Boogie Friday

You couldn't swing a cat in England in the 1980s without hitting a white soul/funk band. Aside from mainstream acts like Level 42, Spandau Ballet, Wham! and Scritti Politti there was a whole bunch of lesser-known combos on indie labels like The Kane Gang. The group was formed in Newcastle in 1982 by singers Martin Brammer and Paul Woods with instrumentalist Dave Brewis and signed with local label Kitchenware (also the home of indie pop legends Prefab Sprout and The Daintees.)

Their debut single "Brother Brother" is a shuffling funk tune vaguely about Martin Luther King. The vocals are a bit flat at times but the groove is chunky and tight and wouldn't sound too out of place on a Slave album or something. For white boy funk made by three blokes from Newcastle (I think it's Brewis playing most of the instruments) on an indie label it's not too shabby at all, the scratchy funk guitar work is especially good. This is the 12" version.

They had a big hit on the UK charts in 1984 with their third single, the lovely Hall & Oates-ish ballad "The Closest Thing To Heaven" from their first album "The Bad & Lowdown World of The Kane Gang" which isn't in print anymore unfortunately. Their second, slicker album "Miracle" didn't do very well (though it did produce a minor US hit with "Motortown") and far as I can tell they must have broken up pretty soon after that - they didn't make any more records anyway.

[Download]
Brother Brother - The Kane Gang