Baby Charles - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor / Time Wasting Baby Charles

By popular demand, Record Kicks proudly presents the long-awaited reissue of the Baby Charles 7” single featuring their explosive afro-funk reinterpretation of Arctic Monkeys’ modern classic I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.

By popular demand, Record Kicks proudly presents the long-awaited reissue of the Baby Charles 7” single featuring their explosive afro-funk reinterpretation of Arctic Monkeys’ modern classic I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.

Originally released as a limited-edition 45 in 2008, the single sold out within weeks and has since become one of the most sought-after funk 45s among DJs and collectors worldwide. This repress finally makes the track available again, backed with the deep-soul floor-shaker Time Wasting on the flip.

The track is taken from Baby Charles’ self-titled debut album, released in 2008 and now widely regarded as a landmark of the European funk revival. Alongside Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators’ Keep Reachin’ Up, Baby Charles’ debut LP helped define the sound and spirit of the European deep funk scene of the 2000s.

Mojo Magazine hailed the band as “the most likely candidates to lead the deep funk scene”, while the album’s driving centrepiece, I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, quickly turned the LP into a cult favourite. Like the single, the album sold out rapidly and now changes hands for eye-watering sums on Discogs.

Esteemed British DJ, writer and TV presenter Mark Lamarr, who urged listeners to “file it amongst your funk classics” in the album’s liner notes, invited the band to record a now-lary live session at BBC Maida Vale Studios for his God’s Jukebox show. In France, the band received massive exposure through Radio Nova’s influential Nova Aime campaign, while in 2009 Pitchfork named Baby Charles, alongside Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, as a key reference point for the international funk scene.

Sadly, the band split in 2011 just as they were about to enter the studio to record their much-anticipated second album. Since then, Baby Charles’ debut recordings have only grown in stature, achieving near-mythical status among DJs, collectors and funk aficionados worldwide. This repress is both a celebration and a correction, bringing this legendary funk 45 back where it belongs: on turntables and dancefloors.