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Repress from the promotional 7" single from 1984 by Felix - an early collaboration between Nicky Siano and Arthur Russell.
Arthur Russell and DJ Nicky Siano contemplated working together once again after their first collaboration in 1978 lead to a successful 12" single called 'Kiss me Again' on Sire under the Moniker Dinosaur where David Byrne featured on lead guitar.
Their second collaboration 'Tiger Stripes' came as the result of Siano convincing the father of a then girlfriend to fund the venture. Arthur wrote the lyrics, and while Siano remembers remembers the Demo tracks being promising, problems began to emerge as Studio time began ticking. Russell became annoyed by Siano’s hyperactive personality in the Studio, while the former Gallery/Studio 54 DJ grew impatient of his collaborator’s constant changes and money spent in studio time. However according Author Tim Lawrence the feud escalated when Arthur wanted to introduce a drum machine after the session drummer could not keep the time. As a result, he ended up scrapping the original tracks which included vocals recorded by Evelyn Thomas.
The nail in the coffin came when Siano assumed the role of lead vocalist, at which point Russell quit, appalled by how terrible he sounded. Although a perfectionist, Russell also suspected Siano had been using the project as a platform for himself as a vocalist. In any case their project went on with Siano as lead and newly recorded backup vocals by Maxine Bell. Released on Splash Records in 1984, Siano is credited as the artist and sole-producer while Russell only agreed to be credited under the alias Killer Whale. Not too long after, Sleeping Bag released a 7" promotional copy of 'Tiger Stripes' featuring only Bell as the sole vocalist, a different B-Side and Felix as the artist name. Although Russell did not credit himself by his real name, he credited the Killer Whale alias for all the writing and production on the single. There is a 12" on Sleeping bag which credits Siano for production on 'Tiger Stripes' but it’s clear from the release of the 7" that Russell wanted to make a statement.
Tracklist: A1. Tiger Stripes B1. Hold Me Down
Format: 7-inch Vinyl Label: Get On Down Catalog: GET 763-7 Released: 2018 Genre: Disco / Boogie / Dance
