Tuesday, 10 October 2017
719 Hello The Brand New Heavies - Never Stop
Chart entered : 5 October 1991
Chart peak : 43
Number of hits : 17
These are a group I can respect as being good in a genre that doesn't interest me.
The Brand New Heavies formed in West London in 1985 around the duo of Simon Bartholomew who sang and played guitar and Andrew Levy who played bass and keyboards. The other original members were Jan Kincaid ( drums ), Lascelles Gordon ( percussion ) and Ceri Evans ( keyboards ) . Jay Ella Ruth was their original female lead singer. After picking up a following on the London club scene they signed for Cooltempo in 1988 and released their debut single "Got To Give" in June. The band eschewed synthesiser technology and preferred to use real instruments
Ruth and one of the guys, I'm not sure which, share lead vocals on the track which cooks up a fair funk groove embellished with jazzy horns although the song isn't particularly memorable.
The following year they released "People Get Ready " on the Acid Jazz label. This largely instrumental groove harks back to the seventies and groups like The Average White Band.
In the summer of 1990 they released their eponymous debut album. Brand New Heavies is two thirds instrumental brassy funk workouts like the previous single and one third vocal tracks featuring Ruth including third single "Dream Come True". I prefer the former which sound like the Average White Band with an up to date production ; the vocal tracks sound a bit bland by comparison.
The group were then signed by Chrysalis subsidairy FFRR who bought the rights to the album. Their American distributors then suggested re-recording the vocal tracks with a different singer, N'Dea Davenport. The new version of "Dream Come True" became their third hit in 1992.
"Never Stop " was a new track added to the US release of the album. It's a solid pop-funk track in a Lisa Stansfield vein with an insistent bass line and N'Dea's accomplished vocals keeping things bubbling without resorting to showboating. A stronger chorus could have put the band into the Top 20.
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