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The most important sound in the … Read Full Bio ↴The whatmusic.com interview...
The most important sound in the history of Oval Records might have been the clunk of the cassette that dropped through the letterbox of our basement office in Clapham, South London, in the Autumn of 1981. I went to see who had dropped it off, but he had already gone back up the front steps and into the street.
There was a note in the packet telling us the band was called Direct Drive, and this was their demo in search of a record deal. In those days, cassette demos came in by post on a daily basis, most of them by rock groups inspired by one or more of the current heroes Talking Heads, the B-52s and Elvis Costello.
Gordon [Nelki, Oval's co-director] and I stopped whatever we were doing to play the cassette, and one thing was clear straight away: this band had not been listening to any of the above. The music sounded like it was following Earth Wind and Fire or Kool and the Gang, in the new style of British dance music that was being called Jazz Funk by those in the know. The vocalist had a high, near-falsetto voice, and the arrangements were very adventurous, full of spaces for instrumental solos and rhythmic punches. In particular, we liked the drive and melody of 'Don't Depend on Me'. To us, the demo sounded good enough to release exactly as it was, but we needed to check it out with the people who would have to sell the record if we put it out.
These days, there are around 30 shops in Soho alone selling nothing but dance music, and many more across the rest of London; back then, there was just a handful in the whole city, and one of them was Record Corner, about a mile away in Balham. I called the shop's manager Dave Hastings and he said we'd better come to play it to dance specialist Carl, who said it sounded fine and if we decided to release it he'd place an order for 25. Next stop was City Sounds in Holborn, where the guy behind the counter said he'd buy 50. Later, I found out this was Mick Clark, who soon afterwards joined the A&R department at Virgin.
With 75 sales in the bag, we phoned the group's contact number and found the drummer, Pete Quinton. We asked him how come he had chosen to bring the tape to Oval. He said he'd looked in the Yellow Pages and we were the closest company to where he lived. He confirmed that the band was up for a discussion with us about releasing the record, so we fixed a meeting with all six members where we explained the deal we'd release all three tracks on a 12" single and publish the songs.
And then there was a bit of a delay. I don't remember how long, maybe a couple of weeks. We seemed in danger of losing the momentum there's a sense of adrenalin that can build when things follow naturally, but which can get totally lost if people start wondering if there might be a better this or that around a corner. We began to get phone calls from the keyboard player, Paul Hardcastle, who was getting frustrated by the slow decision-taking processes in a democratic six-piece band. Before coming to Oval, they had shopped the demo around the rest of the business, and nobody else had been interested. As far as Paul was concerned, we were the only choice left. Paul told us that he had given an ultimatum to the other five, 'if you don't want to do this deal with Oval, I'm leaving the band.' There was something about Paul, you knew he wasn't bluffing. They came, we signed, and we put the record out.
As we got to know Paul better, he told us how he had joined the band. He had come into some insurance money after a bad crash on his motorbike, and had bought a keyboard at the music equipment and hi-fi shop where he worked on King's Road in Chelsea. He taught himself to play it by trial and error and reading the manual, and three months later answered an ad in the Melody Maker for a band looking for a keyboard player. Although he had never played with other musicians before, somehow he bluffed his way in.
Vocalist Derek Green was recruited around the same time, and the six-piece rehearsed a few times before recording the three songs that were sent to us. It's still hard to believe that those confident and complicated keyboard arrangements were by somebody who had only been playing for three months. Listening now, twenty years later, the quality of musicianship in the whole band is outstanding guitarist Robert Williams plays lovely fluid lines and bass player Mick Ward was among the best British musicians to perfect the slapping style that the Family Stone's Larry Graham had introduced a few years earlier. Pete Quinton provided the rhythmic fulcrum on drums, and percussionist Bones Hammond added flowing syncopations.
Convinced that 'Don't Depend on Me' was the favourite for radio play, we made it the A-side and stuck the other two songs on the B-side. The band - particularly Paul - liked 'Time Machine'’ but it started with at least a minute of instrumental intro before the vocal started, which was against every radio principle we knew. Pete Quinton designed the band's logo for the front cover. We did the radio promotion ourselves, posting copies to any producer or DJ who might play it and quite a few who almost certainly never would. We were ignored by every daytime radio producer at Radio One, but John Peel played the A-side several times, surprising given his preference for much edgier music than this. Even more surprising, Robbie Vincent at BBC Radio London chose 'Time Machine' as the side to play, long intro and all. Over and over. This was the heyday of pirate radio, when most of the people who ran the stations were into exactly this kind of music, and they all played 'Time Machine.' Record Business, a rival to the long running trade paper Music Week, published a Disco Music Top 50; the single entered at #21 in the week ending 18th Jan 1982 and hovered in and out of the top 20 for the next two months.
At this time Oval split its distribution between Spartan and Rough Trade. Spartan had been formed by a couple of ex-major label salesmen to help small labels have pop hits, and they did well with the first few singles by UB40 on Graduate Records, a small label based in the Midlands. Rough Trade specialised in groups which weren't looking for pop chart success. Oval's releases tended to fall between the cracks, being neither commercial enough for Spartan nor quirky enough for Rough Trade. We found a third distributor, Greyhound Records, which specialised in importing dance records from the USA, for whom we were a natural addition to their range.
One of the trickiest things to get right was pressing up the correct number of records, keeping up with demand without getting left with too much overstock. Three different factories made labels, sleeves and vinyl, and the pressing plant would not start a run until we had delivered enough labels and sleeves to match the order. One undelivered telephone message in any one of the three factories could take a couple of weeks to untangle. Having started with a conservative first pressing of 1,000 copies, it took us about six weeks to catch up with the demand for 'Time Machine.' Most people found it easier to buy the song on compilation cassettes of jazz funk being sold in London markets every Saturday, but we still sold over 5,000 12" copies.
Listening to the music now, it feels like the band would have built up a following if they had been out playing live. But Oval did not have the resources to provide them with tour support to let them all give up their day jobs and go out on the road. We needed to make another record. Capital Radio offered a live session for the band, who played two songs from the first single and a new one, 'Time's Running Out.' We took the 16-track tape to Eel Pie Studios in Soho where engineer Mike Pela remixed the new song for release as a single, combined with a ballad, 'I'm The One.'
This time we thought we had a real chance of radio play. We pressed a radio-friendly 7" and to make sure we were better prepared to meet demand this time around, we ordered 2,000 12" singles. But radio was not nearly so enthusiastic, and we did not even sell all of the first pressing. Listen to 'I'm The One,' and let me know if you understand why that was not some kind of a hit? Derek's singing is impeccable, the words are spot on, and the band plays like a dream.
The two Direct Drive singles were consecutive releases on Oval, followed immediately by two more from the spin-off group formed by Paul and Derek, First Light. They took the name from the studio in Penge where the first single had been recorded. I don't remember exactly what happened to force the split, or maybe we were never told. For a while, we remained on good terms with both parties and Pete Quinton designed the First Light logo. But after we turned down the results of a new formation of Direct Drive featuring vocalist Alvin Brown, the group decided to go out on its own, and with vocalist Helen Rogers released a couple of singles on Polydor, making the lower reaches of the national chart with 'Anything'.
We had every expectation that First Light would be commercially successful - a singer with a great voice with good songs, combined with a wizard musician who had a gleam in his eye and a feel for the future. Paul's decision to revive 'Horse with No Name' confounded the purists and achieved our first play on daytime Radio One when a producer commissioned a 'live session.' This was a euphemism for a tape copy of the record, which was supplied to meet Musician's Union requirements for a specified number of 'sessions' per day on Radio One. When Gordon heard the First Light single one morning played back-to-back with 'Just an Illusion' by Imagination, the UK's best-selling black act at the time, his heart sank. Where every sound on the Imagination record rammed home its intention, the sound of First Light was lighter, more innocent. In a flash, he knew our record didn't stand a chance.
Among the follow-up songs we recorded was 'She's a Mystery,' full of melodic hooks which floated over an easy-going groove. Derek had his doubts that our promotion could do it justice, and thought they might benefit from having a more experienced producer. We didn't argue. If the group wanted a company with more clout, we would go and try to find one. We shopped around. Our former adviser Mick Clark had his hands full at Virgin with Loose Ends and I-Level. Ashley Newton at Island had as many black music acts as he could hope to get onto British radio, which was still not making these artists welcome. Roger Ames, the MD at London Records, did not usually initiate A&R signings anymore, but somehow we managed to get his attention long enough to sign the duo, although he would be the first to admit that he never had enough time afterwards to concentrate on figuring out what to do with it.
While all these discussions were going on, Paul had been playing around with an idea for an instrumental, which he sent to us on tape. It sounded OK, but so what? Who played instrumentals on the radio? If Paul was pissed off with us, he didn't show it. But he persevered, asking if we minded if he sent the tape to Solar, one of the leading pirate stations. We didn't mind, but it needed a title in case they played it: 'A.M.,' sticking to the concept of the project's name. A week or two later, Paul called to report that the track was getting played on Solar. Two weeks later, it was in the top ten tracks most-requested by listeners to the station. All the other nine were released records already in the national top 50. Week by week the instrumental climbed into the top 3. Finally First Light's record label woke up to the realisation that it might be a good idea to release this track.
By now we were on the brink of signing the group to London, but Roger Ames confirmed that it would not interfere with London's plans if this instrumental came out in the meantime. On the B-side were two vocal tracks featuring Derek, the new 'I Don't Care' and a revisit of 'Time Machine.'
Mainstream radio paid no attention, but the pirates played 'A.M.' like it was their signature tune. Even though this time we knew there would be plenty of interest, we still had trouble keeping up with demand. The 12" single sold over 13,000 copies, more than the sales of the other three singles combined.
For reasons I've now forgotten, when we finally signed to London and started discussing what to do first, 'She's a Mystery' was set aside and a new song, 'Explain the Reasons,' was chosen for the single. It was our idea to suggest Steve Levene as producer, after hearing his work on the first Culture Club single; but before we could get in the studio with him, 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?' came out and suddenly Steve was the producer everybody wanted. Not until three months later did Steve finally have time for First Light.
To my amazement and embarrassment, Steve did most of the programming himself, with Paul sat beside him in the control room. By the time the A-side was finally finished, we had gone way past the budget, and Paul volunteered to knock off an instrumental B-side at a cheaper studio. Sticking to the theme, we called it 'Daybreak.' Despite the more professional sound of 'Explain the Reasons' and London's experienced promotion team, Radio One wasn't interested, but every pirate radio station across the country jumped onto 'Daybreak.' The single sold over 20,000 copies and the group made the pop chart for the first time.
A different producer, Bob Carter, was assigned to do the next single, 'Wish You Were Here', and again Paul volunteered to provide the B-side. Observing that it was costing £500 a day to record, he pointed out that if he had his own home studio, he could record half of any album for a fraction of what it would cost in a commercial studio. We put the idea to Roger, who turned it down flat. "They need a producer." Gordon came out of the meeting seething with anger and suggested we help pay for Paul's studio as his publisher. Paul was fine with that, so we came up with a few thousand pounds, Paul put up the rest himself, and he finally had his own music-making factory at home.
When we started discussing the release of the second single at London's office, the A&R man asked us not to put an instrumental on the B-side this time.
"Why not?" we asked, 'A.M.' and 'Daybreak' proved that radio DJs liked instrumentals"
"Exactly. First Light is a vocal group, and we don't want to give DJs a chance to play the wrong side again."
It was a logic that baffled me then, and it still does. A compromise was agreed whereby Paul recorded another instrumental 'Stop the Clock' in a completely different style, almost reggae, so he could not be accused of appealing to the jazz funk DJs. But they played it anyway, and although Radio One ignored the A-side again, the record slipped into the bottom of the national chart for a token couple of weeks. Oval Records had released four singles by Direct Drive and First Light in a little over 12 months. At London, First Light managed to release only two more in 18 months, most of that time spent waiting around for producers to become available. Beside himself with frustration, Paul broke away and formed his own Fast Forward label to put out singles he recorded at home. He immediately made #41 on the national chart with a revival of D-Train's 'You're The One For Me' and was back there again a few months later, in a one-off deal with Bluebird Records, with an instrumental, 'Rain Forest,' which went on to become a Top 5 R&B hit in the States.
In April 1985, having signed to Chrysalis, Paul was sitting on top of the world, with '19' at #1 in 13 countries. In many ways, '19' was the record that made the public aware of the concept of sampling; everybody who heard the record realised that the commentator's voice was somehow being manipulated into that famous stutter 'N-N-Nineteen.' Not only did Paul provide Oval Music with our biggest hit, but he taught us a lot: among other things, that it's not simply a matter of having talent, it's what you do with it. It's been a privilege to be part of his story.
As far as the UK is concerned, Paul may have apparently disappeared, but he has been one of Britain's most consistent sellers in Japan and the US, with a series of Contemporary Jazz albums (as the Jazzmasters and under his own name), each of which stayed on the Billboard Chart for two years.
Derek Green had a brief shot at a solo career but then settled into the role of being one of the top session singers in the country, preferring to stand just outside the spotlight. We lost contact with the other members of Direct Drive apart from Pete Quinton, who turned out to be an excellent songwriter in his own right. We spent a couple of years trying to get covers of his songs, and he has gone on to make a living writing music for television. Pete, if we never properly thanked you for dropping that cassette through our letter box, this seems like a good time and place to do it.
Charlie Gillett, Oval Records and Music June 2001
Oval Records would like to thank those who helped the story start, especially Robbie Vincent, Solar Radio and the all the other UK pirate stations, and obviously the guys from Direct Drive & First Light.
Whatmusic.com would like to thank those who brought the story up to date: Charlie Gillett, Gordon & Andra Nelki, Paul Hardcastle, Pete Quinton, Paul Sexton, Noel Summerville and special thanks to Jody Gillett for putting us all in touch!
The most important sound in the … Read Full Bio ↴The whatmusic.com interview...
The most important sound in the history of Oval Records might have been the clunk of the cassette that dropped through the letterbox of our basement office in Clapham, South London, in the Autumn of 1981. I went to see who had dropped it off, but he had already gone back up the front steps and into the street.
There was a note in the packet telling us the band was called Direct Drive, and this was their demo in search of a record deal. In those days, cassette demos came in by post on a daily basis, most of them by rock groups inspired by one or more of the current heroes Talking Heads, the B-52s and Elvis Costello.
Gordon [Nelki, Oval's co-director] and I stopped whatever we were doing to play the cassette, and one thing was clear straight away: this band had not been listening to any of the above. The music sounded like it was following Earth Wind and Fire or Kool and the Gang, in the new style of British dance music that was being called Jazz Funk by those in the know. The vocalist had a high, near-falsetto voice, and the arrangements were very adventurous, full of spaces for instrumental solos and rhythmic punches. In particular, we liked the drive and melody of 'Don't Depend on Me'. To us, the demo sounded good enough to release exactly as it was, but we needed to check it out with the people who would have to sell the record if we put it out.
These days, there are around 30 shops in Soho alone selling nothing but dance music, and many more across the rest of London; back then, there was just a handful in the whole city, and one of them was Record Corner, about a mile away in Balham. I called the shop's manager Dave Hastings and he said we'd better come to play it to dance specialist Carl, who said it sounded fine and if we decided to release it he'd place an order for 25. Next stop was City Sounds in Holborn, where the guy behind the counter said he'd buy 50. Later, I found out this was Mick Clark, who soon afterwards joined the A&R department at Virgin.
With 75 sales in the bag, we phoned the group's contact number and found the drummer, Pete Quinton. We asked him how come he had chosen to bring the tape to Oval. He said he'd looked in the Yellow Pages and we were the closest company to where he lived. He confirmed that the band was up for a discussion with us about releasing the record, so we fixed a meeting with all six members where we explained the deal we'd release all three tracks on a 12" single and publish the songs.
And then there was a bit of a delay. I don't remember how long, maybe a couple of weeks. We seemed in danger of losing the momentum there's a sense of adrenalin that can build when things follow naturally, but which can get totally lost if people start wondering if there might be a better this or that around a corner. We began to get phone calls from the keyboard player, Paul Hardcastle, who was getting frustrated by the slow decision-taking processes in a democratic six-piece band. Before coming to Oval, they had shopped the demo around the rest of the business, and nobody else had been interested. As far as Paul was concerned, we were the only choice left. Paul told us that he had given an ultimatum to the other five, 'if you don't want to do this deal with Oval, I'm leaving the band.' There was something about Paul, you knew he wasn't bluffing. They came, we signed, and we put the record out.
As we got to know Paul better, he told us how he had joined the band. He had come into some insurance money after a bad crash on his motorbike, and had bought a keyboard at the music equipment and hi-fi shop where he worked on King's Road in Chelsea. He taught himself to play it by trial and error and reading the manual, and three months later answered an ad in the Melody Maker for a band looking for a keyboard player. Although he had never played with other musicians before, somehow he bluffed his way in.
Vocalist Derek Green was recruited around the same time, and the six-piece rehearsed a few times before recording the three songs that were sent to us. It's still hard to believe that those confident and complicated keyboard arrangements were by somebody who had only been playing for three months. Listening now, twenty years later, the quality of musicianship in the whole band is outstanding guitarist Robert Williams plays lovely fluid lines and bass player Mick Ward was among the best British musicians to perfect the slapping style that the Family Stone's Larry Graham had introduced a few years earlier. Pete Quinton provided the rhythmic fulcrum on drums, and percussionist Bones Hammond added flowing syncopations.
Convinced that 'Don't Depend on Me' was the favourite for radio play, we made it the A-side and stuck the other two songs on the B-side. The band - particularly Paul - liked 'Time Machine'’ but it started with at least a minute of instrumental intro before the vocal started, which was against every radio principle we knew. Pete Quinton designed the band's logo for the front cover. We did the radio promotion ourselves, posting copies to any producer or DJ who might play it and quite a few who almost certainly never would. We were ignored by every daytime radio producer at Radio One, but John Peel played the A-side several times, surprising given his preference for much edgier music than this. Even more surprising, Robbie Vincent at BBC Radio London chose 'Time Machine' as the side to play, long intro and all. Over and over. This was the heyday of pirate radio, when most of the people who ran the stations were into exactly this kind of music, and they all played 'Time Machine.' Record Business, a rival to the long running trade paper Music Week, published a Disco Music Top 50; the single entered at #21 in the week ending 18th Jan 1982 and hovered in and out of the top 20 for the next two months.
At this time Oval split its distribution between Spartan and Rough Trade. Spartan had been formed by a couple of ex-major label salesmen to help small labels have pop hits, and they did well with the first few singles by UB40 on Graduate Records, a small label based in the Midlands. Rough Trade specialised in groups which weren't looking for pop chart success. Oval's releases tended to fall between the cracks, being neither commercial enough for Spartan nor quirky enough for Rough Trade. We found a third distributor, Greyhound Records, which specialised in importing dance records from the USA, for whom we were a natural addition to their range.
One of the trickiest things to get right was pressing up the correct number of records, keeping up with demand without getting left with too much overstock. Three different factories made labels, sleeves and vinyl, and the pressing plant would not start a run until we had delivered enough labels and sleeves to match the order. One undelivered telephone message in any one of the three factories could take a couple of weeks to untangle. Having started with a conservative first pressing of 1,000 copies, it took us about six weeks to catch up with the demand for 'Time Machine.' Most people found it easier to buy the song on compilation cassettes of jazz funk being sold in London markets every Saturday, but we still sold over 5,000 12" copies.
Listening to the music now, it feels like the band would have built up a following if they had been out playing live. But Oval did not have the resources to provide them with tour support to let them all give up their day jobs and go out on the road. We needed to make another record. Capital Radio offered a live session for the band, who played two songs from the first single and a new one, 'Time's Running Out.' We took the 16-track tape to Eel Pie Studios in Soho where engineer Mike Pela remixed the new song for release as a single, combined with a ballad, 'I'm The One.'
This time we thought we had a real chance of radio play. We pressed a radio-friendly 7" and to make sure we were better prepared to meet demand this time around, we ordered 2,000 12" singles. But radio was not nearly so enthusiastic, and we did not even sell all of the first pressing. Listen to 'I'm The One,' and let me know if you understand why that was not some kind of a hit? Derek's singing is impeccable, the words are spot on, and the band plays like a dream.
The two Direct Drive singles were consecutive releases on Oval, followed immediately by two more from the spin-off group formed by Paul and Derek, First Light. They took the name from the studio in Penge where the first single had been recorded. I don't remember exactly what happened to force the split, or maybe we were never told. For a while, we remained on good terms with both parties and Pete Quinton designed the First Light logo. But after we turned down the results of a new formation of Direct Drive featuring vocalist Alvin Brown, the group decided to go out on its own, and with vocalist Helen Rogers released a couple of singles on Polydor, making the lower reaches of the national chart with 'Anything'.
We had every expectation that First Light would be commercially successful - a singer with a great voice with good songs, combined with a wizard musician who had a gleam in his eye and a feel for the future. Paul's decision to revive 'Horse with No Name' confounded the purists and achieved our first play on daytime Radio One when a producer commissioned a 'live session.' This was a euphemism for a tape copy of the record, which was supplied to meet Musician's Union requirements for a specified number of 'sessions' per day on Radio One. When Gordon heard the First Light single one morning played back-to-back with 'Just an Illusion' by Imagination, the UK's best-selling black act at the time, his heart sank. Where every sound on the Imagination record rammed home its intention, the sound of First Light was lighter, more innocent. In a flash, he knew our record didn't stand a chance.
Among the follow-up songs we recorded was 'She's a Mystery,' full of melodic hooks which floated over an easy-going groove. Derek had his doubts that our promotion could do it justice, and thought they might benefit from having a more experienced producer. We didn't argue. If the group wanted a company with more clout, we would go and try to find one. We shopped around. Our former adviser Mick Clark had his hands full at Virgin with Loose Ends and I-Level. Ashley Newton at Island had as many black music acts as he could hope to get onto British radio, which was still not making these artists welcome. Roger Ames, the MD at London Records, did not usually initiate A&R signings anymore, but somehow we managed to get his attention long enough to sign the duo, although he would be the first to admit that he never had enough time afterwards to concentrate on figuring out what to do with it.
While all these discussions were going on, Paul had been playing around with an idea for an instrumental, which he sent to us on tape. It sounded OK, but so what? Who played instrumentals on the radio? If Paul was pissed off with us, he didn't show it. But he persevered, asking if we minded if he sent the tape to Solar, one of the leading pirate stations. We didn't mind, but it needed a title in case they played it: 'A.M.,' sticking to the concept of the project's name. A week or two later, Paul called to report that the track was getting played on Solar. Two weeks later, it was in the top ten tracks most-requested by listeners to the station. All the other nine were released records already in the national top 50. Week by week the instrumental climbed into the top 3. Finally First Light's record label woke up to the realisation that it might be a good idea to release this track.
By now we were on the brink of signing the group to London, but Roger Ames confirmed that it would not interfere with London's plans if this instrumental came out in the meantime. On the B-side were two vocal tracks featuring Derek, the new 'I Don't Care' and a revisit of 'Time Machine.'
Mainstream radio paid no attention, but the pirates played 'A.M.' like it was their signature tune. Even though this time we knew there would be plenty of interest, we still had trouble keeping up with demand. The 12" single sold over 13,000 copies, more than the sales of the other three singles combined.
For reasons I've now forgotten, when we finally signed to London and started discussing what to do first, 'She's a Mystery' was set aside and a new song, 'Explain the Reasons,' was chosen for the single. It was our idea to suggest Steve Levene as producer, after hearing his work on the first Culture Club single; but before we could get in the studio with him, 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?' came out and suddenly Steve was the producer everybody wanted. Not until three months later did Steve finally have time for First Light.
To my amazement and embarrassment, Steve did most of the programming himself, with Paul sat beside him in the control room. By the time the A-side was finally finished, we had gone way past the budget, and Paul volunteered to knock off an instrumental B-side at a cheaper studio. Sticking to the theme, we called it 'Daybreak.' Despite the more professional sound of 'Explain the Reasons' and London's experienced promotion team, Radio One wasn't interested, but every pirate radio station across the country jumped onto 'Daybreak.' The single sold over 20,000 copies and the group made the pop chart for the first time.
A different producer, Bob Carter, was assigned to do the next single, 'Wish You Were Here', and again Paul volunteered to provide the B-side. Observing that it was costing £500 a day to record, he pointed out that if he had his own home studio, he could record half of any album for a fraction of what it would cost in a commercial studio. We put the idea to Roger, who turned it down flat. "They need a producer." Gordon came out of the meeting seething with anger and suggested we help pay for Paul's studio as his publisher. Paul was fine with that, so we came up with a few thousand pounds, Paul put up the rest himself, and he finally had his own music-making factory at home.
When we started discussing the release of the second single at London's office, the A&R man asked us not to put an instrumental on the B-side this time.
"Why not?" we asked, 'A.M.' and 'Daybreak' proved that radio DJs liked instrumentals"
"Exactly. First Light is a vocal group, and we don't want to give DJs a chance to play the wrong side again."
It was a logic that baffled me then, and it still does. A compromise was agreed whereby Paul recorded another instrumental 'Stop the Clock' in a completely different style, almost reggae, so he could not be accused of appealing to the jazz funk DJs. But they played it anyway, and although Radio One ignored the A-side again, the record slipped into the bottom of the national chart for a token couple of weeks. Oval Records had released four singles by Direct Drive and First Light in a little over 12 months. At London, First Light managed to release only two more in 18 months, most of that time spent waiting around for producers to become available. Beside himself with frustration, Paul broke away and formed his own Fast Forward label to put out singles he recorded at home. He immediately made #41 on the national chart with a revival of D-Train's 'You're The One For Me' and was back there again a few months later, in a one-off deal with Bluebird Records, with an instrumental, 'Rain Forest,' which went on to become a Top 5 R&B hit in the States.
In April 1985, having signed to Chrysalis, Paul was sitting on top of the world, with '19' at #1 in 13 countries. In many ways, '19' was the record that made the public aware of the concept of sampling; everybody who heard the record realised that the commentator's voice was somehow being manipulated into that famous stutter 'N-N-Nineteen.' Not only did Paul provide Oval Music with our biggest hit, but he taught us a lot: among other things, that it's not simply a matter of having talent, it's what you do with it. It's been a privilege to be part of his story.
As far as the UK is concerned, Paul may have apparently disappeared, but he has been one of Britain's most consistent sellers in Japan and the US, with a series of Contemporary Jazz albums (as the Jazzmasters and under his own name), each of which stayed on the Billboard Chart for two years.
Derek Green had a brief shot at a solo career but then settled into the role of being one of the top session singers in the country, preferring to stand just outside the spotlight. We lost contact with the other members of Direct Drive apart from Pete Quinton, who turned out to be an excellent songwriter in his own right. We spent a couple of years trying to get covers of his songs, and he has gone on to make a living writing music for television. Pete, if we never properly thanked you for dropping that cassette through our letter box, this seems like a good time and place to do it.
Charlie Gillett, Oval Records and Music June 2001
Oval Records would like to thank those who helped the story start, especially Robbie Vincent, Solar Radio and the all the other UK pirate stations, and obviously the guys from Direct Drive & First Light.
Whatmusic.com would like to thank those who brought the story up to date: Charlie Gillett, Gordon & Andra Nelki, Paul Hardcastle, Pete Quinton, Paul Sexton, Noel Summerville and special thanks to Jody Gillett for putting us all in touch!
I'm The One
Direct Drive Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'I'm The One' by these artists:
22's (Yeah) (Uhh) I be moving like Obama Cause I got to much to…
22-20s Well you could do better than to treat me like…
30 Yup, I'm just about to go straight in Nigga I ain't…
4 Non Blondes We came here to entertain you Leaving here we aggravate…
Abby Cole If you hold me to the sun You'll see I'm not…
Airheads - Soundtrack You think we're different That we're worlds apart I think th…
Airheads The Soundtrack featuring 4 Non Blondes We came here to entertain you Leaving here we aggravate…
aki-la On my mama Can’t do no drama My Life’s too good to…
Alex Van Halen/David Lee Roth/Eddie Van Halen/Michael Anthony Well, baby, I'm easy, I'm easy, I'm easy, I'm an…
Andrew 'Jr. Boy' Jones I'M WASTING GOOD PAPER WRITERS GEORGE JONES, EARL MONTGOMERY…
Annette Peacock I'm the one I'm the one You don't have to look any…
Asia You always get the texts but never get the message Than…
ATEEZ Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Oh, yeah (ayy) Oh, yeah (ayy) I'…
Average White Band Well maybe you're not like me Maybe I'm not like you And…
Bars and Melody Yeah, you're lookin' at the truth The money never lie, no I'…
BBQ Hey little girl is your daddy home Did he go away…
Big B Learned from the mistakes I've made Even at my lowest point…
Bizzy Bone [Intro: Joel Madden] Ohh! (Ohh!) To the sects (to the sects!…
Black Flag I was looking for a lover. Living underneath the sun.…
block & crown You make me feel something I've never felt before It came ou…
Block & Crown Marc Rousso I just found out today the little game you play I've…
Bloo 너는 나를 피해 도망가 울기 싫음 도망가 아프기 싫음 도망가 다치기 싫음 도망가 나를…
BLOO feat. niahn nafla Hey baby 어서 내 손을 잡아줄래 나를 매일 밤마다 만나줄래 가고 싶은…
Bujimix Yeah, you′re lookin' at the truth, the money never lie…
C-Dash feat. Dead Execs 새것처럼 빛이 나는 네 사랑이 서글퍼져 낡은 시간 속 너와 내…
Caskey I'm the one i'm the one who got the bitches In…
Chamillionaire [Intro] I wanna just say, hi haters, hi haters I know you…
Chance the Rapper DJ Khaled Justin Bieber Lil Wayne Quavo We The Best Music Another one DJ Khaled Yeah, you're lookin…
Cheetah Girls Oh yeah... Woah... Mhm... C'mon... Nobody can sing lik…
Christine McVie Written by todd sharp. Two am and it's you on the…
Clemons & Johansen Come bring me your softness. Comfort me through all this mad…
Coleman & Brown's Crystal Winds I'm in the mood for love Simply because you're near me. Funn…
Corky Hale Come bring me your softness. Comfort me through all this mad…
D-Influence 유리병 속에 담겨진 그대 편지 바다를 건너 나에게 돌아오리 슬퍼하지 말아요 my…
Daniel Be careful what you ask for, get it cause you…
Danzig I was born in the dirt I never had no home And…
Deitrick Hey hey hey I'm Alive Look in the mirror tell me…
Descendents [Chorus] I'm the one I've been here for you all along I'm th…
DJ Khaled I get 'em up (I'm on one) I get 'em up…
DJ Khaled (feat. Justin Bieber Quavo Chance the Rapper Lil Wayne) We The Best Music Another one DJ Khaled Yeah, you're lookin…
DJ Khaled - Grateful I get 'em up (I'm on one) I get 'em up…
DJ Khaled DJ Khaled DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber Quavo Chance the Rapper & Lil Wayne Justin Bieber We The Best Music Another one DJ Khaled Yeah, you're lookin…
DJ Khaled Feat. Drake Lil Wayne & Rick Ross (Get 'em up) I'm on one (Get 'em up) Fuck it…
DJ Khaled feat. Drake Rick Ross & Lil' Wayne (Get 'em up) I'm on one (Get 'em up) Fuck it…
DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber We The Best Music Another one DJ Khaled Yeah, you're lookin…
DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber Chance the Rapper Lil Wayne & Quavo We The Best Music Another one! DJ Khaled Yeah, you're looki…
DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber Quavo Chance the Rapper & Lil Wayne We The Best Music Another one DJ Khaled Yeah, you're lookin…
DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber Quavo Chance The Rapper og Lil' Wayne (Get 'em up) I'm on one (Get 'em up) Fuck it…
DJ Khaled feat. Lil Wayne Drake & Rick Ross (Get 'em up) I'm on one (Get 'em up) Fuck it…
DJ Khaled feat.Quavo Chance the Rapper Justin Bieber & Lil Wayne We The Best Music Another one DJ Khaled Yeah, you're lookin…
DJ Khaled ft Drake Rick Ross & Lil Wayne I get 'em up (I'm on one) I get 'em up…
DJ Khaled Ft. Justin Bieber Quavo Chance The Rapper & Lil Wayne We The Best Music Another one DJ Khaled Yeah, you're lookin…
Dj Khaled Ft. Rihanna And Bryso I get 'em up (I'm on one) I get 'em up…
DJ Khaled Justin Bieber & Lil Wayne We The Best Music Another one DJ Khaled Yeah, you're lookin…
DJ Khaled [feat. Justin Bieber Quavo Chance the Rapper & Lil Wayne] We The Best Music Another one! DJ Khaled Yeah, you're looki…
DJ Khaled/Drake/Rick Ross/Lil Wayne I get 'em up (I'm on one) I get 'em up…
DJ Khaled/Justin Bieber/Quavo/Chance The Rapper/Lil Wayne We The Best Music Another one DJ Khaled Yeah, you're lookin…
Dolo Money I’m the one you have to call to get the…
Don & Lori Chaffer & Hey Ruth Return of the greatest I started off and I made it I…
Doug and the Slugs Chorus: I'm gettin' ready(ready) I'm gettin' ready(ready) …
Doyle Bramhall II I'm the one in the dream Tell me tell me what…
Dr. John Hear that lonesome whippoorwill He sounds too blue to fly Th…
Drake Rick Ross Lil Wayne I get 'em up (I'm on one) I get 'em up…
Edidion I’m elevatin, goin’ places Why they hatin’, on my greatness …
Engel Did you ever believe That this could be a way to…
Entrance I'm so glad I am glad I'm so glad I don't know what…
EUGEE Walkin' down the street Stilettos on my feet Fluorescent gre…
Fabvl Said I′m the one, I'm the one, I′m the one…
FAM E pur ij pens spess Quand è a ser ind o'…
Family of the Year I met a girl from Palmdale She had bags under her…
Firehouse There was a time not long ago When my life was…
Flop Poppy Hi Today I'm on the floor. If you want me to stay…
Flux Pavilion & Dillon Francis I miss you calling Birthdays, tears falling Late nights, dar…
Forty Nineteens The Her symmetry got broken fast unfolding into the grass we…
Fredo (Steel Banglez) (Hazard) I'm the one they hate, I'm the one…
French I can't help but Start to wonder Makes me feel like I can't…
French Montana 'Cause I'm heated, heated, heated I'm heated, please stop it…
G&G Music Factory Yo we repping the entire state here We got North, South…
Gary Allan If you need someone to take you by the hand And…
Gary Primich harp If you need somebody to treat you right, Need somebody…
Gerry Never thought I'd fall, But now I hear love call, I'm gettin…
Gerry & The Pacemakers I'm the one who cares about you I'm the one who'll…
Gerry and the Pacemakeres Never thought I'd fall, But now I hear love call, I'm gettin…
Gerry and the Pacemakers I'm the one who cares about you I'm the one who'll…
Gerry And The Pacemakers | Freddie And The Dreamers Yeah Yeah I mean I thought they lied when they told me this…
Gordon Lightfoot I'm not sayin' that I love you I'm not sayin' that…
Hellyeah Stumbling I fall Bloody hands and knees I crawl When there'…
Honey & B-boys Calling me over, watch me bleed These are just warning signs…
Indigo Blue I'm the one who make me see the morning sun I'm…
Irene Michaels I'm the one that you've been looking for I'm the one your li…
J. Tubbs You said I'm poor, and I said I'm rich You said…
Jeff Williams - Topic I look into my mothers eyes and tell her that…
Jerry Butler I'm the one who loves you I'm the one who loves…
Jesse Johnson Watching leaves falling off the trees you're the last person…
JJ & The XX Yea Sity live from the 815 Been on the road been…
JL B. Hood I've been better, I'm in bed and I'm embedded, man, I…
JOALIN Dime que me quieres Dime que me amas Dime que soy…
Joel Madden [Intro: Joel Madden] Ohh! (Ohh!) To the sects (to the sects!…
John Hall Band Oh yeah baby, like a fool I went and stayed…
John O'Banion I'm not in love So don't forget it It's just a silly…
Junge Junge When the walls that guard your heart start breaking When th…
Justin Champagne Headed by the bar, where we finna get drunk With a…
K.C. Douglas She like baby what's your sign? I'm like dollar signs She li…
K.Milli Da God Verse I: I'm sorry baby This time, I couldn't lie I've…
Kaii Dreams I'm the one Who sees the Meaning in your eyes You…
KIDZ BOP Kids I'm the one Kidz Bop! Yeah, you're lookin' at the truth The…
Kristin Carter When the whole world started breaking, cnd the lights ahead …
L.A. Guns Watch me, take a good thing and fuck it all…
Laid I am da one I am a leader that these niggas…
Laid feat Emma Только попробуй причинить мне боль Могу оставить их всех поз…
Laid Feat. Emma I am da one I am a leader that these niggas…
Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones I don't wanna know about those other gals you've been…
Lightfoot Gordon I'm not sayin' that I love you I'm not sayin' that…
Lil Wayne Justin Bieber DJ Khaled Chance The Rapper Quavo We The Best Music Another one DJ Khaled Yeah, you're lookin…
Lil' Wayne T.I. The hottest, under the sun Ain't nobody fucking with me man …
LPB Poody I gotta I gotta come on strong I ain't tryna come…
Majed Since I started for the Kingdom Since my life He controls Si…
Marie & The Deccors I'm leavin' it all up to you You decide what you're…
Mario Feat Rich Boy I know that I am the best, and there is…
Mario feat. Rich Boy When I wake up early in the morning Lift my head,…
Mario/Rich Boy I know that I am the best, and there is…
Mark Slaughter We came here to entertain you Leaving here we aggravate you…
Mary J. Blige Time on my hands Since you been away boy I ain't got…
Mary J. Blige f/Drake Yeah I'm workin' on dyin' I'm upset Fifty thousand on m…
Mary J. Blige feat. Drake Time on my hands Since you been away boy I ain't got…
Mary J. Blige | www.Marvin-Vibez.in Maybe I was wrong in this That's just something I can't admi…
Material Give me the pleasure Give me the pain Feeling like a sinner …
McBride I'm growing up The clouds turn dark Stop me when we say…
McBride & McBride And The Ride I'm puny short and little but I'm loud I learned…
Mel & Tim Pull the string and I'll wink at you, I'm your…
Mick Ronson I'm the one, I'm the one Don't have to look any…
Mojjo & Juliah I′m the one who'll listen to you I′m the one who'll…
Molotov I'm the one who's gonna die When it's time for me…
Morten Harket Take this cold heart of mine Take this man who wants…
MOSTACK (Steel Banglez) (Hazard) I'm the one they hate, I'm the one…
MXM (BRANDNEW BOYS) 너무나 너무나 많은 순간과 인연 속에 헤매고 있었던 너와 나 너무나 너무나 오랫동안…
Natalie Cole I'm catching hell living here alone I never realized, oh Lor…
Nini Lil bitch I'm lit, this bitch wanna fight so im…
Nino Tempo Never thought I'd fall, But now I hear love call, I'm gettin…
NOFX I'm the one whose got a religion I'm the one I…
Nofx - Rancid I'm the one whose got a religion I'm the one I…
Nyasia I've waited for so long for someone just like you I…
Onyeka Onwenu Tell me what does it take To get you in the…
Ovrthro In a realm veiled by time Where my fate, it unfolds A…
Pat & Pam I went to the dining party To check everybody down there On…
Patrick Dorgan I′ve always had to hide my love I've always had to…
Pyro Fighter You, you've got that sweet emotion That sick, sick, sick at…
Quavo We The Best Music Another one! DJ Khaled Yeah, you're looki…
RadioHits4You.blogspot.com I'm feeling love I'm feeling love tonight Oh I'm feeling lov…
Rancid NOFX I'm the one whose got a religion I'm the one I…
Rancid / NOFX She's got her life going she is still breathing It's not…
Reaction 7 I'm the one you've waited for I come with a whisper…
Rebecca Martin In a dream I've seen a man Dressed in jet black…
Redux Saints & Mr. Oz We have a glass of wine at that little bar…
Reema Major I'm dat chick yeah I'm dat chick If you gotta choose Then I…
Roberta Flack If you're looking for a lover You don't have to look…
Ronson Mick I'm the one, I'm the one Don't have to look any…
Roy Ayers Stephen Marley: Oh yeah (Skat) And she said she needs more t…
S.U.N Drive Just hit the gas And take it wide Don't need to check …
S.U.N. (Something Unto Nothing) If you give me your love 그랬더라면 지금 이 비가 그칠까 사랑 한단…
Sal Houdini (Verse 1) Yeah Just stepped on the ground you should bow on…
Sam Concepcion If you let me girl, i'll make you mine Be there…
Sammie They just wanna smoke and drank with you They just wanna…
sander-7 I'm going in alone No one to rely on so I'm…
Sara S I'm a game that you used to play I'm a plan…
Seether Here she's coming and she's drunk again She's only seventeen…
Shai Linne Mic check 1, 2. Yo, I don′t know what you think…
SIA & KENDRICK LAMAR When the lights shut off And it's my turn to settle…
Slaughter (Mark Slaughter, Dana Strum) Now that the party's over My he…
Slaughter and the Dogs It's the jacking ass cracker, yea the cracker that jacks Com…
Smokey Robinson Ooh ooh Now you say every time you need some affection The…
Sri Plecit Im the one who caring you In the one who adoring…
Static X Living in the moment Forgotten and repeated No I cannot be t…
Static-X - Start A War 이러면 안 될 거 아는데 너 앞에만 서면 나락 이러면 안…
Staticâ€X Living in the moment Forgotten and repeated No I cannot be t…
SU-24 난 괜찮아 아직 버틸만해 아직 여기서 여전히 헤엄치고 있어 저긴 어떤 공길까 해 많이 다르겠지…
Sunset & Highland Carry on, carry on, carry on, ba-dum, ba-dum Carry on, carry…
Sye If you ain't working on your grind I'm done If…
The Association Counting the money I do Coming in green and then blue Pussy…
The Cheetah Girls Oh yeah... Woah... Mhm... C'mon... Nobody can sing like me …
The Forty Nineteens Her symmetry got broken fast unfolding into the grass we…
The Four Tops In this world of ups and downs my dreams all…
The H.T. Three I'm not evil I am sad You don't love me Burn in hell! I…
The Hazies I've been hung up on some stupid shit (mmmmm) I've been hung…
The John Hall Band Oh yeah baby, like a fool I went and stayed…
The Savoy's Chris Youlden-Chrysalis Music Ltd. I'm tired of being a fool…
The Silver Seas I'm the One by Silver Seas/Daniel Tashian You're the one wi…
The Stool Pigeons Woke up this mornin' feelin' fine There's somethin' special …
The Taters I'm the one who loves you I'm the one who loves…
The Whispers I'm gonna make you my wife Cause you're my everything All my…
the xx and jj Yea Sity live from the 815 Been on the road been…
Tired I am pretty sure that you don't know what is…
Tommy and The Heartbreakers Consider yourself... At home? Consider yourself... One of th…
Tony Garcia Estoy andando por las vías del tren haciendo cosas que no…
TT17 Growin' up, I knew I'd be the one I was an…
Van Halen We came here to entertain you Leaving here we aggravate you …
Van Halen (Backing Track) We came here to entertain you Leaving here we aggravate you…
Various Artists Since I started for the Kingdom Since my life He controls Si…
Vibe2Vibe We The Best Music Another one! DJ Khaled Yeah, you're lookin…
Victoria Monét I could be riding horseback towards you, slow motion on…
WakeUpTime Navigation LIFE & STYLE EVENTS & PRESENTATIONS MARKETS EDUCA…
War Just tell me how does it feel to be loved To…
Whispers I'm gonna make you my wife Cause you're my everything All my…
Wilderness Survival I never wanted to love but you got nothing that's…
WUANT Dei-lhes os meus preços e em troca deram ghost Empresas dão-…
XaeForever Ayy Bitch back I'm high asf I'm in the booth I'm…
Xanman Woooo woooo woooo I'm talkin’ my shit, I got my stick…
Yasniel Navarro Jjajajajjaja Yasniel Navarro If you wanna dance You shoul…
Yungeen Ace (This one ride right here Ant) Man, I'm finna treat that…
スタティック-X 이러면 안 될 거 아는데 너 앞에만 서면 나락 이러면 안…
림샷 그대는 나의 모든것 바라만 봐도 좋은걸 믿고 있어 내 선택은 어느때보다 또 무엇보다…
블루 Hey baby 어서 내 손을 잡아줄래 나를 매일 밤마다 만나줄래 가고 싶은…
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