With disco enjoying one of its periodic moments in the sun, a supremely classy 21st-century reboot was possible. But this isn’t it
In 1982, Diana Ross was interviewed by Smash Hits magazine. Her presence in among the breathless coverage of Duran Duran and Haircut 100 was testament to her continued commercial success two decades on from the Supremes’ first hit. She talked a little about that band’s 60s heyday, but, as befitting an artist who had just enjoyed two platinum albums stuffed with Top 10 singles, insisted that the 80s were the real “golden age. There’s so much opportunity.”
But not, as it turned out, for Diana Ross, whose recording career stalled shortly afterwards. She had her last US Top 10 hit, a tribute to the recently murdered Marvin Gaye called Missing You, 37 years ago.
Britain remained under her sway a little longer – Chain Reaction, a flop in the US, rightly reached No 1 in 1986 – but even so, it was all over bar the shouting by the early 90s.