KC and the Sunshine Band Memories from 1975

I didn't keep a diary until 1976, so this is being written from memory about 29 years after the events!! So dates of song and album releases are a bit hazy. I also don't have any records of which music papers and magazines there were articles in either. Research will continue though.

"Get Down Tonight" was KC and the Sunshine Band's first new release of 1975, and got to no. 21 in the charts on 26 Apr 1975. This was the bands first really big hit in the States, but for some reason it was just never so popular here. There was no performance of it on Top of the Pops, but it was played on 17th April- maybe the dance troupe Pans People danced to it, or they played out with it. No doubt I watched TOTP every week hoping for a performance.

I used to buy all the music papers which might feature KC, and my friend Julie used to get the ones I didn't so between us we got most of them. I think it was in 1975 that the weekly paper "Black Echoes" was launched, and that and Record Mirror used to be delivered to my door every week. If they didn't arrive on the day they were due an anxious visit used to be paid to the newsagents to find out where they had got to. Julie's fave band were Franki Valli and the Four Seasons, so we used to look out for stuff for each other. I don't think I found that much KC stuff in 75, maybe a handful of pictures. I used to assign each picture a number, and stick them on cardboard covered with that plastic sticky stuff for covering books to preserve them. The first ever one I got from Julie was my fave and I used to carry it everywhere with me. Until Sept 1975 when there was an interview with KC and a largeish picture of him in Record Mirror, that then became my fave. I managed to track down a copy of that Record Mirror recently, I am keeping it intact, but my old fave picture has been photocopied- oh nostalgia.

Here is one of my earliest photos, this was in the monthly music magazine Black Music in early 1975.

KC and Rick Finch with TK boss Henry Stone

I can't remember exactly when the tour dates for the second tour were announced, but it took place in the summer of 1975, June/July I think. One of the concerts was to take place at The California Ballroom in Dunstable. I used to be allowed to phone their concert information line every Saturday to see what shows were coming up, but I can't remember if I found out about the show from that or from the music press. But I knew I HAD to go. As this was such a momentous event in my life, it is recorded on a special page.

The second album, "KC and the Sunshine Band" was released in 1975 and to my mind it is a classic album. I can't remember the release date or when I got my copy, it might have beena birthday present or I might have saved my pocket money. But I loved it, and still do now. I still have my original copy of that on Jayboy, (Cat. No. JSL9) and it is in remarkably good condition considering how much it got played. It has been reissued on CD and is available from KC's fan club, and the new edition is fabulous, it has several bonus tracks and a great set of sleeve notes. I do remember my one and only disappointment was that there were no pictures on the cover of the album.

I think I also joined the Fan Club in 1975, though as far as I remember there were no newsletters that year at all. I think I got a membership card though. Letters from the club, and the envelopes they used had the KCSB logo on them and one of those was cut out and turned into a badge. I think 1975 was the year I first started anxiously post watching.

"That's the Way (I Like It)" was released as the follow up to "Get Down Tonight" and was a big hit here and an even bigger one in the US. Its highest position here was no. 4 on 6 sept 1975.

There was apparently a promo video of the song on TOTP on 4th Sept 1975, which for some reason I don't remember at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Except.. except... memories are stirring... I THINK this is it.