Is there any online resources compiling James Hamilton's Record Mirror charts from 20 years ago?

I'd like to find the old club charts that appeared in Record Mirror 20 years ago, but I don't seem to be able to find a resource that collates these items and wonder if anyone knows better? I was pointed in the direction of http://scans.chartarchive.org/ which is good, but only has the general RM charts from this time.

i might have a few issues from that time in a box somewhere (mostly bought on ebay a few years back), will see if i can find them

I've started a blog archive of all the disco/dance columns written by James Hamilton for Record Mirror, using transcripts that someone has been creating from microfilm copies of the paper held in the New York Public Library. This person (known only as Shootyourshot) was posting them in the forums of discomusic.com, but these went offline a few months ago and needed a new home. I've added copious YouTube embeds and Spotify playlists, for listening along purposes. All retrievable columns from 1975 are now up, and I've started today on 1976, adding one new column per day.

In these early days, James was writing as much for mobile DJs as club DJs, which leads to all sorts of eclectic weirdness, and a whole lot of naffness amongst the gems. But there are also periodic sideswipes into more interesting genres - and, in today's column, an extended introduction to dub reggae, which reveals impeccable taste.

The blog is at https://jameshamiltonsdiscopage.com/ - hope you like.

Oh, and the club charts are also being posted.

Did you ever read James' early 1992 reviews of UK hardcore breakbeat and proto jungle tracks in DJ magazine? They were great but I can't find any online anywhere. Apparently he used to count the bpm (which were an essential part of his review) by tapping along by hand. He reviewed stuff like early 4 Hero, LTJ Bukem, Acen and particularly memorably Egyptian Empire " Horn Track". If I ever find any I will post. A sample from memory would be something like " droning near Eastern horns and acid squelches end up mildly subservient to the violent amen drum breaks that race in to crash and spurt their way through this 163.2bpm hardcore rattler". Yes he did the bpm to 1 decimal place! Such a sad loss when he passed away.

Actually people discussing his very distinctive style here:

http://www.djhistory.com/node/1057141

wobbly bass hooked lurcher
jiggling, burbling throbber
122-123bpm, urgently striding, piano led thumper

James always had a particular focus on rhythm, so it makes sense that proto jungle would have intrigued him. Meanwhile, today's column (Jan 31 1976) is the first of three special reports from Billboard's first International Disco Forum in NYC - including, to my surprise, his first mention of beat-mixing, which he had just encountered for the fist time. I strongly suspect that this was the first mention of beat-mixing in the UK press, too.

https://jameshamiltonsdiscopage.com/1976/01/31/january-31-1976-new-york-disco-scene-special/

I remember his pages, and the very long chart he would do. I never heard any of the records mentioned, but as you say, there were loads of musical styles he would do before anyone - Asian disco for one, as well.

The paper did sort of spoil it by running a "comedy" version of an asian disco chart a few weeks later, lots of "poppadom" jokes, and so on..

It's fascinating to see James introducing some of the key elements of disco/dance culture in such rapid succession within his Record Mirror columns. Within the space of just four weeks, we've had the first mentions of beat mixing (31 Jan 1976), 12-inch singles (14 Feb 1976), and remixing (21 Feb 1976). ("A new breed of engineers who take another producer’s finished record and re-mix the tape to make a brighter version that’s more suitable for play in discotheques.") The world was changing fast.

@mike t-diva, you are awesome.

I second that emotion.

*dimples prettily*

Doing the blog is certainly fuelling my Discogs habit. Top recent discoveries: Cameo "It's Serious" / Norman Connors "Captain Connors".

Thanks for providing the links to info Mike

this is astonishing -- massive props!

I'm doing a new post every other day, and my intermediary tells me that columns are being transcribed through to at least 1989.

one of the few people on earth that could appreciate the Rod Stewart/Scotland 1978 World Cup Squad record.

His taste is commendably broad and fascinatingly singular. He picks out a lot of hits well ahead of time, but is sometimes dismissive of future classics (Young Hearts Run Free springs to mind), and raves about long forgotten flops, e.g. multiple releases by his beloved Dooley Silverspoon.

New feature alert: a full alphabetical list, Guinness Book of Hit Singles-style, of all Disco Chart entries from 1975 to 1979, with highest positions and weeks on chart.

https://jameshamiltonsdiscopage.com/chart-archive/a-full-list-of-all-record-mirror-uk-disco-chart-entries-1975-1979/

I've also tabulated the longest runners in the Disco Chart. The table is often strikingly non-canonical.

https://jameshamiltonsdiscopage.com/chart-archive/longest-running-entries-on-record-mirror-uk-disco-chart-1975-1979/

oh God, this whole blog. Spotify black hole here I come.

surprising to see some of those charting so well! and all the older hits randomly showing up, several of which would seem to be headscratchers for disco. i don't suppose enough detail was shown directly on the chart (catalog #s etc.) to ascertain whether those were reissues, special mixes or what?

The chart was more pop-orientated in its earlier years, hence a lot of totally non-disco stuff charted high. For example, even in late 1977, Tom Robinson's "2-4-6-8 Motorway" managed to stay at #1 for four weeks. There was a shift of emphasis in spring 1978, when the number of contributing DJs rose dramatically and the chart expanded to a Top 90. By the end of 1978, the chart was purged of all but the very biggest pop hits, but even these charted much lower.

Errrrrrrr....

Andy Cameron
Ally’s Tartan Army / I Wanna Be A Punk Rocker (Klub) — 11 March 1978: 36, 1

People danced to it!

Laurel & Hardy
The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine (United Artists) — 3 January 1976: 9, 1

So, James Hamilton's Record Mirror columns will be coming out in book form next autumn: a 900-page hardback, no less. We've got a VERY well known person to write the introduction. It is all very exciting.

Oh great! Please update when available to buy!

I certainly will.

I see it as a UK equivalent of that Vince Aletti book in certain respects.

oh nice - congrats mike!

Ta-dah!

https://jameshamiltonsdiscopage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/book-promo-image-1-small.jpg
https://jameshamiltonsdiscopage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/book-promo-image-2-small.jpg

The official publication date is December 7th, but there's a pre-sale, with copies dispatched well ahead of that.

We decided to split the content into two books, so there will be a second volume next year, covering 1983 to 1989.

Greg Wilson and I have also recorded a podcast to introduce the book: Who Was James Hamilton?

We are also going to talk about the book in London in late January, with some DJ-ing afterwards - details to follow.

It is all very exciting.

Is it just the record reviews or will it include the news and gossip he’d write?

congratulations mike t-diva!

Dan: there are over 5000 record reviews, but there's loads of other stuff besides: news and gossip, mini-features, monthly/year-end charts, individual DJ charts/import picks, lengthy introductions from Greg and myself, and it's comprehensively indexed in several ways, so that it can work as a reference book. There are also playlists for each month, containing almost all of the records reviewed (played end-to-end, they'd take about 4 weeks to get through!)

Excellent!

Thanks Mike, sounds great. You can hear his editorial voice in the news section and gives a strong flavour of how things were changing in this period.

brilliant! hope it goes great - will order.

ordered!

Thank you!

this looks great and is going straight on my Xmas list

i've been laid low by the lurgy for the past 8 days, but this book turned up in the nick of time and its been so much fun digging through it. haven't quite had the energy to start looking up stuff i don't know already, but just reading about the things i know and love but given this fuller historical context is so cool (wasn't expecting mag & the suspects, that was fun!). congrats mike! this book, my wife, and crisps have totally saved my christmas (maybe not quite in that order though)

needless to say i've been absolutely bingeing on disco pretty solidly, though albums rather than singles cos i can't keep getting up. from today:

sylvester - m1015
gino soccio - s-beat
revanche - music man
bumblebee unlimited - sting like a bee
black devil - disco club

(^ consider that my chart submission for the week)

My copy arrived today (super fast shipping!), I love dipping in and out of the Vince Aletti book and I already know I'll love this too

Ordered!

the Black Devil Disco Club record is unstoppable, it had a real renaissance here back at its re-release in 2005 or 2006 i recall

i can't stop listening to it at the moment! so good! just a shame about that fucking cover art

Greg Wilson and I will be talking about the James Hamilton book in London, with a Q&A, after which we'll be DJ-ing through to 1am. Tickets are via Eventbrite, either bundled with a purchase of a signed copy, or just for the event itself. What a wonderful opportunity to bang on about my specialist subject all night!

https://jameshamiltonsdiscopage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/walthamstow.jpg

"book launch with a proper club night" is SUCH a great description of a night I would want to attend!

Is there an entry in the book for Kanu Sukalagwun?

There are nine mentions of Kanu Sukalagwun in the index, so the affair is fully documented!

I had to pay 16 euros shipping and 13 euros for customs, but I finally got the book, and the index alone is worth the extra cost. Excellent work, Mike!

Bob Stanley’s lengthy appraisal of the book, and by extension of James, on his (obv paywalled) Patreon, posted today, has blown my mind - sorry, not very informative to anyone else here, but oh my God he NAILS it.