activities on hold in 1986. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the US federal government accused the Little Macho Music company of tax evasion and Petrus had to go on the run. The Renaissance International company and label collapsed subsequently. A little later Fred Petrus was fatally shot dead at home in Guadeloupe.
Peter Jacques Band sample appears on:
* Turbofunk: “Gotta Move” (sample: Going Dancing Down The Street), 12”, 541/N.E.W.S., 2007.
* Lee Foss: “Someone New” (sample: All Right let's Go) from Starfruit, Hot Creations, 2011.
Jacques Fred Petrus was the archetype of the bright and successful but also recklessly ambitious record mogul. He absolutely was a cosmopolitan, feeling at home as well in Rome and Milano as in Paris and New York City or the exotic Guadeloupe. And he definitely was a man with style too, who enjoyed cruising the streets of NYC with his expensive BMW 733i. His cigars would be Davidoff and he loved wearing classy Italian clothing by fashion designer Francesco Smalto. Randy Muller shared: "I never met Fred, although I recall us crossing paths in a New York studio. He was leaving and I was just coming in to start a session with Brass Construction. I remember him being very well-dressed on that occasion. He came across as a very meticulous man, meaning that in a good way. He wore a silk scarf. His cologne was top-shelf as well." It is known that the wealthy French producer would regularly fly first class on a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet to Thailand for a few hours, just long enough to squander hundreds of Thai bahts on hedonistic diversion, far away from the limelight...
The Minneapolis producer duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis took care of the successful fifth Change album Change Of Heart and put a lot of creative energy into this project. But in the end they left several American and Italian studios without a penny. They had no choice but to take their client to court, only to cash in half of what Fred Petrus owed them. The employed producers were even grounded in Italy for a stint in 1983 because Svengali Petrus took perverse pleasure in not paying for the hotel stay, obliging them to sell their expensive transatlantic airline tickets.
FINAL DESTINATION MOTHERLAND
In 1986 Jacques Fred Petrus faced urgent problems in the US. A moratorium on all Little Macho Music activities in the States came to a screeching halt upon Petrus' indictment on tax evasion by the IRS, the Internal Revenue Service. After fleeing the United States, Petrus returned to Italy and eventually returned to his native country Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. There he concentrated on running his succesful night club Elysées Matignon together with Catherine, his beautiful mestiza companion with green eyes. They started up the disco club in August of 1985. Its name was inspired by the Elysées Matignon, one of Paris' most posh discotheques. Freddie also managed the enterprise Ets. Jacques Fred Petrus & Cie. which had been established already in January of 1983. Both companies had their headquarters in apartment block IMM La Coupole (Quartier Grand-Camp) in the municipality of Les Abymes. However, Guadeloupe would eventually become his final destination. The isolated disco producer would never reconnect with the music business again.
Sadly, he was brutally murdered in Guadeloupe under mysterious circumstances in the Spring of 1987. Fred Petrus was only 39 years old. Fact is that quite a few people in the music industry weren't surprised at this bad ending. More than once Petrus had been portrayed as an unscrupulous businessman. A hardliner, notorious for screwing his artists. He owed money to a lot of people. Some hated him so much that they even travelled to Guadeloupe to make sure he was dead. Had Petrus made too many enemies?
For a long time plenty of wild rumors circulated concerning his assasination, the Mafia-connection being one of them. Petrus reputedly launched his empire with money from the Italian Mafia. And eventually he may have become the victim of a deadly mob hit. Gossip or plausible? It's generally known that the Mafia invested lots of money in the music industry and in nightclubs during the golden age of Disco. Huge amounts of money were circulating in this very profitable business. It was a source of continual cash flow and many transactions were conducted in cash which made it very appealing to the Mob. So it's likely that Fred Petrus was connected to the underworld in some way, possibly in the shape of money laundering. He was known for suspicious bookkeeping and for dealing with shady people anyhow. Given Fred's past as a deejay in some of Paris' and Italy's most fancy discotheques, which were often Mob territory, it's believable he had contacts that could lead to Mafia figures offering "creative finance". Persistent whispers circulate that he did borrow large sums of money to start up his dream enterprise and later on to keep his ship afloat when things dramatically slowed down. Again, this is an element of his story that can only be put together via anecdote and hearsay. According to longtime friend Franco Donato, Fred Petrus was extorted by the American radio Mafia and was forced to hand over 20 percent of his profits, which he initially did...
A reliable source however, revealed that Petrus’ gruesome fate apparently had a more banal but not less tragic origin. According to Claude Petrus, a cousin of Jacques Fred Petrus, he was killed by some madman at his residence in the dead-end street Impasse Livio situated in the heights of Saint-Félix (Le Gosier). Fred's partner Catherine did the lugubrious discovery in the afternoon of June 8th 1987. She had already been advised not to stay at Fred's villa for her own safety because he felt that he was being hunted down. The dead body of Petrus was found lying on the bed, shot five times, the one bullet in the mouth being the final merciless blow. If Catherine had been with Fred that night she probably would have been shot as well.
Jacques Fred Petrus, international passport (Photos courtesy of Claude Petrus)
The troubles started in the tourist area of the Marina Bas-du-Fort in Le Gosier which is the main
seaside resort of Guadeloupe and the heart of the island's night life. Close to the piers of the yacht marina Jacques Fred Petrus owned the popular nightclub Elysées Matignon, frequented by the jetset of the island. The disco opened its doors in August of 1985 and comprised three different rooms: Disco & Soul, Guadeloupean & Caribbean vibes (zouk, soca, calypso, salsa, reggae) and Pop & Country. For an unknown reason Fred Petrus seriously clashed with a Swiss club goer at his disco on a Sunday night in June 1987. Entirely in keeping with his fiery persona, he kicked the man out violently. The tourist returned to Fred's club later that night and followed Fred Petrus as he headed back home to Saint-Félix. Subsequently the murderer slipped into Fred Petrus' villa in the early morning of Monday 8 June and coldbloodedly shot the sleeping producer to death. Petrus didn’t get the slightest chance to defend himself, despite the presence of his two ferocious watchdogs. The gunman left Guadeloupe the following day but was caught by the French police a few months later and confessed the crime.
The police excluded the drugs hypothesis or any connection with diamond traffic. There also seemed to be no Mafia involvement at all. No jilted composers, no loan sharks —just a drunk tourist and bar brawl. The story of a hit-man was simply a rumour based on his dubious personality and his Italian background. But still, a trivial nightlife conflict settled with the use of a firearm... The entire incident was just another shadow across the complex story of Italy's most prolific hit-maker. The exact cause will probably never surface. Surely a tragic end for a remarkable, yet controversial music business figure who will live on in the delightful music he created with producer Malavasi and his collaborators. Despite becoming a defining force in Italian dance music, Petrus' story ended where it began —in his native land Guadeloupe...where the sphinx' mysteries remain deeply buried under the tropical sand.
Blocks in Quartier Grand-Camp, Les Abymes: where Petrus had his Ets. Jacques Fred Petrus & Cie. office in Guadeloupe
Top studio drummer Bernard Davis
All Night Long (# 32 Billboard's Black Albums Chart) included the elektrofunkish hit “Imagination” (#21 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart), composed by keyboardist Kae Williams. "Imagination" featured the stellar lead vocals of the latest inductee to the Little Macho Music family: percussionist and vocalist Rick Brennan. 
Brennan is still confused about this today and has no explanation why Petrus wouldn't let Kevin Robinson sing lead on this track. Stated to become the new voice of B.B.&Q. Band, Brennan was initially informed by Petrus that the original band line-up was being replaced for the upcoming sophomore album sessions. However upon arriving at the studio, Brennan was greeted with a surprise. "When I got to New York and walked in the studio, Kevin Robinson was also there", recalled the Philadelphia native. "Of course it threw Kevin off because he was looking at me like, 'I'm the lead singer, who is this guy??'". Rick Brennan was asked to go to the studio to sing the song "Imagination". There he met musician and Philly acquaintance Kae Williams who was amazed to see him. Kae took Rick over to the piano and showed him the melody of his composition “Imagination”. Of course Brennan nailed it, being a versatile singer able to mimick any vocal R&B style or funk act. Timmy Allen, Toby Johnson, Fred Petrus and Mic Murphy were also present and approved the qualities of Brennan on the spot. After the recording session for "Imagination" with Brennan's "guest vocals", it was ultimately decided that his talents would be best utilized in one of Petrus' other musical incarnations [By the fall of 1982 Rick Brennan would join Change and become the new lead singer of the Little Macho Music company's main act]. Yet they were still far from a runaway hit, their following was strictly club, and their sound wasn’t spreading west, but primarily east, to the European dance floors.
Other very enjoyable tunes were “Hanging Out”, "Hard To Get Around", Malavasi's edgy “Children Of The Night”, the gentle “(I Could Never Say) It’s Over” and the punchy, Kevin Robinson-written single “All Night Long (She’s Got The Moves I Like)”.
Malavasi composed half of the album's songs together with Johnny Kemp Jr.. The other half was written by the American musicians Kae Williams, Kevin Robinson and Timmy Allen (bass player with Change). Johnny Kemp, Chieli Minucci (see photo) and Timmy Allen all played with the New York funk outfit Der Kinky Foxx previously.
Davide Romani only contributed as a bass player and this could be the reason why the record somewhat lacked the contagious 'Italian disco chemistry' of the first album which holded songs of a more cheerful and light-footed "dancefloor" impact. Just like on the third Change album, the overall sound on All Night Long revealed a change of course. "It was a conscious change," admits Kevin Robinson, "It's just growth on the whole, I think it's better. It's produced again by Jacques Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavasi. Freddie is the overseer of the whole picture, but we had quite a bit of control, which surprised me." Essential contributions by the American musicians and composers Johnny Kemp Jr., Timmy Allen, Kae Williams and Kevin Robinson steered the B.B.&Q. Band ship deeper into Contemporary R&B waters. It's a different disco/funk sound to the first album, released twelve months earlier, but one that's just as strong. Electrofunk-influenced outings like "Desire" and the hit song "Imagination" clearly illustrate that evolution. Kevin Robinson said: "Please keep in mind that although we had a great deal of respect for Davide and Mauro as producers and musicians, we were not in awe of them. In fact, the prospective was that they were doing music by Chic, which was popular five years before we came along. We were more influenced by the sounds of Leon Sylvers, Prince, Parliament/Funkadelic, The Time, Rick James, etc.. That would be like studying Rod Stewart instead of Wilson Pickett or Keith Richards instead of B.B. King and Robert Johnson. Elvis instead of Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and James Brown."
Again Petrus spoilt his production with the rich tones of New York's most prestigious background singers. Credited session vocalists were Leroy Burgess, Tawatha Agee, Fonzi Thornton, Gordon Grody, Bobby Douglas, Eric McClinton, Johnny Kemp and Alyson Williams.
Brennan is still confused about this today and has no explanation why Petrus wouldn't let Kevin Robinson sing lead on this track. Stated to become the new voice of B.B.&Q. Band, Brennan was initially informed by Petrus that the original band line-up was being replaced for the upcoming sophomore album sessions. However upon arriving at the studio, Brennan was greeted with a surprise. "When I got to New York and walked in the studio, Kevin Robinson was also there", recalled the Philadelphia native. "Of course it threw Kevin off because he was looking at me like, 'I'm the lead singer, who is this guy??'". Rick Brennan was asked to go to the studio to sing the song "Imagination". There he met musician and Philly acquaintance Kae Williams who was amazed to see him. Kae took Rick over to the piano and showed him the melody of his composition “Imagination”. Of course Brennan nailed it, being a versatile singer able to mimick any vocal R&B style or funk act. Timmy Allen, Toby Johnson, Fred Petrus and Mic Murphy were also present and approved the qualities of Brennan on the spot. After the recording session for "Imagination" with Brennan's "guest vocals", it was ultimately decided that his talents would be best utilized in one of Petrus' other musical incarnations [By the fall of 1982 Rick Brennan would join Change and become the new lead singer of the Little Macho Music company's main act]. Yet they were still far from a runaway hit, their following was strictly club, and their sound wasn’t spreading west, but primarily east, to the European dance floors.Other very enjoyable tunes were “Hanging Out”, "Hard To Get Around", Malavasi's edgy “Children Of The Night”, the gentle “(I Could Never Say) It’s Over” and the punchy, Kevin Robinson-written single “All Night Long (She’s Got The Moves I Like)”.
Kevin Robinson, Tony Bridges, Chieli Minucci and Kevin Nance (member Bernard Davis is missing)
Malavasi composed half of the album's songs together with Johnny Kemp Jr.. The other half was written by the American musicians Kae Williams, Kevin Robinson and Timmy Allen (bass player with Change). Johnny Kemp, Chieli Minucci (see photo) and Timmy Allen all played with the New York funk outfit Der Kinky Foxx previously.
Davide Romani only contributed as a bass player and this could be the reason why the record somewhat lacked the contagious 'Italian disco chemistry' of the first album which holded songs of a more cheerful and light-footed "dancefloor" impact. Just like on the third Change album, the overall sound on All Night Long revealed a change of course. "It was a conscious change," admits Kevin Robinson, "It's just growth on the whole, I think it's better. It's produced again by Jacques Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavasi. Freddie is the overseer of the whole picture, but we had quite a bit of control, which surprised me." Essential contributions by the American musicians and composers Johnny Kemp Jr., Timmy Allen, Kae Williams and Kevin Robinson steered the B.B.&Q. Band ship deeper into Contemporary R&B waters. It's a different disco/funk sound to the first album, released twelve months earlier, but one that's just as strong. Electrofunk-influenced outings like "Desire" and the hit song "Imagination" clearly illustrate that evolution. Kevin Robinson said: "Please keep in mind that although we had a great deal of respect for Davide and Mauro as producers and musicians, we were not in awe of them. In fact, the prospective was that they were doing music by Chic, which was popular five years before we came along. We were more influenced by the sounds of Leon Sylvers, Prince, Parliament/Funkadelic, The Time, Rick James, etc.. That would be like studying Rod Stewart instead of Wilson Pickett or Keith Richards instead of B.B. King and Robert Johnson. Elvis instead of Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and James Brown."
Again Petrus spoilt his production with the rich tones of New York's most prestigious background singers. Credited session vocalists were Leroy Burgess, Tawatha Agee, Fonzi Thornton, Gordon Grody, Bobby Douglas, Eric McClinton, Johnny Kemp and Alyson Williams.
Chieli Minucci and the late Johnny Kemp Jr.
Six Million Times
After two enjoyable albums, it seemed as if the producers had run out of ideas and inspiration. To Petrus & Malavasi standards Six Million Times was a disappointing shot. This project, co-produced by groupmember Kevin Robinson, obviously lacked decent songmaterial and creative direction. Did Petrus & Malavasi hold back the quality songs for their other projects? The reality was that Petrus' Italian musicians stopped supplying successfull compositions as the good understanding with their boss was completely missing. As soon as Fred Petrus started using a lot of songs by outside writers, the quality of the music really suffered.
Petrus faced serious economical problems in 1983 and Six Million Times was produced with a tiny budget during five weeks at the Umbi-Maison Blanche studios in the countryside of Modena. The quartet of B.B.&Q. Band (photo right) incuded Chieli Minucci, Kevin Robinson, Tony Bridges and Bernard Davis who was absent during the photoshoot of the former album. Most of the album's songs came from the American groupmember Kevin Robinson, who co-wrote several tracks with NYC top musician Howard King (D-Train, Stephanie Mills, Mtume, The Strangers, Candy Bowman, Karin Jones, Network). Both Robinson and King played in the band of Mtume. They would also join forces to produce the Network project in 1984. Fred gave Kevin Robinson a great deal of freedom to experiment with his creativity and bring up new contemporary ideas.
The long-player didn't yield any real highlights though. "Keep It Hot" and the totally redundant Beatles tune “She’s A Woman” were the only singles off the album. “Keep It Hot” was composed by Malavasi and reminisced the techno-funk floorfiller "Let It Whip" by the Dazz Band. In its tight electronic rhythm track and choppy vocals it beared the stylistic approach of their 1982 hit "Imagination". Also "Six Million Times" was influenced by the electro-funk of Dazz Band and Midnight Star. “Stay” represented
yet another enjoyable moment on a weak album otherwise. Cuts like "We've Got To Do It" or “Downtowne” offered an upbeat contemporary R&B sound with lots of bass and synths in the instrumentation, but they couldn’t excite. "She's A Passionate Lover" heavily flirted with the Minneapolis funk of Prince and The Time. The boys of the B.B.&Q. Band were wild about this hybrid sound that combined funk, rock, pop, synthpop and New Wave. Producing an R&B/funk hit seemed not achievable however.Whereas the initial B.B.& Q. productions benefited of strong disco compositions and irresistible melodies, Six Million Times suffered of average songs dipped in the heavier kind of electro-funk arrangements that marked many of the dancefloor productions of 1983 and after. But unlike their contemporaries Midnight Star, The Time, D-Train, S.O.S. Band, The System or Kashif, the B.B.&Q. Band scored no hits in 1983 and the group was subsequently dropped from the Capitol roster.
B.B.&Q. Band 1983 - Kevin Robinson, Tony Bridges and Bernard Davis (member Chieli Minucci is missing)
Kevin Nance, Tony Bridges, Chieli Minucci and Kevin Robinson (member Bernard Davis is missing)
B.B.&Q. Band 1982
B.B.&Q. Band 1982
Genie
In 1985 Jacques Fred Petrus formed a new B.B.& Q. Band and released the album Genie which sold well in Europe but couldn’t fulfill the expected success in the U.S.. The record was produced by Jacques Fred Petrus and Kae Williams Jr. for Fred's company Vedette International.
The album was released first in Europe on different labels in different countries (Denmark, Italy, UK, Netherlands and Germany) and appeared on the U.S. market a year later on Elektra Records. The cover artwork of the European pressing and the American pressing differed completely. The name of executive producer Jacques Fred Petrus wasn’t even
printed on the US album. By then he had been accused of tax evasion and his fraudulous US music companies collapsed accordingly. In these circumstances Fred Petrus wasn't legally able to negotiate an American record deal and was forced to hand over the project in the States. Still, the Genie album got published in America on the Elektra/Pretty Pearl imprint through an acquaintance of Fred. The name of the executive producer printed on the American sleeve was former NBA star Earl Monroe who happened to be the manager/executive producer of Curtis Hairston, lead singer on Genie. Hairston had already released a bunch of fairly successful R&B singles on Earl "The Pearl" Monroe’s Pretty Pearl record label (“I Want You (All Tonight)” 1983, “Summertime” 1983, “We All Are One” 1984 and “I Want Your Lovin’ (Just A Little Bit)” 1985). After Fred Petrus fled the US, abandoning the music biz, Monroe fixed a record deal via his label — which he initially started up as a vehicle for Curtis Hairston — to get Genie released in the U.S. on a major label. Petrus and Monroe shared adjoining offices in the Newsweek building in NYC.
The album was recorded at the MorningStar Studios in Spring House (Philadelphia, USA) and at the Morning Studios in Milan (Italy). However, the two releases showed different Italian recording studios on the covers. The US version of Genie was apparently recorded at the Castle Studios in Milan and the original European issue at the Morning Studios in Milan. But there's an explanation! The Castle Studios (a.k.a. The Stone Castle Studios) and the Morning Studios were actually one and the same recording facility, situated in Carimate near Milan. This studio was located inside a beautiful castle built in the 14th Century.
Featured tracks were the sweet “Minutes Away”, the upbeat “Riccochet”, the vibrant dancer “On The Shelf” (#72 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart), “Dreamer” (#35 Billboard TOP 40), “Won’t You Be With Me Tonight”, the Prince/Minneapolis sound-inspired “Don’t Force It” and the impressive “Genie” (#40 Billboard TOP 40). The U.S. album featured extended versions of "Minutes Away" and "Dreamer". The mellow title track that bubbled and percolated nicely with a seductively soulful feel, especially on the vocals, became their biggest hit since "On The Beat". Genie was a surprisingly consistent album awash in great keyboards (DX7, Rhodes) and snapping electro beats that were nicely placed between the street and the dancefloor. The hi-tech vibe was ostensibly influenced by the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis productions.
The album was composed, written and co-produced by Kae Williams Jr. (see photo). The musician crew involved were Timmy Allen (bass), Michael Campbell (guitar) and Kae Williams Jr. (keyboards, piano). Kae Williams was formerly keyboardist with the group Breakwater. In 1981 he joined Timmy Allen and other top NY session players to record an album as Hi-Gloss for the Prelude label. A year later Fred Petrus offered Kae Williams session work with Change and B.B.& Q. Band. Williams also composed several songs for these groups. He later moved back to Philadelphia where he worked with artists including Mason, Ian Foster, Phyllis Hyman, George Howard, Miki Howard, Shirley Lites, Peggi Blu, Curiosity, G-Five, Loose Ends, Five Star, Robert Hazard, Pretty Poison, Cashmere, Terri Wells, Joanna Gardner, Bootsy Collins and Sybil Thomas. Producer Kae Williams Jr. deceased on July 11, 2008 due to heart failure at the age of 52.
Genie featured Curtis Hairston (see photo) on lead and background vocals and Ullanda McCullough (see photo) on background vocals, although there were no vocal credits on the sleeves. The mentor of Hairston was label boss Earl "The Pearl" Monroe who had his office next to the office of Little Macho Music in the former Newsweek Building. Monroe's protégé Hairston, recording for Fred Petrus was something to come about sooner or later...
Producer Kae Williams would work
with Curtis Hairston again in 1986 on his one and only solo album Curtis Hairston which included the popular soul track “The Morning After”, reminiscent of “Genie”. Unfortunately lead singer Curtis Hairston, who severely suffered from diabetes, passed away in January 1996. He was just 34 years old.
Based in New York, singer Ullanda McCullough worked consistently through the ‘70s and early ‘80s as a backing vocalist, particularly with Ashford & Simpson. The duo produced her second solo album Ullanda McCullough for Atlantic in 1981. As Ullanda she already released her first solo album Love Zone in 1979. In 1982 she recorded Watching You Watching Me on the Atlantic label, her last record to date. Elsewhere she recorded backing vocals with Roberta Flack, Teddy Pendergrass, Melba Moore, Lonnie Liston Smith, Cliff Dawson, Charles Earland, Cerrone, Hi-Gloss, Michael Zager Band, Stephanie Mills, Thelma Jones, Chic, Diana Ross, T-Connection, The Spinners, Chaka Khan and Rainbow Brown among many more.
The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band today
Occasionally acts have been touring as the B.B.& Q. Band. Rick Brennan, formerly with Change, performed during a 'Tribute To The Funk' concert in Bercy (Paris) in 2003 pretending to be the frontman of the B.B.& Q. Band. The
massive audience went wild but unfortunately the whole show was fake!
At the NYC B.B. King Club in August 2008, artists promoted the B.B.& Q. Band along with G.Q. and Change as a genuine 'reunion' tour. Curiously enough the singer had never been involved with the B.B.& Q. Band. And the irony doesn’t stop here, because the only original player from the B.B.& Q. Band onstage was Chieli Minucci, a former B.B.&Q. Band guitarist who actually never performed live with the B.B.& Q. Band. He was a studio cat who just wrote and recorded for Petrus! Kevin Robinson, the original vocalist for B.B.& Q. Band had a falling out with the show organizers 2 days before, so a new “singer” came in and learned everything at the last minute but he couldn’t sing a lick. There was no comparison what so ever with the original lead vocalist Robinson who simultaneously performed B.B.& Q. Band songs at the Sugar Bar in NYC that evening in August 2008.
Surprisingly, in 2009 the original line-up of the B.B.& Q. Band (photos above) consisting of Kevin Nance, Paris Ford, Dwayne Perdue and Ike Floyd reunited for a live gig on the Ron Alexander Show at the Kraine Theater and on the Soul Legends TV Show in NYC. In 2010 they toured as a part of the "Ol' Skool Throw Down Tour" featuring Evelyn "Champagne" King, B.T. Express, Brass Construction, Machine, B.B.&Q. Band, Johnny Kemp and T-Ski Valley. In 2011 they were guest on the Fox 5 'Good Day New York' morning show and played the Newark Symphony Hall in NYC.
On Saturday 2nd of November 2013 the B.B.&.Q. Band performed live with their orchestra in Lyon (France). Line-up included former members Kevin Robinson, Bernard Davis, Tony Bridges and Kevin Nance.
In November and December of 2019 the B.B.&.Q. Band toured successfully in Europe. They performed in Belgium (Esquelmes-Tournai), Holland (Amsterdam), France (Paris and Lyon) and England (London). Bandmembers were Kevin Robinson, Bernard Davis, Tony Bridges, Percival Prince, Lenny Underwood and Curtis Styles. In June 2024, Percy, Lenny, Tony and Kevin were back in Europe and played live at the The Jazz Cafe in London on Friday 28th and at Poppodium P60 in Amstelveen (Amsterdam) in Holland on Saturday 29th. Keyboardist John F. Adams replaced Curtis Styles. Adams was a member of the large Change live band when they were touring the U.S. in 1981 to promote the album Miracles. Drummer Alex Alexander replaced Bernard Davis. Acclaimed Grammy nominated saxophonist and flautist Najee from NYC came over to The Jazz Cafe in London to support the band on stage.
The album was released first in Europe on different labels in different countries (Denmark, Italy, UK, Netherlands and Germany) and appeared on the U.S. market a year later on Elektra Records. The cover artwork of the European pressing and the American pressing differed completely. The name of executive producer Jacques Fred Petrus wasn’t even
printed on the US album. By then he had been accused of tax evasion and his fraudulous US music companies collapsed accordingly. In these circumstances Fred Petrus wasn't legally able to negotiate an American record deal and was forced to hand over the project in the States. Still, the Genie album got published in America on the Elektra/Pretty Pearl imprint through an acquaintance of Fred. The name of the executive producer printed on the American sleeve was former NBA star Earl Monroe who happened to be the manager/executive producer of Curtis Hairston, lead singer on Genie. Hairston had already released a bunch of fairly successful R&B singles on Earl "The Pearl" Monroe’s Pretty Pearl record label (“I Want You (All Tonight)” 1983, “Summertime” 1983, “We All Are One” 1984 and “I Want Your Lovin’ (Just A Little Bit)” 1985). After Fred Petrus fled the US, abandoning the music biz, Monroe fixed a record deal via his label — which he initially started up as a vehicle for Curtis Hairston — to get Genie released in the U.S. on a major label. Petrus and Monroe shared adjoining offices in the Newsweek building in NYC.The album was recorded at the MorningStar Studios in Spring House (Philadelphia, USA) and at the Morning Studios in Milan (Italy). However, the two releases showed different Italian recording studios on the covers. The US version of Genie was apparently recorded at the Castle Studios in Milan and the original European issue at the Morning Studios in Milan. But there's an explanation! The Castle Studios (a.k.a. The Stone Castle Studios) and the Morning Studios were actually one and the same recording facility, situated in Carimate near Milan. This studio was located inside a beautiful castle built in the 14th Century.
Featured tracks were the sweet “Minutes Away”, the upbeat “Riccochet”, the vibrant dancer “On The Shelf” (#72 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart), “Dreamer” (#35 Billboard TOP 40), “Won’t You Be With Me Tonight”, the Prince/Minneapolis sound-inspired “Don’t Force It” and the impressive “Genie” (#40 Billboard TOP 40). The U.S. album featured extended versions of "Minutes Away" and "Dreamer". The mellow title track that bubbled and percolated nicely with a seductively soulful feel, especially on the vocals, became their biggest hit since "On The Beat". Genie was a surprisingly consistent album awash in great keyboards (DX7, Rhodes) and snapping electro beats that were nicely placed between the street and the dancefloor. The hi-tech vibe was ostensibly influenced by the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis productions.
The album was composed, written and co-produced by Kae Williams Jr. (see photo). The musician crew involved were Timmy Allen (bass), Michael Campbell (guitar) and Kae Williams Jr. (keyboards, piano). Kae Williams was formerly keyboardist with the group Breakwater. In 1981 he joined Timmy Allen and other top NY session players to record an album as Hi-Gloss for the Prelude label. A year later Fred Petrus offered Kae Williams session work with Change and B.B.& Q. Band. Williams also composed several songs for these groups. He later moved back to Philadelphia where he worked with artists including Mason, Ian Foster, Phyllis Hyman, George Howard, Miki Howard, Shirley Lites, Peggi Blu, Curiosity, G-Five, Loose Ends, Five Star, Robert Hazard, Pretty Poison, Cashmere, Terri Wells, Joanna Gardner, Bootsy Collins and Sybil Thomas. Producer Kae Williams Jr. deceased on July 11, 2008 due to heart failure at the age of 52.
Genie featured Curtis Hairston (see photo) on lead and background vocals and Ullanda McCullough (see photo) on background vocals, although there were no vocal credits on the sleeves. The mentor of Hairston was label boss Earl "The Pearl" Monroe who had his office next to the office of Little Macho Music in the former Newsweek Building. Monroe's protégé Hairston, recording for Fred Petrus was something to come about sooner or later...
Producer Kae Williams would work
with Curtis Hairston again in 1986 on his one and only solo album Curtis Hairston which included the popular soul track “The Morning After”, reminiscent of “Genie”. Unfortunately lead singer Curtis Hairston, who severely suffered from diabetes, passed away in January 1996. He was just 34 years old.Based in New York, singer Ullanda McCullough worked consistently through the ‘70s and early ‘80s as a backing vocalist, particularly with Ashford & Simpson. The duo produced her second solo album Ullanda McCullough for Atlantic in 1981. As Ullanda she already released her first solo album Love Zone in 1979. In 1982 she recorded Watching You Watching Me on the Atlantic label, her last record to date. Elsewhere she recorded backing vocals with Roberta Flack, Teddy Pendergrass, Melba Moore, Lonnie Liston Smith, Cliff Dawson, Charles Earland, Cerrone, Hi-Gloss, Michael Zager Band, Stephanie Mills, Thelma Jones, Chic, Diana Ross, T-Connection, The Spinners, Chaka Khan and Rainbow Brown among many more.
The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band today
Occasionally acts have been touring as the B.B.& Q. Band. Rick Brennan, formerly with Change, performed during a 'Tribute To The Funk' concert in Bercy (Paris) in 2003 pretending to be the frontman of the B.B.& Q. Band. The
massive audience went wild but unfortunately the whole show was fake!At the NYC B.B. King Club in August 2008, artists promoted the B.B.& Q. Band along with G.Q. and Change as a genuine 'reunion' tour. Curiously enough the singer had never been involved with the B.B.& Q. Band. And the irony doesn’t stop here, because the only original player from the B.B.& Q. Band onstage was Chieli Minucci, a former B.B.&Q. Band guitarist who actually never performed live with the B.B.& Q. Band. He was a studio cat who just wrote and recorded for Petrus! Kevin Robinson, the original vocalist for B.B.& Q. Band had a falling out with the show organizers 2 days before, so a new “singer” came in and learned everything at the last minute but he couldn’t sing a lick. There was no comparison what so ever with the original lead vocalist Robinson who simultaneously performed B.B.& Q. Band songs at the Sugar Bar in NYC that evening in August 2008.
Surprisingly, in 2009 the original line-up of the B.B.& Q. Band (photos above) consisting of Kevin Nance, Paris Ford, Dwayne Perdue and Ike Floyd reunited for a live gig on the Ron Alexander Show at the Kraine Theater and on the Soul Legends TV Show in NYC. In 2010 they toured as a part of the "Ol' Skool Throw Down Tour" featuring Evelyn "Champagne" King, B.T. Express, Brass Construction, Machine, B.B.&Q. Band, Johnny Kemp and T-Ski Valley. In 2011 they were guest on the Fox 5 'Good Day New York' morning show and played the Newark Symphony Hall in NYC.
On Saturday 2nd of November 2013 the B.B.&.Q. Band performed live with their orchestra in Lyon (France). Line-up included former members Kevin Robinson, Bernard Davis, Tony Bridges and Kevin Nance.
In November and December of 2019 the B.B.&.Q. Band toured successfully in Europe. They performed in Belgium (Esquelmes-Tournai), Holland (Amsterdam), France (Paris and Lyon) and England (London). Bandmembers were Kevin Robinson, Bernard Davis, Tony Bridges, Percival Prince, Lenny Underwood and Curtis Styles. In June 2024, Percy, Lenny, Tony and Kevin were back in Europe and played live at the The Jazz Cafe in London on Friday 28th and at Poppodium P60 in Amstelveen (Amsterdam) in Holland on Saturday 29th. Keyboardist John F. Adams replaced Curtis Styles. Adams was a member of the large Change live band when they were touring the U.S. in 1981 to promote the album Miracles. Drummer Alex Alexander replaced Bernard Davis. Acclaimed Grammy nominated saxophonist and flautist Najee from NYC came over to The Jazz Cafe in London to support the band on stage.
B.B.&Q. Band 2019
Curtis Styles, Bernard Davis, Tony Bridges, Kevin Robinson, Lenny Underwood, Percival Prince
European tour B.B.&Q. Band 2019
Davide Romani visiting the B.B.&Q. Band On Tour in Paris (Aulnay-sous-Bois) in December 2019
On January 21 of 2021, the single "Gotta Keep Movin' On" was released by Kevin Robinson on Crystal Eyes Music. The artist is billed as 'Kevin Robinson From Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens' to be precise. The album The Legacy followed in Spring 2021.
The funky song "Gotta Keep Movin' On" was co-written by Davide Romani and Kevin Robinson. Davide Romani arranged the song and Kevin Robinson produced it. The writing style of Davide Romani cannot be denied. This is a vintage B.B.& Q. Band composition, evoking catchy 80s Boogie/Funk in the tradition of the Little Macho Music classics. Performers on the song are Kevin Robinson (vocals, guitars), Leslie Lemon (bass guitar), Bernard Davis (drums), Davide Romani (keyboards), Lenny Underwood (keyboards) and Leslie Lemon (keyboards).
Davide Romani and Kevin Robinson at Le Nouveau Cap in Paris (Aulnay-sous-Bois) in 2019
The B.B.&Q. Band On Tour 2019 - backstage at Jazz Cafe in London
B.B.& Q. Band songs and samples appear on:
* Rufige Cru: "Killa Muffin (The Band Dog Mix)" (sample: Dreamer) 12", Reinforced 1992.
* Jeff Redd: “Dreamer” (song: Dreamer) from Down Low, MCA, 1994.
* Nitebreeds: “Everybody's On The Beat” (sample: On The Beat) 12", Lightning Records, 1998.
* Seduced: “On Da Beat” (sample: On The Beat) 12", ARS Productions, 2004.
* The Alchemist: “Strength Of Pain (feat. Chinky)” (sample: Lovin's What We Should Do) from 1st Infantry, Koch, 2004.
* DJ Mehdi: “Tunisia Bambaata” (sample: Imagination) 12", Ed Banger, 2008.
* Messangers and Son Of Ran: "What Matters" (sample: Lovin's What We Should Do) from Incoming Message, Not On Label, 2008.
* Love & Mind: "Nightlounge" (sample: On The Beat) from French House Maid, 4 disco, 2010.
* Payroll Giovanni And Cardo Got Wings: "Where I'm" (sample: Genie) from Big Bossin' Vol. 1, BYLUG Entertainment, 2016.
* NxWorries: "Scared Money" (sample: (I Could Never Say) It's Over) from Yes Lawd!, Stones Throw, 2016.
* Le$: "Do You Feel Me" (sample: Genie) from Original Playa, SxS, 2019.
* Mere Notilde: "Love Again" (sample: Imagination) from Black One, 2019.
* Denzel Curry feat. Kiddo Marv: "Wish" (sample: Genie) from ZUU, Loma Vista, 2019.
* Bronx Cheer Feat. Anna M and Matt Cannon: "Ready Or Not" (cover: On The Beat) 12", Tall House, 2021.
HIGH FASHION
High Fashion was another of Jacques Fred Petrus bands alongside Change and B.B.&Q. Band. It was a Chic-like concept fronted by the young vocalists Meli’sa Morgan, Alyson Williams —two future urban contemporary stars— and the older Eric McClinton, all from New York. Michael Murphy, who was co-running Petrus' Little Macho office in NYC from 1980 until 1983, came up with the suitable name High Fashion.
The blend of relative youthfulness with seasoned experience worked very well. Alyson Williams was a sought-after session vocalist who had worked on a long list of projects including The B.B.&Q. Band, Melba Moore and Unlimited Touch. She was the daughter of bandleader/trumpeter Bobby Booker. Meli'sa Morgan also was a renowned backing singer on the New York soul scene and had recorded with Kleeer, Weeks & Co. and Leroy Burgess. She was part of the New York female group Shades Of Love, best known for the popular club hit “Keep In Touch (Body To Body)”, recorded in 1982 and produced/written by Patrick Adams. The girls knew each other from Under The Stairs, Mikell's or The Cellar, all famous clubs in uptown Manhattan on Columbus Avenue, where they sang in funk groups comprising musicians like Mike Campbell, Johnny Kemp, Timmy Allen and Kevin Robinson. The link to Freddie Petrus and his Little Macho Music production company was self-evident... Meli'sa Morgan was even a backing vocalist with the B.B.&Q. Band live group in 1982. Eric McClinton, whose smooth soulful masculine vocals accented High Fashion's sound, first hit the music scene in the mid-sixties as Eric & The Vikings and recorded with his group for various labels until 1973. In the mid-seventies he turned up as a part of the one-time duo Eryke & Arronette. In 1979 he worked together with Mike Theodore –co-producer of High Fashion’s first album– as a singer with the Mike Theodore Orchestra. McClinton also recorded with Jimi Hendrix, Gladys Knight, George Duke and Flora Purim.
High Fashion 1982Feelin' Lucky
High Fashion's highly acclaimed first album Feelin’ Lucky was released on Capitol records in June of 1982. The High Fashion trio tastefully delivered the musical plan of producers Petrus & Malavasi, with the creative aid of the immensely talented Kashif, Mike Theodore, Dennis Coffey and Fonzi Thornton. The result was a vocal vitality with the music to back it up. Feelin’ Lucky offers sublime dancefloor material steeped in the quality tradition of eighties groove with flair, finesse and panache. The high gloss vocals by trio members Eric McClinton, Alyson Williams and Meli'sa Morgan, worked extremely well as they complemented the mostly uptempo arrangements. The sound of the album was slick but rarely was it soulless.
Killer track on Feelin’ Lucky was the irresistible feel-good single “Feelin’ Lucky Lately” (#32 Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart). This awesome synth-laden disco hit, written by
Malavasi, Davide Romani and Fonzi Thornton, perfectly illustrates the elegant and sophisticated dance music of the Italians. The song interestingly features on the exciting soundtrack to "Pose [Season 1]" (2018). Pose is an American television drama series about New York ball culture, an LGBTQ subculture in the African-American and Latino communities, throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Kashif composed three songs, among which the infectious, upbeat “Hold On” and “Next To You”. Perfectly in line with Petrus' wicked style, Kashif revealed he was never compensated for his songwriting, backing vocals, playing and duties as assistant producer. Meli’sa Morgan co-wrote the track “You’re The Winner” together with bassist Kevin Jenkins. Jenkins explained that Fred Petrus bought the song, paid them in cash and only ever used the bassline. Other tracks of interest included the soulful gems “When The Lover Strikes” and “I Want To Be Your Everything” —another strong Kashif song— which made the album complete.
The brilliant keyboardist and co-producer Kashif developed a complete new synth-based music style that revolutionized R&B music. Around that same time he was already a very in demand musician, songwriter, arranger and producer who could be heard on releases by Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Tavares, Geraldine Hunt, Pleasure, Average White Band, Passion, Howard Johnson and Melba Moore. In 1983 Kashif went on to fame and fortune as a solo artist and remained ubiquitous as a songwriter and producer throughout the '80s and early '90s (George Benson, Kenny G, Meli’sa Morgan, Lillo Thomas, Fonzi Thornton, Nona Hendryx, Stacy Lattisw, Giorge Pettus, Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston, Johnny Kemp, etc.).
On Sat. April 27th, 2024, High Fashion did a concert in Lyon (Vienne), France. The organiser was La Grande Nuit De La Funk A Lyon. The two original R&B divas of High Fashion, Alyson Williams and Meli'sa Morgan, were joined by 80s veteran Cliff Dawson who replaced the actual singer Eric McClinton. This was the very first time that High Fashion performed all their songs of the Feelin' Lucky album. Meli'sa Morgan reacted on Facebook: "The first album produced the hits “Feelin' Lucky Lately" and “You're The Winner", which I am a co-songwriter on. Well, even with those hits, I kinda felt the group was not for me. In 1982 High Fashion did not tour or do any shows or music videos. So, I left the group because I wanted to be an artist who toured and did gigs, TV appearances, etc. I always felt that we never did justice to the group High Fashion. We had songs in the Billboard charts but nobody ever saw us perform the hits or any song of that debut album as a matter of fact! Well, we got a chance to change that in Lyon! We finally grabbed the opportunity to be on stage with a live band as the group… High Fashion!".
Make Up Your Mind
High Fashion released a second album Make Up Your Mind in 1983, featuring the singles "Make Up Your Mind" and “Break Up”, the fat electro-funk groove “Pump On The Pipe”, the gentle and soulful “Just A Little More Love”, “You Satisfy My Needs”, "A Little More Time" and “Show Me”. Title track "Make Up Your Mind" finds its male lead mostly in the low register, laying down the line to a lover with another. The production is sparing, with percussive keyboard and moaning lead guitar cries infrequently flitting through a fuzzy bass-led electronic beat. Steady female backup voices on the chorus hold down pent-up emotions as the tune proceeds. But only a few of the album tracks, including "Just A Little More Love" that was written by Timmy Allen and Kevin Robinson, "Show Me", co-written by Mtume’s Tawatha Agee and the Brass Construction-like “Pump On The Pipe”, matched the quality of their outstanding previous release. The set had electro-soul arrangements very similar to Change but the overall song collection was of lesser quality than the debut record. Background singer Marcella Allen was brought in to replace Mel’isa Morgan. This production was backed up by the members of the B.B.&Q. Band. The sales of Make Up Your Mind were however embarrassing and the group was dissolved.
High Fashion 1983
After the High Fashion projects Meli’sa Morgan and Alyson Williams enjoyed personal success as solo artists. Meli’sa Morgan released her co-written debut Do Me Baby in 1986 on Capitol records. A remake of Prince's "Do Me Baby" yielded a number one R&B hit. Morgan notched two more Top Ten R&B singles: "Do You Still Love Me?" and "If You Can Do It, I Can Too" before moving on to Arista Records in 1987 and hitting with a duet with Kashif ("Love Changes") that reached the number two spot on the R&B charts. After Arista she went with Pendulum Records. Alyson Williams fronted the act The Affair feat. Alyson after her time with High Fashion, a session group including Gwen Guthrie. The Affair released the single "Please Don't Break My Heart" on Easy Street in 1985. In 1989 she signed with Def Jam and delivered Raw including "Sleep Talk" (#3 Billboard R&B Charts). But her solo career ran out of gas in the late '90s. On the Def Jam label, in addition to solo work, she paired with Chuck Stanley on "Make You Mine Tonight" and Oran "Juice" Jones on "How to Love Again." Eric McClinton contributed backing vocals to other Little Macho Music projects, including the B.B.& Q. Band's Six Million Times record and Change's This Is Your Time set. After High Fashion split he turned up twice on Atlantic, in the incarnations of Ze-Brass ("Feels So Good") in 1983 and Deep (“A Good Thing Is So Hard To Find”) in 1985. Both projects were produced by Nicky Kalliongis who had worked as an engineer at the Media Sound studios on several Change and B.B.& Q. Band recording sessions.
High Fashion 1982
ZINC
During the prolific summer of 1982 the powerhouse team of Jacques Fred Petrus & Mauro Malavasi released a string of premium productions. Five hot R&B albums by Change, Ritchie Family, B.B.&Q. Band, High Fashion and Zinc hit the streets, along with a straight pop LP by Silence. Zinc’s Street Level was the final record to leave the Little Macho Music factory that year and a bit of an oddity in the catalogue. Actually it became their last achievement to be entirely fabricated in NYC, before stormy weather would afflict the very Italian soul of Little Macho Music.
With
the Zinc concept, Petrus & Malavasi explored new musical territory and
attempted to infiltrate a radically changing dance music scene with a revamped
“street level” sound. They noticed that pop music had taken the gravity center
of radio programming and DJ culture. Party people danced to the beats of Men At Work, Tom Tom Club, Robert Palmer, Talking Heads, Simple Minds, B-52’s and Yazoo. Even if the funky Little Macho Music signature sound was all over the album,
the music style was still pretty
avant-garde. Zinc belonged to the heavier, more idiosyncratic productions of Little Macho Music. Several tracks on Street Level demonstrated the impact of standard pop and new wave
music in those days, flirting with a colder rock sonority. One album cut was
even entitled “Punkulation”! Zinc was probably one of the most curious records of the Little Macho Music catalog. In an interview lead singer Gordon Grody admitted the significance of ‘80s pop back then: “One major influence for Zinc
was the British superstar band The Police. Their effect is obvious
on the Malavasi-Gianolio song “Livin’ In The Boogie Now", mixing white reggae with new wave and funk." The popular American duo Hall & Oates, who combined the best of both rock and R&B, and the funky synth-pop of the British twosome The Quick more than probably provided inspiration as well.
Mauro Malavasi
Zinc wasn’t a real band but just the façade for yet another tasty studio creation instigated by the Italian duo Jacques Fred Petrus & Mauro Malavasi. The cover artwork –designed by Howard Fritzson– displayed a glamorous NYC street scene, with the group’s firm metallic name tagged in quicksilver lettering. Zinc was an experimental fusion of glossy uptown R&B and cool rebellious rock: where the beat meets the street, as the cover subtly hinted at. The studio group was composed of American and Italian session musicians led by the inevitable Malavasi. The producing and arranging abilities of Mauro Malavasi and the great musicianship of Little Macho Music core member Davide Romani once more shone through on this record. Petrus enlisted the old acquaintances Tanya Willoughby and Fonzi Thornton to provide the song lyrics. Acclaimed singer Gordon Grody (see photo right) fronted Zinc. His more neutral voice seemed adequate for the experiment. He was actually a white male vocalist with the looks of a young rock God and this again emphasized the radical nature of the project from previous Petrus-Malavasi efforts. Grody was a busy studio cat, whose reputation arose in the NYC session scene during the ’70s disco craze. Vocal contributions can be heard on albums by Vicki Sue Robinson, T. Life, Meco, Lemon, Gregg Diamond …. His one solo album Exclusively Yours was released in 1977 on the RCA label. Subsequently the vocal chameleon recorded with heavyweights David Bowie, Debbie Harry, George Benson, Steely Dan, Patti Austin, Change, Sting, Phil Collins, Cyndi Lauper, Carly Simon and Talking Heads among others. Gordon Grody happened to live in the same building in Manhattan Petrus did, right across the hall. No wonder his talent was easily spotted by the Italian clique. Grody’s involvement with Little Macho Music went back to 1980 when he provided leads for Macho II. Jacques Fred Petrus also hired him as the singer of the pop outfit Silence for two albums. Today Grody is a much solicited and experienced voice/songwriting/performance coach who has worked with Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga and many more. “Livin’ In The Boogie Now” featured lead vocalist Steve Daniels who formerly appeared on records of Revanche, Rudy and Change. He also was the drummer and one of the lead singers of the band Platinum Hook.
Gordon Grody
Street
Level was dropped in September 1982 by Zomba-Jive Records, a label known for
its alternative releases and at that time the highest-ranked independent record
company in the world. Zinc was progressive urban R&B with fascinating touches of pop,
kept fairly basic, without too many frills. The emphasis was on the vocals, the
lush harmonies and the percolating beat that made you want to bounce to the
dancefloor. Though there were over 20 musicians and vocalists involved
–including backup singers Fonzi Thornton, Michelle Cobbs and Bobby Douglas– the
spare arrangements gave everybody space. The fabulous bass playing of Davide Romani lifts every track to the topmost grounds of funk delight. Highlights on the album were the
ingenious post-disco bombshell “Street Level” written by ’80s
phenomenon Kashif. This lead single and title track of the album is a sexy, hard and nocturnal track. But at the same time it's a composition full of the rich nuances and elegance that characterised the sound of Kashif. Romani’s chilly “Punkulation” caresses the melodies and fleshiness of the P-Funk sound, showing off his muscular bass playing.
The Chic-influenced gem “This Is Where The Love Is” is a tribute to Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. The song was co-written by Fonzi Thornton, a key contributor to the Chic Organization. Other fine selections included
the naughty up-tempo 12 inch single “I’ll Never Stop”, the energetic “I’ll Take My Chances” –flavoured with
licks of rock guitar and polyrhythmic percussion– and the intriguing Malavasi/Trevisi composition “Amazon” with its
exotic instrumental airs and tropical chants that conjures up visions of misty rainforests.
Despite the suitable Jive label and a line-up of top musicians delivering a brilliant product, the Zinc effort was not the anticipated winner and proved that the poppy target market didn't bite. During a recent interview, background singer Bobby Douglas reflected on the album's lack of commercial appeal: “Zinc was so ahead of its time that I knew this wasn't going to be well received, because it was so much better than the schlock that was playing on the radio at the time.” And he added: “It was popularly believed that Zinc would be a kick off boost for the underrated Gordon Grody…Petrus talked about having Grody do the tour or lead the act when the record hit…But no such luck...”
In
1983 a last low profile 12" “I’m Livin' A Life Of Love” was released on Jive Records but
there was no forthcoming album. Contractual stipulations had forced Little
Macho Music to publish a last track for Jive. This Malavasi composition was sung
by Kevin Robinson, lead vocalist of the B.B.&Q. Band, and reminded of
“Searching” by group Change. The track was incidentally a leftover from
previous B.B.&Q. Band recording sessions in 1982. Actually “I’m Livin'
A Life Of Love” had already been released the year before, as a B-side to the US single/12 inch of "Street Level". In 1987 a new version of the song popped up as a B-side to Ruby Turner's single "I'd Rather Go Blind" on Jive Records, produced by Pete Q. Harris.
In 1984 Jacques Fred Petrus embraced Italo-Dance music and recycled the name of
Zinc for the Little Macho Music project Zinc feat. Sherwin, which resulted in
the singles “State Of The Nation” and “Hollywood City”. Both tracks were produced by Marco Tansini, frontman of Midnight Gang. The song "Hollywood City" was even released a second time under the name of Tansini's Midnight Gang.
Ritchie Family
RITCHIE FAMILY
The Ritchie Family consisted of the disco diva trio Vera Brown, Jacqueline Smith-Lee and Theodosia ‘Dodie’ Draher. They were in fact the second line up of this iconic disco act. Vera Brown formerly sang in the group of the Philly soul singer David Simmons and recorded with producer Butch Ingram.
Their famous disco producers Jacques Morali & Henri Belolo (Ritchie Family, The Village People, Patrick Juvet) left the comforts of Casablanca Records in 1982, around the time when label founder Neil Bogart had passed away from cancer. They took The Ritchie Family to RCA Records for their next album I'll Do My Best. RCA promoted the group well but remember that The Ritchie Family had been really spoiled by Casablanca Records. Morali & Belolo submitted their act to the successful sound of Little Macho Music in favor of Brazilian producer Eumir Deodato (Kool & The Gang, Con Funk Shun, Kleeer, One Way, Juicy) who had been approached originally.
Ritchie Familiy singer Dodie Draher recalled memories: "I remember meeting the label executives and different songwriters, like the fabulous Eumir Deodato. He was a Brazilian pianist, composer, record producer and arranger most famous for his work with Kool & The Gang. Initially we spent some time with him, going through music, conceptualizing a new sound and such. We thought he was going to be the primary writer for this RCA venture, so we were very, very excited about the possibility of working with such an incredible, succesful musician. But then that never came to fruition."
Instead Jacques Fred Petrus was brought in to produce The Ritchie Family's excellent top 40 R&B album I’ll Do My Best for the Morali & Belolo company Can’t Stop Productions. Both Jacques Fred Petrus and the team of Jacques Morali & Henri Belolo were French and this made the agreement pretty easy. Fred Petrus utilized his longtime writing companion Mauro Malavasi and Little Macho Music associated writers like Herb Smith to compose the songs on the RCA album. Fonzi Thornton, an up- and-coming funk artist on the label, co-produced the vocal tracks. Dodie Drager recollected: "We were very excited by the material they eventually came up with because now we got to do something different. We were able to use our abilities in another area, in another genre –and that made us extremely happy. I really love that album. The single "I'll Do My Best (For You Baby)" crossed us over more into pop and R&B territory and we enjoyed having the chance to expand our audience. Had we stayed with the pure disco sound –that would have been fine too, trust me– we would have made it work! But then the business heads didn't want to gamble on disco."
This Ritchie Family project
surprised because it wasn’t fluffy or too over the top but very funky and substantial which wasn’t in line with their previous disco output. Their sound changed to more of a dance/R&B style to reflect the times. That was for survival because of the post-disco backlash effect. To keep up with the trends in Black music it was necessary to adopt a contemporary mode and a more soulful perception.Mauro Malavasi supervised the project and the Italian-born Philadelphia arranger/producer Giuliano Salerni took care of the artistic production. Salerni had previously composed, arranged and produced the disco projects Ultimate and Hi-Gloss. The Hi-Gloss group comprised incidentally Timmy Allen (of group Change) on bass and Kae Williams (B.B.&Q. Band) on keyboards. Salerni also successfully arranged and mixed for Geraldine Hunt ("Can't Fake The Feeling") and France Joli (album Now!).
The heavy workload for Little Macho Music in 1982 forced Fred Petrus to outsource a great deal of the project's songwritings. Unfamiliar but seasoned names like Zenobia Conkerite, David Rose, Jerry Marcellino, Winston Gay, Trevor Veitch and Greg Mathieson were enlisted to compose tracks. Besides “I’ll Do My Best (For You Baby)”, none of the songs were written by inside components of Little Macho Music. Just four tracks were published by Little Macho Music, three of which were supplied by the American guitar player Herb Smith who also co-wrote "The Very Best In You" for Change.Petrus' musicians —including Mauro Malavasi and Timmy Allen of Change— and a handful of session professionals like Ira Siegel, Herb Smith, Yogi Horton, Kae Williams Jr. and Terry Silverlight simply carried out the songs, providing them with the characteristic texture and elegant style of the Little Macho Music productions.
Ritchie Family 1982
SILENCE
During the early 80s, Italo-disco pioneer Celso Valli was involved in several rock oriented but commercially less successful Little Macho Music projects. When disco was definitely on the wane, Fred Petrus attempted to cash in on dance-pop and new wave styles that were invading the music market and the clubs. MTV, which was launched in 1981, heavily promoted new wave and synth-pop music, boosting the genre's popularity in the United States. That format moved closer to dance music and included acts like Yazoo, The Police, Duran Duran, The Human League, Depeche Mode, The Cure and Wham!. Not to mention that other "purple" phenomenon, called Prince, who revolutionised the laws of the dance floor on his own during the young 80s.
Two years after the second Macho record, Jacques Fred Petrus engaged Valli again to compose and produce the Silence album Goodtime Baby, which was released in 1982. Earlier Celso Valli had written, arranged and directed Italo bombs as Tantra, Azoto, Passengers, Elite, Nuggets and V.I.S.A. which helped secure his reputation as master producer of the Euro-synthdisco genre.
The music Valli created for Silence was no dancefloor material however, but solid radio pop with straight rock arrangements sometimes. The only track that benefited from Celso Valli’s distinctive Italo synth-touch was the interesting
single cut “Midnight Visitors (Silence)”. Just like on the Macho II project the vocals were provided by the NYC-top session singer Gordon Grody.The record was taped at the Fonoprint studios where the whole Little Macho Music musician family contributed: Davide Romani, Paolo Gianolio, Doc Powell, Terry Silverlight, Gabriele Melotti, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Maurizio Biancani and Rudy Trevisi. The N.Y.C. studio singers Diva Gray, Robin Clark, David L. Byron, Tom Bernfeld and Kurt Yagian provided the background vocals. All vocals were recorded and mixed at Media Sound in New York City. For the English lyrics Petrus relied on the songwriters Paul Slade and Carlotta McKee. The album producers were Jacques Fred Petrus, Mauro Malavasi and Celso Valli. But Petrus had trouble selling the album to labels. It only got a release on the Italian label Memory Records and the Mexican label Peerless. As the vital distribution mechanism failed, the record came and went unnoticed. For the cover artwork Petrus hired artist Greg Porto who designed a sober square geometric concept.
former Power Station Studios NYC - Studio C
RECORDING STUDIOS
From 1978 until 1981 the material for the studio groups was generally recorded at the Fonoprint Studios in Bologna (Italy) and occasionally at the Stone Castle Studios near Milan (Italy). In 1983 and 1984 several productions were recorded in Modena at the Umbi Studio "Maison Blanche". The 1985 recordings took place in Carimate (Milan) at the Morning
Studios (formerly the Stone Castle Studios) and in Modena at the Umbi Studios "Maison Blanche".In 1982 New York was the place of action for the entire recording process. All the vocals of Petrus' various projects and the 1982 sessions were recorded and mixed in New York at the infamous Sigma Sound, Media Sound, Power Station and Sorcerer Sound Studios. Sigma Sound is well known for the many recordings for Philadelphia International Records, Salsoul Records and Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra. The mastering occurred at Sterling Sound, Atlantic Studios and Masterdisk in NYC. The vocals for Change’s Change Of Heart set were exceptionally recorded at Creation Audio Studio in Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis' home town Minneapolis in 1984.
The main recording engineers involved were Maurizio Biancani and the New York-based mixer Michael H. Brauer. Biancani saw the biggest Italian stars pass by in his Fonoprint studio: Vasco Rossi, Lucio Dalla, F.R. David, Miguel Bosé, Fun Fun, Loredana Berté, Matia Bazar, Stadio, Luca Carboni, Ron, Zucchero, Laura Pausini, Angelo Branduardi, Mario Biondi, Paolo Conte,… Brauer's credits encompass a wide range of genres, and include The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Ben Folds, John Mayer, Jeff Lorber, The Kooks, Sade, Terence Trent D'Arby, Regina Belle, Bruce Springsteen, Roxette, Pet Shop Boys, Phil Collins, Madness, Evelyn King, Luther Vandross, Level 42, Aerosmith, ...
Earliest location of the Fonoprint Studio [Via Schiavonia 1, Bologna]
Second location of the Fonoprint Studio [Via De' Coltelli 5/IIA, Bologna]
Current Fonoprint Studios [Via Bocca Di Lupo 6, Bologna]
Fonoprint Studio A
Fonoprint Studio B
During the early Eighties American musicians cut demos for Little Macho Music at the facilities of Northcott Productions Ltd. on Broadway in NYC with engineer Matthew Noble.
Matt Noble recalled: "I was the engineer for many of the demos that were cut at Northcott from 1981-1983 with many of the Little Macho Music-associated musicians. The de facto producers for most of the songs were Timmy Allen and Kevin Robinson. It was quite an education for me. They were very influenced by Prince's songwriting and production during that period. We were working with very crude studio tools at the time...a Tascam 8 track half inch recorder with a Tascam 8 channel mixer, a few Shure SM 57 microphones and one piece of outboard gear...a stereo Soundcraftsman 12 band graphic equalizer. This was before the dawn of MIDI but most of the tracks were cut with a click track and drum parts were often done over many times. The studio didn't have any synths or drum machines but someone left an Oberheim OBX synthesizer behind that we used a lot. The level of songwriting and musicianship was extremely high in that group of people working for J.F. Petrus. Mike Campbell was mainly on board for the funky rhythm guitar parts. Bernard Davies played on quite a few of the tracks but there was at least one other drummer that they used. Jeff Bova and Steve Skinner were both on the cutting edge of synths and could also really play. The stand out guitarist was Chieli Minucci...we later cut some demos there that got him his record deal for his group "Special FX". There were some great singers in there as well, such as Lisa Fischer and James 'Crab' Robinson."
Also Kevin Robinson remembered the sessions at Northcott: "We used Northcott in those days to work on song ideas and develop a presentation for Fred, who needed to hear things as close to finished as possible because he wasn't a musician like many of us, who could image a finished product. There were no Italian musicians working with us, that was only during the first Change and B.B.&Q. Band albums. Davide and Mauro would come to NY to participate in the production of some of the albums and at times bring tracks that they had prepared. These were not collaborations, other than Americans writing lyrics for tracks that Mauro or Davide wrote and produced."
Michael H. Brauer
STUDIO MUSICIANS & STUDIO SINGERS
1982 was a very busy and productive year for the Italians who recorded five outstanding albums in New York. The Goody
Music Production stable used the services of the cream of America's studio musicians, composers and lyricists.Steady contributors at that time were Timmy Allen (bass, vocals, songwriting), Michael Campbell (guitar), Kevin Robinson (guitar, vocals, songwriting), Kashif (keyboards, synthesizers, songwriting) (see photo), Steve Robin (keyboards, synthesizers), Jeff Bova (keyboards, synthesizers), Ira Siegel (guitar), Kae Williams (keyboards, synthesizers, songwriting), Alfonso ‘Fonzi’ Thornton (vocal-arranger, songwriter),
Terry Silverlight (drums) (see B/W photo), Yogi Horton (drums), Buddy Williams (drums), Bernard Davis (drums), Barry Eastmond (keyboards, synthesizers), Herb Smith (guitar, songwriting) and Hiram Bullock (guitar).The hired musicians and backing vocalists did their jobs but had no idea on which album their work was going to end up. When they played on tracks it was usually before vocals were done, so many times they didn't know who ultimately the track would be for. They were in total darkness playing their small, but important role within certain directions by Petrus, Malavasi and Romani who always had the last word about the final result. They could be working on three different projects at once without knowing. As the songs took shape the producers began to get a sense of who it might suit best and crafted it to suit who it was being pitched to. Only the Italians saw the whole picture. It was several months later that the artists would hear their contributions when the songs finally hit the stores and dancefloors on different albums. "Not knowing what song was for what project was a pain because you never knew if you would get the credit for your work", singer Bobby Douglas reminded.
The soulful background harmonies for the Petrus & Malavasi productions were performed by a trusty crew of the
finest New York session singers including Norma Jean Wright, Jocelyn Brown, Luther Vandross, Diva Gray, Robin Clark, Bobby Douglas (see photo), Gordon Grody, Tawatha Agee, Ullanda McCullough, Michelle Cobbs, Eric McClinton, Alfonso ‘Fonzi’ Thornton, Johnny Kemp and Leroy Burgess. Many of them also happened to be core background vocalists on numerous Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers productions (Chic, Sister Sledge, Diana Ross) and some achieved remarkable solo careers.Jacques Fred Petrus & Mauro Malavasi can be considered as the Godfathers of the NY sound. Expertly crafted background vocals were one of the essential elements of the unique NY sound.
Norma Jean Wright
COMPOSERS AND LYRICISTS
First-class productions require great songs. Driving force Mauro Malavasi took the lion’s share of the composing credits. The number of disco gems he realised is amazing and encompasses all the projects he instigated together with Petrus.
Goody Music/Little Macho Music staff musician, writer and arranger Davide Romani also provided most valuable contributions as composer (Change, High Fashion, B.B.&Q. Band, Zinc, Peter Jacques Band). Other credited composers were Rudy Trevisi (Rudy, Change, B.B.&Q. Band, Zinc, High Fashion), Paolo Gianolio (Rudy, Change, Zinc), Marco Tansini (Midnight Gang, B.B.&Q.
Band, The Jumpers, Silence 2, Tato, Peter Jacques Band, Gianni Riso), Celso Valli (Silence, Silence 2, Macho II, Change), Jacques Fred Petrus (Change, High Fashion, Revanche, Peter Jacques Band), Kashif (High Fashion, Zinc) (picture), Kevin Robinson (B.B.&Q. Band, High Fashion), Herb Smith (Change, Ritchie Family), Kae Williams (B.B.&Q. Band, Change), Len Boone (see photo) & Larry La Falce (Change), Chieli Minucci (High Fashion, Change), Timmy Allen (Change, B.B.&Q. Band, High Fashion) and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (Change).
Paul A. Slade
The English lyrics were provided by talented British and American song authors such as Alan Taylor and Paul Slade.
Taylor was an English
musician (bass), songwriter, music arranger and producer, born in Halifax (UK) on 28th February 1947 (photo right). He was Petrus’ solid lyricist during the 70's (Rudy, Revanche, Macho, Peter Jacques Band). Alan Taylor came to Italy with the beat band The Casuals during the '60s and was involved in countless Italian Seventies pop and disco projects like Tantra, Niky Bibesco And The Studios, Bingo, Cassandra, Barbados Climax, Chatelaine, Passengers, Paciugo, Ping Pong, The Yorkshire, Nuggets, Vasco Rossi, Bulldog, V.I.S.A. 
and Elizabeth. He often collaborated with Celso Valli who lived in Emilia-Romagna as he did. They worked together on Taylor's solo pop single "Song For Magdalena", released in 1977. Petrus' prolific ’80s lyricist was the British musician and singer/songwriter Paul A. Slade (see interview section), born in Guildford, Surrey (UK) on 27th May 1950 (Peter Jacques Band, B.B.&Q. Band, Change, High Fashion, Silence, Silence 2, Macho II). Other credited songwriters were Wayne Garfield (Change) (see photo left), Frank Floyd (Peter Jacques Band, Macho, The Jumpers), Timmy Allen (Change, High Fashion), Tanyayette Willoughby (B.B.&Q. Band, Zinc, Change), Alfonso ‘Fonzi’ Thornton (Zinc, Change, High Fashion), Johnny Kemp (B.B.&Q. Band, Change) and Leroy Burgess (Change).
Fonzi Thornton
THE DECLINE OF LITTLE MACHO MUSIC
During the period 1978-1981 the Petrus & Malavasi productions charted consistently. Acclaimed but commercially less successful releases in 1982 and especially 1983 showed that the hit pattern became difficult to maintain. Petrus' fortune was built on the exciting tail end of disco music but this era was rapidly melting down into the days of dance pop, a style of music which holded completely different
elements from black music.The warm and melodic sound didn't have its usual appeal in the clubs where synthpop, new wave and colder electronic music were preferred. People danced to the sounds of The Cure, Thompson Twins, New Order, O.M.D., Kajagoogoo, Spandau Ballet, Captain Sensible, Soft Cell, Culture Club and Billy Idol.
Other contestants who took the stage were fresh superstars like Madonna, Prince, Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson who started ruling the Billboard dance charts. In Europe Italo-dance productions became very popular on the dancefloor as well: Ryan Paris, Righeira, Gary Low, Gazebo, P. Lion, Valerie Dore, Ken Laszlo, My Mine, Steve Allen, Baltimora, etcetera.
Many disco artists and black musicians lost their focal point and were left at the mercy of the whims of pop music. This shift in the music industry influenced the quality of black popular music drastically and announced the era of pop-dominated dance music. Sale figures dropped and many musicians of Petrus’ Italian staff decided to leave as a result of an increasing economic commotion. Musicians didn't get paid anymore by Petrus who was clearly struggling the recession at his Little Macho Music company. He took the whole earnings away just for him and was less and less generous towards his production team whose enthusiasm waned accordingly. In the end none of his Italian co-workers proposed him any song material. Petrus could no more rely on the creative nerve of his Italian musicians. His well of success dried up! The only songs they carried out came from the American inside components of the various groups like Change, High Fashion or The B.B.&Q. Band, that were not able to write hits. The quality was often scarce and this trend penalized the productions always more. The once efficient trident Jacques Fred Petrus - Mauro Malavasi - Davide Romani came under intense pressure.
The chain production dynamic that Petrus liked so much began to take its toll. Malavasi and Romani spent long exhausting months locked up in recording studios in N.Y.C. during 1982. In the long run it was no surprise that Malavasi didn’t want to go on with Petrus in these circumstances. He quit due to disagreements about the musical direction and above all due to the financial conflict he had with his business partner. Homesickness might also have played a part in the story, since he got married in 1982... Malavasi already decided to leave the U.S. in late 1982, preferring recording at home to New York City. In the course of 1983 Mauro finally left Little
Macho Music to center on songwriting and production work for various Italian pop artists. His long-time associate Davide Romani even didn't participate in the fourth Change recording. Too worn-out by the economic debacle and the professional frictions with Petrus, he gave up his job at Little Macho Music and started a very productive career as an independent musician, arranger and producer in Italy.Strangely enough Davide Romani never broke completely with Jacques Fred Petrus as did his friends Mauro Malavasi, Paolo Gianolio and Rudy Trevisi. Romani co-arranged the Italo-pop single "Sunlight" by M Like Moon for Petrus in 1984. He then wrote, arranged and produced the fine Italo instrumental "Living" by Island And Holiday for Little Macho Music. The last Peter Jacques Band project again reunited Romani and Petrus in the studio in 1985. Davide Romani played an integral role as composer, arranger and musician on their album Dancing In The Street. He also delivered the song “Let’s Go Together” for the last Change record, which was actually the same song as "All Right Let's Go" that he did for the Peter Jacques Band.
Businessman Petrus stayed behind and was forced to turn his gaze again to the dance music industry of Italy and France. In 1983, he insisted that the then 23 year old French producer/composer Serge Michael Bijaoui manages a label for France that he was planning to create, "Majestic Records". Bijaoui had been mentored by French Eurodisco producer Alec Constandinos who taught him everything about the record industry. But Petrus' new record label never saw the light of day...
He somehow managed to revive his flagging US company. In september 1983 he called up Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis to work on the next Change project. He clearly needed a fresh sound and made a smart move by teaming up with the ultra-hot American producer team. They had just scored huge R&B hits with The S.O.S. Band’s “Just Be Good To Me” and Cheryl Lynn’s “Encore”. The cooperation resulted in an exciting Change album in 1984, applicably entitled Change Of Heart. Jam & Lewis’s “Midas touch” very briefly compensated the loss of Malavasi and Romani.
This success proved difficult to emulate on later Little Macho Music recordings though. With the exception of the American productions for Change and B.B.&Q. Band, the output increasingly gave the impression of desperate recycling and poor artistic drive.
Petrus was well aware that pop music had taken the airwaves and he attempted to reach that segment in the music market. In 1984 he set up the second Silence project Silence 2 featuring Gordon Grody and dropped the Eurodance-pop album The Beast In Me published on the French
Flarenasch and the Italian Five Records and Speed Records labels. The record included amongst others the single “The Beast In Me”, “Angel”, “Midnite Visitor”, “Moonlight Shadow” and “So Much For Love". The tracks were recorded in Bologna (Fonoprint 
Studios) and Modena (Umbi Studios) with Celso Valli as the main force behind the music. Paolo Gianolio, Davide Romani and Gabriele 'Lele' Melotti collaborated too. It seemed as if the Goody Music Orchestra had resurrected but the truth was that the sessions had been recorded earlier in 1982 when the Little Macho Music company was still running at a brisk cruising speed. Celso Valli finished the project later on. Three of the eight songs were recycled from the first Silence album. The title track "The Beast In Me" wasn't original either and was a reprise of a song by Bonnie Pointer featured on the American dance movie soundtrack Heavenly Bodies that same year. The song "Angel" had been recorded by Change in 1983 and "Moonlight Shadow" was of course a hit by Mike Oldfield. With only two new songs on offer, it was clear that Little Macho Music wasn't going through a creative phase. The record made little impression, despite some fine revisited pop tunes and the powerful vocals of the American lead singer Gordon Grody. Gordon Grody was also featured as a vocalist on the first Silence album and the Zinc project in 1982. Petrus contracted his regular graphic designer Greg Porto to take care of the sleek geometric cover art. Also during 1984 Petrus meagerly reintroduced the Macho concept on
the record labels Flarenasch and Five Records. He hired Kevin Robinson (B.B.& Q. Band) and Howard King to produce a new Italo-disco version of the Malavasi song “Kalimba De Luna” for his Macho III project. The track was carried out at Sound Labs in New York with familiar names like Johnny Kemp, Vincent Henry and Steve Skinner. The lead singer on Macho's "Kalimba De Luna" was a singer called Sherwin who also happened to feature on the song "State Of The Nation", produced by Little Macho Music.
Another studio moniker, Midnight Gang, from 1980 also had their name revived in 1984 for the single "Hollywood City". Besides "Hollywood City", Marco Tansini also produced the Italo-disco singles Kevin Johnson "Video Night / Child Of Tomorrow" and Sherwin “State Of The Nation” for Little Macho Music on Speed Records. "State Of The Nation" wasn't an original composition but a cover of a song by the American synth-pop group Industry, released in 1983 on Capitol Records.
“Hollywood City” and "Video Night / Child Of Tomorrow" were co-written by Simona Zanini and Marco Tansini. For an unknown reason Little Macho music published “Hollywood City” under a different name in France, as Zinc feat. Sherwin on Sneak Preview Records. This release was identical to the Italian Midnight Gang single though. Again in France the single “State Of The Nation” was released on the Sneak Preview label under the slightly different name Zinc feat. Sherwin. The song "Sunlight" by M Like Moon was a further obscure Petrus co-production in 1984 reaching minor success. Also published by Little Macho Music in 1984 on the labels Five Records and Speed Records was the 12 inch single Island And Holiday "In The Summer Time (Love Of The Common People / Living". Especially the flipside instrumental "Living" is superb Italo dance music written, arranged and produced by Davide Romani.The Little Macho Music company shut down after the last Change album due to severe troubles with the US taxman. The decline of Petrus’ empire was irreversible. In 1985 the reanimated Peter Jacques Band and B.B.& Q. Band were housed in a new short-lived production company called Renaissance International. Fred Petrus' new publishing company in N.Y.C. was baptized Vedette International and was located at 233 West 26th Street in Manhattan.
In Italy Petrus released all his new productions on the Renaissance International record label. Besides Change, B.B.& Q. Band and Peter Jacques Band, the Renaissance International label also released the Italo-disco singles “Crazy Boy” by Tato, a remake of the Change song "Turn On Your Radio" by Nobel, “So Decide” by Persuader and “Sunlight” by M Like Moon. The project M Like Moon had been previously released on the Ariola and Flarenash record labels in 1984. All these titles were (co-)produced by Jacques Fred Petrus. Like many Italo-disco releases they sounded stereotyped and immensely synthesized. But that cheapness and simplicity was the appeal of Italo-disco records since they were a bit like punk records: a raw and exciting energy of the most banal sounds and rhythms.
Petrus appointed the experienced Luigi 'Luis' Figini as artistic director of his new Renaissance International label. Figini was together with Malavasi one of the first Italian producers to have reached success in the U.S. and the man behind the Kano hits "I'm ready” (1979) and "Dance school" (1983) as well as Dr. Togo’s soulgem “Be Free” (1983). It was an attempt to bring back the magic of the good old days but it didn’t work out. The Renaissance company couldn't fulfill its symbolic appellation.
Surprisingly, Peter Jacques Band emerged after a five year hiatus. The album cover showed four new faces, none related to the original members of the Peter Jacques Band in 1980. The act comprised Ilto Sampaio, Betty Lami, Carin McDonald and Carmen Björnald. In analogy with the previous Peter Jacques Band line-ups, these four performers were merely the entertainment mask for a dance project and didn't sing on the album and actually never set foot in the recording studio. They were in fact models and dancers picked by Jacques Fred Petrus for the packaging of his studio act.
Their Dancing In The Street set was recorded in Milan at Carimate Castle simultaneously with the sixth album of Change. Dancing In The Street was published first and faired better in sales and clubplay than
Change’s Turn On Your Radio. Dancing In The Street was a moderate success presenting Italo-dance tunes like “Drives Me Crazy”, “This Night”, “Going Dancing Down The Street” and “Hightime”. The set also included the soul/R&B cut "All Right Let's Go" sung by Ullanda McCullough.Ullanda’s vocal class and professionalism were to such an extent that musical director Luis Figini still recalls her performance at the Morning Studio in 1985: “She walked into the studio one day coming from New York, did the song “All Right Let’s Go” a first time to warm up her voice and the second take she did was the final, perfect version as published on the album! The recording session lasted just 20 minutes! After this impressive vocal blow she greeted everyone and went shopping in Milan...” Oddly enough this track, written by Davide Romani and Paul Slade, also appeared on the Change album as the single “Let’s Go Together” but with a different vocalist. Jacques Fred Petrus seemingly didn’t have an abundance of new material at his disposal.
PJB member Carmen Björnald about Petrus in June 2011: "If you really want my personal opinion... he was definitly a genious in his way of working but the human part of him... loyalty, honesty and passion was not included in his qualities. I prefer simple people with more space for humanity!"
Petrus’ last projects for Change and Peter Jacques Band did rather poor on the charts in 1985. His mid-80s style of music only vaguely echoed R&B. The fresh, soulful vibe that once blessed his productions had made way for plastic consumer pop blended with a touch of Italo-disco.
Jacques Fred Petrus’ music business regained some of its original musical glow with the release of the 4th B.B.& Q. Band project in 1985 through his European company Vedette International. Genie offered a collection of strong and varied R&B songs, beautifully produced and arranged in an urban synth-funk mode.
But unfortunately this modest revival was of a brief duration as Petrus was forced to put his music biz activities on hold in 1986. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the US federal government accused the Little Macho Music company of tax evasion and Petrus had to go on the run. The Renaissance International company and label collapsed subsequently. A little later Fred Petrus was fatally shot dead at home in Guadeloupe.
Peter Jacques Band sample appears on:
* Turbofunk: “Gotta Move” (sample: Going Dancing Down The Street), 12”, 541/N.E.W.S., 2007.
* Lee Foss: “Someone New” (sample: All Right let's Go) from Starfruit, Hot Creations, 2011.
The medieval Carimate Castle near Milan where the legendary Stone Castle Studios aka Morning Studios were located
THE DARK SIDE OF SUCCESS
Jacques Fred Petrus was the archetype of the bright and successful but also recklessly ambitious record mogul. He absolutely was a cosmopolitan, feeling at home as well in Rome and Milano as in Paris and New York City or the exotic Guadeloupe. And he definitely was a man with style too, who enjoyed cruising the streets of NYC with his expensive BMW 733i. His cigars would be Davidoff and he loved wearing classy Italian clothing by fashion designer Francesco Smalto. Randy Muller shared: "I never met Fred, although I recall us crossing paths in a New York studio. He was leaving and I was just coming in to start a session with Brass Construction. I remember him being very well-dressed on that occasion. He came across as a very meticulous man, meaning that in a good way. He wore a silk scarf. His cologne was top-shelf as well." It is known that the wealthy French producer would regularly fly first class on a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet to Thailand for a few hours, just long enough to squander hundreds of Thai bahts on hedonistic diversion, far away from the limelight...
When he wasn't in the recording studio, producer Fred Petrus concentrated on the business aspects of the company such as masterminding and financing the numerous discoprojects and shopping around for gainful record deals. Petrus —usually called Fred Petrus or just Freddie by his friends— was a reserved but driven character whose passionate, determined nature regularly conflicted with others. He has been described as a generous individual with a propensity to be ruthless to those who crossed him. Top studio drummer Terry Silverlight recalled: "You wouldn't want to mess with him. If you didn't know him, he could be very intimidating at first meeting." Change keyboardist Jeff Bova put it this way: "Freddie was all about power...macho was his running theme."
Alongside the 'Made In Italy' marketing campaign during the early 1980s, a declaredly entrepreneurial matrix was at work. Complete information about business processes of the time is, for obvious reasons, difficult to obtain. But it's commonly accepted that Italian dance music productions were very much motivated by commercial prospects such as making money abroad, setting up alternative distribution routes and avoiding foreign import tax. It's also clear that in a producer-led and label boss-directed biz, singers and performers frequently were short-changed by exploitative contracts and poor revenue. The business rules of Jacques Fred Petrus were no exception to this reality.
Don't be fooled by his piously sounding name. He was no saint! Already in the early days of his record import business, a sly nature emerged. In order to keep Goody Music running amidst periods of lagging sales, he used a payment system that nearly everyone who has the nerve, comes up with. That is, either not paying suppliers, or else paying them little by little. But how can someone get away with it, you ask? The first few times you pay them regularly, to gain the trust of the supplier, then you slow the payments down with various excuses, including the usual "business has a dip"... and in the end, you stop paying them altogether and change suppliers. Legal issues would be thought of in a second moment, perhaps ending in bankruptcy. This was Petrus...a great ability with music, and above all talent, but with a casual if not obscene way of managing his business. And this would unfortunately never change...
It was always cristal clear that Jacques Fred Petrus himself was responsible for the success of Little Macho Music and no one else. Producer Curtis Styles remembered that egomaniacal side of Petrus very well: "I can hear him right now chanting in his thick accent..."I am Change, I am B.B.&Q. Band, I am High Fashion! Remember that!"".
It was always cristal clear that Jacques Fred Petrus himself was responsible for the success of Little Macho Music and no one else. Producer Curtis Styles remembered that egomaniacal side of Petrus very well: "I can hear him right now chanting in his thick accent..."I am Change, I am B.B.&Q. Band, I am High Fashion! Remember that!"".
What would emerge with the ongoing success of Little Macho Music was the abrasive manner with which Petrus conducted business. It's a fairly unanimously agreed fact that Jacques Petrus treated people like dirt. He also had the bad reputation of being someone who was not of his word. From borrowing money, to firing people on the spot or ignoring them completely, Petrus ruled with erratic discipline —treating musicians and professionals who were integral to his company as if they were nobodies. Engineer Carl Beatty witnessed the tricky nature of svengali Fred Petrus: "I mixed the Change album Turn On Your Radio for him in 1985...but never got paid!".
Much can be taken from the thoughts of Bobby Douglas (photo above), an American vocalist who featured on a string of Petrus productions. When asked about the producer's death, he said: "I know that it was something waiting to happen. Because you can't be that evil, to that many people, and not have your karma affected." Douglas continued: “I had to threaten to knock over his desk up there at the Padell Nadell accounting firm one day. He tried to bulk me out of $1.200 after stranding me and a few of the Change members in Paris. So I threatened to bring Newark to Padell Nadell and was in the process of turning over his office when Earl The Pearl [record label owner Earl Monroe] stopped me. Earl The Pearl had an office next door, heard the commotion and begged me not to kill him. I got paid though. Petrus wrote a check right then and there! I learned some lessons that summer! I had been dealing with him for at least two years prior, on those Peter Jacques Band and Revanche records…me and the guys from Platinum Hook... Anyway, all I can say is that if it wasn't for him I wouldn’t have met all those great New York singers. So that's what I take away from the experience...met some fantastic people!”
The British songwriter Paul Slade wrote many hit lyrics for B.B.&Q. Band ("On The Beat"!), Change and Peter Jacques Band. In return the devious Petrus left some damage behind: “Honestly, I’ve had, and still have enormous problems with Fred Petrus. He was a thief, a crook, whatever... For the past 40 years I have been trying to recuperate royalties for all the songs that I wrote for him and since my visit to Italy I found out that Romani and Malavasi and their Italian publisher all have the same headache! So we teamed up together to take legal action.” The frustrated Slade continued: “Petrus was someone totally bad! He had absolutely no respect and considered that once an artist had worked for him, all the songrights were his! And so he did whatever he wanted with all the works and snitched all the royalties. His Italian contracts didn't stand up. He was in fact selling his publishing rights to himself in the USA and illegally pocketing huge money from song royalties that he wasn’t untitled to under European law. He was very clever at playing that sort of tricks! That is without any doubt why he was shot.”
The British songwriter Paul Slade wrote many hit lyrics for B.B.&Q. Band ("On The Beat"!), Change and Peter Jacques Band. In return the devious Petrus left some damage behind: “Honestly, I’ve had, and still have enormous problems with Fred Petrus. He was a thief, a crook, whatever... For the past 40 years I have been trying to recuperate royalties for all the songs that I wrote for him and since my visit to Italy I found out that Romani and Malavasi and their Italian publisher all have the same headache! So we teamed up together to take legal action.” The frustrated Slade continued: “Petrus was someone totally bad! He had absolutely no respect and considered that once an artist had worked for him, all the songrights were his! And so he did whatever he wanted with all the works and snitched all the royalties. His Italian contracts didn't stand up. He was in fact selling his publishing rights to himself in the USA and illegally pocketing huge money from song royalties that he wasn’t untitled to under European law. He was very clever at playing that sort of tricks! That is without any doubt why he was shot.”
By 1983 Petrus' realm started crumbling off due to an economical malaise within his company and shifting trends in the music industry. He had become quite a controversial if not corrupt business figure. It is known that in this period Jacques Fred Petrus didn’t treat his employees very fairly. He had a terrible reputation for not paying on time or just not paying at all!
Drummer Bernard Davis reacted as follows: "After Fred Petrus pissed off Yogi Horton (one of the hottest and most versatile studio drummers at the time), who had played on albums by B.B.&Q. Band, Change, Zinc and High Fashion, I took over the drum sessions in 1983. Thereafter, Petrus pissed me off as well and I stopped doing recordings...".
Drummer Bernard Davis reacted as follows: "After Fred Petrus pissed off Yogi Horton (one of the hottest and most versatile studio drummers at the time), who had played on albums by B.B.&Q. Band, Change, Zinc and High Fashion, I took over the drum sessions in 1983. Thereafter, Petrus pissed me off as well and I stopped doing recordings...".
Recording engineer Michael H. Brauer and Little Macho Music project coordinator Steve Bogen (see photo right) can testify. Brauer: "I was a fan of Fred for many years. It was only when he screwed over my friends and then myself that I felt he was an abuser and a bad person. We were young and he used all of us until we walked away. He offered to settle for a third what he owed me...! He had ears, but was an evil person." Brauer went on: "I found out he was killed just as we were all leaving Yogi Horton's funeral service somewhere early June 1987. Loved Yogi...Despised Petrus...What a set of conflicting emotions. How he died is unimportant, why he died is important...he finally abused somebody who didn't walk away. My career got off the ground because of my work with Change, so I'm certainly grateful to him for that break."
The Minneapolis producer duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis took care of the successful fifth Change album Change Of Heart and put a lot of creative energy into this project. But in the end they left several American and Italian studios without a penny. They had no choice but to take their client to court, only to cash in half of what Fred Petrus owed them. The employed producers were even grounded in Italy for a stint in 1983 because Svengali Petrus took perverse pleasure in not paying for the hotel stay, obliging them to sell their expensive transatlantic airline tickets.
Bogen: "Seems to me a correct assessment. He pissed off a lot of people. At the end he owed out a lot of money. People began showing up at the Little Macho Music office demanding money and threatening. If he didn't have an immediate need for someone at the time, you were toast, a "Who are you??" and "What do you want??...Oh, and by the way, take a message, I'll call back.". That was nonsense!".
Little Macho Music, 1775 Broadway, NYC, NY 10019 - former Newsweek Building
Respected vocalist and background singer Robin Clark (David Bowie, Simple Minds, George Benson, Chic) recalled in a recent interview: “Working with Freddie was a real trip. At one point I had to take him to court to be paid for work I did for him and then he decided he didn't want to pay me. I worked on 4 albums for him, B.B.&Q. Band (1981), Change (1982), Silence (1982) and High Fashion (1982). At the time the only reason I took him to court is because he said "sue me"...so I did! It wasn't for a ton of money, $1.500...it was about principle, honor and his total disrespect. I won because he never showed up to the court date (see photo below)." And Clark goes on: "He was a pretty deep guy. We lived in the same building with Lani Groves, Gordon Grody and David Bowie...those were some pretty amazing times. By 1982 I had been in the biz for 13 years and he was the first of his kind that I met. His attitude was basically: I have your performance and now go to hell! He thought that everyone was disposable and his crap would never catch up with him...arrogance to the 3rd power. But as you and I know "what goes around comes around" and it did for him. Because I lived in the same building with Freddie I did get to see a softer and kinder side to him...too bad that didn't translate to his business practices. I am a true believer in Karma and Cause and Effect...seen it in action too many times...basically "Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You"...Too bad he didn't realize that. But at the end of the day his legacy lives on because he met the right people and put them together....and we made some great music that has lived on.”
N.Y.C. Civil Court claim: Robin Clark vs. Jacques Fred Petrus 1982 (Photo courtesy of Robin Clark)
Petrus had signed very lucrative contracts with many major record labels and this had made him a very rich man. He was a typical record executive from the Disco period. A tough guy. People respected him, but many actually feared him. He owned many things that the opulent love. But all this wealth made him lose the contact with reality, and in a short time his manias of greatness had a serious financial impact on Little Macho Music. The hits slowed down but Petrus' boundless ambition didn't —as revealed the Little Macho Music productional overflow of 1982! He was only thinking about accumulating money for himself, criminally neglecting the merit of his loyal musicians in the process. This abuse began running parallel to a slide further and further into debt. Needless to say that the outcome was a crisis of confidence and a creative deadlock causing the desintegration of Little Macho's original Italian production unit.
In 1983 Petrus' association with his Italian partners was over. A frustrated Paolo Gianolio already left the Little Macho Music production team in 1982. The other Italian co-workers Malavasi, Romani and Trevisi who also got tired of their relationship with Petrus and the economic turmoil, left Little Macho Music as soon as the running projects were rounded off in early 1983. Jacques Fred Petrus carried on alone with variable success until 1985. But for his ex-companion Malavasi this was just the end of the first chapter of an impressive musical career.
Jacques Fred Petrus, passport photo 1984
FINAL DESTINATION MOTHERLAND
In 1986 Jacques Fred Petrus faced urgent problems in the US. A moratorium on all Little Macho Music activities in the States came to a screeching halt upon Petrus' indictment on tax evasion by the IRS, the Internal Revenue Service. After fleeing the United States, Petrus returned to Italy and eventually returned to his native country Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. There he concentrated on running his succesful night club Elysées Matignon together with Catherine, his beautiful mestiza companion with green eyes. They started up the disco club in August of 1985. Its name was inspired by the Elysées Matignon, one of Paris' most posh discotheques. Freddie also managed the enterprise Ets. Jacques Fred Petrus & Cie. which had been established already in January of 1983. Both companies had their headquarters in apartment block IMM La Coupole (Quartier Grand-Camp) in the municipality of Les Abymes. However, Guadeloupe would eventually become his final destination. The isolated disco producer would never reconnect with the music business again.
Sadly, he was brutally murdered in Guadeloupe under mysterious circumstances in the Spring of 1987. Fred Petrus was only 39 years old. Fact is that quite a few people in the music industry weren't surprised at this bad ending. More than once Petrus had been portrayed as an unscrupulous businessman. A hardliner, notorious for screwing his artists. He owed money to a lot of people. Some hated him so much that they even travelled to Guadeloupe to make sure he was dead. Had Petrus made too many enemies?
For a long time plenty of wild rumors circulated concerning his assasination, the Mafia-connection being one of them. Petrus reputedly launched his empire with money from the Italian Mafia. And eventually he may have become the victim of a deadly mob hit. Gossip or plausible? It's generally known that the Mafia invested lots of money in the music industry and in nightclubs during the golden age of Disco. Huge amounts of money were circulating in this very profitable business. It was a source of continual cash flow and many transactions were conducted in cash which made it very appealing to the Mob. So it's likely that Fred Petrus was connected to the underworld in some way, possibly in the shape of money laundering. He was known for suspicious bookkeeping and for dealing with shady people anyhow. Given Fred's past as a deejay in some of Paris' and Italy's most fancy discotheques, which were often Mob territory, it's believable he had contacts that could lead to Mafia figures offering "creative finance". Persistent whispers circulate that he did borrow large sums of money to start up his dream enterprise and later on to keep his ship afloat when things dramatically slowed down. Again, this is an element of his story that can only be put together via anecdote and hearsay. According to longtime friend Franco Donato, Fred Petrus was extorted by the American radio Mafia and was forced to hand over 20 percent of his profits, which he initially did...
A reliable source however, revealed that Petrus’ gruesome fate apparently had a more banal but not less tragic origin. According to Claude Petrus, a cousin of Jacques Fred Petrus, he was killed by some madman at his residence in the dead-end street Impasse Livio situated in the heights of Saint-Félix (Le Gosier). Fred's partner Catherine did the lugubrious discovery in the afternoon of June 8th 1987. She had already been advised not to stay at Fred's villa for her own safety because he felt that he was being hunted down. The dead body of Petrus was found lying on the bed, shot five times, the one bullet in the mouth being the final merciless blow. If Catherine had been with Fred that night she probably would have been shot as well.
The troubles started in the tourist area of the Marina Bas-du-Fort in Le Gosier which is the main
seaside resort of Guadeloupe and the heart of the island's night life. Close to the piers of the yacht marina Jacques Fred Petrus owned the popular nightclub Elysées Matignon, frequented by the jetset of the island. The disco opened its doors in August of 1985 and comprised three different rooms: Disco & Soul, Guadeloupean & Caribbean vibes (zouk, soca, calypso, salsa, reggae) and Pop & Country. For an unknown reason Fred Petrus seriously clashed with a Swiss club goer at his disco on a Sunday night in June 1987. Entirely in keeping with his fiery persona, he kicked the man out violently. The tourist returned to Fred's club later that night and followed Fred Petrus as he headed back home to Saint-Félix. Subsequently the murderer slipped into Fred Petrus' villa in the early morning of Monday 8 June and coldbloodedly shot the sleeping producer to death. Petrus didn’t get the slightest chance to defend himself, despite the presence of his two ferocious watchdogs. The gunman left Guadeloupe the following day but was caught by the French police a few months later and confessed the crime.
Aerial view of Fred's former home in Saint-Félix [black roof in the centre], located on Impasse Livio in the hills of Saint-Félix (Le Gosier).
The police excluded the drugs hypothesis or any connection with diamond traffic. There also seemed to be no Mafia involvement at all. No jilted composers, no loan sharks —just a drunk tourist and bar brawl. The story of a hit-man was simply a rumour based on his dubious personality and his Italian background. But still, a trivial nightlife conflict settled with the use of a firearm... The entire incident was just another shadow across the complex story of Italy's most prolific hit-maker. The exact cause will probably never surface. Surely a tragic end for a remarkable, yet controversial music business figure who will live on in the delightful music he created with producer Malavasi and his collaborators. Despite becoming a defining force in Italian dance music, Petrus' story ended where it began —in his native land Guadeloupe...where the sphinx' mysteries remain deeply buried under the tropical sand.
Marina Bas-Du-Fort (Le Gosier, Guadeloupe): restaurants, jazz bars, nightclubs and cafés
Both Fred's Guadeloupean businesses Ets. Jacques Fred Petrus & Cie. and Elysées Matignon shut down in November of 1995, eight years after his tragic death.
Today it's very unclear who administers and owns the Jacques Fred Petrus Music Estate. It used to be NYC entertainment attorney Stephen L. Kopitko and the late Marthe Petrus. Marthe was the mother of Jacques Fred Petrus and lived in Saint-Anne. She passed away on December 8th 2019 at the age of 97 (°26/02/1922). Martha, as she was called, still lived at the original family address in the Rue du Stade (Cité Valette) in Sainte-Anne.
Current master rights, publishing rights and licensing requests for the European territory:
- Clock Music SRL, Piazza Della Mercanzia 1, 40125 Bologna (BO), Emilia Romagna, Italy.
(email: ClockMusic@tin.it or andrea.desilvestri@studiosdf.it)
- Nuova Fresca Edizioni Musicali SRL, Via Melchiorre Gioia 64, 20125 Milano (MI), Italy.
(email: info@fresca.it, infofmc@bluewin.ch or stefano@fresca.it)
The early to the mid eighties was a prolific era for black dance music. A Period that has yet to be surpassed in terms of sheer quality, excitement and innovation. Despite –or perhaps because of– the assembly-line nature of Petrus' catalog, he made some of the best club tracks during that strange period in black music between disco's effective demise and the rise of contemporary R&B, hip hop, quiet storm and New Jack. The B.B.&Q. Band's "On The Beat" and High Fashion's "Feelin' Lucky Lately" pulse with spirited, upbeat rhythms. The B.B.&Q. Band's "Genie" may be the best song Loose Ends never made. From Change's "Paradise" to Zinc's "Streetlevel", this is some of the most entertaining R&B and boogie-funk of its day.
It remains truly astonishing how visionaries Petrus & Malavasi always succeeded in spotting and attracting the talent of rising stars and awarded musicians like Luther Vandross, Kashif, Timmy Allen, Curtis Hairston, Chieli Minucci, Johnny Kemp, Jeff Bova, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis or Meli'sa Morgan to keep their music machine going strong.
Petrus & Malavasi surely deserve their spot in the gallery of brilliant producers who contributed to the eminent musical output of that time. They left a rich legacy of incendiary dance material, exceeding disco triviality and unlikely to be forgotten by those who have the groove in the heart.
Current master rights, publishing rights and licensing requests for the European territory:
- Clock Music SRL, Piazza Della Mercanzia 1, 40125 Bologna (BO), Emilia Romagna, Italy.
(email: ClockMusic@tin.it or andrea.desilvestri@studiosdf.it)
- Nuova Fresca Edizioni Musicali SRL, Via Melchiorre Gioia 64, 20125 Milano (MI), Italy.
(email: info@fresca.it, infofmc@bluewin.ch or stefano@fresca.it)
Corner building on Piazza Della Mercanzia in Bologna where Malavasi's music company Clock Music SRL is housed
The early to the mid eighties was a prolific era for black dance music. A Period that has yet to be surpassed in terms of sheer quality, excitement and innovation. Despite –or perhaps because of– the assembly-line nature of Petrus' catalog, he made some of the best club tracks during that strange period in black music between disco's effective demise and the rise of contemporary R&B, hip hop, quiet storm and New Jack. The B.B.&Q. Band's "On The Beat" and High Fashion's "Feelin' Lucky Lately" pulse with spirited, upbeat rhythms. The B.B.&Q. Band's "Genie" may be the best song Loose Ends never made. From Change's "Paradise" to Zinc's "Streetlevel", this is some of the most entertaining R&B and boogie-funk of its day.
It remains truly astonishing how visionaries Petrus & Malavasi always succeeded in spotting and attracting the talent of rising stars and awarded musicians like Luther Vandross, Kashif, Timmy Allen, Curtis Hairston, Chieli Minucci, Johnny Kemp, Jeff Bova, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis or Meli'sa Morgan to keep their music machine going strong.
Petrus & Malavasi surely deserve their spot in the gallery of brilliant producers who contributed to the eminent musical output of that time. They left a rich legacy of incendiary dance material, exceeding disco triviality and unlikely to be forgotten by those who have the groove in the heart.
THE POST-PETRUS ERA
Malavasi and the famous Italian singer Lucio Dalla ran across each other in New York in 1983 and started a long collaboration (albums: Viaggi Organizzati, 1984; Fortunate Pilgrim, 1988; Dalla & Morandi, 1988; Cambio, 1990; Amen, 1992; Canzoni, 1996).
Other popular Italian artists he produced were Ron, Luca Carboni, Gianni Morandi, Biagio Antonacci, My Mine (album Stone, 1985 incl. “Cupid Girl”), Gianna Nannini, Steve Allen (“Letter From My Heart”, 1984), Bracco Di Graci, Ossigenata, Tony Esposito ("Kalimba De Luna", "Simba De Ammon", 1984; "Papa Chico", 1985; “Sinuè (Latin Tamborder)”, 1987), Loredana Berté, Aqua, Mango (“Bella D’Estate”, 1987) and Gerardina Trovato.
Furthermore he worked with the Latin pop artist Emmanuel, soulsinger Ava Cherry (single “Gimme, Gimme”, 1993; album Spend The Night incl. “You Are”, 1997), Lisa, Hayley Westenra, Hélène Ségara, Josh Groban, Emanuele Fasano, Iskra, Elisa, Karine Carusi and even Luciano Pavarotti.
He regularly continued teaming up with his former Little Macho Music companions Davide Romani, Celso Valli, Paolo Gianolio, Sandro Comini and Rudy Trevisi. One of the projects that Malavasi, Romani and Trevisi collaborated on in 1983 was Ron’s successful Calypso album, including the song “Sogno” (later a hit for Andrea Bocelli). Producer Malavasi even hired the NYC top session musician Terry Silverlight to play the drum parts on that record.
Mauro Malavasi and Davide Romani again joined forces for the Italo-disco single “Beat The Clock” by Page 2 in 1983 and "Fiesta (Come Un Amor Que Va)" by artist Goya in 1984. In 1982 Malavasi and Rudy Trevisi launched pop act Cube to create a frame
for their international musical ambitions. This synth-pop/Italo-Disco group included Rudy Trevisi, Serse May and the British singer Paul Griffiths and reached European success with the Italo-disco album Can Can In The Garden, released in 1983 (incl. “Prince Of The Moment”, "Concert Boy", "Two Heads Are Better Than One").
In 1984 Fonoprint recording engineer Maurizio Biancani produced the album La Faccia Delle Donna for pop group Stadio, featuring Romani, Trevisi and Malavasi as contributing session players.
In 1985 Malavasi went on with the project My Mine and produced and composed the group's album Stone in 1985 and their album Can Delight in 1986. Also for Cube, Malavasi wrote and produced two more singles, "Performance" (1985) and "Love's Taboo" (1986).
In 2018 he co-wrote the songs "Hit Or Miss" and "Living Monday" for Davide Romani's most recent Change project Love 4 Love.
The French songstress and glamour diva Dalida and the legendary disco group Boney M covered his co-written song “Kalimba De Luna” in 1984. Even Jacques Fred Petrus couldn’t resist fabricating an Italo-disco version of this song for his Macho III concept.
Malavasi has achieved remarkable success as a producer, arranger, conductor and songwriter for the international Italian star Andrea Bocelli. Album collaborations include Bocelli (1995), Romanza (1997), Sogno (1999), Andrea (2004), Si (2018) and Believe (2020). This work brought Malavasi back to
his original roots of classic music that he studied at the conservatory of Bologna in the mid ’70s.
Malavasi has also composed several film and TV scores: The Rogues, 1988; Mamma Lucia, 1988; The Sparrow’s Fluttering, 1988; The Fortunate Pilgrim, 1988; Pummarò, 1990; Tuscan Skies, 2001 and Providence, 2002.
During his career he has received 10 Grammy Awards, several ASCAP awards and the ‘David di Donatello’ movie award. On July 4th 2008 Mauro Malavasi has been rewarded with the prestigious ‘International Premio Pico della Mirandola’ life achievement award in his home town of Mirandola for his exceptional music career. It’s estimated that his music productions have sold over 100 million of records all over the world. He’s been honoured for his role in Andrea Bocelli’s Romanza album that sold 20 million copies worldwide and also for his unremitting support of youth music education in Italy.
Davide Romani, Celso Valli, Marco Tansini, Paolo Gianolio and Rudy Trevisi are still active on the Italian music scene today. The former co-workers have regularly met in studios since, to work on common projects for Italian groups and artists.
Rudy Trevisi (see photo left) played the clarinet in a symphonic orchestra. In addition to the clarinet, he also mastered the saxophone, flute, percussion and keyboards. Trevisi collaborated regularly with Mauro Malavasi on Andrea Bocelli projects. He has also done session work for Ron, Eros Ramazzotti, Black Box, Cube, N.O.I.A., Ana Belén, Miguel Bosé, Vasco Rossi, Jean Rich, Gaznevada, Steve Rogers Band, Bravo-St, Lonnie Gordon, Elisa, Biagio Antonacci, Miguel Bosé, Luca Carboni and Gerardina Trovato. The greatly talented artist died in Bologna on 31 March 2018
At the time of his collaborations with Jacques Fred Petrus, keyboardist and composer Celso Valli (see photo) was already a prolific producer/arranger in his own right and instigated many Italian disco acts in the late seventies and early eighties like Azoto, Five Sinners, Lazer, Tantra, Elite, Passengers, Lucrethia, Adal-Scandy Super Band, Cassandra, Lucrethia & The Azoto 14,008, V.I.S.A., Casanova, Nuggets and Neon. As the American disco market crashed and the Italo-disco sound was becoming more prevalent in Europe, Valli re-surfaced in the mid ‘80s on Raf's classic “Self Control”, Atelier Folie's “Fashion” and also Peter Richard's “Walking In The Neon”. Celso Valli often used the Goody Music musicians for his various projects. Still nowadays he’s a prominent producer, arranger and songwriter in Italy and has worked with some of the most successful Italian artists: Andrea Bocelli, Meccano, Eros Ramazzotti, Vasco Rossi, Future State, Canton, Sandy Marton, Matia Bazar, Enzo Janacci, Lijao, Etnika, Blue Gas, Tipinifini, Taffy, Nicolas, F.R. David, Afrika System, Filippa Giordano, Laura Pausini, Miguel Bosé, Mango, Filippa Giordano, Claudio Baglioni, Ciao Fellini, Giorgia and Gerardina Trovato.
Marco Tansini (guitar, keyboards, clarinet) is a succesful composer and arranger. He owns three recording studios in Codogno (Milan) and has produced, arranged and/or written for Moonshine, Valerie Dore, Sherwin, Monia, Diana Barton, Ivan Cattaneo, Giak, Splashdance, Kevin Johnson, Ago, Phil Sun, Hemyl, Sesto Senso, Lou Sern, Antonella, Lipstick, Shanatoa and Etta Scollo among others.
Paolo Gianolio (guitar, bass guitar, keyboards) has worked as an arranger, producer, songwriter and musician for
Vivien Vee (album With Vivien Vee, 1983), Mina, Andrea Bocelli, Ricchi E Poveri, Eros Ramazzotti, Filippa Giordano, Giorgia Morandi, Fiorella Monnoia, Claudio Baglioni, Vasco Rossi, Ciao Fellini, Jean Rich, Fun Fun, Patty Johnson, Angela Paris, Meccano, Kam Joyce, Blue, Morandi, Concato, Vanoni, Miguel Bosé, Anna Oxa, Afrika System, Laura Pausini, Renato Zero, Yas Titi Ya, Barbara York, Tantra, Kasso, Andrea Bocelli and many others. The multitalented artist has recorded 3 solo albums: Pane E Nuvole (2010), Tribù Di Note (2012) and Euritmia (2017). In 2020 Gianolio collaborated on the Claudi Baglione record In Questa Storia Che È La Mia.
Davide Romani (bass guitar, keyboards) has produced, arranged, composed or played for countless artists like Amii Stewart, Island And Holiday, Flowchart, Page 2, Charly B., Rita, M Like Moon, Dee-Fecto, Thango, Sabrina, Balansando, Laser, Mike Francis (album Flashes Of Life, 1988), Adriano Celentano, Stadio, Edoardo Bennato, Barbara York, Angela Paris, Afrika System, Patty Johnson, Lucia, Matisse, Rendez-Vous, Fun Fun, Ale, Meccano, Jean Rich, Kam Joyce, Tantra, Blue, Aida, Ricchi E Poveri, Manero, Kono, Jennifer Flou, Blue, Vasco Rossi, Biba, Enrico Boccadoro and Enzo Avitabile. The top musician and songwriter is still occasionally producing and arranging music today and also teaches bass guitar. In 2018 he even released a new Change album which has been received very well.
Mauro Malavasi having a break at Fonoprint Studios
Mauro Malavasi
The Flowchart production deserves special attention because this Bolognese concept was very similar to the productions of Little Macho Music. Flowchart was an obscure Italian studio project, influenced by the international success of the groups instigated by Jacques Fred Petrus, and immitating the modus operandi of Little Macho Music.
Their album The New Harlem Funk was released in 1983 on the small Italian label Maximus Records. The lead single off the album was "Ask The Boss", a delicious copycat of the Mauro Malavasi production sound. After hearing the songs "Ask The Boss", "R.U. Single" and "I Saw Him Make Eyes Atchoo", many dance music enthusiasts thought the record was realised by the team of Jacques Fred
Petrus and Mauro Malavasi. But this wasn't the case. The album was executively produced by Raffaele Ottavio and Mario "Don Giorda" Giordani aka Flow G. or Flow Giorda. All the tracks were composed and arranged by keyboardist Flow Giorda, keyboardist Fio Zanotti and guitar player Romano Trevisani. The well-known black American singer and vocal arranger Fonzi Thornton was hired to write the lyrics and oversee the vocal production at Blank Tape Studios in New York City. Several hot R&B acts like Brass Construction, Ashford & Simpson, Phil Fearon & Galaxy, Chaka Khan, Kid Creole & The Coconuts and Shakatak have also recorded at Blank Tape during the early 1980s.
Romano Trevisani (February 20, 1953 - May 6, 2017) already made a slight impact on the disco scene in 1979 and 1980 with the albums Bravo by Bravo (singles "Soul Sacrifice" and "Touch Me Now") and Mesa by Mesa, both on Chic Records. In 1982 Trevisani and Fio Zanotti teamed up as Game, writing and producing the LP Gotta Take Your Love, which included the popular boogie single "Gotta Take Your Love".
Davide Romani, who was a friend of Romano Trevisani, played bass guitar on the Flowchart album. However, due to contractual obligations towards Little Macho Music, Romani performed under the pseudonym of Dav. Mandingos.
Even more mystery surrounded the four credited NYC session singers. Names on the cover like Micael Merfi, Dany Jor, Mary Dan and Ullaw Jo more than suggest they were pseudonyms as well. Singer Fonzi Thornton –also a backing singer with Change– was the author of all the songs and may as well be one of the male background singers. It is thought that Ullaw Jo is Ullanda McCullough, a busy N.Y. session singer. Micael Merfi was another familiar name and an alias for the singer of The System, Mic Murphy, who worked at Fred Petrus' office in NYC. Murphy even sang backgrounds and played some additional guitar licks on the first Change album! Murphy thinks that the remaining Flowchart backings were probably the usual suspects Christine Wiltshire, Krystal Davis and Yvonne Lewis. The vocals were taped in NYC at Blank Tape studios and the music was recorded at the Maison Blanche-Umbi Studio in Modena. Additional sessions for the second release happened at the Fonoprint Studios in Bologna where also Change used to record. The percussionist involved was Lele Melotti, yet another musician linked with Little Macho Music.
In an attempt to increase the commercial success, Maximus Records put out a remix of "Ask The Boss". That non-album mix also got a British release on the Greyhound Record Productions label and on the French Polydor Records. The German pressing on ZYX Records only featured the original mix. The single "Ask The Boss" created a certain fuss in Europe, but the Italian record company was unable to deliver sufficient album copies whereby the poorly promoted record quickly became a highly sought after item.
Curiously, the famous Italian wine company Giacobazzi from Modena contacted the producers and proposed to finance a re-issue of the album under certain conditions. The project was part of an advertising campaign to promote Giacobazzi’s innovative concept of packaging sparkling wine in hip cans. Hence, the album was aptly re-released in 1983 as A Little Love A Little Wine on the City Record label. Redesigned cover artwork showed Flowchart in bold lettering and a can of "Giacobazzi 8 1/2 Fizzy Red Wine". The son of co-owner Giancarlo Giacobazzi sang lead on the added title track "A Little Love A Little Wine" (written and arranged by Davide Masarati). Also the remix version of "Ask The Boss" was now added to the album track list and called "Orchestra Version". Unfortunately, the sales figures were again very moderate. The new LP was just as scarce as the first copy and never surpassed the status of an original but overlooked marketing gadget.
In 2006, the first pressing received a CD re-issue on the Italian Fonte label as part of a 5CD box of rare Italian funk albums. Also the second version A Little Love A Little Wine came out on the Dutch label PTG Records in 2004.
SIMILAR ARTISTS - SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY
The list below shows a selective discography of albums, album tracks and (album) singles that were distinctly influenced by, or built on the legacy of Jacques Fred Petrus & Mauro Malavasi. It’s no coincidence that several productions were Italian. The achievements of Goody Music Production clearly inspired other Italian producers to add soul and funk to their dance music, and entrust the vocal parts to American singers. Read more about them in the next chapter about Italian disco-funk and boogie.
ITALIAN DANCE FUNK - SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY
Meanwhile back in Italy, Mauro Malavasi (alias Ginko) embarked on a successful career as songwriter, arranger and producer outside the Petrus sphere. Operating from his Clock Studio and Clock Music company in Bologna, he became one of Italy's most prominent mainstream pop producers.
Malavasi and the famous Italian singer Lucio Dalla ran across each other in New York in 1983 and started a long collaboration (albums: Viaggi Organizzati, 1984; Fortunate Pilgrim, 1988; Dalla & Morandi, 1988; Cambio, 1990; Amen, 1992; Canzoni, 1996).
Other popular Italian artists he produced were Ron, Luca Carboni, Gianni Morandi, Biagio Antonacci, My Mine (album Stone, 1985 incl. “Cupid Girl”), Gianna Nannini, Steve Allen (“Letter From My Heart”, 1984), Bracco Di Graci, Ossigenata, Tony Esposito ("Kalimba De Luna", "Simba De Ammon", 1984; "Papa Chico", 1985; “Sinuè (Latin Tamborder)”, 1987), Loredana Berté, Aqua, Mango (“Bella D’Estate”, 1987) and Gerardina Trovato.
Furthermore he worked with the Latin pop artist Emmanuel, soulsinger Ava Cherry (single “Gimme, Gimme”, 1993; album Spend The Night incl. “You Are”, 1997), Lisa, Hayley Westenra, Hélène Ségara, Josh Groban, Emanuele Fasano, Iskra, Elisa, Karine Carusi and even Luciano Pavarotti.
In 1982 Malavasi used the pseudonym Ginko for the first Cube single "Two Heads Are Better Than One". He also wrote and produced My Mine's first single “Hypnotic Tango” in 1983 under the pseudonyms of Ginko and Lemon. It's possible that he didn't want Jacques Fred Petrus to know that he was writing songs for Italian side projects on his own account. At that time he was supposed to work exclusively for Little Macho Music.
He regularly continued teaming up with his former Little Macho Music companions Davide Romani, Celso Valli, Paolo Gianolio, Sandro Comini and Rudy Trevisi. One of the projects that Malavasi, Romani and Trevisi collaborated on in 1983 was Ron’s successful Calypso album, including the song “Sogno” (later a hit for Andrea Bocelli). Producer Malavasi even hired the NYC top session musician Terry Silverlight to play the drum parts on that record.
Mauro Malavasi and Davide Romani again joined forces for the Italo-disco single “Beat The Clock” by Page 2 in 1983 and "Fiesta (Come Un Amor Que Va)" by artist Goya in 1984. In 1982 Malavasi and Rudy Trevisi launched pop act Cube to create a frame
for their international musical ambitions. This synth-pop/Italo-Disco group included Rudy Trevisi, Serse May and the British singer Paul Griffiths and reached European success with the Italo-disco album Can Can In The Garden, released in 1983 (incl. “Prince Of The Moment”, "Concert Boy", "Two Heads Are Better Than One").In 1984 Fonoprint recording engineer Maurizio Biancani produced the album La Faccia Delle Donna for pop group Stadio, featuring Romani, Trevisi and Malavasi as contributing session players.
In 1985 Malavasi went on with the project My Mine and produced and composed the group's album Stone in 1985 and their album Can Delight in 1986. Also for Cube, Malavasi wrote and produced two more singles, "Performance" (1985) and "Love's Taboo" (1986).
In 2018 he co-wrote the songs "Hit Or Miss" and "Living Monday" for Davide Romani's most recent Change project Love 4 Love.
The French songstress and glamour diva Dalida and the legendary disco group Boney M covered his co-written song “Kalimba De Luna” in 1984. Even Jacques Fred Petrus couldn’t resist fabricating an Italo-disco version of this song for his Macho III concept.
An impressive number of Mauro Malavasi-productions
Malavasi has achieved remarkable success as a producer, arranger, conductor and songwriter for the international Italian star Andrea Bocelli. Album collaborations include Bocelli (1995), Romanza (1997), Sogno (1999), Andrea (2004), Si (2018) and Believe (2020). This work brought Malavasi back to
his original roots of classic music that he studied at the conservatory of Bologna in the mid ’70s.Malavasi has also composed several film and TV scores: The Rogues, 1988; Mamma Lucia, 1988; The Sparrow’s Fluttering, 1988; The Fortunate Pilgrim, 1988; Pummarò, 1990; Tuscan Skies, 2001 and Providence, 2002.
During his career he has received 10 Grammy Awards, several ASCAP awards and the ‘David di Donatello’ movie award. On July 4th 2008 Mauro Malavasi has been rewarded with the prestigious ‘International Premio Pico della Mirandola’ life achievement award in his home town of Mirandola for his exceptional music career. It’s estimated that his music productions have sold over 100 million of records all over the world. He’s been honoured for his role in Andrea Bocelli’s Romanza album that sold 20 million copies worldwide and also for his unremitting support of youth music education in Italy.
Stefano Colombo, Mauro Malavasi & Davide Romani at Piazza Galvani (Bologna)
Davide Romani, Celso Valli, Marco Tansini, Paolo Gianolio and Rudy Trevisi are still active on the Italian music scene today. The former co-workers have regularly met in studios since, to work on common projects for Italian groups and artists.
Rudy Trevisi (see photo left) played the clarinet in a symphonic orchestra. In addition to the clarinet, he also mastered the saxophone, flute, percussion and keyboards. Trevisi collaborated regularly with Mauro Malavasi on Andrea Bocelli projects. He has also done session work for Ron, Eros Ramazzotti, Black Box, Cube, N.O.I.A., Ana Belén, Miguel Bosé, Vasco Rossi, Jean Rich, Gaznevada, Steve Rogers Band, Bravo-St, Lonnie Gordon, Elisa, Biagio Antonacci, Miguel Bosé, Luca Carboni and Gerardina Trovato. The greatly talented artist died in Bologna on 31 March 2018
At the time of his collaborations with Jacques Fred Petrus, keyboardist and composer Celso Valli (see photo) was already a prolific producer/arranger in his own right and instigated many Italian disco acts in the late seventies and early eighties like Azoto, Five Sinners, Lazer, Tantra, Elite, Passengers, Lucrethia, Adal-Scandy Super Band, Cassandra, Lucrethia & The Azoto 14,008, V.I.S.A., Casanova, Nuggets and Neon. As the American disco market crashed and the Italo-disco sound was becoming more prevalent in Europe, Valli re-surfaced in the mid ‘80s on Raf's classic “Self Control”, Atelier Folie's “Fashion” and also Peter Richard's “Walking In The Neon”. Celso Valli often used the Goody Music musicians for his various projects. Still nowadays he’s a prominent producer, arranger and songwriter in Italy and has worked with some of the most successful Italian artists: Andrea Bocelli, Meccano, Eros Ramazzotti, Vasco Rossi, Future State, Canton, Sandy Marton, Matia Bazar, Enzo Janacci, Lijao, Etnika, Blue Gas, Tipinifini, Taffy, Nicolas, F.R. David, Afrika System, Filippa Giordano, Laura Pausini, Miguel Bosé, Mango, Filippa Giordano, Claudio Baglioni, Ciao Fellini, Giorgia and Gerardina Trovato.
Celso Valli
Marco Tansini (guitar, keyboards, clarinet) is a succesful composer and arranger. He owns three recording studios in Codogno (Milan) and has produced, arranged and/or written for Moonshine, Valerie Dore, Sherwin, Monia, Diana Barton, Ivan Cattaneo, Giak, Splashdance, Kevin Johnson, Ago, Phil Sun, Hemyl, Sesto Senso, Lou Sern, Antonella, Lipstick, Shanatoa and Etta Scollo among others.
Paolo Gianolio
Paolo Gianolio (guitar, bass guitar, keyboards) has worked as an arranger, producer, songwriter and musician for
Vivien Vee (album With Vivien Vee, 1983), Mina, Andrea Bocelli, Ricchi E Poveri, Eros Ramazzotti, Filippa Giordano, Giorgia Morandi, Fiorella Monnoia, Claudio Baglioni, Vasco Rossi, Ciao Fellini, Jean Rich, Fun Fun, Patty Johnson, Angela Paris, Meccano, Kam Joyce, Blue, Morandi, Concato, Vanoni, Miguel Bosé, Anna Oxa, Afrika System, Laura Pausini, Renato Zero, Yas Titi Ya, Barbara York, Tantra, Kasso, Andrea Bocelli and many others. The multitalented artist has recorded 3 solo albums: Pane E Nuvole (2010), Tribù Di Note (2012) and Euritmia (2017). In 2020 Gianolio collaborated on the Claudi Baglione record In Questa Storia Che È La Mia.Davide Romani (bass guitar, keyboards) has produced, arranged, composed or played for countless artists like Amii Stewart, Island And Holiday, Flowchart, Page 2, Charly B., Rita, M Like Moon, Dee-Fecto, Thango, Sabrina, Balansando, Laser, Mike Francis (album Flashes Of Life, 1988), Adriano Celentano, Stadio, Edoardo Bennato, Barbara York, Angela Paris, Afrika System, Patty Johnson, Lucia, Matisse, Rendez-Vous, Fun Fun, Ale, Meccano, Jean Rich, Kam Joyce, Tantra, Blue, Aida, Ricchi E Poveri, Manero, Kono, Jennifer Flou, Blue, Vasco Rossi, Biba, Enrico Boccadoro and Enzo Avitabile. The top musician and songwriter is still occasionally producing and arranging music today and also teaches bass guitar. In 2018 he even released a new Change album which has been received very well.
Davide Romani in the producer chair at White Studio Recording in 1986/87 (Ferrara, Italy)
Mauro Malavasi having a break at Fonoprint Studios
Mauro Malavasi
Mauro Malavasi
Mauro Malavasi
Mauro Malavasi
Mauro Malavasi
Mauro and singer Lucio Dalla (in the back) recording at Fonoprint - Studio A
Mauro and Graziano Galatone
Gianni Morandi, Alessandro Magri and Mauro Malavasi
Mauro Malavasi and Davide Romani
artist Nicky Benedek with Mauro Malavasi on Piazza Santo Stefano in Bologna (Italy)
DISCOGRAPHY - GOODY MUSIC / LITTLE MACHO MUSIC / RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL
- A.N.T.I. Rock: single “D.I.S.C.O.”, Goody Music, 1980. **
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: LP/CD The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band, EMI-Capitol, 1981 - singles: “On The Beat”, “Starlette”, “Time For Love”, "Mistakes".
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: LP/CD All Night Long, EMI-Capitol, 1982 - singles: “Imagination”, “All Night Long (She’s Got The Moves I Like)”.
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: LP/CD Six Million Times, EMI-Capitol, 1983 - singles: “Keep It Hot”, “She’s A Woman”.
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: LP/CD Genie, Cooltempo/Zyx/Mega/Break, 1985 / Elektra, 1986 -singles: “Genie”, “Dreamer”, “On The Shelf”, “Riccochet”, "Minutes Away", "Main Attraction".
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: LP/CD The Best Of B.B.&Q. Band, Italo Heat, 1988.
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: CD Final Collection, Fonte, 2008.
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: CD Greatest Hits & Essential Tracks, Fonte, 2009.
- Bob Eaven: single "I Like The Way You Love Me / I was A Fool", Goody Music, 1978. **
- Caprice: LP Russia, Goody Music, 1980 - singles: "Russia", "Stay Tonight". **
- Carlo Lena: single “Italia”, Goody Music, 1980. **
- Change: LP/CD The Glow Of Love, Goody Music/RFC-Warner Bros., 1980 - singles: “A Lover’s Holiday”, “The Glow Of Love”, “Searching”, "Angel In My Pocket".
- Change: LP/CD Miracles, Goody Music/RFC-Atlantic, 1981 - singles: “Paradise”, “Hold Tight”, “Miracles”, "Stop For Love", "Heaven Of My Life".
- Change: LP/CD Sharing Your Love, Memory/RFC-Atlantic, 1982 - singles: “The Very Best In You”, “Hard Times (It’s Gonna Be Alright)”, “Oh What A Night”, “Keep On It”, "Sharing Your Love".
- Change: LP/CD This Is Your Time, Memory/RFC-Atlantic, 1983 - singles: “Got To Get Up”, “This Is Your Time”, “Don’t Wait Another Night”, “Magical Night”.
- Change: LP/CD Change Of Heart, Five/RFC-Atlantic, 1984 - singles: “Change Of Heart”, “You Are My Melody”, "Say You Love Me Again", “It Burns Me Up”.
- Change: LP Greatest Hits, Five, 1984.
- Change: LP Greatest Hits, Renaissance International, 1985.
- Change: LP/CD Turn On Your Radio, RFC-Atlantic, 1985 - singles: “Let’s Go Together”, “Oh What A Feeling”, “Mutual Attraction”, "Examination", "Turn On Your Radio".
- Change: CD The Very Best Of Change, Rhino-Atlantic, 1998.
- Change: 2CD The Best Of Change, Warner Music, 2003.
- Change: single “You Miss My Love”, Yanis-Sony, 2004. (unofficial release)
- Change: 2CD The Final Collection, Fonte, 2007.
- Change: 2CD Greatest Hits & Essential Tracks, Fonte, 2009.
- Change: CD Change Your Mind, One Trybal-Fonte, 1990/2010.
- Change: 2CD Reach For The Sky - Anthology 1980-1985, Groove Line, 2015.
- Change: LP/CD Love 4 Love, Original Disco Culture, 2018.
- Change: single "Love 4 Love" [Joey Negro Remix] /
"Make Me (Go Crazy)" [Opolopo Remix], Expansion, 2019.
- Change: 7CD Everything And More - The Complete Recordings 1980-2019, Edsel, 2019.
- Change: 2LP Paradise - The Ultimate Collection 1980-2019, Demon.
- Elvin Shaad: LP Live For Love, Goody Music, 1978 - single: “Live For Love”. **
- Gianni Indino: single "Per Elisa / Per Questo Ti Amo", Goody Music, 1978. **
- Gianni Indino: single "Voglio Te / Domani Se Lo Vuoi", Memory, 1980. **
- Gianni Riso: single “Disco Shy”, Goody Music, 1980.
- Goody Music Orchestra, The: LP Hits Of The World Vol. 1 - Best Of Goody, Goody Music, 1980.
- High Fashion: LP/CD Feelin’ Lucky, EMI-Capitol, 1982 - singles: “Feelin’ Lucky Lately”, "You're The Winner", “Hold On”.
- High Fashion: LP/CD Make Up Your Mind, EMI-Capitol, 1983 - single: “Break Up”, "Make Up Your Mind".
- Island And Holiday: single "In The Summertime (Love Of The Common People)" / "Living", Speed/Five, 1984.
- Jumpers, The: single “Coke And Roll” / “Rock And Roll Boogie”, Avangarde, 1980.
- Kevin Johnson: single "Video Night / Child Of Tomorrow" Speed/Sneak Preview, 1984.
- M Like Moon: single “Sunlight”, Flarenasch/Ariola, 1984 / Renaissance International, 1985.
- Macho: LP/CD I’m A Man, Goody Music/Prelude, 1978 - singles: “I’m A Man”, “Hear Me Calling”.
- Macho (II): LP/CD Roll, Goody Music, 1980 - singles: “Roll”, “Mothers Love”, "Not Tonight".
- Macho III: single “Kalimba De Luna”, Flarenasch/Five, 1984.
- Midnight Gang: LP Love Is Magic, Goody Music, 1979 - single: “Love Is Magic”.
- Midnight Gang: single "Hollywood City", Speed, 1984.
- Nobel: single “Turn On Your Radio”, Renaissance, 1985.
- Peter Jacques Band: LP/CD Fire Night Dance, Goody Music/Prelude, 1979 - singles: “Walking On Music”, “Fire Night Dance”, “Devil’s Run”, “Fly With The Wind”.
- Peter Jacques Band: LP/CD Welcome Back, Goody Music, 1980 - singles: “Is It It”, “Counting On Love (One-Two-Three)”, “The Louder”, “Mighty Fine”.
- Peter Jacques Band: LP/CD Dancing In The Street, Renaissance International/Polydor, 1985 -singles: “Going Dancin’ Down The Street”, “Mexico”, “Drive Me Crazy”, "This Night".
- Peter Jacques Band: CD The Very Best Of Peter Jacques Band, Fonte, 2006.
- Peter Jacques Band: CD Greatest Hits & Essential Tracks, Fonte, 2009.
- Persuader: single "So Decide", Renaissance International, 1985.
- Random: single "Rondo'm", Goody Music, 1978. **
- Revanche: LP/CD Music Man, Goody Music/Atlantic, 1979 - singles: “Music Man”, “Revenge”, “You Get High In N.Y.C.”, “1979 It’s Dancing Time”.
- Ritchie Family, The: LP/CD I’ll Do My Best, RCA, 1982 - singles: “I’ll Do My Best (For You Baby)", “Walk With Me”, “Alright On The Night”.
- Rudy: LP/CD Just Take My Body, Goody Music/Polydor, 1979 - singles: “White Room”, “Just Take My Body”, “Thank You Baby”.
- San Juan: single "Everybody Do The Rock", Goody Music, 1980. **
- Sherwin: single “State Of The Nation”, Speed, 1984.
- Silence: LP Goodtime Baby, Memory, 1982 - singles: “Midnight Visitors”, “No Way”.
- Silence 2: LP The Beast In Me, Flarenasch/Five Record, 1984 - single "The Beast In Me".
- Silvio: single "Adesso", Goody Music, 1978. **
- Surf Riders: single "Mal D'Amore", Memory, 1981. **
- Tato: single "Crazy Boy", Renaissance International, 1985.
- Zinc: LP/CD Street Level, Memory/Jive, 1982 - singles: “Street Level”, “Punkulation”, "Amazon", "I'll Never Stop".
- Zinc: single “I’m Livin' A Life Of Love”, Jive, 1983.
- Zinc feat. Sherwin: single “State Of The Nation”, Sneak Preview, 1984.
- Zinc feat. Sherwin: single "Hollywood City", Sneak Preview, 1984.
* Producer Mauro Malavasi does no longer collaborate on the releases from 1984 onwards.
** Published by Goody Music Production but no musicians of the Goody Music Orchestra involved.
Little Macho Music compilations on CD:
- 2CD Disco Connection - The Great Disco '70/'80, Fonte, 2004.
- 2CD Goody Music - Golden Age - Best Of Vol. 1, Goody Music Production-Antibemusic, 2005.
- 5CD BOX Album Collection - Peter Jacques Band / Macho / Revanche / Rudy, Fonte, 2005.
- 5CD BOX Album Collection - Change, Fonte, 2005.
- 5CD BOX Album Collection - B.B.&Q. Band / High Fashion, Fonte, 2005.
- 5CD BOX Album Collection - The Armed Gang / Firefly / Flowchart / Zinc, Fonte, 2005.
- 7CD BOX Change - Everything And More - The Complete Recordings 1980-2019, Edsel, 2019.
Singer Gianni Morandi & Mauro Malavasi
SIMILAR ARTISTS - FLOWCHART [THE NEW HARLEM FUNK]
- A.N.T.I. Rock: single “D.I.S.C.O.”, Goody Music, 1980. **
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: LP/CD The Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band, EMI-Capitol, 1981 - singles: “On The Beat”, “Starlette”, “Time For Love”, "Mistakes".
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: LP/CD All Night Long, EMI-Capitol, 1982 - singles: “Imagination”, “All Night Long (She’s Got The Moves I Like)”.
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: LP/CD Six Million Times, EMI-Capitol, 1983 - singles: “Keep It Hot”, “She’s A Woman”.
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: LP/CD Genie, Cooltempo/Zyx/Mega/Break, 1985 / Elektra, 1986 -singles: “Genie”, “Dreamer”, “On The Shelf”, “Riccochet”, "Minutes Away", "Main Attraction".
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: LP/CD The Best Of B.B.&Q. Band, Italo Heat, 1988.
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: CD Final Collection, Fonte, 2008.
- B.B.& Q. Band, The: CD Greatest Hits & Essential Tracks, Fonte, 2009.
- Bob Eaven: single "I Like The Way You Love Me / I was A Fool", Goody Music, 1978. **
- Caprice: LP Russia, Goody Music, 1980 - singles: "Russia", "Stay Tonight". **
- Carlo Lena: single “Italia”, Goody Music, 1980. **
- Change: LP/CD The Glow Of Love, Goody Music/RFC-Warner Bros., 1980 - singles: “A Lover’s Holiday”, “The Glow Of Love”, “Searching”, "Angel In My Pocket".
- Change: LP/CD Miracles, Goody Music/RFC-Atlantic, 1981 - singles: “Paradise”, “Hold Tight”, “Miracles”, "Stop For Love", "Heaven Of My Life".
- Change: LP/CD Sharing Your Love, Memory/RFC-Atlantic, 1982 - singles: “The Very Best In You”, “Hard Times (It’s Gonna Be Alright)”, “Oh What A Night”, “Keep On It”, "Sharing Your Love".
- Change: LP/CD This Is Your Time, Memory/RFC-Atlantic, 1983 - singles: “Got To Get Up”, “This Is Your Time”, “Don’t Wait Another Night”, “Magical Night”.
- Change: LP/CD Change Of Heart, Five/RFC-Atlantic, 1984 - singles: “Change Of Heart”, “You Are My Melody”, "Say You Love Me Again", “It Burns Me Up”.
- Change: LP Greatest Hits, Five, 1984.
- Change: LP Greatest Hits, Renaissance International, 1985.
- Change: LP/CD Turn On Your Radio, RFC-Atlantic, 1985 - singles: “Let’s Go Together”, “Oh What A Feeling”, “Mutual Attraction”, "Examination", "Turn On Your Radio".
- Change: CD The Very Best Of Change, Rhino-Atlantic, 1998.
- Change: 2CD The Best Of Change, Warner Music, 2003.
- Change: single “You Miss My Love”, Yanis-Sony, 2004. (unofficial release)
- Change: 2CD The Final Collection, Fonte, 2007.
- Change: 2CD Greatest Hits & Essential Tracks, Fonte, 2009.
- Change: CD Change Your Mind, One Trybal-Fonte, 1990/2010.
- Change: 2CD Reach For The Sky - Anthology 1980-1985, Groove Line, 2015.
- Change: LP/CD Love 4 Love, Original Disco Culture, 2018.
- Change: single "Love 4 Love" [Joey Negro Remix] /
"Make Me (Go Crazy)" [Opolopo Remix], Expansion, 2019.
- Change: 7CD Everything And More - The Complete Recordings 1980-2019, Edsel, 2019.
- Change: 2LP Paradise - The Ultimate Collection 1980-2019, Demon.
- Elvin Shaad: LP Live For Love, Goody Music, 1978 - single: “Live For Love”. **
- Gianni Indino: single "Per Elisa / Per Questo Ti Amo", Goody Music, 1978. **
- Gianni Indino: single "Voglio Te / Domani Se Lo Vuoi", Memory, 1980. **
- Gianni Riso: single “Disco Shy”, Goody Music, 1980.
- Goody Music Orchestra, The: LP Hits Of The World Vol. 1 - Best Of Goody, Goody Music, 1980.
- High Fashion: LP/CD Feelin’ Lucky, EMI-Capitol, 1982 - singles: “Feelin’ Lucky Lately”, "You're The Winner", “Hold On”.
- High Fashion: LP/CD Make Up Your Mind, EMI-Capitol, 1983 - single: “Break Up”, "Make Up Your Mind".
- Island And Holiday: single "In The Summertime (Love Of The Common People)" / "Living", Speed/Five, 1984.
- Jumpers, The: single “Coke And Roll” / “Rock And Roll Boogie”, Avangarde, 1980.
- Kevin Johnson: single "Video Night / Child Of Tomorrow" Speed/Sneak Preview, 1984.
- M Like Moon: single “Sunlight”, Flarenasch/Ariola, 1984 / Renaissance International, 1985.
- Macho: LP/CD I’m A Man, Goody Music/Prelude, 1978 - singles: “I’m A Man”, “Hear Me Calling”.
- Macho (II): LP/CD Roll, Goody Music, 1980 - singles: “Roll”, “Mothers Love”, "Not Tonight".
- Macho III: single “Kalimba De Luna”, Flarenasch/Five, 1984.
- Midnight Gang: LP Love Is Magic, Goody Music, 1979 - single: “Love Is Magic”.
- Midnight Gang: single "Hollywood City", Speed, 1984.
- Nobel: single “Turn On Your Radio”, Renaissance, 1985.
- Peter Jacques Band: LP/CD Fire Night Dance, Goody Music/Prelude, 1979 - singles: “Walking On Music”, “Fire Night Dance”, “Devil’s Run”, “Fly With The Wind”.
- Peter Jacques Band: LP/CD Welcome Back, Goody Music, 1980 - singles: “Is It It”, “Counting On Love (One-Two-Three)”, “The Louder”, “Mighty Fine”.
- Peter Jacques Band: LP/CD Dancing In The Street, Renaissance International/Polydor, 1985 -singles: “Going Dancin’ Down The Street”, “Mexico”, “Drive Me Crazy”, "This Night".
- Peter Jacques Band: CD The Very Best Of Peter Jacques Band, Fonte, 2006.
- Peter Jacques Band: CD Greatest Hits & Essential Tracks, Fonte, 2009.
- Persuader: single "So Decide", Renaissance International, 1985.
- Random: single "Rondo'm", Goody Music, 1978. **
- Revanche: LP/CD Music Man, Goody Music/Atlantic, 1979 - singles: “Music Man”, “Revenge”, “You Get High In N.Y.C.”, “1979 It’s Dancing Time”.
- Ritchie Family, The: LP/CD I’ll Do My Best, RCA, 1982 - singles: “I’ll Do My Best (For You Baby)", “Walk With Me”, “Alright On The Night”.
- Rudy: LP/CD Just Take My Body, Goody Music/Polydor, 1979 - singles: “White Room”, “Just Take My Body”, “Thank You Baby”.
- San Juan: single "Everybody Do The Rock", Goody Music, 1980. **
- Sherwin: single “State Of The Nation”, Speed, 1984.
- Silence: LP Goodtime Baby, Memory, 1982 - singles: “Midnight Visitors”, “No Way”.
- Silence 2: LP The Beast In Me, Flarenasch/Five Record, 1984 - single "The Beast In Me".
- Silvio: single "Adesso", Goody Music, 1978. **
- Surf Riders: single "Mal D'Amore", Memory, 1981. **
- Tato: single "Crazy Boy", Renaissance International, 1985.
- Zinc: LP/CD Street Level, Memory/Jive, 1982 - singles: “Street Level”, “Punkulation”, "Amazon", "I'll Never Stop".
- Zinc: single “I’m Livin' A Life Of Love”, Jive, 1983.
- Zinc feat. Sherwin: single “State Of The Nation”, Sneak Preview, 1984.
- Zinc feat. Sherwin: single "Hollywood City", Sneak Preview, 1984.
* Producer Mauro Malavasi does no longer collaborate on the releases from 1984 onwards.
** Published by Goody Music Production but no musicians of the Goody Music Orchestra involved.
Little Macho Music compilations on CD:
- 2CD Disco Connection - The Great Disco '70/'80, Fonte, 2004.
- 2CD Goody Music - Golden Age - Best Of Vol. 1, Goody Music Production-Antibemusic, 2005.
- 5CD BOX Album Collection - Peter Jacques Band / Macho / Revanche / Rudy, Fonte, 2005.
- 5CD BOX Album Collection - Change, Fonte, 2005.
- 5CD BOX Album Collection - B.B.&Q. Band / High Fashion, Fonte, 2005.
- 5CD BOX Album Collection - The Armed Gang / Firefly / Flowchart / Zinc, Fonte, 2005.
- 7CD BOX Change - Everything And More - The Complete Recordings 1980-2019, Edsel, 2019.
Singer Gianni Morandi & Mauro Malavasi
SIMILAR ARTISTS - FLOWCHART [THE NEW HARLEM FUNK]
The Flowchart production deserves special attention because this Bolognese concept was very similar to the productions of Little Macho Music. Flowchart was an obscure Italian studio project, influenced by the international success of the groups instigated by Jacques Fred Petrus, and immitating the modus operandi of Little Macho Music.
Their album The New Harlem Funk was released in 1983 on the small Italian label Maximus Records. The lead single off the album was "Ask The Boss", a delicious copycat of the Mauro Malavasi production sound. After hearing the songs "Ask The Boss", "R.U. Single" and "I Saw Him Make Eyes Atchoo", many dance music enthusiasts thought the record was realised by the team of Jacques Fred
Petrus and Mauro Malavasi. But this wasn't the case. The album was executively produced by Raffaele Ottavio and Mario "Don Giorda" Giordani aka Flow G. or Flow Giorda. All the tracks were composed and arranged by keyboardist Flow Giorda, keyboardist Fio Zanotti and guitar player Romano Trevisani. The well-known black American singer and vocal arranger Fonzi Thornton was hired to write the lyrics and oversee the vocal production at Blank Tape Studios in New York City. Several hot R&B acts like Brass Construction, Ashford & Simpson, Phil Fearon & Galaxy, Chaka Khan, Kid Creole & The Coconuts and Shakatak have also recorded at Blank Tape during the early 1980s.Romano Trevisani (February 20, 1953 - May 6, 2017) already made a slight impact on the disco scene in 1979 and 1980 with the albums Bravo by Bravo (singles "Soul Sacrifice" and "Touch Me Now") and Mesa by Mesa, both on Chic Records. In 1982 Trevisani and Fio Zanotti teamed up as Game, writing and producing the LP Gotta Take Your Love, which included the popular boogie single "Gotta Take Your Love".
Davide Romani, who was a friend of Romano Trevisani, played bass guitar on the Flowchart album. However, due to contractual obligations towards Little Macho Music, Romani performed under the pseudonym of Dav. Mandingos.
Even more mystery surrounded the four credited NYC session singers. Names on the cover like Micael Merfi, Dany Jor, Mary Dan and Ullaw Jo more than suggest they were pseudonyms as well. Singer Fonzi Thornton –also a backing singer with Change– was the author of all the songs and may as well be one of the male background singers. It is thought that Ullaw Jo is Ullanda McCullough, a busy N.Y. session singer. Micael Merfi was another familiar name and an alias for the singer of The System, Mic Murphy, who worked at Fred Petrus' office in NYC. Murphy even sang backgrounds and played some additional guitar licks on the first Change album! Murphy thinks that the remaining Flowchart backings were probably the usual suspects Christine Wiltshire, Krystal Davis and Yvonne Lewis. The vocals were taped in NYC at Blank Tape studios and the music was recorded at the Maison Blanche-Umbi Studio in Modena. Additional sessions for the second release happened at the Fonoprint Studios in Bologna where also Change used to record. The percussionist involved was Lele Melotti, yet another musician linked with Little Macho Music.
In an attempt to increase the commercial success, Maximus Records put out a remix of "Ask The Boss". That non-album mix also got a British release on the Greyhound Record Productions label and on the French Polydor Records. The German pressing on ZYX Records only featured the original mix. The single "Ask The Boss" created a certain fuss in Europe, but the Italian record company was unable to deliver sufficient album copies whereby the poorly promoted record quickly became a highly sought after item.Curiously, the famous Italian wine company Giacobazzi from Modena contacted the producers and proposed to finance a re-issue of the album under certain conditions. The project was part of an advertising campaign to promote Giacobazzi’s innovative concept of packaging sparkling wine in hip cans. Hence, the album was aptly re-released in 1983 as A Little Love A Little Wine on the City Record label. Redesigned cover artwork showed Flowchart in bold lettering and a can of "Giacobazzi 8 1/2 Fizzy Red Wine". The son of co-owner Giancarlo Giacobazzi sang lead on the added title track "A Little Love A Little Wine" (written and arranged by Davide Masarati). Also the remix version of "Ask The Boss" was now added to the album track list and called "Orchestra Version". Unfortunately, the sales figures were again very moderate. The new LP was just as scarce as the first copy and never surpassed the status of an original but overlooked marketing gadget.
In 2006, the first pressing received a CD re-issue on the Italian Fonte label as part of a 5CD box of rare Italian funk albums. Also the second version A Little Love A Little Wine came out on the Dutch label PTG Records in 2004.
SIMILAR ARTISTS - SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY
The list below shows a selective discography of albums, album tracks and (album) singles that were distinctly influenced by, or built on the legacy of Jacques Fred Petrus & Mauro Malavasi. It’s no coincidence that several productions were Italian. The achievements of Goody Music Production clearly inspired other Italian producers to add soul and funk to their dance music, and entrust the vocal parts to American singers. Read more about them in the next chapter about Italian disco-funk and boogie.
* Advance: single “Take Me To The Top” (Energy, 1983).
* Alec Mansion: single “Trop Triste” (Warner Bros., 1982).
* Baiser: single “Summer Breeze” (No Parking, 1983).
* Curtis Hairston: LP/CD Curtis Hairston (Atlantic, 1986) - track: “The Morning After”.
* Dayton: LP/CD Hot Fun (Liberty-Capitol, 1982) - track “Meet The Man”.
* Delia Renee: single “You’re Gonna Want Me Back” (Airwave, 1981).
* Elusion feat. Limon Wilson: LP/CD Show And Tell (Cotillion, 1982) - single “Lay Back In The Groove”.
* Flowchart: LP/CD The New Harlem Funk (Maximus, 1983) - single: “Ask The Boss”.
* Flowchart: LP/CD A Little Love A Little Wine (City, 1983) - single: “Ask The Boss”.
* Game: LP Gotta Take Your Love (Maximus, 1982) - single: “Gotta Take Your Love”, "Never Get Enough".
* Gino Soccio: LP/CD Outline (RFC-Warner Bros., 1979) - singles: “Dancer”, “The Visitors”.
* Gino Soccio: LP/CD Closer (RFC-Atlantic, 1981) - singles: “Try It Out”, “Hold Tight”.
* Jimmy Ross: LP/CD First True Love Affair (Full Time, 1981) - track: "My Life".
* Kano: LP New York Cake (Full Time, 1981) - single: “Can’t Hold Back”.
* Kano: LP Another Life (Full Time, 1983) - single: “Dance School”.
* Kasso: LP Kasso (Banana, 1981) - single: “Walkman”.
* Kasso: LP Kasso 2 (F-1 Team, 1984) - single: “Dig It”.
* Lenny White: LP/CD Attitude (Elektra, 1983) - tracks: “Fascination”, “My Turn To Love You”.
* Leroy Burgess: single “Heartbreaker” (Salsoul, 1983).
* Luther Vandross: LP/CD Never Too Much (Epic, 1981) - single: “Never Too Much”.
* Luther Vandross: LP/CD Forever, For Always, For Love (Epic, 1982) - track: “Better Love”.
* Orlando Johnson & Trance: LP/CD Turn The Music On (Zig Zag, 1983) - track: "Can't Break Loose".
* Selection: single “Madly” (Full Time, 1980).
* Serge Ponsar: LP Back To The Light (Warner Bros., 1983) - single: “Out In The Night”.
* Vivien Vee: LP With Vivien Vee (Banana, 1983) - singles: “Destiny”, “Wanna Feel”
* Alec Mansion: single “Trop Triste” (Warner Bros., 1982).
* Baiser: single “Summer Breeze” (No Parking, 1983).
* Curtis Hairston: LP/CD Curtis Hairston (Atlantic, 1986) - track: “The Morning After”.
* Dayton: LP/CD Hot Fun (Liberty-Capitol, 1982) - track “Meet The Man”.
* Delia Renee: single “You’re Gonna Want Me Back” (Airwave, 1981).
* Elusion feat. Limon Wilson: LP/CD Show And Tell (Cotillion, 1982) - single “Lay Back In The Groove”.
* Flowchart: LP/CD The New Harlem Funk (Maximus, 1983) - single: “Ask The Boss”.
* Flowchart: LP/CD A Little Love A Little Wine (City, 1983) - single: “Ask The Boss”.
* Game: LP Gotta Take Your Love (Maximus, 1982) - single: “Gotta Take Your Love”, "Never Get Enough".
* Gino Soccio: LP/CD Outline (RFC-Warner Bros., 1979) - singles: “Dancer”, “The Visitors”.
* Gino Soccio: LP/CD Closer (RFC-Atlantic, 1981) - singles: “Try It Out”, “Hold Tight”.
* Jimmy Ross: LP/CD First True Love Affair (Full Time, 1981) - track: "My Life".
* Kano: LP New York Cake (Full Time, 1981) - single: “Can’t Hold Back”.
* Kano: LP Another Life (Full Time, 1983) - single: “Dance School”.
* Kasso: LP Kasso (Banana, 1981) - single: “Walkman”.
* Kasso: LP Kasso 2 (F-1 Team, 1984) - single: “Dig It”.
* Lenny White: LP/CD Attitude (Elektra, 1983) - tracks: “Fascination”, “My Turn To Love You”.
* Leroy Burgess: single “Heartbreaker” (Salsoul, 1983).
* Luther Vandross: LP/CD Never Too Much (Epic, 1981) - single: “Never Too Much”.
* Luther Vandross: LP/CD Forever, For Always, For Love (Epic, 1982) - track: “Better Love”.
* Orlando Johnson & Trance: LP/CD Turn The Music On (Zig Zag, 1983) - track: "Can't Break Loose".
* Selection: single “Madly” (Full Time, 1980).
* Serge Ponsar: LP Back To The Light (Warner Bros., 1983) - single: “Out In The Night”.
* Vivien Vee: LP With Vivien Vee (Banana, 1983) - singles: “Destiny”, “Wanna Feel”
Mauro Malavasi receiving the Premio Pico della Mirandola Award in 2008
ITALIAN DANCE FUNK - SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY
Jacques Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavasi epitomised the first wave of Italian disco. They not only set up a commercial bridge but also a cultural one between US and Italian dance music. Little Macho Music motivated a whole world of labels to join the game. During the early '80s Italian top deejays like Claudio Cecchetto, Paul & Pietro Micioni, Leonardo Re Cecconi and Alvaro Ugolini moved on to the music business just like Fred Petrus had done earlier. Whether they cloned the style of pioneers Malavasi & Petrus or not, Italian musicians succeeded in making a typical Italian funk sound that could easily stand the test with funky U.S. productions. 
They frequently made up American-sounding names to lend credibility to their productions and were in fact the forerunners of Italo Disco. Many of the records were mixed at Mediasound studios in New York City where plenty of great background singers were available.
Successful Italo-funk producers were: Claudio Simonetti & Giancarlo Meo (Vivien Vee, Easy Going, Capricorn, Kasso), Giancarlo Meo (Barbara York, Fascination), Celso Valli (Tantra, Azoto, Passengers), Stefano Pulga & Luciano Ninzatti (Kano, Jimmy Ross), Tiziano Mazzilli (J.M.T. Band, Jimmy Ross, Vin-Zee), Laurent Van Meerhaeghe (J.M.T. Band , Jimmy Ross, Vin-Zee), Dario Raimondi & Alvaro Ugolini (Advance), Claudio Donato (Selection, Tom Hooker, Jago, Kano, Rainbow Team, Firefly, Trance, Band Of Jocks, Electric Mind, Stephany, George Aaron), Franco Donato (Selection, Orlando Johnson), A. Candelora (Electric Mind), Fio Zanotti (Marzio, Game, Flowchart, Harry Valentino), Claudio Giusti (Metropole, Cristal White), Romano Trevisani (Marzio, Game, Mesa, Bravo, Flowchart, Cruisin' Gang, Harry Valentino), Luigi 'Luis' Figini (Dr. Togo, Kano), Leonardo Re Cecconi (Dr.
Togo, Koxo), Serse May (Bravo, Mesa), Michele Violante (Korja, Rainbow Team, Jago, Ago), Kynsha (Korja, Ago, Jago), Al Festa (Metropole, Dr. Jerky & Mrs. Hives), Geoff Bastow (KID), R. Cucinotta (Boeing), Maurice Cavalieri (Evo, Rainbow Team, Firefly, Nexus, Ago, Korja), Maurizio "Sangy" Sangineto (Firefly, The Armed Gang, The Creatures, The Passengers), Paul Micioni (Mr. Lover, Mike Francis, Amii Stewart, Gary Low), Peter Micioni (Mr. Lover, Mike Francis, Gary Low), Tony Carrasco (The Gong's Gang), Matteo Bonsanto (Kano) and Victorio Pezzola (Asso).
The tasteful Italian R&B-disco or boogie not only appealed to the European dance public but also seduced the American dancefloors. Many Italian disco artists like Vin-Zee, Jimmy Ross, Kano and Firefly reached high positions on the U.S. Billboard Disco/Dance Charts and the Billboard R&B Charts.
The artists and producers involved in this thriving and vibrant Italian music scene were like one
great family. Illustrative for this Italian funk in-crowd is perhaps the figure of Luigi 'Luis' Figini. He produced Dr. Togo’s soulgem “Be Free” and enrolled Kano-singer Glen White as Dr. Togo’s lead vocalist in 1983. Figini also produced Kano and participated in projects of Peter Jacques Band, Change and B.B.&Q. Band in 1985. Luigi Figini is a close friend of Mauro Malavasi too. Paolo Gianolio conducted and mixed the Vivien Vee disco album With Vivien Vee in 1983, on the sleeves of which both Kano-singer Glen White and Davide Romani get a special thanks. Davide Romani played bass guitar on Flowchart’s rare New Harlem Funk / A Little Love A Little Wine album under the pseudonym of Dav. Mandingos. The Italian boogie-funk scene was one great family indeed! In 1983 George Mikulski of the German label ZYX launched the term Italo-Disco to label Italian dance music in general.
The artists listed in the following discography all delivered some heavy Italian dance funk or boogie during the early eighties (notice that some names already occured in the discography above):
* Advance: single “Take Me To The Top” (Energy, 1983).
* Ago: LP/CD For You (Full Time, 1982) - singles: “For You”, “Trying Over”, “You Make Me Do It”.
* Armed Gang: single “All I Want” (Chaz Ro, 1982)
* Armed Gang: single “Love Shot” (Musix, 1983).
* Armed Gang: single “Everybody Celebrate” (Sun & Sea, 1984).
* Asso: single “Don’t Stop” (Ace, 1983).
* Azoto: LP/CD Disco Fizz (Modulation, 1980) - single: "San Salvador".
* Billy Jean: single "I Need You" (DR, 1983).
* Boeing: single “Dance On The Beat” (Full Time, 1982).
* Bravo: LP Bravo (Chic Record, 1980).
* Cela: single “I'm In Love” (Derby, 1980).
* City Group’s Band: single “Our Time” (Flop, 1981).
* Cristal White: single “Leave Together” (Spice 7, 1982).
* Dr. Jerky & Mrs. Hives: single “Higher!” (Monkey Music, 1983).
* Dr. Togo: single “Be Free” (Derby, 1982).
* Electric Mind: single “Summing Up” (Full Time, 1982).
* Electric Mind: singles “Can We Go”, “Zwei” (Full Time, 1983).
* Evo: single "Din-Don" (C&M, 1983).
* Fascination: single “Out To Get You” (Banana, 1983).
* Firefly: LP/CD Firefly (Mr. Disc, 1980) - single: “Love And Friendship”.
* Firefly: LP/CD My Desire (Mr. Disc, 1981) - singles: “Love (Is Gonna Be On Your Side)”, “My Desire”, “You Can Lead Me”.
* Firefly: LP 3 (Mr. Disc, 1982) - single: “I Just Want To Be Your Lover”.
* Firefly: LP Double Personality (Mr. Disc, 1984) - single: “Stay (No Time)”.
* Flowchart: LP/CD The New Harlem Funk (Maximus, 1983) - single: “Ask The Boss”.
* Flowchart: LP/CD A Little Love A Little Wine (City, 1983) - single: “Ask The Boss”.
* Game: LP Gotta Take Your Love (Maximus, 1982) - singles: “Gotta Take Your Love”, "Never Get Enough".
* George Aaron: single "Silly Reason" (Full Time, 1985)
* Gong's Gang: single “Gimme Your Love” (Phoenix Records, 1983).
* Herbie: single "You Don't Love Me" (Renegades Of Planet Earth, 1983).
* Jago: single "I'm Going To Go" (Full Time, 1983)
* James Otis White: single “Baby Come On” (Musix, 1983).
* J.M.T. Band: single “Just Your Love” (Spice 7/Full Time, 1981).
* Jimmy Ross: LP/CD First True Love Affair (Spice 7/Full Time, 1981) - singles: “First True Love Affair”, “Fall Into A Trance”.
* Joe Coleman: single “Get It Off The Ground” (F1 Team, 1982).
* Joe Coleman: single “Test Drive” (F1 Team, 1982).
* Kano: LP Kano (Full Time, 1980) - singles: “It’s A War”, “Holly Dolly”, “I’m Ready”.
* Kano: LP/CD New York Cake (Full Time, 1981) - singles: “Can’t Hold Back”, "Baby Not Tonight", "Don't Try To Stop Me", "Round And Round".
* Kano: LP Another Life (Full Time, 1983) - singles: “I Need Love”, “Dance School”, “Another Life”.
* Kano: LP The Best Of Kano (Full Time, 1983) - single: “Queen Of Witches”.
* Kasso: LP Kasso (Banana, 1981) - single: “Walkman”.
* Kasso: LP Kasso 2 (F-1 Team, 1984) - single: “Dig It”.
* Kenny Claiborne And The Armed Gang: LP/CD The Armed Gang (Musix, 1982) - single: “Are You Ready”.
* KID: LP Don’t Stop (Ariola, 1981).
* KID: LP/CD Fine Time Tonight (Baby Records, 1982).
* Korja: single “My Mind” (Flop, 1981).
* Koxo: single “Step By Step” (Sugar Music, 1982).
* Matakena: single "Nuts On Me / Aphrodisiac" (Matakena, 1983).
* Maurice McGee: single "Do I Do" (Full Time, 1983).
* Mesa: LP Mesa (Chic Record, 1980).
* Metropole: single “Miss Manhattan” (Derby, 1981).
* Michael Baker: single "Don't You Want My Lovin'" (Premo, 1984).
* Mike Francis: LP Let’s Not Talk About It (Concorde, 1984) - singles: “Cover Girl”, “Let’s Not Talk About It”.
* Mr. Lover: single "Run For Cover" (Best, 1982).
* Nat Bush: single "Taste Of Love Again" (S.P.Q.R., 1983)
* Nexus: single "Stand Up" (Mr. Disc Organization, 1983).
* Orlando Johnson & Trance: LP/CD Turn The Music On (Full Time, 1983) - singles: “Turn The Music On”, “Chocolate City”, "Somebody Save Me".
* Pino D’Angio: LP Pino D’Angio (Flarenasch, 1981) - singles “Ma Quale Idea”, “Okay Okay”.
* Plus Two: single "Melody" (M.I.O., 1983).
* Point Blank: single “Sign Of The Times” (Full Time, 1983).
* Rainbow Team: LP/CD Rainbow Team (Full Time, 1981).
* Rainbow Team: LP/CD A Song For You (Full Time, 1982) - singles: “Hope He Wants”, “Bite The Apple”.
* Selection: single “Madly” (Full Time, 1980).
* Selection: LP/CD Selection (Full Time, 1982) - singles: “Got To Be Real”, “Ride The Beam”.
* Sunflower: single "Love Is Magic" (F1 Team, 1981).
* Tantra: LP The Double Album (Import 12, 1980) - single: “The Hills Of Katmandu”, “Get Ready To Go”, “Wishbone”.
* Tantra: LP Tantra II (Import 12, 1981) - single: “Macumba”.
* Toba: single “Movin' Up” (Connection, 1982).
* Tom Hooker: single “Talk With Your Body” (Full Time, 1982).
* Tom Hooker: single “Love Attack” (BMC, 1983).
* Trance: single "Hang On It" (Good Vibes, 1982).
* Vin-Zee: single “Funky Bebop” (Spice 7/Full Time, 1981).
* Vivien Vee: LP With Vivien Vee (Banana, 1983) - singles: “Destiny”, “Wanna Feel”.
* V.I.S.A.: LP San Francisco (RCA/Unidisc, 1981) - single “I’m A Dancer”.
* Compilation: 2CD Disco Connection - The Great Disco '70/'80 (Fonte, 2004).
Fio Zanotti, Davide Romani, Celso Valli, Mauro Malavasi, Guido Elmi and Gabriele Melotti
ALBUM CREDITS - GOODY MUSIC / LITTLE MACHO MUSIC / RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL
THE B.B.& Q. BAND - THE BROOKLYN, BRONX & QUEENS BAND
SIDE 1
ON THE BEAT 5:55
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
TIME FOR LOVE 6:05
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
DON’T SAY GOODBYE 3:47
(M. TANSINI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
SIDE 2
STARLETTE 4:57
(M. MALAVASI - D. ROMANI - P. SLADE)
MISTAKES 4:40
(M. MALAVASI - D. ROMANI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
LOVIN’S WHAT WE SHOULD DO 5:06
(M. MALAVASI - J. HOGGARD)
I’LL CUT YOU LOOSE 5:18
(M. MALAVASI - R. TREVISI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC.
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI EXCEPT “DON’T SAY GOODBYE” COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MARCO TANSINI
LYRICS BY PAUL SLADE AND TANYAYETTE WILLOUGHBY
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEERS: MAURIZIO BIANCANI, MICHAEL H. BRAUER
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY ENGINEER: MICHAEL H. BRAUER
ASSISTANT ENGINEER: ANDY HOFFMAN
MASTERED AT CAPITOL RECORDS BY JAY MAYNARD
PLAYERS:
PIANO AND SYNTHESIZERS: MAURO MALAVASI
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI, PARIS ‘PEEWEE’ FORD
GUITAR: PAOLO GIANOLIO, ABDUL WALI MOHAMMED
DRUMS: TERRI SILVERLIGHT, DWAYNE PERDUE
KEYBOARDS: KEVIN NANCE
ASST. SYNTHESIZERS: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
SAXOPHONE: RUDI TREVISI, DENNY TRIMBOLI
TRUMPET: VICTOR PAZ, EARL GARDNER
TROMBONE: BOB ALEXANDER
LEAD VOCALS: IKE FLOYD
SOLO VOCALS: GORDON GRODY, BOBBY DOUGLAS
BACKGROUND VOCALS: LUTHER VANDROSS, ALFONSO ‘FONZI’ THORNTON, BOBBY DOUGLAS, GORDON GRODY, DIVA GRAY, ROBIN CLARK
STRINGS: THE GOODY MUSIC STRING ENSEMBLE
SPECIAL THANKS TO STEPHEN L. KOPITKO, ESQ. OF GRUBMAN & INDURSKY, P.C.
ART DIRECTION: ROY KOHARA
DESIGN/ILLUSTRATION: ROLAND YOUNG, DON BATTERSHALL
PHOTOGRAPHY: RON WEST
(P) (C) 1981 CAPITOL RECORDS-EMI RECORDS
THE B.B.& Q. BAND - ALL NIGHT LONG
SIDE 1
ALL NIGHT LONG (SHE’S GOT THE MOVES I LIKE) 5:55
(K. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES PUBLISHING CO./ASCAP-BMI)
IMAGINATION 6:00
(K. WILLIAMS, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO, INC./PIZZAZZ MUSIC/ASCAP-BMI)
THE THINGS WE DO IN LOVE 4:58
(K. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES PUBLISHING CO./ASCAP-BMI)
DESIRE 4:20
(T. ALLEN - K. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./G.S. EUROAMERICA PUBLISHING/ASCAP)
SIDE 2
HANGING OUT 5:10
(T. BRIDGES - J. KEMP JR. - M. MALAVASI, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
HARD TO GET AROUND 5:15
(M. MALAVASI - M. TREVISI - J. KEMP JR., LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
(I COULD NEVER SAY) IT’S OVER 4:05
(M. MALAVASI - J. KEMP JR., LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT 5:54
(M. MALAVASI - J. KEMP JR., LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI AND JACQUES FRED PETRUS
ARRANGED BY MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC.
RECORDED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK, NY
ENGINEERED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER (BASIC TRACKS), ALEC HEAD, LINCOLN CLAPP (OVERDUBS)
MIXED AT POWER STATION AND MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK, NY
ENGINEERED BY BILL SCHENIMAN AND MICHAEL BARBIERO
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND, NEW YORK, NY BY GREG CALBI
PLAYERS:
KEYBOARDS: JEFF BOVA, STEVE SKINNER, MAURO MALAVASI, KAE WILLIAMS
DRUMS: YOGI HORTON, BERNARD DAVIS
BASS: TONY BRIDGES, DAVIDE ROMANI, TIMMY ALLEN
GUITAR: KEVIN ROBINSON, CHIELI MINUCCI, MIKE CAMPBELL, ED MOORE
PERCUSSION: JIMMY MAELEN
HORN SECTION: DAVID TOFANI (SAX), JOHN FADDIS (TRUMPET), DAVE BARGERON (TROMBONE), MARVIN STAM (TRUMPET)
LEAD VOCALS: KEVIN ROBINSON
BACKGROUND VOCALS: BENNY DIGGS, ZACK SANDERS, BRENDA WHITE, DENNIS CALLINS, JOHNNY KEMP, LEROY BURGESS, TAWATHA AGEE, ALFONSO ‘FONZI’ THORNTON, GORDON GRODY, BOBBY DOUGLAS, ERIC MC CLINTON, KEVIN ROBINSON, TIMMY ALLEN, ALYSON WILLIAMS (BENNY DIGGS APPEARS COURTESY OF HANDSHAKE RECORDS, INC.)
SPECIAL THANKS TO STEVE BOGEN AND MICHAEL MURPHY
ART DIRECTION: ROY KOHARA
DESIGN: HENRI MARQUEZ
GROUP PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN HAGIWARA
BACKGROUND PHOTOGRAPHY: DARIO PERLA / AFTER IMAGE, RON SLENZAK, NASA
(P) (C) 1982 CAPITOL RECORDS-EMI RECORDS
THE B.B.& Q. BAND - SIX MILLION TIMES
SIDE 1
KEEP IT HOT 5:42
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
STAY 5:35
(K. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./ASCAP-BMI)
SHE’S A PASSIONATE LOVER 4:15
(ROBINSON - ROBINSON, JR. - T. BRIDGES, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./ASCAP-BMI)
WE’VE GOT TO DO IT 4:40
(K. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./ASCAP-BMI)
SIDE 2
SIX MILLION TIMES 5:48
(K. ROBINSON - H. KING, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./GUN HOUSE MUSIC/ASCAP-BMI)
SHE’S A WOMAN 6:17
(J. LENNON - P. MC CARTNEY, MACLEN MUSIC, INC./BMI)
DOWNTOWNE 5:20
(JOE JEFFERSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
MISSING YOU, MISSING ME 4:32
(K. ROBINSON - H. KING, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./GUN HOUSE MUSIC/ASCAP-BMI)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
CO-PRODUCED BY KEVIN ROBINSON
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
ARRANGED BY MAURO MALAVASI AND KEVIN ROBINSON EXCEPT “MISSING YOU, MISSING ME” AND “SIX MILLION TIMES” ARRANGED BY KEVIN ROBINSON AND HOWARD KING
RECORDED AT UMBI STUDIOS, MODENA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY MAURIZIO MAGGI
MIXED AT SORCERER SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK, NY
ENGINEERED BY ALEX HEAD
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND, NEW YORK, NY BY GREG CALBY
PLAYERS:
BASS GUITAR: TONY BRIDGES
LEAD GUITAR: KEVIN ROBINSON
GUITAR: CHIELI MINUCCI, MICHAEL CAMPBELL
DRUMS: BERNARD DAVIS
SAXOPHONE: RUDY TREVISI
KEYBOARDS: MAURO MALAVASI, RUDY TREVISI
LEAD VOCALS: KEVIN ROBINSON
BACKGROUND VOCALS: BOBBY DOUGLAS, ERIC MC CLINTON, TIMMY ALLEN
THANKS TO: VARNELL JOHNSON, STEVE BUCKLEY, STEVEN KOPITKO, STEVE BOGEN, BARBARA CLARKE, PETER MATORIN, REENIE, MIC MURPHY, AND OF COURSE BERT PADELL.
MANAGEMENT AND DIRECTION: ANDRE PERRY, (P.O. BOX 897, TEANECK, N.J. 07666)
ART DIRECTION: ROY KOHARA
DESIGN: JOHN O’BRIEN
PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN HAGIWARA
STYLIST: HUI WANG / SKIRT: A. VITTADINI
(P) (C) 1983 CAPITOL RECORDS-EMI RECORDS
THE B.B.& Q. BAND - GENIE
SIDE 1
GENIE 6:01
(K. WILLIAMS)
MAIN ATTRACTION 5:42
(K. WILLIAMS)
WON’T YOU BE WITH ME TONIGHT 4:33
(K. WILLIAMS)
DON’T FORCE IT 4:55
(K. WILLIAMS)
SIDE 2
MINUTES AWAY 3:15 [U.S. release 5:08]
(K. WILLIAMS)
ON THE SHELF 5:15
(K. WILLIAMS)
DREAMER 5:46 [U.S. release 7:09]
(K. WILLIAMS)
RICCOCHET 4:15
(K. WILLIAMS)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY GUADELOUPE MUSIC AND PIZZAZZ MUSIC/ASCAP-BMI PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND KAE WILLIAMS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR VEDETTE INTERNATIONAL
ALL SONGS, MUSIC AND LYRICS BY KAE WILLIAMS
RECORDED AT MORNING STUDIOS, MILAN, ITALY AND MORNINGSTAR STUDIOS, SPRING HOUSE (PA), USA
ENGINEERED BY RENATO CANTELE
MASTERED AT FRANKFORD WAYNE MASTERING LAB BY HERB POWERS JR.
PLAYERS:
MICHAEL CAMPBELL: GUITAR, ACOUSTIC GUITAR
TIMMY ALLEN: BASS GUITAR
JAY DAVIDSON: SAX
KAE WILLIAMS: DX-7, RHODES, PROPHET, ORGAN, LINN DRUM, DMX DRUM, PIANO, HORN, HARP, SAX
LEAD VOCALS: CURTIS HAIRSTON
BACKGROUND VOCALS: ULLANDA MCCULLOUGH, CURTIS HAIRSTON
(P) (C) 1985 RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL RECORDS/COOLTEMPO RECORDS/BREAK RECORDS/MEGA RECORDS/ZYX RECORDS
(P) (C) 1986 ELEKTRA RECORDS
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CAPRICE - RUSSIA
SIDE 1
RUSSIA 6:22
(C. SANCHEZ - WAUQUIER)
STAY TONIGHT 4:30
(R. ROUSSEL - PENDERVIS)
DE MUSIQUE EN MUSIQUE 5:24
(L. MARINO - F. COREA)
SIDE 2
SHAME AND THE SCANDAL IN THE FAMILY 7:43
(HUON DONALDSON - SLIM HENRY BROWN)
VALIENTE 7:04
(C. SANCHEZ - WAUQUIER)
SEXOPOLIS TOWER 7:36
(C. SANCHEZ - WAUQUIER)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
ARRANGED BY, COMPOSED BY: CANDELARIO SANCHEZ
RECORDED AT: STUDIO MILAN - PARIS
MIXED AT: POWER STATION - NEW YORK
(P) (C) 1980 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS
CHANGE - THE GLOW OF LOVE
SIDE 1
A LOVER’S HOLIDAY (A JIM BURGESS MIX) 6:24
(D. ROMANI - T. WILLOUGHBY, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
IT’S A GIRL’S AFFAIR 5:29
(P. GIANOLIO - W. GARFIELD, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ARA PESH COMMUNICATIONS UNLIMITED, INC./ASCAP)
ANGEL IN MY POCKET 6:10
(P. GIANOLIO - W. WILLOUGHBY, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
SIDE 2
THE GLOW OF LOVE 6:11
(D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - W. GARFIELD, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ARA PESH COMMUNICATIONS UNLIMITED, INC./ASCAP)
SEARCHING 8:01
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
THE END 5:54
(P. GIANOLIO, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC., NEW YORK
ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY DAVIDE ROMANI AND PAOLO GIANOLIO EXCEPT “THE GLOW OF LOVE” AND “SEARCHING” ARRANGED BY MAURO MALAVASI
LYRICS BY WAYNE GARFIELD, TANYAYETTE WILLOUGHBY AND PAUL SLADE
ALL SONGS PLAYED BY THE GOODY MUSIC ORCHESTRA
LEAD VOCALS: JOCELYN SHAW
EXCEPT ON “THE GLOW OF LOVE” AND “SEARCHING” BY LUTHER VANDROSS (LUTHER VANDROSS APPEARS COURTESY OF DAVID KREVAT/CEILIDH PRODUCTIONS, INC.)
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY MAURIZIO BIANCANI
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT POWER STATION STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY ENGINEERED BY BILL SCHENIMAN
“THE GLOW OF LOVE” AND “SEARCHING” RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEERED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND INC., NEW YORK CITY
ALBUM COORDINATION BY RAY CAVIANO AND BOB SIEGEL
MANY THANKS TO LUTHER VANDROSS AND JOCELYN SHAW
VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO RAY CAVIANO, VINCE ALETTI AND BOB SIEGEL
ALBUM DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION BY GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1980 RFC RECORDS- WARNER BROS. RECORDS/GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/WEA RECORDS
CHANGE - MIRACLES
SIDE 1
PARADISE 5:14
(D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
HOLD TIGHT 4:23
(D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
YOUR MOVE 4:23
(D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
STOP FOR LOVE 4:12
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE - T. WILLOUGHBY)
SIDE 2
ON TOP 5:13
(P. GIANOLIO - M. MALAVASI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
HEAVEN OF MY LIFE 5:34
(P. GIANOLIO - D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
MIRACLES 5:17
(M. MALAVASI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI FOR LITTLE MACH MUSIC CO., INC., NEW YORK
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY DAVIDE ROMANI, MAURO MALAVASI AND PAOLO GIANOLIO
VOCALS CONDUCTED BY TANYAYETTE WILLOUGHBY / READY PRODUCTIONS AND JOCELYN SHAW
LYRICS BY PAUL SLADE AND TANYAYETTE WILLOUGHBY
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY MAURIZIO BIANCANI AND MICHAEL H. BRAUER
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY ENGINEERED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER - ASSISTANT ENGINEER ANDY HOFFMAN MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND, INC., NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEERED BY GREG CALBY
PLAYERS:
MAURO MALAVASI: PIANO, SYNTHESIZER
DAVIDE ROMANI: BASS
PAOLO GIANOLIO: GUITAR
RUDY TREVISI: SAXOPHONE
DOC POWELL: GUITAR
TERRY SILVERLIGHT: DRUMS
ONAJE ALLAN GUMBS: KEYBOARDS
MAURIZIO BIANCANI: ASST. SYNTHESIZER
HORNS:
VICTOR PAZ: TRUMPET
EARL GARDNER: TRUMPET
DENNY TRIMBOLI: SAXOPHONE
BOB ALEXANDER: TROMBONE
STRINGS PLAYED BY THE GOODY MUSIC STRING ENSEMBLE
LEAD VOCALS: JAMES ‘CRAB’ ROBINSON AND DIVA GRAY
SOLO VOCALS: GORDON GRODY AND DIVA GRAY
BACKGROUND VOCALS: JOCELYN SHAW, CRYSTAL DAVIS, DIVA GRAY, ULLANDA MCCULLOUGH, LUTHER VANDROSS, BENNY DIGGS, DENNIS COLLINS, FONZI THORNTON
ULLANDA MCCULLOUGH APPEARS COURTESY OF ATLANTIC RECORDS
LUTHER VANDROSS APPEARS COURTESY OF EPIC RECORDS
BENNY DIGGS APPEARS COURTESY OF HANDSHAKE RECORDS
FONZI THORNTON APPEARS COURTESY OF ATLANTIC RECORDS
RUDY TREVISI APPEARS COURTESY OF POLYDOR RECORDS
SPECIAL THANKS TO RAY CAVIANO, VINCE ALETTI AND BOB SIEGEL FOR THEIR ONGOING SUPPORT
ART AND DESIGN BY GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1981 RFC RECORDS-ATLANTIC RECORDS/GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/WEA RECORDS
CHANGE - SHARING YOUR LOVE
SIDE 1
THE VERY BEST IN YOU 5:41
(H. SMITH - M. MALAVASI, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./DIFFERENT STROKES MUSIC/GS EURO-AMERICA/ASCAP)
HARD TIMES (IT'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT)* 5:23
(M. MALAVASI - D. ROMANI - A. THORNTON - J.F. PETRUS, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP) OH WHAT A NIGHT* 5:23
(R. GAUDIO - J. M. PARKER, JOBETE MUSIC CO. INC./SEASON MUSIC CO./ASCAP)
PROMISE YOUR LOVE 4:27
(M. MALAVASI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
EVERYTHING AND MORE 4:23
(L. BOONE - L. LAFALCE, LOUISE-JACK MUSIC CO./ROCK YOUR SOCKS MUSIC/ASCAP)
SIDE 2
SHARING YOUR LOVE 6:03
(J. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
TAKE YOU TO HEAVEN* 5:26
(D. ROMANI - J. KEMP, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
KEEP ON IT 5:36
(K. WILLIAMS, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./PIZAZZ MUSIC CO./ASCAP)
YOU'RE MY NUMBER 1 4:21
(L. BURGESS - S. DAVENPORT - J. CALLOWAY, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./CALEBUR COMPOSITIONS/ASCAP)
YOU'RE MY GIRL 4:08
(M. MALAVASI - D. ROMANI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
ON BEHALF OF LITTLE MACHO MUSIC ALL SONGS ARE ADMINISTRED BY W.B. MUSIC CORP.
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC
CHANGE IS:
JAMES ROBINSON: LEAD VOCALS
DEBORAH COOPER: LEAD VOCALS
TIMMY ALLEN: BASS
MIKE CAMPBELL: GUITAR
VINCENT HENRY: SAXOPHONE, GUITAR
JEFF BOVA: KEYBOARDS
RICK GALLWEY: PERCUSSION
MUSICIANS:
KEYBOARDS: MAURO MALAVASI, KASHIF, KAE WILLIAMS, ANDY SCHWARTZ, DAVIDE ROMANI, BARRY EASTMOND, ADAM IPPOLITO
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI, TIMMY ALLEN
DRUMS: YOGI HORTON, BUDDY WILLIAMS, TERRY SILVERLIGHT
GUITARS: HIRAM BULLOCK, IRA SIEGEL, MIKE CAMPBELL, HERB SMITH, JAMES ROBINSON, FAREED ABDUL HAQQ, KEVIN ROBINSON
PERCUSSION: RICK GALLWEY, JIMMY MAELEN
SAXOPHONE: VINCENT HENRY, DAVE TOFANI, RUDY TREVISI
TRUMPETS: RANDY BRECKER (COURTESY ARISTA RECORDS), JON FADDIS
FRENCH HORN: BROOKS TILLDTSON
STRING PLAYERS:
ON 'THE VERY BEST IN YOU', 'EVERYTHING AND MORE' AND 'PROMISE YOUR LOVE': GENE ORLOFF (CONCERTMASTER) - ALFRED BROWN - FREDERICK ZLOTKIN - JONATHAN ABRAMOWITZ - HARRY LOOKOFSKY, JOSEPH MALIGNAGGI, MITSUE TAKAYAMA, JULIEN BARBER, HAROLD KOHON, GERALD TARACK, GUY LUMIA, FREDERICK BULDRINI, MARILYN WRIGHT
ON 'SHARING YOUR LOVE' AND 'YOU'RE MY NUMBER 1': JEFF DELINKO, SANFORD ALLEN, KATHLEEN BEAVER, KATHRYN KIENKE, DIANA HALPRIN, HARRY CYKMAN, GUY LUMIA, ANN BARAK, RICHARD HENRICKSON, RICHARD MAXIMOFF, JULIEN BARBER, RUTH DEMARCO, KERMIT MOORE, JESSY LEVY
LEAD VOCALS: JAMES "CRAB" ROBINSON, DEBORAH COOPER, ROZ RYAN
BACKGROUND VOCALS: JOCELYN BROWN, ROBIN CLARK, GORDON GRODY, BOBBY DOUGLAS, MICHELLE COBBS, FONZI THORNTON (COURTESY BRUCE WALLACE MGT.), PHILLIP BALLOU (COURTESY HANDSHAKE RECORDS), NORMA JEAN WRIGHT, JOHNNY KEMP, DEBBE COLE, LEROY BURGESS, SARA GELLER, KEVIN ROBINSON, TIMMY ALLEN, ETHEL BEATTY
CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI, DAVIDE ROMANI, JACQUES FRED PETRUS
ARRANGED BY MAURO MALAVASI, DAVIDE ROMANI
RECORDED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK
ENGINEERED BY MICHAEL BARBIERO - ASSISTED BY DON WERSHBY, HARRY SPIRIDAKIS, ANDY HOFFMAN
*REMIXED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND, INC., NEW YORK
ENGINEERED BY JACK SKINNER
PHOTOGRAPHY: JIM HOUGHTON
STYLIST: VERONICA REILLY
ART DIRECTION: BOB DEFRIN
DESIGN COORDINATION: GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1982 RFC RECORDS-ATLANTIC RECORDS/POLYDOR RECORDS/MEMORY RECORDS
CHANGE - THIS IS YOUR TIME
SIDE 1
GOT TO GET UP 6:02
(M. MALAVASI - R. TREVISI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
THIS IS YOUR TIME 5:49
(L. BOONE - L . LAFALCE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ROCK YOUR SOCKS MUSIC/ASCAP)
ANGEL 4:31
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
MAGICAL NIGHT 6:12
(M. MALAVASI - L. BOONE - L. LAFALCE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
SIDE 2
STAY'N FIT 5:30
(T. ALLEN - J. F. PETRUS, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/ BMI)
TELL ME WHY 5:21
(M. MALAVASI - M. CAMPBELL - T. ALLEN - L. LAFALCE, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/FAMIKA MUSIC/BMI)
YOU'LL NEVER REALIZE 5:46
(M. MALAVASI - R. TREVISI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
DON'T WAIT ANOTHER NIGHT 5:51
(C. MINUCCI - B. MATTHEWS, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./HOT URBAN MUSIC/ASCAP)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS
CHANGE IS:
TIMMY ALLEN: LEAD VOCALS, BASS GUITAR
RICK BRENNAN: LEAD VOCALS, PERCUSSION
DEBORAH COOPER: LEAD VOCALS
VINCENT HENRY: GUITAR, SAXOPHONE
MIKE CAMPBELL: LEAD GUITAR
JAMES (CRAB) ROBINSON: LEAD VOCALS
JEFF BOVA: KEYBOARDS
TOBY JOHNSON: DRUMS
THE OTHER MUSICIANS ARE:
MAURO MALAVASI: KEYBOARDS
BERNARD DAVIS: DRUMS
RUDY TREVISI: SAXOPHONE
BACKGROUND VOCALS: JOCELYN SMITH, LISA FISCHER, ERIC MCCLINTON, BOBBY DOUGLAS, STEVE DANIELS, LARRY LAFALCE
ERIC MCCLINTON APPEARS COURTESY OF CAPITOL RECORDS
BOBBY DOUGLAS AND STEVE DANIELS APPEAR COURTESY OF RCA RECORDS
ARRANGED AND CONTUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT AND RHYTHM ARRANGEMENT BY TIMMY ALLEN
RECORDED AT UMBI STUDIOS IN MODENA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY: MAGGI MAURIZIO
OVERDUBS AND MIXED AT SORCERER SOUND, NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEERED BY: ALEX HEAD
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND BY JOSE RODRIGUEZ
ALBUM COORDINATERS: RAY CAVIANO AND BOB GHOSSEN
SPECIAL THANKS TO: STEVEN KOPITKO, BARBARA CLARKE AND STEVE BOGEN.
A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO BERT PADELL.
PHOTOGRAPHY: ROBERT LEWIS
ART DIRECTION: BOB DEFRIN
ART AND DESIGN: GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1983 RFC RECORDS-ATLANTIC RECORDS/POLYDOR RECORDS/MEMORY RECORDS
CHANGE - CHANGE OF HEART
SIDE 1
SAY YOU LOVE ME AGAIN 4:26
(T. LEWIS - J. HARRIS III, FLYTE TYME TUNES/ASCAP)
CHANGE OF HEART 7:02
(T. LEWIS - J. HARRIS III, FLYTE TYME TUNES/ASCAP)
WARM 5:00
(T. LEWIS - J. HARRIS III, FLYTE TYME TUNES/ASCAP)
TRUE LOVE* 3:46
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
SIDE 2
YOU ARE MY MELODY 6:22
(T. LEWIS - J. HARRIS III, FLYTE TYME TUNES/ASCAP)
LOVELY LADY 3:53
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
GOT MY EYES ON YOU* 4:34
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
IT BURNS ME UP* 5:03
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
PRODUCED AND ARRANGED BY JIMMY JAM AND TERRY LEWIS FOR FLYTE TIME PRODUCTIONS
*CO-PRODUCED BY TIMMY ALLEN
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
CHANGE IS:
TIMMY ALLEN: BASS, KEYBOARD, LEAD VOCALS ON “GOT MY EYES ON YOU”, BACKGROUND VOCALS
RICK BRENNAN: LEAD, BACKGROUND VOCALS
DEBRA COOPER: LEAD, BACKGROUND VOCALS
VINCE HENRY: GUITAR, SAXOPHONE
MICHAEL CAMPBELL: GUITAR
JEFF BOVA: SYNTHESIZER, KEYBOARDS
TOBY JOHNSON: DRUMS
ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS:
JIMMY JAM: KEYBOARDS, SYNTHESIZER
BERNARD DAVIS: DRUMS
O. NICHOLAS RATH: GUITAR
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND VOCALS: BOBBY DOUGLAS, TERRY LEWIS, LUCIA NEWELL, GWENDOLYN TAYLOR
RECORDING STUDIOS: UMBI RECORDING STUDIO, ITALY / CREATION AUDIO, MPLS. AND MEDIA SOUND, N.Y.
RECORDING ENGINEER: CRAIG BISHOP AND STEVE WEISE
MIXING STUDIO: MEDIA SOUND, N. Y.
MIXING ENGINEER: MICHAEL H. BRAUER FOR M.H.B. PRODUCTIONS INC.
MASTERING STUDIO: ATLANTIC STUDIO, N. Y.
MASTERING ENGINEER: DENNIS KING
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: GWENDOLYN TAYLOR
ALBUM COORDINATOR: STEVE BOGEN
SPECIAL THANKS TO: HENRY ALLEN, HANK CALDWELL, STEPHEN KOPITKO, AND OF COURSE BERT PADELL
DESIGN: GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1984 RFC RECORDS-ATLANTIC RECORDS/WEA RECORDS/FIVE RECORDS
CHANGE - TURN ON YOUR RADIO
SIDE 1
TURN ON YOUR RADIO 5:15
(A. BAGNOLI - J.F. PETRUS, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/BMI)
LET'S GO TOGETHER 6:06
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/BMI)
EXAMINATION (5:34)
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
YOU'LL ALWAYS BE A PART OF ME 5:25
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
SIDE 2
OH WHAT A FEELING 5:42
(T. ALLEN - P. SLADE - D. COOPER, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
MUTUAL ATTRACTION 6:00
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
LOVE THE WAY YOU LOVE ME 5:39
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
IF YOU WANT MY LOVE 5:24
(T. ALLEN / ADDITIONAL WORDS BY: D. COOPER, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
CO-PRODUCED BY TIMMY ALLEN
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
CHANGE IS:
TIMMY ALLEN: BASS, KEYBOARDS, SYNTHESIZER, BACKGROUND VOCALS
RICK BRENNAN: LEAD, BACKGROUND VOCALS
DEBRA COOPER: LEAD, BACKGROUND VOCALS
VINCE HENRY: GUITAR, SAXOPHONE
MICHAEL CAMPELL: GUITAR, ASSISTANT RHYTHM TRACK ARRANGER
RECORDED AT: MORNING STUDIOS, MILAN, ITALY
ENGINEER: RENATO CANTELE
MIXED AND MASTERED AT: ATLANTIC RECORDING STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY
MIXING ENGINEER: CARL BEATTY
MASTERING ENGINEER: DENNIS KING
PHOTOGRAPHY: ROBERT LEWIS
DESIGN: GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1985 ATLANTIC RECORDS/INJECTION RECORDS/RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL RECORDS/COOLTEMPO RECORDS
ELVIN SHAAD - LIVE FOR LOVE
SIDE 1
LIVE FOR LOVE 6:13
(E. SHAAD - F. LANDAU)
I'M BURNING UP 7:06
(E. SHAAD - F. LANDAU)
SIDE 2
I WANT LOVING 10:20
(E. SHAAD - F. LANDAU)
LOVE ME NOW 6:13
(E. SHAAD - F. LANDAU)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY PUBL. SIAE/TELEVIS/ REBERA
MUSIC PRODUCED BY: ELVIN SHAAD AND FLORIDA FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: ELVIN SHAAD AND JACQUES FRED PETRUS
COMPOSED BY, ARRANGED BY, DIRECTED BY: ELVIN SHAAD
WRITTEN BY: ELVIN SHAAD AND FELIX LANDAU
LYRICS BY: FELIX LANDAU
DRUMS, PERCUSSION: ELVIN SHAAD
CONGAS: SYDNEY
GUITAR: JOSE LOMBARDO
KEYBOARDS, ELECTRIC PIANO (FENDER RHODES), SYNTHESIZER: MARC GOLDFEDER
BASS: NACE
RECORDED AT: FLORIDA STUDIO - PARIS
MIXED AT: AIR STUDIO - LONDON
REMIXED AT: SIGMA SOUND STUDIOS - NEW YORK
MIXING ENGINEER: MIKE STAVROU
REMIXING ENGINEER: ANDY ABRAMS
MIXED BY: TOM SAVARESE
ARTWORK, DESIGN BY: ELVIN SHAAD
PHOTOGRAPHY: ALAIN LARUE
FRONT SLEEVE NOTES: "THE NEW FRENCH LOVE SOUND COMES IN A GATEFOLD SLEEVE."
(P) (C) 1978 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/UNIDISC RECORDS
HIGH FASHION - FEELIN' LUCKY
SIDE 1
FEELIN' LUCKY LATELY** 5:46
(D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./FONZWORTH MUSIC INC./ASCAP)
YOU'RE THE WINNER* 5:02
(K. JENKINS - M. MORGAN, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
HOLD ON 5:27
(KASHIF, DUCHESS MUSIC CORP. (MCA)/BMI)
NEXT TO YOU 4:20
(KASHIF, DUCHESS MUSIC CORP. (MCA)/BMI)
SIDE 2
HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS 4:47
(D. ROMANI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./FONZWORTH MUSIC INC./ASCAP)
WHEN THE LOVER STRIKES 4:25
(D. ROMANI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./FONZWORTH MUSIC INC./ASCAP)
I WANT TO BE YOUR EVERYTHING* 3:35
(KASHIF - G. BALLARD, MCA MUSIC, A DIVISION OF MCA INC./MUSIC CORPORATION OF AMERICA/ASCAP-BMI)
BRAINY CHILDREN* 3:32
(D. POE - L. ALLEN - R. STEWART, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
ASSISTANT PRODUCERS: DENNIS COFFEY, MIKE THEODORE AND KASHIF*
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY: DAVIDE ROMANI**, MAURO MALAVASI AND JACQUES FRED PETRUS
LEAD AND BACKGROUND VOCALS CONDUCTED BY FONZI THORNTON
HIGH FASHION IS:
ALYSON WILLIAMS: LEAD VOCALS
ERIC MCCLINTON: LEAD VOCALS
MELISA MORGAN: LEAD VOCALS
MUSICIANS:
ACOUSTIC PIANO, KEYBOARDS SYNTHESIZERS: STEVE ROBIN, KASHIF, DAVIDE ROMANI
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI, KEVIN JENKINS
GUITARS: IRA SIEGEL, HIRAM BULLOCK, PAOLO GIANOLIO, DENNIS COFFEY
DRUMS: YOGI HORTON, BUDDY WILLIAMS
PERCUSSIONS: JIMMY MAELEN, RUDY TREVISI
SAXOPHONES: MICHAEL MIGLIORE
BACKGROUND VOCALS: FONZI THORNTON, DIVA GRAY, DAVID CLARK, MICHELLE COBBS, KASHIF, PHILIP BALOU (COURTESY OF HANDSHAKE RECORDS, INC.), DOLETTE MCDONALD, CRYSTAL DAVIS, GORDON GRODY.
RECORDED AND MIXED BY MICHAEL BARBIERO AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY
ASSISTED BY HARRY SPIRIDAKIS AND DON WERSHBA
SPECIAL THANKS TO STEVE BOGEN AND MICHAEL MURPHY OF LITTLE MACHO CO, INC.
ART DIRECTION: ROY KOHARA, PETER SHEA
COVER PHOTO: MIKE HASHIMOTO
COVER STYLING: KARL HOLM AND MICHAEL ALVIDREZ OF "PALEEZE" GROUP
MAKE-UP: CHALOA LASTER
(P) (C) 1982 CAPITOL RECORDS-EMI RECORDS
HIGH FASHION - MAKE UP YOUR MIND
SIDE 1
MAKE UP YOUR MIND 5:01
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
BREAK UP 6:14
(M. MALAVISI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
SHOW ME* 6:33
(K. ROBINSON - T. AGEE, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/CRYSTAL EYES PUBLISHING CO./BMI)
A LITTLE MORE TIME 5:57
(M. MALAVASI - J.F. PETRUS - E. MCCLINTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
SIDE 2
YOU SATISFY MY NEEDS 5:11
(C. MINUCCI - R. MATTHEWS, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./HOT URBAN MUSIC/ASCAP)
LOVE 5:13
(M. MALAVASI - J.F. PETRUS - E. MCCLINTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
PUMP ON THE PIPE 5:41
(M. MALAVASI - R. TREVISI - E. MCCLINTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
JUST A LITTLE MORE LOVE 5:14
(T. ALLEN - K. ROBINSON, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./BMI)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI
*"SHOW ME", ARRANGED AND PRODUCED BY MAURO MALAVASI AND KEVIN ROBINSON
HIGH FASHION IS:
ALYSON WILLIAMS - LEAD VOCALS
ERIC MCCLINTON - LEAD VOCALS
MARCELLA ALLEN
MUSICIANS:
BERNARD DAVIS: DRUMS
TIMMY ALLEN: BASS GUITAR, BACKGROUND VOCALS
TONY BRIDGES: BASS GUITAR
KEVIN ROBINSON: LEAD GUITAR
CHIELI MINUCCI: GUITAR
MICHAEL CAMPBELL: GUITAR
DAVIDE ROMANI: KEYBOARDS
MAURO MALAVASI: KEYBOARDS
RUDY TREVISI: SAXOPHONE, KEYBOARDS
BOBBY DOUGLAS: BACKGROUND VOCALS (APPEARS COURTESY OF RCA RECORDS)
RECORDED AT UMBI STUDIOS IN MODENA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY MAURIZIO MAGGI
MIXED AT SORCERER SOUND, NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEERED BY ALEX HEAD
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND BY GREG CALBY
SPECIAL THANKS TO: VARNELL JOHNSON, STEVE BUCKLEY, STEVEN KOPITKO, BARBARA CLARKE, STEVE BOGEN AND OF COURSE BERT PADELL
ART DIRECTION: ROY KOHARA
DESIGN: JOHN O’BRIEN
PHOTOGRAPHY: MAX PETRUS/BOB VAN LINDT
MAKE-UP: JULIANA CHRIS
(P) (C) 1983 CAPITOL RECORDS-EMI RECORDS
MACHO - I'M A MAN
SIDE 1
I'M A MAN 17:45
(S. WINWOOD - M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
SIDE 2
HEAR ME CALLING 7:10
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
BECAUSE THERE IS MUSIC IN THE AIR 10:25
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
ALL SONGS PUBLISHED BY SUGAR MUSIC EXCEPT "I'M A MAN" - ISLAND MUSIC COMPOSED AND PRODUCED BY MAURO MALAVASI
ARRANGED BY MAURO MALAVASI FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
LEAD VOCAL: MARZIO VINCENZI
BACKGROUND VOCALS: ARTHUR SIMMS
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIO, BOLOGNA AND FLORIDA STUDIOS, PARIS
MIXED AT SIGMA SOUND STUDIO, NEW YORK, USA
ENGINEER: ANDY ABRAMS - ASSISTANT ENGINEER: JIM "DOC" DOUGHERTY
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND N.YC.
"MIX BY SAVARESE"
STRING AND HORN ARRANGEMENTS BY MAURO MALAVASI
THANKS TO: ALFREDO, LUCA SACCHI, SEBASTIANO AND ALFREDO FROM METROPOLIS RECORDS SHOP
PHOTOGRAPHY: GIANNI SPINAZZOLA
COVER CONCEPT: JEAN BERNARD EDWIGE
ACCESSORIES: BEGED-OR
(P) (C) 1978 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/PRELUDE RECORDS/EMI RECORDS/FLARENASCH RECORDS/ARIOLA RECORDS
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MACHO (II) - ROLL
SIDE 1
MOTHERS LOVE "MAMMA MIA" 7:21
(C. VALLI - F. FLOYD)
ROLL 5:32
(C. VALLI - F. FLOYD)
NOT TONIGHT 5:38
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE)
SIDE 2
TALK 4:37
(C. VALLI - F. FLOYD)
GOT TO MAKE A MOVE 4:44
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE)
MONTREAL 4:52
(C. VALLI - F. FLOYD)
YOU GOT ME RUNNING 5:21
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: JACQUES FRED PETRUS & MAURO MALAVASI FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY CELSO VALLI
ALL SONGS PLAYED BY THE GOODY MUSIC ORCHESTRA
LYRICS BY: PAUL SLADE AND FRANK FLOYD
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS AND STONE CASTLE STUDIOS, ITALY
ENGINEER: MAURIZIO BIANCANI AND RUGGERO PENAZZO
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT POWER STATION STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY ENGINEER: LARRY ALEXANDER
EXCEPT MOTHERS LOVE "MAMMA MIA" RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEER: MICHAEL H. BRAUER
MASTERED AT: STERLING SOUND, NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEER: GREG CALBY
COVER CONCEPT BY: J. F. PETRUS
REALISATION: PINNA MARCO
(P) (C) 1980 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/UNIWAVE RECORDS/STRAND RECORDS
MIDNIGHT GANG - LOVE IS MAGIC
SIDE 1
MIDNIGHT GAME 6:03
(M. TANSINI)
THE WHOLE WORLD’S SINGIN’ 6:58
(M. TANSINI)
SIDE 2
LOVE IS MAGIC 6:45
(M. TANSINI)
LET’S GO DANCIN’ 7:20
(M. TANSINI)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MARCO TANSINI AND GIANNI GRECCHI
RECORDED AT C.A.P. STUDIO
ENGINEER: GIANNI PRUDENTE AT S.A.R.
STUDIO ENGINEER: DON NIKOLOFF AT C.G.D. STUDIO, MILAN, ITALY
MIXED AT POWER STATION STUDIOS, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: BILL SCHENIMAN
PLAYERS:
GIANNI GRECCHI: GUITAR, BASS GUITAR
MARCO TANSINI: GUITAR, PERCUSSION, CLARINET
MAURO MALAVASI: TRUMPET, FLUEGEL HORN, POLYMOOG
PIERO BASSINI: ACOUSTIC PIANO, MINIMOOG, ARP ODYSSEY
ROBY COLASANTE: DRUMS, PERCUSSION
ALDO BANFI: POLYMOOG, ARP. EL. CLARINET
ALESSANDRO MORO: SAXOPHONE
ANTONIO MONTANARI: TRUMPET
DON NIKOLOFF: TRUMPET, TROMBONE, FLUEGEL HORN
GEORGE AGHEDO: CONGAS
SPECIAL THANKS TO MAURO MALAVASI FOR HIS PRECIOUS GUIDANCE
ART CREDIT:
COVER CONCEPT BY J.F. PETRUS
REALISATION: JEAN BERNARD EDWIGE
PHOTOGRAPHY: GIANNI SPINAZZOLA
(P) (C) 1979 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS
PETER JACQUES BAND - FIRE NIGHT DANCE
SIDE 1
WALKING ON MUSIC 8:16
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
DEVIL'S RUN 8:30
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
SIDE 2
FIRE NIGHT DANCE 8:40
(J.F. PETRUS - M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
FLY WITH THE WIND 9:03
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
ALL SONGS PUBLISED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI ASSISTED BY RUDY TREVISI
VOCALISTS:
LEAD VOCAL: LEROY BURGESS
BACKGROUND SINGERS: ARTHUR SIMMS, JOE SCOTT, SAMMY GAHA, ANN CALVERT, GLORIA TURNER, CLAUDIA POLLEY, HILDA HARRIS, LAVELLE DUGGAN, MAERETHIA STEWART
MUSICIANS:
FABBRI GIORGINO: GUITAR
DAVIDE ROMANI: BASS
GABRIELE MELOTTI: DRUMS
GEORGE AGHEDO: CONGAS, PERCUSSION
RUDY TREVISI: SAX, TRUMPET, FLUTE, PERCUSSION, SYNTHESIZER, ELECTRIC CLAVINET, ELECTRIC PIANO
SANDRO COMINI: TROMBONE
MAURO MALAVASI: TRUMPET, SYNTHESIZER, ELECTRIC CLAVINET, FLUTE, ELECTRIC PIANO
MAURIZIO BIANCANI: ASSISTANT FOR SYNTHEZISER SESSION
STRINGS: THE GOODY MUSIC STRING ENSEMBLE SPECIAL THANKS TO WILLIAM WRIGHT - FIRST STRING
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT
ENGINEER: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
SPECIAL THANKS TO MR. MAURIZIO BIANCANI WHO ALWAYS GIVES US THE BEST STUDIO MILAN ENGINEER: MALEK JEAN PAUL
C.G.D. STUDIO ENGINEER: PINO VICARI
MIXED AT SIGMA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK, USA
ENGINEER: CARMINE RUBINO - ASSISTANT ENGINEER: JIM (DOC) DOUGHERTY MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND, NEW YORK, USA
ENGINEER: JOSE RODRIGUEZ
MIX BY MALAVASI AND PETRUS
U.S. COVER CONCEPT BY BY J.F. PETRUS
REALISTATION: JEAN BERNARD EDWIGE
PHOTOGRAPH: GIANNI SPINAZOLLA
ACCESSORIES: ALVEAR
ART CREDIT EUROPEAN SLEEVE: KEITH RAMSDEN AND TED FRANKLIN
WE WOULD LIKE TO DEDICATE THIS ALBUM TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTIONS FOR THEIR ENTHUSIASM AND WORK
SPECIAL CREDIT TO ALL THE MUSICIANS OF THE MACHO ALBUM
(P) (C) 1979 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/PRELUDE RECORDS/ARIOLA RECORDS/EURODISC RECORDS
PETER JACQUES BAND - WELCOME BACK
SIDE 1
COUNTING ON LOVE "ONE TWO THREE" 5:20
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
WELCOME BACK 6:27
(M. MALAVASI - L. VANDROSS)
THE LOUDER 7:02
(M. MALAVASI - F. FLOYD)
SIDE 2
IS IT IT 5:22
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
EXOTICALLY 5:55
(M. MALAVASI - F. FLOYD)
MIGHTY FINE 5:27
(M. MALAVASI - F. FLOYD)
ALL SONGS PUBLISED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP EXCEPT “WELCOME BACK” - LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./UNCLE RONNIE’S MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI
THE PETER JACQUES BAND GROUP:
JACOB WHEELER (LEAD VOCALS)
SANDI BASS
DIANNE WASHINGTON
VON GRETCHEN SHEPARD
ALL SONGS PLAYED BY THE GOODY MUSIC ORCHESTRA
LYRICS BY: PAUL SLADE, LUTHER VANDROSS AND FRANK FLOYD
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, ITALY
ENGINEER: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NYC
ENGINEER: MICHAEL H. BRAUER
MASTERED AT: STERLING SOUND, NYC
ENGINEER: GREG CALBY
COVER CONCEPT BY: J.F. PETRUS
PHOTOGRAPH: RENAULT MARCHAND – PARIS
ACCESSORY BY: PETER JACQUES BAND
(P) (C) 1980 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/UNIWAVE RECORDS/ARABELLA RECORDS/ARIOLA RECORDS
PETER JACQUES BAND - DANCING IN THE STREET
SIDE 1
ALL RIGHT LET'S GO 6:24
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
THIS NIGHT 5:37
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
MEXICO 4:29
(M. TANSINI - J.F. PETRUS - S. ZANINI)
EVERYBODY HAVE A PARTY 4:01
(N. LELLI - J.F. PETRUS - P.SLADE)
SIDE 2
GOING DANCING DOWN THE STREET 5:40
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
DRIVES ME CRAZY 4:10
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
HIGHTIME 4:54
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
DON'T SAY YOU'VE GOTTA GO 3:52
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
ALL SONGS PUBLISHED BY: VEDETTE INTERNATIONAL CO. INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL.
MUSIC BY: DAVIDE ROMANI, NINO LELLI, MARCO TANSINI
LYRICS BY: JACQUES FRED PETRUS, PAUL SLADE, SIMONA ZANINI
ARRANGED BY: DAVIDE ROMANI
CONDUCTED BY: DAVIDE ROMANI AND JACQUES FRED PETRUS
ALL SONGS PLAYED BY: DAVIDE ROMANI IN THE RENAISSANCE ORCHESTRA
RECORDED AT UMBI STUDIO AND MORNING STUDIO, ITALY
MIXED BY: RENATO CANTELE
THE PETER JACQUES BAND IS: ILTO SAMPAIO, BETTY LAMI, CARIN MCDONALD, CARMEN BJORNALD
LEAD VOCAL ON 'ALL RIGHT LET’S GO': ULLANDA MCCULLOUGH
LEAD VOCAL ON 'EVERYBODY HAVE A PARTY', 'DRIVES ME CRAZY' AND 'DON'T SAY YOU'VE GOTTA GO': PAUL SLADE
ALL BACKGROUND PERFORMED BY: CHANGE (COURTESY OF LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC. NY) AND PAUL SLADE
A SPECIAL THANKS TO: ELVIO PIERI, MARCO TANSINI, SIRO GALLOTTI, GIGI FIGINI, ROSA CESARIO FOR THEIR KIND COLLABORATION.
COSTUMES BY: JEAN PAUL GAULTIER
PHOTOGRAPH: GEORGES ROSEMBERG
ART DIRECTION: BOUBA KEITA
(P)(C) 1985 POLYDOR RECORDS/RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL RECORDS/INJECTION RECORDS
REVANCHE - MUSIC MAN
SIDE 1
YOU GET HIGH IN N.Y.C. 8:40
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR - J.F. PETRUS)
REVANCHE 8:53
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
SIDE 2
MUSIC MAN 8:16
(M. MALAVASI - A.TAYLOR)
1979 IT'S DANCING TIME 8:45
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR - J.F. PETRUS)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO CO. INC., NYC
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI ASSISTED BY RUDY TREVISI
ORCHESTRATED BY:
GUITAR: PAOLO GIANOLIO
BASS: DAVIDE ROMANI
DRUMS: GABRIELE MELOTTI
CONGAS: GEORGE AGHEDO
SAX: RUDY TREVISI
TROMBONE: SANDRO COMINI, MARCO PELLACANI
TRUMPET: MAURO MALAVASI, LINI FERMO, EMILIO SOANA
SYNTHESIZER: MAURO MALAVASI
ELECTRIC CLAVINET: MAURO MALAVASI, RUDY TREVISI
ACOUSTIC PIANO: MAURO MALAVASI, RUDY TREVISI
STRINGS: THE GOODY MUSIC STRING ENSEMBLE, SPECIAL THANKS TO MR WILLIAM WRIGHT - FIRST STRING
VOCALS BY: CHRISTINE WILTSHIRE, YVONNE LEWIS, JOCELYN SHAW, BOBBY DOUGLAS, STEVE DANIELS, SKIPP INGRAM, ROBIN CORLEY
RECORDED AT: FONOPRINT, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEER: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
VOCALS RECORDED AT POWER STATION, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: BILL SCHENIMAN - ASSISTED BY RAYMOND WILLHARD
MIXED AT: POWER STATION, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: BILL SCHENIMAN - ASSISTED BY RAYMOND WILLHARD
MASTERED AT: ATLANTIC STUDIOS, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: DENNIS KING
"A MALAVASI AND PETRUS MIX"
COVER CONCEPT BY PETRUS
REALIZATION: JEAN BERNARD EDWIGE
PHOTOGRAPH: GIANNI SPINAZZOLA
SPECIAL THANKS TO BOBBY DOUGLAS, STEVE DANIELS, SKIPP INGRAM AND ROBIN CORLEY OF PLATINUM HOOK (APPEAR COURTESY OF MOTOWN RECORDS)
(P) (C) 1979 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/ATLANTIC RECORDS
RITCHIE FAMILY - I’LL DO MY BEST
SIDE 1
I’LL DO MY BEST (FOR YOU BABY)* 5:22
(M. MALAVASI - G. SALERNI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./FONZWORTH MUSIC/ASCAP; SUB-PUBLISHED OUTSIDE THE USA BY CAN’T STOP MUSIC/BMI)
THIS LOVE’S ON ME 4:51
(J. MARCELLINO, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY FRESH SQUEEZED/SHAMEL/ASCAP)
ONE AND ONLY 4:30
(Z. CONKERITE, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY PEER INTERNATIONAL CORP./BMI)
YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON ME 4:15
(H. SMITH - W. GAY, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./GS EUROAMERICAN/DIFFERENT STROKES/ASCAP; SUB-PUBLISHED OUTSIDE THE USA BY CAN’T STOP MUSIC/BMI)
SIDE 2
WALK WITH ME 4:19
(T. VEITCH - G. MATHIESON, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY SLAP SHOT/MIGHTY MATHIESON/BMI) ALRIGHT ON THE NIGHT 5:04
(D. ROSE, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY RADMUS PUB. INC./ASCAP)
TONIGHT I NEED TO HAVE YOUR LOVE 4:08
(H. SMITH, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./GS EUROAMERICAN/DIFFERENT STROKES/ASCAP; SUB-PUBLISHED OUTSIDE THE USA BY CAN’T STOP MUSIC/BMI)
YOU’VE GOT ME DANCIN’ 4:50
(H. SMITH, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./GS EUROAMERICAN/DIFFERENT STROKES/ASCAP; SUB-PUBLISHED OUTSIDE THE USA BY CAN’T STOP MUSIC/BMI)
RITCHIE FAMILY IS:
VERA BROWN
JACQUELINE SMITH-LEE
THEODOSIA “DODIE” DRAHER
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS/LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO.,INC., FOR CAN’T STOP PRODUCTIONS, INC.
ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY GIULIANO SALERNI
RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: MICHAEL BARBIERO - ASSISTED BY GREG MANN AND DON WERSHBA
MASTERED AT MASTERDISK, NEW YORK CITY
MASTERING ENGINEER: BILL KIPPER
*MIXED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER
VOCAL TRACKS CO-PRODUCED BY FONZI THORNTON
A&R COORDINATION: HILDA WILLIAMS
SPECIAL THANKS TO STEPHEN KOPITKO
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNN GOLDSMITH INC.
LOCATION BY PERMISSION OF BOND INTERNATIONAL CASINO
COSTUMES BY J. CARTINELLI
HAIR AND MAKE-UP BY JOE MC DEVITT
(P) (C) 1982 RCA RECORDS/HIGH FASHION MUSIC/DURECO RECORDS/VIP RECORDS
RUDY - JUST TAKE MY BODY
SIDE 1
WHITE ROOM* 7:00
(J. BRUCE - P. BROWN)
JUST TAKE MY BODY** 6:50
(P. GIANOLIO - A. TAYLOR)
HIGHER 4:54
(R. TREVISI - A. TAYLOR)
SIDE 2
THANK YOU BABY 7:47
(R. TREVISI - A. TAYLOR)
CAN YOU STOP WOMAN 6:18
(R. TREVISI - A. TAYLOR)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP, EXCEPT * PUBLISHED BY CASSEROLE MUSIC CORP./BMI
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY RUDY TREVISI EXCEPT * BY LUCA ORIOLI AND ** BY PAOLO GIANOLIO
MUSICIANS:
GUITAR: PAOLO GIANOLIO
BASS: DAVIDE ROMANI
DRUMS: GABRIELE MELOTTI
CONGAS: RUDY TREVISI
SAX: RUDY TREVISI
TROMBONE: SANDRO COMINI, MARCO PELLACANI
TRUMPET: MAURO MALAVASI, BELTRAME DORIANO
SYNTHESIZER, ELECTRIC CLAVINET, FLUTE, ELECTRIC PIANO: MAURO MALAVASI, LUCA ORIOLI, RUDY TREVISI
PERCUSSION: RUDY TREVISI
ASSISTANT FOR SYNTHESIZER SESSION: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
STRINGS: THE GOODY MUSIC STRING ENSEMBLE
SPECIAL THANKS TO MR. WILLIAM WRIGHT - FIRST STRING
VOCALS BY:
KRYSTAL DAVIS
YVONNE LEWIS
CHRISTINE WILTSHIRE
BOBBY DOUGLAS
STEVE DANIELS
SKIPP INGRAM
ROBIN CORLEY
BOBBY DOUGLAS, STEVE DANIELS, SKIPP INGRAM AND ROBIN CORLEY APPEAR COURTESY OF MOTOWN RECORDS
RECORDED AT: FONOPRINT, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEER: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
MIXED AT: POWER STATION STUDIOS, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: BILL SCHENIMAN - ASSISTED BY JAMES FARBER
PHOTOGRAPHY: JIM MATUSIK
DESIGN: STEPHANIE ZURAS (AGI)
ART DIRECTION: BOB HEIMALL (AGI)
(P) (C) 1979 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/POLYDOR RECORDS
SILENCE - GOODTIME BABY
SIDE 1
MYSTERY 4:28
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
MORE THAN EVER 4:15
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
GOODTIME BABY 4:02
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
YOU'RE NOT ALONE, NO 3:11
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
SIDE 2
MIDNIGHT VISITORS (SILENCE) 5:10
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
NO WAY 4:05
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
BREAKING POINT 3:54
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
NIGHTMARE 3:47
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS JACQUES FRED PETRUS, MAURO MALAVASI, CELSO VALLI FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC
COMPOSED, ARRANGED, CONDUCTED BY CELSO VALLI
LYRICS BY PAUL SLADE AND CARLOTTA MCKEE
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY MAURIZIO BIANCANI
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND, NEW YORK CITY
PLAYERS:
SYNTHESIZERS: CELSO VALLI
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI, PAOLO GIANOLIO, D. D'AUTORIO, C. GOLINELLI
GUITAR: PAOLO GIANOLIO, DOC POWELL
DRUMS: TERRY SILVERLIGHT, FLAVIANO CUFFARI, GABRIELE MELOTTI
KEYBOARDS: CELSO VALLI, ONAJE ALLAN GUMBS
ASS. SYNTHESIZERS: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
SAXOPHONE: RUDY TREVISI
BACKGROUND VOCALS: DIVA GRAY, ROBIN CLARK, DAVID L. BYRON, TOM BERNFELD, KURT YAGIAN, GORDON GRODY
LEAD VOCALS: GORDON GRODY
ART AND DESIGN: GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1982 MEMORY RECORDS
SILENCE 2 FEAT. GORDON GRODY - THE BEAST IN ME
SIDE 1
THE BEAST IN ME 4:30
(E. KAZ - M. MORROW, APRIL MUSIC PUBLISHING INC./KAZ MUSIC CO./ASCAP)
MIDNITE VISITORS 5:06
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
SO MUCH FOR LOVE 5:15
(C. VALLI - C. MCKEE - G. GRODY, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
TILL THE RIGHT ONE COMES ALONG 3:48
(C. MCKEE - G. GRODY, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
SIDE 2
MOONLIGHT SHADOW 4:28
(M. OLDFIELD, VIRGIN MUSIC PUBLISHING INC./ASCAP)
MYSTERY 4:00
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
ANGEL 4:40
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
MORE THAN EVER 4:00
(M. TANSINI - C. MCKEE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
ARRANGED BY CELSO VALLI
MUSICIANS:
LEAD GUITAR: PAOLO GIANOLIO
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI
DRUMS: GABRIELE MELOTTI
KEYBOARDS: CELSO VALLI
LEAD VOCAL: GORDON GRODY
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, BOLOGNA, ITALY AND UMBI STUDIOS, MODENA, ITALY.
ENGINEERED AND MIXED BY MAURIZIO BIANCANI AND ROBERTO COSTA
MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY
MIXED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER FOR M.H.B. PRODUCTIONS
(P) (C) 1984 FLARENASCH RECORDS/SPEED RECORDS/FIVE RECORDS
ZINC - STREET LEVEL
SIDE 1
STREET LEVEL 6:04
(KASHIF, MCA MUSIC/ASCAP/BMI)
I'LL NEVER STOP 5:40
(M. MALAVASI - C. MCKEE, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
I'LL TAKE MY CHANCES 5:29
(M. MALAVASI - A. THORNTON, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
THIS IS WHERE THE LOVE IS 5:56
(M. MALAVASI - A. THORNTON, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
SIDE 2
PUNKULATION 5:57
(D. ROMANI - T. WILLOUGHBY, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
AMAZON 6:13
(M. MALAVASI - R. TREVISI, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
LIVIN' IN THE BOOGIE NOW 7:37
(P. GIANOLIO - M. MALAVASI - T. WILLOUGHBY, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO.,INC.
ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI
MUSICIANS:
ACOUSTIC PIANO, KEYBOARDS, SYNTHESIZERS: MAURO MALAVASI, STEVE ROBIN, RAY CHEW, DAVIDE ROMANI
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI
GUITARS: STEVE LOVE, HIRAM BULLOCK, IRA SIEGEL
DRUMS: TERRY SILVERLIGHT, YOGI HORTON, BUDDY WILIAMS
PERCUSSION: RICK GALLWEY
SAXOPHONE: ROBIN CARLEY, RUDY TREVISI
LEAD VOCALS: GORDON GRODY
FEATURED VOCAL "LIVIN' IN THE BOOGIE NOW": STEVE DANIELS
BACKGROUND VOCALS: STEVE DANIELS, BOBBY DOUGLAS, GORDON GRODY, FONZI THORNTON, MICHELLE COBBS
RECORDED BY MICHAEL BARBIERO
MIXED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER AT MEDIASOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK ASSISTED BY GREGORY MANN AND HARRY SPIRIDAKIS
SPECIAL THANKS TO STEPHEN KOPITKO, AND TO MICHAEL MURPHY AND STEVE BOGEN FROM LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
ART DIRECTOR: DONN DAVENPORT
PHOTOGRAPHER: PINDERHUGHES
DESIGNER: HOWARD FRITZSON
LOGO PHOTOGRAPHER: RANDOLF GRAFF
STYLIST: HUI WANG
GARMENT: ANDRE VAN PIER
(P) (C) 1982 JIVE RECORDS/MEMORY RECORDS
THE (12 INCH) SINGLES ARTWORK GALLERY
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INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEW WITH FRANCO DONATO:
They frequently made up American-sounding names to lend credibility to their productions and were in fact the forerunners of Italo Disco. Many of the records were mixed at Mediasound studios in New York City where plenty of great background singers were available.
Successful Italo-funk producers were: Claudio Simonetti & Giancarlo Meo (Vivien Vee, Easy Going, Capricorn, Kasso), Giancarlo Meo (Barbara York, Fascination), Celso Valli (Tantra, Azoto, Passengers), Stefano Pulga & Luciano Ninzatti (Kano, Jimmy Ross), Tiziano Mazzilli (J.M.T. Band, Jimmy Ross, Vin-Zee), Laurent Van Meerhaeghe (J.M.T. Band , Jimmy Ross, Vin-Zee), Dario Raimondi & Alvaro Ugolini (Advance), Claudio Donato (Selection, Tom Hooker, Jago, Kano, Rainbow Team, Firefly, Trance, Band Of Jocks, Electric Mind, Stephany, George Aaron), Franco Donato (Selection, Orlando Johnson), A. Candelora (Electric Mind), Fio Zanotti (Marzio, Game, Flowchart, Harry Valentino), Claudio Giusti (Metropole, Cristal White), Romano Trevisani (Marzio, Game, Mesa, Bravo, Flowchart, Cruisin' Gang, Harry Valentino), Luigi 'Luis' Figini (Dr. Togo, Kano), Leonardo Re Cecconi (Dr.
Togo, Koxo), Serse May (Bravo, Mesa), Michele Violante (Korja, Rainbow Team, Jago, Ago), Kynsha (Korja, Ago, Jago), Al Festa (Metropole, Dr. Jerky & Mrs. Hives), Geoff Bastow (KID), R. Cucinotta (Boeing), Maurice Cavalieri (Evo, Rainbow Team, Firefly, Nexus, Ago, Korja), Maurizio "Sangy" Sangineto (Firefly, The Armed Gang, The Creatures, The Passengers), Paul Micioni (Mr. Lover, Mike Francis, Amii Stewart, Gary Low), Peter Micioni (Mr. Lover, Mike Francis, Gary Low), Tony Carrasco (The Gong's Gang), Matteo Bonsanto (Kano) and Victorio Pezzola (Asso).The tasteful Italian R&B-disco or boogie not only appealed to the European dance public but also seduced the American dancefloors. Many Italian disco artists like Vin-Zee, Jimmy Ross, Kano and Firefly reached high positions on the U.S. Billboard Disco/Dance Charts and the Billboard R&B Charts.
The artists and producers involved in this thriving and vibrant Italian music scene were like one
great family. Illustrative for this Italian funk in-crowd is perhaps the figure of Luigi 'Luis' Figini. He produced Dr. Togo’s soulgem “Be Free” and enrolled Kano-singer Glen White as Dr. Togo’s lead vocalist in 1983. Figini also produced Kano and participated in projects of Peter Jacques Band, Change and B.B.&Q. Band in 1985. Luigi Figini is a close friend of Mauro Malavasi too. Paolo Gianolio conducted and mixed the Vivien Vee disco album With Vivien Vee in 1983, on the sleeves of which both Kano-singer Glen White and Davide Romani get a special thanks. Davide Romani played bass guitar on Flowchart’s rare New Harlem Funk / A Little Love A Little Wine album under the pseudonym of Dav. Mandingos. The Italian boogie-funk scene was one great family indeed! In 1983 George Mikulski of the German label ZYX launched the term Italo-Disco to label Italian dance music in general.
Producers Stefano Pulga, Matteo Bonsanto and Luciano Ninzatti at Baby Records Studios in Milan [courtesy of Matteo Bonsanto]
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Firefly at Right Track Recording (NYC) in 1981 with producer Maurice Cavalieri (sitting middle) and backing singers Krystal Davis and Robin Clark
Producers Peter Micioni, Davide Romani and Paul Micioni at recording studio in Rimini
The artists listed in the following discography all delivered some heavy Italian dance funk or boogie during the early eighties (notice that some names already occured in the discography above):
* Advance: single “Take Me To The Top” (Energy, 1983).
* Ago: LP/CD For You (Full Time, 1982) - singles: “For You”, “Trying Over”, “You Make Me Do It”.
* Armed Gang: single “All I Want” (Chaz Ro, 1982)
* Armed Gang: single “Love Shot” (Musix, 1983).
* Armed Gang: single “Everybody Celebrate” (Sun & Sea, 1984).
* Asso: single “Don’t Stop” (Ace, 1983).
* Azoto: LP/CD Disco Fizz (Modulation, 1980) - single: "San Salvador".
* Billy Jean: single "I Need You" (DR, 1983).
* Boeing: single “Dance On The Beat” (Full Time, 1982).
* Bravo: LP Bravo (Chic Record, 1980).
* Cela: single “I'm In Love” (Derby, 1980).
* City Group’s Band: single “Our Time” (Flop, 1981).
* Cristal White: single “Leave Together” (Spice 7, 1982).
* Dr. Jerky & Mrs. Hives: single “Higher!” (Monkey Music, 1983).
* Dr. Togo: single “Be Free” (Derby, 1982).
* Electric Mind: single “Summing Up” (Full Time, 1982).
* Electric Mind: singles “Can We Go”, “Zwei” (Full Time, 1983).
* Evo: single "Din-Don" (C&M, 1983).
* Fascination: single “Out To Get You” (Banana, 1983).
* Firefly: LP/CD Firefly (Mr. Disc, 1980) - single: “Love And Friendship”.
* Firefly: LP/CD My Desire (Mr. Disc, 1981) - singles: “Love (Is Gonna Be On Your Side)”, “My Desire”, “You Can Lead Me”.
* Firefly: LP 3 (Mr. Disc, 1982) - single: “I Just Want To Be Your Lover”.
* Firefly: LP Double Personality (Mr. Disc, 1984) - single: “Stay (No Time)”.
* Flowchart: LP/CD The New Harlem Funk (Maximus, 1983) - single: “Ask The Boss”.
* Flowchart: LP/CD A Little Love A Little Wine (City, 1983) - single: “Ask The Boss”.
* Game: LP Gotta Take Your Love (Maximus, 1982) - singles: “Gotta Take Your Love”, "Never Get Enough".
* George Aaron: single "Silly Reason" (Full Time, 1985)
* Gong's Gang: single “Gimme Your Love” (Phoenix Records, 1983).
* Herbie: single "You Don't Love Me" (Renegades Of Planet Earth, 1983).
* Jago: single "I'm Going To Go" (Full Time, 1983)
* James Otis White: single “Baby Come On” (Musix, 1983).
* J.M.T. Band: single “Just Your Love” (Spice 7/Full Time, 1981).
* Jimmy Ross: LP/CD First True Love Affair (Spice 7/Full Time, 1981) - singles: “First True Love Affair”, “Fall Into A Trance”.
* Joe Coleman: single “Get It Off The Ground” (F1 Team, 1982).
* Joe Coleman: single “Test Drive” (F1 Team, 1982).
* Kano: LP Kano (Full Time, 1980) - singles: “It’s A War”, “Holly Dolly”, “I’m Ready”.
* Kano: LP/CD New York Cake (Full Time, 1981) - singles: “Can’t Hold Back”, "Baby Not Tonight", "Don't Try To Stop Me", "Round And Round".
* Kano: LP Another Life (Full Time, 1983) - singles: “I Need Love”, “Dance School”, “Another Life”.
* Kano: LP The Best Of Kano (Full Time, 1983) - single: “Queen Of Witches”.
* Kasso: LP Kasso (Banana, 1981) - single: “Walkman”.
* Kasso: LP Kasso 2 (F-1 Team, 1984) - single: “Dig It”.
* Kenny Claiborne And The Armed Gang: LP/CD The Armed Gang (Musix, 1982) - single: “Are You Ready”.
* KID: LP Don’t Stop (Ariola, 1981).
* KID: LP/CD Fine Time Tonight (Baby Records, 1982).
* Korja: single “My Mind” (Flop, 1981).
* Koxo: single “Step By Step” (Sugar Music, 1982).
* Matakena: single "Nuts On Me / Aphrodisiac" (Matakena, 1983).
* Maurice McGee: single "Do I Do" (Full Time, 1983).
* Mesa: LP Mesa (Chic Record, 1980).
* Metropole: single “Miss Manhattan” (Derby, 1981).
* Michael Baker: single "Don't You Want My Lovin'" (Premo, 1984).
* Mike Francis: LP Let’s Not Talk About It (Concorde, 1984) - singles: “Cover Girl”, “Let’s Not Talk About It”.
* Mr. Lover: single "Run For Cover" (Best, 1982).
* Nat Bush: single "Taste Of Love Again" (S.P.Q.R., 1983)
* Nexus: single "Stand Up" (Mr. Disc Organization, 1983).
* Orlando Johnson & Trance: LP/CD Turn The Music On (Full Time, 1983) - singles: “Turn The Music On”, “Chocolate City”, "Somebody Save Me".
* Pino D’Angio: LP Pino D’Angio (Flarenasch, 1981) - singles “Ma Quale Idea”, “Okay Okay”.
* Plus Two: single "Melody" (M.I.O., 1983).
* Point Blank: single “Sign Of The Times” (Full Time, 1983).
* Rainbow Team: LP/CD Rainbow Team (Full Time, 1981).
* Rainbow Team: LP/CD A Song For You (Full Time, 1982) - singles: “Hope He Wants”, “Bite The Apple”.
* Selection: single “Madly” (Full Time, 1980).
* Selection: LP/CD Selection (Full Time, 1982) - singles: “Got To Be Real”, “Ride The Beam”.
* Sunflower: single "Love Is Magic" (F1 Team, 1981).
* Tantra: LP The Double Album (Import 12, 1980) - single: “The Hills Of Katmandu”, “Get Ready To Go”, “Wishbone”.
* Tantra: LP Tantra II (Import 12, 1981) - single: “Macumba”.
* Toba: single “Movin' Up” (Connection, 1982).
* Tom Hooker: single “Talk With Your Body” (Full Time, 1982).
* Tom Hooker: single “Love Attack” (BMC, 1983).
* Trance: single "Hang On It" (Good Vibes, 1982).
* Vin-Zee: single “Funky Bebop” (Spice 7/Full Time, 1981).
* Vivien Vee: LP With Vivien Vee (Banana, 1983) - singles: “Destiny”, “Wanna Feel”.
* V.I.S.A.: LP San Francisco (RCA/Unidisc, 1981) - single “I’m A Dancer”.
* Compilation: 2CD Disco Connection - The Great Disco '70/'80 (Fonte, 2004).
Fio Zanotti, Davide Romani, Celso Valli, Mauro Malavasi, Guido Elmi and Gabriele Melotti
ALBUM CREDITS - GOODY MUSIC / LITTLE MACHO MUSIC / RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL
THE B.B.& Q. BAND - THE BROOKLYN, BRONX & QUEENS BAND
SIDE 1
ON THE BEAT 5:55
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
TIME FOR LOVE 6:05
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
DON’T SAY GOODBYE 3:47
(M. TANSINI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
SIDE 2
STARLETTE 4:57
(M. MALAVASI - D. ROMANI - P. SLADE)
MISTAKES 4:40
(M. MALAVASI - D. ROMANI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
LOVIN’S WHAT WE SHOULD DO 5:06
(M. MALAVASI - J. HOGGARD)
I’LL CUT YOU LOOSE 5:18
(M. MALAVASI - R. TREVISI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC.
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI EXCEPT “DON’T SAY GOODBYE” COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MARCO TANSINI
LYRICS BY PAUL SLADE AND TANYAYETTE WILLOUGHBY
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEERS: MAURIZIO BIANCANI, MICHAEL H. BRAUER
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY ENGINEER: MICHAEL H. BRAUER
ASSISTANT ENGINEER: ANDY HOFFMAN
MASTERED AT CAPITOL RECORDS BY JAY MAYNARD
PLAYERS:
PIANO AND SYNTHESIZERS: MAURO MALAVASI
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI, PARIS ‘PEEWEE’ FORD
GUITAR: PAOLO GIANOLIO, ABDUL WALI MOHAMMED
DRUMS: TERRI SILVERLIGHT, DWAYNE PERDUE
KEYBOARDS: KEVIN NANCE
ASST. SYNTHESIZERS: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
SAXOPHONE: RUDI TREVISI, DENNY TRIMBOLI
TRUMPET: VICTOR PAZ, EARL GARDNER
TROMBONE: BOB ALEXANDER
LEAD VOCALS: IKE FLOYD
SOLO VOCALS: GORDON GRODY, BOBBY DOUGLAS
BACKGROUND VOCALS: LUTHER VANDROSS, ALFONSO ‘FONZI’ THORNTON, BOBBY DOUGLAS, GORDON GRODY, DIVA GRAY, ROBIN CLARK
STRINGS: THE GOODY MUSIC STRING ENSEMBLE
SPECIAL THANKS TO STEPHEN L. KOPITKO, ESQ. OF GRUBMAN & INDURSKY, P.C.
ART DIRECTION: ROY KOHARA
DESIGN/ILLUSTRATION: ROLAND YOUNG, DON BATTERSHALL
PHOTOGRAPHY: RON WEST
(P) (C) 1981 CAPITOL RECORDS-EMI RECORDS
THE B.B.& Q. BAND - ALL NIGHT LONG
SIDE 1
ALL NIGHT LONG (SHE’S GOT THE MOVES I LIKE) 5:55
(K. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES PUBLISHING CO./ASCAP-BMI)
IMAGINATION 6:00
(K. WILLIAMS, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO, INC./PIZZAZZ MUSIC/ASCAP-BMI)
THE THINGS WE DO IN LOVE 4:58
(K. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES PUBLISHING CO./ASCAP-BMI)
DESIRE 4:20
(T. ALLEN - K. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./G.S. EUROAMERICA PUBLISHING/ASCAP)
SIDE 2
HANGING OUT 5:10
(T. BRIDGES - J. KEMP JR. - M. MALAVASI, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
HARD TO GET AROUND 5:15
(M. MALAVASI - M. TREVISI - J. KEMP JR., LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
(I COULD NEVER SAY) IT’S OVER 4:05
(M. MALAVASI - J. KEMP JR., LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT 5:54
(M. MALAVASI - J. KEMP JR., LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI AND JACQUES FRED PETRUS
ARRANGED BY MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC.
RECORDED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK, NY
ENGINEERED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER (BASIC TRACKS), ALEC HEAD, LINCOLN CLAPP (OVERDUBS)
MIXED AT POWER STATION AND MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK, NY
ENGINEERED BY BILL SCHENIMAN AND MICHAEL BARBIERO
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND, NEW YORK, NY BY GREG CALBI
PLAYERS:
KEYBOARDS: JEFF BOVA, STEVE SKINNER, MAURO MALAVASI, KAE WILLIAMS
DRUMS: YOGI HORTON, BERNARD DAVIS
BASS: TONY BRIDGES, DAVIDE ROMANI, TIMMY ALLEN
GUITAR: KEVIN ROBINSON, CHIELI MINUCCI, MIKE CAMPBELL, ED MOORE
PERCUSSION: JIMMY MAELEN
HORN SECTION: DAVID TOFANI (SAX), JOHN FADDIS (TRUMPET), DAVE BARGERON (TROMBONE), MARVIN STAM (TRUMPET)
LEAD VOCALS: KEVIN ROBINSON
BACKGROUND VOCALS: BENNY DIGGS, ZACK SANDERS, BRENDA WHITE, DENNIS CALLINS, JOHNNY KEMP, LEROY BURGESS, TAWATHA AGEE, ALFONSO ‘FONZI’ THORNTON, GORDON GRODY, BOBBY DOUGLAS, ERIC MC CLINTON, KEVIN ROBINSON, TIMMY ALLEN, ALYSON WILLIAMS (BENNY DIGGS APPEARS COURTESY OF HANDSHAKE RECORDS, INC.)
SPECIAL THANKS TO STEVE BOGEN AND MICHAEL MURPHY
ART DIRECTION: ROY KOHARA
DESIGN: HENRI MARQUEZ
GROUP PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN HAGIWARA
BACKGROUND PHOTOGRAPHY: DARIO PERLA / AFTER IMAGE, RON SLENZAK, NASA
(P) (C) 1982 CAPITOL RECORDS-EMI RECORDS
THE B.B.& Q. BAND - SIX MILLION TIMES
SIDE 1
KEEP IT HOT 5:42
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
STAY 5:35
(K. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./ASCAP-BMI)
SHE’S A PASSIONATE LOVER 4:15
(ROBINSON - ROBINSON, JR. - T. BRIDGES, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./ASCAP-BMI)
WE’VE GOT TO DO IT 4:40
(K. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./ASCAP-BMI)
SIDE 2
SIX MILLION TIMES 5:48
(K. ROBINSON - H. KING, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./GUN HOUSE MUSIC/ASCAP-BMI)
SHE’S A WOMAN 6:17
(J. LENNON - P. MC CARTNEY, MACLEN MUSIC, INC./BMI)
DOWNTOWNE 5:20
(JOE JEFFERSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
MISSING YOU, MISSING ME 4:32
(K. ROBINSON - H. KING, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./GUN HOUSE MUSIC/ASCAP-BMI)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
CO-PRODUCED BY KEVIN ROBINSON
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
ARRANGED BY MAURO MALAVASI AND KEVIN ROBINSON EXCEPT “MISSING YOU, MISSING ME” AND “SIX MILLION TIMES” ARRANGED BY KEVIN ROBINSON AND HOWARD KING
RECORDED AT UMBI STUDIOS, MODENA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY MAURIZIO MAGGI
MIXED AT SORCERER SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK, NY
ENGINEERED BY ALEX HEAD
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND, NEW YORK, NY BY GREG CALBY
PLAYERS:
BASS GUITAR: TONY BRIDGES
LEAD GUITAR: KEVIN ROBINSON
GUITAR: CHIELI MINUCCI, MICHAEL CAMPBELL
DRUMS: BERNARD DAVIS
SAXOPHONE: RUDY TREVISI
KEYBOARDS: MAURO MALAVASI, RUDY TREVISI
LEAD VOCALS: KEVIN ROBINSON
BACKGROUND VOCALS: BOBBY DOUGLAS, ERIC MC CLINTON, TIMMY ALLEN
THANKS TO: VARNELL JOHNSON, STEVE BUCKLEY, STEVEN KOPITKO, STEVE BOGEN, BARBARA CLARKE, PETER MATORIN, REENIE, MIC MURPHY, AND OF COURSE BERT PADELL.
MANAGEMENT AND DIRECTION: ANDRE PERRY, (P.O. BOX 897, TEANECK, N.J. 07666)
ART DIRECTION: ROY KOHARA
DESIGN: JOHN O’BRIEN
PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN HAGIWARA
STYLIST: HUI WANG / SKIRT: A. VITTADINI
(P) (C) 1983 CAPITOL RECORDS-EMI RECORDS
THE B.B.& Q. BAND - GENIE
SIDE 1
GENIE 6:01
(K. WILLIAMS)
MAIN ATTRACTION 5:42
(K. WILLIAMS)
WON’T YOU BE WITH ME TONIGHT 4:33
(K. WILLIAMS)
DON’T FORCE IT 4:55
(K. WILLIAMS)
SIDE 2
MINUTES AWAY 3:15 [U.S. release 5:08]
(K. WILLIAMS)
ON THE SHELF 5:15
(K. WILLIAMS)
DREAMER 5:46 [U.S. release 7:09]
(K. WILLIAMS)
RICCOCHET 4:15
(K. WILLIAMS)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY GUADELOUPE MUSIC AND PIZZAZZ MUSIC/ASCAP-BMI PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND KAE WILLIAMS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR VEDETTE INTERNATIONAL
ALL SONGS, MUSIC AND LYRICS BY KAE WILLIAMS
RECORDED AT MORNING STUDIOS, MILAN, ITALY AND MORNINGSTAR STUDIOS, SPRING HOUSE (PA), USA
ENGINEERED BY RENATO CANTELE
MASTERED AT FRANKFORD WAYNE MASTERING LAB BY HERB POWERS JR.
PLAYERS:
MICHAEL CAMPBELL: GUITAR, ACOUSTIC GUITAR
TIMMY ALLEN: BASS GUITAR
JAY DAVIDSON: SAX
KAE WILLIAMS: DX-7, RHODES, PROPHET, ORGAN, LINN DRUM, DMX DRUM, PIANO, HORN, HARP, SAX
LEAD VOCALS: CURTIS HAIRSTON
BACKGROUND VOCALS: ULLANDA MCCULLOUGH, CURTIS HAIRSTON
(P) (C) 1985 RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL RECORDS/COOLTEMPO RECORDS/BREAK RECORDS/MEGA RECORDS/ZYX RECORDS
(P) (C) 1986 ELEKTRA RECORDS
CAPRICE - RUSSIA
SIDE 1
RUSSIA 6:22
(C. SANCHEZ - WAUQUIER)
STAY TONIGHT 4:30
(R. ROUSSEL - PENDERVIS)
DE MUSIQUE EN MUSIQUE 5:24
(L. MARINO - F. COREA)
SIDE 2
SHAME AND THE SCANDAL IN THE FAMILY 7:43
(HUON DONALDSON - SLIM HENRY BROWN)
VALIENTE 7:04
(C. SANCHEZ - WAUQUIER)
SEXOPOLIS TOWER 7:36
(C. SANCHEZ - WAUQUIER)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
ARRANGED BY, COMPOSED BY: CANDELARIO SANCHEZ
RECORDED AT: STUDIO MILAN - PARIS
MIXED AT: POWER STATION - NEW YORK
(P) (C) 1980 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS
CHANGE - THE GLOW OF LOVE
SIDE 1
A LOVER’S HOLIDAY (A JIM BURGESS MIX) 6:24
(D. ROMANI - T. WILLOUGHBY, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
IT’S A GIRL’S AFFAIR 5:29
(P. GIANOLIO - W. GARFIELD, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ARA PESH COMMUNICATIONS UNLIMITED, INC./ASCAP)
ANGEL IN MY POCKET 6:10
(P. GIANOLIO - W. WILLOUGHBY, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
SIDE 2
THE GLOW OF LOVE 6:11
(D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - W. GARFIELD, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ARA PESH COMMUNICATIONS UNLIMITED, INC./ASCAP)
SEARCHING 8:01
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
THE END 5:54
(P. GIANOLIO, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC., NEW YORK
ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY DAVIDE ROMANI AND PAOLO GIANOLIO EXCEPT “THE GLOW OF LOVE” AND “SEARCHING” ARRANGED BY MAURO MALAVASI
LYRICS BY WAYNE GARFIELD, TANYAYETTE WILLOUGHBY AND PAUL SLADE
ALL SONGS PLAYED BY THE GOODY MUSIC ORCHESTRA
LEAD VOCALS: JOCELYN SHAW
EXCEPT ON “THE GLOW OF LOVE” AND “SEARCHING” BY LUTHER VANDROSS (LUTHER VANDROSS APPEARS COURTESY OF DAVID KREVAT/CEILIDH PRODUCTIONS, INC.)
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY MAURIZIO BIANCANI
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT POWER STATION STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY ENGINEERED BY BILL SCHENIMAN
“THE GLOW OF LOVE” AND “SEARCHING” RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEERED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND INC., NEW YORK CITY
ALBUM COORDINATION BY RAY CAVIANO AND BOB SIEGEL
MANY THANKS TO LUTHER VANDROSS AND JOCELYN SHAW
VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO RAY CAVIANO, VINCE ALETTI AND BOB SIEGEL
ALBUM DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION BY GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1980 RFC RECORDS- WARNER BROS. RECORDS/GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/WEA RECORDS
CHANGE - MIRACLES
SIDE 1
PARADISE 5:14
(D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
HOLD TIGHT 4:23
(D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
YOUR MOVE 4:23
(D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
STOP FOR LOVE 4:12
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE - T. WILLOUGHBY)
SIDE 2
ON TOP 5:13
(P. GIANOLIO - M. MALAVASI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
HEAVEN OF MY LIFE 5:34
(P. GIANOLIO - D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
MIRACLES 5:17
(M. MALAVASI - T. WILLOUGHBY)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI FOR LITTLE MACH MUSIC CO., INC., NEW YORK
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY DAVIDE ROMANI, MAURO MALAVASI AND PAOLO GIANOLIO
VOCALS CONDUCTED BY TANYAYETTE WILLOUGHBY / READY PRODUCTIONS AND JOCELYN SHAW
LYRICS BY PAUL SLADE AND TANYAYETTE WILLOUGHBY
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY MAURIZIO BIANCANI AND MICHAEL H. BRAUER
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY ENGINEERED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER - ASSISTANT ENGINEER ANDY HOFFMAN MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND, INC., NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEERED BY GREG CALBY
PLAYERS:
MAURO MALAVASI: PIANO, SYNTHESIZER
DAVIDE ROMANI: BASS
PAOLO GIANOLIO: GUITAR
RUDY TREVISI: SAXOPHONE
DOC POWELL: GUITAR
TERRY SILVERLIGHT: DRUMS
ONAJE ALLAN GUMBS: KEYBOARDS
MAURIZIO BIANCANI: ASST. SYNTHESIZER
HORNS:
VICTOR PAZ: TRUMPET
EARL GARDNER: TRUMPET
DENNY TRIMBOLI: SAXOPHONE
BOB ALEXANDER: TROMBONE
STRINGS PLAYED BY THE GOODY MUSIC STRING ENSEMBLE
LEAD VOCALS: JAMES ‘CRAB’ ROBINSON AND DIVA GRAY
SOLO VOCALS: GORDON GRODY AND DIVA GRAY
BACKGROUND VOCALS: JOCELYN SHAW, CRYSTAL DAVIS, DIVA GRAY, ULLANDA MCCULLOUGH, LUTHER VANDROSS, BENNY DIGGS, DENNIS COLLINS, FONZI THORNTON
ULLANDA MCCULLOUGH APPEARS COURTESY OF ATLANTIC RECORDS
LUTHER VANDROSS APPEARS COURTESY OF EPIC RECORDS
BENNY DIGGS APPEARS COURTESY OF HANDSHAKE RECORDS
FONZI THORNTON APPEARS COURTESY OF ATLANTIC RECORDS
RUDY TREVISI APPEARS COURTESY OF POLYDOR RECORDS
SPECIAL THANKS TO RAY CAVIANO, VINCE ALETTI AND BOB SIEGEL FOR THEIR ONGOING SUPPORT
ART AND DESIGN BY GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1981 RFC RECORDS-ATLANTIC RECORDS/GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/WEA RECORDS
CHANGE - SHARING YOUR LOVE
SIDE 1
THE VERY BEST IN YOU 5:41
(H. SMITH - M. MALAVASI, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./DIFFERENT STROKES MUSIC/GS EURO-AMERICA/ASCAP)
HARD TIMES (IT'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT)* 5:23
(M. MALAVASI - D. ROMANI - A. THORNTON - J.F. PETRUS, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP) OH WHAT A NIGHT* 5:23
(R. GAUDIO - J. M. PARKER, JOBETE MUSIC CO. INC./SEASON MUSIC CO./ASCAP)
PROMISE YOUR LOVE 4:27
(M. MALAVASI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
EVERYTHING AND MORE 4:23
(L. BOONE - L. LAFALCE, LOUISE-JACK MUSIC CO./ROCK YOUR SOCKS MUSIC/ASCAP)
SIDE 2
SHARING YOUR LOVE 6:03
(J. ROBINSON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
TAKE YOU TO HEAVEN* 5:26
(D. ROMANI - J. KEMP, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
KEEP ON IT 5:36
(K. WILLIAMS, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./PIZAZZ MUSIC CO./ASCAP)
YOU'RE MY NUMBER 1 4:21
(L. BURGESS - S. DAVENPORT - J. CALLOWAY, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./CALEBUR COMPOSITIONS/ASCAP)
YOU'RE MY GIRL 4:08
(M. MALAVASI - D. ROMANI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
ON BEHALF OF LITTLE MACHO MUSIC ALL SONGS ARE ADMINISTRED BY W.B. MUSIC CORP.
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC
CHANGE IS:
JAMES ROBINSON: LEAD VOCALS
DEBORAH COOPER: LEAD VOCALS
TIMMY ALLEN: BASS
MIKE CAMPBELL: GUITAR
VINCENT HENRY: SAXOPHONE, GUITAR
JEFF BOVA: KEYBOARDS
RICK GALLWEY: PERCUSSION
MUSICIANS:
KEYBOARDS: MAURO MALAVASI, KASHIF, KAE WILLIAMS, ANDY SCHWARTZ, DAVIDE ROMANI, BARRY EASTMOND, ADAM IPPOLITO
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI, TIMMY ALLEN
DRUMS: YOGI HORTON, BUDDY WILLIAMS, TERRY SILVERLIGHT
GUITARS: HIRAM BULLOCK, IRA SIEGEL, MIKE CAMPBELL, HERB SMITH, JAMES ROBINSON, FAREED ABDUL HAQQ, KEVIN ROBINSON
PERCUSSION: RICK GALLWEY, JIMMY MAELEN
SAXOPHONE: VINCENT HENRY, DAVE TOFANI, RUDY TREVISI
TRUMPETS: RANDY BRECKER (COURTESY ARISTA RECORDS), JON FADDIS
FRENCH HORN: BROOKS TILLDTSON
STRING PLAYERS:
ON 'THE VERY BEST IN YOU', 'EVERYTHING AND MORE' AND 'PROMISE YOUR LOVE': GENE ORLOFF (CONCERTMASTER) - ALFRED BROWN - FREDERICK ZLOTKIN - JONATHAN ABRAMOWITZ - HARRY LOOKOFSKY, JOSEPH MALIGNAGGI, MITSUE TAKAYAMA, JULIEN BARBER, HAROLD KOHON, GERALD TARACK, GUY LUMIA, FREDERICK BULDRINI, MARILYN WRIGHT
ON 'SHARING YOUR LOVE' AND 'YOU'RE MY NUMBER 1': JEFF DELINKO, SANFORD ALLEN, KATHLEEN BEAVER, KATHRYN KIENKE, DIANA HALPRIN, HARRY CYKMAN, GUY LUMIA, ANN BARAK, RICHARD HENRICKSON, RICHARD MAXIMOFF, JULIEN BARBER, RUTH DEMARCO, KERMIT MOORE, JESSY LEVY
LEAD VOCALS: JAMES "CRAB" ROBINSON, DEBORAH COOPER, ROZ RYAN
BACKGROUND VOCALS: JOCELYN BROWN, ROBIN CLARK, GORDON GRODY, BOBBY DOUGLAS, MICHELLE COBBS, FONZI THORNTON (COURTESY BRUCE WALLACE MGT.), PHILLIP BALLOU (COURTESY HANDSHAKE RECORDS), NORMA JEAN WRIGHT, JOHNNY KEMP, DEBBE COLE, LEROY BURGESS, SARA GELLER, KEVIN ROBINSON, TIMMY ALLEN, ETHEL BEATTY
CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI, DAVIDE ROMANI, JACQUES FRED PETRUS
ARRANGED BY MAURO MALAVASI, DAVIDE ROMANI
RECORDED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK
ENGINEERED BY MICHAEL BARBIERO - ASSISTED BY DON WERSHBY, HARRY SPIRIDAKIS, ANDY HOFFMAN
*REMIXED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND, INC., NEW YORK
ENGINEERED BY JACK SKINNER
PHOTOGRAPHY: JIM HOUGHTON
STYLIST: VERONICA REILLY
ART DIRECTION: BOB DEFRIN
DESIGN COORDINATION: GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1982 RFC RECORDS-ATLANTIC RECORDS/POLYDOR RECORDS/MEMORY RECORDS
CHANGE - THIS IS YOUR TIME
SIDE 1
GOT TO GET UP 6:02
(M. MALAVASI - R. TREVISI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
THIS IS YOUR TIME 5:49
(L. BOONE - L . LAFALCE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ROCK YOUR SOCKS MUSIC/ASCAP)
ANGEL 4:31
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
MAGICAL NIGHT 6:12
(M. MALAVASI - L. BOONE - L. LAFALCE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
SIDE 2
STAY'N FIT 5:30
(T. ALLEN - J. F. PETRUS, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/ BMI)
TELL ME WHY 5:21
(M. MALAVASI - M. CAMPBELL - T. ALLEN - L. LAFALCE, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/FAMIKA MUSIC/BMI)
YOU'LL NEVER REALIZE 5:46
(M. MALAVASI - R. TREVISI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./ASCAP)
DON'T WAIT ANOTHER NIGHT 5:51
(C. MINUCCI - B. MATTHEWS, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC./HOT URBAN MUSIC/ASCAP)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS
CHANGE IS:
TIMMY ALLEN: LEAD VOCALS, BASS GUITAR
RICK BRENNAN: LEAD VOCALS, PERCUSSION
DEBORAH COOPER: LEAD VOCALS
VINCENT HENRY: GUITAR, SAXOPHONE
MIKE CAMPBELL: LEAD GUITAR
JAMES (CRAB) ROBINSON: LEAD VOCALS
JEFF BOVA: KEYBOARDS
TOBY JOHNSON: DRUMS
THE OTHER MUSICIANS ARE:
MAURO MALAVASI: KEYBOARDS
BERNARD DAVIS: DRUMS
RUDY TREVISI: SAXOPHONE
BACKGROUND VOCALS: JOCELYN SMITH, LISA FISCHER, ERIC MCCLINTON, BOBBY DOUGLAS, STEVE DANIELS, LARRY LAFALCE
ERIC MCCLINTON APPEARS COURTESY OF CAPITOL RECORDS
BOBBY DOUGLAS AND STEVE DANIELS APPEAR COURTESY OF RCA RECORDS
ARRANGED AND CONTUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT AND RHYTHM ARRANGEMENT BY TIMMY ALLEN
RECORDED AT UMBI STUDIOS IN MODENA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY: MAGGI MAURIZIO
OVERDUBS AND MIXED AT SORCERER SOUND, NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEERED BY: ALEX HEAD
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND BY JOSE RODRIGUEZ
ALBUM COORDINATERS: RAY CAVIANO AND BOB GHOSSEN
SPECIAL THANKS TO: STEVEN KOPITKO, BARBARA CLARKE AND STEVE BOGEN.
A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO BERT PADELL.
PHOTOGRAPHY: ROBERT LEWIS
ART DIRECTION: BOB DEFRIN
ART AND DESIGN: GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1983 RFC RECORDS-ATLANTIC RECORDS/POLYDOR RECORDS/MEMORY RECORDS
CHANGE - CHANGE OF HEART
SIDE 1
SAY YOU LOVE ME AGAIN 4:26
(T. LEWIS - J. HARRIS III, FLYTE TYME TUNES/ASCAP)
CHANGE OF HEART 7:02
(T. LEWIS - J. HARRIS III, FLYTE TYME TUNES/ASCAP)
WARM 5:00
(T. LEWIS - J. HARRIS III, FLYTE TYME TUNES/ASCAP)
TRUE LOVE* 3:46
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
SIDE 2
YOU ARE MY MELODY 6:22
(T. LEWIS - J. HARRIS III, FLYTE TYME TUNES/ASCAP)
LOVELY LADY 3:53
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
GOT MY EYES ON YOU* 4:34
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
IT BURNS ME UP* 5:03
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
PRODUCED AND ARRANGED BY JIMMY JAM AND TERRY LEWIS FOR FLYTE TIME PRODUCTIONS
*CO-PRODUCED BY TIMMY ALLEN
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
CHANGE IS:
TIMMY ALLEN: BASS, KEYBOARD, LEAD VOCALS ON “GOT MY EYES ON YOU”, BACKGROUND VOCALS
RICK BRENNAN: LEAD, BACKGROUND VOCALS
DEBRA COOPER: LEAD, BACKGROUND VOCALS
VINCE HENRY: GUITAR, SAXOPHONE
MICHAEL CAMPBELL: GUITAR
JEFF BOVA: SYNTHESIZER, KEYBOARDS
TOBY JOHNSON: DRUMS
ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS:
JIMMY JAM: KEYBOARDS, SYNTHESIZER
BERNARD DAVIS: DRUMS
O. NICHOLAS RATH: GUITAR
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND VOCALS: BOBBY DOUGLAS, TERRY LEWIS, LUCIA NEWELL, GWENDOLYN TAYLOR
RECORDING STUDIOS: UMBI RECORDING STUDIO, ITALY / CREATION AUDIO, MPLS. AND MEDIA SOUND, N.Y.
RECORDING ENGINEER: CRAIG BISHOP AND STEVE WEISE
MIXING STUDIO: MEDIA SOUND, N. Y.
MIXING ENGINEER: MICHAEL H. BRAUER FOR M.H.B. PRODUCTIONS INC.
MASTERING STUDIO: ATLANTIC STUDIO, N. Y.
MASTERING ENGINEER: DENNIS KING
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: GWENDOLYN TAYLOR
ALBUM COORDINATOR: STEVE BOGEN
SPECIAL THANKS TO: HENRY ALLEN, HANK CALDWELL, STEPHEN KOPITKO, AND OF COURSE BERT PADELL
DESIGN: GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1984 RFC RECORDS-ATLANTIC RECORDS/WEA RECORDS/FIVE RECORDS
CHANGE - TURN ON YOUR RADIO
SIDE 1
TURN ON YOUR RADIO 5:15
(A. BAGNOLI - J.F. PETRUS, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/BMI)
LET'S GO TOGETHER 6:06
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/BMI)
EXAMINATION (5:34)
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
YOU'LL ALWAYS BE A PART OF ME 5:25
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
SIDE 2
OH WHAT A FEELING 5:42
(T. ALLEN - P. SLADE - D. COOPER, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
MUTUAL ATTRACTION 6:00
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
LOVE THE WAY YOU LOVE ME 5:39
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
IF YOU WANT MY LOVE 5:24
(T. ALLEN / ADDITIONAL WORDS BY: D. COOPER, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
CO-PRODUCED BY TIMMY ALLEN
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
CHANGE IS:
TIMMY ALLEN: BASS, KEYBOARDS, SYNTHESIZER, BACKGROUND VOCALS
RICK BRENNAN: LEAD, BACKGROUND VOCALS
DEBRA COOPER: LEAD, BACKGROUND VOCALS
VINCE HENRY: GUITAR, SAXOPHONE
MICHAEL CAMPELL: GUITAR, ASSISTANT RHYTHM TRACK ARRANGER
RECORDED AT: MORNING STUDIOS, MILAN, ITALY
ENGINEER: RENATO CANTELE
MIXED AND MASTERED AT: ATLANTIC RECORDING STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY
MIXING ENGINEER: CARL BEATTY
MASTERING ENGINEER: DENNIS KING
PHOTOGRAPHY: ROBERT LEWIS
DESIGN: GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1985 ATLANTIC RECORDS/INJECTION RECORDS/RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL RECORDS/COOLTEMPO RECORDS
ELVIN SHAAD - LIVE FOR LOVE
SIDE 1
LIVE FOR LOVE 6:13
(E. SHAAD - F. LANDAU)
I'M BURNING UP 7:06
(E. SHAAD - F. LANDAU)
SIDE 2
I WANT LOVING 10:20
(E. SHAAD - F. LANDAU)
LOVE ME NOW 6:13
(E. SHAAD - F. LANDAU)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY PUBL. SIAE/TELEVIS/ REBERA
MUSIC PRODUCED BY: ELVIN SHAAD AND FLORIDA FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: ELVIN SHAAD AND JACQUES FRED PETRUS
COMPOSED BY, ARRANGED BY, DIRECTED BY: ELVIN SHAAD
WRITTEN BY: ELVIN SHAAD AND FELIX LANDAU
LYRICS BY: FELIX LANDAU
DRUMS, PERCUSSION: ELVIN SHAAD
CONGAS: SYDNEY
GUITAR: JOSE LOMBARDO
KEYBOARDS, ELECTRIC PIANO (FENDER RHODES), SYNTHESIZER: MARC GOLDFEDER
BASS: NACE
RECORDED AT: FLORIDA STUDIO - PARIS
MIXED AT: AIR STUDIO - LONDON
REMIXED AT: SIGMA SOUND STUDIOS - NEW YORK
MIXING ENGINEER: MIKE STAVROU
REMIXING ENGINEER: ANDY ABRAMS
MIXED BY: TOM SAVARESE
ARTWORK, DESIGN BY: ELVIN SHAAD
PHOTOGRAPHY: ALAIN LARUE
FRONT SLEEVE NOTES: "THE NEW FRENCH LOVE SOUND COMES IN A GATEFOLD SLEEVE."
(P) (C) 1978 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/UNIDISC RECORDS
HIGH FASHION - FEELIN' LUCKY
SIDE 1
FEELIN' LUCKY LATELY** 5:46
(D. ROMANI - M. MALAVASI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./FONZWORTH MUSIC INC./ASCAP)
YOU'RE THE WINNER* 5:02
(K. JENKINS - M. MORGAN, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
HOLD ON 5:27
(KASHIF, DUCHESS MUSIC CORP. (MCA)/BMI)
NEXT TO YOU 4:20
(KASHIF, DUCHESS MUSIC CORP. (MCA)/BMI)
SIDE 2
HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS 4:47
(D. ROMANI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./FONZWORTH MUSIC INC./ASCAP)
WHEN THE LOVER STRIKES 4:25
(D. ROMANI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./FONZWORTH MUSIC INC./ASCAP)
I WANT TO BE YOUR EVERYTHING* 3:35
(KASHIF - G. BALLARD, MCA MUSIC, A DIVISION OF MCA INC./MUSIC CORPORATION OF AMERICA/ASCAP-BMI)
BRAINY CHILDREN* 3:32
(D. POE - L. ALLEN - R. STEWART, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
ASSISTANT PRODUCERS: DENNIS COFFEY, MIKE THEODORE AND KASHIF*
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY: DAVIDE ROMANI**, MAURO MALAVASI AND JACQUES FRED PETRUS
LEAD AND BACKGROUND VOCALS CONDUCTED BY FONZI THORNTON
HIGH FASHION IS:
ALYSON WILLIAMS: LEAD VOCALS
ERIC MCCLINTON: LEAD VOCALS
MELISA MORGAN: LEAD VOCALS
MUSICIANS:
ACOUSTIC PIANO, KEYBOARDS SYNTHESIZERS: STEVE ROBIN, KASHIF, DAVIDE ROMANI
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI, KEVIN JENKINS
GUITARS: IRA SIEGEL, HIRAM BULLOCK, PAOLO GIANOLIO, DENNIS COFFEY
DRUMS: YOGI HORTON, BUDDY WILLIAMS
PERCUSSIONS: JIMMY MAELEN, RUDY TREVISI
SAXOPHONES: MICHAEL MIGLIORE
BACKGROUND VOCALS: FONZI THORNTON, DIVA GRAY, DAVID CLARK, MICHELLE COBBS, KASHIF, PHILIP BALOU (COURTESY OF HANDSHAKE RECORDS, INC.), DOLETTE MCDONALD, CRYSTAL DAVIS, GORDON GRODY.
RECORDED AND MIXED BY MICHAEL BARBIERO AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY
ASSISTED BY HARRY SPIRIDAKIS AND DON WERSHBA
SPECIAL THANKS TO STEVE BOGEN AND MICHAEL MURPHY OF LITTLE MACHO CO, INC.
ART DIRECTION: ROY KOHARA, PETER SHEA
COVER PHOTO: MIKE HASHIMOTO
COVER STYLING: KARL HOLM AND MICHAEL ALVIDREZ OF "PALEEZE" GROUP
MAKE-UP: CHALOA LASTER
(P) (C) 1982 CAPITOL RECORDS-EMI RECORDS
HIGH FASHION - MAKE UP YOUR MIND
SIDE 1
MAKE UP YOUR MIND 5:01
(T. ALLEN, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/BMI)
BREAK UP 6:14
(M. MALAVISI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
SHOW ME* 6:33
(K. ROBINSON - T. AGEE, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/CRYSTAL EYES PUBLISHING CO./BMI)
A LITTLE MORE TIME 5:57
(M. MALAVASI - J.F. PETRUS - E. MCCLINTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
SIDE 2
YOU SATISFY MY NEEDS 5:11
(C. MINUCCI - R. MATTHEWS, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./HOT URBAN MUSIC/ASCAP)
LOVE 5:13
(M. MALAVASI - J.F. PETRUS - E. MCCLINTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
PUMP ON THE PIPE 5:41
(M. MALAVASI - R. TREVISI - E. MCCLINTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
JUST A LITTLE MORE LOVE 5:14
(T. ALLEN - K. ROBINSON, GUADELOUPE MUSIC/JOHNNIE-MAE PUBLISHING/CRYSTAL EYES MUSIC CO./BMI)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI
*"SHOW ME", ARRANGED AND PRODUCED BY MAURO MALAVASI AND KEVIN ROBINSON
HIGH FASHION IS:
ALYSON WILLIAMS - LEAD VOCALS
ERIC MCCLINTON - LEAD VOCALS
MARCELLA ALLEN
MUSICIANS:
BERNARD DAVIS: DRUMS
TIMMY ALLEN: BASS GUITAR, BACKGROUND VOCALS
TONY BRIDGES: BASS GUITAR
KEVIN ROBINSON: LEAD GUITAR
CHIELI MINUCCI: GUITAR
MICHAEL CAMPBELL: GUITAR
DAVIDE ROMANI: KEYBOARDS
MAURO MALAVASI: KEYBOARDS
RUDY TREVISI: SAXOPHONE, KEYBOARDS
BOBBY DOUGLAS: BACKGROUND VOCALS (APPEARS COURTESY OF RCA RECORDS)
RECORDED AT UMBI STUDIOS IN MODENA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY MAURIZIO MAGGI
MIXED AT SORCERER SOUND, NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEERED BY ALEX HEAD
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND BY GREG CALBY
SPECIAL THANKS TO: VARNELL JOHNSON, STEVE BUCKLEY, STEVEN KOPITKO, BARBARA CLARKE, STEVE BOGEN AND OF COURSE BERT PADELL
ART DIRECTION: ROY KOHARA
DESIGN: JOHN O’BRIEN
PHOTOGRAPHY: MAX PETRUS/BOB VAN LINDT
MAKE-UP: JULIANA CHRIS
(P) (C) 1983 CAPITOL RECORDS-EMI RECORDS
MACHO - I'M A MAN
SIDE 1
I'M A MAN 17:45
(S. WINWOOD - M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
SIDE 2
HEAR ME CALLING 7:10
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
BECAUSE THERE IS MUSIC IN THE AIR 10:25
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
ALL SONGS PUBLISHED BY SUGAR MUSIC EXCEPT "I'M A MAN" - ISLAND MUSIC COMPOSED AND PRODUCED BY MAURO MALAVASI
ARRANGED BY MAURO MALAVASI FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
LEAD VOCAL: MARZIO VINCENZI
BACKGROUND VOCALS: ARTHUR SIMMS
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIO, BOLOGNA AND FLORIDA STUDIOS, PARIS
MIXED AT SIGMA SOUND STUDIO, NEW YORK, USA
ENGINEER: ANDY ABRAMS - ASSISTANT ENGINEER: JIM "DOC" DOUGHERTY
MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND N.YC.
"MIX BY SAVARESE"
STRING AND HORN ARRANGEMENTS BY MAURO MALAVASI
THANKS TO: ALFREDO, LUCA SACCHI, SEBASTIANO AND ALFREDO FROM METROPOLIS RECORDS SHOP
PHOTOGRAPHY: GIANNI SPINAZZOLA
COVER CONCEPT: JEAN BERNARD EDWIGE
ACCESSORIES: BEGED-OR
(P) (C) 1978 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/PRELUDE RECORDS/EMI RECORDS/FLARENASCH RECORDS/ARIOLA RECORDS
MACHO (II) - ROLL
SIDE 1
MOTHERS LOVE "MAMMA MIA" 7:21
(C. VALLI - F. FLOYD)
ROLL 5:32
(C. VALLI - F. FLOYD)
NOT TONIGHT 5:38
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE)
SIDE 2
TALK 4:37
(C. VALLI - F. FLOYD)
GOT TO MAKE A MOVE 4:44
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE)
MONTREAL 4:52
(C. VALLI - F. FLOYD)
YOU GOT ME RUNNING 5:21
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: JACQUES FRED PETRUS & MAURO MALAVASI FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY CELSO VALLI
ALL SONGS PLAYED BY THE GOODY MUSIC ORCHESTRA
LYRICS BY: PAUL SLADE AND FRANK FLOYD
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS AND STONE CASTLE STUDIOS, ITALY
ENGINEER: MAURIZIO BIANCANI AND RUGGERO PENAZZO
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT POWER STATION STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY ENGINEER: LARRY ALEXANDER
EXCEPT MOTHERS LOVE "MAMMA MIA" RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEER: MICHAEL H. BRAUER
MASTERED AT: STERLING SOUND, NEW YORK CITY
ENGINEER: GREG CALBY
COVER CONCEPT BY: J. F. PETRUS
REALISATION: PINNA MARCO
(P) (C) 1980 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/UNIWAVE RECORDS/STRAND RECORDS
MIDNIGHT GANG - LOVE IS MAGIC
SIDE 1
MIDNIGHT GAME 6:03
(M. TANSINI)
THE WHOLE WORLD’S SINGIN’ 6:58
(M. TANSINI)
SIDE 2
LOVE IS MAGIC 6:45
(M. TANSINI)
LET’S GO DANCIN’ 7:20
(M. TANSINI)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MARCO TANSINI AND GIANNI GRECCHI
RECORDED AT C.A.P. STUDIO
ENGINEER: GIANNI PRUDENTE AT S.A.R.
STUDIO ENGINEER: DON NIKOLOFF AT C.G.D. STUDIO, MILAN, ITALY
MIXED AT POWER STATION STUDIOS, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: BILL SCHENIMAN
PLAYERS:
GIANNI GRECCHI: GUITAR, BASS GUITAR
MARCO TANSINI: GUITAR, PERCUSSION, CLARINET
MAURO MALAVASI: TRUMPET, FLUEGEL HORN, POLYMOOG
PIERO BASSINI: ACOUSTIC PIANO, MINIMOOG, ARP ODYSSEY
ROBY COLASANTE: DRUMS, PERCUSSION
ALDO BANFI: POLYMOOG, ARP. EL. CLARINET
ALESSANDRO MORO: SAXOPHONE
ANTONIO MONTANARI: TRUMPET
DON NIKOLOFF: TRUMPET, TROMBONE, FLUEGEL HORN
GEORGE AGHEDO: CONGAS
SPECIAL THANKS TO MAURO MALAVASI FOR HIS PRECIOUS GUIDANCE
ART CREDIT:
COVER CONCEPT BY J.F. PETRUS
REALISATION: JEAN BERNARD EDWIGE
PHOTOGRAPHY: GIANNI SPINAZZOLA
(P) (C) 1979 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS
PETER JACQUES BAND - FIRE NIGHT DANCE
SIDE 1
WALKING ON MUSIC 8:16
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
DEVIL'S RUN 8:30
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
SIDE 2
FIRE NIGHT DANCE 8:40
(J.F. PETRUS - M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
FLY WITH THE WIND 9:03
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
ALL SONGS PUBLISED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI ASSISTED BY RUDY TREVISI
VOCALISTS:
LEAD VOCAL: LEROY BURGESS
BACKGROUND SINGERS: ARTHUR SIMMS, JOE SCOTT, SAMMY GAHA, ANN CALVERT, GLORIA TURNER, CLAUDIA POLLEY, HILDA HARRIS, LAVELLE DUGGAN, MAERETHIA STEWART
MUSICIANS:
FABBRI GIORGINO: GUITAR
DAVIDE ROMANI: BASS
GABRIELE MELOTTI: DRUMS
GEORGE AGHEDO: CONGAS, PERCUSSION
RUDY TREVISI: SAX, TRUMPET, FLUTE, PERCUSSION, SYNTHESIZER, ELECTRIC CLAVINET, ELECTRIC PIANO
SANDRO COMINI: TROMBONE
MAURO MALAVASI: TRUMPET, SYNTHESIZER, ELECTRIC CLAVINET, FLUTE, ELECTRIC PIANO
MAURIZIO BIANCANI: ASSISTANT FOR SYNTHEZISER SESSION
STRINGS: THE GOODY MUSIC STRING ENSEMBLE SPECIAL THANKS TO WILLIAM WRIGHT - FIRST STRING
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT
ENGINEER: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
SPECIAL THANKS TO MR. MAURIZIO BIANCANI WHO ALWAYS GIVES US THE BEST STUDIO MILAN ENGINEER: MALEK JEAN PAUL
C.G.D. STUDIO ENGINEER: PINO VICARI
MIXED AT SIGMA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK, USA
ENGINEER: CARMINE RUBINO - ASSISTANT ENGINEER: JIM (DOC) DOUGHERTY MASTERED AT STERLING SOUND, NEW YORK, USA
ENGINEER: JOSE RODRIGUEZ
MIX BY MALAVASI AND PETRUS
U.S. COVER CONCEPT BY BY J.F. PETRUS
REALISTATION: JEAN BERNARD EDWIGE
PHOTOGRAPH: GIANNI SPINAZOLLA
ACCESSORIES: ALVEAR
ART CREDIT EUROPEAN SLEEVE: KEITH RAMSDEN AND TED FRANKLIN
WE WOULD LIKE TO DEDICATE THIS ALBUM TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTIONS FOR THEIR ENTHUSIASM AND WORK
SPECIAL CREDIT TO ALL THE MUSICIANS OF THE MACHO ALBUM
(P) (C) 1979 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/PRELUDE RECORDS/ARIOLA RECORDS/EURODISC RECORDS
PETER JACQUES BAND - WELCOME BACK
SIDE 1
COUNTING ON LOVE "ONE TWO THREE" 5:20
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
WELCOME BACK 6:27
(M. MALAVASI - L. VANDROSS)
THE LOUDER 7:02
(M. MALAVASI - F. FLOYD)
SIDE 2
IS IT IT 5:22
(M. MALAVASI - P. SLADE)
EXOTICALLY 5:55
(M. MALAVASI - F. FLOYD)
MIGHTY FINE 5:27
(M. MALAVASI - F. FLOYD)
ALL SONGS PUBLISED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP EXCEPT “WELCOME BACK” - LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./UNCLE RONNIE’S MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI FOR GOODY MUSIC PRODUCTION
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI
THE PETER JACQUES BAND GROUP:
JACOB WHEELER (LEAD VOCALS)
SANDI BASS
DIANNE WASHINGTON
VON GRETCHEN SHEPARD
ALL SONGS PLAYED BY THE GOODY MUSIC ORCHESTRA
LYRICS BY: PAUL SLADE, LUTHER VANDROSS AND FRANK FLOYD
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, ITALY
ENGINEER: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NYC
ENGINEER: MICHAEL H. BRAUER
MASTERED AT: STERLING SOUND, NYC
ENGINEER: GREG CALBY
COVER CONCEPT BY: J.F. PETRUS
PHOTOGRAPH: RENAULT MARCHAND – PARIS
ACCESSORY BY: PETER JACQUES BAND
(P) (C) 1980 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/UNIWAVE RECORDS/ARABELLA RECORDS/ARIOLA RECORDS
PETER JACQUES BAND - DANCING IN THE STREET
SIDE 1
ALL RIGHT LET'S GO 6:24
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
THIS NIGHT 5:37
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
MEXICO 4:29
(M. TANSINI - J.F. PETRUS - S. ZANINI)
EVERYBODY HAVE A PARTY 4:01
(N. LELLI - J.F. PETRUS - P.SLADE)
SIDE 2
GOING DANCING DOWN THE STREET 5:40
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
DRIVES ME CRAZY 4:10
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
HIGHTIME 4:54
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
DON'T SAY YOU'VE GOTTA GO 3:52
(D. ROMANI - J.F. PETRUS - P. SLADE)
ALL SONGS PUBLISHED BY: VEDETTE INTERNATIONAL CO. INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL.
MUSIC BY: DAVIDE ROMANI, NINO LELLI, MARCO TANSINI
LYRICS BY: JACQUES FRED PETRUS, PAUL SLADE, SIMONA ZANINI
ARRANGED BY: DAVIDE ROMANI
CONDUCTED BY: DAVIDE ROMANI AND JACQUES FRED PETRUS
ALL SONGS PLAYED BY: DAVIDE ROMANI IN THE RENAISSANCE ORCHESTRA
RECORDED AT UMBI STUDIO AND MORNING STUDIO, ITALY
MIXED BY: RENATO CANTELE
THE PETER JACQUES BAND IS: ILTO SAMPAIO, BETTY LAMI, CARIN MCDONALD, CARMEN BJORNALD
LEAD VOCAL ON 'ALL RIGHT LET’S GO': ULLANDA MCCULLOUGH
LEAD VOCAL ON 'EVERYBODY HAVE A PARTY', 'DRIVES ME CRAZY' AND 'DON'T SAY YOU'VE GOTTA GO': PAUL SLADE
ALL BACKGROUND PERFORMED BY: CHANGE (COURTESY OF LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC. NY) AND PAUL SLADE
A SPECIAL THANKS TO: ELVIO PIERI, MARCO TANSINI, SIRO GALLOTTI, GIGI FIGINI, ROSA CESARIO FOR THEIR KIND COLLABORATION.
COSTUMES BY: JEAN PAUL GAULTIER
PHOTOGRAPH: GEORGES ROSEMBERG
ART DIRECTION: BOUBA KEITA
(P)(C) 1985 POLYDOR RECORDS/RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL RECORDS/INJECTION RECORDS
REVANCHE - MUSIC MAN
SIDE 1
YOU GET HIGH IN N.Y.C. 8:40
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR - J.F. PETRUS)
REVANCHE 8:53
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR)
SIDE 2
MUSIC MAN 8:16
(M. MALAVASI - A.TAYLOR)
1979 IT'S DANCING TIME 8:45
(M. MALAVASI - A. TAYLOR - J.F. PETRUS)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO CO. INC., NYC
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI ASSISTED BY RUDY TREVISI
ORCHESTRATED BY:
GUITAR: PAOLO GIANOLIO
BASS: DAVIDE ROMANI
DRUMS: GABRIELE MELOTTI
CONGAS: GEORGE AGHEDO
SAX: RUDY TREVISI
TROMBONE: SANDRO COMINI, MARCO PELLACANI
TRUMPET: MAURO MALAVASI, LINI FERMO, EMILIO SOANA
SYNTHESIZER: MAURO MALAVASI
ELECTRIC CLAVINET: MAURO MALAVASI, RUDY TREVISI
ACOUSTIC PIANO: MAURO MALAVASI, RUDY TREVISI
STRINGS: THE GOODY MUSIC STRING ENSEMBLE, SPECIAL THANKS TO MR WILLIAM WRIGHT - FIRST STRING
VOCALS BY: CHRISTINE WILTSHIRE, YVONNE LEWIS, JOCELYN SHAW, BOBBY DOUGLAS, STEVE DANIELS, SKIPP INGRAM, ROBIN CORLEY
RECORDED AT: FONOPRINT, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEER: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
VOCALS RECORDED AT POWER STATION, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: BILL SCHENIMAN - ASSISTED BY RAYMOND WILLHARD
MIXED AT: POWER STATION, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: BILL SCHENIMAN - ASSISTED BY RAYMOND WILLHARD
MASTERED AT: ATLANTIC STUDIOS, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: DENNIS KING
"A MALAVASI AND PETRUS MIX"
COVER CONCEPT BY PETRUS
REALIZATION: JEAN BERNARD EDWIGE
PHOTOGRAPH: GIANNI SPINAZZOLA
SPECIAL THANKS TO BOBBY DOUGLAS, STEVE DANIELS, SKIPP INGRAM AND ROBIN CORLEY OF PLATINUM HOOK (APPEAR COURTESY OF MOTOWN RECORDS)
(P) (C) 1979 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/ATLANTIC RECORDS
RITCHIE FAMILY - I’LL DO MY BEST
SIDE 1
I’LL DO MY BEST (FOR YOU BABY)* 5:22
(M. MALAVASI - G. SALERNI - A. THORNTON, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./FONZWORTH MUSIC/ASCAP; SUB-PUBLISHED OUTSIDE THE USA BY CAN’T STOP MUSIC/BMI)
THIS LOVE’S ON ME 4:51
(J. MARCELLINO, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY FRESH SQUEEZED/SHAMEL/ASCAP)
ONE AND ONLY 4:30
(Z. CONKERITE, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY PEER INTERNATIONAL CORP./BMI)
YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON ME 4:15
(H. SMITH - W. GAY, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./GS EUROAMERICAN/DIFFERENT STROKES/ASCAP; SUB-PUBLISHED OUTSIDE THE USA BY CAN’T STOP MUSIC/BMI)
SIDE 2
WALK WITH ME 4:19
(T. VEITCH - G. MATHIESON, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY SLAP SHOT/MIGHTY MATHIESON/BMI) ALRIGHT ON THE NIGHT 5:04
(D. ROSE, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY RADMUS PUB. INC./ASCAP)
TONIGHT I NEED TO HAVE YOUR LOVE 4:08
(H. SMITH, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./GS EUROAMERICAN/DIFFERENT STROKES/ASCAP; SUB-PUBLISHED OUTSIDE THE USA BY CAN’T STOP MUSIC/BMI)
YOU’VE GOT ME DANCIN’ 4:50
(H. SMITH, PUBLISHED IN THE USA BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./GS EUROAMERICAN/DIFFERENT STROKES/ASCAP; SUB-PUBLISHED OUTSIDE THE USA BY CAN’T STOP MUSIC/BMI)
RITCHIE FAMILY IS:
VERA BROWN
JACQUELINE SMITH-LEE
THEODOSIA “DODIE” DRAHER
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS/LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO.,INC., FOR CAN’T STOP PRODUCTIONS, INC.
ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY GIULIANO SALERNI
RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: MICHAEL BARBIERO - ASSISTED BY GREG MANN AND DON WERSHBA
MASTERED AT MASTERDISK, NEW YORK CITY
MASTERING ENGINEER: BILL KIPPER
*MIXED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER
VOCAL TRACKS CO-PRODUCED BY FONZI THORNTON
A&R COORDINATION: HILDA WILLIAMS
SPECIAL THANKS TO STEPHEN KOPITKO
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNN GOLDSMITH INC.
LOCATION BY PERMISSION OF BOND INTERNATIONAL CASINO
COSTUMES BY J. CARTINELLI
HAIR AND MAKE-UP BY JOE MC DEVITT
(P) (C) 1982 RCA RECORDS/HIGH FASHION MUSIC/DURECO RECORDS/VIP RECORDS
RUDY - JUST TAKE MY BODY
SIDE 1
WHITE ROOM* 7:00
(J. BRUCE - P. BROWN)
JUST TAKE MY BODY** 6:50
(P. GIANOLIO - A. TAYLOR)
HIGHER 4:54
(R. TREVISI - A. TAYLOR)
SIDE 2
THANK YOU BABY 7:47
(R. TREVISI - A. TAYLOR)
CAN YOU STOP WOMAN 6:18
(R. TREVISI - A. TAYLOR)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP, EXCEPT * PUBLISHED BY CASSEROLE MUSIC CORP./BMI
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY RUDY TREVISI EXCEPT * BY LUCA ORIOLI AND ** BY PAOLO GIANOLIO
MUSICIANS:
GUITAR: PAOLO GIANOLIO
BASS: DAVIDE ROMANI
DRUMS: GABRIELE MELOTTI
CONGAS: RUDY TREVISI
SAX: RUDY TREVISI
TROMBONE: SANDRO COMINI, MARCO PELLACANI
TRUMPET: MAURO MALAVASI, BELTRAME DORIANO
SYNTHESIZER, ELECTRIC CLAVINET, FLUTE, ELECTRIC PIANO: MAURO MALAVASI, LUCA ORIOLI, RUDY TREVISI
PERCUSSION: RUDY TREVISI
ASSISTANT FOR SYNTHESIZER SESSION: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
STRINGS: THE GOODY MUSIC STRING ENSEMBLE
SPECIAL THANKS TO MR. WILLIAM WRIGHT - FIRST STRING
VOCALS BY:
KRYSTAL DAVIS
YVONNE LEWIS
CHRISTINE WILTSHIRE
BOBBY DOUGLAS
STEVE DANIELS
SKIPP INGRAM
ROBIN CORLEY
BOBBY DOUGLAS, STEVE DANIELS, SKIPP INGRAM AND ROBIN CORLEY APPEAR COURTESY OF MOTOWN RECORDS
RECORDED AT: FONOPRINT, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEER: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
MIXED AT: POWER STATION STUDIOS, NEW YORK
ENGINEER: BILL SCHENIMAN - ASSISTED BY JAMES FARBER
PHOTOGRAPHY: JIM MATUSIK
DESIGN: STEPHANIE ZURAS (AGI)
ART DIRECTION: BOB HEIMALL (AGI)
(P) (C) 1979 GOODY MUSIC RECORDS/POLYDOR RECORDS
SILENCE - GOODTIME BABY
SIDE 1
MYSTERY 4:28
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
MORE THAN EVER 4:15
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
GOODTIME BABY 4:02
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
YOU'RE NOT ALONE, NO 3:11
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
SIDE 2
MIDNIGHT VISITORS (SILENCE) 5:10
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
NO WAY 4:05
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
BREAKING POINT 3:54
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
NIGHTMARE 3:47
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE)
ALL SELECTIONS PUBLISHED BY LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS JACQUES FRED PETRUS, MAURO MALAVASI, CELSO VALLI FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC
COMPOSED, ARRANGED, CONDUCTED BY CELSO VALLI
LYRICS BY PAUL SLADE AND CARLOTTA MCKEE
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, BOLOGNA, ITALY
ENGINEERED BY MAURIZIO BIANCANI
ALL VOCALS RECORDED AND MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND, NEW YORK CITY
PLAYERS:
SYNTHESIZERS: CELSO VALLI
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI, PAOLO GIANOLIO, D. D'AUTORIO, C. GOLINELLI
GUITAR: PAOLO GIANOLIO, DOC POWELL
DRUMS: TERRY SILVERLIGHT, FLAVIANO CUFFARI, GABRIELE MELOTTI
KEYBOARDS: CELSO VALLI, ONAJE ALLAN GUMBS
ASS. SYNTHESIZERS: MAURIZIO BIANCANI
SAXOPHONE: RUDY TREVISI
BACKGROUND VOCALS: DIVA GRAY, ROBIN CLARK, DAVID L. BYRON, TOM BERNFELD, KURT YAGIAN, GORDON GRODY
LEAD VOCALS: GORDON GRODY
ART AND DESIGN: GREG PORTO
(P) (C) 1982 MEMORY RECORDS
SILENCE 2 FEAT. GORDON GRODY - THE BEAST IN ME
SIDE 1
THE BEAST IN ME 4:30
(E. KAZ - M. MORROW, APRIL MUSIC PUBLISHING INC./KAZ MUSIC CO./ASCAP)
MIDNITE VISITORS 5:06
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
SO MUCH FOR LOVE 5:15
(C. VALLI - C. MCKEE - G. GRODY, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
TILL THE RIGHT ONE COMES ALONG 3:48
(C. MCKEE - G. GRODY, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
SIDE 2
MOONLIGHT SHADOW 4:28
(M. OLDFIELD, VIRGIN MUSIC PUBLISHING INC./ASCAP)
MYSTERY 4:00
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
ANGEL 4:40
(C. VALLI - P. SLADE - C. MCKEE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
MORE THAN EVER 4:00
(M. TANSINI - C. MCKEE, LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO., INC./ASCAP)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
ARRANGED BY CELSO VALLI
MUSICIANS:
LEAD GUITAR: PAOLO GIANOLIO
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI
DRUMS: GABRIELE MELOTTI
KEYBOARDS: CELSO VALLI
LEAD VOCAL: GORDON GRODY
RECORDED AT FONOPRINT STUDIOS, BOLOGNA, ITALY AND UMBI STUDIOS, MODENA, ITALY.
ENGINEERED AND MIXED BY MAURIZIO BIANCANI AND ROBERTO COSTA
MIXED AT MEDIA SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY
MIXED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER FOR M.H.B. PRODUCTIONS
(P) (C) 1984 FLARENASCH RECORDS/SPEED RECORDS/FIVE RECORDS
ZINC - STREET LEVEL
SIDE 1
STREET LEVEL 6:04
(KASHIF, MCA MUSIC/ASCAP/BMI)
I'LL NEVER STOP 5:40
(M. MALAVASI - C. MCKEE, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
I'LL TAKE MY CHANCES 5:29
(M. MALAVASI - A. THORNTON, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
THIS IS WHERE THE LOVE IS 5:56
(M. MALAVASI - A. THORNTON, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
SIDE 2
PUNKULATION 5:57
(D. ROMANI - T. WILLOUGHBY, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
AMAZON 6:13
(M. MALAVASI - R. TREVISI, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
LIVIN' IN THE BOOGIE NOW 7:37
(P. GIANOLIO - M. MALAVASI - T. WILLOUGHBY, ZOMBA MUSIC PUBLISHERS LTD.)
PRODUCED BY JACQUES FRED PETRUS AND MAURO MALAVASI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUES FRED PETRUS FOR LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO.,INC.
ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY MAURO MALAVASI
MUSICIANS:
ACOUSTIC PIANO, KEYBOARDS, SYNTHESIZERS: MAURO MALAVASI, STEVE ROBIN, RAY CHEW, DAVIDE ROMANI
BASS GUITAR: DAVIDE ROMANI
GUITARS: STEVE LOVE, HIRAM BULLOCK, IRA SIEGEL
DRUMS: TERRY SILVERLIGHT, YOGI HORTON, BUDDY WILIAMS
PERCUSSION: RICK GALLWEY
SAXOPHONE: ROBIN CARLEY, RUDY TREVISI
LEAD VOCALS: GORDON GRODY
FEATURED VOCAL "LIVIN' IN THE BOOGIE NOW": STEVE DANIELS
BACKGROUND VOCALS: STEVE DANIELS, BOBBY DOUGLAS, GORDON GRODY, FONZI THORNTON, MICHELLE COBBS
RECORDED BY MICHAEL BARBIERO
MIXED BY MICHAEL H. BRAUER AT MEDIASOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK ASSISTED BY GREGORY MANN AND HARRY SPIRIDAKIS
SPECIAL THANKS TO STEPHEN KOPITKO, AND TO MICHAEL MURPHY AND STEVE BOGEN FROM LITTLE MACHO MUSIC CO. INC.
ART DIRECTOR: DONN DAVENPORT
PHOTOGRAPHER: PINDERHUGHES
DESIGNER: HOWARD FRITZSON
LOGO PHOTOGRAPHER: RANDOLF GRAFF
STYLIST: HUI WANG
GARMENT: ANDRE VAN PIER
(P) (C) 1982 JIVE RECORDS/MEMORY RECORDS
Talented New Yorkers: LaLa, Johnny Kemp and Timmy Allen
THE (12 INCH) SINGLES ARTWORK GALLERY
Island And Holiday - In The Summertime (Love Of The Common People) / Living
INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEW WITH FRANCO DONATO:
Can you tell something more about the history of Goody Music Production and your involvement?
Fred Petrus and I first met at the Good Mood disco in Milan on October 18th of 1974 to be precise. I was a nightclub customer of 23 and he was the French resident DJ. He convinced me to go to Paris with him because he wanted me to see the record shop Champs-Disques in a shopping gallery on the Champs-Élysées. That legendary shop inspired Freddie and he wanted to copy the concept of Champs-Disques in Rome. He already had a small warehouse in Rome but it was closed to the public and only used to store records and prepare shipments. He made plans to expand his fledgling record trade with a retail point in Rome and I would be his partner. So I took photos of the Champs-Disques boutique with my polaroid and we imitated the style and the brand of the store. Being a foreigner, Freddie had no banking credibility nor official Italian documents. No way he could start up a business. I offered to furnish the shop and arrange the furniture at my expense. I was a professional interior decorator until the age of 24 and I benefited bank credit solidity. I also did the interior design of the Good Mood discotheque. In the middle of 1975 we started the works and in early 1976 we opened the first Goody Music record store to the public, situated on Via Francesco Carrara No.19 in Rome. At that time Freddie was playing in clubs in Rome also. He would drive back and forth from Milan in a white Citroën GS Pallas. We would sleep at the Cicerone, a four star hotel In Rome. Then new shops were established in Milan, at Via Marghera No.1 and Viale Premuda No.2. My job as an interior designer has been very important for the start-up and development of the stores. At the end of 1976 I gave up my job as a decorator to concentrate on the record shops and follow Freddie in all his artistic follies. At one point we were managing four stores in Milan because we also sold disco records in the fancy Fiorucci boutiques on Via Torino and at Piazza San Babila. The small outlets with vinyl boxes were highlighted as "Goody Music For DJs" and resident DJs would play the disco music really loud. Fashion designer Elio Fiorucci was convinced that the classy Disco aesthetics and his exclusice fashion brand were a good match. I took care of the shops and as of 1978 Freddie would often be in Bologna to record music with Mauro Malavasi at Fonoprint. The money raised by the shops and the import activities was used to make music productions. Since 1976, there had always been 2 separate companies: Goody Music Production SRL and Goody Music SRL which included the import stores. This is where our successes started. This was perhaps the best period, from 1976 to 1980, although we were already working together since 1974, importing records from the USA, the UK, Canada, Germany and France. Our mutual friend Christian Carbaza, who was active in the French music industry, also contributed to the success of Goody Music and Little Macho Music later on.
Fred Petrus and I first met at the Good Mood disco in Milan on October 18th of 1974 to be precise. I was a nightclub customer of 23 and he was the French resident DJ. He convinced me to go to Paris with him because he wanted me to see the record shop Champs-Disques in a shopping gallery on the Champs-Élysées. That legendary shop inspired Freddie and he wanted to copy the concept of Champs-Disques in Rome. He already had a small warehouse in Rome but it was closed to the public and only used to store records and prepare shipments. He made plans to expand his fledgling record trade with a retail point in Rome and I would be his partner. So I took photos of the Champs-Disques boutique with my polaroid and we imitated the style and the brand of the store. Being a foreigner, Freddie had no banking credibility nor official Italian documents. No way he could start up a business. I offered to furnish the shop and arrange the furniture at my expense. I was a professional interior decorator until the age of 24 and I benefited bank credit solidity. I also did the interior design of the Good Mood discotheque. In the middle of 1975 we started the works and in early 1976 we opened the first Goody Music record store to the public, situated on Via Francesco Carrara No.19 in Rome. At that time Freddie was playing in clubs in Rome also. He would drive back and forth from Milan in a white Citroën GS Pallas. We would sleep at the Cicerone, a four star hotel In Rome. Then new shops were established in Milan, at Via Marghera No.1 and Viale Premuda No.2. My job as an interior designer has been very important for the start-up and development of the stores. At the end of 1976 I gave up my job as a decorator to concentrate on the record shops and follow Freddie in all his artistic follies. At one point we were managing four stores in Milan because we also sold disco records in the fancy Fiorucci boutiques on Via Torino and at Piazza San Babila. The small outlets with vinyl boxes were highlighted as "Goody Music For DJs" and resident DJs would play the disco music really loud. Fashion designer Elio Fiorucci was convinced that the classy Disco aesthetics and his exclusice fashion brand were a good match. I took care of the shops and as of 1978 Freddie would often be in Bologna to record music with Mauro Malavasi at Fonoprint. The money raised by the shops and the import activities was used to make music productions. Since 1976, there had always been 2 separate companies: Goody Music Production SRL and Goody Music SRL which included the import stores. This is where our successes started. This was perhaps the best period, from 1976 to 1980, although we were already working together since 1974, importing records from the USA, the UK, Canada, Germany and France. Our mutual friend Christian Carbaza, who was active in the French music industry, also contributed to the success of Goody Music and Little Macho Music later on.
Could you describe the typical activities at Goody Music Import?
With our olive green Range Rover Classic I would drive to Malpensa Cargo Airport in Milano to collect the imports from the USA. Then I would take them to our warehouse at Via Friuli 51 where they were split and repacked to ship to stores. I didn't always go to the airport myself to clear the vinyls at customs. We often sent shop staff from Milan. Our Goody Music stores received the new records first. This way they enjoyed a few days of exclusiveness. Then we took orders from our stores and our customers throughout the Italian and Swiss territory. We would ship 40 to 50 packages per week. These were destined for the local record shops that supplied discotheques like the legendary “Baia Degli Angeli” in Gabicce Mare on the Adriatic Coast. Among our own stores that generated most profit was the one in Rome. It weekly received about 10 boxes with imports. Still today it receives boxes with fresh vinyl every week.
With our olive green Range Rover Classic I would drive to Malpensa Cargo Airport in Milano to collect the imports from the USA. Then I would take them to our warehouse at Via Friuli 51 where they were split and repacked to ship to stores. I didn't always go to the airport myself to clear the vinyls at customs. We often sent shop staff from Milan. Our Goody Music stores received the new records first. This way they enjoyed a few days of exclusiveness. Then we took orders from our stores and our customers throughout the Italian and Swiss territory. We would ship 40 to 50 packages per week. These were destined for the local record shops that supplied discotheques like the legendary “Baia Degli Angeli” in Gabicce Mare on the Adriatic Coast. Among our own stores that generated most profit was the one in Rome. It weekly received about 10 boxes with imports. Still today it receives boxes with fresh vinyl every week.
Where were the offices of Goody Music located?
In Milan, via Comelico, on the corner with Via Friuli, not so far from the historic part of the city. At that address there was no record shop for the public, just our record warehouse and in the basement there was our office and a listening room. We worked there up to 1978. In 1979 Goody Music Production moved to a bigger office building at Via Pietro Mascagni No.15, in down town Milan. I was the general manager and the partner of Fred Petrus. Other partners were Mauro Malavasi and Celso Valli. Goody Music went defunct in 1980. Freddie chose to leave Italy and settle permanently in New York City where he had installed Little Macho Music in 1979. From 1980 onwards I ran the new label Full Time Records with my brother Claudio at the former Goody Music office on Via Comelico/Via Friuli, which we had kept.
In Milan, via Comelico, on the corner with Via Friuli, not so far from the historic part of the city. At that address there was no record shop for the public, just our record warehouse and in the basement there was our office and a listening room. We worked there up to 1978. In 1979 Goody Music Production moved to a bigger office building at Via Pietro Mascagni No.15, in down town Milan. I was the general manager and the partner of Fred Petrus. Other partners were Mauro Malavasi and Celso Valli. Goody Music went defunct in 1980. Freddie chose to leave Italy and settle permanently in New York City where he had installed Little Macho Music in 1979. From 1980 onwards I ran the new label Full Time Records with my brother Claudio at the former Goody Music office on Via Comelico/Via Friuli, which we had kept.
Was the rupture with partner Petrus in 1980 irreversible?
In fact, Freddie moved to America in 1980 because the company in Italy went bankrupt. I decided not to follow him and made a fresh start in Italy with the new label Full Time Records. And I was able to keep the Goody Music brand through the shop in Rome that Fred sold me. Today my brother Claudio and I still use the trademark Goody Music Production as a digital distributor of all our music labels like Full Time Records, Mr. Disc, Good Vibes or Antibemusic. Also the record store Goody Music still exists in Rome on via Flaminia No.27, next to our bar and restaurant "Goody 1976", established in 2022. But this isn’t the original location of the very first Goody Music store in Rome, which was at Via Francesco Carrara n°19. The shops in Milan were closed by mutual agreement before Fred relocated to the USA, because they were loss-making. Even if we were no longer business partners from 1980 onwards, he remained a true friend. We would never leave each other, until the tragedy in Guadeloupe. Anything different that is being told, is from hearsay. I’m the only witness to the whole history of Goody Music and the life of poor Freddie. No one can claim true knowledge about him. But of course there were some different points of view because he spent more than he earned. Let me give you an example. At all costs he wanted to buy an expensive Bentley car for the company. The Bentley T was eventually bought as I was fed up with his arguments and all the quarrels! There were nonetheless never bitter conflicts because of corporate actions. When he was being pursued and threatened in America, he returned to Italy in 1986 and sought my protection. He wanted to share the Full Time Production offices with me. But I didn’t accept for various reasons. Anyway, we knew they were looking for him and I didn't want any trouble. I did propose him our first small office at Via Comelico/Via Friuli No. 51 where it all started but in the end he decided to go to Via Angelo Filippetti, if I recall correctly. But our friendship stayed intact.
In fact, Freddie moved to America in 1980 because the company in Italy went bankrupt. I decided not to follow him and made a fresh start in Italy with the new label Full Time Records. And I was able to keep the Goody Music brand through the shop in Rome that Fred sold me. Today my brother Claudio and I still use the trademark Goody Music Production as a digital distributor of all our music labels like Full Time Records, Mr. Disc, Good Vibes or Antibemusic. Also the record store Goody Music still exists in Rome on via Flaminia No.27, next to our bar and restaurant "Goody 1976", established in 2022. But this isn’t the original location of the very first Goody Music store in Rome, which was at Via Francesco Carrara n°19. The shops in Milan were closed by mutual agreement before Fred relocated to the USA, because they were loss-making. Even if we were no longer business partners from 1980 onwards, he remained a true friend. We would never leave each other, until the tragedy in Guadeloupe. Anything different that is being told, is from hearsay. I’m the only witness to the whole history of Goody Music and the life of poor Freddie. No one can claim true knowledge about him. But of course there were some different points of view because he spent more than he earned. Let me give you an example. At all costs he wanted to buy an expensive Bentley car for the company. The Bentley T was eventually bought as I was fed up with his arguments and all the quarrels! There were nonetheless never bitter conflicts because of corporate actions. When he was being pursued and threatened in America, he returned to Italy in 1986 and sought my protection. He wanted to share the Full Time Production offices with me. But I didn’t accept for various reasons. Anyway, we knew they were looking for him and I didn't want any trouble. I did propose him our first small office at Via Comelico/Via Friuli No. 51 where it all started but in the end he decided to go to Via Angelo Filippetti, if I recall correctly. But our friendship stayed intact.
Why did Freddie still buy the Bentley?
Because he was like that. He had that big ego and you couldn't change him. I also drove the Bentley to keep up with his megalomanias. But it was a life style which I didn't share. He might still be alive if he hadn't lived such an extravagant and reckless life, I'm sorry to say that...
Who owns the Goody Music record catalogue today?
The rights for the world are owned by a Suiss company and an Italian music publisher from Milano controls the music rights for the Italian territory. Mauro Malavasi is the owner of some of the master recordings and master rights. But you have to excuse me because I don't like to talk about this delicate subject. There has already been one casualty and that's enough...
Because he was like that. He had that big ego and you couldn't change him. I also drove the Bentley to keep up with his megalomanias. But it was a life style which I didn't share. He might still be alive if he hadn't lived such an extravagant and reckless life, I'm sorry to say that...
Who owns the Goody Music record catalogue today?
The rights for the world are owned by a Suiss company and an Italian music publisher from Milano controls the music rights for the Italian territory. Mauro Malavasi is the owner of some of the master recordings and master rights. But you have to excuse me because I don't like to talk about this delicate subject. There has already been one casualty and that's enough...
What’s the origin of the name Goody Music?
The name Goody music was derived from the discotheque “Good Mood” in Milan, the disco at Via Filippo Turati No.29 where he used to play. Today the club is called “William’s le Roi”. And of course Freddie was well aware of "Sam Goody", in those days the largest music retailer in the United States and the United Kingdom. There is never anything wrong with a little convenient association...
The name Goody music was derived from the discotheque “Good Mood” in Milan, the disco at Via Filippo Turati No.29 where he used to play. Today the club is called “William’s le Roi”. And of course Freddie was well aware of "Sam Goody", in those days the largest music retailer in the United States and the United Kingdom. There is never anything wrong with a little convenient association...
What is the origin of the name Little Macho Music?
Little Macho Music stems from the first hit project "Macho". It showed Fred’s respect for the achievement realised by him and his talented musician crew at Goody Music Production. The song "I'm A Man" by Macho became a disco hit around the world in 1978. Two friends from Bologna were at the origin of the Macho record. I still remember... one day Marzio Vincenzi arrives at our import office on Via Friuli n°51, holding an audio cassette in his hand and bringing up an idea... Mauro Malavasi would drop by seconds later. I recall that Mauro was quite a chubby lad with a seemingly healthy appetite. So I went to the nearby grocer to buy him a good portion of cherries. Marzio Vincenzi was the frontman of a cover band. He was a big guy with very long hair like a hippie. I think he weighed 120 kg. Marzio had recorded a disco song with his friend Mauro and he wanted to release it. On the cassette there was written "I'm a man / 16 minutes". I had to laugh because I was used to selling maxi singles of up to half that length. I thought it was a mistake. Freddie, Marzio and Mauro went downstairs to the listening room in the basement and played the demo. I could hear the music thumping while I was working on the ground floor. Freddie stormed upstairs, all excited, and told me that the track was a bomb! It was originally a rock song from the 60s. But they had turned it into a very long disco song! Generally a song could last a maximum of 8 minutes. They doubled it! I also remember bringing that cassette tape back to Mauro Malavasi's home. He was very young, just 18 years old and still studying music at the conservatory of Bologna... It all started back then in 1976...
Little Macho Music stems from the first hit project "Macho". It showed Fred’s respect for the achievement realised by him and his talented musician crew at Goody Music Production. The song "I'm A Man" by Macho became a disco hit around the world in 1978. Two friends from Bologna were at the origin of the Macho record. I still remember... one day Marzio Vincenzi arrives at our import office on Via Friuli n°51, holding an audio cassette in his hand and bringing up an idea... Mauro Malavasi would drop by seconds later. I recall that Mauro was quite a chubby lad with a seemingly healthy appetite. So I went to the nearby grocer to buy him a good portion of cherries. Marzio Vincenzi was the frontman of a cover band. He was a big guy with very long hair like a hippie. I think he weighed 120 kg. Marzio had recorded a disco song with his friend Mauro and he wanted to release it. On the cassette there was written "I'm a man / 16 minutes". I had to laugh because I was used to selling maxi singles of up to half that length. I thought it was a mistake. Freddie, Marzio and Mauro went downstairs to the listening room in the basement and played the demo. I could hear the music thumping while I was working on the ground floor. Freddie stormed upstairs, all excited, and told me that the track was a bomb! It was originally a rock song from the 60s. But they had turned it into a very long disco song! Generally a song could last a maximum of 8 minutes. They doubled it! I also remember bringing that cassette tape back to Mauro Malavasi's home. He was very young, just 18 years old and still studying music at the conservatory of Bologna... It all started back then in 1976...
Only few photos of Jacques Fred Petrus circulate. Was he camera-shy?
He did not like to be photographed. Just for a promotional purpose and a few newspapers and music magazines did he give permission. I have photos of Freddie at my wedding in December 1977. Both in the church and in the restaurant. But these are private photos.
He did not like to be photographed. Just for a promotional purpose and a few newspapers and music magazines did he give permission. I have photos of Freddie at my wedding in December 1977. Both in the church and in the restaurant. But these are private photos.
During the disco years, the social situation in Italy wasn’t favorable.
The 1970s were indeed not an easy period in Italian society. They are known as the "Anni di Piombo", the lead years. It was a period of social and political tensions, labour strikes and especially terrorist activities. One early morning in 1977 we were driving home from a night at the Good Mood when a Renault R4 approached. The streets of Milan were practically deserted. Petrus, who loved to be noticed, drove his fancy black Bentley T. The R4 flanked us and from the open windows some boys wearing parkas began to shout insulting phrases at us. Then the kid closest to us, leaning over, began hitting us with a huge hammer, trying to break the glass of our Bentley. We weren't going too fast, and the Renault was trying to force us towards the sidewalk by continuously scraping on the side of our car. But the Bentley was faster than their ramshackle R4 and with a brief acceleration we managed to get away. In the end the car suffered only a few small dents and the side windows had resisted the hammer blows. This event illustrates the weird times the 1970s were in Italy. Everything clashed! No wonder that discotheques, where people could escape grim reality, arose everywhere.
The 1970s were indeed not an easy period in Italian society. They are known as the "Anni di Piombo", the lead years. It was a period of social and political tensions, labour strikes and especially terrorist activities. One early morning in 1977 we were driving home from a night at the Good Mood when a Renault R4 approached. The streets of Milan were practically deserted. Petrus, who loved to be noticed, drove his fancy black Bentley T. The R4 flanked us and from the open windows some boys wearing parkas began to shout insulting phrases at us. Then the kid closest to us, leaning over, began hitting us with a huge hammer, trying to break the glass of our Bentley. We weren't going too fast, and the Renault was trying to force us towards the sidewalk by continuously scraping on the side of our car. But the Bentley was faster than their ramshackle R4 and with a brief acceleration we managed to get away. In the end the car suffered only a few small dents and the side windows had resisted the hammer blows. This event illustrates the weird times the 1970s were in Italy. Everything clashed! No wonder that discotheques, where people could escape grim reality, arose everywhere.
In 1980 you started up the legendary Full Time Records label together with your younger brother Claudio. Were you already a fan of dance music before you met Freddie in the early 70s?
The reason I met Freddie is because of the mutual passion for this kind of music. I used to go where Freddie played because I loved disco music. It made complete sense for me to continue in this dance music business when Freddie settled in the USA in 1980. My first production was the act Kano. I could rely on great composers and arrangers like Stefano Pulga and Luciano Ninzatti who worked exclusively for Full Time Records. With them we immediately reached the charts in the USA and even entered the top 40 of the Billboard Dance Charts.
The reason I met Freddie is because of the mutual passion for this kind of music. I used to go where Freddie played because I loved disco music. It made complete sense for me to continue in this dance music business when Freddie settled in the USA in 1980. My first production was the act Kano. I could rely on great composers and arrangers like Stefano Pulga and Luciano Ninzatti who worked exclusively for Full Time Records. With them we immediately reached the charts in the USA and even entered the top 40 of the Billboard Dance Charts.
I noticed that there have never been musical connections between Full Time Production and Little Macho Music and yet you made similar music. What was the reason for this creative disconnection?
It was very complicated to work with Fred Petrus artistically. He would start fierce arguments over trivial things. He was overly possessive of his own artists and could be very jealous of other people's success. He was that special, intense character who conflicted with everybody. In the early days when he was younger he used to go to the clubs. And if he had too much booze, he would get into fistfights there with market competitors. That's how he was. One of Full Time's first productions was "Madly" by Selection in 1980. The funky track was mixed at Sigma Sound Studios in N.Y.C. and the vocals were recorded at Giorgio Moroder's Musicland Studios in Munich. And yes, Freddie was very jealous of this USA-style record. So, in this respect a mutual creative venture was unlikely to happen. There was some incidental overlap perhaps when Celso Valli recorded with singer Peter Richard for our Full Time label. As you know, Celso also worked for Freddie’s Little Macho Music in the early 1980s. And in 1981 our artist Jimmy Ross was released in Canada on Ray Caviano's RFC Records, the same label that made Change big in the USA. But the whole situation was also due to Freddie’s lack of corporate responsibility and his "adventurous nature". Despite the many royalties that Goody Music Production had generated, he still managed to squander everything on a reckless life of luxury. Sure, he was numero uno in terms of Disco flair and product expertise. No doubt about that! When our joint venture finally failed I decided to part ways and start up a new company called Full Time Production [housing the label Full Time Records]. Purely business-wise there remained very little between us. This clear line guaranteed the integrity of my new company. That's another reason why our music firms never had associated projects and never shared artists, songwriters or whatsoever.
It was very complicated to work with Fred Petrus artistically. He would start fierce arguments over trivial things. He was overly possessive of his own artists and could be very jealous of other people's success. He was that special, intense character who conflicted with everybody. In the early days when he was younger he used to go to the clubs. And if he had too much booze, he would get into fistfights there with market competitors. That's how he was. One of Full Time's first productions was "Madly" by Selection in 1980. The funky track was mixed at Sigma Sound Studios in N.Y.C. and the vocals were recorded at Giorgio Moroder's Musicland Studios in Munich. And yes, Freddie was very jealous of this USA-style record. So, in this respect a mutual creative venture was unlikely to happen. There was some incidental overlap perhaps when Celso Valli recorded with singer Peter Richard for our Full Time label. As you know, Celso also worked for Freddie’s Little Macho Music in the early 1980s. And in 1981 our artist Jimmy Ross was released in Canada on Ray Caviano's RFC Records, the same label that made Change big in the USA. But the whole situation was also due to Freddie’s lack of corporate responsibility and his "adventurous nature". Despite the many royalties that Goody Music Production had generated, he still managed to squander everything on a reckless life of luxury. Sure, he was numero uno in terms of Disco flair and product expertise. No doubt about that! When our joint venture finally failed I decided to part ways and start up a new company called Full Time Production [housing the label Full Time Records]. Purely business-wise there remained very little between us. This clear line guaranteed the integrity of my new company. That's another reason why our music firms never had associated projects and never shared artists, songwriters or whatsoever.
Despite hitting the Billboard charts in America with stellar disco music, the USA chapter of Jacques Fred Petrus didn’t give the impression of an immaculate course. Did he somehow work his way into trouble?
There are no secrets about the USA period. Freddie remained the same person to me as I was to him. Entertainment attorney Stephen L. Kopitko from N.Y.C. had given us good contracts. Some of America’s hottest artists like Billy Idol and Village People were clients of Kopitko. His law firm gave us credibility. The association with Kopitko ceased when Freddie got into trouble with the American radio mafia which then led him to isolation in Italy and Guadeloupe for a period of time, before getting shot at home. The IRS in the U.S. doesn’t send a killer to anyone... Little Macho Music had to give 20 percent of its revenues to the organized crime, which happened in the beginnings... Mauro Malavasi and the others were not aware of this. They made great music and had nothing to do with the tough business end. But believe me, it’s better not to talk about this dirty story.
There are no secrets about the USA period. Freddie remained the same person to me as I was to him. Entertainment attorney Stephen L. Kopitko from N.Y.C. had given us good contracts. Some of America’s hottest artists like Billy Idol and Village People were clients of Kopitko. His law firm gave us credibility. The association with Kopitko ceased when Freddie got into trouble with the American radio mafia which then led him to isolation in Italy and Guadeloupe for a period of time, before getting shot at home. The IRS in the U.S. doesn’t send a killer to anyone... Little Macho Music had to give 20 percent of its revenues to the organized crime, which happened in the beginnings... Mauro Malavasi and the others were not aware of this. They made great music and had nothing to do with the tough business end. But believe me, it’s better not to talk about this dirty story.
Little is known about Fred's hidden private life. Did he keep up that fierce temperament outside the business sphere as well?
Outside of work Freddie was always ready to joke around in group and seek new adventures with women... another flair of his. I've realised that apart from myself and probably some close relatives, hardly anyone was aware of his private life. Freddie’s tough attitude was in fact a mask. He was quite a sensitive person. Even anxious at times… Fred loved Italian cuisine and good wines...and fancy nightlife with all that goes with it. In bars we used to order whisky and Coke. We had often lunch together at the Da Giacomo restaurant in Milano which is still an excellent restaurant today. When he had moved to New York City, he sometimes came to see me when he was briefly back in Europe. It happened that he showed jealousy for me because of my success with Full Time Production. The French record executives Claude Carrère and Eddie Barclay once told me that Fred even made derogatory remarks about me, constantly calling me "the decorator". But anyway, we were friends and friends also make mistakes but everything gets sorted out in the end...
Outside of work Freddie was always ready to joke around in group and seek new adventures with women... another flair of his. I've realised that apart from myself and probably some close relatives, hardly anyone was aware of his private life. Freddie’s tough attitude was in fact a mask. He was quite a sensitive person. Even anxious at times… Fred loved Italian cuisine and good wines...and fancy nightlife with all that goes with it. In bars we used to order whisky and Coke. We had often lunch together at the Da Giacomo restaurant in Milano which is still an excellent restaurant today. When he had moved to New York City, he sometimes came to see me when he was briefly back in Europe. It happened that he showed jealousy for me because of my success with Full Time Production. The French record executives Claude Carrère and Eddie Barclay once told me that Fred even made derogatory remarks about me, constantly calling me "the decorator". But anyway, we were friends and friends also make mistakes but everything gets sorted out in the end...
In what way do you remember your journey with Jacques Fred Petrus?
His death was a great loss. He had a lot of influence in the dance music industry. We both contributed to the the most important period of Italian disco. First we made it happen together and then independently. But this musical era would never have come about if we hadn't met. That success was unequalled. The story continues, even after us. The great things that happened in the 70s/80s will live on in history. A history that is constantly changing and renewing. You have to keep in mind that people like Gianni Versace, Luciano Pavarotti, Ennio Morricone and other big Italian names... even when they are no longer among us, their legacy is still very alive today. The one who is most fortunate will have a name that will live on for years to come...
Thanks for the interview!
Francis DEPUYDT (2022.08.30)
INTERVIEW WITH RAY CAVIANO:
His death was a great loss. He had a lot of influence in the dance music industry. We both contributed to the the most important period of Italian disco. First we made it happen together and then independently. But this musical era would never have come about if we hadn't met. That success was unequalled. The story continues, even after us. The great things that happened in the 70s/80s will live on in history. A history that is constantly changing and renewing. You have to keep in mind that people like Gianni Versace, Luciano Pavarotti, Ennio Morricone and other big Italian names... even when they are no longer among us, their legacy is still very alive today. The one who is most fortunate will have a name that will live on for years to come...
Thanks for the interview!
Francis DEPUYDT (2022.08.30)
INTERVIEW WITH RAY CAVIANO:
Ray, tell me about the path that led you to discover the first Change record.
“Just to put things into historical context, there was this whole journey that brought me to the point where I brought the Change record forward. Years before, I had joined [pop, disco and soul label] T.K. Records, working for [founder] Henry Stone down in Miami, Florida. I had seen this groundswell in the late '70s happening with the clubs. Records were breaking in the New York clubs and on Fire Island, etc. For example, The Hues Corporation sold 60,000 copies of the ‘Rock The Boat’ single before it even got on the radio. That clued me to the fact that you could break records in the clubs and then cross them over to radio. At T.K., we had K.C. & The Sunshine Band, Betty Wright, Boris Midney, Timmy Thomas, George McCrae, T-Connection, Peter Brown, The Ritchie Family, Foxy, Voyage—many artists and many big hits. Warner Bros. Records in New York was wondering how T.K. was getting all these hits. We were just a small independent company. I had been extremely successful at promoting the T.K. roster and Warner approached me about doing the same for them. They knew about my relationships with the DJs and how I knew what the dance floor wanted. I basically said, ‘I'm gonna give you an offer you can't refuse. If you want me to promote all the Warner Bros. dance product and get it broken in the clubs (they had a good roster—Prince, Rose Royce, Chaka Khan, Ashford & Simpson, etc.), then I need my own label.’ They came back to me two days later and said we had a deal. So, I started RFC Records with Warner Bros., we remixed Rod Stewart's ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy,’ and it was just hit after hit. And that's a short version of the long road that led to Change.”
“Just to put things into historical context, there was this whole journey that brought me to the point where I brought the Change record forward. Years before, I had joined [pop, disco and soul label] T.K. Records, working for [founder] Henry Stone down in Miami, Florida. I had seen this groundswell in the late '70s happening with the clubs. Records were breaking in the New York clubs and on Fire Island, etc. For example, The Hues Corporation sold 60,000 copies of the ‘Rock The Boat’ single before it even got on the radio. That clued me to the fact that you could break records in the clubs and then cross them over to radio. At T.K., we had K.C. & The Sunshine Band, Betty Wright, Boris Midney, Timmy Thomas, George McCrae, T-Connection, Peter Brown, The Ritchie Family, Foxy, Voyage—many artists and many big hits. Warner Bros. Records in New York was wondering how T.K. was getting all these hits. We were just a small independent company. I had been extremely successful at promoting the T.K. roster and Warner approached me about doing the same for them. They knew about my relationships with the DJs and how I knew what the dance floor wanted. I basically said, ‘I'm gonna give you an offer you can't refuse. If you want me to promote all the Warner Bros. dance product and get it broken in the clubs (they had a good roster—Prince, Rose Royce, Chaka Khan, Ashford & Simpson, etc.), then I need my own label.’ They came back to me two days later and said we had a deal. So, I started RFC Records with Warner Bros., we remixed Rod Stewart's ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy,’ and it was just hit after hit. And that's a short version of the long road that led to Change.”
Would you tell me about your first meeting with Change’s Italian producers?
“Knowing the success I was enjoying in the disco/dance field, the executive producer of Change in Italy named [Jacques] Fred Petrus came to me. He was the man who put all the ingredients together—a collaboration of producers, musicians, songwriters and two key creative forces in the project, Mauro Malavasi [executive producer, producer] and Davide Romani. Both Malavasi and Romani were musicians, songwriters, composers, arrangers and conductors. They made the instrumental tracks in Italy and came to the US with the lyrics. They started hiring vocalists, including a young man that wasn't too well known at the time, Luther Vandross. I had a team of 13 promotional people working in major markets at my label, and I hired Vince Aletti (who wrote about disco for the Village Voice and was the disco editor at Record World magazine). I thought he'd be a good addition as an A&R man to screen product. Vince told me that Fred Petrus had contacted our New York City office and would like to have a meeting. I thought the team that was working with Mr. Petrus sounded great, so we set up a meeting. We sat down, and he played the entire album, The Glow Of Love. “I said to Fred, “This is an absolute smash!" Every cut had potential, the writing, production, the melodies, the singers—all these beautiful colors, these elements. He put them all together like a piece of artwork. It was a masterpiece! We struck a deal in 48 hours, literally. To be honest, not to pat myself on the back, but Fred knew of my success as a music promoter at T.K. Records, and I think he wanted my, dare I say, credible reputation during the disco/dance era, and a major label that could market and promote Change. It was my team that got it going, and when Warner Bros. saw it was turning into a hit, they pushed the button and the thing exploded.”
“Knowing the success I was enjoying in the disco/dance field, the executive producer of Change in Italy named [Jacques] Fred Petrus came to me. He was the man who put all the ingredients together—a collaboration of producers, musicians, songwriters and two key creative forces in the project, Mauro Malavasi [executive producer, producer] and Davide Romani. Both Malavasi and Romani were musicians, songwriters, composers, arrangers and conductors. They made the instrumental tracks in Italy and came to the US with the lyrics. They started hiring vocalists, including a young man that wasn't too well known at the time, Luther Vandross. I had a team of 13 promotional people working in major markets at my label, and I hired Vince Aletti (who wrote about disco for the Village Voice and was the disco editor at Record World magazine). I thought he'd be a good addition as an A&R man to screen product. Vince told me that Fred Petrus had contacted our New York City office and would like to have a meeting. I thought the team that was working with Mr. Petrus sounded great, so we set up a meeting. We sat down, and he played the entire album, The Glow Of Love. “I said to Fred, “This is an absolute smash!" Every cut had potential, the writing, production, the melodies, the singers—all these beautiful colors, these elements. He put them all together like a piece of artwork. It was a masterpiece! We struck a deal in 48 hours, literally. To be honest, not to pat myself on the back, but Fred knew of my success as a music promoter at T.K. Records, and I think he wanted my, dare I say, credible reputation during the disco/dance era, and a major label that could market and promote Change. It was my team that got it going, and when Warner Bros. saw it was turning into a hit, they pushed the button and the thing exploded.”
It didn't take long for the record to catch on.
“The record came out, I started promoting it that spring—it took about six to eight weeks to get a record moving through the pipeline—and by that summer it was all over New York radio. ‘A Lover's Holiday’ was the summer record. I remember at one point Frankie Crocker at WBLS in New York [a vital urban adult radio station], was playing three cuts off the album. I used a whole formula to test my records. I'd go down to the Paradise Garage club with Frankie Crocker, and we would test our records, ‘A Lover's Holiday’ being one of them. DJ Larry Levan would throw on my test pressing on a Friday night and on Monday the record would be on WBLS full time. And look at that title—‘A Lover's Holiday’. It almost says, ‘summer.’ A smooth, melodic beat—it oozed with a celebratory feel, a bright summer sound. Man, it sounded so good coming out of car radios!”
SOURCES
Funk band 'Der Kinky Foxx' incl. Timmy Allen, Johnny Kemp Jr. and Kevin Robinson
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Michiel van der Kuij, Bobby Douglas, Patrik B. Andersson, Marcel van den Belt aka Marcello d'Azzurro, Toru Matsumoto, Sandro Comini, Yves Saïd Le Page, Pascal Lemaire aka Skalp, Ray Caviano, Maarten L. Albarda, Steve Bogen, Claude Petrus, The Freestyle Crew, Davide Romani, Jeff Bova, Terry Silverlight, Mic Murphy, Masaru Nakajima, Goda Kazuhiko, Timmy Allen, Herb Smith, Stéphane Bossé, Franco Donato, Widjay Koemar Ramharakh, Philippe Pampouneau, Stefano Colombo, Kevin Robinson, Michael H. Brauer, Thierry Boulanger, Ben Belhacel, Andreas Hellingh, Eddy Boessen, Claes "Discoguy" Widlund, Paris Ford, Luca Orioli, Paul Slade, Per Åkesson, Gerald Jacques, Vincent Captain Funk, Michael Bijaoui and CrashComfort.
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BLOG EDITOR: FRANCIS DEPUYDT A.K.A. DJ ADMOR 'FUNKY' PAGES (C) 2024
contact: francisenels@skynet.be
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/658114092018298
“The record came out, I started promoting it that spring—it took about six to eight weeks to get a record moving through the pipeline—and by that summer it was all over New York radio. ‘A Lover's Holiday’ was the summer record. I remember at one point Frankie Crocker at WBLS in New York [a vital urban adult radio station], was playing three cuts off the album. I used a whole formula to test my records. I'd go down to the Paradise Garage club with Frankie Crocker, and we would test our records, ‘A Lover's Holiday’ being one of them. DJ Larry Levan would throw on my test pressing on a Friday night and on Monday the record would be on WBLS full time. And look at that title—‘A Lover's Holiday’. It almost says, ‘summer.’ A smooth, melodic beat—it oozed with a celebratory feel, a bright summer sound. Man, it sounded so good coming out of car radios!”
What made you think “A Lover's Holiday" would be a commercial success?
“I listened to this music at face value—as a product that had potential, just good music. Back then, the reason why I liked the album, in general, was that the beats per minute were slower than the hyper, high-energy records that were everywhere. I thought it was a good time to get a little smoother with an R&B sound and to bring the tempo down a notch. ‘A Lover's Holiday’ also sounded like a good roller skating record to me, which was very big back then. It was my first RFC signing, and guess what? It went gold! A beautiful thing. It almost went platinum. It was about 10,000 units shy of doing a million. It was very exciting to have my first project be so successful.”
Stefano Colombo (March 2016)“I listened to this music at face value—as a product that had potential, just good music. Back then, the reason why I liked the album, in general, was that the beats per minute were slower than the hyper, high-energy records that were everywhere. I thought it was a good time to get a little smoother with an R&B sound and to bring the tempo down a notch. ‘A Lover's Holiday’ also sounded like a good roller skating record to me, which was very big back then. It was my first RFC signing, and guess what? It went gold! A beautiful thing. It almost went platinum. It was about 10,000 units shy of doing a million. It was very exciting to have my first project be so successful.”
When you think of summer music, songs that have a sunny vibe, what do they generally have in common?
“We're basically talking about songs that are bright and happy and have a purely uplifting feeling to them. You want something that’s going to release all the tension. You're coming out of the darkness of winter, and you want something happy, something that has an emancipating sound. I can't explain it other than to say that you're on the beach and you're listening to music—you're totally free! Pop music, palm trees, summer songs, they're the epitome of being free. You're looking for a song that makes you feel alive. It has a healing quality. It’s almost an emotional thing—you made it through the cold and gray. You feel the music in a way that you usually can't at other times of the year or in places, environments, that aren't warm and inviting. It's just not the same. You can't explain that feeling you get when you hear one of these special songs on the beaches, or dancing in a club or at an outdoor venue, or driving with the top down. It's unbelievable! Hot summer jams! Oh my God!”
Interview by James Arena (Taken from 'Hot Summer Jams: Pop Songs That Bring Out The Sun, 1975 Through 2005’, BookBaby Publ., 2022)
INTERVIEW WITH DAVIDE ROMANI:
Francis DEPUYDT (2009.03.15)
INTERVIEW WITH JACQUES FRED PETRUS:
When and how did Disco music arrive in Italy?
I could retrace my personal 'evolution' linked to the world of Disco music. When I was a boy I was a record collector. I had all the Rhythm & Blues and Soul records that came out. Some ten years ago I used my musical experience to become a disc-jockey at the 'Good Mood' in Milan. At the time it was a really good discotheque. But then I realised I couldn't be spinning records in clubs for the rest of my life. I started importing Disco records from America, where I had found a specialised company in New York. Initially the quantities were minimal, two packages per week, partly because I lacked the funds to invest. The records were for me personally and a few of my DJ friends. The 'trade' was limited to a few discos (Nepentha, Charly Max ...) and then it expanded. I also began to sell records to a few clubbers who found it snobbish to own records that had just been released in America and that only a few DJs knew about. About six years ago I created a company, 'Goody Music', which was the first to start selling Disco music records exclusively. In Italy there were already two importers, Carù and Ronchini in Parma, but they had never been interested in this genre because it was a difficult domain: you always had to be well informed and know the taste and musical needs of DJs, and then you had to select and import the few good products from a perpetually moving market. The interest of the booming discotheques in this initiative was considerable because DJs no longer had to rely on Italian record companies but could program the same records as the 'mythical' DJs from the USA.
What are the reasons that Disco music is so well received in Italy?
In the beginning Disco was ignored by everyone: by record companies who were sceptical and by young people who preferred the pop/rock genre. Then it became important because the discotheques, and later on the private radios, turned out to be a great promotion for this new dance music. They were the perfect tool for cultural penetration: young people went dancing and listened to this kind of music for hours. Since we knew the record market and also the most effective means of music promotion, we immediately supported the first free radio station in Milan by means of sponsorship of Disco broadcasts. Other stations were born and inspired by those that already existed... so the whole country was flooded with Disco radio shows and the public began to appreciate the music style. The sole purpose of Disco music is providing pure entertainment and this clear message attracted young people who showed less and less interest in the problems of their society. In the lyrics of singer-songwriters and rock bands they talk about things that are of little interest now. When a young person listens to a record or goes to a concert he just wants to have fun and forget about everyday problems.
Why did you shift your focus from importing to producing Disco music?
Even when we were only importing records we already had a professional and 'industrial' approach: from supplying our friends we got to the stage of supplying radio stations and discotheques all over Italy. From one record shop we evolved to a chain of stores. We needed that quantum leap because we want to improve continuously. We used to totally control the market, and then the competition grew. A bit like what happened with jeans. A lot of small jeans manufactories emerged. So the more established ones, which were first, started to produce other garments, using their expertise and fashion fame. Now there is the expansion of imported vinyl and this activity has taken an artisanal turn because it only takes a little money to set up a small shop where you can sell records. But to make the qualitative jump to producing music, certain foundations were required. So we preferred to wait until all the elements satisfied us. We looked for the right musicians, recording and mixing studios, producer and technicians because we didn't want to fail. We weren't interested in a limited national success. We wanted to conquer the international market. And a year ago we set up Goody Music Production and released our first Disco act Macho.
Macho and Peter Jacques Band have established themselves worldwide. How did that happen?
To a certain extent we expected a positive market response. The record “I'm A Man” by the group Macho was definitely the first record product made by Italians with Italian musicians to achieve intercontinental success: it reached number five in the Disco music sales charts in the USA and top spots in Japan, Europe, Brazil and Argentina. We had studied all the elements and had carefully watched Mauro Malavasi, who had shown that he had all the qualities to become one of the most successful producers in the world. But he needed the means and we provided these to him with no expense spared. We went to do the mixing at the best studios in the world for Disco recording, the legendary 'Sigma Sound Studios' in New York City. Fire Night Dance by the Peter Jacques Band was another super success. We wanted to show the international public that our hits were not lucky shots but were the result of a precise and serious record policy. The US record companies were shocked to see two records high in the charts, produced by a small record company. Two hit records made by Italian musicians and coordinated by an Italian producer! They are still sceptical about 'made in Italy' abroad.
In the Disco music market, the time lapse between the release of the record and the start of the eventual chart climb is very important. How did your records perform?
Our two products went straight to the top of the charts. Macho was even an incredible phenomenon: within three weeks of its release it reached number five, while, for example Donna Summer also reached number one, but it took more than twice as long. Peter Jacques Band has so far reached number six. The fact is that the top 20 records are all strong productions, so they shift very slowly on the charts.
What is the working method of Goody Music?
In our recording business we benefit of our experience as record importers who have been in contact with the international Disco scene for years. We know a lot about Disco music and the needs of DJs. Continuous contact with buyers made us understand what people like most: whether it is about melody, words or rhythm. So, we knew what the audience wanted and we realised it. We don't have the attitude of a musician who says: “I want to make a record according to my taste. I have the right ideas and it's the others who don't get it”. You can spend hundred million to make a record. You believe it's a masterpiece, but then the public rejects it because it wasn't made to their taste.
What are the characteristics of a Disco hit?
Nowadays it’s no longer just the beat that guarantees success. The market is constantly developing and an incredible amount of records are coming out. Just think of Billboard that has extended the Disco chart by twenty spots because there are so many hits and in this ocean of releases you have to differentiate yourself. People now want melodies, they want to hear 'nice' things that stick in their heads. They want to be able to whistle along with the tunes they hear in the clubs or on the radio. The audience wants to feel more involved. Now dance productions need more melody than just the four-on-the-floor Disco rhythm because it’s the words and the catchy tunes that are best remembered.
Interview by Sandro Baroni and Nicola Ticozzi (Taken from 'Disco Music', Arcana Ed., 1979)
INTERVIEW WITH MAURO MALAVASI AND DAVIDE ROMANI:
What’s the key to creativity and writing successful music?
In a nutshell the story goes like this: we didn’t do anything intentionally, we didn’t steer anything, no great plan. The whole thing got rolling by chance. We never promoted anything, there was no marketing, we went where the wind blew, we never did that much. We just had to follow what was going on around us. Clearly it was all bigger than us. We certainly didn’t have any chance of manipulating what was happening. We couldn’t know that in New Orleans or New Zealand they liked our records. I was surprised when I heard that in London, in clubs, we had songs on top of the charts. Well, I don’t know…“We're basically talking about songs that are bright and happy and have a purely uplifting feeling to them. You want something that’s going to release all the tension. You're coming out of the darkness of winter, and you want something happy, something that has an emancipating sound. I can't explain it other than to say that you're on the beach and you're listening to music—you're totally free! Pop music, palm trees, summer songs, they're the epitome of being free. You're looking for a song that makes you feel alive. It has a healing quality. It’s almost an emotional thing—you made it through the cold and gray. You feel the music in a way that you usually can't at other times of the year or in places, environments, that aren't warm and inviting. It's just not the same. You can't explain that feeling you get when you hear one of these special songs on the beaches, or dancing in a club or at an outdoor venue, or driving with the top down. It's unbelievable! Hot summer jams! Oh my God!”
Interview by James Arena (Taken from 'Hot Summer Jams: Pop Songs That Bring Out The Sun, 1975 Through 2005’, BookBaby Publ., 2022)
INTERVIEW WITH DAVIDE ROMANI:
You are a self-taught musician. Where did that passion come from?
Already at a young age I came in contact with music. I had the opportunity to accompany my older brother who used to perform at dance halls with his band. Subsequently I began to play the flute and the organ in a group. At the age of fifteen after an audition with Pier Giorgio Farina I found myself catapulted on one of the stages of the renowned Bologna Jazz Festival, where the greatest names in jazz history have performed: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Chet Baker, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald,... After the organ, which I began playing at the age of seven, I discovered the bass guitar at thirteen. One night when I had to do a live gig with my group the bassist didn't show up and I took his bass guitar. This was the first time I played the instrument and I liked it. After that concert I took my friend's bass home and I continued playing and it went really well. That's how I picked up the bass.
How did you get involved with Goody Music Production?
Amongst musicians it was told that in Ferrara there was a young, pretty good bass player: that was me. Singer Marzio Vincenzi got in touch with me and took me to Bologna where he introduced me to Petrus and Malavasi. I would also meet Mauro at the San Remo Festival in 1978. He played the trumpet and I played the bass in the main orchestra, accompanying the artists who were performing. In the studio they asked me to play the bass parts of the song “I’m A Man”. I was only 19 years old then and I had never played disco music before. I enjoyed the hard-driving beat and agressive sound of this disco music, it was a very fascinating experience. They liked my playing and I joined the musician staff of Goody Music Production and I developed my personal bass sound. I collaborated on many projects like Rudy, Change, B.B.&Q. Band, High Fashion et cetera. Mauro Malavasi also persuaded me to compose songs besides playing the bass guitar. So, in 1979, when "The Boss" was in the U.S. preparing new projects, I started composing tracks. I had never written songs before but the results were positive. My first composition was the Change hit “A Lover’s Holiday”, my second “The Glow Of Love”, followed by “Starlette”, “Paradise”, “Hold Tight”, and so on…
Were you influenced by the seductive Chic sound?
I must admit that I was influenced by the sophisticated productions of Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards when I composed songs. Their innovative harmonic solutions in those days appealed me. Their work was incredibly infectious and musically rested upon a solid foundation of Nile's rhythm guitar and Bernard's bass playing. They redefined Disco music. In fact we both used some of the same session vocalists and none of us had problems with this. After the success of the first Change record many artists and producers came to our studio to see us at work. One of those frequent visitors was Nile Rodgers. This was a great pleasure for me. We even simultaneously recorded at Media Sound. Chic recorded in Studio A while we were recording in Studio B. Also Disco producer Giorgio Moroder was impressed and he absolutely wanted me to record for him but unfortunately the musical association didn't happen because of my exclusive agreement with the Goody Music Orchestra.
How can you explain that an Italian is so good at making black dancemusic.
I have no explanation. I’m indeed a white man from a small city called Ferrara. But in my heart I’ve always favoured soul music and other styles related with black music. I had an affinity with black/R&B music since the age of seven. While my friends were listening to the Beatles or the Rolling Stones I was listening to Chicago or Earth Wind & Fire and a bit of fusion like Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius. In Italian music the lyrics predominate over the music. To me music is all about the groove, the vibe. I have never bought any Italian record or CD unless for professional reasons. I feel like an American producer living in Italy, an exception among the Italian producers. Making R&B or soul influenced music has always given me most satisfaction in my musical career.
Could you give a definition of "a groove"? What is it to you?
Groove is a concept of music that becomes very intuitive to experienced musicians, yet is somewhat difficult to completely describe. Basically, every view of what a groove actually is boils down to the rhythmic feel or pattern of a song. Music is mathematics but if every musician would play perfectly there would be no groove. The groove is inside every quarter note’s feel and swing percentage and gives an emotion that the mathematics do not succeed to give. The groove is the emotion that one should seek within every touch. The quarter note is the foundation of the groove. For bass players it is the most important rhythmic subdivision by far, since quarter notes are what make up a walking bass line. A walking bass line is rhythmically very simple -deceptively simple- but like many things that seem simple, playing good quarter notes for a walking bass line is very challenging and it takes many years of playing to do it really well. Musicians often say that the bass line is the heartbeat of the band. Together with the drummer the bassist constitutes the foundation of a band. The bass player is one of the most important elements in the swing equation. If the rest of the band is swinging and the bass player isn’t, the band isn’t swinging. Instead, if most of the band is not quite swinging but the bass is swinging hard, the band is swinging. So, as bassists we have a lot of power over the groove factor and a lot of responsibility too.
During the early eighties you worked with a lot of accomplished American studio musicians like Kashif. Who made the biggest impression on you?
I had the opportunity and satisfaction to work with many American top musicians in New York. I can’t tell you who I preferred because there were too many talented people. But sure Kashif had a very unique musical touch and a very good taste.
What was the usual procedure when you recorded songs?
Before we entered the studio with the other musicians we knew what we wanted. We had the basic track worked out. Usually I prepared everything concerning the compositions and arrangements, except for the lead guitar because I can’t play the guitar, I’m a bass player. Generally the tracks were constructed in Italy. The vocals were recorded and mixed in the U.S. First a small rhythm section would develop the groove, work out the breaks and changes in the song, and then cut the song in one or two complete takes. Thereafter it was my turn to throw in the bass parts. This procedure could last two or three weeks, one track after another.
In 1983 you and Mauro Malavasi broke with producer Jacques Fred Petrus. What happened and why did you never produce black music again in the U.S.?
There was definitely a conflict with Petrus. He didn’t pay me anymore in the end. Petrus was only thinking about making money without recognizing the value of my work as an artist. No appreciation! So I stopped the collaboration and continued my professional carreer in Italy where I was busy working with Italian artists. Of course I regretted the impossibility of going on making black music in the U.S.. Now I realize that I made a big mistake there.
After your bad experience with Fred Petrus, financially speaking, you worked again on projects for his companies in 1984 and 1985: M Like Moon, Island And Holiday, Change, Peter Jacques Band. Why?
Because I'm crazy. But the main reason why I hooked up with Petrus again were his exceptional capacities as a business man. He was the right man in Italy to give my music and creativity an international boost. Without him this would never have worked. That's why he could be so convincing as a business man. He had his finger on the pulse of the dance music marketplace and everybody in the music biz knew that. That's the reason why so many musicians wanted to work for "The Boss": earning good money seemed guaranteed. Fred Petrus did have financial troubles but he wasn't a bad fellow after all. When he wanted to, he could be very charming and joyful in a relaxed environment. A nice person to chat with actually. Careful and happy, I would say. But the money stayed in his pocket...
What do you know about the tragic end of producer Jacques Fred Petrus?
Fred was shot dead at home in his native country Guadeloupe about 1987 I think. He was hit by several bullets. I don't believe the Maffia connection. I think the serious troubles started when he went back to Guadeloupe after tax fraud in America.
What is your opinion about today’s black music and the frequent sampling of music?
Evidently the clock has turned full circle, in the sense that I’m not surprised that the musical trace I left behind has turned up again. My songs have been used by black superstars like Aretha Franklin, R. Kelly and Janet Jackson. For a songwriter this is the ultimate honour. But considering massive sampling in dancemusic today, I think we’re in the front of a new wave of young incompetent producers who don’t know much about making music, except reproducing. Modern sampling technology means that whole sections of old records are being filched wholesale to prop up artists whose talent is dubious. In order to have success you need to have new ideas. The capacity of making music is not enough. Occasionally, something interesting and original is achieved, but mostly the whole thing smacks of creative laziness and musical inexperience. However there are excellent groups with courage that I admire and respect, capable musicians who really perform their music. I think of Incognito, one of the best groups around in the last years. I also adore Latin and Brazilian music as well as acid-jazz and funk. I’m tired of listening to rap CDs only but often it’s the last resource for rhythm. Let’s say that I like the groove but not always the melody.
In 1983 the Italian group Flowchart meticulously cloned the Change sound on their much overlooked album The New Harlem Funk (a.k.a A Little Love A Little Wine). Can you appreciate this?
At many points the concept was indeed similar to Change. The music was recorded by an Italian musician crew at the Umbi Studios in Modena and the vocals were taped in New York with session singers we used to work with like Fonzi Thornton and Mic Murphy. Mic arranged record deals for Petrus in America and even sang backgrounds on The Glow Of Love. Former Goody Music musician Lele Melotti played percussion. Fonzi Thornton was also engaged to pen lyrics for the Flowchart project. He did the same for several Change songs. I was involved in this project as a bass player under the pseudonym of Dav. Mandingos. Flowchart's guitarist and songwriter Romano Trevisani was a friend of mine. I still remember the bass lines I played. I can understand that it was very tempting for Italian producers to follow the successful music formula we had worked out.
Why did you have a pseudonym on the Flowchart album?
I couldn’t use my real name because I was exclusively engaged in Petrus’ company at that time. I was not allowed to play on any other productions but those associated with Freddie's Little Macho Music. I think also Mauro Malavasi played keyboards on a Flowchart remix but you won't find his name anywhere on the record, he too had contractual agreements with Little Macho Music.
Who are your favourite artists?
My first love was Stanley Clarke and I've always liked the music of Chick Corea. My all-time favourite group is Earth, Wind & Fire. A tremendous female singer is Rachelle Ferrell and very nice male voices are Luther Vandross and Michael Bolton. But also a lot of other artists, too many to express a special favourite. At this moment I’m mad about the funky music of the British group Jamiroquai!
Are you still playing funky music today?
I'm not so fond anymore of touring with different artists. I'm doing what I really like now. My passion is Mr. Groove, a music band I formed just for amusement. The group has eleven members among which three vocalists and three background singers. But the nucleus consists of very talented musicians: Nicola Morali on piano, Luca Longhini on guitar, Massimo "Pitona" Zerbini on drums, Annalisa Vassalli on lead vocals and me on bass guitar. We play new-jazz, black music, lounge, music from the seventies and the eighties. And also tracks by Tower Of Power, D'Sound, Sting and Jamiroquai, one of my favourite artists. It’s really fun doing this. No stress!
Can we expect a new Change album in the future?
Yes that’s very possible. I recorded several demo-tapes with new, unpublished material. But I’m still looking for the right lead vocalist.
What are the essential qualities needed to become a good producer and what is your message to all the talented people who want to start a music career?
We live in a very ambiguous world full of dishonest people. I advise musicians to persist, to write and compose songs. Playing music only is not enough unless you are a first class musician. It costs a lot of money to reach your goal but it’s possible in music. If you want to be a winner follow my advice.
Thanks for the interview!
Francis DEPUYDT (2001.12.15) (Translation: Bruna Stefani, Francis Depuydt)
INTERVIEW WITH JEFF BOVA:
During many years you were keyboard player with Change. Could you explain the production methods of Petrus & Malavasi?
The Italians produced, wrote and arranged. If they weren't the writers then they still arranged the songs. Fred would have already approved the song before it was being recorded. Mauro and Davide would lay down the groove first (drums, bass and synthesizer) and then would overdub. Each song would require different approaches but I know they had at least the song blocked out before recording. Mauro and Davide were very organized and precise in the studio. Terry Silverlight was the main drummer they used. He was a real tight player and funky too. After the basic was down, then other musicians - guitars, saxophone, horns, more keyboards etc. would be added. That's when I came in to play my parts. So I got to see how they developed arrangements from the rhythm section up. Mauro and Davide were a big influence on me. There was however a difference with the recording process today. This era was pre-computers and -sequencers, so a lot of time was taken to make sure every player’s part was locked tight to the groove. One way was to slow down the tape and play the part at a slower tempo, then speed back up to normal afterwards. Finally the backing vocals and the leads were recorded and mixed.
Why were the vocal parts always recorded separately. Isn’t it easier to record music with singers in the studio?
It is standard practice to lay down the track first in this kind of music. Since it was very groove orientated and since the musicians all really have a great musical sense it works. A great musician knows where most things are going to happen. If someone went outside the bounds required, then Mauro or Davide would show us what they needed, based on their knowledge of what the song was. We never heard the vocals, except Mauro or Davide might sing over the track in the control room to make sure it was going to work. They would demonstrate how a part should go and then let you put your own spin on and play it yourself.
Was J.F. Petrus a reliable businessman or a shark?
Shark first, and a very reliable shark at that.
Is it true that you were playing with Change in 1981 already? How come that Petrus picked you for the Change project?
That’s right. In 1981 we were introduced by a friend of mine, Pete Cannarozzi, who was playing with Roberta Flack. He was offered the job but was tied up with her so he recommended me. In 1981 I toured with Change. We were the opening act of Rick James' successful Street Songs tour. I did three world tours with Change and I recorded for the 1982, 1983 and 1984 albums.
Was Jacques Fred Petrus ever present in the studio or was he a full-time office man?
He was there in the studio. Petrus definitely had input into the over all vibe. Mauro and Davide were the detail guys. Mauro led of course but Davide did contribute a lot to every aspect, he was more involved in the making of the rhythmics whereas Mauro used to give his finishing touch. They were a very valuable musician team.
Could you give a description of the mysterious Petrus?
To my knowledge there are no pictures of him. Petrus was born in Guadeloupe. He wasn’t black but dark skinned. The man didn’t have a tall figure but acted tall. Stocky and muscular is my best recollection. He was a very evasive kind of person. He had quite a macho attitude and an intimidating personality. He was all about power... macho was his running theme. Petrus was capable of a good laugh and did have a charming way at times. During lunch breaks he would take us to fancy restaurants that served plenty of great food. There you experienced the gentle side of the man. But he thought highly of himself and he was very passionate. Very direct too. You knew he had the last word, he was the boss. He said to us once: "I AM Change!", which requires no further explanation…
Do you know more about Petrus' assassination?
I heard it was a hit. He must have crossed the wrong guy, underworld/mob kind of thing.($$$$?)
What have you been up to since Change?
Well I’ve kept real busy. I composed, arranged, produced and did session work for a wide range of artists such as Iggy Pop, Sisters Of Mercy, Bonnie Tyler, Cher, Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Take That, Michael Jackson, Michael McDonald, Billy Ocean, Natalie Cole, etcetera. I also toured with artists Nona Hendryx, Herbie Hancock, Jeffrey Osborne, Akiko Yano and Cyndi Lauper. In my studio in New York I try to keep myself on the leading edge of the evolution in synthesizer programming and electronic synthesized instrumentation. In the last few years I‘ve picked up numerous digital instruments and effects generators. I realized that computers and synthesizers are not all separate things. Together with traditional keyboards they're tools for the musicians. The good musicians use the best and most versatile tools available that make the music sound better, and make creativity less encumbered by ‘mechanical’ limitations. I inter-connected computers, mixers, effects and instruments in a practical full rack system. But I keep my older analog gear in my system because I noticed that many producers are asking for acoustic sounds.
Thanks for the interview!
Francis DEPUYDT (2002.08.02)
INTERVIEW WITH MAURO MALAVASI:
I think that together with Jacques Fred Petrus and your mythical label Goody Music you were the first to introduce successfully Italian dancemusic in such a difficult market as the American music market. What are the differences between those times and the recent explosion of Italo house?
The music is more or less the same despite the fact that there are less means available. There’s also more confusion today and record companies are becoming more suspicious toward new artists and new talents. Italo house was born from a lack of means and the triumph of the dance hits of the past with addition of the loop and some other original melodic ideas. Working this way reduces the costs more. If one has the possibility to try out oneself, then this might lead to interesting and intelligent products. Combining all elements to a musical creation surely isn’t easy. If one succeeds in realising a project which lasts 10 minutes, it means that it really is something valuable. It is true that after a first listen Italo house can appear as an amorf kind of music, commercial, without depth as youth would wish. But all things considered, I believe this music can contain more truth and valuable ideas than those big projects realised with astronomical amounts of money. This music is a witness of our time and one can also find a historic meaning in it. There are artists who succeeded in making a respectable product of it, like the project Black Box (album: Dreamland, 1990) who were my companions at the conservatory (Rudy Trevisi, Sauro Malavasi, Raimondo Violi, Roberto Fontalan). I always knew they had talent, they’re well prepared musicians and an intelligent team that works. I’ve always supported them by saying that they should not weaken because sooner or later their time would come. Today they finally found a successful formula.
It has been told that the success of Goody Music was the result of the Italian melody combined with American musicality, a formula suited as well for listening as for dancing. Italo house brought the Italian melody again to the fore in combination with an ascetic sonority, sometimes hard to listen to.
The elements remain the same: if the music is good, the public reacts positively. If the artists work with sense and enthousiasm, the public is prepared to ignore the flaws and deficient sounds. What interests people is the creativity. According to me it’s possible to get more out of the success of Italo house: it should be a stepping stone in sight of new challenges which could be reached by Italian artists if they believed more in themselves. Now however we go to an over saturation in the genre of house to the success of products which are even vulgar and rude. But it is an understandable phenomenon: for dancemusic it was a moment of less success, a bit like in 1982 and 1983. At that time I was in America and I experienced the phenomenon from first hand, it were the record companies who decided that the hour of dancemusic was over and that it was time for a revival of rock, heavy metal and pop. Today we are in a moment which is favourable for dancemusic, the cyclus can start again.
What were the motives that led to the end of Goody Music in the US? One talked about a financial debacle.
I left the states in late 1982. Honestly I had enough of it. I didn’t feel like an American, I couldn’t focus my life on making money. I also missed Italy too much. I’m an ardent nationalist you know and I got just married. On top of that I came in conflict with Jacques Fred Petrus. At that time I was a bit more than 20 years old and I knew very little about the record business. There was actually a financial debacle and when I was aware of this I decided to quit.
With Paolo Gianolio and Davide Romani you formed a very strong and successful team. Why didn’t you continue together. Is it true that there were rivalries among you?
This isn’t true. Davide, Paolo and I, we see each other often and we get on with one another very well. Paolo often works with Celso Valli, Mina and so many others. Davide often works for his own account. What concerns me, besides collaborations with Lucio Dalla I work with Rudy Trevisi.
You are a real musician. Do you think that technology harmed musical creativity?
Instruments like samplers are not necessarely ascetic and cold. On the contrary they can be of great value for the creation process. They are a part of the technological baggage which is available and it would be foolish to neglect. I rather think that technology enlarged the possibilities of expression.
In the days of disco group Change you discovered and launched Luther Vandross who is now a superstar in black music. Do you hear from each other now and then?
We are in optimal contact, so well that Luther included two of my songs on his latest Best Of album. Luther would have loved to work with me but I don’t like to be far away from home for a long time: I’m lazy and I’m scared to travel by plane. In the near future we will work together again. From the moment that I find a song suited for Luther I’ll propose it to him.
Interview by Clay Montana - Appeared in Musica & Dischi magazine (Italy) in 1990, with special thanks to Yves LePage and Patrik B. Andersson. (Translation: Dominique Lannoo, Francis Depuydt)
INTERVIEW WITH PAUL A. SLADE:
How did you get into the music business?
I started playing the guitar at the age of 9 and when I was 13 I formed my first group. When I left school in 1965 I joined The Ray King Soul Band as bass guitarist and backing singer. For the following two years I toured England playing on gigs with big names such as: Ike & Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Cliff, Elton John and Jimmy Hendrix… After playing at “The Revolution Club” in London in 1967 I was offered a recording and management contract and recorded my first solo singles with Decca records. At the same time I started writing my own songs and began playing the 12-string guitar. In 1971 whilst playing in Paris I had the occasion to sign to CBS records. I decided to move to Paris where I recorded my first folk-rock album Life Of A Man that put me on the road to a long international career. A year later my next album Dutchman was released. I also became the top 12-string guitarist in the Parisian recording studios. I spent the best part of the ‘70s/‘80s doing session work in Paris as a guitarist and backing singer and writing and recording film music and TV commercial jingles.
How exactly did Fred Petrus get in touch with you?
In the early '70s the rock band Slade was having a lot of success. There wasn't enough room in England for two artists with the same name. So I got out and moved to France in 1971 and settled in Paris before moving to the countryside some ten years later. During the late ‘70s and early ‘80s all the French artists wanted to sing in English and I was asked to write lyrics for countless artists and often had #1 songs in the French charts. I wrote songs for Jupiter Sunset Band, Dan Perlman, Bimbo Jet, Guy Frasseto, Danyel Gérard, Frank Dana, Jean-Louis D'Onorio (Sunshine On The World), Citizen Gang, Rose Laurens, David & Jonathan, Réjane Perry, Ringo, etc…Fred Petrus had connections within the Parisian disco scene and music publishing world and got in touch with me in 1979 via Marcel Marouani, who owned the publishing company Sugar Music. Marouani produced David & Jonathan at the time. I had just written lyrics for Marcel after having the # 1 hit "I Need A Man" in the USA with Grace Jones. Petrus was looking for hit lyrics. The first songs I did for him were for Change, Macho and the Peter Jacques Band. The first hit was "Is it it", not the best of songs I must say but it was catchy. Then I wrote the lyrics for the Change song “Searching”, my second international hit after Grace Jones. This one was followed up with the even bigger hit song “On The Beat” by the B.B.&Q. Band. More songs would follow like “Starlette”, “Time For Love” and “Keep It Hot” for B.B.&Q. Band; “Your Move”, “Hold Tight”, “Stop For Love”, “Got To Get Up” and “Let’s Go Together” for Change; “Going Dancing Down The Street”, “All Right Let’s Go” and “Drives Me Crazy” for Peter Jacques Band and “Break Up” for High Fashion.
Could you explain how the writing process worked? What was the normal procedure when you wrote songs for Petrus?
The first couple of times that I wrote lyrics for Petrus, he sent me the playback tapes (cassettes) home. Whenever Petrus sent me tapes it was 20 or even more songs at a time and I made lyrics for all of them! Naturally some of my stuff was never published. When you write 20 songs (and I ALWAYS work at the last minute under stress as it stimulates me) some of the lyrics are rubbish, specially when I don't feel the song! But as I didn't have much contact with Petrus he would either get someone else to rewrite the lyrics or to change some of them. He never contacted me to ask me to rewrite anything. This is probably what happened with the songs on the Silence album. I discovered there are songs on it that I am credited for that I don’t know. And I have certainly not signed any contract for them. Probably because Petrus got someone else to add some lyrics on the final recording and in doing so even changed the title of the original song that I wrote. On the tapes that I received someone just sang la la la for the melody. I had carte blanche for all I wanted to write. Nobody else had any say in the matter of lyrics. There are no rules for writing songs. I always tried to write lyrics with double meanings like "On The Beat". In English it means "on the tempo" and also "a policeman on his round". Writing funky lyrics was new for me but I have always worked with coloured musicians ever since the early ‘60s. Their music is natural to me. When I could I would just add my voice on the tape that Fred Petrus sent me, using a Revox tape recorder. But most of the time I just sent the lyrics by post to the USA because the songs weren't in my key for singing. When we did the tracks “All Right Let's Go”, “Drives Me Crazy”, etc. during the autumn of 1984, I wrote the lyrics in Italy while Change and Peter Jacques Band were recording there. When I first met the musicians of Change it was in the studio in Carimate in Italy. When I arrived they were recording, so I just sat down in a corner. I was totally ignored by everyone until Petrus finally introduced me and they all cried out "Hey Man! We thought you were BLACK!". From then on we got on fine. I even sang backing vocals and the lead vocals on several songs of Peter Jacques Band, though my name was never mentioned on any record cover. I just sang the songs in the studio to show the group how I felt them. I didn't know that Petrus was going to release the songs with me as a lead singer!! In fact I only found out about it a few months ago and was very surprised to hear the tracks "Drives Me Crazy", “Don’t Say You’ve Gotta Go” and “Everybody Have A Party” with me singing lead!! Actually when you read about the history of Petrus I am hardly ever mentioned!?! They only talk about the music never the lyrics and who wrote them!
Do you still own some of the original tapes that Petrus sent you?
No idea where these cassettes are! It's so long ago I've lost them, probably threw them away with all my old Revox tapes. I don't keep everything I do, when things are done I move onto something else.
Can you express what you felt when you heard "On The Beat" on the radio for the very first time?
Naturally I was always happy to hear my songs on the radio and in clubs. Just happy. I'm quite a reserved person, I like working on my own and always looking for new ideas. If a song becomes popular, all the better but it's not always the songs I prefer that work, although I do rather like "All Right Let’s Go" "Searching" and "On The Beat".
When did you discover that you were good at writing songs and lyrics? If people proposed you poor music, would you refuse sometimes or was it always a challenge to provide the lyrics?
I first started writing songs back in 1967 when I started a solo career in England. I rarely refused writing lyrics for others because 1) it is never the best songs that work and one never knows what will happen. Grace Jones was the proof. And 2) every song is a new challenge indeed.
How did you feel about working with J.F. Petrus? Did you always deal with him? What kind of a person was he to you?
Honestly, I’ve had, and still have enormous problems with Fred Petrus. He was a thief, a crook, whatever... For the past 25 years I have been trying to recuperate royalties for all the songs that I wrote and since my visit to Italy a couple of weeks ago I found out that Romani and Malavasi and their Italian publisher all have the same problem! So we are teaming up together to take legal action. Petrus was someone totally bad! He had absolutely no respect for anyone he worked with and considered that once anyone had worked for him, all the rights for the songs were his! And so he did whatever he wanted with all the works and pocketed all the royalties. That is without doubt why he was shot by the Mafia. The matter of the lyrics was never discussed with the musicians of Petrus. I never dealt with Malavasi or Romani.
Was Petrus a music producer? Was his creative or musical role in the studio important enough to be called so?
It all depends what your idea of a producer is. I think Petrus just had the lucky gift of putting the right people together to create a commercial product. I honestly never really liked the guy and didn't have a lot of contact with him. For a start he couldn't speak English very well, he spoke French and Italian mostly. Secondly he was just the sort of person that I didn't like. He was big headed and thought a lot of himself. Always talked about "His" groups and always called me "Slade" and not Paul. He even thought that I was having a big success in England but was mixed up with "Sade". I think he just knew a lot of people and had the gift to wrap them up.
How did Petrus fix it to enroll all those outstanding artists, musicians, songwriters? What was his clever trick to make it all happen?
Petrus was like a talent scout. As I said he was always looking for the best to do all the artistic work. I only met him twice. The 1st time was in Paris, I think he was just starting up. The first batch of songs I wrote was: “Counting on love”, “Is it it”, “You Got Me Running” etc.... They were released under the groups Peter Jacques Band and Macho. They were produced in Italy. He was based there with Goody Music and Little Macho Music. That was his first crooked thing I didn't realise at the time. All the contracts were in Italian and only much later did I find out that the contracts didn't stand up and he was in fact selling his publishing rights to himself in the USA and already illegally pocketing huge money from song royalties that he wasn’t untitled to under European law. He was very clever at playing that sort of tricks!
Do you know something about the tragic end of JF Petrus?
I remember meeting Petrus' best friend Claude Ismael just after his death and he told me (and this is the truth): Fred Petrus was found in his bed with three bullets in his head whilst in his home in Guadeloupe. Probably the Mafia as he dealt with them and must have done something wrong!?! I met Claude Ismael a couple of times. He worked for Petrus in his NY office. He also helped run the night club Petrus owned in Le Gosier on Guadeloupe. He wasn't concerned with Petrus's productions but is probably producing his own stuff now in Paris. I remember that he once wanted to produce one of my songs but after being so stung by Petrus himself I didn't want to work with his close friends (I never told him that though).
You wrote for Petrus projects until 1984. You were a close witness of his rise and fall. Any idea why his Italian crew left him and why he wasn't so succesful anymore in the end?
No idea. Petrus was just one of the many people I wrote for. Quite honestly I thought he was a joker in the beginning and was very surprised to find “Is it it” at #1 in the Italian charts when I was on summer holiday there. The following year I was even more surprised that “Searching” by Change was in the English charts.There must be a lot of reasons for his rise and fall. He must have had a lot of enemies around. I was certainly always trying to get him to send contracts to me after working and writing all the lyrics that I did. Once he had his recordings done he was the boss and did whatever he wanted with the works and didn't give a damn about the people who worked for him.
Does a song author (lyricist) share the same amount of royalties as the music composer?
Legally Yes! The normal share is 50% publisher, 25% author and 25% composer. BUT the Italians split it different: 50% publisher, 30% composer and 20% author. Then again for certain royalties it always stays at 50%,25%,25%.
Of which realisations are you particularly proud of?
I rather liked "Searching" and "On the Beat". Otherwise what am I proud of? I guess the answer is nothing! I am an artist and I am never satisfied with all I do. Things can always be better. I think once an artist is satisfied he is finished! One must always try to do better. So I cannot really answer fully this question. All I can say is that I have written lots of songs and played and sang on countless sessions for other artists. I don't remember all of them. In the early ‘70s I spent years in the studios in Paris and played on hundreds of records and I never really kept track of all I did because right from the start I was writing my own material, in my style of music (far from dance music).
How did you actually meet Grace Jones at the time?
As for Grace Jones! I got done over that song too!!! I met Grace in Paris one afternoon when she had just been "discovered". I had already worked with her manager/producer Stephan Tabakov, a zero guy! Actually I was introduced to him because he had asked a couple of my English friends if they could work on his new discovery: Colin Caldwell (sound engineer at Acousti Studios in Paris) and Alain Reeves to do the arrangements. So I agreed to write the lyrics for Tabakov but told him that I needed to meet Grace in order to know what kind of lyrics she needed. When I met her she was only a model and was taking singing lessons (God! Did she sing out of tune!!!). She was trying to put herself up as being an American star but I had worked a lot with West Indians whilst in England in the ‘60s and there was no way she could fool me. She was West Indian origin! Anyway, I said that I would write the lyrics for her and so met Pierre Papadiamandis one day who played me a song that sounded like "Puppet On A String", an old ‘60s song by Sandie Shaw. It sounded (pardon the expression) like shit. After hearing her and meeting Tabakov, my English fiends and I all agreed that it was a joke and a waste of time! The sound engineer asked for an extremely high price for the studio and the arranger did the same. I just forgot it. Then one day, out of the blue I got a telephone call from Tabakov asking if I had done the lyrics. I answered "Yes" he then told me that he needed them that same day, so I said OK. When I put the phone down I hunted for the cassette of the piano version Papadiamandis had given me and quickly wrote the lyrics (took about half an hour at the most) then I jumped on my motorbike and took them to him. I didn't know at the time but three or four well known lyric writers also wrote some words. Mine were chosen and Grace recorded the song, it was released in France and was a complete flop so I forgot about it. Three years later a friend of mine at RCA in Paris telephoned me to ask if I had seen Billboard Magazine. I said no I hadn't. He then told me to go and look at his copy at RCA, so I went to see him. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that "I Need A Man" that I had written was #1 in the U.S. Disco charts!!! And all they had done was remix the song. I never play it to anyone because quite honestly I think it's lousy. As I said, I got done too because what actually happened was that Grace quit her manager in Paris, met up with Tom Moulton in the States who remixed the song and made it a hit. And once again pocketed all the royalties. Yep! I'm not a lucky person concerning producers. The Americans just told Tabakov to get lost as they had done all the hard work and my royalties got lost along with his. BUT I'M STILL TRYING TO TRACE THEM even after so many years now. The good thing was that after having a song at #1 in the USA lots of other people contacted me for lyrics (one was Petrus). Here you go! hard to believe eh? You can spend hours, days, weeks, months even years trying to write what you think is a great song and it won’t work or half an hour to write a lousy, rubbishy hi commercial song and it works! The whole business isn't about Talent, it's about who knows who and MONEY. That's why I got out of it and decided to continue writing my own stuff that I am proud of and even if one or two people listen and think they're good, then I'm happy. That's why I put my songs on the net for free. I'm happy when I make others happy. That's my life.
What are you busy with nowadays? Still composing or writing for others? Still having dreams you want to realise one day?
I’m living in the small village of Saint-Christophe, way out in the country in the centre of France, where for the last two years I’ve been concentrating on writing and recording my own songs in my home-studio. After 40 years of being in show business and all the different music styles I’ve been through, I wanted to get down to some serious writing, lyrics about life, how I experience it. I was busy producing my CD Talking About Freedom. But I do lots of things in fact. I like to do everything myself and I am always thirsty for discovering things. Music is in my blood so I can't let it go but sometimes I go a long time without writing or even touching a guitar. I spend my life searching. I have built two houses alone. I am crazy about trees and nature, I love painting too, I'm always on the go and looking for anything new to discover or create…
Thanks for the interview!
Francis DEPUYDT (2009.03.06)
INTERVIEW WITH HERB SMITH:
Could you tell me something about your musical background?
I grew up in Philadelphia which had a strong local music scene. At the age of 9 I picked up a guitar and started writing songs. I was a natural, I had a musical ear and I was in the right place at the right time, therefore presented with many opportunities. Got to play behind hundreds of singing groups in Philly during the late ‘60s. At the age of 14 I started playing professionally. My first professional recording gig was for Philly group First Choice in 1973 on their album Armed and Extremely Dangerous. I worked with them for 2 years, from 1973 until 1975. I played Apollo and Copacabana in N.Y. with First Choice while still a teenager… even opened for Helen Reddy with First Choice. Then I joined Dexter Wansell’s band in 1976 and played with the group until 1979. Dexter Wansell was an important musician at Gamble & Huff’s legendary Philadelphia International Records label. He wrote, produced and arranged. I played guitar and placed songs through Dexter on Dexter’s own albums as well as on M.F.S.B.. Then through Dexter, I played guitar on many records produced for Philly International artists as well as for other artists including Donny Hathaway, Jean Carne, Billy Paul, Stylistics, Stephanie Mills, Phyllis Hyman, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Miles Jaye, Grover Washington Jr., Lou Rawls, The Jones Girls, Dee Dee Sharp Gamble, Loose Ends, Fatback, ... With regard to Philly International Records, through exposure to all the acts coming through, I was offered gigs as Patti LaBelle’s lead guitarist from 1980 until 2002. In addition to being guitarist, I placed 2 songs on Patti, “Family” and “I Can’t Forget You”.
How did you get involved with projects of Little Macho Music?
Hookup for Change came through Philly artist Kae Williams Jr., a keyboard player with Breakwater. In 1982 Kae Williams Jr. turned me onto Italian-born Philly arranger and producer Giuliano Salerni who drove down from N.Y. to my home studio in Philadelphia and listened to a bunch of songs I had written. Salerni and Williams had worked together on the Hi-Gloss project earlier. Giuliano took 5 or 6 songs back to New York – one of those was “The Very Best In You”. Giuliano passed the songs onto Jacques Fred Petrus. They were working together on a project for Ritchie Family. He seemed to be the executive producer type who made things happen in a business sense. He gave me an unexpected opportunity. Mauro Malavasi was the musician, the music producer. He played piano and arranged. His musicianship was hot. The Italians had their ears to the ground. They were going around to all the major clubs in New York City – including The Cellar and Sweetwater – to snatch up talent. Petrus and Malavasi decided they would do my song “The Very Best In You” on Change. Other songs of mine were placed on the Ritchie Family including “Tonight I Need To Have Your Love” and “You Can Always Count On Me” along with a few others. I played guitar along with Ira Siegel on the Change and Ritchie Family records. Will let you know if I recall the other session musicians’ names.
"The Very Best in You" is one of my favorite Change songs. Can you explain how you created this song together with Malavasi?
Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavasi loved the hook which remained unchanged from how it was originally written. They wanted to keep the melody of the verse, but asked that I rewrite the verse lyrics. The original verse talked about a party…they wanted the verse to be a guy talking about his girl!! So I rewrote the verse lyrics, which they loved. Mauro Malavasi and the musicians chosen to play on the record helped to shape the vibe. They kept what I did, but added the N.Y.-vibe. Several drummers were tried out until they found one guy who locked, with direction from myself. Mauro came up with the intro and the music for the bridge, so he got writer’s credit on the song too.
What do you think about the evolution of black R&B music?
Music progresses as society progresses. Better is not applicable. Music is relevant to the time it lives in. I love R&B from the past as well as from the present.
What are you doing nowadays?
I’m married to Elisa O’Keefe-Smith (an Australian singer/songwriter), and father to Kera, Meme and Bryanna (a budding piano player and guitarist in the making at 10 years old). Currently I’m Musical Director and keyboard player at Courage Christian Center, a non-denominational African Church located in Philadelphia. In addition I have developed my own solo show to custom tracks using ipod, keyboard, guitar and vocals, being booked on a regular basis. So currently I’m gigging about 2-3 times a week in the local Philly area. Two nights a week as a solo act at an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia suburb and regular shows with a band called Soul Patrol consisting of other Philadelphia R&B and jazz musicians. The band covers Soul, Blues, R&B and Jazz genres. I’m always working on new songs for myself and other artists. I plan to release an own CD in September ’09. I’m also working on my wife Elisa O’Keefe-Smith’s CD – planning to release around September also. I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished: music career, family. Proud and honored to have been involved with so many wonderful, talented artists, both playing guitar and songwriting. Proud of having such a well-grounded family...
Thanks for the interview!Already at a young age I came in contact with music. I had the opportunity to accompany my older brother who used to perform at dance halls with his band. Subsequently I began to play the flute and the organ in a group. At the age of fifteen after an audition with Pier Giorgio Farina I found myself catapulted on one of the stages of the renowned Bologna Jazz Festival, where the greatest names in jazz history have performed: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Chet Baker, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald,... After the organ, which I began playing at the age of seven, I discovered the bass guitar at thirteen. One night when I had to do a live gig with my group the bassist didn't show up and I took his bass guitar. This was the first time I played the instrument and I liked it. After that concert I took my friend's bass home and I continued playing and it went really well. That's how I picked up the bass.
How did you get involved with Goody Music Production?
Amongst musicians it was told that in Ferrara there was a young, pretty good bass player: that was me. Singer Marzio Vincenzi got in touch with me and took me to Bologna where he introduced me to Petrus and Malavasi. I would also meet Mauro at the San Remo Festival in 1978. He played the trumpet and I played the bass in the main orchestra, accompanying the artists who were performing. In the studio they asked me to play the bass parts of the song “I’m A Man”. I was only 19 years old then and I had never played disco music before. I enjoyed the hard-driving beat and agressive sound of this disco music, it was a very fascinating experience. They liked my playing and I joined the musician staff of Goody Music Production and I developed my personal bass sound. I collaborated on many projects like Rudy, Change, B.B.&Q. Band, High Fashion et cetera. Mauro Malavasi also persuaded me to compose songs besides playing the bass guitar. So, in 1979, when "The Boss" was in the U.S. preparing new projects, I started composing tracks. I had never written songs before but the results were positive. My first composition was the Change hit “A Lover’s Holiday”, my second “The Glow Of Love”, followed by “Starlette”, “Paradise”, “Hold Tight”, and so on…
Were you influenced by the seductive Chic sound?
I must admit that I was influenced by the sophisticated productions of Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards when I composed songs. Their innovative harmonic solutions in those days appealed me. Their work was incredibly infectious and musically rested upon a solid foundation of Nile's rhythm guitar and Bernard's bass playing. They redefined Disco music. In fact we both used some of the same session vocalists and none of us had problems with this. After the success of the first Change record many artists and producers came to our studio to see us at work. One of those frequent visitors was Nile Rodgers. This was a great pleasure for me. We even simultaneously recorded at Media Sound. Chic recorded in Studio A while we were recording in Studio B. Also Disco producer Giorgio Moroder was impressed and he absolutely wanted me to record for him but unfortunately the musical association didn't happen because of my exclusive agreement with the Goody Music Orchestra.
How can you explain that an Italian is so good at making black dancemusic.
I have no explanation. I’m indeed a white man from a small city called Ferrara. But in my heart I’ve always favoured soul music and other styles related with black music. I had an affinity with black/R&B music since the age of seven. While my friends were listening to the Beatles or the Rolling Stones I was listening to Chicago or Earth Wind & Fire and a bit of fusion like Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius. In Italian music the lyrics predominate over the music. To me music is all about the groove, the vibe. I have never bought any Italian record or CD unless for professional reasons. I feel like an American producer living in Italy, an exception among the Italian producers. Making R&B or soul influenced music has always given me most satisfaction in my musical career.
Could you give a definition of "a groove"? What is it to you?
Groove is a concept of music that becomes very intuitive to experienced musicians, yet is somewhat difficult to completely describe. Basically, every view of what a groove actually is boils down to the rhythmic feel or pattern of a song. Music is mathematics but if every musician would play perfectly there would be no groove. The groove is inside every quarter note’s feel and swing percentage and gives an emotion that the mathematics do not succeed to give. The groove is the emotion that one should seek within every touch. The quarter note is the foundation of the groove. For bass players it is the most important rhythmic subdivision by far, since quarter notes are what make up a walking bass line. A walking bass line is rhythmically very simple -deceptively simple- but like many things that seem simple, playing good quarter notes for a walking bass line is very challenging and it takes many years of playing to do it really well. Musicians often say that the bass line is the heartbeat of the band. Together with the drummer the bassist constitutes the foundation of a band. The bass player is one of the most important elements in the swing equation. If the rest of the band is swinging and the bass player isn’t, the band isn’t swinging. Instead, if most of the band is not quite swinging but the bass is swinging hard, the band is swinging. So, as bassists we have a lot of power over the groove factor and a lot of responsibility too.
During the early eighties you worked with a lot of accomplished American studio musicians like Kashif. Who made the biggest impression on you?
I had the opportunity and satisfaction to work with many American top musicians in New York. I can’t tell you who I preferred because there were too many talented people. But sure Kashif had a very unique musical touch and a very good taste.
What was the usual procedure when you recorded songs?
Before we entered the studio with the other musicians we knew what we wanted. We had the basic track worked out. Usually I prepared everything concerning the compositions and arrangements, except for the lead guitar because I can’t play the guitar, I’m a bass player. Generally the tracks were constructed in Italy. The vocals were recorded and mixed in the U.S. First a small rhythm section would develop the groove, work out the breaks and changes in the song, and then cut the song in one or two complete takes. Thereafter it was my turn to throw in the bass parts. This procedure could last two or three weeks, one track after another.
In 1983 you and Mauro Malavasi broke with producer Jacques Fred Petrus. What happened and why did you never produce black music again in the U.S.?
There was definitely a conflict with Petrus. He didn’t pay me anymore in the end. Petrus was only thinking about making money without recognizing the value of my work as an artist. No appreciation! So I stopped the collaboration and continued my professional carreer in Italy where I was busy working with Italian artists. Of course I regretted the impossibility of going on making black music in the U.S.. Now I realize that I made a big mistake there.
After your bad experience with Fred Petrus, financially speaking, you worked again on projects for his companies in 1984 and 1985: M Like Moon, Island And Holiday, Change, Peter Jacques Band. Why?
Because I'm crazy. But the main reason why I hooked up with Petrus again were his exceptional capacities as a business man. He was the right man in Italy to give my music and creativity an international boost. Without him this would never have worked. That's why he could be so convincing as a business man. He had his finger on the pulse of the dance music marketplace and everybody in the music biz knew that. That's the reason why so many musicians wanted to work for "The Boss": earning good money seemed guaranteed. Fred Petrus did have financial troubles but he wasn't a bad fellow after all. When he wanted to, he could be very charming and joyful in a relaxed environment. A nice person to chat with actually. Careful and happy, I would say. But the money stayed in his pocket...
What do you know about the tragic end of producer Jacques Fred Petrus?
Fred was shot dead at home in his native country Guadeloupe about 1987 I think. He was hit by several bullets. I don't believe the Maffia connection. I think the serious troubles started when he went back to Guadeloupe after tax fraud in America.
What is your opinion about today’s black music and the frequent sampling of music?
Evidently the clock has turned full circle, in the sense that I’m not surprised that the musical trace I left behind has turned up again. My songs have been used by black superstars like Aretha Franklin, R. Kelly and Janet Jackson. For a songwriter this is the ultimate honour. But considering massive sampling in dancemusic today, I think we’re in the front of a new wave of young incompetent producers who don’t know much about making music, except reproducing. Modern sampling technology means that whole sections of old records are being filched wholesale to prop up artists whose talent is dubious. In order to have success you need to have new ideas. The capacity of making music is not enough. Occasionally, something interesting and original is achieved, but mostly the whole thing smacks of creative laziness and musical inexperience. However there are excellent groups with courage that I admire and respect, capable musicians who really perform their music. I think of Incognito, one of the best groups around in the last years. I also adore Latin and Brazilian music as well as acid-jazz and funk. I’m tired of listening to rap CDs only but often it’s the last resource for rhythm. Let’s say that I like the groove but not always the melody.
In 1983 the Italian group Flowchart meticulously cloned the Change sound on their much overlooked album The New Harlem Funk (a.k.a A Little Love A Little Wine). Can you appreciate this?
At many points the concept was indeed similar to Change. The music was recorded by an Italian musician crew at the Umbi Studios in Modena and the vocals were taped in New York with session singers we used to work with like Fonzi Thornton and Mic Murphy. Mic arranged record deals for Petrus in America and even sang backgrounds on The Glow Of Love. Former Goody Music musician Lele Melotti played percussion. Fonzi Thornton was also engaged to pen lyrics for the Flowchart project. He did the same for several Change songs. I was involved in this project as a bass player under the pseudonym of Dav. Mandingos. Flowchart's guitarist and songwriter Romano Trevisani was a friend of mine. I still remember the bass lines I played. I can understand that it was very tempting for Italian producers to follow the successful music formula we had worked out.
Why did you have a pseudonym on the Flowchart album?
I couldn’t use my real name because I was exclusively engaged in Petrus’ company at that time. I was not allowed to play on any other productions but those associated with Freddie's Little Macho Music. I think also Mauro Malavasi played keyboards on a Flowchart remix but you won't find his name anywhere on the record, he too had contractual agreements with Little Macho Music.
Who are your favourite artists?
My first love was Stanley Clarke and I've always liked the music of Chick Corea. My all-time favourite group is Earth, Wind & Fire. A tremendous female singer is Rachelle Ferrell and very nice male voices are Luther Vandross and Michael Bolton. But also a lot of other artists, too many to express a special favourite. At this moment I’m mad about the funky music of the British group Jamiroquai!
Are you still playing funky music today?
I'm not so fond anymore of touring with different artists. I'm doing what I really like now. My passion is Mr. Groove, a music band I formed just for amusement. The group has eleven members among which three vocalists and three background singers. But the nucleus consists of very talented musicians: Nicola Morali on piano, Luca Longhini on guitar, Massimo "Pitona" Zerbini on drums, Annalisa Vassalli on lead vocals and me on bass guitar. We play new-jazz, black music, lounge, music from the seventies and the eighties. And also tracks by Tower Of Power, D'Sound, Sting and Jamiroquai, one of my favourite artists. It’s really fun doing this. No stress!
Can we expect a new Change album in the future?
Yes that’s very possible. I recorded several demo-tapes with new, unpublished material. But I’m still looking for the right lead vocalist.
What are the essential qualities needed to become a good producer and what is your message to all the talented people who want to start a music career?
We live in a very ambiguous world full of dishonest people. I advise musicians to persist, to write and compose songs. Playing music only is not enough unless you are a first class musician. It costs a lot of money to reach your goal but it’s possible in music. If you want to be a winner follow my advice.
Thanks for the interview!
Francis DEPUYDT (2001.12.15) (Translation: Bruna Stefani, Francis Depuydt)
INTERVIEW WITH JEFF BOVA:
During many years you were keyboard player with Change. Could you explain the production methods of Petrus & Malavasi?
The Italians produced, wrote and arranged. If they weren't the writers then they still arranged the songs. Fred would have already approved the song before it was being recorded. Mauro and Davide would lay down the groove first (drums, bass and synthesizer) and then would overdub. Each song would require different approaches but I know they had at least the song blocked out before recording. Mauro and Davide were very organized and precise in the studio. Terry Silverlight was the main drummer they used. He was a real tight player and funky too. After the basic was down, then other musicians - guitars, saxophone, horns, more keyboards etc. would be added. That's when I came in to play my parts. So I got to see how they developed arrangements from the rhythm section up. Mauro and Davide were a big influence on me. There was however a difference with the recording process today. This era was pre-computers and -sequencers, so a lot of time was taken to make sure every player’s part was locked tight to the groove. One way was to slow down the tape and play the part at a slower tempo, then speed back up to normal afterwards. Finally the backing vocals and the leads were recorded and mixed.
Why were the vocal parts always recorded separately. Isn’t it easier to record music with singers in the studio?
It is standard practice to lay down the track first in this kind of music. Since it was very groove orientated and since the musicians all really have a great musical sense it works. A great musician knows where most things are going to happen. If someone went outside the bounds required, then Mauro or Davide would show us what they needed, based on their knowledge of what the song was. We never heard the vocals, except Mauro or Davide might sing over the track in the control room to make sure it was going to work. They would demonstrate how a part should go and then let you put your own spin on and play it yourself.
Was J.F. Petrus a reliable businessman or a shark?
Shark first, and a very reliable shark at that.
Is it true that you were playing with Change in 1981 already? How come that Petrus picked you for the Change project?
That’s right. In 1981 we were introduced by a friend of mine, Pete Cannarozzi, who was playing with Roberta Flack. He was offered the job but was tied up with her so he recommended me. In 1981 I toured with Change. We were the opening act of Rick James' successful Street Songs tour. I did three world tours with Change and I recorded for the 1982, 1983 and 1984 albums.
Was Jacques Fred Petrus ever present in the studio or was he a full-time office man?
He was there in the studio. Petrus definitely had input into the over all vibe. Mauro and Davide were the detail guys. Mauro led of course but Davide did contribute a lot to every aspect, he was more involved in the making of the rhythmics whereas Mauro used to give his finishing touch. They were a very valuable musician team.
Could you give a description of the mysterious Petrus?
To my knowledge there are no pictures of him. Petrus was born in Guadeloupe. He wasn’t black but dark skinned. The man didn’t have a tall figure but acted tall. Stocky and muscular is my best recollection. He was a very evasive kind of person. He had quite a macho attitude and an intimidating personality. He was all about power... macho was his running theme. Petrus was capable of a good laugh and did have a charming way at times. During lunch breaks he would take us to fancy restaurants that served plenty of great food. There you experienced the gentle side of the man. But he thought highly of himself and he was very passionate. Very direct too. You knew he had the last word, he was the boss. He said to us once: "I AM Change!", which requires no further explanation…
Do you know more about Petrus' assassination?
I heard it was a hit. He must have crossed the wrong guy, underworld/mob kind of thing.($$$$?)
What have you been up to since Change?
Well I’ve kept real busy. I composed, arranged, produced and did session work for a wide range of artists such as Iggy Pop, Sisters Of Mercy, Bonnie Tyler, Cher, Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Take That, Michael Jackson, Michael McDonald, Billy Ocean, Natalie Cole, etcetera. I also toured with artists Nona Hendryx, Herbie Hancock, Jeffrey Osborne, Akiko Yano and Cyndi Lauper. In my studio in New York I try to keep myself on the leading edge of the evolution in synthesizer programming and electronic synthesized instrumentation. In the last few years I‘ve picked up numerous digital instruments and effects generators. I realized that computers and synthesizers are not all separate things. Together with traditional keyboards they're tools for the musicians. The good musicians use the best and most versatile tools available that make the music sound better, and make creativity less encumbered by ‘mechanical’ limitations. I inter-connected computers, mixers, effects and instruments in a practical full rack system. But I keep my older analog gear in my system because I noticed that many producers are asking for acoustic sounds.
Thanks for the interview!
Francis DEPUYDT (2002.08.02)
INTERVIEW WITH MAURO MALAVASI:
I think that together with Jacques Fred Petrus and your mythical label Goody Music you were the first to introduce successfully Italian dancemusic in such a difficult market as the American music market. What are the differences between those times and the recent explosion of Italo house?
The music is more or less the same despite the fact that there are less means available. There’s also more confusion today and record companies are becoming more suspicious toward new artists and new talents. Italo house was born from a lack of means and the triumph of the dance hits of the past with addition of the loop and some other original melodic ideas. Working this way reduces the costs more. If one has the possibility to try out oneself, then this might lead to interesting and intelligent products. Combining all elements to a musical creation surely isn’t easy. If one succeeds in realising a project which lasts 10 minutes, it means that it really is something valuable. It is true that after a first listen Italo house can appear as an amorf kind of music, commercial, without depth as youth would wish. But all things considered, I believe this music can contain more truth and valuable ideas than those big projects realised with astronomical amounts of money. This music is a witness of our time and one can also find a historic meaning in it. There are artists who succeeded in making a respectable product of it, like the project Black Box (album: Dreamland, 1990) who were my companions at the conservatory (Rudy Trevisi, Sauro Malavasi, Raimondo Violi, Roberto Fontalan). I always knew they had talent, they’re well prepared musicians and an intelligent team that works. I’ve always supported them by saying that they should not weaken because sooner or later their time would come. Today they finally found a successful formula.
It has been told that the success of Goody Music was the result of the Italian melody combined with American musicality, a formula suited as well for listening as for dancing. Italo house brought the Italian melody again to the fore in combination with an ascetic sonority, sometimes hard to listen to.
The elements remain the same: if the music is good, the public reacts positively. If the artists work with sense and enthousiasm, the public is prepared to ignore the flaws and deficient sounds. What interests people is the creativity. According to me it’s possible to get more out of the success of Italo house: it should be a stepping stone in sight of new challenges which could be reached by Italian artists if they believed more in themselves. Now however we go to an over saturation in the genre of house to the success of products which are even vulgar and rude. But it is an understandable phenomenon: for dancemusic it was a moment of less success, a bit like in 1982 and 1983. At that time I was in America and I experienced the phenomenon from first hand, it were the record companies who decided that the hour of dancemusic was over and that it was time for a revival of rock, heavy metal and pop. Today we are in a moment which is favourable for dancemusic, the cyclus can start again.
What were the motives that led to the end of Goody Music in the US? One talked about a financial debacle.
I left the states in late 1982. Honestly I had enough of it. I didn’t feel like an American, I couldn’t focus my life on making money. I also missed Italy too much. I’m an ardent nationalist you know and I got just married. On top of that I came in conflict with Jacques Fred Petrus. At that time I was a bit more than 20 years old and I knew very little about the record business. There was actually a financial debacle and when I was aware of this I decided to quit.
With Paolo Gianolio and Davide Romani you formed a very strong and successful team. Why didn’t you continue together. Is it true that there were rivalries among you?
This isn’t true. Davide, Paolo and I, we see each other often and we get on with one another very well. Paolo often works with Celso Valli, Mina and so many others. Davide often works for his own account. What concerns me, besides collaborations with Lucio Dalla I work with Rudy Trevisi.
You are a real musician. Do you think that technology harmed musical creativity?
Instruments like samplers are not necessarely ascetic and cold. On the contrary they can be of great value for the creation process. They are a part of the technological baggage which is available and it would be foolish to neglect. I rather think that technology enlarged the possibilities of expression.
In the days of disco group Change you discovered and launched Luther Vandross who is now a superstar in black music. Do you hear from each other now and then?
We are in optimal contact, so well that Luther included two of my songs on his latest Best Of album. Luther would have loved to work with me but I don’t like to be far away from home for a long time: I’m lazy and I’m scared to travel by plane. In the near future we will work together again. From the moment that I find a song suited for Luther I’ll propose it to him.
Interview by Clay Montana - Appeared in Musica & Dischi magazine (Italy) in 1990, with special thanks to Yves LePage and Patrik B. Andersson. (Translation: Dominique Lannoo, Francis Depuydt)
INTERVIEW WITH PAUL A. SLADE:
How did you get into the music business?
I started playing the guitar at the age of 9 and when I was 13 I formed my first group. When I left school in 1965 I joined The Ray King Soul Band as bass guitarist and backing singer. For the following two years I toured England playing on gigs with big names such as: Ike & Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Cliff, Elton John and Jimmy Hendrix… After playing at “The Revolution Club” in London in 1967 I was offered a recording and management contract and recorded my first solo singles with Decca records. At the same time I started writing my own songs and began playing the 12-string guitar. In 1971 whilst playing in Paris I had the occasion to sign to CBS records. I decided to move to Paris where I recorded my first folk-rock album Life Of A Man that put me on the road to a long international career. A year later my next album Dutchman was released. I also became the top 12-string guitarist in the Parisian recording studios. I spent the best part of the ‘70s/‘80s doing session work in Paris as a guitarist and backing singer and writing and recording film music and TV commercial jingles.
How exactly did Fred Petrus get in touch with you?
In the early '70s the rock band Slade was having a lot of success. There wasn't enough room in England for two artists with the same name. So I got out and moved to France in 1971 and settled in Paris before moving to the countryside some ten years later. During the late ‘70s and early ‘80s all the French artists wanted to sing in English and I was asked to write lyrics for countless artists and often had #1 songs in the French charts. I wrote songs for Jupiter Sunset Band, Dan Perlman, Bimbo Jet, Guy Frasseto, Danyel Gérard, Frank Dana, Jean-Louis D'Onorio (Sunshine On The World), Citizen Gang, Rose Laurens, David & Jonathan, Réjane Perry, Ringo, etc…Fred Petrus had connections within the Parisian disco scene and music publishing world and got in touch with me in 1979 via Marcel Marouani, who owned the publishing company Sugar Music. Marouani produced David & Jonathan at the time. I had just written lyrics for Marcel after having the # 1 hit "I Need A Man" in the USA with Grace Jones. Petrus was looking for hit lyrics. The first songs I did for him were for Change, Macho and the Peter Jacques Band. The first hit was "Is it it", not the best of songs I must say but it was catchy. Then I wrote the lyrics for the Change song “Searching”, my second international hit after Grace Jones. This one was followed up with the even bigger hit song “On The Beat” by the B.B.&Q. Band. More songs would follow like “Starlette”, “Time For Love” and “Keep It Hot” for B.B.&Q. Band; “Your Move”, “Hold Tight”, “Stop For Love”, “Got To Get Up” and “Let’s Go Together” for Change; “Going Dancing Down The Street”, “All Right Let’s Go” and “Drives Me Crazy” for Peter Jacques Band and “Break Up” for High Fashion.
Could you explain how the writing process worked? What was the normal procedure when you wrote songs for Petrus?
The first couple of times that I wrote lyrics for Petrus, he sent me the playback tapes (cassettes) home. Whenever Petrus sent me tapes it was 20 or even more songs at a time and I made lyrics for all of them! Naturally some of my stuff was never published. When you write 20 songs (and I ALWAYS work at the last minute under stress as it stimulates me) some of the lyrics are rubbish, specially when I don't feel the song! But as I didn't have much contact with Petrus he would either get someone else to rewrite the lyrics or to change some of them. He never contacted me to ask me to rewrite anything. This is probably what happened with the songs on the Silence album. I discovered there are songs on it that I am credited for that I don’t know. And I have certainly not signed any contract for them. Probably because Petrus got someone else to add some lyrics on the final recording and in doing so even changed the title of the original song that I wrote. On the tapes that I received someone just sang la la la for the melody. I had carte blanche for all I wanted to write. Nobody else had any say in the matter of lyrics. There are no rules for writing songs. I always tried to write lyrics with double meanings like "On The Beat". In English it means "on the tempo" and also "a policeman on his round". Writing funky lyrics was new for me but I have always worked with coloured musicians ever since the early ‘60s. Their music is natural to me. When I could I would just add my voice on the tape that Fred Petrus sent me, using a Revox tape recorder. But most of the time I just sent the lyrics by post to the USA because the songs weren't in my key for singing. When we did the tracks “All Right Let's Go”, “Drives Me Crazy”, etc. during the autumn of 1984, I wrote the lyrics in Italy while Change and Peter Jacques Band were recording there. When I first met the musicians of Change it was in the studio in Carimate in Italy. When I arrived they were recording, so I just sat down in a corner. I was totally ignored by everyone until Petrus finally introduced me and they all cried out "Hey Man! We thought you were BLACK!". From then on we got on fine. I even sang backing vocals and the lead vocals on several songs of Peter Jacques Band, though my name was never mentioned on any record cover. I just sang the songs in the studio to show the group how I felt them. I didn't know that Petrus was going to release the songs with me as a lead singer!! In fact I only found out about it a few months ago and was very surprised to hear the tracks "Drives Me Crazy", “Don’t Say You’ve Gotta Go” and “Everybody Have A Party” with me singing lead!! Actually when you read about the history of Petrus I am hardly ever mentioned!?! They only talk about the music never the lyrics and who wrote them!
Do you still own some of the original tapes that Petrus sent you?
No idea where these cassettes are! It's so long ago I've lost them, probably threw them away with all my old Revox tapes. I don't keep everything I do, when things are done I move onto something else.
Can you express what you felt when you heard "On The Beat" on the radio for the very first time?
Naturally I was always happy to hear my songs on the radio and in clubs. Just happy. I'm quite a reserved person, I like working on my own and always looking for new ideas. If a song becomes popular, all the better but it's not always the songs I prefer that work, although I do rather like "All Right Let’s Go" "Searching" and "On The Beat".
When did you discover that you were good at writing songs and lyrics? If people proposed you poor music, would you refuse sometimes or was it always a challenge to provide the lyrics?
I first started writing songs back in 1967 when I started a solo career in England. I rarely refused writing lyrics for others because 1) it is never the best songs that work and one never knows what will happen. Grace Jones was the proof. And 2) every song is a new challenge indeed.
How did you feel about working with J.F. Petrus? Did you always deal with him? What kind of a person was he to you?
Honestly, I’ve had, and still have enormous problems with Fred Petrus. He was a thief, a crook, whatever... For the past 25 years I have been trying to recuperate royalties for all the songs that I wrote and since my visit to Italy a couple of weeks ago I found out that Romani and Malavasi and their Italian publisher all have the same problem! So we are teaming up together to take legal action. Petrus was someone totally bad! He had absolutely no respect for anyone he worked with and considered that once anyone had worked for him, all the rights for the songs were his! And so he did whatever he wanted with all the works and pocketed all the royalties. That is without doubt why he was shot by the Mafia. The matter of the lyrics was never discussed with the musicians of Petrus. I never dealt with Malavasi or Romani.
Was Petrus a music producer? Was his creative or musical role in the studio important enough to be called so?
It all depends what your idea of a producer is. I think Petrus just had the lucky gift of putting the right people together to create a commercial product. I honestly never really liked the guy and didn't have a lot of contact with him. For a start he couldn't speak English very well, he spoke French and Italian mostly. Secondly he was just the sort of person that I didn't like. He was big headed and thought a lot of himself. Always talked about "His" groups and always called me "Slade" and not Paul. He even thought that I was having a big success in England but was mixed up with "Sade". I think he just knew a lot of people and had the gift to wrap them up.
How did Petrus fix it to enroll all those outstanding artists, musicians, songwriters? What was his clever trick to make it all happen?
Petrus was like a talent scout. As I said he was always looking for the best to do all the artistic work. I only met him twice. The 1st time was in Paris, I think he was just starting up. The first batch of songs I wrote was: “Counting on love”, “Is it it”, “You Got Me Running” etc.... They were released under the groups Peter Jacques Band and Macho. They were produced in Italy. He was based there with Goody Music and Little Macho Music. That was his first crooked thing I didn't realise at the time. All the contracts were in Italian and only much later did I find out that the contracts didn't stand up and he was in fact selling his publishing rights to himself in the USA and already illegally pocketing huge money from song royalties that he wasn’t untitled to under European law. He was very clever at playing that sort of tricks!
Do you know something about the tragic end of JF Petrus?
I remember meeting Petrus' best friend Claude Ismael just after his death and he told me (and this is the truth): Fred Petrus was found in his bed with three bullets in his head whilst in his home in Guadeloupe. Probably the Mafia as he dealt with them and must have done something wrong!?! I met Claude Ismael a couple of times. He worked for Petrus in his NY office. He also helped run the night club Petrus owned in Le Gosier on Guadeloupe. He wasn't concerned with Petrus's productions but is probably producing his own stuff now in Paris. I remember that he once wanted to produce one of my songs but after being so stung by Petrus himself I didn't want to work with his close friends (I never told him that though).
You wrote for Petrus projects until 1984. You were a close witness of his rise and fall. Any idea why his Italian crew left him and why he wasn't so succesful anymore in the end?
No idea. Petrus was just one of the many people I wrote for. Quite honestly I thought he was a joker in the beginning and was very surprised to find “Is it it” at #1 in the Italian charts when I was on summer holiday there. The following year I was even more surprised that “Searching” by Change was in the English charts.There must be a lot of reasons for his rise and fall. He must have had a lot of enemies around. I was certainly always trying to get him to send contracts to me after working and writing all the lyrics that I did. Once he had his recordings done he was the boss and did whatever he wanted with the works and didn't give a damn about the people who worked for him.
Does a song author (lyricist) share the same amount of royalties as the music composer?
Legally Yes! The normal share is 50% publisher, 25% author and 25% composer. BUT the Italians split it different: 50% publisher, 30% composer and 20% author. Then again for certain royalties it always stays at 50%,25%,25%.
Of which realisations are you particularly proud of?
I rather liked "Searching" and "On the Beat". Otherwise what am I proud of? I guess the answer is nothing! I am an artist and I am never satisfied with all I do. Things can always be better. I think once an artist is satisfied he is finished! One must always try to do better. So I cannot really answer fully this question. All I can say is that I have written lots of songs and played and sang on countless sessions for other artists. I don't remember all of them. In the early ‘70s I spent years in the studios in Paris and played on hundreds of records and I never really kept track of all I did because right from the start I was writing my own material, in my style of music (far from dance music).
How did you actually meet Grace Jones at the time?
As for Grace Jones! I got done over that song too!!! I met Grace in Paris one afternoon when she had just been "discovered". I had already worked with her manager/producer Stephan Tabakov, a zero guy! Actually I was introduced to him because he had asked a couple of my English friends if they could work on his new discovery: Colin Caldwell (sound engineer at Acousti Studios in Paris) and Alain Reeves to do the arrangements. So I agreed to write the lyrics for Tabakov but told him that I needed to meet Grace in order to know what kind of lyrics she needed. When I met her she was only a model and was taking singing lessons (God! Did she sing out of tune!!!). She was trying to put herself up as being an American star but I had worked a lot with West Indians whilst in England in the ‘60s and there was no way she could fool me. She was West Indian origin! Anyway, I said that I would write the lyrics for her and so met Pierre Papadiamandis one day who played me a song that sounded like "Puppet On A String", an old ‘60s song by Sandie Shaw. It sounded (pardon the expression) like shit. After hearing her and meeting Tabakov, my English fiends and I all agreed that it was a joke and a waste of time! The sound engineer asked for an extremely high price for the studio and the arranger did the same. I just forgot it. Then one day, out of the blue I got a telephone call from Tabakov asking if I had done the lyrics. I answered "Yes" he then told me that he needed them that same day, so I said OK. When I put the phone down I hunted for the cassette of the piano version Papadiamandis had given me and quickly wrote the lyrics (took about half an hour at the most) then I jumped on my motorbike and took them to him. I didn't know at the time but three or four well known lyric writers also wrote some words. Mine were chosen and Grace recorded the song, it was released in France and was a complete flop so I forgot about it. Three years later a friend of mine at RCA in Paris telephoned me to ask if I had seen Billboard Magazine. I said no I hadn't. He then told me to go and look at his copy at RCA, so I went to see him. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that "I Need A Man" that I had written was #1 in the U.S. Disco charts!!! And all they had done was remix the song. I never play it to anyone because quite honestly I think it's lousy. As I said, I got done too because what actually happened was that Grace quit her manager in Paris, met up with Tom Moulton in the States who remixed the song and made it a hit. And once again pocketed all the royalties. Yep! I'm not a lucky person concerning producers. The Americans just told Tabakov to get lost as they had done all the hard work and my royalties got lost along with his. BUT I'M STILL TRYING TO TRACE THEM even after so many years now. The good thing was that after having a song at #1 in the USA lots of other people contacted me for lyrics (one was Petrus). Here you go! hard to believe eh? You can spend hours, days, weeks, months even years trying to write what you think is a great song and it won’t work or half an hour to write a lousy, rubbishy hi commercial song and it works! The whole business isn't about Talent, it's about who knows who and MONEY. That's why I got out of it and decided to continue writing my own stuff that I am proud of and even if one or two people listen and think they're good, then I'm happy. That's why I put my songs on the net for free. I'm happy when I make others happy. That's my life.
What are you busy with nowadays? Still composing or writing for others? Still having dreams you want to realise one day?
I’m living in the small village of Saint-Christophe, way out in the country in the centre of France, where for the last two years I’ve been concentrating on writing and recording my own songs in my home-studio. After 40 years of being in show business and all the different music styles I’ve been through, I wanted to get down to some serious writing, lyrics about life, how I experience it. I was busy producing my CD Talking About Freedom. But I do lots of things in fact. I like to do everything myself and I am always thirsty for discovering things. Music is in my blood so I can't let it go but sometimes I go a long time without writing or even touching a guitar. I spend my life searching. I have built two houses alone. I am crazy about trees and nature, I love painting too, I'm always on the go and looking for anything new to discover or create…
Thanks for the interview!
Francis DEPUYDT (2009.03.06)
INTERVIEW WITH HERB SMITH:
Could you tell me something about your musical background?
I grew up in Philadelphia which had a strong local music scene. At the age of 9 I picked up a guitar and started writing songs. I was a natural, I had a musical ear and I was in the right place at the right time, therefore presented with many opportunities. Got to play behind hundreds of singing groups in Philly during the late ‘60s. At the age of 14 I started playing professionally. My first professional recording gig was for Philly group First Choice in 1973 on their album Armed and Extremely Dangerous. I worked with them for 2 years, from 1973 until 1975. I played Apollo and Copacabana in N.Y. with First Choice while still a teenager… even opened for Helen Reddy with First Choice. Then I joined Dexter Wansell’s band in 1976 and played with the group until 1979. Dexter Wansell was an important musician at Gamble & Huff’s legendary Philadelphia International Records label. He wrote, produced and arranged. I played guitar and placed songs through Dexter on Dexter’s own albums as well as on M.F.S.B.. Then through Dexter, I played guitar on many records produced for Philly International artists as well as for other artists including Donny Hathaway, Jean Carne, Billy Paul, Stylistics, Stephanie Mills, Phyllis Hyman, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Miles Jaye, Grover Washington Jr., Lou Rawls, The Jones Girls, Dee Dee Sharp Gamble, Loose Ends, Fatback, ... With regard to Philly International Records, through exposure to all the acts coming through, I was offered gigs as Patti LaBelle’s lead guitarist from 1980 until 2002. In addition to being guitarist, I placed 2 songs on Patti, “Family” and “I Can’t Forget You”.
How did you get involved with projects of Little Macho Music?
Hookup for Change came through Philly artist Kae Williams Jr., a keyboard player with Breakwater. In 1982 Kae Williams Jr. turned me onto Italian-born Philly arranger and producer Giuliano Salerni who drove down from N.Y. to my home studio in Philadelphia and listened to a bunch of songs I had written. Salerni and Williams had worked together on the Hi-Gloss project earlier. Giuliano took 5 or 6 songs back to New York – one of those was “The Very Best In You”. Giuliano passed the songs onto Jacques Fred Petrus. They were working together on a project for Ritchie Family. He seemed to be the executive producer type who made things happen in a business sense. He gave me an unexpected opportunity. Mauro Malavasi was the musician, the music producer. He played piano and arranged. His musicianship was hot. The Italians had their ears to the ground. They were going around to all the major clubs in New York City – including The Cellar and Sweetwater – to snatch up talent. Petrus and Malavasi decided they would do my song “The Very Best In You” on Change. Other songs of mine were placed on the Ritchie Family including “Tonight I Need To Have Your Love” and “You Can Always Count On Me” along with a few others. I played guitar along with Ira Siegel on the Change and Ritchie Family records. Will let you know if I recall the other session musicians’ names.
"The Very Best in You" is one of my favorite Change songs. Can you explain how you created this song together with Malavasi?
Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavasi loved the hook which remained unchanged from how it was originally written. They wanted to keep the melody of the verse, but asked that I rewrite the verse lyrics. The original verse talked about a party…they wanted the verse to be a guy talking about his girl!! So I rewrote the verse lyrics, which they loved. Mauro Malavasi and the musicians chosen to play on the record helped to shape the vibe. They kept what I did, but added the N.Y.-vibe. Several drummers were tried out until they found one guy who locked, with direction from myself. Mauro came up with the intro and the music for the bridge, so he got writer’s credit on the song too.
What do you think about the evolution of black R&B music?
Music progresses as society progresses. Better is not applicable. Music is relevant to the time it lives in. I love R&B from the past as well as from the present.
What are you doing nowadays?
I’m married to Elisa O’Keefe-Smith (an Australian singer/songwriter), and father to Kera, Meme and Bryanna (a budding piano player and guitarist in the making at 10 years old). Currently I’m Musical Director and keyboard player at Courage Christian Center, a non-denominational African Church located in Philadelphia. In addition I have developed my own solo show to custom tracks using ipod, keyboard, guitar and vocals, being booked on a regular basis. So currently I’m gigging about 2-3 times a week in the local Philly area. Two nights a week as a solo act at an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia suburb and regular shows with a band called Soul Patrol consisting of other Philadelphia R&B and jazz musicians. The band covers Soul, Blues, R&B and Jazz genres. I’m always working on new songs for myself and other artists. I plan to release an own CD in September ’09. I’m also working on my wife Elisa O’Keefe-Smith’s CD – planning to release around September also. I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished: music career, family. Proud and honored to have been involved with so many wonderful, talented artists, both playing guitar and songwriting. Proud of having such a well-grounded family...
Francis DEPUYDT (2009.03.15)
INTERVIEW WITH JACQUES FRED PETRUS:
When and how did Disco music arrive in Italy?
I could retrace my personal 'evolution' linked to the world of Disco music. When I was a boy I was a record collector. I had all the Rhythm & Blues and Soul records that came out. Some ten years ago I used my musical experience to become a disc-jockey at the 'Good Mood' in Milan. At the time it was a really good discotheque. But then I realised I couldn't be spinning records in clubs for the rest of my life. I started importing Disco records from America, where I had found a specialised company in New York. Initially the quantities were minimal, two packages per week, partly because I lacked the funds to invest. The records were for me personally and a few of my DJ friends. The 'trade' was limited to a few discos (Nepentha, Charly Max ...) and then it expanded. I also began to sell records to a few clubbers who found it snobbish to own records that had just been released in America and that only a few DJs knew about. About six years ago I created a company, 'Goody Music', which was the first to start selling Disco music records exclusively. In Italy there were already two importers, Carù and Ronchini in Parma, but they had never been interested in this genre because it was a difficult domain: you always had to be well informed and know the taste and musical needs of DJs, and then you had to select and import the few good products from a perpetually moving market. The interest of the booming discotheques in this initiative was considerable because DJs no longer had to rely on Italian record companies but could program the same records as the 'mythical' DJs from the USA.
What are the reasons that Disco music is so well received in Italy?
In the beginning Disco was ignored by everyone: by record companies who were sceptical and by young people who preferred the pop/rock genre. Then it became important because the discotheques, and later on the private radios, turned out to be a great promotion for this new dance music. They were the perfect tool for cultural penetration: young people went dancing and listened to this kind of music for hours. Since we knew the record market and also the most effective means of music promotion, we immediately supported the first free radio station in Milan by means of sponsorship of Disco broadcasts. Other stations were born and inspired by those that already existed... so the whole country was flooded with Disco radio shows and the public began to appreciate the music style. The sole purpose of Disco music is providing pure entertainment and this clear message attracted young people who showed less and less interest in the problems of their society. In the lyrics of singer-songwriters and rock bands they talk about things that are of little interest now. When a young person listens to a record or goes to a concert he just wants to have fun and forget about everyday problems.
Why did you shift your focus from importing to producing Disco music?
Even when we were only importing records we already had a professional and 'industrial' approach: from supplying our friends we got to the stage of supplying radio stations and discotheques all over Italy. From one record shop we evolved to a chain of stores. We needed that quantum leap because we want to improve continuously. We used to totally control the market, and then the competition grew. A bit like what happened with jeans. A lot of small jeans manufactories emerged. So the more established ones, which were first, started to produce other garments, using their expertise and fashion fame. Now there is the expansion of imported vinyl and this activity has taken an artisanal turn because it only takes a little money to set up a small shop where you can sell records. But to make the qualitative jump to producing music, certain foundations were required. So we preferred to wait until all the elements satisfied us. We looked for the right musicians, recording and mixing studios, producer and technicians because we didn't want to fail. We weren't interested in a limited national success. We wanted to conquer the international market. And a year ago we set up Goody Music Production and released our first Disco act Macho.
Macho and Peter Jacques Band have established themselves worldwide. How did that happen?
To a certain extent we expected a positive market response. The record “I'm A Man” by the group Macho was definitely the first record product made by Italians with Italian musicians to achieve intercontinental success: it reached number five in the Disco music sales charts in the USA and top spots in Japan, Europe, Brazil and Argentina. We had studied all the elements and had carefully watched Mauro Malavasi, who had shown that he had all the qualities to become one of the most successful producers in the world. But he needed the means and we provided these to him with no expense spared. We went to do the mixing at the best studios in the world for Disco recording, the legendary 'Sigma Sound Studios' in New York City. Fire Night Dance by the Peter Jacques Band was another super success. We wanted to show the international public that our hits were not lucky shots but were the result of a precise and serious record policy. The US record companies were shocked to see two records high in the charts, produced by a small record company. Two hit records made by Italian musicians and coordinated by an Italian producer! They are still sceptical about 'made in Italy' abroad.
In the Disco music market, the time lapse between the release of the record and the start of the eventual chart climb is very important. How did your records perform?
Our two products went straight to the top of the charts. Macho was even an incredible phenomenon: within three weeks of its release it reached number five, while, for example Donna Summer also reached number one, but it took more than twice as long. Peter Jacques Band has so far reached number six. The fact is that the top 20 records are all strong productions, so they shift very slowly on the charts.
What is the working method of Goody Music?
In our recording business we benefit of our experience as record importers who have been in contact with the international Disco scene for years. We know a lot about Disco music and the needs of DJs. Continuous contact with buyers made us understand what people like most: whether it is about melody, words or rhythm. So, we knew what the audience wanted and we realised it. We don't have the attitude of a musician who says: “I want to make a record according to my taste. I have the right ideas and it's the others who don't get it”. You can spend hundred million to make a record. You believe it's a masterpiece, but then the public rejects it because it wasn't made to their taste.
What are the characteristics of a Disco hit?
Nowadays it’s no longer just the beat that guarantees success. The market is constantly developing and an incredible amount of records are coming out. Just think of Billboard that has extended the Disco chart by twenty spots because there are so many hits and in this ocean of releases you have to differentiate yourself. People now want melodies, they want to hear 'nice' things that stick in their heads. They want to be able to whistle along with the tunes they hear in the clubs or on the radio. The audience wants to feel more involved. Now dance productions need more melody than just the four-on-the-floor Disco rhythm because it’s the words and the catchy tunes that are best remembered.
Interview by Sandro Baroni and Nicola Ticozzi (Taken from 'Disco Music', Arcana Ed., 1979)
INTERVIEW WITH MAURO MALAVASI AND DAVIDE ROMANI:
What’s the key to creativity and writing successful music?
Mauro Malavasi:
When you’re writing a song, inspiration can come from anywhere: a closing door, a passerby whistling a tune, a memory. Everything starts from there. Around that idea, that nucleus, you start building things. One thing leads to another. The arrangement is born, and a song and its structure are born. We don’t know much for sure about creativity. It’s just a feeling, an organic process…
Let me explain you something. Important records, in any era, are crossover records. Change’s songs were played not only by black radio stations but by pop radios as well and that’s when you become crossover, like Kool & The Gang or certain songs by Chic. When your music appeals to a wider audience, you become "crossover". You’re not black, not white, not country, not funky. There’s no more marketing, no specific category. The music transcends stylistic pigeonholing and moves to another level. So it happened that Change was played at Paradise Garage, at the Xenon or at Studio 54, but they also played the records in the ghettos of Harlem as well as in the gay clubs in London or Milan. Really…it was crossover, you know. I mean it was no longer white, no longer black, no longer dance…but balancing between all that.
What instigated your career as a disco composer, arranger and producer?
Mauro Malavasi:
The first contact occurred as follows [1976]: a music retailer who dealt with soul and disco –let’s say the late Seventies American black music from that era– had an import shop in Milan named Goody Music. At that time records were not pressed and released in Italy under license as it would happen later on with major labels. American music was American music, meaning it was fabricated in the USA. If Malpena [an airport near Milan] happened to be closed down due to icy conditions, the records wouldn’t arrive! So we had to depend on many things… Anyway, this record seller came to Bologna and I was there because I was studying at the music conservatory. He asked around and finally came to me –I was studying musical arrangements with a conservatory teacher at the time– and explained his idea of producing a disco cover of a rock song: “I would like to make an extended version of this song”. You know, dance records lasted endlessly back then, a side held about 20 minutes of music. That importer was Jacques Fred Petrus. In fact the weird randomness of life led to this. A Bolognese singer named Marzio Vincenzi –he eventually became known as the voice of Macho– was the leader of a dance-hall orchestra. He had the brilliant idea of making a cover of “I’m A Man”, which was a Sixties song by The Spencer Davis Group. So Marzio –this is the exact story– contacted the record importer from Milano. That man also happened to be a DJ and he got interested in Marzio’s proposal and he said: “Why not. I like the idea of a disco remake of “I’m A Man”, a twenty minutes long extended version!”. Remember, Giorgio Moroder did this as well. So, with Marzio’s idea of covering “I’m A Man”, the importer ended up with me and asked if I was interested in this experiment. Coming from a classical background, I wasn't exactly attuned to this style of music. I was into jazz music. Being a trumpet player, I loved listening to black American artists and so on but I had never arranged a dance song before. At the time Cerrone was well known and Fred played all the Cerrone records for me. Then he made me listen to the Bee Gees and to the music of Giorgio Moroder, then to this American song Moroder wrote with Donna Summer. Can’t remember the name but it lasted almost twenty minutes [“Love To Love You Baby”]! In a few words he told me –I remember it very well, it was just like school homework–: “You should create a theme, some variations, then you have to go back and do something else again”. But the whole thing had to last 20 minutes! Marzio Vincenzi came to me. He led that ballroom orchestra, he was used to playing in music halls and discotheques, and said: “Let’s go for it!”. The conversation with Fred Petrus and the enthusiasm of Marzio Vincenzi really set everything rolling. The year 1977 would become my disco laboratory. Macho was in progress and I also wrote several songs for "Marsius", the disco act of Marzio. So the experiment was born. Everything started this way, by chance. I said: “Well, let’s just give it a try.”, without any guarantee of success. And next we headed to the studio and began to come up with ideas for Macho. First the main theme, then some variations, then we added a new section, we added a chorus, a riff… Let’s say, I came up with the structural arrangement, but then I said: “Davide, play some bass, come up with something”.
Davide Romani:
At the beginning –commotion!– Petrus didn’t like it, he preferred a cleaner bass sound –that’s quite typical of him–, while my style of playing back then was more aggressive. I was used to beating the strings to get a harder effect.
Mauro Malavasi:
In those days everything was played on the spot, there was no digital technology available and there were no computers. We created the “I’m A Man” extended version and Marzio, the ballroom singer from Bologna, sang the lead vocals. A small disco label from New York called Prelude Records released it… and it became a success!
Macho was actually a studio only project made of Marzio as lead singer and a couple of backup singers – we played the songs ourselves, but the choruses were sung by American backups. I remember they went to Paris to do the choruses. We even went to America [for the mixing and mastering]. Later, as a result of this success, we began to have our first commissions, and Prelude itself asked us: “Why don’t you do another record?”. So we tried and this way the Peter Jacques Band was born. We got together and started composing by experimenting: we didn’t have a precise concept in mind, we went on instinct. We locked ourselves up in the studio and we made some songs. We invented a new sound. I asked Davide to play the bass. He touched the bass strings like only he can. Also the drums [Lele Melotti] were played in a certain way, with a specific sound. Paolo [Gianolio] with guitar had his own style too. I have mine at the piano. Sax and percussion were played by Rudy [Trevisi]. By putting everything together we created our sound. That sound was our “touch”. We obviously knew the disco hits, we didn’t need to look for them, we could feel them in the air, they were all around. When we were in New York we often went to Studio 54, to Xenon, we often went to all the most relevant clubs where we got to know everybody clearly. “Saturday Night Fever” was in the air, Chic was in the air, the whole disco thing was in the air, it was dance music’s moment. Wherever you went, it was the soundtrack of those times. It was a moment of great excitement and turmoil. Everybody was asking us for records, and we didn’t even know why ourselves! We were full of requests.
The second Macho record wasn’t even made by us. We were too busy making Change and Peter Jacques Band. So I asked Celso Valli: “Lend me a hand because I can’t make three records a year!”. It wasn’t only a matter of production. We also had to arrange and even compose all songs.
How did the Change project come about?
Davide Romani:
Now and then Mauro and Petrus happened to go to America to mix and do the mastering of a new project.
The good thing was that Petrus, to keep the band united, gave us a salary. He paid us 500.000 Liras a month to be at disposal…this was the famous Goody Music Orchestra! So, as we were salaried employees, we were told: “Well then, stay there, do something why we are gone!” And this is how Change was born… I mean, I had never composed anything, I never did anything more than play…
Mauro Malavasi:
I was in New York mixing for the Peter Jacques Band. When I got back in Italy I heard Davide play the killer groove of “A Lover’s Holiday” and I said: “It’s wonderful! It’s very good!”
Davide Romani:
I remember the first time I made him listen to the guitar and piano riff of “The Glow Of Love”. He said: “This is an evergreen hit!”. Mauro then polished it, but let’s say that the first three or four songs I composed were “A Lover’s Holiday”, “The Glow Of Love”, “Paradise” and “Hold Tight”. But no record label wanted the first Change record. Petrus had a hard time having it released.
Mauro Malavasi:
There’s one thing to be said. Major labels at one point said: “No more dance music”, because the market had been saturated by too many disco productions that – to be honest – weren’t even good. We barely had time to enjoy our early successes when the disco crisis hit us. A dark time. People didn't want the Bee Gees and the Village People anymore, they wanted rock music. "Saturday Night Coma", as the media called it in 1979. So during that historical period, when marketing had changed, record executives said: “Definitely no more dance music, let’s go back to R&B, to rock, to country, but let’s tell apart what will be socially sustainable”. So they burnt bridges with disco music. We found ourselves exactly in the middle of that period when we released the Change album. We achieved success with all the other records but were now in a situation where record labels said “It’s dance music, we’re not interested”. The songs from The Glow Of Love were actually soul songs sung by Luther Vandross, they’re not so dance as one may think. In my opinion they sound more soul-pop, they’re in fact songs that stood the test of time because they go beyond “the music that you can dance to” kind of dance music. We reached an impasse, to the point that we found RFC Records, a small Warner distributed label owned by Ray Caviano. It was one of many attempts since the record was at risk of not being released by a major label – back then finding a major label was crucial, as clearly they had the radio stations on their side. But luckily RFC released The Glow Of Love. All the American radio stations played Change right away. And there is to mention the breakthrough, the success of Luther Vandross, nobody knew him… Luther Vandross was born with “The Glow Of Love”, with “Searching”, with the first Change songs. We were very lucky to have such a singer. We discovered him through an audition. Well known singers, famous background singers, all knew each other. In the end the whole circle was very small, the musical matrix was all here in Italy while voices and mixing were in the USA… Telling the truth, we knew that the songs were important.
Davide Romani:
I’ll tell you another story. At the beginning “Searching” was to be released under the Peter Jacques Band [Welcome Back]-monicker, but it sounded better as a Change song rather than a Peter Jacques Band one…
New York City, which was the epicenter of Disco music, became your second home.
Mauro Malavasi:
Let’s say that after the first Change album we moved to America, but our music was still recorded here [in Italy]. From Change onwards we found ourselves working in studios where Nile Rodgers [Chic] was recording in room A while we were in room B. So we chatted and had coffee together all the time. Sometimes he invited us to listen to an instrumental, sometimes he wanted to come in and listen to what we were doing… There was an exotic flair in us, you know. They said “these Italians!”… Just as we are fascinated by Americans, Americans are fascinated by Italians, it’s just a different perspective.
Actually we were writing songs just like an assembly line, before going in the studio and producing them. When we had six songs speaking the same language we made a record. If other songs spoke another language, they would end up on another record. We didn’t actually make records, they were commissions for Capitol-EMI, Atlantic and Warner. I remember we spent three or four years always working in the studio. We basically took care of the musical and artistic part while management and marketing was instead mostly arranged by the American labels or so, depending on needs.
Davide Romani:
Talking about “Paradise”, I have quite copied the melody: I was convinced that the second Change record needed an important single.
Mauro Malavasi:
It was Davide’s idea to play the bass with fingers and drumsticks.
Davide Romani:
That kind of bass line was quite innovative at the time. When high profile American musicians listened to the guitars [Paolo Gianolio] and Rudy’s sax [Rudy Trevisi], they were quite amazed of their talent.
The first time we were in an American studio, the technicians forbid us to touch any equipment. It happened that they made mistakes, while we were very knowledgeable instead. But after the success of the first Change album, they started letting us do whatever we wanted…obviously!
Why did you never become a member of Change Davide?
I was asked if I wanted to join the Change band as the bass player, because we had created the band. Change toured the US with the Kool & The Gang management. But there were often evenings 30 hours away by bus. I had just married and had a small child, so I could not do this as well… I chose to be in charge of the records.
Were American acts ever interested in collaborating with you?
Mauro Malavasi:
There were talks in 1980 to produce a record for the finally aborted act Renegade, which were former sidemen of George Clinton and his P-Funk collective. I remember that we were also asked to produce The Reddings, the band of Otis Redding’s sons. But I was tired: you can’t work non-stop for a six or seven years-long period. We spent five or six years in the studio working almost constantly. We had to create a song a month and I mean do it, write it, conceive it, arrange it and finally record the song. Moreover with the pressure of people who are always asking for more and more, they just wouldn’t stop. The market is ruthless…!
How did Disco’s decline affect you?
Mauro Malavasi:
When disco music ended, if you think about it, it ended at a social level as well. We started to say: “We have to go beyond dance, we need to experiment.” So we created Zinc, we added more things like pop. We produced High Fashion and got closer to soul. Change became more funk/R&B. Experiments were sometimes successful, sometimes not. But we had to get elsewhere, in territories far from dance music. The production aim was no longer making people dance, because the whole music industry and marketing world was rejecting that sound. They preferred White Rock Music.
Could you tell something about the conflict with manager Petrus?
Mauro Malavasi:
Years go by, you keep on making successful records. But at some point there’s a breach of trust. We started asking for something more than just a “salary”. We sold millions of records and I said “It’s not right that we are treated just like Motown session men during the Sixties.” We were making music because we liked it. We weren’t thinking about the business side of it. He [Jacques Fred Petrus] was in charge of it. After years of such big successes we weren’t earning anything. We told each other: “This manager [Petrus] is using us and he doesn’t pay us as much as he should”. We quite conflicted with this, we weren’t seeing the results of our own work. This caused problems. There were many deadlocks as well. I began to put less energy in my job. Before that, we were totally involved in our records. We tried to conceive and make them. Later on, other influences came into play as we started to have serious logistical problems with Petrus.
We were not rewarded, in any sense. Petrus was living to the fullest while we were constantly working in the studio. We started to be in conflict with our business partner, but unfortunately we never put our money where our mouths were.
I met Lucio Dalla in New York [1983]. He came looking for me in the studio one night. From here on I began to receive new commissions from other parties. So I thought: “Let’s put dance music aside for a while…” It had been a very busy period, I started thinking about creating something different. I missed Italy very much and I got back very happily after five-six years of hard work.
SOURCES
- The Best Of Soul, Ralph Tee (Carlton Books, 1993)
- Soul Music A-Z, Hugh Gregory (Blandford, 1991)
- Billboard Newspaper
- Blues & Soul Magazine
- Cash Box Magazine, July 12, 1980
- Fare Musica Magazine, N° 76/77 Luglio/Agosto, 1987
- Boy Music Magazine N° 22, 1980
- Record World Magazine, April 5, 1980
- Albo Varietà-Motori Magazine N° 24, 1980
- Disco Music, Sandro Baroni & Nicola Ticozzi (Arcana Ed., 1979)
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Black Music, Various Editors (Salamander Books, 1982)
- Who’s Who In Soul Music, Ralph Tee (Weidenfeld And Nicolson, 1991)
- Top R&B Singles 1942-1995, Joel Whitburn (Record Research/Billboard, 1996)
- The Encyclopedia Of Popular Music Vol. 2, Colin Larkin (Macmillan, 1998)
- The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul, Colin Larkin (Virgin Publishing, 1998)
- Saturday Night Forever - The Story Of Disco, Alan Jones & Jussi Kantonen (Mainstream Pub., 2000)
- All Music Guide To Soul, Various Editors (Backbeat Books, 2003)
- Looking for Leroy: Illegible Black Masculinities, Mark Anthony Neal (New York University Press, 2013)
- First Ladies Of Disco - 32 Stars Discuss the Era and Their Singing Careers, James Arena (McFarland Pub., 2013)
- To Disco With Love - The Records That Defined An Era, David Hamsley (Flatiron Books, 2015)
- The History Of Italo Disco, Francesco Cataldo Verrina (Kriterius Ed., 2015)
- Journal Historial N° 5 Juin-Juillet 2019, Eddie Marajo (Schoelcher Pub., 2019)
- La storia Della Disco Music, Andrea Angeli Bufalini & Giovanni Savastano (Hoepli Ed., 2019)
- Italo Disco: History of Dance Music in Italy from 1975 to 1988, Raff Todesco (Etabeta/Nuova Ed., 2020)
- Global Dance Cultures in the 1970s and 1980s: Disco Heterotopias, Flora Pitrolo & Marko Zubak (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022)
- Hot Summer Jams: Pop Songs That Bring Out The Sun, 1975 Throug 2005, James Arena (BookBaby Pub., 2022)
- Liner notes by George Nazar, CD The Very Best Of Change (Rhino, 1998)
- Liner notes by Jon-Andre Holley, CD Change - Club Classics (Sound And Media, 1997)
- Liner Notes by David Cole, CD High Fashion - Feelin' Lucky (EMI-Capitol, 2004)
- Liner Notes by Greg Burgess, CD The Brooklyn Bronx & Queens Band (EMI-Capitol, 2004)
- Liner Notes by Gail Mitchell, CD Change: Miracles / Change Of Heart (Spy, 2002)
- Liner Notes by Stefano Colombo, 2CD The Best Of Change (Warner Music Italia, 2003)
- Liner Notes by Stefano Colombo, 2CD Disco Connection-The Great Disco '70/'80 (Fonte, 2004)
- Liner Notes by Stefano Colombo, 2CD Change - The Final Collection (Fonte, 2007)
- Liner Notes by Rico "Superbizzee" Washington, CD Change - Sharing Your Love (BBR, 2011)
- Liner Notes by Rico "Superbizzee" Washington, CD Change - This Is Your Time (BBR, 2011)
- Liner Notes by Rico "Superbizzee" Washington, CD Change - Change Of Heart (BBR, 2011)
- Liner Notes by Rico "Superbizzee" Washington, CD Change - Turn On Your Radio (BBR, 2011)
- Liner Notes by Christian John Wikane, CD Change - Reach For The Sky - Anthology (Groove Line Records, 2015)
- All Music: http://www.allmusic.com/
- Artist Direct: http://www.artistdirect.com/
- Disco-funk: http://www.disco-funk.co.uk/
- Jacques Fred Petrus: http://www.jacquespetrus.com
- The Power Of Funky: http://members.tripod.com/~funkymusic/
- Soulwalking: http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/
- Little Macho Music, A Fan Project For Jacques Fred Petrus: http://littlemacho.tripod.com/
- Vinyl Masterpiece: http://www.vinyl-masterpiece.com/
- Davide Romani: http://web.tiscali.it/aaamusicians/iscritti/029.htm
- Goody Music Catalogue: http://www.xs4all.nl/~halco1/mur/090800/goodycat.html
- Goody Music: http://www.xs4all.nl/~halco1/mur/090800/goody.html
- Disco-Disco: http://www.disco-disco.com/index.shtml
Davide Romani, Luis Mario O. Rizzo - CEO Legends Of Vinyl and Mauro Malavasi in Bologna
Paolo Gianolio
Davide Romani (bass) and Paolo Gianolio (guitar) supporting Italian star Lucio Dalla during RAI TV show (1978).
(photo: P. Gianolio)
(photo: P. Gianolio)
Peter Jacques Band 1980
Funk band 'Der Kinky Foxx' incl. Timmy Allen, Johnny Kemp Jr. and Kevin Robinson
Mauro Malavasi, Gino Woody Bianchi, Davide Romani
Cashbox Magazine July 4, 1981
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Michiel van der Kuij, Bobby Douglas, Patrik B. Andersson, Marcel van den Belt aka Marcello d'Azzurro, Toru Matsumoto, Sandro Comini, Yves Saïd Le Page, Pascal Lemaire aka Skalp, Ray Caviano, Maarten L. Albarda, Steve Bogen, Claude Petrus, The Freestyle Crew, Davide Romani, Jeff Bova, Terry Silverlight, Mic Murphy, Masaru Nakajima, Goda Kazuhiko, Timmy Allen, Herb Smith, Stéphane Bossé, Franco Donato, Widjay Koemar Ramharakh, Philippe Pampouneau, Stefano Colombo, Kevin Robinson, Michael H. Brauer, Thierry Boulanger, Ben Belhacel, Andreas Hellingh, Eddy Boessen, Claes "Discoguy" Widlund, Paris Ford, Luca Orioli, Paul Slade, Per Åkesson, Gerald Jacques, Vincent Captain Funk, Michael Bijaoui and CrashComfort.
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