Dave Longmore
The Str8jackets saw Dave’s productions and remixes signed to legendary House Labels Strictly Rhythm, Nervous, Subliminal & Peppermint Jam as well as their own Deluded Records label.
Their Remix for The Black Eyed Peas featured on Radio 1 along with their track ‘Whats it All About?’ getting the coveted ‘Wonderment’ title.
Further collaborations came with House Divas Dawn Tallman, Inaya Day, Michelle Weeks, Elisabeth Troy as well as the legendary Taylor Dayne and Tyree Cooper saw the Str8jackets gain further notoriety.
Over the years Sam and Dave not only kept in touch but did the odd remix together and it has only been in 2018 that they started to find a flow, so they could hammer out tracks together again, after years apart.
Their first project of many in 2020 is a cover of the Womack and Womack tune 'Baby I’m scared of you', alongside two original tracks, 'Where do we go from here", and "Love Triangle" which will be released in July 2020.
Sam Junior Bromfield
Sam Junior Bromfield worked as an engineer / roadie in 1976 for the band Light of the world. After a year or so he met keyboard player Remo Fiore and in 1978 decided they were going to start their own band. The name of the band was Stateside! which became the band known today as Second Image. Back in 1978 when most major record companies had no dance departments, the record industry had no idea of where to place this genre of music. Second Image was one of the major players in the dance scene who forced many of the major record labels to open subsidiary independent labels just to deal with the demand for Brit Funk and Soul music. With a real underground following created by people like their soon to be manager, Robbie Vincent of Radio London, and the lovable soul DJ of Capital radio Greg Edwards - Second Image soon had a following worldwide.
The bands first record deal was with Polydor Records back in 1980 but unknown to many people, the band were also used by the BBC to copy the music of some American funk bands who had UK hits and had came from the US over to do Top of the Pops. Back in those days bands were not allowed to use the original recordings! So in stepped Second Image , who recorded some of the band's backing tracks. At the same time the band were doing many of the top radio jingles for Tony Blackburn and Robbie Vincent (both of Radio London) and Greg Edwards (of Capital Radio), and were the band who sang and wrote “The sweet soul music of Kiss FM” jingle that was the theme played after the countdown when Kiss FM first became a legal FM radio station.
They became known as one of the tightest and hardest working bands around and were picked by Womack and Womack to be their backing band on their UK tour. Second Image also toured with ‘Maze’ featuring Frankie Beverly in their appearances at Hammersmith Odeon four year in a row and they supported Paul Weller on tour as they played on the number one single "Town Called Malice".
After having had one single as Stateside, followed in 1982 by their first album called Second Image and four years of being signed to Polydor Records, the band then got a deal with MCA Records. At this time it was well know that the band were well established on the touring scene, and were entered into a talent competition called "The Freddie Star Showcase", which in those days was the equivalent to what we know today as the X Factor. After months of TV exposure the band won the show and were given a string of TV shows that they performed on over the next few years.
In 1985 they recorded their second album called ‘Strange Reflections’ on which, Rod Templeton, fresh from finishing the Michael Jackson album ‘Thriller’, flew to the UK whilst in the middle of the Quincy Jones album and produced two tracks. The album was produced by Christopher Heaton of ‘Landscape’.
Second Image have been know as one of the unsung heroes of the British dance industry, who paved the way for many of the dance acts today who take for granted the foundation of the dance industries that we have today in the UK. In the nearly 9 years together, 16 singles and 2 albums on 2 major record labels, a statistic many bands would love to say they had! When Second Image finally disbanded in 1985 Sam started to work with other artist like Phil Fearon a well as doing the club scene in London. In 1986 he hooked up with an old friend Yazz and did some work on the "Wanted" album with Lisa Stansfield and Coldcut which ended up being the biggest number one on 1987 the number one hit "The only way is up" by ( Yazz and the plastic population). After touring with Yazz for over a year, Sam moved back to north London, and after years of DJ'ing and running clubs all over the West end and in Camden and as the industry was changing from musicians producing to Dj's producing Sam was in the mould for the change in the late eighties/nighties when he met Dave “Leggz” Longmore, who was living on the same street as him. Dave and Sam immediately clicked, and after a few years of Sam teaching Dave how to use a sampler and how to program songs, Dave took the mantel and with his years of sound experience and Jazz influences there was no stopping him. Together, they started their own production company in 1990, working, writing, producing and re-mixing for people like Baby ‘D’, Jamiroquai, Changing Faces, Shola Ama, Randy Crawford and many many more. Today they have taken all their mixes of experiences and love for the different Genre's and miseducated it into the Ruff N Tumble style of good music is just good music.