Dynastie Crisis - Le Corbeau Et Le Renard

Fantastique bit o' French funk rock from '72 - kind of inadvertently invents rap, too (what year was The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, again?)! Thanks again TOTP 1976 for inspiring this (long story!)

Champ's Boys Orchestra - Tubular Bells (Murky Boy Edit) + TOTP

Recently, BBC4 in the UK have been showing, week by week, entire episodes of Top Of The Pops from 1976. Now, while there are many fine records from '76, you do tend to sit watching willing for Punk to happen and drop the proverbial bomb on all the light entertainment fare. Was watching this week's installment the other day though and up popped this absolute GEM! A mash-up (probably the first ever) of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells with the bassline from the previous year's dancefloor revelation/salvation Love To Love You Baby, French (?) disco collective Champ's Boys Orchestra mould Oldfield's synthline into the perfect get-down for Britain's long hot summer of 76 (and not-so-hot 2011!).

Here's Murky Water's ace edit and the actual piece of TOTP footage including 'interpretative dance' from the short-lived Pan's People replacing Ruby Flipper troupe during that scorching summer.

Champs Boys Orchestra -Tubular Bells (Murky Edit) by Murky Waters

Sparks - Beat The Clock - Number 1 Song In Heaven Album

In a random iPod shuffle moment the other day, up popped  Beat The Clock by the incomparable Sparks. Which got me to thinking that it was high time I posted on one of my favourite records and one of the most influential and largely unheralded LPs of all time, The Number One Song In Heaven.

Following two flop mid-70s albums, Ron and Russell Mael found themselves at a turning point in their career. In an attempt to break away from the traditional rock band format, they teamed up with electrodisco legend Giorgio Moroder to produce an album that pretty much invented the early 80s (along with Suicide's first two records). All the synth pop duos who followed in their wake owe the brothers Mael , Giorgio and this fantastic concoction of disco, electro and offbeat lyrical wit a debt of gratitude.

Here are the three amazing Top Of The Pops performances they made for the album's singles.