The Ritchie Family: The Best Disco In Town [Compilation] (1975-77)

The Ritchie Family had released 4 albums over the span of just 2 years, but in early 1978 Cassandra, Cheryl & Gwendolyn started to voice their discontent that they had no creative input in the group's artistic direction. They were, however, shocked to receive a letter from Can't Stop Productions, announcing their contract had ended with immediate effect, with no further explanation given. Instead three new girls had been signed up to become the new Ritchie Family. Also their lyricist and vocal co-producer Phil Hurtt knew nothing about it. “I didn’t know what had happened,” he later recalled. “When I went to the studio for the sessions that followed that, there were three new girls in front of me. Where’d they come from?” Gwendolyn was pregnant by now and retired from show business, but Cassandra & Cheryl teamed up with Michelle Simpson for the trio CasMiJac and sang backing vocals for John Lennon & Yoko Ono on their Double Fantasy album 1980. The shock of John Lennon's murder shortly after made Cassandra & Cheryl give up on showbiz altogether. Cassandra became a mother in 1981 and worked as an admin on a hospital. Cheryl remarried in 1983 and became Cheryl Mason Dorman and worked in the educational system, becoming a Doctor in 2013.The second line-up of The Ritchie Family disbanded quietly in 1984, having released a further five albums. "The Best Disco In Town" was remixed in 1987 to little success, and Jacques Morali passed away in 1991 from AIDS, but with the revival of disco in the 90s, the interest in The Ritchie Family was renewed and would see the second line-up perform occasionally, also performing the signature tune of the first line-up in their set. It was Hans de Vries who tracked down the original line-up in 2010 and started creating a tribute page on Facebook, much to Cassandra, Cheryl & Gwendolyn's delight as they thought they had been all forgotten since 1978. While Gwendolyn had no desire to tour again, Cheryl & Cassandra teamed up with Renee Guillory-Wearing and now perform as The Ritchie Family, having registered the name. In 2016, they released their first single in nearly 40 years, Ice, which reached #40 on Billboard's Dance Charts. In 2021, a new track Whatcha Got, was released. This compilation is one made by myself and comprises alll the single versions of the first line-up's hits plus a few extras. 00:00 The Best Disco In Town (Part 1) 03:15 Brazil 07:07 Dance With Me (I Want To Dance With You) 10:28 Life Is Music 13:56 Lady Luck 17:53 The Best Disco In Town (Part 2) 21:53 African Queens (Part 1) 24:49 African Queens (Part 2) 27:55 Summer Dance 31:05 Quiet Village 34:12 Voodoo 37:14 The Lovers: Discomania Bonus Tracks: 41:11 The Best Disco In Town (12" Remix 1987) 47:12 Brazil (Live-to-tape Spain 1977) 51:12 The Best Disco In Town (Live-to-tape Spain 1977) 55:20 Life Is Music (Live-to-tape Spain 1977)