MISS DISCO Talk New Single, Favourite Instruments And More

Top seven-piece disco revue band Miss Disco have released their debut single ‘One Step (After Another). The band’s bassist and friend of JLTT Dave Clarke kindly chatted to us about the track, favourite instruments and more:

Who is in Miss Disco, what do they play and how did you meet?

Miss Disco is:

Sue Darwar (aka Susan Pinky): lead female vocals

Marc Rapson (aka Marcus Tinkler): lead male vocals & keys

Bill Lennon (aka Funkin’ Jack Flash): guitar & backing vocals

Dave Clarke (aka DC1): bass

Warren Woodcraft (Warren Terror): drums & backing vocals

Loren Hignell (Randy Blohard): Saxophone

Adam Brown (Max Blohard): Trumpet

We all met through the band itself. This line-up has pretty much been together since 2014, but we didn’t officially launch as Miss Disco until the pandemic in 2020. To preserve our sanity during the lockdowns, we gave ourselves something to look forward to by officially creating and launching Miss Disco. We spent about six months building our website, designing logos, creating our social media platforms and remotely recording a whole bunch of demo tracks. It’s was also during that time that we stumbled across the mirrorball helmets, which we had to have! As for the band’s name, it took us about 10 seconds to decide on Miss Disco – it the perfect name for this band.

When did you begin songwriting?

Until we started recording our debut single over the summer, writing together had never crossed our minds. But the experience of working with such an experienced songwriter as Mark Wesley opened our eyes to what’s possible with this band. I can see us being involved in future collaborations, both with Mark and other writers to release more original material. It’s been a great experience for everyone involved.

 What is your earliest musical memory?

Standing on a chair in my parents’ living room and miming along to whoever was on Top of The Pops that week, complete with a toy bass guitar. In that sense, I’ve been playing bass since I was 3!

Your new single ‘One Step (After Another)’ is out now. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

A couple of years ago, the aforementioned songwriter-producer and broadcaster Mark Wesley got in touch to ask if we’d be interested in recording and releasing a song he’d written in 1974. Mark was one the six Radio Luxembourg DJs in the 1970s, but also wrote and produced records for a variety of record companies’ artists, including The Philadelphia Flyers, Leroy Brown and The Miracle Workers, amongst many others. Mark had self-produced a demo of ‘One Step (After Another)’ in November 1976, complete with a full orchestra, and was confident it would be a big hit for someone. However, much to his surprise, the labels he worked with turn it down while they looked to cash in on the punk scene that the Sex Pistols had just ignited with the release of ‘Anarchy In The UK’. So Mark reluctantly shelved the project and forgot about it until he saw us play live a couple of years ago, which was the catalyst for him getting in touch. Hearing the single being played on radio stations has been quite surreal.

Where did you record the song and who produced it? 

We recorded it at 4C-9B in Hertford, before mixing it at Highfield Studios in Essex. It was produced by Miss Disco’s keys player/male vocalist Marc Rapson.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

When I was recording my bass line, Marc was sat at the mixing desk with his back to me. I didn’t think he could see what I was doing, so I was really getting into it and giving it some full-on ‘bass face’. I then I find that Marc had filmed the whole thing. Most embarrassing!

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage? 

A Miss Disco gig is all about a having a night of joyous escapism on the dance floor, so good vibes and aching feet.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

I play a Fender Jazz Aerodyne, which I had it mirrorballed to fit the Miss Disco aesthetic. Liberace would be proud of it.

 Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

I’m very proud to say I’m originally from Portsmouth, but I’ve spent most of my life living in and around Saffron Walden in Essex. In 5 words:

Historic

Quaint

Happy

Market

Traffic

How do you look after your voices? 

Sue has a warm-up routine which involves several different vocal exercises. You know it’s nearly gig time when you hear Sue singing variations of “la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la” in ascending keys!

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Karl Marx’s Das Kapital. I’d turn it in to a disco musical, where his theory of dialectical materialism is explained in a song with a killer groove.

Are there plans to release an official video for the single?

There will be a lyric video and a visualiser, but nothing to trouble the MTV Awards.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

As a bass player, my two main influences are Chic’s Bernard Edwards and Duran Duran’s John Taylor. My favourite artist of 2024 is Lola Young. Her singles ‘Wish You Were Dead’, ‘Messy’ and ‘Big Brown Eyes’ are all fantastic and make for uncomfortable singalongs in the car with my daughter.

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2024/2025?

We get booked to play at a lot of private events, so we don’t play as many public shows as we perhaps could or should. But, that said, we have a few public shows left this year, and next year looks like it’s going to be our busiest ever. So, yes, we’ll be out there doing our thing somewhere. And we love playing at festivals, so with a little luck we’ll play a few more in both the UK and mainland Europe next summer.

Do you have any plans to release more new music in 2024/2025? 

We have a taste for it now, so yes. But whether that actually happens or not remains to be seen.

What makes Miss Disco happy and what makes you unhappy?

Happy: playing in a room full of people having a good time.

Unhappy: traffic jams.