1979 Anita Ward: Ring My Bell

Anita Ward's one hit wonder is versatile in its very simplicity; 'Ring My Bell' could easily have been (or could be still be) cast as a bass heavy Northern Soul thumper, but Ward's take is a sharp disco tune that stresses its upbeat lightness from the sensuous electronic pings and pongs on the backing to Ward's excitable schoolgirl high vocal. It's frothy stuff that bubbles like lemonade, with most of the froth coming from Ward herself; her work is done her man is home and now she wants her bell seriously rung. Ahem.

Actually, that's one of my favourite bits of in-song innuendo since Nina Simone pouted 'I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl', with the tone made all the racier by Ward's obvious delight at the thought. And her delight is infectious - there's nothing particularly clever or complicated about 'Ring My Bell', but it's this very paucity of ambition and general unfussiness that makes it such a pleasure. It's mined from the same seam as the earlier 'Tragedy', but it's a far better example of the hedonistic pleasure that, after all, disco was meant to be all 'about'