Description
Release Date Friday 26th June 2026
All pre-orders will be dispatched/made ready for collection on that day.
Mr Bongo presents a reissue of one of the rarest releases on the illustrious
and now ultra-rare tax scam label TSG Records
A label with a checkered past, operated by Lloyd Price and with alleged ties to boxing
promoter Don King. The album in question, Disco Party by Reality, is a stunning
journey through '70s dancefloor-focussed funk into early proto-disco grooves. Back in
mid-'70s Manhattan, Dr. Otto Gomez and a group of fellow New York musicians
including Tony Dixon, Norman Drayton, Tony Dupree, Al Jones and Fred Nanton were
brought in for a recording session by songwriter and producer, Billy Nichols. Laying
down one of Nichols' songs and a selection of the group's own, they were paid as
session musicians and thought little of it. The tapes came to the attention of Lloyd
Price who struck a deal with Nichols unbeknownst to Gomez and the rest of the band.
Price then pressed the album and put it out in 1976 on a newly formed subsidiary
label, TSG Records, that would later be documented as one of the US tax scam labels
of the '70s.
Such labels were created to exploit a loophole in the US tax system, running up
inflated production costs / losses that investors or the parent label could write off
against their tax bills. Releases on these labels were never intended to have
commercial success. They would usually be produced in incredibly limited pressing
numbers and have little to no promotion or distribution. As such many of these
records instantly fell into obscurity, becoming mythical amongst DJs and record
collectors. Sadly, this meant that artists like Dr. Otto Gomez and friends never had the
chance for their record and their talents to shine at the time. In fact, it was only when
Jazzman reached out for their 2022 reissue that Dr. Otto Gomez became aware that
the album had ever been released and heard the story behind it.
Disco Party is a time capsule where '70s instrumental funk edges and intertwines into
an early disco sound. The sessions are for the dancefloor, minimalist and groovebased. The bass and drums are at the forefront, providing the pulse of the album.
Driving funky guitar licks, and a brilliant horn section weave their way in and out of the
productions. Highlights include the uplifting feel- good 'Let's Party People', the early
disco swagger of 'Reality', and 'Disco Party (Let's Have A)' with its wah-wah groove
and percussion break, which could easily have found its home on a Blaxploitation film
soundtrack of the period.
It's not just rarity that makes this record so sought after, but rather the fact that it is a
superb example of dancefloor-focussed mid '70s funk and disco.
Tracks: Reality / Road / Disco Party (Let's Have A) / Welcome / Movin' & Groovin' /
Let's Party People / You Keep Me Holdin' On / Clap & Hustle
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