Norma Lewis - Surprise Me Tonight

Norma Lewis was a great disco singer who lived in Birmingham. She was originally discovered by Marvin Howell, an American disco lover who lived in London for a while, and who originally ran the UK office for Casablanca Records, then formed ERC records and signed Norma. Marvin was the biggest supporter of The Saint nightclub in New York, out of anyone in the whole wide world. Anyway, Marvin had assorted high energy hits with Norma, such as "Life Is The Reason", "Maybe This Time", and "Fight For The Single Family". Jeff Weston always wanted to sign her to Record Shack, but never pulled it off. Norma was also the lead singer on Passion Records of the high energy group, Charade, who had a massive record with "Break Me". Jeff Weston had a catchphrase for her, and every time she came into Record Shack, he yelled out "Where's your handbag, girl". They had a running joke about handbags for years. Anyway, I finally got her to record for Nightmare, with "Surprise Me Tonight", and she performed it at the legendary party night at Heaven, in London's Charing Cross, "A Nightmare On Villiers Street".

Category:

Music

Tags:

• High-Energy
• Disco
• Eighties
• Eurobeat
• Diva
• Soul

[IanLevine]

Does anyone know where Norma Lewis is now ??

It would be great to do a new track with her.

[Biggl1]

Wow - memories are coming back to me....

I danced with Norma for half a minute or so when she performed this song at The Powerhouse in Birmingham in the late 1980's. I had already got the Nightmare 12", knew most of the words, and mimed the words with her as we jigged on the dance floor for a short while. It was a great PA - she has a great voice.

[tommi200561]

perfect nrg pop - many many happy 80's memories of Panama Jax & the Vintners in glasgow.

[tommi200561]

nrg pop perfection!! - memories of the vintners & panama jax. never ever thought i'd hear this again, thanks so much - hearing this again after all these years has put a smile on my face.

[enforcinmadam]

She's my next door neighbour! Just had a glass of wine with her.

[hansboyca]

The intro to the song really showcases the little background melody -- I wish I had the correct lingo. It really moves me! I wish there was a remix of this song so that we could get more of it.

[djmusicjac]

one of my high energy favourites, i remember playing this over and over again, fabulous

[javierlipnica]

Greeitngs with life love!! Noce song,best Artist!!

WElcome!!

Javier Lipnica

Heartbeat of love

[LASongwriter]

Great song; heard it the first time at Probe in Hollywood. And thanks for the history of Norma Lewis; I had no idea. I used to be a club DJ years ago, so it's always great reading info about artists, songs, labels, etc. I know Hot Productions in Miami had released a CD of Nightmare recordings, but I don't believe this song was on it - bummer. Thanks for posting!

[tom9872]

Hi Ian, I just wrote pretty much the same email, not having read yours yet. Tom