L.A. Mix

L.A. Mix were a British group composed of DMC mixer and club DJ Les Adams (29 November 1955[1] – 2 September 2019), his production partner and wife Emma Freilich and multi-instrumentalist Mike Stevens. All of the group's seven singles charted on the UK Singles Chart.[2]

L.A. Mix
OriginEngland
GenresDance, house, R&B
Years active1987–1992
LabelsBreakout, A&M
Associated actsJazzi P, Kevin Henry, Franseco, Beverlei Brown, Juliet Roberts
Past membersLes Adams
Emma Freilich
Mike Stevens

Biography

L.A. Mix consisted of then husband-and-wife team Les Adams and Emma Freilich, and Mike Stevens.

Their first hit was in 1987, "Don't Stop (Jammin')", which was based on a simple 8-track demo that Adams had formed in his home studio,[3] and made #47 on the UK Singles Chart.[4] That record got L.A. Mix in trouble, as the bassline had been taken from the song "Love Is the Message", resulting in Vincent Montana Jr. attempting to take an injunction out on the group.[5]

The record deal was initially only for one single, but then Adams remixed Maurice Joshua's "This Is Acid" by taking the vocals, adding a synth lead from Black Riot's "A Day in the Life", using the rhythm synth from Inner City's "Big Fun", sirens from some of Todd Terry's records and some assorted sexual screams of unknown origin from his collection,[5] and as a result the record went to #1 on the Hot Dance/Club Songs. Thus, the record label decided to release another single.

That single was "Check This Out", which was a UK #6 in 1988 and was their biggest hit.[4] That also raised legal ire, this time of the then-owner of Easy Street Records as the song included a short sample of "You Don't Know" by Serious Intention, and the owner of that label was one of New York's top lawyers. The matter was settled out of court for $15,000.[5] It is not to be confused by a Hardhouse song of the same name, also released in 1988.[6]

Next, in 1989 they released "Get Loose", which featured rapping by Pauline Bennett (under her stage name Jazzi P) and charted at #25[4] after they had been diagnosed by the songwriting team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman as being "unlikely to have another hit".[7] A fourth single, also released in 1989, "Love Together" featuring Kevin Henry, charted at #66. These four singles were aggregated on the album On the Side, which was released in 1989.[8]

In 1990, the first of three singles from L.A. Mix's second album was released. "Coming Back for More", also the title track of the new album, was released as a single. The song featured vocals from Franseco (Leslie George),[9] and charted at #50.[4] In 1991, "Mysteries of Love", featuring Beverlei Brown on lead vocals, Marcus C on rap and co-production from Andy Whitmore,[9] was released and made #46.[4] Their final single, "We Shouldn't Hold Hands in the Dark", also featured vocals from Franseco but also from Juliet Roberts[9] and charted at #69.[4] L.A. Mix also produced two UK Top 40 singles (one of which was a top ten hit) for Dannii Minogue's 1991 album, Love and Kisses; "I Don't Wanna Take This Pain" and "Jump to the Beat". They also produced work for Krush vocalist Ruth Joy, on her 1992 MCA album, Pride and Joy.

On 2 September 2019, it was announced that Les Adams had suffered a heart attack and died, after having suffered heart problems for some time.[10]

Discography

Albums
  • On the Side (1989), A&M
  • Coming Back for More (1990), A&M

Singles
  • "Don't Stop (Jammin')" (1987), Breakout – UK #47
  • "Check This Out" (1988), Breakout – UK #6
  • "Get Loose" (featuring Jazzi P) (1989), Breakout/A&M – UK #25
  • "Love Together" (featuring Kevin Henry) (1989), Breakout – UK #66
  • "Coming Back for More" (1990), A&M – UK #50
  • "Mysteries of Love" (1991), A&M – UK #46
  • "We Shouldn't Hold Hands in the Dark" (1991), A&M – UK #69

References
  1. Les Adams (29 November 1955). "Les Adams | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  2. "L.A. MIX | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  3. "Dancefloor Classics - Les Adams". Pictureperfectionist.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  4. "L.A. MIX | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  5. Phil Moffa (9 December 2011). "Key Tracks: Les Adams on the K&T remix of Maurice's "This Is Acid"". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  6. "The Official Charts Company - L.A. Mix". The Official Charts Company. 18 January 2015.
  7. Larkin, Colin. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (3 ed.). pp. 3093–4.
  8. On the Side (Media notes). A&M. 1989.
  9. Coming Back For More (Media notes). 1991.
  10. "Tributes paid to radio presenter and DJ Les Adams". Radiotoday.co.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
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