Sister Sledge: He's the Greatest Dancer

Track of the Week - 22 November 2015

Not me you understand. One of my friends. Let me tell you a story. The names may or not have been changed to protect the innocent.

It was great to catch up with my real friends on Friday night. It's been too long. After hearing some of the recent stories, "Brian's" hotel booking mishap, "Stu's" car meets bollards tale, "Scott's" return to Sunday League football in the same team as his son among them, it was time to move on to a pub with a small dancefloor.

The good thing about this particular place is that as well as playing the young people's new music (which judging from the videos appears to be about not wearing many clothes and/or the exploitation of women) it does play a good selection of tunes from our long-distant era too.

The dancefloor is where "Stu" comes in to his own. He might look like a cross between Harry Hill and Buster Bloodvessel but he is a good dancer, I'll give him that. Trouble is, his speed and exaggerated range of moves mean he needs at least a third of the floor to himself. He's also developed some sort of high-speed karate-style arm and hand movements since I last saw him in action.

Later in the evening one of my friends tapped me on the arm and pointed to the entrance of the pub. There was "Stu", leaving the premises backwards, feet not touching the floor (he's not a tall man), thanks to the bouncers on either side of him carrying him out. With one free hand "Stu" was trying to attract our attention, the other hand carefully held his spectacles between thumb and forefinger.

After the bouncers had deposited "Stu" outside, across the road near some police, "Kevin" asked the bouncers to give "Stu" his coat while we drank up. We're all heart.

So for "Stu", removed from a pub for over-exuberant dancing, here's Sister Sledge and their 1979 top ten hit - He's the Greatest Dancer. It's a great example of the sort of lightweight disco filler that I hated when I was at school.