Deep Heat (compilation series)

Telstar Records' range of Deep Heat compilations were one of the first house music collections to be released by a Specialist Marketing firm in the United Kingdom.

Format

Launching in March 1989 with the Number 1 album Deep Heat, the brand achieved a successful four year run and set the footprint for Dance Music Compilations for many years to come. The record company, which had formed in 1982, had achieved modest success with Dance-themed multi-artist compilation albums with notable successes in the genre including the Dance Mix collections of 1987 and 1988 and The Best Of House '88. What was initially unique about the Deep Heat collections was that they contained exclusive 12" Remixes of recent Club Hits, instead of Extended versions of Chart Hits featured on similar collections such as Now Dance 89 which was charting around the same time as the first Deep Heat albums. The success of the series was partly due to the CD boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s and it was the first time full 12" Mixes could be commercially bought on Compact Disc, offering the listener at home a whole new experience of enjoying digitally enhanced Dance Music. Tracks on the first and longest running release kicked-off with Adeva's version of 'Respect' while Underground favourites such as 'Break 4 Luv' by Raze and Hithouse's 'Jack To The Sound Of The Underground (Acid Mix)' ensured the album reached the top of the newly created Compilation Chart, the first of many.

Vinyl was still relatively popular with DJs and this format of Deep Heat sold well with each Volume being released on Vinyl when other Companies such as Arcade (who came on board in 1991 with the Groovy Ghetto series) had largely abandoned the format, preferring to concentrate on packing as many tracks as they could onto a 74-minute single CD.

Also unique to the Deep Heat Compilations was that there would often be 'Exclusive Remixes' of tracks, such as the Megamix of Technotronic's biggest hits. This appeared on Deep Heat 7 ~ Seventh Heaven several months before it was commercially released, while "Exclusive Deep Heat Mix"s of tracks by The KLF featured on later editions. It would be these 'exclusive tracks' that would form the focal point of Deep Heat's extensive Television Advertising campaigns launched by Telstar to promote each release. These would feature clips of videos of the albums biggest Club hits, usually with graphics in the style of the albums theme on the sleeve.

Chart Success

During 1989, Telstar saw each of their 5 Deep Heat compilations reach the Compilation Top 5, the first four peaked at either #1 or #2, all gaining Gold BPI Awards for UK sales over 250,000. The December release Fight The Flame collected the biggest hits of the year and became one of Telstar's four Platinum selling albums of 1989. An influx of similar releases appeared on rival labels, including Stylus collections, The Right Stuff ~ Remix 89 and Where's The House? who also teamed up with another rival K-Tel for Hip House ~ The Deepest Beats in Town. Both companies had disappeared by the end of 1990.

During 1990, another five Deep Heat albums were released each with declining popularity. This was due in part to a general swamping of the Compilation market of Dance collections, with EMI Virgin Polygram increasing their Dance album output with an unprecedented three Volumes of their Now Dance spin-off, while a newcomer in the TV-advertised concept-compilation field, Dino Entertainment, would go on to steal the Deep Heat thunder with their Hardcore series they launched in early 1991. Telstar only added to this 'swamping' effect by launching Get On This! in 1990, and then replacing it with Thin Ice the following year to run concurrently with Deep Heat, often containing very similar track listings. Another factor was the difficulty in licensing tracks from different record companies. By 1991, the major companies were either keeping tracks for their own Compilations, or wanting high licensing fees. Furthermore, later editions of the series featured Edited 7" Mixes so that each album could contain more tracks, mainly to compete with the other albums on the market. This served however to make them less popular with serious Dance music buyers who liked the series' earlier 'underground' feel with rarities and remixes.

Cover Artwork

The packaging of each album was also a factor of the album's popularity, with often a striking design gracing the front and interior packaging. Earlier themes revolved around fire, heat, flames, temperatures and burning - metaphorically suggesting the tracks will make the dancefloor burn (an idea used again later with the Megabass track.) Later releases, such as Deep Heat 6 ~ The Sixth Sense used mystic symbols as a theme; Deep Heat 7 ~ Seventh Heaven cools down the collection with heavenly blue skies and Angelic artwork; Deep Heat 9 ~ Ninth Life Kiss The Bliss features Egyptian monuments praising heavenly skies and Deep Heat 10 ~ The Awakening contains graphics of an alien being.

Original albums

Deep Heat (03/89. #1, 15 wks. Gold)

Deep Heat 2 - The Second Burn (04/89. #2. 13 wks. Gold)

Deep Heat 3 - The Third Degree (07/89. #2. 13 wks. Gold)

Deap Heat 4 – Play with Fire (09/89. #1. 11 wks. Gold)

Deep Heat 5 - Feed The Fever (02/90. #1. 11 wks. Gold

Deep Heat 6 - The Sixth Sense (03/90. #1. 14 wks. Gold)

Deep Heat 7 - Seventh Heaven (07/90. #1. 9 wks. Gold)

Deep Heat 8 - The Hand of Fate (10/90. #3. 5 wks. Gold)

Deep Heat 9 - Ninth Life ~ Kiss The Bliss (01/91. #1. 7 wks. Gold)

Deep Heat 10 - The Awakening (06/91. #2. 7wks.)

Deep Heat 11 - The Spirit of Ecstasy (12/91. #3. 8 wks. Gold)

Year end compilations

In addition, there were two Deep Heat themed compilations collecting the biggest hits of the year. Note all tracks on the year-end collections were the standard Radio Edits.

Deep Heat 89 ~ Fight The Flame (11/89. #4. 17 wks. Platinum)

Original Vinyl Album Tracklisting:

• A1 Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock Get On The Dancefloor
• A2 Royal House Can You Party (Club Mix)
• A3 Inner City Big Fun
• A4 S'Express Hey Music Lover
• A5 Coldcut featuring Lisa Stansfield People Hold On
• A6 Adeva Respect
• A7 Monie Love I Can Do This (Uptown Mix)
• A8 LNR Work It To The Bone
• A9 Black Riot A Day In The Life

• B1 A Guy Called Gerald Voodoo Ray
• B2 De La Soul Me Myself And I
• B3 Wee Papa Girl Rappers Wee Rule
• B4 Joe Smooth Promised Land
• B5 Beatmasters featuring Merlin Who's In The House
• B6 Lisa Stansfield This Is The Right Time
• B7 Farley "Jackmaster" Funk & Hip House Syndicate Free At Last (Hip-Appella Mix)
• B8 Donna Allen Joy And Pain
• B9 Raze Break 4 Love

• C1 Starlight Numero Uno
• C2 Sueño Latino Sueno Latino (The Latin Dream Mix)
• C3 Technotronic Pump Up The Jam
• C4 Raúl Orellana The Real Wild House (Wild Mix)
• C5 Hithouse Jack To The Sound Of The Underground (Acid Mix)
• C6 Humanoid Stakker Humanoid (Snowman Mix)

• D1 Rhythm Is Rhythm Strings Of Life
• D2 Digital Underground Doowutchyalike (Radio Edit)
• D3 Kimiesha Holmes Love Me True (Radio Lovers Mix)
• D4 Jo Ann Jones I Don't Need Your Love
• D5 James Bratton & Kelly Charles Keep On Reachin'
• D6 Mac Thornhill Diana
• D7 Humanoid Tonight
• D8 The House Master Boyz And The Rude Boy Of House Do It Fast

Deep Heat 90 (11/90. #3. 12 wks. Platinum)

Original Vinyl Album Tracklisting:

• A1 Technotronic Megamix
• A2 Snap! Ooops Up
• A3 Adamski The Space Jungle
• A4 Black Box I Don't Know Anybody Else
• A5 Chad Jackson Hear The Drummer (Get Wicked)
• A6 Don Pablo's Animals Venus
• A7 Soup Dragons I'm Free
• A8 Queen Latifah & De La Soul Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children

• B1 Beats International Dub Be Good To Me
• B2 D Mob Put Your Hands Together
• B3 49ers Touch Me
• B4 Beloved, The Your Love Takes Me Higher
• B5 Twenty 4 Seven I Can't Stand It (Bruce Forest Remix)
• B6 Candy Flip Strawberry Fields Forever
• B7 FPI Project Going Back To My Roots

• C1 Blue Pearl Naked In The Rain
• C2 Family Stand Ghetto Heaven
• C3 En Vogue Hold On
• C4 JT & The Big Family Moments In Soul
• C5 Guru Josh Infinity
• C6 F.A.B. The Prisoner
• C7 MC Tunes Vs 808 State Only Rhyme That Bites
• C8 Bizz Nizz Don't Miss The Party Line

• D1 KLF, The What Time Is Love
• D2 Hi Tek 3 and Ya Kid K Spin That Wheel (Turtles Get Real)
• D3 Betty Boo Doin' The Doo
• D4 Jam Tronik Another Day In Paradise
• D5 Latino Rave The Sixth Sense
• D6 De La Soul Magic Number
• D7 Nightmares On Wax Aftermath

Brief re-brand

The Deep Heat name was resurrected, albeit briefly, in March 1993, as Deep Heat 93 Volume 1. It differed from the previous releases in that it was a single CD compilation rather than a double collection released between 1989 and 1991.

Re-introduced as a Dance companion to the Hits Album series Telstar had effectively relaunched with BMG in January 1993, the Deep Heat version was unsuccessful. It reached #3, bowing out of the Compilation chart just 7 weeks later. The planned follow-up was never compiled.

Megamixes

An interesting addition to Telstar's marketing of the Deep Heat series was the release of a Megamix of the biggest hits from two albums; Feed The Fever and The Sixth Sense. This was the first time the Megamix had been used to promote a Compilation series, but Telstar would use the gimmick again with the Megabass series (itself a compilation of Megamixes) and a Technotronic Remix Compilation in 1990.

To promote the releases of both Deep Heat 1989 ~ Fight the Flame and Deep Heat 6 ~ The Sixth Sense, Telstar released Megamixes under the guise Latino Rave on 7" and 12" vinyl, and CD single, each featuring the biggest dance hits from each album.

Latino Rave - Deep Heat '89 (12/89. #12. 11 wks)

This Megamix consisted of original excerpts of the following tracks; Pump up the Jam by Technotronic; Stakker Humanoid by Stakker; A Day in the Life by Black Riot; Work it to the Bone by LNR, I Can Dance by Fast Eddie; Voodoo Ray by A Guy Called Gerald; Numero Uno by Starlight; Bango (To The Batmobile) by The Todd Terry Project; Brake 4 Love by Raze; Don't Scandalise Mine by Sugar Bear.

Latino Rave - The Sixth Sense (03/90. #49. 2 wks)

This release coincided with the release of Deep Heat ~ The Sixth Sense and consisted of excerpts of the following tracks; Get Up (Before The Night is Over) by Technotronic; The Magic Number by De La Soul; G'Ding G'Ding (Do You Wanna) by Anna G; Show 'M The Bass by MC Miker G; Eve Of The War by Project D; Moments in Love by 2 To The Power.

A similar marketing ploy was successfully used on the next major Telstar Dance series Megabass.

Other Telstar dance collections

Telstar continued to thrive in the Dance Compilation market with fresh ideas following the demise of the Deep Heat brand in Spring 1993. Some titles ran concurrently.

• Get On This!!! ~ launched in Spring 1990, the series featured mainstream Dance music, similar to EMI's Now Dance. Despite a promising start, the second volume didn't sell as well as the first and the strand was discontinued.

• Thin Ice ~ launched as a companion to the established, although stalling Deep Heat series in 1991, these collections were the 'cooler' counterparts, opposing Deep Heat's theme of fire with its own element of cool ice, hence the sub-titles The First Step (presumably onto the ice) and The Second Shiver (brrrr it's cold). The other main difference was that all the tracks on Thin Ice were present in their 12" form, or at least in some variation to the standard Radio Edit.

• The Best of Dance ~ these collections replaced the Deep Heat yearly collections and ran from 1991 to 1999. These albums concentrated purely on Dance hits from the Top 40 rather than underground club hits.

• Kaos Theory ~ released in response to the Hardcore fad of 1992 and ran for four volumes. The name of the series had shortened to KT4 by the fourth volume.

• Megabass ~ Three volumes of Megamixes of big club hits released between 1990 and 1991. The single Megamix Time To Make The Floor Burn was released to promote the first volume and it reached #16 in October 1990.

• 100% Dance ~ part of the extensive '100%' range, which started in 1993 with 100% Dance and spun off into many other genres including Reggae, Rap, Acid Jazz, Hip hop and others. The final 'Dance' edition was Volume 4 in 1994, although there would be a form of Dance compilation (such as 100% Dance Hits 96) using the 100% Dance tag until 1997.
• Clubzone ~ Telstar's 1995 Dance series lasted just two Volumes.

• Clublife ~ now faced with increased competition in the Compilation market in the late 1990s, this series saw an interesting spin on Compilations by using the Record Labels the tracks had been licensed from as part of the concept; including Hooj Choons, Multiply and React. A thoughtful idea lasted just two editions in 1998.

• Clubcuts ~ this series Capitalised on the Mix album concept that caught on in the late 1990s. Clubcuts lasted three volumes in 1997, all editions mixed by Club DJ Graham Gold)

• Euphoria ~ the biggest and probably most well-known Telstar brand, launched in 1999, effectively jettisoning all other Dance titles Telstar had used up until then. Originally 'Digitally Mixed' by Red Jerry, Matt Darey, Agnelli and Nelson, Alex Gold and perhaps most famously, Radio 1 DJ Dave Pearce. When Telstar closed in 2004, the name transferred to the Ministry of Sound label.

• Breakdown (As Euphoria explored darker territory, Breakdown launched in 2000 to re-capture the 'euphoric' sound of Trance.)