Luv'

Artist: Luv'

LP: 7" single

Song: "Trojan Horse"

[ listen ]

Have you ever wondered what Bananarama would sound like if they'd made disco in the Scottish Highlands? On the one hand I'm amazed and a little annoyed that I'd never heard of this lovely Dutch trio before finding this catchy 1978 single at Som Records in Washington, DC last month. But on the other hand, I'm probably only now finally mature enough to handle knowing about them while still maintaining my dignity. If I'd seen Luv's televised performance of "Trojan Horse" when I was ten, I'd have been prancing around the playground singing "1-2-3-4-5, you say I'll be your wife!" while mimicking the group's dance moves—thereby thrusting myself even further down the rungs of Robertson Elementary's popularity ladder. Knowing about Wonder Woman, Charlie's Angels, and ABBA at that tender young age was making life difficult enough. You can read about Luv' on Wikipedia here.

Luv' on YouTube:

[ "Trojan Horse" ]

Rufus Harley

Artist: Rufus Harley

LP: Scotch & Soul

Song: "Scotch & Soul"

[ listen ]

This must have seemed like a good idea at the time, though I'm guessing a little Scotch & Soda probably played a role in getting the execs at Atlantic to green-light the project. Rufus does create an interesting sound with his jazz/soul bagpipes, and the novelty aspect holds up well since, as far as I know, nobody ever tried this again. You can read about bagpipes here and learn about Rufus Harley's life and career and find out how he got mixed up with bagpipes in the first place here and here. The liner notes (with a little part missing) from the 1967 "Scotch & Soul" LP are here:

[ Rufus Harley: May 20, 1936 — July 31, 2006 ]