Parliament-Funkadelic whip up a fiery furnace of funk on this live version of Flash Light lasting almost half an hour.

Flash Light was already funky, especially on the 12-minute extended version. But this live version of Flash Light from 1978, featuring a 13-strong line-up of Parliament stretching it out for almost half an hour was FUNKY!

At the time I didn’t hear Bootsy Collins’s funkmeisters Parliament or their freakier alter-ego Funkadelic as I was too immersed in punk by the time this came out in 1977. So I missed out on another musical revolution taking place. But it’s never too late to catch up.

Featured on the album Funktelechy Vs The Placebo Syndrome, the original version was dedicated to the multi-instrumental skills of Bernie Worrell. He played everything, including that synth bass that’s the quintessence of funk, apart from Bootsy Collins on drums and his brother Catfish on rhythmm guitar, with George Clinton on vocals.

This live version brings the band up to a dozen in addition to Clinton : guitarists Michael Hampton and Garry Shider, bass guitarists Cordell “Boogie” Mosson Jr. and William “Billy Bass” Nelson Jr., Bernie Worrell and Walter “Junie” Morrison on keyboards, Tyrone Lampkin on drums and additional vocalists James Wesley Jackson, Grady Thomas, Calvin “Thang” Simon, Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry.

Flash Light began life as a loose funk jam – and, as seen here, would become one again – and Clinton said his chorus chant (“Da da dee, Da da da”) was inspired by a dance at a bar mitzvah party. It went on to sell a million copies, which is rather more than bands I was watching at this time, like The Lurkers and Eater.