August 30, 2024
No Samba No Cry
Led by DJ and journalist Chris Sullivan, Blue Rondo was the second, slimmer incarnation of Blue Rondo A La Turk, who had burst onto the early 80s London club scene, decked out in zoot suits and fusing Latin jazz, soul and pop. While the latter had earlier grazed the Top 40 with ‘Me And Mr Sanchez’ from album Chewing The Fat, today’s track is the equally infectious ‘Samba No Pe’ from Blue Rondo’s 1984 long player Bees Knees And Chicken Elbows, which landed at the height of a boom in jazz-influenced pop. That said, ‘Samba No Pe’ was an out-and-out Latin/sambatrack aimed squarely at the capital’s cooler dancefloors (The Wag, etc.). Bees Knees… finally makes its debut on CD as an expanded two-disc affair next month.