Velvet Hammer: Happy
(Soozi Records)
Following on from last week’s post I’ve decided to keep the Northern Soul theme going.
Although it sounds to me as if it might have been recorded earlier, today’s track first came out in 1977 as the B side of the single Party Hardy, released on Soozi Records, a small Chicago label. It also appeared on the album Call Me! from ’77 and it’s been re-released as a 45 in various combinations ever since, most recently by Originals who teamed the song up with its namesake by Pharrell Williams on limited edition 7 inch vinyl, Velvet Hammer being the A side.
I’m told it first became popular in Northern circles in 1978 when it was repeatedly spun at the Lafayette in Wolverhampton (where The Sex Pistols played as part of their SPOTS tour) before being picked up by Wigan Casino DJs like Richard Searling and Gary Rushbrooke.
This is Velvet Hammer and Happy:
This Happy though is probably best known as a YouTube sensation where ‘Northern Soul Girl’ Levanna McLean dances to half of the song together with half of Happy by Pharrell Williams. I know which one I prefer:
And if you want to hear a longer edit of the Velvet Hammer track here’s one by The Apple Scruffs which is definitely worth a listen. Enjoy:
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