Britfunk

London Lee over at The Number One Songs In Heaven has posted Mama Used To Say by early '80s British r'n'b singer Junior this week. The song is a great one, and he talks a bit about that era's rash of Brits trying "to figure out how to make black American music properly". One of the bands he mentions is Linx, the duo of singer David Grant and bassist Sketch. This got me digging in the old record crate. They made a small splash in the British charts in the early '80s, recorded a couple of LPs and then split. David Grant went on to moderate solo success, although neither Linx or the solo stuff was popular in America. I liked their early singles as much as I liked Junior's records - they in fact shared the same producer, Bob Carter. 1980's You're Lying is slick and funky, riding a fantstic bass line very reminiscent of Chic. David Grant's voice might remind you a little of Michael Jackson's, and the production on it feels like something Rod Temperton might have done for Jacko or his own band Heatwave. 1982's Plaything was towards the end of their run, and sees them adopting the more synthesized, electronic flavored r'n'b of their contemporaries across the pond - acts like the Gap Band. It's not as exciting to me as their earlier stuff, but it's still pretty funky.