Steve Jones / Fatboys U.K. - I Need You / Challenge [12"]

Choice cut of sought-after ’84 Brit funk reissued with unheard dub and juicy B-side instrumental of saxy electro boogie

Officially back in circulation for the first time after copies started trading for triple figures, ‘I Need You (By My Side)’ racks up salubrious amounts of Linn crack, neon-greased croon and fruity Roland 106 synth vamps for the good times on a mid-tempo strut bound to do the do where it counts.

The previously unleashed dub only enhances the attraction for boogie nuts, bringing producer Lindel Lewis’ background as a reggae producer into play in the judicious use of echo and delay, before the instruemntal flipside starts cooking on gas with the interplay of Mike Appoh’s flute, Ray Carlass’ sax, and the itchy Linn funk that drives it from below the belt.