The ‘Stakker Humanoid‘ single was a massive success. A follow-up single was pretty guaranteed. Dougans told IM&RW in February 1989 that it would “feature the same sort of acid burn as ‘Stakker Humanoid‘, but it’s more mellow.” This much is certainly true of ‘Slam’, a track that features the same Roland drum samples and 303 bass sounds as its more successful cousin. However, by the time the track was released in April 1989, it had come a long way from the moody version premiered on BBC Radio 1’s John Peel Show the previous November.
‘Slam’ is the first example of how Morgan Khan had started to direct the Humanoid project to his own tastes. Khan, of course, was a hugely influential label owner who played a large part in the spread of black dance music in the UK: his love of electro, hip-hop and classic house was clear through the material released on his iconic Street Sounds label. In many ways, ‘Stakker Humanoid’ was an outlier on Khan’s Westside label, and he tried to direct Dougans and Laker towards incorporating the sounds found elsewhere on the label. Thus, ‘Slam’ features extensive raps by Ben Ofoedu (who would later become famous as vocalist for Brighton-based house duo Phats & Small), and female vocals by Lisa Millett.
The single features four tracks: the original (listed as ‘Club Mix’, as was the style for many years), as well as a radio edit, an Ofoedu-led hip house version, and a track called ‘Bass Invaders’, which, despite the title, is effectively another remix of ‘Slam’. A music video was tentatively planned – Brian initially suggesting he was interested in working on it himself, before handing over the reins to Mark McLean (aka Buggy G. Riphead), who created a lo-fi art prank video that the label were less than satisfied with.
Hoping to build on the success of ‘Stakker Humanoid’, ‘Slam’ was once again licensed out to numerous international labels, including Beat Box (Sweden), Max Music (Spain), Five (Italy), ZYX (Germany), and the legendary Trax label in the US. In the UK, chart-friendly CD and 7″ versions also came out. Surprisingly, the track failed to live up to expectations, only reaching number 54 in the UK charts. Undoubtedly the stylistic change will have upset some acid fans, but the vocal house sound was very popular in the UK charts during 1989, and it seems odd that the track didn’t catch on. Either way, it marked a downturn in fortunes for Brian, who continued to work on the Humanoid album with increasing interference from the label. Not long after, he abandoned the project and returned home. It’s notable that neither ‘Slam’, nor the following Humanoid singles, feature in any way in the Humanoid section of the The Most Important Moments in a Life book.
Release date: April 1989
Tracklists:
12″ (WSRT14 / MAX 347 / ZYX 6135-12)
A1. Slam (Club Mix)
A2. Slam (Radio Edit)
B1. Bass Invaders
B2. Slam (Hip House Version)
CD (CDWSR14 / ZYX 6135-8)
1. Slam (Club Mix)
2. Slam (Radio Edit)
3. Bass Invaders
4. Slam (Hip House Version)
7″ (WSR14 / FM 13233 / BB 7169)
A. Slam
B. Bass Invaders
12″ (FM 13839)
A. Slam (Club Mix)
B. Slam (Radio Edit)
12″ (BB 8169)
A. Slam (Extended)
B1. Bass Invaders (Edit)
B2. Slam (Edited Hip House Version)
B3. Slam (Edit)
12″ (TX197)
A. Slam (Full Mix)
B. Slam (Hip House Mix)
Credits
Written by Brian Dougans.
Produced by B. Dougans / J. Laker.
Mixed by Brian Dougans / John Laker.
Engineered by John Laker.
Published by Pisces Music Ltd.
Recorded & mixed at Dance Music Studios, London.
Sleeve design and image created by IDEST.
With thanks to Spencer.
Special thanks to: Lisa Millett, Mark Walters, Rodney Williams, Benedict Ofoedu.
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