Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG is a musical genre that was born in the late 70s and early 80s, during the heyday of disco. This high-energy style of music is characterized by its fast-paced beats and uptempo rhythms, which make it popular for dancing. Hi-NRG is a combination of disco, funk, and electronic elements, and it became popular in clubs across the world. This genre has gone through various changes and transformations over the years, but it remains an important influence on dance and pop music. Hi-NRG first emerged in the early 1980s, as an offshoot of disco. In the UK, a few independent labels began developing a faster and more electronic style of dance music, which was influenced by New Wave and punk music. These early Hi-NRG tracks were characterized by their fast beats, electronic basslines, and repeated choruses. These songs were designed to be played in clubs, where people could dance the night away. One of the most influential Hi-NRG artists of this early period was Patrick Cowley. Cowley was a San Francisco-based musician and producer who helped pioneer the Hi-NRG sound. He worked with artists like Sylvester and Paul Parker, and he was instrumental in developing the electronic sound that would define the genre. Cowley's untimely death in 1982 cut his career short, but his influence on Hi-NRG has been immense. Hi-NRG continued to evolve throughout the 1980s, as artists from around the world embraced the genre. In the UK, labels like PWL and Supreme Records began releasing Hi-NRG tracks, which became hugely popular in clubs throughout the country. These songs were typically produced with a mix of synthesizers, drum machines, and live instrumentation, and they often featured driving basslines and soaring vocals. One of the most successful Hi-NRG acts of the 80s was Dead or Alive. Led by singer Pete Burns, the group had a string of hits in the UK and the US, including "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" and "Brand New Lover." Dead or Alive's flamboyant image and catchy dance-pop sound helped to define the Hi-NRG genre, and they remain an important influence on pop music today. As the 80s gave way to the 90s, Hi-NRG began to fade from the mainstream. The rise of grunge and alternative rock led to a decline in dance-pop, and many Hi-NRG artists struggled to find an audience. However, the genre remained popular in clubs and among niche audiences. In the late 90s, artists like Kylie Minogue and Madonna began incorporating Hi-NRG elements into their pop music, which helped to give the genre a new lease on life. Today, Hi-NRG continues to be a popular influence on dance and pop music. While the sound has evolved over the years, with elements of techno, trance, and house music influencing its development, the core elements of the genre remain intact. Hi-NRG is a testament to the power of dance music, and its legacy continues to inspire new generations of artists and dancers.

Bobby O: Bobby O, whose real name is Robert Orlando, was a prolific American Hi-NRG producer and songwriter in the 1980s. He collaborated with various artists and produced hits such as "Passion" by The Flirts and "Self Control" by Laura Branigan. Evelyn Thomas: Evelyn Thomas, born in Chicago, is a Hi-NRG and disco singer known for her hits "High Energy" and "Masquerade". Her powerful voice and performances made her one of the genre's most recognizable singers. Hazell Dean: Hazell Dean is an English Hi-NRG singer and songwriter who rose to fame in the mid-1980s with hit songs like "Searchin'" and "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)". Her music was extensively played in the gay dance clubs across Europe. Patrick Cowley: Patrick Cowley was an American musician, composer and producer who worked primarily in the Hi-NRG genre. He was known for his synthesizer-heavy productions on songs such as "Megatron Man" and "Do You Wanna Funk?". Divine: Harris Glenn Milstead, better known by his stage name Divine, was an American actor, singer, and drag queen. He became famous in the Hi-NRG genre in the late 80s and early 90s for his hits "You Think You're a Man" and "I'm So Beautiful". Sylvester: Sylvester James Jr. was an American singer, songwriter, and drag performer who was often referred to as the "Queen of Disco". He also excelled in the Hi-NRG genre with songs such as "Do Ya Wanna Funk?" and "Menergy". Dead or Alive: Dead or Alive is an English Hi-NRG band formed in 1980 by lead singer Pete Burns. They are best known for their hit song "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", which became an international chart-topper in 1985. The Flirts: The Flirts were an American Hi-NRG band formed in 1980 by record producer Bobby O. They are best known for their club hits "Passion" and "Jukebox (Don't Put Another Dime)". Kim Wilde: Kim Wilde is an English pop singer-songwriter known for her hits like "Kids in America" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On". She also had a successful career in the Hi-NRG genre with songs such as "You Came" and "Say You Really Want Me". Divine Bitches: Divine Bitches is a Hi-NRG band originally from Germany. The band consists of Oliver Bondzio and Ramon Zenker, who are known for their high-energy remixes and productions. They became famous for their remix of Marc Almond's "Jacky".

1. "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer 2. "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" by Sylvester 3. "High Energy" by Evelyn Thomas 4. "Point of No Return" by Exposé 5. "Fascinated" by Company B 6. "Love Pains" by Yvonne Elliman 7. "The Visitors" by ABBA 8. "I'm So Beautiful" by Divine 9. "So Many Men, So Little Time" by Miquel Brown 10. "Passion" by The Flirts 11. "I Want You" by Gary Low 12. "Come and Get Your Love" by Lime 13. "Menergy" by Patrick Cowley 14. "Never Can Say Goodbye" by Gloria Gaynor 15. "Die Hard Lover" by Loverde 16. "Rock Me" by Connie 17. "Happy Station" by Fun Fun 18. "Tell it to My Heart" by Taylor Dayne 19. "Automatic Lover" by Dee D. Jackson 20. "Doctor's Orders" by Carol Douglas 21. "Energy is Eurobeat" by Man 2 Man Meet Man Parrish 22. "Living on Video" by Trans-X 23. "Body Rock" by Maria Vidal 24. "Boys (Summertime Love)" by Sabrina 25. "I Love My Radio" by Taffy

One of the most influential works on Hi-NRG is Disco Inferno: The Beat, the Life, and the Style of Disco by James Hamilton. The book devotes a chapter to Hi-NRG and describes the genre as an offshoot of disco: "The Hi-NRG sound was pushed to an extreme, with fast, hard beats that made you feel you were racing madly across a dance floor." The book credits Hi-NRG with inspiring the development of house music in Chicago and electronic dance music (EDM) worldwide. In his book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, writer Robert Dimery highlights the Hi-NRG compilation album The Best of Hi-NRG, which features tracks by Donna Summer, Village People, and other influential Hi-NRG artists. Dimery writes, "Hi-NRG was a dancefloor phenomenon that epitomized the high-energy pulse of dance music in the early 1980s, with synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines all firing on full power." In their book Passionate Attitudes: The English Decadence of the 1890s, Philip Waller and William Greenslade draw a parallel between Hi-NRG and the decadent movement of the late 19th century, which celebrated excess, sensuality, and unconventional lifestyles. According to Waller and Greenslade, Hi-NRG "reimposed the idea of pleasure as a fundamental human right, a right not only of those who stepped outside heterosexual norms but of all those who refused to accept the social codes of the totalitarian work ethic." In his book Gay Men and the Forms of Contemporary US Culture, Scott Herring discusses the role of Hi-NRG in the American gay club scene of the 1980s. Herring writes, "Hi-NRG emerged as the musical embodiment of a gay liberationist ethos...In crowded nightclubs, bodies rubbed against each other as Hi-NRG's fast-tempo beats incited an erotic frenzy." Notable quotes about Hi-NRG abound in popular culture. In the film Party Monster, which chronicles the rise and fall of New York City club promoter Michael Alig, one character says, "I love Hi-NRG. It's so fast, it does all the work for you." In the TV series Queer as Folk, a character proclaims, "Hi-NRG, like Madonna and drag queens, it's one of the givens of gay life."

The social context of Hi-NRG was largely influenced by the disco era of the late 1970s. Discos became a popular venue for socializing, and the music played at these venues provided a soundtrack for the party culture that emerged during this period. Hi-NRG was heavily influenced by the disco sound, but it removed some of the funk elements and incorporated more electronic instrumentation. The rising popularity of gay clubs such as the Paradise Garage and the Saint was also an essential aspect of Hi-NRG's growth as these clubs actively encouraged the open-oneness of sexuality in dance clubs. The emergence of Hi-NRG also took place in a cultural context of the time. The 1980s were a period of technological advancements, and the rise of synthesizers and electronic drum machines played a critical role in shaping the Hi-NRG sound. The use of synthesizers enabled producers to create sounds that would have been impossible to achieve with traditional instruments. Electronic drum machines also allowed producers to create rhythm tracks at a faster pace, which was a crucial aspect of the Hi-NRG sound. Several notable record labels made significant contributions to the Hi-NRG genre. For example, the New York City-based record label, Megatone Records, was a key player in the Hi-NRG scene and was responsible for releasing several of the genre's biggest hits in the early 1980s. The label's founder, Patrick Cowley, was a prominent figure in the Hi-NRG genre, and his productions played a critical role in defining the genre's sound. Other notable figures in the Hi-NRG genre included music journalists who helped to spread the music to a broader audience. For instance, journalist and DJ Jim Burgess played a significant role in popularizing the Hi-NRG genre through his radio shows and magazine articles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Burgess discovered the Hi-NRG sound during his visits to the Paradise Garage, and he subsequently wrote articles about the genre in magazines like Record World and Billboard.