The Source Featuring Candi Staton – You Got The Love (Extended Vocal) 1986

Candi Staton is probably best known for her feminist disco anthem “Young hearts, run free”. To younger folks in the UK though, she may be better known for her vocals on the house track “You Got The Love”, which has three times made the British top ten. In 1991, remixed in 1997 and in it’s “original” form again in 2006.

The actual original is the above gospel-disco tune from 1986. Released under the name The Source Featuring Candi Staton it was the band’s only release and the only release on Source Records (though some discographies confuse it with the 70s label of the same name). The song is definitely on the boogie side of 80s disco, rather than the electro side. It’s slap-bass and nice cheesy keys all the way. Although excellent the track wasn’t a hit in the US.

In 1989 John Truelove took the acappella and stuck it over the instrumental of the biggest house track to emerge at that point, “Your Love” by Frankie Knuckles. He bootlegged it. It hit big in Ibiza and UK clubs and Truelove released it as a proper single, taking on the Source name himself and naming the track “You Got The Love (The Erens Bootleg Mix)”. It reached number 4 on the singles chart and has been a club staple since. The first straight mash-up hit?

The four minute radio version of the original has often been included on releases of the “Erens” version but I think the full extended version is only available on the original 12″. It’s a great track. You can’t really go wrong with those vocals and playing the original is a nice break from the played-to-death house version.
Now and then, I feel.