Bees Knees and Chicken Elbows - Expanded

Back in early 80s Soho, Blue Rondo A La Turk defined ‘cool’. Singer/writer Chris Sullivan, guitarist Mark Reilly and vocalist Christos Tolera (with help from myriad talented personnel) married Latin jazz, R&B, Cuban and urban soul with a strong pop sensibility (witty lyrics, catchy melodies).

After singles such as the Top 40 hit ‘Me And Mr. Sanchez’ and the irrepressible‘ Klacto Vee Sedstein’ and debut album Chewing The Fat in 1982, the team went their separate ways.

While Mark Reilly and others founded Matt Bianco, a new line-up of the original combo re-emerged in autumn 1983 with shortened name Blue Rondo. Accompanied by new singles ‘Slipping Into Daylight’ (a club favourite at the time) and ‘MaskedMoods’ (revealing a mellower vibe than their earlier incarnation), Blue Rondo delivered a wonderful second album entitled ‘Bees Knees And Chicken Elbows’. The LP landed during the height of what the press labelled ‘New Jazz’, with significant success for contemporaries such as Sade, Carmel and Working Week.

Some four decades on, Bees Knees And Chicken Elbows makes its debut on CD, overseen by Chris and Co. For this much expanded two-CD edition, original non-album tracks and alternative mixes are joined by host of hitherto unheard recordings fresh from the vaults, rescued by Chis from his extensive tape archive. The package has also been annotated by Chris, who is still very active in London to this day as a writer, DJ, compiler and painter.