TOP 20 80 s HOUSE HITS
O5
A GUY CALLED GERALD
VOODOO RAY
(No.12, 1989)
Recorded in secret while he was still a
member of 808 State, the fi rst solo
venture from Gerald Simpson was something
of a happy accident. The acid house classic
would have been called Voodoo Rage had
Simpson’s primitive hardware contained
enough memory to sample a line from a
Derek And Clive sketch in its entirety. Instead,
a fi gure named Voodoo Ray was repeatedly
summoned amidst a wave of swirling synths
and mantra-style vocals that seemed designed
to send listeners into a trance.
11
808 STATE
PACIFIC STATE
(No.10, 1989)
Founding member Graham Massey once
claimed that there were 42 different
versions of 808 State’s debut hit knocking
about. But it was the three minute 53 seconds
edit known as Pacifi c 707 that took the
Mancunian outfi t from the Haçienda
dancefl oor all the way to the UK Top 10, via a
little help from unlikely champion Gary Davies.
Blending the acid house scene’s signature 303
squelches with birdsong and warm synths,
Pacifi c State is the meeting point between
illegal warehouse and meditation spa.
O4
TECHNOTRONIC
FEATURING NELLY
PUMP UP THE JAM
(No.2, 1989)
Ironically, it took a Belgian production
team to make the American mainstream
aware of a sound that had originated in their
own country several years previously. It’s not
hard to see why Technotronic managed to
achieve the breakthrough. With its bouncy
synths, pulsing hip-house beats and brassy
sung-spoke vocals – performed by Ya Kid K,
not the fashion model that lip-syncs in the video- Pump Up The Jam remains one of the most
hook-laden anthems in house music history.
1O
STEVE ‘SILK’ HURLEY
JACK YOUR BODY
(No.1, 1987)
Having been beaten to the punch by
one of his own ideas, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley
then went nine chart positions better to score
the UK’s fi rst house music No.1. There’s not
much to Jack Your Body. In fact, hastily
assembled from footage of pre-war dancing
clips and rudimentary animation, its makeshift
video is arguably more memorable than
Hurley’s minimal and mechanical take on the
Chicago sound. But despite appearing to
arrive from nowhere, few other chart-toppers
have made a longer-lasting impact.O3
M|A|R|R|S
PUMP UP THE VOLUME
(No.1, 1987)
Talent-poaching accusations, tracklist
disputes, a slightly hypocritical
injunction fi led by Pete Waterman... The
fractious creative process behind Pump Up
The Volume – named after a line from Eric B
& Rakim’s I Know You Got Soul – is almost as
intriguing as the sample-heavy gamechanger
itself. Thankfully, all the behind-the-scenes
drama proved to be worthwhile. The one-off
collaboration between 4AD signings AR Kane
and Colourbox followed in Steve ‘Silk’
Hurley’s chart-topping footsteps.O9
LIL LOUIS
FRENCH KISS
(No.2, 1989)
Aka the one with all the orgasmic
moans. Chicago producer Lil Louis
steamed up the airwaves in 1989 with an
erotically-charged house anthem which had
every parent on the school run covering their
kids’ ears. Alongside the highly sexual vocals
that would put most adult fi lm stars to shame,
French Kiss also slows down to a complete
standstill before kicking back into overdrive.
It’s hard to imagine such obvious fi lth getting
daytime play now but you have to admire its
sheer audacity.