Tracklist:

Steve Jones - I Need You By My Side

Steve Jones - I Need You By My Side (Dub Version)

Fatboys U.K. - The Challenge

This rare Brit Funk 12” was originally released in 1984 and is now officially reissued for the first time by the excellent Isle Of Jura .Heavily influenced by US Boogie and Disco and there’s a Dub influence at play as Lindel Lewis, was also producing a lot of reggae around this time, most famously ‘Night Over Egypt’ by Mystic Harmony.

The 12” includes a previously unreleased Dub Version of ‘I Need You’ and was produced on two Analogue classics, Lindel says “I used a Linn Drum for the drums and played all synth parts using a Roland 106. I’m a classically trained musician and also a sound engineer, I worked at Mark Angelo Recording Studios for 18 years and have produced a great many artists. Steve Jones real name is Steve Myers, but I didn’t like the surname so changed it to Jones which felt more soulful. The name The Fat Boys came about because of the big bellies of myself the flute player Mike Appoh, my trainee engineer at the time. Ray Carlass played the sax solo, they have both now sadly passed”.