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How Ace Records Rocked My World - By Phill Jupitus

Part One - Money Well Spent

Being born in the early 1960s and subsequently spending my formative years in the 1970s placed me at a particularly fruitful point in the history of popular music. The Beatles were probably the first band I was aware of. But at the same time my aunt was grooving to the contrasting sounds of Motown and Blue Beat. It's not until I went to school that music became something that you could bond with friends over at the Friday afternoon 'disco' in the dining hall. Mrs. Perryman playing 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now' out of a robust pine gramophone player on wheels. The sham glitz and faux splendour of glam and prog rock provided a dense fog that was only cleared by the gale force winds of punk. Once the willfulness of the new wave had dispersed I was left with a bunch of much more interesting friends and started to hang out at Wendy May's Locomotion on a Friday night at The Town & Country Club in Kentish Town. R&B, Motown, Stax, Two Tone, Hip-Hop, Ska, Folk, Cajun, Punk, Pop... A dizzying array of music bombarded the senses. It's no wonder that the place got a mention in Nick Hornby's 'High Fidelity'. The floodgates had opened, and I started to buy music more out of a sense of curiosity and wonder. What follows are ten albums (in no particular order) that I purchased between the mid eighties and today, which you can find in the Ace catalogue.

Phill Jupitus has been appearing on the BBC 2 comedy panel show Never Mind The Buzzcocks since 1996. He was a regular radio deejay on GLR between 1994 and 2000, and was the first deejay heard on BBC 6 Music, where he presented the breakfast show for 5 years. Phill has also worked with the Blockheads and the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, and currently plays bass and guitar (separately) for the Idiot Bastard Band.

twitter.com/jupitusphillip

Photograph by Andy Hollingworth

When teenager Sharon Lee Myers, then professionally known as Jackie Dee, had two songs published and recorded in 1958, who could have guessed that this petite, dynamic blonde was embarking on a career which would lead, in 2010, to her induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame?

And when the same young girl stepped into a local studio inIndianato record as Sherry Lee, Sixteen Year Old Miss Country Music, who might have imagined that a few years later she would be chosen to join the Beatles as a supporting act on their first all-screaming sell-out tour of the USA and Canada?

That’s not all, of course. The same young woman, now known to the world as Jackie DeShannon, won herself a Gold Disc in 1969 for writing and singing the international hit ‘Put A Little Love In Your Heart’, reputedly the biggest-selling single ever on the distinguished Imperial label. And then in 1982, she was presented with a Grammy Award for Best Song, as co-writer of Kim Carnes’ ‘Bette Davis Eyes’.

Still, as this is written in 2012, Jackie’s career continues. On a quick visit to London she appeared live on the highly rated TV show Later With Jools Holland. She released her latest single, ‘For Africa, In Africa’, this year, a few months after “When You Walk In The Room”, her delightful unplugged album of some of her favourite songs was released.

Jackie’s secret for success has been her love of music and her continuing curiosity and desire to try something new. There are many well-loved performers that can be easily categorised as a country, folk, rock’n’roll, pop or R&B singer. Jackie defies such classification; as a singer, thanks to her soulful, sexy, versatile voice, she’s done it all. 

Jackie’s earliest, rock’n’roll records are a delight to hear. They include a raunchy version of Leiber and Stoller’s ‘Trouble’ which will have induced many a parent to lock up their sons, for their own protection. Jackie moved to Hollywood, where a series of singles for Liberty Records in the very early 60s showed her prowess at singing R&B, Ray Charles-style. Then a songwriting partnership with Sharon Sheeley saw a change to teenage pop material, and brought the girls a number of songwriting successes, for Brenda Lee and many others.

Just to prove how unpredictable Jackie is, her first entry into the American charts came with an unashamedly country song, ‘Faded Love’. Soon after this Jackie could be found in the clubs of LA belting out traditional folk and blues with her young accompanist, Ry Cooder, on guitar. And then back to the recording studio with Jack Nitzsche and Dick Glasser to record wonderful originals of ‘Needles And pins’ and ‘When You Walk In The Room’, classics of 60s pop music.

There followed a love affair with the contemporary British guitar group sound, including a brief partnership with Jimmy Page, resulting in songs for Marianne Faithfull, Dave Berry and others. Then back into the studio with sophisticated songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David for memorable recordings of ‘What The World Needs Now Is Love’, the under-rated ‘A Lifetime Of Loneliness’ and more.

Later in the 60s Jackie pursued her interests in art and drama and still found time to visit the recording studios regularly, giving us her own favourite album “Laurel Canyon”, cut with Mac Rebennack and Barry White, and then combining with her brother, Randy Myers, and singer Jimmy Holiday to write ‘Put A Little Love In Your Heart’, an international anthem of love and peace which has been recorded by several hundred artists, from Ella Fitzgerald and Mahalia Jackson to Leonard Nimoy and the Dave Clark Five.

The 1970s saw Jackie moving through the major record labels – Capitol, Atlantic,Columbia– with ease and dignity, as a major league singer-songwriter and interpreter of great songs. A short period of working with Van Morrison produced some soulful music and the decade finished with a couple of laidback high quality albums on Amherst Records.

Married to songwriter Randy Edelman, the next two decades saw Jackie taking more of a background role, writing film music and, more importantly, bringing up her son. Her songs were still being heard widely, though. In addition to Kim Carnes’ massive success with ‘Bette Davis Eyes’, country singer Pam Tillis had a big hit on the country charts with a revival of ‘When You Walk In The Room’ and Dolly Parton and Lulu included good versions of ‘Put A Little Love In Your Heart’ on successful albums. Cliff Richard and Status Quo were others to benefit from Jackie’s songwriting.

In the second millennium, two new albums appeared: the superbly contemporary “You Know Me”, followed by the lovely acoustic set “When You Walk In The Room”. Jackie’s singing remains as beguiling as ever, and her live appearances, although few and far between, are joyful celebrations of decades of great music.

Jackie DeShannon is a woman who has sung with Elvis Presley, befriended Eddie Cochran and the Everly Brothers, recorded with the Byrds, co-written with Jack Nitzsche, Van Morrison, Carole Bayer Sager, John Barry and many more. She has recorded outstanding versions of songs by Bacharach and David, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Tim Hardin and countless more, while her own compositions have attracted thousands of interpretations.

The sparky teenager whose recordings of ‘Buddy’ and ‘Trouble’ are in every rockabilly collection has come a long way, without ever losing that spark. Jackie DeShannon, the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame awaits you.

Please note we will be closed for Christmas between the 22nd of December and January 2nd 2013. Our online shop will stay open over the Christmas period. All orders will be processed when we get back on January 2nd 2013.

Season's greetings from all at Ace

Sullivan began collecting records and Djing as a 12 year-old young ska-loving moon-stomping suedehead in South Wales in the early seventies and, after a spell as first a Northern soul boy and then a rare funk fan, was DJing in London from 1978. In 1981 he signed a significant record deal with his Latin funk jazz combo, Blue Rondo a la Turk, and in 1982 opened the Wag Club in Wardour Street, which he ran until 2001- DJing, organising nights and booking bands etc. Since then he’s DJ’d at events for the likes of Italian Vogue, The Face, ID and Sade - often slipping off to work in New York, Ibiza, Paris and LA. Today, he has his own radio show every Wednesday on Soho Radio, enjoys weekly residencies in Novikov and the Vinyl Bar and regularly plays the Groucho, the Thirst Bar in Soho and many private events and launch parties. He lives with his good lady Leah, 9-year-old son Finbar and cat Tuesday in West London.

sohoradiolondon.com/member/chris-sullivan

DJ Andy Smith used to work with Portishead (as tour DJ and sample finder) - Don't anymore! - Released loads of mix CD's since 1998 - The Document 1,2 &3 , The Trojan Document, The Greensleeves Document, Andy Smith's Northern Soul, Diggin' in The BGP Vaults, Freestyle Mix, Jam Up Twist.

Now fairly bored with most new music (most stuff I hear is just made for dreadful US urban radio and I don't much care for it!), yet think within older stuff there is a treasure trove of musical treats to be found (especially 50's & 60's, though I still dig the 70's and early 80's Boogie). Fairly done with Hip Hop as I HATE what it became - may come back to the better older stuff one day?.

Currently DJ every Saturday night at 'Lost & Found' at Madame Jo Jos (with Keb Darge) and do various 'Jam Up Twist' nights around the UK on Fridays (currently 1st Friday at Fluid Bar in Farringdon,London, 2nd Friday at The Clarendon, Leamington Spa & 3rd Friday at The Big Chill Bar, Bristol|).

Enjoy DJing now (not playing anything current!) more than I ever have - More of you should try doing what's in your heart musically - Give me stack of 1950's & 1960's 45's or a pile of disco & doogie 12"s and I'm a happy man - All vinyl still too (in the UK) - Serato abroad - that's why I dont DJ abroad too much these days - I prefer spinning my vinyl in the UK!

www.djandysmith.com