"Silly Games" by Janet Kay, Lover's Rocks Finest

I Miss Music pays homage to a well-deserved Throw Back Choon, Silly Games by Janet Kay

Listening to this the other week brought back some delightful childhood memories and some old skool dance moves. 1979 was the release date of Silly Games for British Queen of Lover's Rock, Janet Kay. I was just a 'liccle yout' back then, but with its chart topping status, mainstream radio play and the 12 inch vinyl copy being owned (or on loan) in the home of almost every West Indian family I knew, Silly Games was both popular and unforgettable.

I particularly remember this choon being played at every West Indian houseparty... Adults and children rubbing out someone's poor living room carpet with their shoes because it was "their song", everyone knew the words and the traditional Lover's Rock bud dah, bud ah, doof , ching ching beat. Folks would try and sing in the same high key as Janet, sounding like alley cats, but without a care in the world because they were feeling the vibe.

Silly Games is still frequently played at clubs on Ragga/Dancehall nights, as a revival choon. My kids 21 and 11 were not impressed as I drowned Silly Games into their ears. What do the youth of today know about great music classics huh? Recognise!

Audrey Hall "One Dance (Just Won't Do)

                                          IMAGE SOURCE:  Thewickedisttime.com

This 80's reggae tune holds fond memories for me. Although this song was released in 1985 by Audrey Hall with pop chart success I was familiar with it when it was an underground dancehall 'choon'. For my 10^th birthday I was given my first personal cassette player by my father, and back then cassette players weren't the kind that you could clip onto the side of your jeans. No! This one was like a mini stereo with a strap to go over the shoulder and it took C cell batteries. My father presented this to me with a tape he'd recorded some reggae music on. “One Dance” sticks to the mind as there was about five different mixes recorded on this particular tape (dubhall/dancehall) and as I didn't own any cassettes of my own at the time, it's fair to say this song was played out until the batteries went dead.
 Buy Audrey Hall at Amazon

Although Audrey remained popular amongst the reggae/lovers rock scene, this song was her only major UK chart success and as one commenter on Youtube said, this was a “...wallpaper rub off choon” referring to the grinding of couples “dirty” dancing against the walls for that “added touch”. The song is the female reply to Beres Hammond's “What One Dance Can Do”. Audrey sings that it takes much more than on dance to go out with her and the spin is

“...That man's standing in your way

He's my man and he don't play...

I just wanted to see what he would do if I danced with another man...”

Yes! Very flirty is Audrey and her suggestion is not very advisable to women in a relationship unless they want a slap in the face for 'frontin'. However, this old skool tune was one that had young and old members of the West Indian community singing back in the 80's and will remain an unforgettable classic. Check out the video here and feel the vibe.

"Who The Cap Fit" by Bob Marley, the King of Reggae

Bob Marley's music is just as popular after his death (1981), as it was back in the 1970's. He, along with his group The Wailers created music that inspired people spiritually and politically. As an English child of Jamaican parents, Bob Marley's music was featured a lot in my childhood, especially as my father was a Rastafarian. No party of family or friends, of the West Indian culture went without a good old Bob Marley song. As well as the popular ones, “Could You Be Loved”, “Waiting In Vain”, “I Shot The Sheriff” amongst others, it was “Who The Cap Fit” that was my favourite as a child and now as an adult.

I was just a toddler when the Rastaman Vibration, which features “Who The Cap Fit” was released in 1976 and as a child it was the chorus and the melodies of Bob's backing singers (The Melody Makers) that captured my attention. It would be in my early teen years, when I developed a heavy interest in the lyrics of songs that “Who The Cap Fit” became more special to me.

“Man to man is so unjust, children:

Ya don't know who to trust. 

Your worst enemy could be your best friend, 

And your best friend your worse enemy”.

Growing up and having experienced a helluva lot of 'backstabbing' by so-called friends and loved ones, every word Bob sings hits the heart, still to this very day. The line ...

“But who Jah bless, no one curse...” is the symbolism of the song for me. If you're blessed by God (Jah), nobody can bring you down or destroy you.

Click here to listen to "Who The Cap Fit"

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