- EDDY & THE SOUL BAND Theme From “Shaft” (Club/Phonogram)
- Week Ending March 23rd 1985
- 1 Week At #1
So, this is the point in 1985 where the power of the Record Mirror club chart really began to exert its influence over me. An almost random, contemporary cover of a classic Isaac Hayes tune by a faceless Dutch dance combo, Theme From “Shaft” headed the RM listings for several weeks and then crossed over into the main UK Top 40, whereupon it reached a respectable #13.
My penchant for retro theme tunes given a modern twist wouldn’t be an isolated case; in subsequent years there would be Art Of Noise’s Peter Gun Theme and half of U2’s revamp of Mission:Impossible‘s iconic calling card, to name but two. I was obviously predisposed to this sort of thing.
Despite my misgivings over the fact it kept various singles from the top spot on my chart, or at the very least delayed their coronation, it’s a decent track. The aforementioned Art Of Noise appear to have provided the inspiration for the smattering of car sounds (Close To The Edit was still fresh in the memory) chucked into the mix, while some pleasing strings and horn stabs do justice to the original’s ultra cool vibe.
Having resurrected one of the great theme tunes of our time, Eddy and his Soul Band disappeared back into obscurity, safe in the knowledge their place in pop history was secure. You dig?
Amazingly few discotheques provide jukeboxes 