Rosa Korbet ‎– Love On The Run (1989)

Here is another Canadian Hi-NRG production by a man who has appeared quite a bit on Lost Pop Treasures, Vincent Degiorgio.  It has an upbeat pop vocal with a lot of percussion.  As for Rosa Korbet, I know nothing about her other than that she appeared in a small role in a movie called Fireballs, and this was her only single.  I remember seeing her perform this on the local Toronto dance show Electric Circus, and think I might have that performance on video somewhere.  Maybe once day I'll post it on Youtube.  Till then, enjoy!


Download Love On The Run

1	Love On The Run (The Bombshell Mix)
2	Love On The Run (The Bombshell Edit)
3	Love On The Run (The Rrrrremix)
4	Love On The Run (The Dubbage Mix)

Never...But Always - Tonight (Love Is Gonna Change You) (1988)

Well, it took awhile, but I'm back again with a few gems (thanks to Jeremy Kay for putting fire under my ass. LOL).  The first is a synthpop Hi-NRG number by the Canadian duo of brothers Steve & Kevin Dafoe, with some early assistance by Massimo Rosati.  Rosati was a prolific producer of Hi-NRG songs in Canada in the 1980s.  As Never...But Always (formerly known, interestingly, as En Vogue), the duo released three singles: "Never Enough" in 1986, this track in 1988, and "Too Good To Be True" in 1990.  This track was produced by Vincent Degiorgio, who worked with many other acts posted on this blog and the Isle blog, including Kim Esty, Eria Fachin, Fire & Ice, Patrick L. Myles, Pressure Point, Karen Silver and Fausta Monaco. The version of "Tonight" I'm posting was remixed by Barry Harris, then one half of synthpop duo Kon Kan, and later better known a remixer Thunderpuss.  "Tonight" sounds a lot like a Kon Kan song, and is reminiscent of similar synth boy duos of the time like Bros or Blue Mercedes.  It's an amazing dance song.  Enjoy!

Download Tonight (Love Is Gonna Change You)

1		Tonight (Love Is Gonna Change You) (The Barry Harris Remix)
2		Tonight (Love Is Gonna Change You) (The Edit)
3		Tonight (Love Is Gonna Change You) (Music For Your Feet Mix)

Hi-Tyme - Fly Robin Fly (1987)

It's been awhile, I know, but I'm back with a few more gems. First up is this remake of the 1975 Silver Convention disco classic. It was released on Canada's Sizzle Records as a double A side with Natasha's freestyle song "Be Gentle With My Heart". Like that track, I suspect it was produced by the man behind most of Sizzle Records' releases, Teneen Ali (see previous post on Shari), though production is credited to the 'Sizzle Connection'. It is basically a straight-forward remake, with a little less disco and a little more synth.

Download Fly Robin Fly

1

Fly Robin Fly (Club Mix)

Shari - Sugar Sugar (1987)

Thanks to a request from Jeff on Facebook, I offer you Shari's "Sugar Sugar". Shari, like previous postee Yasmine, is a one-named mystery girl who was produced by Canadian Hi-NRG and freestyle producer Teneen Ali. Also like Yasmine, Shari's single is a Hi-NRG remake, this time of The Archies classic. Unlike Yasmine, Shari did record at least one other single, the better known freestyle song "Stop If You Want My Lovin'", also produced by Teneen Ali, which you can download at Freestyle Rebirth. Thanks for the request, Jeff!

Download Sugar Sugar

1		Sugar Sugar
2		Sugar Sugar (Radio Mix)

Sonia Papp - Undercover Lover (1988)

Here is our next Canadian dance diva, Quebec's Sonia Papp. There is very little info available on this little lady, even though she released three albums in 1990s - the first two, in 1990 and 1993, (with the spelling of her first name chanced to Sonya) very dancey pop albums, and the last, in 1993, much more pop rock. I have all three albums and plan on featuring them on The Isle Of Deserted Pop Stars in the future, so I'll leave the details to a minimum here. Suffice it to say, this was her first single, a Hi-NRG number with a light house touch that remains her best known song. It was produced by John Farley, who also worked on Pobi's "Dance With Me", also featured here, and later with Nancy Martinez. Enjoy!

Download Undercover Lover

1		Undercover Lover (Dance Mix)
2		Undercover Lover (Power 45)
3		Undercover Lover (Dub Mix)

Exception - Jump With It (1986)

This is another of those imports that I picked up from a dollar bin back in the day. I know nothing about Exception other than that the song was written and produced by British production trio Jolley/Harris/Jolley, who would later go on to release their own songs under monikers like Spider, Circuit and Mann. (Perhaps this was just another moniker.) They had their greatest success many years after this as trippy soul act Innocence, which was fronted by Isle Of Deserted Pop Stars featured artist, Gee Morris. This is one of their earliest works, and is clearly made to sound like a Stock, Aitken and Waterman song, especially something by Mel & Kim. It was even released on Mel & Kim's SAW based label, Supreme (that's SAW act Princess' hand you see on the sleeve). One other song was released by Exception, "Slap You Back", which appeared on the Mona Lisa soundtrack the same year, and it's unsurprisingly reminiscent of something by Princess.

Download Jump With It

1		Jump With It (High St. Mix)
2		Jump With It (7" Radio Version)
3		Jump With It (The Camden Dub Mix)

Yasmine - Toda La Vida (1987)

Another mystery artist, this track by Yasmine came out on Canadian label Sizzle and was produced by Canadian Hi-NRG and freestyle maestro Teneen Ali, probably best known for his work with Nancy Martinez. It is an English, Hi-NRG remake of the Italian song "Tutta La Vita" originally recorded by Lucio Dalla in 1984, and then remade in Spanish in 1986 as "Toda La Vida" by two artists, Franco and Emmanuel. In fact, Emmanuel's version replaced Franco's version on top of Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks chart. I believe that this is Yasmine's only release.

Download Toda La Vida

1		Toda La Vida (Coco Loco Mix)
2		Toda La Vida (Radio Mix)

Fire & Ice - Try A Little Harder (1988)

This was the second HiNRG single by Fire & Ice. This time vocal duties were done by Joanne Perica, also formerly from Canadian disco group Harlow. Joanne released some solo material in the 80's as Joanne Perry, and currently still works in the music industry. Check out her Myspace page.





Download Try A Little Harder

1		Try A Little Harder (Leona's Penthouse Mix)
2		Try A Little Harder (Split Level Edit)
3		Try A Little Harder (Pop Goes The Club Mix)
4		Try A Little Harder (Instrumental-Popped)

Fire And Ice - Danger (1987)

Fire And Ice was one of the many monikers that Canadian HiNRG king Vincent Degiorgio used to release his numerous HiNRG tracks. This track is an almost exact remake of The Flirts' hit. The vocals are by Linda Hanchar, formerly of the Canadian disco group Harlow. While the vocals are better than The Flirts' version, I feel this version lacks the pep that the Flirts gave the song.



Download Danger

1		Danger
2		Danger (Instrumental)

Patrick L. Myles - I Want You Back (1988)

Patrick L. Myles was a Canadian singer who had a big HiNRG hit with "My Heart's On Fire". I believe that this was his only other single, a HiNRG/house hybrid that I saw him perform on Electric Circus. Sadly, I heard that he died from AIDS complications awhile after this was released. (Unfortunately I had to leave the 12" Extended Club Mix / R & B Gettin' Bothered Mix off because it skipped, but these mixes should satisfy. ;)



Download I Want You Back

1		I Want You Back (7" Radio Mix - Funk & Laid Back Mix)
2		I Want You Back (12" Extended Jack Mix - Berserk Mix)

Bubbles - The More I See You (1987)

Another Canadian single that I have no info on other than it was produced by Richard Buck, who has worked with other Canadian dance acts like Lime, Nancy Martinez and Trans-X. It is a hi-NRG remake of the song made famous first in 1945 by Dick Haymes and again in 1966 by Chris Montez, though it is most similar to the version by French artist Valli released a year earlier.



Download The More I See You

1		The More I See You
2		The More I See You (Edit)
3		Wanna Get To Know You Well

Kumari - Shake / Watch Out (1987)

Here's another Canadian rarity from 1987. According to the press release included with this, Kumari grew up in England and got her art degree, then hooked up with her brother Seri to make music. They moved to Canada to pursue a music career, making "a blend of British and American R&B sounds performed at a Techno pop level". I remember the video for "Shake" was played quite a bit on Canadian TV. Apparently only one other single and video, "Rock Your Baby", was released.


Download Shake / Watch Out

1

Shake (Dance Mix)

2		Watch Out (Radio Mix)
3		Watch Out (Dance Mix)

Starla - Bad News (1987)

Here is another Canadian mystery artist. I have absolutely no info on this artist or track other than that it was released on a Canadian label, and that it is a sort of Madonna-esque song with a very heavily accented vocal. The same track appeared on both sides of the 7" so I'm just posting one side.





Download Bad News

1

Bad News

Tina K. - Talk To Me (1987)

Here is another mystery artist from Canada. This Hi-NRG (and vaguely freestyle) track was written and produced by John Brenner, who worked out of Montreal and produced many Hi-NRG and disco songs throughout the 1980s. He also worked with Tina K. on her only other single, 1987's "All I Wanna Do (Is Make Love To You)", which is NOT a version of the Heart hit. It was released on the very indie Dance Plant label.

UPDATE:  No longer a mystery!  Tina K.'s real name is Tiziana Kutic. She was born in Montreal. She was part of the group Mannequin with Brenner, and they released "Boom Bam" in 1987. She also released the track "Heart In Two" in 1988.  In 1990 she moved to Belgium and in 1991 released the house track "Seduce Me" as Tiziana, and then released three eurohouse tracks in 1994 as Kontesa, "Skies Are Blue" and "Does Anybody Love This Girl?" backed with the awesome B-side "Kiss Me Deep".  She then moved to New York and worked with composer David Shea, whom she later married. She has continued to be active in the music scene in New York.  Who knew?  And Dance Plant Records is also still going strong, and has remastered, remixed and rereleased all three Tina K. singles.

Live Performance

Download Talk To Me

1		Talk To Me
2		Talk To Me (Instrumental)
3		Talk To Me (Radio Version)

Liz Lausanne - Dancin' On The Island (1988)

I don't know anything about Liz Lausanne except that she is Canadian and did back-up vocals for several Canadian acts. I suspect that she is now a country singer known as Violet Ray, thanks to an upload on Youtube. And I did see her perform this song on the dance show Electric Circus. Whatever the case, this is a tropical dance track with Latin and Carribean flavour. It was remixed by the crew who worked on the Lois And Lane track I posted a few days ago - K-Bros and Earl Torno.


Download Dancin' On The Island

1		Dancin' On The Island (Remix)
2		Dancin' On The Island (Dub)

Lois And Lane - Turn On The Night (1987)

Lois And Lane are a mystery group from Canada that released this one track, though a remix 12" was also issued with the extra track "Keep It Up" (both 12"s are included here). The original version of "Turn On The Night" is an awesome, overlooked electro freestyle jam, one of my faves of all time. The remix release included a slightly altered, extended version and a house mix, but the revelation is "Keep It Up", another solid freestyle track. The songs are produced by the K-Bros, a prolific Canadian 80s house and HiNRG team.

UPDATE: Excitingly, Yo Vanderkley, one half of Lois & Lane, wrote to clear things up!  Here's what she had to say:

"Actually, Turn on the Night was recorded in Toronto. The beautiful lead vocal on this track was sung by Linda Hanchar and I sang back up vocals. We were Lois and Lane. I was also Crystal in The Pink (Back to You) and Boiling Point (Starstruck Lover). Linda has also been featured on multiple records and many were recorded at Kensington Sound Studio (including the two Fire And Ice singles also posted here.  Linda and Yo were also in the successful disco group Harlow. - Nasty G) Nice to know these recordings are still being enjoyed! Yo Vanderkley http://musicbyyo.com"

Download Turn On The Night

1		Turn On The Night (Dance Mix)
2		Turn On The Night (Instrumental)
3		Turn On The Night (Radio Mix)

4		Turn On The Night (Dance Remix)
5		Turn On The Night (House Mix)
6		Keep It Up

Girls Talkin' - Girls Talkin' (1989)

So, I finally got a USB turntable and can now rip vinyl to MP3, which is what I originally intended this blog to be about. Yay! So I thought I'd start with one of my fave obscurities, the trio Girls Talkin' and their self-titled song. It's an electro-hiNRG-house-pop song, and though I haven't the vaguest clue as to who they are (though the record sleeve give clues that they are the Mills sisters from the UK and an album was planned - though nothing else was ever released as Girls Talkin', they did release another song called "Be Fair" as Rhythm Reign.), I have always adored the club mix of this track.

Download Girls Talkin'

1		Girls Talkin' (We're Talkin' Club Mix)
2		Girls Talkin' (Radio Mix)
3		Didn't Choose Love

Pleasure Beat Featuring J Cock - First Time (1996)

This is a eurohouse remake of the 1988 rock ballad by Robin Beck, made popular thanks to it's appearance in a Coca Cola commercial. Pleasure Beat is basically Canadian Brad Daymond of Love Inc and J Cock, who is better known as Sheree Jeacocke, or just Sheree OR Jeacocke (I will feature her solo work, which includes two albums and an EP, on the Isle in the future). Another dance remake of the song was also a hit for Sunblock a few years ago. The only other track released under the Pleasure Beat moniker was their eurohouse remake of Alanis Morissette's "Hand In My Pocket".

Download First Time

1		First Time (Pleasure Beat Original Club Mix)
2		First Time (Pleasure Beat Original Radio Mix)
3		First Time (Frankfurt Extended Mix)
4		First Time (Frankfurt Radio Edit)

Solina - Show Me Love Tonight (1995)

Here are remixes of one of Solina's many releases from her Body And Soul album, which is available on the Isle. It includes a Megamix that mixes this song with I Wanna Know.







Download Show Me Love Tonight

1		Show Me Love Tonight (Radio Premier Mix)
2		Show Me Love Tonight (Original Mix)
3		Show Me Love Tonight (Basement Mix)
4		Show Me Love Tonight (Mi-Ro Mix)
5		Show Me Love Tonight (Club Mix)
6		Megamix

Papaya - Hero (1998)

Papaya (aka Miss Papaya) was a project headed by Danish singer Linnéa Handberg meant to capitalize on the bubblegum pop craze started by Aqua. This single was picked up for the US by Madonna's label Maverick at her daughter Lourdes' suggestion. It was not a hit and this was the only single released in the US, though an album, Pink, and a few more singles had limited release in Scandanavia and Japan. Handberg soon abandoned the project and embarked on a more mainstream pop career in Scandanavia using her real name.

Here is the video.

Download Hero

1		Hero (Album Version)
2		Hero (Kai Matthiesen Extended Mix)
3		Hero (Spike Club Mix)
4		Hero (Extended Version)
5		Hero (Kai Matthiesen Mix)
6		Hero (JoyWorx Hi Octane Club Mix)
7		Hero (Spike Dub)
8		Hero (Hero Beats)
9		Hero (Shake-A-Pella)