Barbara Pennington - Fan The Flame

I first discovered Barbara in 1975, and we were both so very young, while holding auditions in Chicago, arranged by Danny Leake, who I'd met the year before, in England, with his group, 100% Pure Poison. We had a number one for seven weeks on the US Disco Charts with "Twenty Four Hours A Day". In the Eighties, I got her signed to Record Shack. This song was one of the most beloved of the Record Shack classics, and Barbara's biggest pop hit in the UK. After the success of "Twenty Four Hours A Day", and her being known as one of the Queens of Disco, now she wanted to go smooth and sultry. She made two huge soul classics of the 1980s, "Fan The Flame", and "On A Crowded Street". This was the first of the two, and became a Soul Anthem in London in the 1980s, especially plugged to death by Tony Blackburn on Radio London. It gave Record Shack a new direction in 1984, moving away from High Energy into more traditional soul, and people still remember the song to this day, twenty three years later, and it still looks cool ,and smooth except for those awful dated breakdancers at the beginning, but after all, it was 1984, and that was the year for it. But the rest hasn't really dated. Barbara looks sultry and sings like velvet. One of the greatest and most remembered Soul Boy Anthems of the 1980s.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Sophisticated-Soul
• Philly
• Motown
• Diva
• Eighties
• Funk
• High-Energy

[phillydisco]

Sorry, I just expanded the bio you wrote for Barbara, and you mention she was in 100% Pure Poison. Is that the same group that record Windy C and Puppet On A Chain? There are female vocals on No More City No More Country, was that her singing the scat vocals?

[IanLevine]

No - Danny Leake was in 100% Pure Poison, and he found Barbara for us to produce.

[acfgklm]

How lovely to hear this wonderful song again. I have this track on Vinyl. Haven't heard this tune in years. Very refreshing. Truly wonderful.

[IanLevine]

I've got 260 videos up on here. You should click on my name and then go through them - you might be amazed.

[dfwguy1]

Thank you for posting this-I really enjoyed it- and your work..My favorite song of the genre is "24 hours a day" -and I wore out my copy of Eastbound Expressway. A question -if I may;

finding (legal) mp3 downloads of classic disco material (such as yours) is hard to find- is that due to legal intanglements? Do you forsee any industry wide effort to make this classic vinyl material available again for sale in mp3 format?

And thanks to you -for providing us with so many hours of enjoyment...

[IanLevine]

All my old stuff is available for legal download from a company called One Media, who have a deal on my entire old catalogue. You should be able to find the stuff, but if you can't, then message me and I'll get you more information.

[tahira1]

Love this ladies voice. This song has always been a favorite of mine.

[phillydisco]

Whoops! My bad! Thanks for clearing that up, and thanks again for bringing these great vocal talents to record.

[phillydisco]

Nice cut! I only got her Midnight Ride LP, but this one I might have to check out too.

I didn't realize that you were also the same Ian Levine who was on all those Doctor Who documentaries! I've been a fan of DW since I discovered it as a kid during the Tom Baker years. So not only do I have you to thank for the great music you've made, but also for taking the time to restore so many lost DW stories. What do you think of the new series? I like Tennant, but Pertwee and Baker were my faves.

[djduncanjames]

this is badass ! Cheers from Stoke via Toronto !

[BarbraAlejandro]

Ian- So Glad To See That This Track Is Included On The New 3 Disc Set "Running In Another Direction"!!! So Many Great Tracks On There...72...WOW!!

[plhokko]

britsoul?? B.P. I s a yank!

[getwellqueenie]

TUNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[mark1968]

I have not heard this for donkey's years. Many thanks.