Pearly Gates - Action

This is our version of the huge High Energy classic, "Action", which originally came out on a label called Funking Marvellous, in 1985. Pearly Gates, real name Vi Billups, was one of the three original members of The Flirtations. They started out as the Gypsies, a group from New York, with the early sixties girl group classics, "Jerk It", and the Northern Soul legendary classic "It's A Woman's World", before becoming The Flirtations, and emigrating to England. They had many hits in the 1970s, including "Nothing But A Heartache", and another Northern Soul classic, "Need Your Love", on the Deram label. In the late seventies they disbanded, and I got to produce a whole album on Pearly, called "No Two Ways About It", during the classic disco era, an album for Music Business legend, Artie Mogul ,once he had left United Artists in 1979. But he reneged on the deal, and I never got paid, and the album never came out, till years later, when I started using the tracks on my Nightmare Gold series in 1986, and then eventually the tracks were all used on Hot Records 1995 CD release, "The Best Of Pearly Gates". In the meantime, the Flirtations, without Pearly, had reformed for Proto Records, for Barry Evangeli, with the high energy anthem, "Earthquake", which Ian Anthony Stephens produced. This lineup of The Flirtations then went to Passion Records, under Anne Plaxton, and I got to produce them on "Read All About It". And at the same time, Pearly herself did a solo track for a label called Funkin Marvellous, called "Action", which George Hargreaves produced, and this was a huge floorfilling classic, and one of the most popular High Energy records of the 1980s. Next, I myself produced her next single for that label, called "Third Time Lucky". Then Pearly rejoined the Flirtations, and all three original girls, Earnestine, Shirley, and Pearly, were back together once again. We then did a Flirtations single for Nightmare Records, called "Back On My Feet Again", and also a solo track with Pearly called "One Less Bell To Answer" . Finally we had so many tracks with Pearly that we completed the "Best Of Pearly Gates" album for Hot Productions. I have now known Pearly for thirty years, and yet she still looks thirty years old.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• High-Energy
• Disco
• Record-Shack
• Centre-City
• Hi-NRG
• Diva
• Girl-Groups
• Female-Singers
• Gay-Disco
• Motorcity
• Dance
• Eighties
• 1980s

[BarbraAlejandro]

Gotta Love This Fantasic Lady!!!! Thanks Ian For The New Videos!!! You Are THE BEST!!! Please Take Care-David

[topg234]

Funky!

[djmusicjac]

Pearly Gates, is tops! i have always loved this track, ian levine in king of high energy, united kingdom

[sizzlingstea]

Does anyone remember seeing an amateur singer performing this song on one of those "Stupidest Moments Caught on Tape" shows that FOX used to run all the time? I am looking for that clip...

[leedsmarc37]

O M G this reminds me of bananas pub in leeds in years gone by

[GARCOOPY]

i friggin love this track!! IAN you are a STaRRR ! and Mr F Trench!!!

[centralline1]

Must say, Pearly hasn't aged at all.If this had been promoted better in could have been as big as so macho

[CLCMB]

Nice, very nice!!

Thnx!

[countrystyle1]

love it ,,catchy tune

[edinburghmarc]

OMG This reminds me of so many happy memories. Thank you for posting this Ian.