Malcolm McLaren – Duck Rock

Info taken from the insert poster.
Side A
1.> OBATALA (La Repubica Dominicina)
Cult music of Cuba recorded by AfroCuban priests in the summer of 82. of a secret society known as the Lucumi cult, originating from Western Africa. This song is to “Obatala”, God of Iron and War. A Typical Lucumi orchestra consits of 3 Lucumi hour glass shaped drums called the ‘bata’ collectively. ‘Iya’ is the largest drum, the ‘ltotele’ the middle sized and ‘Ikonkolo’ the smallest. The drums are held in their laps and are played at both ends. These sacred drums contain African cocoa beans inside which are believed to tie the rites to those in Africa. Lucumi dancing stresses group participation. In New York, so it happened, a Dominican girl sung of her friend Avalina, and of her country the Dominican Republic, so let yourself go and we’ll take you on this brief journey around the world with The World's Famous Supreme Team Show.
>interlude by World's Famous Supreme Team<
2.> B-BU-BUFFALO GALS
Buffalo Gals, recorded with The World's Famous Supreme Team and Zulu singers backing them up with the words, “She’s Looking Like a Hobo”. The performance by the Supreme Team may require some explaining but suffice to say, they are d.j.’s from New York City, who have developed a technique using record players like instruments, replacing the power chord of the guitar by the needle of a gramophone, moving it manually backwards and forwards across the surface of a record. We call it ‘scratching’.
BREAKING
Spinning on your head. Back flippping, Demonstrating their prowess. New Yorkers practise constantly on the sidewalks these amazing feats of the body giving themselves names like Crazy Legs.
ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
Give yourself An Electric Shock from your left fingertips thru your body to your right fingertips. Muscle poppin! Electric boogalooing then glide floating on air across the floor.
>interlude by World's Famous Supreme Team<
3.> DOUBLE DUTCH
The sound of skipping ropes is heard the world over, but in New York City, a style of dance known as “Double Dutch” has developed to the status of fast becoming a new American sport. This song, though, adopts an Ebonettes, the ‘Ford Green Angels’ and the ‘Five Town Diamond Skippers’.
4.> EL SAN JUANERA [interlude by World's Famous Supreme Team Show with this tune in background]
This traditional tune, “El San Juanera” comes from Columbia. And being that it is a national dance, many variations of the way it is danced exist. Below are described a collection of the typical steps, and a suggested sequence of performing them.
Basic step: A waltz step performed with a short, lively bouncy effect. Joropo music is played in 3/4 time, but with a 6/8th accompaniment.
5.> MERENGUE
Merengue on the isle of Española, a dance emerged called the “Merengue” which is a fusion of African and Caribbean beats and is heard all over the Caribbean and South America. But it is in Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic that they play it the best. Drums used are called ‘palos’, drums of African origin, as well as the ‘tambora’ a two headed barrel shaped drum, played with a hand and stick, accompanied by a ‘guiro’, a scraper made of metal and scraped with a metal stick.
>interlude by World's Famous Supreme Team<
6.> PUNK IT UP
In Kwayazululand, many stories were told to me, one in particular about King Shaka, who was responsible for inventing a dance that was later used to defeat the English 150 years ago. It constituted the Zulus military training to the sound of a drum and involves stomping with their bare feet on the ground til the earth cracked beneath them, then kicking their feet in the air until one hit them in the face. Thereupon, they would fall on their bum, repeating these movements until they pissed blood. Nowadays, they don’t shed blood, instead they sway to the beat. Boys and girls included, retaining the original movements. We recorded this dance and titled it “Zulus on a Time Bomb”. Naturally, I had to tell the Zulus a story. The only truly great story I had was that of the Sex Pistols. They laughed and laughed. i must have told the story at least 100 times and “Punk It Up (I’m a Sex Pistol man, Oh Yeah) was the result. It was for some, their favourite song, singing tly in Zulu and English!
>outro by World's Famous Supreme Team<
Side B
1.> LEGBA
Legba is the Guardian of the crossroads and the symbol of fertility. In Cuba. In Cuba Africans and Europeans have now ed this club. People in New york are beginning to Smurf to this Song. The Smurf is a dance adapted from the movements of the cartoon characters.
>interlude by World's Famous Supreme Team
2.> JIVE MY BABY JIVE
Jive a modern popular dance and music form coming from the Zulu townships of Africa.
>interlude by World's Famous Supreme Team<
3.> SHE’S LOOKING LIKE A HOBO (available as B side of Double Dutch)
A dance performed by New York latins called the Webo. Its when they duck behind each other. Webo comes from the Spanish for egg; Huevo:
She's Looking Like A Hobo (Scratch) She’s Looking like a Hobo It’s just that with Ba Ba Ba Ba Beat
4.>SONG FOR CHANGO
Song for Chango, recorded in New York City in August 1982 by African/Cuban priests of the Lucumi cult, is A song to “Chango”, God of Storm and Lightning. People move to these rhythms, whose job it is to invoke a body spirit in you, transforming yourself into the magical world. The producer felt under it’s spell whilst recording this track. This song is known all over Western Africa and has been in existance long before Jesus Christ was born. Another form of dancing “Carabai” is mainly pantomimic of animals and usually done by specialists - you’ve got to be good for this one!
5.>Living On The Road In SOWETO
Living On The Road In Soweto is learning to think with your hips, rather than your head - something not common for Europeans. This beat by the Shangaan tribe of Africa suggests just that and the lyrics are instructional.
6.>WORLD’S FAMOUS
7.>DUCK FOR THE OYSTER
Up in the mountains in East Tennesee, there still exists an old pagan love ritual known as the square dance. The nearest thing to what is left of that spirit from Europe. Its origins can be traced back to Roman times. A way of finding your partner - this dance was banned by the church 150 years ago in the United States. They considered the fiddle the instrument of Satan, and the possibility of that cattleman storming into the barn dance and ending up dancing with the local Parson’s daughter was something close to immoral. Nevertheless, innuendo in lyrics prevailed. Rolling in the clover, stepping in and out of the window, and other nursery rhymes were used, slapping their hands over the thighs and whistling the tunes. Duck for the Oyster is a reminder of those days, mixed with the sound of the Pac-man, demonstrating what fun can be had by touch dancing.