Light of the World (1979) and the origins of 'Brit Funk'(2)

Having co-founded the Ensign record label in the mid-seventies, Chris felt a certain responsibiltiy. "There I was," Chris explains, "a successful, very influential disc jockey working in a record company and I had a chance to do something about it. The chance to say 'Alright, fuck it. Maybe we can give English kids a chance. Why shouldn't we develop the idea of a Black Music scene here.' That's the best thing we ever did, those of us who were involved in the early stages of the British Soul scene. Our greatest contribution was the fact we created an environment that allowed kids to make the kind of records they wanted to make." And so Light Of The World became part of the first wave of what became known as Brit Funk, along with acts like Hi-Tension (Hi-Tension, British Hustle) and Atmosfear (Dancing In Outer Space).

Swingin' was their first single, released early in 1979, and soon became a favourite on dancefloors reaching a respectable number 45 in the National charts. By the release of the album, the bands line-up consisted of Nevil 'Breeze' McKrieth (guitar and lead vocals), Paul 'Tubbs' Williams (bass), Pete Hinds (keyboards), Everton McCalla (drums), David 'Baps' Baptiste (tenor saxophone), Canute 'Kenny' Wellington (trumpet), Ganiyu 'Gee' Bello (vocals), Nathaniel Augustin (gutairs and vocals) and Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick (guitars and vocals). Their influence came from the disco funk sounds of the time, bands like Slave, Brass Construction, Fatback Band, Players Association and Cameo. But it was more song orientated, a heightened pop sensibility caused by a more catholic exposure to music unlike America's segregated Radio Stations (remember what Radio 1 used to be?). Then there was the major success of Heatwave's British songwriter, Rod Temperton, to aspire to.

Midnight Groovin' and Who Are You (Who Do You Think You Are) ? closely follow Swingin', whereas Liv Togevver (The Greater London Funkathon) throws in more of a British slant. With it's playful pub intro ("I'll have a pint of light 'n' bitt'r") and vocals sung with more cockney swagger than the cast of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. That sense of fun comes to the fore, that they're really enjoying what they're doing. Elsewhere they showed a fair hand for ballads like Dreams and Mirror Of My Soul, co-witten and sung by Maunick, and there's Aspects, a mellow uptempo tune carried by a catchy acoustic guitar riff.

What it lacks in the sophisciation and professionalism of its American counterpart it more than makes up for in pure passion and enthusiasm. Overshadowed by Punk which preached anarchy, Brit Funk did not have shared its aggressive tone. It didn't want to spit in your face but make you dance. That didn't stop it from having very real, important things to say, such as with Light Of The World's 1980 single-only release The Boys In Blue. Nearly twenty years on have police attitudes to the Black community changed?

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