Timex Social Club

Timex Social Club
Also known as	TSC The Social Club The Timex Crew
Origin	Berkeley, California, U.S.
Genres	R&B, new jack swing
Years active	1985–1987, 2011–present
Labels	Jay Records, Danya, Fantasy Records
Spinoffs	Club Nouveau
Members	Marcus Thompson (DJ) Samuelle Prater (vocals)
Past members	Michael Marshall Greg Thomas Craig Samuel Ocea Savage Darrien Cleage Alex Hill Kevin Moore

Timex Social Club is an American R&B group, formed in 1985 and best known for the 1986 hit single "Rumors". ^[1]

History

Originally known as the Timex Crew, members included Marcus Thompson (founder), Gregory "Greg B" Thomas, Michael Marshall, Craig Samuel, and Darrien Cleage. By 1986, Samuel, Cleage, and Thomas had departed, Alex Hill and Kevin Moore were added, and the name Timex Social Club was adopted ^[1] (despite the group's name, watchmaker Timex Corporation bore no sponsorship of the group). They fused funk and urban R&B.

Recording

Thompson, Hill and Marshall had written a song "Rumors" while seniors at Berkeley High School in 1984. ^[2] Aspiring Sacramento-area producer and promoter Jay King heard the demo and offered it to Con Funk Shun, who rejected it. ^[3] King then arranged for Timex Social Club to record it in his studio. ^[3] It was released as a seven and a twelve-inch single on King's fledgling Jay Records and distributed by regional Macola Records. ^[3]

The group's one major hit, "Rumors", peaked at number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, number 13 in the UK, ^[4] and number one on Billboard 's Hot Black Singles, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance/Disco 12 Inch Singles Sales charts. ^[5]

On the strength of King's regional promotion, mostly in the South, the song was added to playlists at major Black music stations such as KKDA-FM in Dallas and KMJQ in Houston. ^{[3] [6]}

By July, while "Rumors" was still rising on the charts, the group split with King and arranged to record an album with Danya Records. ^{[7] [3]} The album Vicious Rumors was recorded at Fantasy Studios and distributed by Fantasy Records in the US (A&M in Canada; Mercury in Europe; CBS/Sony in Japan) and produced by Jay Logan. ^[2] "Rumors" was re-recorded for the album ^[2] and a music video was made to this new version. Two follow-up singles, "Thinkin' About Ya" and "Mixed-Up World", both reached number 15 on the Black Singles chart. ^{[5] [8]} As "Rumors" became popular outside of the US in the fall of 1986, it was this re-recorded version that charted in Canada and Europe.

The album debuted on Billboard's Black Albums chart on 6 December 1986 and peaked at number 29 (on 21 March 1987), but failed to chart on the Billboard 200 albums chart. ^[5]

Also in 1986, Ocea Savage was added on keyboards and background vocals.^{[ citation needed ]}

Touring

The success of the single "Rumors" prompted hip hop impresario Russell Simmons to hire the group as the opening act for 38 dates on Run DMC's Raising Hell tour in 1986. ^[9] Other acts on the tour were Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and Whodini. Besides solo dates, the group also opened for New Edition, Midnight Star, the S.O.S. Band, Kool & the Gang, and Jermaine Jackson. ^[10]

Split

Timex Social Club disbanded in 1987, shortly after the success of "Rumors". ^[11]

The original producers of "Rumors", Jay King and Denzil Foster, along with Thomas McElroy formed Club Nouveau, whose first single was "Jealousy", an answer song to "Rumors" that references Timex Social Club's split. ^{[7] [2]} Club Nouveau subsequently had a No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1987 with a go-go cover of Bill Withers's "Lean on Me". ^[12]

Revival

As of 2011, the Timex Social Club roster consisted of founding member Marcus Thompson as DJ and Samuelle on vocals.^{[ citation needed ]} That same year, Thompson authored Vicious Rumors How Do Rumors Get Started: The True Story of Timex Social Club, his history of the group and his take on the rap music scene in the 1980s. ^[13]

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album	US R&B [14]
1986	Vicious Rumors	29

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions
		US 100 [8]	US R&B [8]	US Dance [8]	CAN	UK [15]
1986	"Rumors"	8	1	1	1	13
	"Mixed Up World"	—	15	—	—	81
	"Thinkin' About Ya"	—	15	―	—	―
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Awards and nominations

Year	Source [10]	Song	Result	Misc.
1986	CRIA/Music Canada	"Rumors"	Gold single	Certification/Label A&M
1986	CRIA/Music Canada	"Rumors"	Platinum single	Certification/Label A&M
1986	Commendation	"Rumors" / Vicious Rumors	Awarded (key to city)	Mayor Richard L. Berkley Kansas City MO.
1986	Proclamation	"Rumors" / Vicious Rumors	Won	Governor John D. Ashcroft state of MO.
1986	The 1986 NARM Awards	"Rumors"	Won	Best Selling New Artist
1986	Bay Area Top Star Music Awards	"Rumors" / Vicious Rumors	Won	—
1987	American Music Awards	"Rumors" / Vicious Rumors	Nominated	—
1987	Bammies/Bay Area Music Awards	"Rumors" / Vicious Rumors	Nominated	—
1987	Juno Awards (CANADA)	"Rumors" / Vicious Rumors	Nominated	—
1987	Soul Train Music Awards	"Rumors" / Vicious Rumors	Nominated	—

See also

• 1980s portal

• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of bands from the San Francisco Bay Area

References

1. Wynn, Ron. "Timex Social Club - Artist Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved August 27, 2020.
2. Gross, Jonathan (February 1987). "Cold Busted: Timex Social Club Takes a Licking and Stops Ticking". Flash. Spin . Vol. 2, no. 11. Bob Guccione, Jr. p.  10. ISSN   0886-3032.
3. Goodman, Fred (August 23, 1986). "A Hit Single on a Shoestring: Jay King Produced Timex's 'Rumors'". Billboard . Vol. 98, no. 34. p.  79. ISSN   0006-2510.
4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 560. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
5. Billboard magazine archives.
6. Freeman, Kim (May 3, 1986). "Black/Urban". Out of the Box. Billboard . Vol. 98, no. 18. p.  10. ISSN   0006-2510.
7. Chin, Brian (July 12, 1986). "Rumors Surround Timex Social Club: Splinter Group—Jet Set—Forms". Billboard . Vol. 98, no. 28. p.  24. ISSN   0006-2510.
8. "Timex Social Club Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
9. Michaels, Randolph (2005). Flashbacks to Happiness: Eighties Music Revisited. US: iUniverse. pp. 196, 198. ISBN   978-0-595-37007-8.
10. Thompson, Marcus (2011). How Do Rumors Get Started: The True Story of Timex Social Club. US: Self-published. pp. 6, 173. ISBN   978-1-257-28542-6.
11. Wynn, Ron (2003). "Timex Social Club". In Bogdanov, Vladimir (ed.). All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. All Media Guide. Backbeat Books. p.  unk. ISBN   9781617134968.
12. Wynn, Ron. "Club Nouveau - Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
13. Alexander, Otis (December 6, 2021). "Timex Social Club (1985-1987)". BlackPast.org. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
14. "Timex Social Club - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
15. "TIMEX SOCIAL CLUB - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company . Retrieved January 3, 2021.

Further reading

• Thompson, Marcus A. (2011). How Do Rumors Get Started: The True Story of Timex Social Club. US: Self-published. ISBN   978-1329954939.
• Turner, Patricia A. (1993). I Heard It Through the Grapevine: Rumor in African-American Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. p. 260. ISBN   978-0-520-08936-5.
• Stone, Joseph (2005). Mad Season: (Changing Stations). p. 220.

External links

• Timex Social Club at AllMusic
• Official Website
• Timex Social Club discography at Discogs
• King, Jay (October 31, 2021). Jay King: The Man Behind Timex Social Club, Chante Moore, Club Nouveau, Brian Alexander Morgan. Interviewed by Okoye, Nnamdi E.S. Halftime Chat – via YouTube.com.