Crate Digging: Lenny Love
Baby Loves Disco's superstar DJ tells us what gets the toddlers' toes tapping
Baby Loves Disco is certainly one of the more unusual gigs that I do, and it’s actually a bit of a misnomer because it’s really a club for adults – albeit with young children in tow. I can’t exclude The Trammps’ ‘Disco Inferno’ (Atlantic), it’s an all-time, real old-school classic slab of disco that everyone knows. It gets the crowd going and sets the mood.
It may be fairly ‘new’, but Rizzle Kicks ‘Down With The Trumpets’ (Island) gets all the dancers (young and old) moving, big time, and it’s surprising how kids as young as two already know the words.
Originally released in 1994, Real 2 Real’s ‘I Like To Move It (Move It!)’ (Strictly Rhythm), as heard in the Madagascar movies, definitely helps people get their heads around what BLD is all about when they realise that whenever little kids are presented with music – be it from a film or whatever – they love it, and they clearly don’t need to be patronised with ‘kiddie music’! Another example is Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)’ (Columbia), as heard on the Alvin & The Chipmunks soundtrack.
A must-play artist is Michael Jackson: ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Beat It’ and ‘Thriller’ (Epic) are guaranteed floor-fillers. Many of the parents at BLD spent their childhood learning the moves to Jackson’s songs and dancing to them at school discos, and they seem to get a kick out of not only reminiscing but also seeing their own children doing the same. Timeless!
Hard to believe that it’s nearly 20 years old, but ‘You Got The Love’ by The Source featuring Candi Staton (Source Records Inc) easily stands the test of time too, and it still makes the hairs on the back of my neck tingle.
Baby Loves Disco at Electric Circus, 226 4224, 11–26 Aug (Sat & Sun only), 11am–1pm & 2pm–4pm, £8.