The Rolling Stones, The Harlem Shuffle

I was never a big Stones fan. But back in at high school this was a regular on the jukebox of Corriere’s cafe Stirling. We’d put in 20p for the music and spend the remaining 50p or so on a poke of chips and sit on the banquettes. Patrons Peter and Robert would look on disapprovingly while we needlessly emptied bottle after bottle of ketchup, drowning the food in sticky red — the sauce probably costing more than the tatties.

I had no idea the track back in ’86 was a new release. I looked on the Stones back then — as I do now — as Beatles era music that was no longer productive. How wrong I was. The video seems to be way ahead of its time too with some superb eighties colours and Mick really enjoying himself. Skip to 0’46 to avoid the puzzling animal sounds intro.

It’s just one a long line of great examples of white acts picking up on black music, making it popular and bringing it to a wider audience, a phenomenon I came across again about 3 years later when Hard to Handle by the Black Crowes hit the shops.


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