Professor Supercool is an alias of DJ Hector Heathcote and The Blow Monkeys’ Dr. Robert. In the 1980s Hector and Robert shared a flat above Red Records, in Brixton, and the popstar would regularly help the DJ carry his boxes to residencies at venues such as Flim Flam in New Cross, and The Wag Club in London’s West End. Thanks to Hector The Blow Monkeys were always among the first UK chart acts to embrace new, emerging dance music, from Washington go-go to Jamaican dancehall. The first time Robert heard house was when Hector gave him the address of a Chicago record store, and a shopping list, for when the band toured The States in `86. So, to call them clued-up is an understatement.

Tuned-in and turned on, in `88 The Monkeys teamed-up with The Windy City’s Kym Mazelle for the single Wait, which they then had remixed by two of Detroit’s original techno innovators, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson. In `89 Atkins, in addition, manned the controls for the song, Choice. That same year, Ten City reworked the UK group’s This Is Your Life.

Professor Supercool’s If You Love Somebody was also released in 1989, but only as a promo. The moniker was lifted from the title of a 1984 B-side, and intended as a shot at anonymity. The group wanted the tune listened to, as George Michael once said, “Without predjuice”. This led to underground DJs such as Grahame Park, Paul Oakenfold and Tony Humphries giving it a spin. Riding a rhythm constructed by roughly and rudely cutting Doug Lazy’s cowbell crazy Let It Roll, with big warm pianos and colder synths, the track mixes the more musical end of Chicago house, like the aforementioned Ten City, with New York’s darker post-freestyle rave energy. Brooklyn DJs Tommy Musto and Frankie Bones later did a remix. Jazzy vibraphone runs are juxtaposed with spinbacks and a sampled diva. It climaxes with skronking Fred Wesley / JBs horns, while its E-ed up, loved up coda is a mantra-like loop of the lyric, “Just love everybody.”

A version of the song was eventually included on the 1990 album, Springtime For The World, alongside the bona fide Balearic classic, La Passionara, where Robert and Hector married Spanish guitar to the Incredible Bongo Band’s Apache break. The deeper instrumental, which rocks like a Red Zone or Def Mix dub, however, remained a rarity (1). Running Back are now, finally, making this widely available, together with a very respectful Gerd Janson re-edit, which adds a few breakdowns and reintroduces some of the vocals to floor-filling effect.

(1) Hector and Robert would explore house still further, as Slam Slam, a project fronted by The Style Council’s  Dee C. Lee.

Professor Supercool’s If You Love Somebody is available directly from Running Back.