Biography
Vocalist George Chandler and producer Mike Vernon—who also handled percussion duties—fronted the British funk group Olympic Runners, a unit whose considerable strengths remained largely overlooked. Vernon, the guiding force behind the historic Blue Horizon label and the producer behind early Fleetwood Mac and Focus, assembled the project with ex-Arrival drummer Glen LeFleur and guitarist Joe Jammer, whose prior credits already included work alongside Caesar and Chili Charles. Bassist DeLisle Harper, recently returned from time with Rebop Kwaku Baah, and vocalist Pete Wingfield, a former Jellybread member who had first collaborated with Vernon in the early-’70s blues scene and who maintained a concurrent solo career on Island Records, completed the lineup.
London Records issued the band’s debut album, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, in 1974. Although the record found favor on dancefloors in both Britain and America, it was eclipsed once Wingfield’s solo single “Eighteen With a Bullet” exploded into a global smash, peaking at number seven in the U.K. during spring 1975 and entering the U.S. Top 20 that August. Wingfield recorded his follow-up album Breakfast Special with Olympic Runners Harper and LeFleur, then rejoined the group for their second LP, Out in Front, released the same year. Still operating without Wingfield, the band delivered a third album, Don’t Let Up, before the year ended; singles such as “Drag It Over Here,” “Grab It,” and “Sproutin’ Out” accompanied the releases.
The following year brought Olympic Runners’ strongest work, the superb Hot to Trot LP, which closed their association with London Records and signaled an impending shift from classic funk toward a more disco-oriented approach by decade’s end. The group sustained a rapid output through the remainder of the 1970s, issuing further albums and singles that became their most commercially rewarding. With personnel fluctuating according to members’ availability, 1978’s Keepin’ It Up and Puttin’ It on Ya both scored major success, the latter yielding the dancefloor favorites “Get It While You Can” and “Sir Dancealot,” both U.K. Top 40 hits late that year. 1979 saw the arrival of Out of the Ground and It’s a Bitch, which spawned the additional hits “Whatever It Takes” and “The Bitch.” The latter track gained extra exposure as the theme for the 1978 film The Bitch, scripted by Jackie Collins and starring Joan Collins.
Despite these achievements, Olympic Runners disbanded in 1979. Vernon and Wingfield later found success with the doo-wop revival act Rocky Sharpe & the Replays, while their former bandmates resumed their earlier roles as busy session musicians.
London Records issued the band’s debut album, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, in 1974. Although the record found favor on dancefloors in both Britain and America, it was eclipsed once Wingfield’s solo single “Eighteen With a Bullet” exploded into a global smash, peaking at number seven in the U.K. during spring 1975 and entering the U.S. Top 20 that August. Wingfield recorded his follow-up album Breakfast Special with Olympic Runners Harper and LeFleur, then rejoined the group for their second LP, Out in Front, released the same year. Still operating without Wingfield, the band delivered a third album, Don’t Let Up, before the year ended; singles such as “Drag It Over Here,” “Grab It,” and “Sproutin’ Out” accompanied the releases.
The following year brought Olympic Runners’ strongest work, the superb Hot to Trot LP, which closed their association with London Records and signaled an impending shift from classic funk toward a more disco-oriented approach by decade’s end. The group sustained a rapid output through the remainder of the 1970s, issuing further albums and singles that became their most commercially rewarding. With personnel fluctuating according to members’ availability, 1978’s Keepin’ It Up and Puttin’ It on Ya both scored major success, the latter yielding the dancefloor favorites “Get It While You Can” and “Sir Dancealot,” both U.K. Top 40 hits late that year. 1979 saw the arrival of Out of the Ground and It’s a Bitch, which spawned the additional hits “Whatever It Takes” and “The Bitch.” The latter track gained extra exposure as the theme for the 1978 film The Bitch, scripted by Jackie Collins and starring Joan Collins.
Despite these achievements, Olympic Runners disbanded in 1979. Vernon and Wingfield later found success with the doo-wop revival act Rocky Sharpe & the Replays, while their former bandmates resumed their earlier roles as busy session musicians.
Albums
