Editing Brit funk (section)

==History==
The British funk scene developed from the [[Home Counties]], principally [[Essex]] at Lacy Lady in [[Ilford]] and The Goldmine on [[Canvey Island]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imagoldminer.com/club-history/|title=Goldmine – The Club History|access-date=16 December 2016|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220212452/http://www.imagoldminer.com/club-history/|url-status=dead}}</ref> along with clubs such as Crackers and the [[100 Club]] on London's [[Oxford Street]], Royalty in the London suburb of [[Southgate, London|Southgate]] and Frenchies in [[Camberley]], [[Surrey]]. According to 'Bluey' Maunick, the club scene attracted "a real mix of Black kids and white kids getting on in a surrounding that they all enjoyed, where they could be themselves", helping to break down the racial barriers which he had grown up with.<ref name=petridis /> In the South DJ [[Chris Hill (DJ)|Chris Hill]] and his Funk Mafia were pioneers, and in the North [[Colin Curtis (DJ)|Colin Curtis]], among others, were instrumental in its growth in popularity.<ref name=BBCBritFunk>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r5lms "Feel the Chant: The Brit Funk Story"], 16 March 2013, retrieved 12 January 2014.</ref> Although the scene enjoyed significant underground popularity – a 1980 all-day event at [[Knebworth House|Knebworth]] featuring Light of the World attracted 12,000 people – it attracted little mainstream media attention outside of Robbie Vincent's show on [[BBC Radio London]]: the BBC did produce ''Black Current'', a [[Television pilot|TV pilot]] featuring Hi-Tension which was intended to launch a show conceived as a British equivalent of ''[[Soul Train]]'', but this was not picked up for a full series.<ref name=petridis />

Jimmy James & the Vagabonds recorded Brit funk song "Disco Fever".<ref> [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jimmy-james-the-vagabonds-mn0000353712/discography  Jimmy James & the Vagabonds] Retrieved 18 June 2022</ref> Princess gained UK hit "Say I'm Your No.1". With support from the club disc jockeys and labels such as [[Ensign Records]] and Elite Records, 80s artists including Light of the World, [[Level 42]] enjoyed chart success and made regular appearances on BBC's flagship pop programme ''[[Top of the Pops]]''.<ref name=BBCBritFunk/> The first hit was "Hi Tension" by Hi-Tension.<ref name=Simpson/> The biggest hits in the genre were "British Hustle" by Hi-Tension (which reached number 8 in 1978) and "Southern Freeez" by Freeez (which reached number 8 in 1981).<ref name=Simpson>D. Simpson, [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/aug/06/forgotten-music-scenes "The scenes that time forgot"], ''The Guardian home'', retrieved 12 January 2014.</ref> Light of the World split and members formed [[Beggar and Co]] and [[Incognito (band)|Incognito]].<ref name=Simpson/>

"Hits in the US R&B chart" by black British artists included [[Carl Douglas]], Delegation, Hot Chocolate, [[Jaki Graham]], Central Line, Loose Ends, and Junior([[Junior Giscombe]]).<ref>N. Zuberi, ''Sounds English: Transnational Popular Music'' (University of Illinois Press, 2001), {{ISBN|0252026209}}, p. 135.</ref> With DJs gaining cult status, the scene also created many 'club hits' which never achieved commercial success.<ref name=BBCBritFunk/> Many British based soul and dance bands found themselves merging under the Brit funk banner. These included [[Central Line (band)|Central Line]] and Second Image.<ref name=BBCBritFunk/>

Another portion of the Brit funk scene emerged from the light entertainment circuit with a number of acts performing cabaret, working men's clubs, and US army base venues during the early 1970s. Many of these Black British groups masqueraded as American acts, performing covers in the style of American performers. National exposure for these acts was sometimes achieved through television programmes such as ''[[Opportunity Knocks (UK TV series)|Opportunity Knocks]]'' and ''[[New Faces]]'' as was the case for the Manchester group, Sweet Sensation. These programmes served as the gateway from the light entertainment scene into the British music industry.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Strachan |first1=Robert |title=Britfunk: Black British Popular Music, Identity and the Recording Industry in the Early 1980s |date=2014 |publisher=Aldershot: Ashgate |pages=70–71}}</ref>

Britfunk was an instrumental form of expression in developing Black British identity, particularly among young people. Author Robert Strachan explains the demographic as "the generation of young black people who were the first to be born in the United Kingdom found their expression through the adaptation of emergent African-American music to a particularly British context" (Strachan 69). Brit funk helped this generation of young people find their own unique sound and in doing so explore their own unique identities. While Brit funk drew heavy influence from American music, the young and diverse demographic spearheading the genre created a much more inclusive and fluid space. As a result, the music itself was much less worked than American funk and as Strachan describes found its "stylistic variation through naivety" (Strachan 68).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Strachan |first1=Robert |title=Britfunk: Black British Popular Music, Identity and the Recording Industry in the Early 1980s. |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781315569482 }}</ref>