David Bowie, Keith Richards and Joe Strummer were just a few of the big names to frequent Londons Hotspot club of the 80’s ‘The WAG’, a ‘haven for misfits’ that would attract such a following it would fill the floors seven nights a week with its various themed nights. Over the years The Wag would host a multitude of events including tea dances, live graffiti nights, meat raffles, film screenings, fashion shows, poetry gatherings, comedy sittings, tranny soirees, table tennis sessions (sometimes together) Northern Soul all nighters, bingo get-togethers and cabaret turns. Chris Sullivan the Wags Founder admits ‘Some nights worked and others failed miserably’ but it was this gut instinct approach by Chris that made, and kept the Wag a vibrant and happening place.
The aim was to create a club that – although slightly influenced by New York’s Mudd club and Les Bains Douche in Paris and my fave seventies Soul clubs Crackers in Wardour Street and The Lacy Lady in Ilford – was still totally unique. We wanted the mixed crowd that was our crowd – ex-punks, trannies, rockabillys, hep-cats, ton up boys, Modernists, rastas, fetishists, gay, straight, black, white, green and pristine – and were inimitably able to deliver such. CS
This release concentrates on the period from it’s opening in ’82 to ’86, with the later years being covered in the following volume, a time which saw Hip Hop break in the uk and the acid house craze sweep the nation. It’s a bit of a no brainer to check this one out as the music policy at the Wag was one of it’s main crowd pullers. A four CD release packed full of underground funk, Latin, disco, hip hop and jazz and all remastered for this collection, check that track list……
The WAG, a club that catered, in the main, to an ever-growing gang of nonconformists primarily obsessed by underground black music who had little truck with Civvy Street. It was all about being you and not following fashion. There simply wasn’t any other option. CS
CD1
- Aaron Neville – Hercules
- Cymande – Bra
- Doris Duke – Woman Of The Ghetto
- Don Julian & The Larks – Shorty The Pimp
- Esther Philips – Home Is Where The Hatred Is
- James Brown – The Boss
- A.A.B.B. – Pick Up The Pieces One By One
- Fatback Band – Wicky Wacky
- Clarence Wheeler and The Enforcers – Right On
- Miami – Kill That Roach
- Brother Soul – Cookies
- Gil Scott-Heron – 17th Street
- Beginning of the End – Funky Nassau
- Manu Dibango – New Bell
- Gwen McRae – All This Love I’m Giving
- Earth, Wind & Fire – Getaway
- Brother To Brother – In The Bottle
- M.F.S.B. – Sexy
CD2
- Dexter Wansel – Life On Mars
- The Nite-Lighters – K- Jee
- Herbie Mann – Hijack
- D.C. La Rue – Cathedrals
- Crystal Grass – Crystal World (Larry Sanders Edit)
- New York Port Authority – I Got It
- Brass Construction – Movin’
- Mandrill – Can You Get It
- Strutt – Time Moves On
- Slave – You And Me
- War – Galaxy
- Fatbank Band – (Do The) Spanish Hustle
CD3
- Don Renaldo and His String & Horn Sections + M.F.S.B. – Freddie’s Dead
- John Handy – Hard Work
- Benny Golson – The New Killer Joe
- Eddie Harris – Listen Here
- Oscar Brown Jnr – Mr. Kicks
- Freddie Hubbard – Return Of The Prodigal Son
- Rashaan Roland Kirk – Making Love After Hours
- Mel Torme – Comin’ Home Baby
- Herbie Mann/Tamiko Jones – Sidewinder
- Nina Simone – African Mailman
- Snowboy & The Latin Section – A Night In Tunisia
- Mongo Santamaria – I Can’t Get Next To You
- Charlie Palmieri – Mambo Show
- Ray Barretto – Pasttime Paradise
- Dom Um Romao & Jadir de Castro – Ozonio
CD4
- Linda Clifford – Runaway Love
- Joyce Sims – (You Are My) All N’ All
- Herbie Hancock – Rockit
- Junkyard Band – The Word
- Digital Underground – The Humpty Dance
- Chain Reaction – Dance Freak
- Quando Quango – Genius
- Cerrone – Supernature
- Atmosfear – Dancing In Outer Space
- Dinosaur L – Go Bang
- Undisputed Truth – You + Me = Love
Chris Sullivan presents
The Wag
4CD Remastered Deluxe Box Set
Sleevenotes by Chris Sullivan
OUT NOW on Harmless records
