It's debatable whether Polydor's 'Steppin' Out' series qualifies as a label in its own right, but as it had its own discrete numerical series and a special sleeve I reckoned that it deserved to be treated separately from the main Polydor listing. The Steppin' Out singles were aimed at the Disco / Dance market, they were mainly American in origin, and with one exception they were all issued during the last seven months of 1979. The first two had numbers in the main Polydor POSP-0 series (1), but starting with Tamiko Jones's 'Can't Live Without Your Love' b/w 'Let It Flow' (STEP-001; 9/79) they were given an STEP-000 series of their own - the '00' at the start of the numbers was soon dropped - and a streamlined new logo (2). The sleeve kept the old logo (3). One of the singles in the STEP-0 series came out on the 'Pablo Today' label (q.v.). Records by the Olympic Runners, Wayne Henderson and Gloria Gaynor - 'Let Me Know' b/w 'Say Something' (STEP-8; 11/79) - all entered the Charts but none of them broke into the Top 30. Another single by the Olympic Runners, '130 Beats A Minute' b/w 'Disco Smash' was listed in The New Singles for the 9th of November as STEP-6, but it appears to have been cancelled, with a single by Roy Ayers being substituted for it a couple of months later.
Copyright 2015 Robert Lyons.