5000 Volts – I’m On Fire

The Voice They Wouldn’t Let Anyone See

When 5000 Volts released “I’m On Fire” in July 1975, nobody was supposed to know who was actually singing. The track rocketed to number four on the UK Singles Chart and spent nine weeks there, topped the German charts, hit number one in Sweden, and climbed to number 26 in the United States. It became the 55th biggest selling single in Australia in 1976, peaking at number five. The disco inferno that launched the group came from a deliberate deception that would explode spectacularly within months.

Radio DJs made “I’m On Fire” a hit by accident. Producer Tony Eyers had recorded the track as the B-side to “Bye Love,” the intended A-side single. The record was initially released under the band name Airbus on Phonogram in Germany, then Philips Records in the UK picked it up weeks later. Club DJs kept flipping the single over to play the electrifying B-side instead. Philips noticed, flipped the sides officially, and renamed the group 5000 Volts to match the song’s electric energy. What was meant to be forgotten became a European sensation. The track built itself on a sample from Los Bravos’ 1966 hit “Black Is Black,” sped up and transformed into a frantic disco workout.

Tina Charles sang every note of “I’m On Fire”, but contractual problems meant she couldn’t be acknowledged. She’d been working with Martin Jay as session singers since their days in groups like Wild Honey and Northern Lights. When they reunited for this project, Charles was under contract elsewhere. The label and producers made a calculated decision: hire actress and singer Luan Peters to lip-sync on Top of the Pops and pretend to be the group’s frontwoman. Charles was considered to have a stronger voice than any replacement they could find, so they kept her in the studio and hid her from the public. She watched from home as someone else mouthed her words on television.

Eyers produced “I’m On Fire” at a frenzied pace to capitalize on the disco boom consuming Europe. He wrote, produced, and arranged the track himself. After the single exploded, he expanded 5000 Volts from a studio duo into a five-piece touring band, adding Martin Cohen on bass and vocals, Kevin Wells on drums, and Mike Nelson on keyboards. They recorded follow-up singles and prepared for a major German tour in 1976 that was supposed to cement their international status. Meanwhile, Charles continued providing vocals for studio tracks but remained completely uncredited. Her frustration with the label grew with each chart position she couldn’t claim.

While still technically part of 5000 Volts, Charles was contacted by Indian-British producer Biddu, who’d just produced Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting.” Biddu had been impressed by her performance on “I’m On Fire” even though most people didn’t know it was her. They cut two singles together in late 1975. The second one, “I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance),” shot to number one in the UK in February 1976 and became a massive European hit. Charles immediately left 5000 Volts to pursue her solo career. Her departure came right before the heavily promoted German tour. The tour was canceled. The damage to the group’s reputation with promoters and record executives was irreparable.

The group scrambled to replace Charles with vocalist Linda Kelly. Oddly, their next single “Dr. Kiss Kiss” still managed to reach number eight in the UK in July 1976, but it failed abroad. Foreign record labels lost all interest after the canceled tour. Follow-up singles went nowhere. By 1977, 5000 Volts disbanded. Martin Jay returned to session work, playing for Enigma, Tight Fit, and the UK Mixmasters. French singer Sheila covered “I’m On Fire” as “Quel Tempérament De Feu” in 1975. Finnish singer Danny recorded “Pelkkää Tulta” in 1976. The track became sample material for countless disco medleys throughout the late seventies.

In 2012, thirty-six years after their bitter split, Tina Charles and Martin Jay reunited to record an album called Reunited, re-recording their old hits and celebrating the sound that made them briefly famous. “I’m On Fire” remains a staple on seventies compilations, a disco relic from when labels thought they could hide the real singer and nobody would notice. Charles went on to chart success that everyone could see. The voice they tried to keep invisible became impossible to ignore.