@thetwelveinch
A disco-kid+80s music nerd & writer here to help you embrace your secret love for 70s and 80s dance music. Each week, I share the stories of artists you know and those you think you don’t. Fair warning: a dose of sarcasm, puns, and dry humor is inevitable!
Today Adam Clayton, bass player of U2, turns 66. Happy birthday Adam!
“What does U2 have to do with dance music?”
Think “Even Better Than The Real Thing,” “Lemon,” or the 1996 Mission: Impossible theme he recorded with Larry Mullen Jr.
#U2 #AdamClayton #music
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyIG...
Who says writing disco songs required no talent?
ASCAP clearly disagreed.
In 1979, they organized their first Disco Writers Workshop — whatever that looked like 😁
I’ve never seen it mentioned again afterwards… so perhaps it wasn’t a huge success.
#Disco #MusicHistory #ASCAP #TheTwelveInch
There are not many artists who reinvent themselves completely after 40 and end up filling stadiums.
Tina Turner did.
But the real story of that reinvention is stranger than most people realise.
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From today on Ryan Paris’ age matches his birth year.
Happy 63rd birthday! 🎉
Perfect moment to celebrate with “Dolce Vita” — one of the biggest Italo disco hits ever.
#RyanParis #DolceVita #ItaloDisco #80sMusic #DanceMusic #TheTwelveInch
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXmA...
Hi-Tension were key figures in the late-’70s Brit-Funk scene.
But their lead singer David Joseph scored the biggest hit solo.
This day in 1983, “You Can’t Hide (Your Love)” hit No.1 on the UK Dance chart.
In the US it just missed the top — but stayed 6 weeks at No.2.
#BritFunk #Music #funk
Most people know John Miles for the classic “Music.”
But in 1977 he also scored a big dance hit: “Slow Down.”
The track reached No.2 on the dance charts, just missing the top spot.
Today it’s almost forgotten.
Had you ever heard it before?
#Disco #DanceMusic #MusicHistory #TheTwelveInch
I remember that one; Should have it in the collection somewhere. Absolute classic indeed!
This day in 1989, Ten City scored their only No.1 on the US Dance chart with “That’s The Way Love Is.”
Helped by their brilliant lead singer with that unmistakable falsetto.
Do you remember his name?
#TenCity #HouseMusic #DanceMusic #MusicHistory #TheTwelveInch
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_ed...
Before Chic, disco often relied on orchestras and big dramatic arrangements.
Chic flipped the formula.
Guitar.
Bass.
Groove.
Minimal, precise, hypnotic.
Half of modern dance music comes from that blueprint.
#disco #music #musicsky
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Not one that was on my radar Cal. Interesting name though 😁
haha... I had a number of disco records I kept hidden. The Erotic Drum Band and Action 78 comes to mind; That one my mother found and she had a lot to say about it 😁
Yep, it'll be in the story on Friday 😁
Let’s also give some love to the records that just missed the top spot on the dance charts.
Like this 1984 electro gem:
“The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight” by Dominatrix.
It reached No.2 on the Billboard Dance chart, close, but not quite the crown.
#Electro #DanceMusic #Music #TheTwelveInch
![Tina Turner - Lets Stay Together (Official Music Video) [HD Upgrade]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2dykre6x2waxwzmcbbta7y5z/bafkreig4gcrxi5ydslqhstrvkjjnpvrudqnhthdw5xjxkeeow5yvismodq)
This Friday I’ll be discussing a Tina Turner track.
Which one? You’ll have to wait until Friday.
I can already tell you which one it won’t be:
“Let’s Stay Together.” 😁
This day in 1984, the track hit No.1 on the US Dance chart.
#TinaTurner #80sMusic #DanceMusic #Billboard #TheTwelveInch #music
At the same time Patti LaBelle & Harold Faltermeyer hit No.1 on the US Dance chart, the UK Dance chart also had a new top spot:
“Hanging On A String” by Loose Ends.
Still a favorite of mine.
#LooseEnds #80sSoul #DanceMusic #UKCharts #TheTwelveInch #music
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-WW...
In the early ’80s, Billboard stopped charting multiple album tracks together on the Dance chart.
There were exceptions. From the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, MCA paired “Axel F” with Patti LaBelle’s “New Attitude” on one 12”.
41 years ago today it hit No.1.
#music #TheTwelveInch
In 1979, Deniece Williams scored a disco hit with “I’ve Got The Next Dance.”
Her label supported the album with full-page trade ads.
She was signed to ARC Records, a Columbia/CBS imprint revived 40 years after closing in 1938
#Disco #TheTwelveInch #music
haha.. I know I loved it back then but this is one of those records that hasn't aged well
I’ve never seen him live. Is it still worth it? I assume he’s still touring.
One of the biggest disco hits ever written started with two words shouted by a doorman.
Not very polite words.
Nile Rodgers turned them into Le Freak.
This week’s Twelve Inch explores the story.
Side A = the history
Side B = the rabbit holes.
#DiscoHistory #Chic #LeFreak
40 years ago today, a true love-it-or-hate-it ’80s track hit No.1 on the UK Dance Chart:
“(Nothin’ Serious) Just Buggin’” by Whistle.
One of those records people feel very strongly about.
So… love it or hate it?
And can you guess which side I’m on? 😁
#80sMusic #Electro #Music #TheTwelveInch
I'm going to message you when I do an episode on the song 😁
Gary Numan turns 68 today. Happy birthday Gary!
Let’s celebrate with my favorite track of his — and the first Numan record I ever bought.
And no… it’s not Cars
And no… it’s not Are ‘Friends’ Electric?
what’s your favorite Gary Numan track?
#SynthPop #NewWave #Music #TheTwelveInch
46 years ago today, the Billboard Dance chart had a new No.1:
“Funkytown” by Lipps Inc.
One of the first titles anyone mentions when you ask: “Name a big disco hit.”
It stayed 4 weeks at No.1, and became Lipps Inc.’s only chart-topper.
#Disco #Funkytown #Music #Billboard #TheTwelveInch
Which record held the longest No.1 run on the US dance charts?
Two did it for 11 weeks: Thriller by Michael Jackson… and “Bad Luck” by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, which started its run 51 years ago today.
#Disco #DanceMusic #Billboard #MusicHistory #TheTwelveInch
In the late 70s, disco was getting bigger and bigger.
But the real revolution wasn’t the glitter or the clubs.
It was a guitar and a bass locking together like a machine.
That groove changed dance music.
#disco #funk #chic #music
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Happy birthday to Taylor Dayne — celebrating 64 today 🎉
Let’s celebrate with one of her massive hits from 1987… still a guaranteed dancefloor moment.
#TaylorDayne #80sMusic #DanceMusic #BillboardDance #MusicHistory #TheTwelveInch
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![Divine - "Love Reaction" [1983]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2dykre6x2waxwzmcbbta7y5z/bafkreidkguyfwdtocab3demn2psigsirkfxz7uhprftd2ybtmuhu2man6e)
I wasn’t immediately sold when I first heard Divine (Native Love felt a bit too over the top for me back then).
But Shoot Your Shot and Love Reaction changed everything
Today in 1988 we lost Divine at just 42.
Let’s remember this unique talent ❤️
#Divine #HiNRG #music #TheTwelveInch
Company B reached #1 on the US dance charts in 1987 — and what a song it is.
Still sounds fantastic today.
You can hear it in the mixset I made for the piece I wrote about it a few months ago 😉
#CompanyB #DanceMusic #80sMusic #BillboardDance #Freestyle #MusicHistory #TheTwelveInch
Ce genre de disques a toujours mieux marché au Royaume-Uni que dans l’Europe continentale 👍