376 Hello The Gap Band - Oops Up Side Your Head

Chart  entered : 12  July  1980

Chart  peak : 6 ( 20  in  a  re-mix  in  1987, 16  with  DJ  Casper  in  2004 )

Number  of  hits : 12

This  lot  were  no  overnight  sensations  either  but  they  made  their  mark  with  a  record  that  gave  rise  to  a  football  chant  and  is  still  a  reliable  floor  filler  35  years  later.

The  Gap  Band  were  a  trio  of  brothers  from  Tulsa, Oklahoma. The  eldest  brother  Ronnie   Wilson , who  played  trumpet  and  keyboards, got  the  ball  rolling  by  forming  the  Greenwood  Archer  and  Pine  Band  in  1967, named  after  three  streets  in  Tulsa.  In  1972  his  younger  brother  Charlie  joined  as  lead  vocalist  and  keyboard  player. He  was  followed  a  year  later  by  the  youngest  brother  Robert  on  bass. With  the  trio  in  place  the  other  members  were  relegated  to  sidemen  with  only  the  brothers  counting  as  full  members.

Their  first  recording  contract  was  a  long  time  in  coming. In  1974  they  signed  with  local  label  Shelter  and  released  their  first  single  "Backbone".  A   busy  funk  number  celebrating   womanhood, it  owes  a  lot  to  Stevie  Wonder. The  album  "Magician's  Holiday"  followed, a  sturdy  enough  collection  of  Earth  Wind  and  Fire / Commodores  funk   written  by  Charlie  and  producer  Buddy  Jones  with  one  or  two  instrumentals  and  ballads, but  not  distinctive  enough  to  break  them  out  of  Oklahoma, The  opening  track  "I  Yike  It "  was  the  following  single ,  a  funky  jam  rather  than  a  song  with  some  jazzy  clavinet  work.

They  went  under  the  radar  until  1977  when  they  re-emerged  with  a  self-titled  second  album   on  Tattoo  Records.  Stevie  Wonder  is  an  even  more  prominent  influence  particularly  on  the  lead  single  "Out  of  the  Blue  ( Can  You  Feel It ) "   which  gave  them  a  first  showing  in  the  R &  B  chart  and  "Hang  On ( To  Yourself )"  which  features  Chaka  Khan  on  backing  vocals. The  least  typical  track  , a  reggae  version  of  Free's  "Give  A  Little  Love"  was  given  a  run  out  as  the  second  single  but  didn't  have  any   more  impact.

The  Gap  Band  first  started  making  waves  when  they  teamed  up  with  nightclub  owner  and  producer  Lonnie  Simmons  who  arranged  a  new  deal  with  Mercury. They  released  their  third  album  also  called  confusingly  "The  Gap  Band"  early  in  1979  and  appeared  on  Soul  Train  performing   lead  single   "Shake"  which  showcased a  light  funk  style  closer  to  Kool  and  the  Gang. The  follow-up  "Open  Up  Your  Mind  ( Wide  ) "  sounds  more  like  Earth  Wind  And  Fire  but  doesn't  really  know  where  to  take  its  groove. Though  neither  single  made  the  US   main  chart  the  album  did  peaking  at  77. Surprisingly  they  didn't  release  what  sounds  to  me  like  the  strongest  track,  the  more  disco   "Got  To  Get  Away"  as  a  single  but  they  did  get  to  perform  it   as  themselves   in  a cheap  thriller  called  Death  Drug  starring  future  Miami  Vice  man  Philip  Michael  Thomas.

Striking  while  the  iron  was  hot  they  put  out  the  imaginatively  titled  "The  Gap  Band  II".  before  the  year  was  out.   This  time  round  Simmons  got  involved  in  the  writing  with  a  hand  in  all  but  one  of  the  songs  and  perhaps  giving  them  a  harder  edge  with  more  synthesisers   used  in  the  sound   The  lead  single  was  the  opening  track  "Steppin' ( Out )"  a  cowbell-heavy  groove  with  a   head-nodding  rhythm  track. In  the  UK  Mercury  preferred  to  make  the  atypical  MOR  ballad  "The  Boys  Are  Back  In  Town"  the  A-side.

 On  the  B-side  of  the  12  inch  they  stuck  another  track  which  had  just  been  released  as  the  next  single  in  the  US  , "I  Don't  Believe  You  Want  To  Get  Up  And  Dance  ( Oops  Upside  Your  Head" )   though  for  reasons  of  space  they  cut  out  the  bit  before  the  brackets. It  wasn't  a  hit  in  the  US  but  quickly  took  hold  in  the  British  clubs  so  it  was  issued  again  in  edited  form  as  a  7  inch  in  the  summer.

The  track  betrays  the  growing  influence  of  Bootsy  Collins  and  P-Funk  on  their  music.  The  bass   line   and  drum  track  are  simple  with  the  track's  rhythm  dictated  by  the  constant  chant  of  the  title .  Charlie  acts  as  the  MC  throughout , throwing  in  two  mildly  smutty  adapted  nursery  rhymes  a  la  Judge  Dread  and  assorted  chants  and  giggles. Some  melody  is  provided  by  a  refrain  of  the  alternative  title  but  it  never  crystallizes  into  a  song  so  you  can  see  this  record  as  a  trailblazer   for    Jack  Your  Body , Pump  Up  The  Volume   and  No  Limits  in  making  the  Top  10  without  a  conventional  song  structure. The  record  was  a  dancefloor  monster  and  Nigel  Tolley  has  been  credited  with  starting  the  rowing  on  the  floor  dance  that  has  become  obligatory  when  this  record  gets  played  at  discos.

Earlier  this  year  it  was  in  the  news  again  when  the  Wilsons  and  Simmons  were  added  to  the  writing  credits  for  Mark  Ronson's  monster  Uptown  Funk  due  to  musical  similarities. It's  not  that  obvious  to  me  but  anything  that  clips  Ronson's  wings  is  OK.