I was very saddened today to hear of the passing of Chicago vocalist Kim English. Nitelife, I Know A Place and Learn To Luv were all big tunes for me at The Haçienda and elsewhere in the 1990s. These Nervous Records releases stood out for their wonderful production and Kim’s smooth, soulful voice really stood out with her wide range. With remixes by Masters At Work (Nitelife), E-Smoove (I Know A Place) and Mood II Swing (Learn To Luv), her songs were huge with my audiences when I dropped them in my DJ sets and on the radio too. In fact, in the 1990s when I presented the daily afternoon show on Manchester’s Kiss 102 radio station, Kim came in for a live interview and we played her songs in between chatting. We got on really well and she ended up staying for the whole show and I persuaded her to read out the live traffic and weather updates which she was happy to do. I still regularly play her tunes now and last year it was great to hear her sing on Paul Woolford’s great Hang Up Your Hang Ups track which featured several times in my weekly radio show and in my club sets too. As a small tribute to a wonderful singer, I’ve decided to include one of her tracks in this year’s Haçienda Classical show.

Rest in peace Miss English. Your smooth, silky and soulful voice will be missed but your legacy will live forever in many peoples hearts. Thank you.

Listen to my Kim English tribute mix here: Kim English mixed by Graeme Park