HERITAGE: Groundbreaking Mancunian R&B Band 52nd Street Perform "I'll Return" On 'Solid Soul' (1986)

HERITAGE: Groundbreaking Mancunian R&B Band 52nd Street Perform "I'll Return" On 'Solid Soul' (1986)


April 13, 2018

Before "Inner City Life", iconic vocalist Diane Charlemagne was heading up seminal R&B band 52nd Street, having replaced Beverly McDonald of Quango Quando. After leaving Tony Wilson's ill-fated Factory Records, the band found huge success on both sides of the Atlantic with their first two albums Children Of The Night and Something's Going On.

That debut album included their biggest hit by far, "Tell Me (How It Feels)" which should have earned them the US Billboard R&B #1 slot, but neither Virgin nor MCA got round to funding a video, giving it no chance to play on BET, MTV or any other channel. 

Their second album, Something's Going On, would prove to be their final successful album, but still spawned its share of hits. "Tell Me (How It Feels)", which you can see them performing on Channel 4's Solid Soul below, is an instant reminder of why they were able to dominate the charts and conquer America (despite label incompetence), and why producers like Goldie, Urban Cookie Collective, Aquasky, Caspa and more were queuing up to work with her.




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