My Favourite Music, Part 1: Britfunk

12 Songs that I love

A turntable playing a vinyl record.
Photo by Lee Campbell on Unsplash

This is the first of several planned articles, where I share some of my favourite music.

I like a wide range of genres and styles, but music from the late 70s and early 80s has a special place in my heart.

I particularly like funky and soulful music, with some elements of jazz or jazz-funk — so Britfunk seems like a good place to start.

The first time I heard the term Britfunk was in the 90s, when I saw a compilation CD containing several tracks I loved when I was at high school ten years earlier.

All the memories came flooding back, and I just had to buy it. It wasn’t long before I bought another CD from the same series.

I’ve tried to rank them in order, but I love all these songs. So if I ranked them next month, the order might be different again.

At the end there are some notes, including a YouTube playlist and details of the compilation CDs.

1. Beggar and Co — (Somebody) Help Me Out

1981

There are so many things I like about this track: solid, powerful bass; electric piano; rhythm guitar; a fantastic brass section; vocal harmonies; and wacky synth sounds. It really scratches a musical itch.

Another reason it connects with me is that it takes me back to my childhood — I’d never heard anything like it before. It’s a true classic, and it’s one of my favourite songs of this genre.

(My late wife sometimes called it ‘The Meow Song’, because of the way they sing one of the phrases.)

2. Central Line — Walking Into Sunshine

1981

I love the feel of this track. The bass line is deep and powerful; the instruments all work together and contribute to the rhythm. But most of all, I love the subtle, slightly detuned synth parts, which appear now and then; they really evoke a lot of emotion.

When I was going through some difficult times, certain lyrics really reached me. Here’s an example:

It’s all over me
I can’t stand it
This kind of life is not for me

I didn’t know this track before getting the compilation CDs mentioned earlier, but it quickly became one of my favourites.

3. Light of the World — Swingin’

1979

This is a fast, high-energy track, with some great brass parts. But I particularly love the guitars, especially the scratchy detuned one that comes in at around 1:40 (or around 1:53 on the version in my YouTube playlist).

This is another song I don’t remember hearing before getting the compilation CDs in the 90s. But it grew on me, and it’s now another favourite.

4. The Real Thing — Can You Feel the Force

1979

I loved this track from the moment I first heard it. The synth sounds in the intro grabbed my attention, and the rest of it got me hooked.

It has so many elements I like: soulful vocals, great percussion, rhythm guitar, brass, synth, lead guitar, and that catchy ‘Whoo oo oo ooo’.

This song’s incredible, positive atmosphere seemed quite different to the music I’d heard before. I started high school in 1979, so it connected with my feelings of excitement and uncertainty.

5. Freeeze — Southern Freeeze

1981

There was something magical about this song from the moment I first heard it.

I love how the laidback vocal style works with the splashes of electric piano, percussion, and electric guitar.

6. Imagination — Music and Lights

1982

As with many Imagination tracks, this one is driven by the bass line. I also like the combination of the atmospheric electric piano, strings, vocal harmonies, and strong synth sounds.

I could easily have chosen one of their other tracks instead, such as Changes or Flashback. All three songs can seem deceptively simple in some ways — but they’re also very effective.

I remember going on family holidays, listening to some of them on a personal cassette player. (Not a Sony Walkman, but a cheap imitation.)

7. David Joseph — You Can’t Hide (Your Love from Me)

1983

The groove created by the wacky synth riffs and powerful bass line got me hooked on this song from the moment I first heard it.

It brings back memories of working on a graphic equaliser circuit when I was 15 years old.

8. Junior — Mama Used to Say

1981

I think it’s the vocal performance that makes this song, but the music fits it perfectly too.

It really portrays the feelings experienced when looking back to earlier parts of your life.

Even though I might have been aware of this track in the 80s, it wasn’t until the 90s when I really got into it, after buying those compilation CDs.

9. Linx — You’re Lying

1981

I love the bass line in this song, it’s got a great groove. In some ways, it reminds me of I Shoulda Loved Ya by Narada Michael Walden.

If I’m honest, the later parts can get a bit too repetitive in the extended version, but the shorter version in my YouTube playlist doesn’t have this problem.

There was a period in the 90s when I stopped playing this track, because it was blasting at high volume in my car when I crashed it!

10. Linx — Intuition

1981

Musically, perhaps this isn’t one of the strongest Britfunk tracks — some people might simply think of it as a good pop record from that era. However, this song brings back some special memories for me.

I remember talking to my dad about a few of the lyrics — you couldn’t just look things up online in those days.

Also, I was building audio amplifiers when this song was out. My dad helped me to make enclosures for them, as well as speaker boxes. A couple of the other tracks mentioned earlier — Southern Freeeze and (Somebody) Help Me Out — also take me back to those times.

11. Heatwave — The Groove Line (1978)

1978

This song lives up to its name, and has a great groove. I love the rhythm guitar parts, vocals, and especially the detuned piano sound.

I really got into this song after hearing it in the 80s, on a radio show that was counting down a top 20 from years earlier. Until then, I was only familiar with Boogie Nights and Mind Blowing Decisions, both of which are also great songs.

Note: This track appears to predate Britfunk slightly. But at the very least it was a strong influence on the genre, so I had to mention it.

12. Shakatak — Dark Is the Night

1983

There were so many great Shakatak tracks, it was hard to choose just one.

Snappy bass, jazzy piano, great vocals and more — what’s not to like?

Listening to this today gives me a very strong feeling of nostalgia.

* * * * *

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* * * * *

Notes

External References

My YouTube playlist for these tracks

Wikipedia page about Britfunk

Guardian.com — 10 of the best: Britfunk

Compilation CDs

These are the two CDs I bought in the 90s, as mentioned in the introduction.

Keep Movin’ On: Connoisseur Soul Collection Vol. 2

12 Brit-Funk Classics (1993)
This includes: (Somebody) Help Me Out, Walking Into Sunshine, Swingin’, Southern Freeeze, Mama Used to Say, and You’re Lying,

Flyin’ High: Connoisseur Soul Collection Vol. 7

12 Brit-Funk Classics (1994)
This includes: Intuition, and You Can’t Hide (Your Love from Me).

The following four tracks are not on these two CDs:
Can You Feel the Force, Music and Lights, The Groove Line, and Dark Is the Night

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