Bob Stanley

Latin Freestyle was a dizzying, passionate, ultra-modern music. It was the aural equivalent of a can of thirst-quenching Quatro or a Spanish Harlem dance-off, and it became the electronically constructed bridge between disco and house.
Freestyle grew out of the electro sound of the early 80s, combined clean staccato rhythms with morse code synth hooks, and topped them off with emotive, usually female, frequently Latina vocals. There was plenty more going on besides: proto-house piano lines, Cuban percussion, high emotion and synth hooks to die for.

A collection of sounds as big as the Chrysler, with the warmth of soft booth seating and the sweet melancholy of slightly peeling leatherette. Pancakes and coffee, maple syrup on the side, are the perfect accompaniment to this set from the golden Brill Building age of New York pop, compiled by Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs.

A collection of sounds as big as the Chrysler, with the warmth of soft booth seating and the sweet melancholy of slightly peeling leatherette. Pancakes and coffee, maple syrup on the side, are the perfect accompaniment to this set from the golden Brill Building age of New York pop, compiled by Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs.

Oreste Eugène De Maurizi began his career as a musician writing dance music: pasodobles, foxtrots, tangos, waltzes… for the various orchestras he directed as Bob Stanley. These orchestras used to play at the very popular ‘bals populaires ‘ of the twenties and thirties. Eastern European music has always cast a peculiar spell. There are for instance countless versions of the Russian song ‘Otchi Tchornye’ - “Les yeux noirs “ and some of these tunes made popular singers and musicians in the fifties really famous. Didn’t Charles Aznavour sing ‘Deux guitars?’ Under the musical direction of the international pianist Eric Lesage, Café de Maurizi Ensemble interprets with freshness, enthusiasm and authenticity these Transylvanian songs.

Digitally remastered collection from the iconic British Pop vocalist. Sandie Shaw's endearing and instantly recognizable voice and girl next door appeal married to the suburban Sixties in a nutshell songs of Chris Andrews made her a huge star with a golden run of hits. They're all present on this new selection made by Sandie herself along with the very best of her remarkable 80s recordings with the Smiths, radical reworking of her Eurovision - winning 'Puppet on a String' and a choice selection of album tracks and B sides. Also includes a new essay on Sandie by Bob Stanley of St Etienne.

Nothing said new or modern or futuristic quite like a synthesiser in the 70s and 80s. If you were shooting an advert and you wanted your product or your company to appear forward-thinking and ahead of the game, then you would want something electronic, something out of the ordinary. When TV producers and advertising directors started searching for music that sounded like “Tubular Bells” – and then Tomita, and later Jean Michel Jarre – music libraries such De Wolfe, Bruton, Parry and Chappell had to have the tracks readily available. Compiled by Bob Stanley, “Tomorrow’s Fashions” varies from advertising jingles and TV themes to space exploration and gorgeous, beatless ambience. Though it’s 40-to-50 years old there’s a real freshness to this music. Older jazz players Brian Bennett, John Cameron, Alan Hawkshaw and others seized the chance to operate a synth; younger pups including John Saunders and Monica Beale were simply intrigued by the new technology being wheeled into the studios. There’s a tangible sense of adventure.