Discotheques have been with us for many years but the last two or three years have seen a veritable explosion of disco fever and the charts have filled with records aimed at setting the feet moving and filling the dance floor. It was George McCrae's multi-million selling Rock Your Baby which set it all off and that one was quickly followed by Carl Douglas's memorable Kung Fu Fighting a record which showed the way disco music was to go for, where once Black American soul music had dominated, suddenly the whole thing opened up to accept European artists, black and white alike, and a wide range of material, just as long as that dancing beat was there in strength. Suddenly long forgotten oldies were being revived, up-dated and turned into disco hits. Even some of the originals, notably by the late Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, made the upper reaches of the charts but, in the main, music publishers' back catalogues were scoured for standards which could be reworked by new artists. With this mixing of a totally new vein in music with old and familiar songs, barriers came tumbling down. Suddenly disco, by tradition the realm of youth opened out to embrace people of all ages and a wide range of musical tastes. Even the classics were re-visited and the winning format evolved as lush, clever orchestrations above a driving dance beat. Baby Face, Brazil, Tangerine and other songs from years gone by were given a new lease of life and there was brand new material too much of it, importantly, with an international flavour. Songs like El Bimbo, Una Paloma Blanca and Y Viva Espana weren't just big Continental hits, as you'd expect, but they conquered the British charts too and made an impression in America. Today there are something like 10,000 disc jockeys operating in Britain, some very much amateurs, some part-time professionals and a couple of thousand making their living by spinning the sounds people want to hear and those sounds have been reaching out to an ever-widening audience. The age of the mobile disco has brought that dancing beat into youth clubs, sports' club socials, town-hall functions, even old people's clubs - why there's even a 72-year old disc jockey operating in South London and finding plenty of work. Disco music has smashed the age barriers because it is about something we can all relate to pure, unabashed enjoyment. That's something Geoff Love and his Orchestra know a lot about. Their long and consistent run of best-selling albums have been packed full of music for sheer pleasure and his instantly recognisable sound adapts readily to the disco format with which it has such an affinity. Here then are the big sounds of disco, The Hustle, More, I'll Be Seeing You, some 16 superb tracks in all, including the pulsating original title track Dance, Dance, Dance and the number who's title sums up what the disco thing is all about:I Could Have Danced All Night.

ROGER ST. PIERRE