Stevie Wonder - Love A Go Go

[Benji]

Stevie Wonder "Love a go go" on the dutch "blowin' in the wind"/US "Uptight" LP. What a haunting tune. How I never noticed this one before I don't know.

Was it played at allnighters?

[Pga1]

Hiya, yes, ' love a go go' got plays and became very popular due to its inclusion on a Motown  compilation some years ago. Can't remember exactly but most were compiled by Richard searling and jo Wallace  compiled one or two if I remember ?  Cheers

[Dave Pinch]

knew it as a young un in the 70s as i had it back then on a sounds superb/MFP  reissue lp...wasnt on the scene then but guys must surely have picked up on it.. got it on the uk uptight lp now

[Tlscapital]

Know it for a long time. Now I own it on the French EP and play it out from time to time. Think it had better exposure on the mod scene... in Brussels at least...

[Benji]

Thanks for the info! I'm usuallly not a big Stevie Wonder. But this one here is a sure exception. Maybe it's the mix of typical Motown backing with a "non-Motown" melody. Will give it a spin at a local 6t's dance next w/end and see if punters agree.

BTW, there's also quite nice blue eyed/Garage version by "The Lime".

[scunnyjack]

Was played off the original Stevie Wonder - Uptight album back in the late 60's, never released as a single in UK/USA at that time as far as I am aware. Played it a couple of years ago in Scunthorpe and the response was great by those never heard before, and those not for a long time.

[The Tempest]

Played out by Colin Law on the Scottish scene in the eighties , always a floor packer

[Sunnysoul]

Roburt
Future Classic

Members
 1,536
4,970 posts

Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) ·  Flag this post

The (King) Mojo Club in Sheffield was where I first got to experience the excitement of watching numerous live soul acts. Whether it was UK based outfits that played the Sunday night sessions (Jimmy James & Vags, Geno Washington & RJB, Alan Bown, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Childe & TNT, Chris Farlowe, Jimmy Cliffe & Breakdown Sound, etc.) or the American based acts that played the Saturday 'niters' or Sunday 'dayers' (Stevie Wonder, Garnet Mimms, Spellbinders, Alvin Cash & Crawlers, Roy C, Jnr Walker, Edwin Starr, Inez & Charlie Foxx, Ike & Tina Turner, Rufus Thomas, Wilson Pickett, Ben E King, Isley Bros, etc). In addition to all the live acts there were all the great new sounds on record that the place introduced me to (either directly or indirectly). The place was so influential in Yorkshire, that a new dance performed @ the Mojo would have spread out to clubs in Doncaster, Hull, Goole, Grimsby, Lincoln, Worksop & beyond within days. The same went for all the new records that Pete Stringfellow would spin. If Brenton Wood's “Gimme Little Sign” was played on import at the niter, club DJ's across the county would be chasing a copy by the Tuesday.

Top sounds @ the Mojo in 1967 were the Brenton Wood cut already mentioned, the Artistics “I'm Gonna Miss You”, Homer Banks “60 Minutes of Your love” & “A Lot Of Love”, Bud Harper “Mr. Soul”, Major Lance “The Beat”, Chubby Checker “Discotheque”, Inez & Charlie Foxx “Tightrope”, Wilson P's “Midnight Hour”, Eddie Floyd's “Knock On Wood”, Darrell Banks “Open The Door”, Phil Upchurch “Can't Sit Down”, Impressions “You've Been Cheatin”, COD's “Michael”, Rex Garvin's “Sock It To Em JB”, Lee Dorsey's “Ride Your Pony”, Fontella Bass “Rescue Me”, loads from Willie Mitchell, “The In Crowd”, “Never Like This Before”, “Billy's Bag”, “Harlem Shuffle” and many more. The list above doesn't even include any of the many Motown tracks that were anthems, as these are just too numerous to mention. The odd ska track was also still played; Prince Buster, the Folk Brothers & Roland Alphonso. But it wasn't only 45's that Pete played. Tracks such as Stevie Wonder's “Love A Go Go” and Billy Stewart's “Exodus” were up there amongst the top legendary tracks played on a regular basis. 

[Chalky]

Just got a Dutch copy of this Lp, good un it is too.

[Sebastian]

There's a version by swedish group The Slamcreepers as well:

 

[Roburt]

As was posted above, Stevie's "Love A Go Go" was a massive anthem at the Mojo in 66/67. "Going to a Go Go" was also massive as we all used to sing Going to a MoJo AND Love a Love a MoJo over the real words ... Stringfellow played it off the US LP from almost the day that album was released right thru to the end of the club in September 67.

I bought the 'Uptight' LP when it was a new UK release and bought the French ep on a visit to USA Record Shop in Paris in the late 70's.  

Just in passing, I was a regular guest on R Searling's Soul Sauce radio show on Radio Hallam in the 80's and we would do Mojo related slots. On a couple of these, I played "Love A Go Go", so Richard was certainly aware of the track back then. 

Edited February 5, 2017 by Roburt

[Daved]

The Truth did a cover version in 1983 so it must've been played out at mod revival dos at the time.