Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers' "Swing the Mood: C/D?

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Call it a novelty song if you must, but this song still swings like a motherfucker. Plus, did "Another Day in Paradise" pre-date "the only unique musical genre of the new millenium" by over a decade?

And didn't the UKers get like three more from these guys? You don't know how lucky you have it sometimes, honestly.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 17 October 2005 18:51 (twenty years ago)

You cannot be serious.

― The Ghost of Even I Have Limits (Dan Perry), Monday, 17 October 2005 18:55 (twenty years ago)

sometimes I wonder, but I'm pretty sure

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 17 October 2005 18:57 (twenty years ago)

Stars At 45 for Stars At 65.

CLASSIC! (well, sorta)

― donut hallivallerieburtonelli omg lol (donut), Monday, 17 October 2005 18:58 (twenty years ago)

i owned the Jive Bunny album in elementary school. I have no idea what happened to it. I'd kind of like to hear it again. I know I liked it at the time and I know the concept sounds horrible now.

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 17 October 2005 18:58 (twenty years ago)

Stars At 45 for Stars At 65.

well-put.

This thing just puts a huge smile on my face whenever I hear it. I'm downloading it now, I'll YSI when it's done.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:00 (twenty years ago)

"Swing the Mood"

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:09 (twenty years ago)

This song made me hate Glen Miller and my grandmother for 10 years.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:13 (twenty years ago)

Granted, I think the original songs stand best on their own, but I like the idea that these were given the mix treatment. Doesn't Sweet and glam rock figure into one of these suites? That's an auto-classic in my book. (aside from the 1984 Sweet mega-mix that did something similar)

― donut hallivallerieburtonelli omg lol (donut), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:19 (twenty years ago)

I'm pistolwhipping my inner child.

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:20 (twenty years ago)

this might be somewhat tolerable if it wasn't for that drum track

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:20 (twenty years ago)

the drum track is the best part!

well fine, I'm not evevn going to ask about "Hooked on Classics" or "Jock Jams Megamix"

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:21 (twenty years ago)

It would be tolerable had every senior citizen not snickered to me, "This is what REAL MUSIC used to sound like" after Jive Bunny followed "Bust A Move" on Shadoe Stevens' American Top 40.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:22 (twenty years ago)

how many senior citizens were listening to Shadoe Stevens with you that week?

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:29 (twenty years ago)

It would be tolerable had every senior citizen not snickered to me, "This is what REAL MUSIC used to sound like" after Jive Bunny followed "Bust A Move" on Shadoe Stevens' American Top 40.

This world would be a slightly better place is EVERY SENIOR CITIZEN listened to Jive Bunny, for starters.

― donut hallivallerieburtonelli omg lol (donut), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:30 (twenty years ago)

how many senior citizens were listening to Shadoe Stevens with you that week?

my grandmother's bridge club! every Sunday! They did like Linda Ronstadt, though.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:32 (twenty years ago)

OH GOD WHY OH WHY DID I DOWNLOAD THIS ARGH

This is quite easily one of the worst things ever recorded. COME BACK "MAMBO #5", ALL IS FORGIVEN.

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:34 (twenty years ago)

The transition into "Wake Up, Little Suzie" is an aural Auschwitz.

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:35 (twenty years ago)

WO-WO-WOP-BA-BA-LOO-OP, A-WOP-BA-BA-LOO-OP, A WOP-BA-BA-LOO-OP, A-WOP-BOP-BOP

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:38 (twenty years ago)

"Mambo #5" is great!

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:39 (twenty years ago)

and yeah, I'll concede a "Mambo #5" victory

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:39 (twenty years ago)

the crown for most excruciating swing revival track is probably "Zoot Suit Riot." This at least has the mild charm of inexplicability.

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:40 (twenty years ago)

I like the opening to "Zoot Suit Riot" a whole lot, but aside from that I'd probably agree to that.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

There is no possible way that anyone with a shred of sanity could find this utterly disgusting DRECK to be less offensive than "Zoot Suit Riot".

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:49 (twenty years ago)

I'm putting on the Andrew Sister's "Seafood Mama" in honor of this thread.

― donut hallivallerieburtonelli omg lol (donut), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:51 (twenty years ago)

Jive Bunny = the English Steinski but better bcz he's a RABBIT!

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:55 (twenty years ago)

Diplo bought all their records last time he was in the UK and he's doing a mixtape putting crunk and Kelly Osbourne accappelas on top it will be off the chain mang.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:00 (twenty years ago)

"Furthermore known as 'Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers'. Jive Bunny was the bandname for father-and-son DJ team John and Andrew Pickles of Rotherham, England. Between 1989 and 1991 the duo released a series of hugely-popular albums and singles, all of which were essentially medlies of old rock'n'roll numbers (and Glen Miller) with house percussion and sampling tricks. They were so tacky as to be endearing, enormously catchy and danceable, and the records were particularly popular amongst the kind of people who nowadays like Steps. Had they gone to art school, the Mastermixers would nowadays hold the same reputation as The KLF.

The first three Jive Bunny singles topped the UK pop charts, and between 1989 and 1991 the duo sold over three million albums and singles in the UK alone. The bunny itself was rather ratty-looking, and the records are quite hard to get hold of nowadays. Noel Coward's line about the potency of cheap music has never applied more aptly than to Jive Bunny.

Scarily, Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers still release albums today, although they seem like a relic from a bygone age."

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:01 (twenty years ago)

http://harp28.kicks-ass.net/mt_slog/archive/jive_bunny.jpg

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:02 (twenty years ago)

I guess the reason I'm not so hung up about loving/hating the Bunny is that I picked up the album for 50 cents many, many years ago.. which is probably worth less than 30 minutes or less worth of download time today.

― donut hallivallerieburtonelli omg lol (donut), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

Haha when I was 16 and JB was topping the charts he was THE ENEMY and I hated him with a fiery passion, looking back he's kind of harmless though I wouldn't listen for fun. The videos are AMAZING, these sombre shots of young men going to war, bombers etc. and then a shitly drawn cartoon rabbit goose-steps across the screen!!

He's still going AFAIK.

― Tom (Groke), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

"Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers was the accidental brainchild of father and son team, John and Andrew Pickles. They ran the Music Factory which operates a DJ mix service called Music Factory Mastermix, providing DJs with exclusive megamixes of classic and up to date tracks from the Music Factory roster of top remixers. One of these albums featured a rock n roll mix entitled ‘Swing The Mood’. This was intended as a DJ only party mix but during the the summer of 1988 the interest in this mix grew to such an extent that a single was called for. So, in January 1989, John Pickles decided to release ‘Swing the Mood’ as a commercial single. It took six months to obtain the rights to use the rock n roll tracks featured within ‘Swing the Mood’."

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:04 (twenty years ago)

www.lyricsdownload.com/jive-bunny-and-the-mastermixers-lyrics.html is a helpful resource that I use all the time.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:05 (twenty years ago)

Jean Michel Basquiat drew the cover art for the 'C'C'Come On Everybody' 12" that can be seen above. It is the most expesive hip-hop 12" of all time fetching in excess of $1000!

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:08 (twenty years ago)

I would like to set Jive Bunny on fire.

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:15 (twenty years ago)

(Despite Tom's description of that video, which is just bonkers.)

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:16 (twenty years ago)

Jive Bunny died of dj-mixomatosis last year. I'm criying :(

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

Jive Bunny vs. Arctic Monkeys fite!

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:57 (twenty years ago)

Ah c'mon, Jive Bunny pisses all over the Erctic Mernkeys.

I still cannot hear the intro of "In the Mood" without anticipating "Come on everybody c-c-come on everybody". I wonder if a Bunny/Frog collaboration might be on the cards for 2006?

― Nöödle Vägue (noodle vague), Monday, 17 October 2005 21:02 (twenty years ago)

I wonder if a Bunny/Frog collaboration might be on the cards for 2006?

shit, this would've made a better thread.

On the other hand, I guess I understand better now why some people here are willing to take the Frog seriously.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 01:41 (twenty years ago)

My brother had the first Jive Bunny elpee, and it soundtracked many insane good-time fun-dancing times in the O household. We would blast it very loud while our parents were out and invite our neighbours to join us. We would also play Twisted Sister extremely loudly along with the Jive Bunny.

Classic, obviously.

― edward o (edwardo), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 01:52 (twenty years ago)

Crazy Frog's true lineage is not the Jive Bunny but the Surfin' Bird.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 01:56 (twenty years ago)

Actually Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers were and are an irredeemable, scab-friendly pile of shit.

Oh, and Crazy Frog is shit, and Schnappie is shit.

See how much easier your life has now become?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 06:42 (twenty years ago)

Marcello hates fun.

― Nöödle Vägue (noodle vague), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 07:08 (twenty years ago)

No, Marcello hates crap music. There is an important distinction.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 07:12 (twenty years ago)

Pickles fils went on to found the well boshin' hard house label Tidy Trax. He's also one half of the DJ/production team the Tidy Boys.

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 08:56 (twenty years ago)

It wouldn't matter if he were half of OutKast. Once a scab, always a scab.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:00 (twenty years ago)

http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=tbn:0V7oJ_UwXoQJ:harp28.kicks-ass.net/mt_slog/archive/jive_bunny.jpg + ( http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=tbn:JoD8FYfWRg0J:www.cityofboise.org/police/images/ecstacy-R.jpg x 100) = http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=tbn:pDasY83JGVUJ:edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/sped/images/reallifephotos/Vacuum%2520Cleaner.jpg http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=tbn:PEPTqankpO0J:static.howstuffworks.com/gif/vacuum-cleaner-upright.jpg http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=tbn:VqiEsnOeytwJ:www.bullnet.co.uk/henry/l0200007.jpg

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:23 (twenty years ago)

Is that autographed photo of Barry Cryer still going for 25p on ebay?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:24 (twenty years ago)

I don't mind it really. The way they play with introducing the next track by playing with the vocal is annoying granted but you know I'm generally down with this sort of thing, as opposed to "Down with this sort of thing!"

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:37 (twenty years ago)

for a few years (let's call them the 90s) i was embarrassed that i owned this.

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:38 (twenty years ago)

What is unfathomable is how they could make one of the worst records ever out of elements of some of the greatest records ever. The Strokes to thread.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:39 (twenty years ago)

What's the scab story, Marcello?

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:40 (twenty years ago)

iirc the LP diversified from '50s stuff to glam rock and had gary glitter and others so really they invented the remix, '89 style. i was only 9.

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:41 (twenty years ago)

miners' strike tom. they were among the first to return to work before the strike ended. a lot of people in that part of yorkshire still haven't forgiven them.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:42 (twenty years ago)

God I had forgotten how much I hate Jive Bunny. I had my first job during the summer of '89 working in an office above a air filter factory and they had Radio 1 playing through a crappy tinny trebley tannoy all day, and Jive Bunny was on all the bloody time and whenever I think about it I just think of sitting in that stinking office above the factory listening to appalling music through the crappest tannoy on earth. No wonder I went out and bought "Isn't anything" with my first week's wages...

― Rob M (Rob M), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:50 (twenty years ago)

maybe that was their cunning plan!

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:51 (twenty years ago)

I had always been under the impression that 'Swing The Mood' had been put together directly by Stock And Aitken for some reason.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:51 (twenty years ago)

miners' strike tom. they were among the first to return to work before the strike ended. a lot of people in that part of yorkshire still haven't forgiven them.
-- Marcello Carlin (marcellocarli...), October 18th, 2005.

jive bunny and the mastermixers?

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:54 (twenty years ago)

I was working on a tomato picking farm that summer Rob. The two tracks that really aggravated me were "Days" by Kirsty MacColl and "Breakthru" by Queen. With my first week's wages I bought "The Eight-Legged Groove Machine" by the Wonder Stuff because of a four star review in Q (thread crossover!).

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:56 (twenty years ago)

What is unfathomable is how they could make one of the worst records ever out of elements of some of the greatest records ever.

I would like to know why, esp. in light of the fact that whilst it was number 1 you also had things like 'Latino Rave' (and some time later 'The Brits 1990') in the top ten which were conceptually the same thing except this time rounding up all the big Euro dance hits of the time. At the time 'Latino Rave' seemed more viable as something you could play out, listen to, dance to etc. but it's funny that within just a few months it had been forgotten about whereas most of the tracks it featured would live on and be revived again and again. I understand why this is, but it's still interesting how the megamixes end up forgotten about if not actually reviled.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:56 (twenty years ago)

Tom, curiously enough that Wonder Stuff album was my second choice if I couldn't find "Isn't anything". I wonder how different my life would have been if I'd bought that instead.

Regarding the other megamixes of the time, they don't get played at weddings any longer, so have been forgotten, and were probably of a limited shelf life anyway. Making up a record of acknowledged classics is a surefire way to annoy a lot of people who recognise them as acknowledged classics and thus consider the megamix to be sacriligeous (sp?)

― Rob M (Rob M), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 09:59 (twenty years ago)

But given the nature of Dance music at that time I seriously doubt anybody was objecting to things like 'Latino Rave' of 'The Brits 1990' much at all. It seemed much more popular in Europe. Snap and Technotronic went on to release megamixes of their previous singles as new singles themselves - and they were popular enough at the time despite the cheekiness/cynicism of the whole thing.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:04 (twenty years ago)

Er, the kiddies and grannies bought Jive Bunny.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:05 (twenty years ago)

Mastermixers records were and are excruciating. No way in the world am I d/l-ing that track.

When I worked in the used record store (yeah, I know, I'm sorry to drag it up yet again) jive bunny records were actually "sought after" and we did used to keep them to one side whenever they came in (which wasn't that often). People would pay over the odds for them. Mainly DJs. In a way I guess they were the predecessors of the whole "bootleg/mashup" thing.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:06 (twenty years ago)

It was a James Whale/Garry Bushell concept of The People's Music (cf. Singing Squaddies, Sven Sven Sven etc.).

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:06 (twenty years ago)

Strictly speaking the original Stars On 45 mixes were bootlegs.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:07 (twenty years ago)

Look forward to 'Swing The Mood' and it's sequels on the Popular blog, so far away now...

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:07 (twenty years ago)

2094 or thereabouts...

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:09 (twenty years ago)

You're right, nobody DID object to them, and probably discos or raves at the time were making their own megamixes of the songs before they hit the presses. People only objected to cynical megamixing of old rock'n'roll classics which didn't really need megamixing in the first place.

Sorry if I'm getting worked up about such a trivial thing.

xpost now...
The Stars on 45 tracks were made by studio musicians trying to sound like the originals, not the orginal tracks though, so would they count as bootlegs in the modern sense?

― Rob M (Rob M), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:10 (twenty years ago)

You can read it to your kids as a bedtime story Steve.

xpost OK grandkids.

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:10 (twenty years ago)

People only objected to cynical megamixing of old rock'n'roll classics which didn't really need megamixing in the first place.

Yeah I think it was just this. But the big dance megamixes cred evaporated quickly enough itself, as scenes took off and that 'anti-commercial' attitude grew.

Although, LA Mix's 'Check This Out' did mock on record the over-use of the 'this is a journey into sound' and 'pump up the volume' samples being so widely used by various producers at the time (actually '88 in this case iirc).

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:14 (twenty years ago)

The Stars On 45 Beatles mix began life as a bona fide bootleg, with original vocals, etc., as did the Abba one. Then for obvious legal reasons Jaap Eggermont and Co. had to go into the studio and re-record the whole thing, and that's what came out on CBS in 1981.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:16 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I remember hearing the original Stars on 45 bootleg mixes in clubs for quite a while before the Beatles single came out. (The 12" version of the Abba mix is quite random and bizarre, with a fair whack of 1960s folk/pop (Eve Of Destruction, Monday Monday etc) for six or seven minutes before Abba even gets a look-in.)

The mocking spoken word bits on Les Adams/L.A. Mix "Check This Out" were actually supplied by James Hamilton from Record Mirror; he and Adams had been judging a mixing competition, and had been driven to distraction by the endless repetition of the same tired old samples. (JH does some spoken word stuff on an Altern-8 single as well.)

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 10:30 (twenty years ago)

i can't believe jive bunny and the fucking master fucking mixers has merited such a lengthy discussion. the whole thing was a pile of horsewank. end of.

that said: i'd love to see the video tom describes upthread - i don't remember that at all :)

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 11:10 (twenty years ago)

I remember it. "Thanks" Tom.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 11:12 (twenty years ago)

JH does some spoken word stuff on an Altern-8 single as well.

which one? his accent is similar to the guy on 'Infiltr-8 202' ("Asterix & Space" etc.)

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 11:31 (twenty years ago)

Yup, that's the one. "Oh no, not more bass." JH = MC Jammy Hammy.

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 12:19 (twenty years ago)

Anyone here read Jeremy J. Beadle's Will Pop Eat Itself? 'Cause that's the first thing that came to mind when I saw this thread.

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Tuesday, 18 October 2005 13:54 (twenty years ago)

eight years pass...

do people smoke weed when they listen to jive bunny?

― OutdoorFish, Monday, 27 January 2014 00:54 (twelve years ago)

do people ~~smoke weed when they~~ listen to jive bunny?

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 27 January 2014 00:55 (twelve years ago)

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