Fantastic song and a wonderful article Pé, as always. I’m no musicologist (or DJ) but I do kinda feel like this one sits more on the funk side than the disco side.
Like others commented, I had no idea that Marvin Gaye had spent time in Belgium. I loved your account of the Diana Ross show. How serendipitous for Marvin Gaye to be there and how wonderful it must have been to see him perform, if even only for one song.
What a tragedy it was to lose Marvin Gaye so young.
In preparation for this episode I read David Ritz's biography of Marvin Gaye, and he recounts the rather peculiar relationship Marvin and Diana had. Apparently, on the drive to the concert in Brussels, Marvin was convinced Diana was finally going to propose to him. 😁
At the time, though, I had absolutely no idea of the historical significance of what we were witnessing. Nobody in the audience did. In fact, we didn't even know who had climbed onto the stage until Diana introduced him.
Reading that story years later put the whole evening in a completely different light.
I had also smuggled my father's Nikon, complete with telephoto lens, into the venue, which was strictly forbidden back then. We were sitting far too far from the stage to take truly great pictures, but I know I photographed the moment Marvin walked on. I've searched the entire house for those photos, but I can't find them anywhere. I suspect they disappeared during our last house move, which is a real shame.
Anyway, thanks for the compliment, for reading, for sharing the article, and for taking the time to leave a reaction, Marc. I really appreciate it!
Wow, poor Marvin! That he thought she was going to propose to him is really sad. I don’t know a lot of his music outside of the bigger hits, but I’ve always enjoyed (okay, enjoyed is perhaps a strange word given the subject matter of the album) Here, My Dear which he recorded as part of his divorce settlement with Anna Gordy.
What a shame you haven’t been able to find that photo, that must’ve been quite something!
Reading his biography, I now know it wasn't out of character. 😁 He was a complicated guy. I've never listened to Here, My Dear in its entirety. I really should do that.
It struck me that back in the 1970s, when we used to listen to vinyl albums (even doubles) all the way through from beginning to end, all that vocal chatter on Got To Give It Up would compliment the ambience of the live recording and help create cohesion between the live and studio sides.
From a British perspective, I was surprised to learn that back in 1976, when Live At The London Palladium was recorded, it had been twelve years since Gaye had toured the UK. Indeed, the Palladium was apparently chosen for the live recording because of the loyal fanbase Gaye had
based on those records from the early 1960s. In contrast, it seems his critically lauded seventies output had limited appeal. The Palladium album failed to chart and none of Gaye's album releases in the 1970s made the UK Top 20 (What's Going On didn't even reach the Top 50)!
The following year, the marketing ploy of adding a new studio recording to help sell an expensive double album of already familiar material was used againto help shift the Thank God It's Friday soundtrack package which included Donna Summer's 15 minute version of J'Taime as a bonus 12 inch.
The relationship between Marvin and the UK does indeed come across as rather troubled. 😁 Then again, so was the rest of his life. His biography is certainly one of the most complex I've read so far. Most of it wasn't relevant to the story I wanted to tell here, though.
He did have a substantial fanbase in the UK, so the tour was a success at a time when his relevance in his main market, the US, was declining quite seriously. The relatively poor performance of his seventies releases there is therefore directly linked to the lack of promotion. I can't remember the exact reason why he never extended his touring to the UK during that period, but as I said, everything surrounding Marvin Gaye was complicated.
As for your point about making a double LP more sellable, there's an even clearer example from the same era: Donna Summer's Live and More, with one side almost entirely taken up by a 15-minute version of MacArthur Park. Strangely enough, I don't get the impression the thinking was quite the same here. Motown wanted Live at the London Palladium to be a single LP. It was Marvin who insisted on making it a double album, but he knew there wasn't enough material to fill it.
Motown wanted him to make disco, and everything came together with Got to Give It Up. The live concept may also have played a role, although the sources aren't entirely clear on that. My impression is that the main idea was to make party music and package it as a party. The live setting was an added bonus rather than the original concept.
Got to Give It Up doesn't receive all that much attention in his biography, so it's probably fair to say nobody expected it to become such a huge success. It certainly wasn't expected to reach No. 1. You can also hear him trying to recapture that formula on several tracks from the ill-fated In Our Lifetime in 1981. That album took ages to complete and was eventually released by Motown without Marvin's consent, which directly led to him ending his contract with the label.
When I write these pieces, I always study the music itself to trace the evolution of an artist's sound and songwriting, and to see how ideas reverberate through later recordings. A song like Ego Trippin' Out is, to me, a clear result of that creative quest. It's also the track that convinced me Marvin would almost certainly have made much more dance music had he lived.
This was a fascinating subject, Paul. I'm always happy to continue the discussion with you. Thanks for reading, thanks for your insights, and have a great rest of the weekend!
The detail that reframes the whole song for me is Marvin at the bar in San Francisco, uncomfortable while his friends dragged him onto the floor to dance to his own record. The opening lyrics suddenly stop being a clever observed scene and become something much stranger: a confession from someone who never quite felt at ease doing the thing the song invites everyone else to do. A euphoric dancefloor record built on genuine discomfort. That gap between what the song presents and what it was actually coming from is the thing I keep chasing everywhere. And the Brussels connection is a small personal one for me too. A lovely piece.
We leave Chicago this Wednesday, arriving in London on Thursday. We then take the chunnel to Amsterdam on Saturday where our cruise for the British Isles departs!
This was incredible, Pe! I’m a fan of Marvin Gaye and I have several of his records but I didn’t know half of what you tell here, especially the fact that he lived in Belgium! Midnight Love is one of my favourite albums, and it’s crazy to think he was living in Belgium when he produced it!
I loooved the story of you and your friend with your respective mums at the Diana Ross concert, and how incredible that you got to see Marvin live too!! Fantastic from start to finish!
Fantastic song and a wonderful article Pé, as always. I’m no musicologist (or DJ) but I do kinda feel like this one sits more on the funk side than the disco side.
Like others commented, I had no idea that Marvin Gaye had spent time in Belgium. I loved your account of the Diana Ross show. How serendipitous for Marvin Gaye to be there and how wonderful it must have been to see him perform, if even only for one song.
What a tragedy it was to lose Marvin Gaye so young.
In preparation for this episode I read David Ritz's biography of Marvin Gaye, and he recounts the rather peculiar relationship Marvin and Diana had. Apparently, on the drive to the concert in Brussels, Marvin was convinced Diana was finally going to propose to him. 😁
At the time, though, I had absolutely no idea of the historical significance of what we were witnessing. Nobody in the audience did. In fact, we didn't even know who had climbed onto the stage until Diana introduced him.
Reading that story years later put the whole evening in a completely different light.
I had also smuggled my father's Nikon, complete with telephoto lens, into the venue, which was strictly forbidden back then. We were sitting far too far from the stage to take truly great pictures, but I know I photographed the moment Marvin walked on. I've searched the entire house for those photos, but I can't find them anywhere. I suspect they disappeared during our last house move, which is a real shame.
Anyway, thanks for the compliment, for reading, for sharing the article, and for taking the time to leave a reaction, Marc. I really appreciate it!
Wow, poor Marvin! That he thought she was going to propose to him is really sad. I don’t know a lot of his music outside of the bigger hits, but I’ve always enjoyed (okay, enjoyed is perhaps a strange word given the subject matter of the album) Here, My Dear which he recorded as part of his divorce settlement with Anna Gordy.
What a shame you haven’t been able to find that photo, that must’ve been quite something!
Reading his biography, I now know it wasn't out of character. 😁 He was a complicated guy. I've never listened to Here, My Dear in its entirety. I really should do that.
It struck me that back in the 1970s, when we used to listen to vinyl albums (even doubles) all the way through from beginning to end, all that vocal chatter on Got To Give It Up would compliment the ambience of the live recording and help create cohesion between the live and studio sides.
From a British perspective, I was surprised to learn that back in 1976, when Live At The London Palladium was recorded, it had been twelve years since Gaye had toured the UK. Indeed, the Palladium was apparently chosen for the live recording because of the loyal fanbase Gaye had
based on those records from the early 1960s. In contrast, it seems his critically lauded seventies output had limited appeal. The Palladium album failed to chart and none of Gaye's album releases in the 1970s made the UK Top 20 (What's Going On didn't even reach the Top 50)!
The following year, the marketing ploy of adding a new studio recording to help sell an expensive double album of already familiar material was used againto help shift the Thank God It's Friday soundtrack package which included Donna Summer's 15 minute version of J'Taime as a bonus 12 inch.
The relationship between Marvin and the UK does indeed come across as rather troubled. 😁 Then again, so was the rest of his life. His biography is certainly one of the most complex I've read so far. Most of it wasn't relevant to the story I wanted to tell here, though.
He did have a substantial fanbase in the UK, so the tour was a success at a time when his relevance in his main market, the US, was declining quite seriously. The relatively poor performance of his seventies releases there is therefore directly linked to the lack of promotion. I can't remember the exact reason why he never extended his touring to the UK during that period, but as I said, everything surrounding Marvin Gaye was complicated.
As for your point about making a double LP more sellable, there's an even clearer example from the same era: Donna Summer's Live and More, with one side almost entirely taken up by a 15-minute version of MacArthur Park. Strangely enough, I don't get the impression the thinking was quite the same here. Motown wanted Live at the London Palladium to be a single LP. It was Marvin who insisted on making it a double album, but he knew there wasn't enough material to fill it.
Motown wanted him to make disco, and everything came together with Got to Give It Up. The live concept may also have played a role, although the sources aren't entirely clear on that. My impression is that the main idea was to make party music and package it as a party. The live setting was an added bonus rather than the original concept.
Got to Give It Up doesn't receive all that much attention in his biography, so it's probably fair to say nobody expected it to become such a huge success. It certainly wasn't expected to reach No. 1. You can also hear him trying to recapture that formula on several tracks from the ill-fated In Our Lifetime in 1981. That album took ages to complete and was eventually released by Motown without Marvin's consent, which directly led to him ending his contract with the label.
When I write these pieces, I always study the music itself to trace the evolution of an artist's sound and songwriting, and to see how ideas reverberate through later recordings. A song like Ego Trippin' Out is, to me, a clear result of that creative quest. It's also the track that convinced me Marvin would almost certainly have made much more dance music had he lived.
This was a fascinating subject, Paul. I'm always happy to continue the discussion with you. Thanks for reading, thanks for your insights, and have a great rest of the weekend!
The detail that reframes the whole song for me is Marvin at the bar in San Francisco, uncomfortable while his friends dragged him onto the floor to dance to his own record. The opening lyrics suddenly stop being a clever observed scene and become something much stranger: a confession from someone who never quite felt at ease doing the thing the song invites everyone else to do. A euphoric dancefloor record built on genuine discomfort. That gap between what the song presents and what it was actually coming from is the thing I keep chasing everywhere. And the Brussels connection is a small personal one for me too. A lovely piece.
You’re right, J.P. Marvin was one complex guy. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to leave a comment. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Fantastic! Great work Pe.
Thanks Taz. Really appreciate this. Have a great weekend!
Such a great song! I had no idea that Gaye had those connections to Belgium. Nice work again Pe!
Thanks, Dan. It’s indeed a part of his story that isn’t very well known. Have a great weekend, and enjoy your time in Europe! 😊
Thanks. We're not able to make it to Belgium this year but hopefully we'll get there again soon.
If you do you must let me know. Would be great to meet in person 😁 Looking forward to the video(s) of the trip. When exactly do you leave?
We leave Chicago this Wednesday, arriving in London on Thursday. We then take the chunnel to Amsterdam on Saturday where our cruise for the British Isles departs!
This was incredible, Pe! I’m a fan of Marvin Gaye and I have several of his records but I didn’t know half of what you tell here, especially the fact that he lived in Belgium! Midnight Love is one of my favourite albums, and it’s crazy to think he was living in Belgium when he produced it!
I loooved the story of you and your friend with your respective mums at the Diana Ross concert, and how incredible that you got to see Marvin live too!! Fantastic from start to finish!
Fantastic like you!
Haha... thanks, Andy. The Belgian chapter of his story is indeed not widely known. Have a great weekend! 😊