Monday, April 11, 2011

The O Medley by Bobby Orlando and Felix da Housecat

Hi-NRG was an outgrowth of Italo-disco; it's clubby, very mid to late 1980s. Bobby Orlando was one of the biggest names in this business, although in many ways, he was a name behind the scenes. Not famous for mainstream success under his own name, his pet project, The Flirts, which featured him along with a rotating cast of female musicians, put out the hits "Passion" and "Don't Put Another Dime in the Jukebox." But his influence in production, and in the underground club scene during the 80s, was remarkable.

An interesting personality: to quote another blog's characterization of him, "He's a hyper-macho, incredibly cocky, rampantly homophobic ex-boxer who made gay disco. He once backed out of a lease because he found out the previous tenant was gay, yet he produced legendary drag queen Divine, and discovered the Pet Shop Boys. Most of his songs are brazen odes to sex and partying, and yet he's a fundamentalist Christian." Many of the cliches of dance music from the 80s and into the 90s were actually Bobby O-isms; although Bobby O himself remains a somewhat shadowy figure to mainstream audiences.

Later, Felix da Housecat sampled some Bobby O when he made "Silver Screen Shower Scene" and even later, European mix artists 2 Many DJs mashed that song with the intro to a Bobby Orlando medley to give us this little gem of a song. Then, at the height of his influence and popularity, Bobby O apparently retired from the industry.