I loved "Dance With Me" when it was released in '77. As you mention his first hit was "Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me" which was decent but I always preferred this follow-up. There was something more accessible about it. My favorite though was 'They Only Come Out at Night" which was played a lot in the clubs when I was first coming out in '84. It still gives me a nostalgic tingle when I hear it!
"They Only Come Out At Night" will get it's own episode down the line. It's a great song and one of the best twelve inches of 1984. You could never go wrong including that one in your set. A joy to beatmix. Thanks for reading & reacting Dan. Wishing you a great weekend !
Educational, informative, entertaining and fun. I happen to love disco and funk but, honestly, being objective, if this track doesn’t get your arse moving, you should check your pulse!
hahahaha.. My thoughts exactly! There are some dance tracks from this era that instantly make you move—you don’t even think about it, it just happens. This one is a perfect example! Thanks for reading & reacting Andy. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
I recognized your “teaser” photo of Peter Brown the other day, Pe (at least, he looked familiar)….but, couldn’t come up with the name! I remember (from my record store days) of Brown having quite a moment for himself, here in the States!
He must have back in 1977-78—his first two singles made the Top 40, with Dance With Me even reaching the Top 10. But despite the promising start, his career never fully took off. Thanks for reading & reacting Brad! Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
I confess I wasn't familiar with "Dance With Me" before this excellent introduction. What a fantastic track! And your narrative is so compelling and well-crafted. It makes me want to learn even more and do an even deeper dive into the history of this wonderful music! 😎
☺️ If you enjoy the song, be sure to check out his first album—he was an incredible talent! And as you know, this journey is far from over—there are plenty more stories to come 😃.
Thanks for reading and reacting, Todd. Wishing you a fantastic weekend!
That sophisticated mix of AOR and disco is one of my favourite blends of dance music. Having said that, I was unaware of Dance With Me so I double checked and it didn't reach the UK Top 20 but stalled at number 57 which probably explains why it passed me by as a mere 15 year old! The first I heard of Brown was the wonderful They Only Come Out At Night on the Epic/CBS compilation album Dance Mix Dance Hits Vol. 4 in 1984 (as a poor student, I couldn't afford the 12" !). Getting into gay electronic music in the early 80s was quite a liberation for a male who identified as heteronormative at the time!
I completely agree about the blend of AOR and disco, Paul. Researching and writing this Substack has made me appreciate even more how deeply connected the two genres were.
Peter Brown never really had a pop hit in Europe, aside from the anomaly that was Love In Our Hearts—a song that somehow became a hit in 1980, but only in the Benelux. It was essentially an a cappella piece set to a military marching rhythm 😃 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sKAcbRdtDM)—strange and original, yet a perfect example of Peter Brown’s genius. His lack of a European breakthrough likely had a lot to do with distribution. The Henry Stone approach of using multiple sublabels may have been effective for American radio but didn’t translate as well to international markets.
“They Only Come Out at Night” will have its own episode down the line. It’s a killer track, and based on the reactions so far, it holds a lot of significance.
Thanks for reading and reacting, Paul. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
I loved "Dance With Me" when it was released in '77. As you mention his first hit was "Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me" which was decent but I always preferred this follow-up. There was something more accessible about it. My favorite though was 'They Only Come Out at Night" which was played a lot in the clubs when I was first coming out in '84. It still gives me a nostalgic tingle when I hear it!
"They Only Come Out At Night" will get it's own episode down the line. It's a great song and one of the best twelve inches of 1984. You could never go wrong including that one in your set. A joy to beatmix. Thanks for reading & reacting Dan. Wishing you a great weekend !
Educational, informative, entertaining and fun. I happen to love disco and funk but, honestly, being objective, if this track doesn’t get your arse moving, you should check your pulse!
hahahaha.. My thoughts exactly! There are some dance tracks from this era that instantly make you move—you don’t even think about it, it just happens. This one is a perfect example! Thanks for reading & reacting Andy. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Absolutely! Music speaks louder than words. Have a fab weekend too!
I recognized your “teaser” photo of Peter Brown the other day, Pe (at least, he looked familiar)….but, couldn’t come up with the name! I remember (from my record store days) of Brown having quite a moment for himself, here in the States!
He must have back in 1977-78—his first two singles made the Top 40, with Dance With Me even reaching the Top 10. But despite the promising start, his career never fully took off. Thanks for reading & reacting Brad! Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
I confess I wasn't familiar with "Dance With Me" before this excellent introduction. What a fantastic track! And your narrative is so compelling and well-crafted. It makes me want to learn even more and do an even deeper dive into the history of this wonderful music! 😎
☺️ If you enjoy the song, be sure to check out his first album—he was an incredible talent! And as you know, this journey is far from over—there are plenty more stories to come 😃.
Thanks for reading and reacting, Todd. Wishing you a fantastic weekend!
That sophisticated mix of AOR and disco is one of my favourite blends of dance music. Having said that, I was unaware of Dance With Me so I double checked and it didn't reach the UK Top 20 but stalled at number 57 which probably explains why it passed me by as a mere 15 year old! The first I heard of Brown was the wonderful They Only Come Out At Night on the Epic/CBS compilation album Dance Mix Dance Hits Vol. 4 in 1984 (as a poor student, I couldn't afford the 12" !). Getting into gay electronic music in the early 80s was quite a liberation for a male who identified as heteronormative at the time!
I completely agree about the blend of AOR and disco, Paul. Researching and writing this Substack has made me appreciate even more how deeply connected the two genres were.
Peter Brown never really had a pop hit in Europe, aside from the anomaly that was Love In Our Hearts—a song that somehow became a hit in 1980, but only in the Benelux. It was essentially an a cappella piece set to a military marching rhythm 😃 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sKAcbRdtDM)—strange and original, yet a perfect example of Peter Brown’s genius. His lack of a European breakthrough likely had a lot to do with distribution. The Henry Stone approach of using multiple sublabels may have been effective for American radio but didn’t translate as well to international markets.
“They Only Come Out at Night” will have its own episode down the line. It’s a killer track, and based on the reactions so far, it holds a lot of significance.
Thanks for reading and reacting, Paul. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!