Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack

The big one. The undisputed sound of 1977-78, spearheaded, strangely, by white, mainstream and previously non-disco group The Bee Gees. That said, their disco hits Staying Alive and Night Fever were floor-fillers and have become iconic. One listen to those tracks and I am instantly transported right back to that glorious period, my huge shirt collars on full display.

As for the rest of the album's material, of which there is a surprisingly generous amount, The Bee Gees' version of More Than A Woman was ok, but I always preferred Tavares' take on the song (both of them are included here) and Jive Talkin' and You Should Be Dancing were good too. Look, The Bee Gees' stuff was mightily impressive and catchy but it certainly was not the heart and soul of disco as it has been subsequently and retrospectively perceived to have been.

In many ways, though - and this is most important - the spinning glitter ball essence of the discos was to be found in the orchestrated strings-dominated instrumental numbers such as Walter Murphy's A Fifth Of Beethoven along with A Night On Disco Mountain, Manhattan Skyline and Salsation, all by David Shire. I have also always been a fan of Kool & The Gang's funky Open Sesame, old favourites KC & The Sunshine Band's boppy, bouncy Boogie Shoes and The Trammps' irresistible stomp Disco Inferno. This is where the beating heart of disco was really to be found.

As I have just said, there was certainly some good fare on here as well as The Bee Gees' material and it simply brings back so many great memories. I'm always saying that, I know, but it is so damn true. Oh, and I almost forgot one of my favourites - you can't beat Yvonne Elliman's If I Can't Have You. What a great disco love song it was, ideal for an end of the evening smoocher and (hopefully!) bottom-caresser.

Incidentally, the movie was a much darker affair than is often presumed, quite unwatchably tragic in places. Depressing is almost not strong enough a word for its denouement, in all ways. However, I had a bit of a thing at the time for John Travolta's first girlfriend in the film (you know, the little, sparky one with the big tits). He should have stuck with her. I would have done, all day long, I always go for the essentially homely, more genuine-seeming ones. After all, I married one!