Balladen om Sultana

«Sultana» av Titanic er ikke bare Norges første internasjonale rockehit, sangen spiller også en viktig rolle i unnfangelsen av disco. Les den 40 år lange historien om låta og DJ Strangefruits kåring av tidenes 20 beste norske discolåter i dagens D2. Imens kan du høre originalen og flere versjoner av låta her, som en liten appettittvekker.

En lang rekke kulturpersonligheter har spilt en rolle i den lange og kronglete historien til «Sultana». I min sak dukker blant annet følgende folk opp: Høyrepolitiker Hallgrim Berg, technogruppa Ari Thunda, trommeslager Hugh Grundy fra The Zombies, Santana, discopionerene Francis Grasso, David Mancuso, Steve D’Acquisto, Walter Gibbons og Danny Krivit, for ikke å glemme en ny generasjon norske discomusikere: Rune Lindbæk, DJ Strangefruit, Lindstrøm, Diskjokke og Todd Terje.

«Sultana» ble spilt på kjendisfester i St. Tropez på 1970-tallet, på Casablanca i Oslo på 80-tallet, på Headon og Hyperstate på 90-tallet, og de spiller den fortsatt der ute. Både originalen og Todd Terjes kommende spacediskoklassiker «Torsk vs Todd». Rull deg nedover på siden for å høre denne og andre Titanic-relaterte discoklassikere.

For å sitere Rune Lindbæk på sistnevnte:

– Min største låt på gølvet om dagen. Enorm!

Jeg har også sport opp Emperor Rosko, den engelske dj-pioneren som skal ha hovedæren for at «Sultana» faktisk ble en hit. Her er mitt lille intervju med Bill Brewster, mannen bak bokklassikeren Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, om Rosko.

ØH: Do you know Rosko’s story? Who was he, where did he play, and was he an important figure in the history of British dance music?

BB: He was very influential over here to an older generation of DJs. Rosko had a national show on Radio 1. I vaguely remember him, but he was a little bit before my time, but I’ve subsequently heard the shows and they’re brilliant, very exciting and unlike most British DJs at the time. Here’s a quote from Ian Dewhirst, the northern soul DJ:

«Yeah, he was the best DJ I’d ever seen. I know it seems hard to imagine it now, but he was the most innovative of the radio DJs. A real character. He was responsible for playing a lot of soul. He was responsible for breaking ‘Double Barrel‘. Yeah. So his show was always interesting, on Saturday lunchtimes. A great delivery and playing ‘Two Can Make It Together‘ by Tony and Tandy, an incredible obscure record. ‘Seven Days Is Too Long‘ by Chuck Wood.

I stayed with relations in Brighton one Easter, just getting into northern soul. I was about 15 I think. Emperor Rosko was at the Top Rank there. He hadn’t arrived at the gig and it was five minutes before the start. He’d driven on his Harley down from London. and he came up through the entrance, on his bike, up a ramp to the stage on the Harley. Parked it. Went straight on, and delivered a devastating set, in a pop way. Leather outfit. To a 15-year-old kid, he represented what you expected a DJ to be. He looked sexy.

I asked him to play some northern soul. And he plays ‘I’ve Been Hurt’ by Guy Darrell. He says, ‘There’s a guy here says he wants some northern soul, so let’s try this.’ Bam bam bam. I’ve been Hurt! Wow. Fantastic. He didn’t even say I haven’t got time. Total professional.»

ØH: And Rosko’s radio dj-ing was probably more important in breaking «Sultana» to a bigger crowd?

BB: The Roadshow was something he did all over the country, not just in Manchester. A lot of the radio DJs on radio  used to make their money by running roadshows all over the UK, because they never got paid that much money for doing the actual radio slots. Radio was almost certainly where it was broken, although I’m sure clubs played a part.

ØH: Did «Sultana» have longevity on British dancefloors, or was it mostly a big hit in 1971?

BB: Again, it was a little bit before my time. I only remembered it as a pop record when I rediscovered its importance later on when researching disco. I don’t remember it getting plays in the late 70s.

ØH: Peter Shapiro writes in the book Turn That Beat Around that «Sultana», along with The Equals and Barrabás, laid the foundation for eurodisco. Do you agree?

BB: I suppose, in terms of it being a European record with a European sound, I think he’s right, although it doesn’t really sound much like the Eurodisco records, it’s more about the cultural impact. ØH: What would you say is the legacy of «Sultana», and the secret behind the track’s success?

BB: It’s a great record. Really good hook, brilliant percussion!

Til sist: Her er noen flere versjoner av «Sultana»:

* Chappy: «Sultana ’86» (1986) Ny versjon, gitt ut på tolvtommer av Kjell Asperud fra Titanic.

* Ari Thunda: «Sultana» (1997) Coverversjon gitt ut i England, på b-siden av tolvtommeren Trip Berg.

* Titanic: «Sultana (Danny Krivit Re-Edit)» (2002) Edit av Danny Krivit. Hør her.

* Todd Terje: «Torsk vs Todd» Dels en remiks av Bjørn Torskes «Langt fra Afrika», dels en hyllest til «Sultana». Så rykende fersk at jeg tror den ikke er sluppet ennå, men du kan sniklytte her.

Bonus 1: Todd Terjes første Titanic-edit.

Bonus 2: Fransk spacedisco.

Janne Løseth fra Titanic spilte senere i det franske bandet Space, best kjent for denne spacediscohiten fra 1977.